Info:
DVD Release Date: July 25, 2006 (Anchor Bay Entertainment)
Color/1982-83
MSRP: $29.98
Number of Discs: 4
Number of Episodes: 22
Running Time: 551 minutes
Total Run Time of Special Features: approx. 115
minutes (counting commentary)
Languages, Subtitles, Closed Captioning: English; No
Subtitles; Closed Captioned.
Special Features:
* Disc 1: Audio Commentary with Richard Kline on
"Opening Night" (approx. 25 minutes)
* Disc 2: Audio Commentary with Richard Kline on "The
Impossible Dream" (approx. 25 minutes)
* Disc 4: Don Knotts: A Tribute (approx. 26 minutes)
* Disc 4: Parlez-Vous Three’s Company? (approx. 10
minutes)
* Disc 4: Best of Jack: Season 7 (approx. 7 minutes)
* Disc 4: Best of Janet: Season 7 (approx. 8 minutes)
* Disc 4: Best of Terri: Season 7 (approx. 7 minutes)
* Disc 4: Best of Larry: Season 7 (approx. 7 minutes)
Introduction:
Jack, Janet, Terri, Larry and Mr. Furley are all back
for another zany and wild season on the seventh season
of Three’s Company now available for the first time on
DVD from Anchor Bay Home Entertainment! In this hit
season, Jack finally achieves his dream and opens up
his own restaurant - Jack’s Bistro! The season 7 DVD
was being produced at the time of Don Knotts’ passing,
and Anchor Bay has paid tribute to him on this set.
And just like the season six Three’s Company DVD, for
$10 less than the previous four sets!
The seventh season stars John Ritter as Jack Tripper,
Joyce DeWitt as Janet Wood, Priscilla Barnes as Terri
Alden, Richard Kline as Larry Dallas and Don Knotts as
Mr. Furley!
Memorable Episodes / Notable Guest Stars:
This memorable seventh season had it all. The set was
moved from CBS Television City to Metromedia, and thus
you’ll notice some better lighting on the set, at
least that is what I think. Some stand-out episodes
include “A Night Not to Remember” where Jack gets
drunk and does something bad…or he thinks he does,
“Jack Goes to the Dentist” where Terri’s boyfriend
(played by Jeffrey Tambor) is a dentist, “Diamond
Jack” is the one where jewel thieves accidentally find
Jack, “Jack Gets His” is a landmark episode where Jack
finally achieves his dream, “Opening Night” is the one
where Jack has his grand opening, “Cousin Cuisine” is
the one where the Spanish speaking Maria comes into
Jack’s life, “The Impossible Dream” is the one where
Larry sings at the Bistro and Furley helps out in the
kitchen, “Going to Pot” is the one where Furley brings
a pot…not that kind, and “The Apartment” is the one
where Angelino is caught having a secret love next in
the apartment above the Bistro!
There were many familiar faces guest starring this
season as well. Gino Conforti & Jordan Charney as
recurring characters as Felipe and Mr. Angelino,
Jeffrey Tambor plays Terri’s dentist-boyfriend in
“Jack Goes to the Dentist,” Anne Schedeen as the loan
manager at the bank in “Jack Gets His,” Earl Boen is
the Reverend Gilmore in “The Brunch,” veteran Irene
Tedrow also guest stars in “The Brunch,” Brian Robbins
as Furley’s shy nephew in “Janet’s Little Helper,”
Julie Piekarski as the teenage candy-striper in
“Janet’s Little Helper,” and Ilene Graff is Angelino’s
other woman in “The Apartment.” Brad Blaisdell has a
recurring role as Mike, the bartender at the Regal
Beagle and Mina Kolb appears as Terri’s mother, Mrs.
Alden for two episodes.
Packaging:
The packaging is nicely packaged in Digibook format,
just like seasons two through six. So when you open
the case, you flip to the next disc like you would
with a book. The color scheme for this season is
orange. Season two was purple, season three was red,
season four was green, season five was light pinkish
and season six was yellow, if you all remember. Like
the previous three sets, you have to remove the case
from the box. The box cover features a nice cast photo
of Janet, Jack, Mr. Furley and Terri in a nice pose.
It is the same photo that was used on the case for
season six, but Mr. Furley was added this time. The
back of the box has information on the series, set &
special features and a photo of Jack, Janet, Teri and
Mr. Furley on the couch talking. The case cover has a
nice photo of Jack and Mr. Furley on the couch. When
you open the case, you will be greeted with nice
message/synopsis from George Sunga, a producer on the
show. Sunga’s message/synopsis continues on the back
of the case, as well. A photo of Jack (all pied-up)
and Mr. Furley is on the back of the case as well.
The discs are in the case, of course, with disc one
containing episodes 1-6 and has a photo of Jack in a
blue background, disc two features episodes 7-12 and a
photo of Janet in a pink background. Disc three has
episodes 13-18 and a photo of Terri in a yellow
background. Finally, disc four has episodes 19-22 and
the extras, with a photo of Mr. Furley on the disc
with a light purple background. When you remove disc
four from the case, you can see a nice photo of the
trio and Larry in the apartment. None of these photos
on this entire set are from season seven at all, which
is strange.
