Separated at Birth: Terri Alden and Jerri Blank?

Damian and I recently (and sort of inadvertently) starting watching "Three's Company." There's no substitute for the Chrissy years, but we found that the Cindy era held up quite well. (Her klutz routine wasn't quite as one-note as I remembered and Jenilee Harrison's comic timing is quite impressive for a newcomer.) Last night, however, Priscilla Barnes showed up and we made a horrifying discovery that once you see it, it cannot be erased.

+

= Terri Blank

 I know the show is remembered as having recovered nicely with the addition of Barnes -- filling Suzanne Somers's shoes was not easy -- but I've never cared for the Terri Alden character. Janet was already a pill, so it never made sense to add another one in a nurse's uniform. Between Terri's "sexy" baby voice (I don't tolerate baby voices), that horrific going-away party for Cindy when Jack and Larry try to send Terri packing (has there ever been a darker sitcom scene?), and the fact that she was elbowing out a far more likable character, I never got what people saw in her. Will be curious to see if she wins me over the second time around. 

P.S. Does anyone know the dirt on the time Suzanne Somers replaced Priscilla Barnes? Early in production of "She's the Sheriff," a two-page ad was placed in the Jan. 5, 1987, issue of Broadcasting & Cable magazine listing the show under the working title "Suddenly Sheriff" with Priscilla Barnes as the star. Wikipedia says "it is not known exactly when the show's name and casting were finalized," but the after-the-fact irony certainly wasn't lost on me.

Stars on 65

Boy Culture returned to the Hollywood autograph show and caught up with some of your favorite stars of yesteryear, including Greg Brady and Nurse Terri Alden! Full report HERE.

Fun trivia:

Priscilla Barnes ultimately replaced Suzanne Somers on "Three's Company." But did you know Barnes had originally been tapped to star in "She's the Sheriff" back when it was known as "Suddenly Sheriff," only to be replaced by Mrs. Thighmaster? 

One might argue that Barnes won twice.

T's Company

I want one!

This Is Your Brain. This Is Your Brain on ThighMaster.

Suzanne Somers: The Affordable Care Act Is a Socialist Ponzi Scheme 

 I love Suzanne Somers as much as the next guy, but perhaps the Wall Street Journal should have thought twice about hiring her for its "experts" panel. Maybe it's just her age group, but she's essentially my mom with a lot more plastic surgery. The good thing about the work she's had done is that at least now she looks as crazy as she sounds, whereas my mom just looks like a sweet woman from Omaha. The corrections on Chrissy Snow's opinion piece are starting to add up -- and no one even bothered to point out to the ditzy blonde that Canada's SINGLE-PAYER system is nothing like ours. (If only!)

What year is THAT photo from?????

Chrissie & Chrissy

  This is the poster that hung on my bedroom wall in Madison Heights, Michigan, in the late 1970s.  This was my brother Terence's pick.

Just two red-blooded American boys with a thing for hot blondes. 

Suzanne responded to my tweet!

Two's Company, Three's a Crowd (UPDATE)

The day I've been waiting 30 years for is nearly here. Joyce DeWitt will finally come and knock on Suzanne Somers' (Web series) door tomorrow morning to finally bury the hatchet on the former roommates' longtime feud, stemming from Somers' attempts to renegotiate her contract on the smash hit sitcom "Three's Company" back in 1981. (Watch, it'll all turn out to be a huge misunderstanding.) This falling-out has always struck a chord with me because I have a long history of doing poorly in threeway friendships. Someone is inevitably always left out, and even when I'm not, I end up feeling badly for the person who is. The preview looks great -- I already sense that recalcitrant Janet is being a bit of a stick in the mud refusing to be a sport and sing the show's theme song with her old pal Chrissy -- and Somers' preview chat with TV Land's Tom Hill reveals that part of the show is headed to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. See for yourself below -- and head over to CafeMom's YouTube channel HERE at 8 a.m. Thursday to see the full reunion. I may even set my alarm for this one!

UPDATE: Several parts are up and it'll totally warm your heart. Click HERE.

Page 1 Consider (04/05)

Hoosier Daddy? Indiana voters refused to take the hate bait and rejected a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage Tuesday. (AP) Meanwhile, the former governor of the more "liberal" state of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, has decided to pander to the lowest common (GOP) denominator by throwing the federal constitutional amendment against gay marriage into the presidential debate. With so many real issues facing this country it's shocking that someone could stoop so low. and (365 Gay)

The D Word: Those lezzies sure love the drama! (AP)

Bag Ladies: If you were ever thinking of having a sex change, now's the time: Marc Jacobs has just released new hand bags inspired by Debbie Harry and Siouxsie Sioux. But before you go blowing all of your cash on facial feminization surgery, hold on to your change purse: they go for about two grand each. (Source)

Deadly Crash: A tragic ending for the man who should have been killed for bringing us the Sylvester Stallone-Dolly Patron vehicle, "Rhinestone." (AP)

It's Not Right (But It's OK): Pity the judge who had to decide between Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston for custody of their one daughter, Bobbi Kristina. Hope there was a coin handy. (AP)

She's the Saleswoman: I've always had a thing for Suzanne Somers (remember?), but I didn't realize she was such a gay icon whose products are now sold in Tupperware Party style get-togethers for the gays en masse. (Advocate)

Be My Victim: But who hasn't Phil Spector threatened? (AP)