A Man About the House

'A Man About the House' is a thoroughly appropriate title for this debut episode of this beloved sitcom (this viewers' all-time favourite), given that it was inspired by the English series of that name. Here, things get off to a great start as we meet Jack (John Ritter), Janet (Joyce DeWitt), Chrissy (Suzanne Somers), and the landlords the Ropers (Norman Fell & Audra Lindley) for the first time. Janet and Chrissy were throwing a goodbye party for their former roommate, and find one of the gatecrashers, Jack, asleep in their bathtub. After several minutes of getting to know him, they realize that he's an excellent cook (and in fact is in training to be a chef). Since they lack culinary skills, and find that overall he makes for pleasant company, they invite him to be the new third roommate.

This, of course, is an idea that won't fly with the grumpy, old-fashioned Mr. Roper, not until Janet finds a means of convincing him to let Jack stay. (Which I won't spoil here if you're new to this show.)

The writing is often very funny, with zingers being delivered with gusto left and right. The chemistry between the appealing main cast members is undeniable, with everybody playing their part to perfection. Chrissy is utterly charming here - maybe a bit of an airhead, but not stupid as the show runners eventually made the character. Some of the best jokes happen when Mrs. Roper catches sight of Jack, and tries to convince her husband that a man is in the girls' apartment, only for him to come up later, discover a prospective tenant (Kit McDonough), and make an erroneous assumption that causes him embarrassment. The Ropers fire a lot of insults at each other, but at this point, Fell was not yet utilizing the gimmick of turning to the camera and grinning after a punchline.

A solid episode that sets the stage for many wacky hijinks to come.

Eight out of 10.