Menu Design and Navigation:
Now to the menu navigation--it is very similar in
style to the last five sets. The full season seven
theme song (same as season six) is playing in the
background. And rotating images in little circles of
Jack, Janet, Terri, Mr. Furley, and Larry from season
seven are in the background. Each characters appears
twice before the theme loops. The options on the menu
screen are: “Play All,” “Episodes” and “Extras” (disc
four ONLY). When you select episodes, you will go to
an episode index screen where you can choose what
episode you want. When you choose an episode, you get
a pretty decent episode synopsis, about a paragraph or
so in length, and a screenshot from the episode. Then
you hit play and the episode plays in its full
unedited form just like how it aired on ABC. Each
episode is about 25:05 minutes long, counting the
opening and closing credits. My one complaint about
the Three’s Company sets was that there were no
chapters. They made a little improvement for this on
this set and the previous two sets, though. They added
a chapter break after the opening credits, so you can
skip over the theme anytime. But still no chapter
breaks where the commercials would be. So, it is very
hard to find a scene you want to watch in particular.
I don’t see them doing full chapters for the last set
(season 8), so no need to keep suggesting it.
Video and Audio Quality:
The video is probably the best I’ve seen. I always
found seasons 7 and 8 always to be clearer, even on
TV. I guess it is because they moved the set to
another studio. All the episodes are unedited and in
the 25:05 minute range, as I previously stated. Like
seasons two through six, there are some tag scenes
from a few episodes that have probably never been seen
since its original run, unless you are from an outside
country. Every single episode has the full season
seven theme song. In fact, six of the first seven
episodes have the rare “saucier” theme song that was
used in the original run. The closing credits for
these also have a “saucier” feel, but that has been
seen in syndication. Click here
to listen to the “saucier” season seven opening. Or you can watch it
here, too.
The video is the best like I said and the audio is
very clear, even though it is in mono. It is the best
mono on a DVD set probably out there. An interesting
tidbit is, the message at the end of “Jack Gets His”
is intact. It says “Next Week: The Grand Opening.” I
think Nick @ Nite and TV Land never showed that, but
if I recall TBS did.
Here are the runtime for each episode on this set:
Disc 1
“A Night Not to Remember” (25:05)
“Jack Goes to the Dentist” (25:10)
“Diamond Jack” (25:09)
“Extra, Extra” (25:09)
“Jack Gets His” (25:05)
“Opening Night” (25:05)
Disc 2
“Cousin Cuisine” (25:05)
“An Affair to Forget” (25:05)
“The Brunch” (25:05)
“The Impossible Dream” (24:54)
“Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” (25:05)
“Larry’s Sister” (25:06)
Disc 3
“Bob & Carol & Larry & Terri” (25:05)
“Going to Pot” (25:05)
“Star Struck” (24:58)
“Jack Goes the Distance” (24:45)
“Jack’s Double Date” (25:05)
“Janet’s Little Helper” (25:04)
Disc 4
“The Apartment” (25:05)
“Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow” (25:06)
“Navy Blues (25:07)
“Borrowing Trouble” (25:05)
Special Features:
The extras are just as good as the last set because of
Richard Kline. The set has audio commentary on disc
one with Richard Kline on the episode “Opening Night.”
He is very interesting to listen to. He gives great
tidbits, insights and facts. He also (like Dave Powers
did in the last set) gives a great analysis of the
opening credits at the LA Zoo. The episode runs over
25 minutes. He also gives commentary on disc two for
the episode “The Impossible Dream.” I had so much fun
listening to him. He remembers a lot and is
interesting to listen to. He even remembers how he
punched the wall in the kitchen at the Bistro and the
painting on the other side of the wall fell—they had
to stop taping to clean that up! This episode runs
close to 25 minutes. These two commentaries are the
best features on the set I think. Then we have all
the other extras on disc 4. Anchor Bay pays tribute
to the late Don Knotts, who died a few months back,
with a nice 25:46 clip montage featuring the best of
Mr. Furley from seasons 4-8. The clips are nicely
done and are fun to watch. Mr. Knotts will certainly
be missed.
The next extra is also on disc four and is a
featurette on the show’s popularity in France, titled
“Parelz-Vous Three’s Company?” The season six DVD had
a similar extra in Polish, but that was much better.
All this is are few scenes from the pilot, with some
in English and some dubbed in French. I guess
anything Three’s Company would have die-hards like me
watching, but I don’t think many people will be
impressed with this. Then we have best of clips for
Jack (6:30), Janet (7:35), Terri (7:11) and Larry
(7:15) from season 7.
Final Comments:
The set is well done and all the episodes are unedited
(which is all that really counts) and in great
quality. The video is the most impressive to me. The
extras were good, on par with season 6. All fans
should buy this set because it had a lot of classic
episodes and so they can continue their collection.
Season 8 (final season) is slated for October 10,
2006. Come on Anchor Bay, bring on the spin-offs, too,
and us fans will be pleased! We will not rest until
everything Three’s Company is released! Season 7 is a
must buy as Three’s Company moved into the Jack’s
Bistro era, and continued to bring laughs.
Final Numbers (out of 5 stars - How our point system works)
Video Quality: 5/5
Audio Quality: 4.5/5
Special Features: 2.5/5
Menu Navigation/Design: 5/5
Overall: 4/5
-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 07/05/06
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