Three's Company Season 8: The Lost episodes is a series of stories that lead to what could have been.
Now to a lot of people, it seemed pretty obvious that Jack and Janet should have ended up together and gotten married in the series finale. This season 8 re-write focusus on Jack and Janet's feeling for each other developing more. Janet plans on marrying Phil Jack is hurt by this. Janet is in denial that she has the same feelings for Jack.
Epiosde One: My Son, Jack
Description: In order to fiddle his tax returns Mr. Furley has claimed for a non-existent son for the past twenty years but is in danger of being found out when a tax inspector is about to visit. Only one thing to get out of it, Jack will have to pose as Mr. Furley's son. Based on the "Man About the House episode 'My Son, My Son.
Jack, Janet and Terri were in the kitchen. Jack and Janet were sitting at the table, reading the newspaper, while Terri cooked breakfast. Terri handed Jack his toast.
Jack stared at it a moment, before picking it up, "Terri, you know the purpose of toast is toasting the bread."
"Yeah." Terri had her back to him, facing the stove.
"We don't have a toaster." Janet lifted the paper away from her face for a moment." Don't you remember?" She asked Jack. "Mr. Furley tried repairing it and took it apart. He couldn't get the thing back together again, so we had to throw it out."
"Don't remind me." Jack said in his frustrated tone. Getting up , he goes to fridge. "I'll make us some nice delicious omelets. Now that's a real breakfast."
"Uh...We're out of eggs." Terri said.
"I thought you went shopping yesterday." Janet said, putting down the paper.
"I was running short a few dollars. All I could get was the bread."
"There's two months worth of rent on top of the fridge." Jack says. "You could have borrowed a few dollars." He reached up to move a basket off the top of it.
"I have. Several times."
Jack turns to her. "How several?"
"You know, several...several."
"Do you hear that, Janet? She's been dipping into the rent pool again."
"Well don't be too hard on her." Janet said. "She probably did it for the best. There are many times when.." She tried to hide the guilt in her voice but Jack saw through her.
"Oh, I see. You've been helping yourself out as well have you? It's like I can't trust either of you. There should be a thousand dollars in here."
"Ninety." Terri corrected.
"No, cause I borrowed twenty dollars." Jack corrected. The girls gave him a look. "I mean there are times when you know..(he opens the envelope,) "Three hundred dollars?" He looks at Janet.
"Well I had to pay the gas and the electricity. They are in high demand."
Terri comes over to sit down next to Jack.
"So you fiddled it away again, I see." Jack continues.
"What did you spend the twenty dollars on?" Terri asked Jack
"I took this girl out, well you know just for a bite."
"Couldn't you have bitten her for cheaper than that?" Janet asked sarcastically.
"Listen, I'm not the only one to blame. We're in trouble here. How are we going to tell Mr. Furley we don't have the rent."
"It's your turn to hand the rent money to him. I went down there last month." said Terri.
"Yeah and I went down the month before." Janet said.
"Oh, well, we can wait till Monday. It's not due till then. Even Tuesday. It's not overdue till Wednesday. I'll tell you what I'll wait to catch him in a good mood." Jack was trying to think of a way to get out of the situation. They seemed to always have trouble with the rent. And he planned on moving out of the apartment one day. He couldn't picture himself living here the rest of his life, yet he couldn't picture himself living without the girls. The rent wasn't really the problem. It was facing the inevitable. If he couldn't help manage the rent how could he help afford a house someday.
"When is that due?" Janet said. She then laughed to herself. Mr. Furley seemed to always be in good mood, unless someone's rent was overdue.
"Ha, ha. Very funny Janet." Jack got up from the table to leave the kitchen.
There was a knock on Mr. Furley's door.
"Just a minute." Mr. Furley called from his bedroom. He goes to answer the door. It's Larry.
"Hey, Mr. Furley can you do me a favor? My kitchen sinks leaking again."
"I'll get to it right away, Larry. Hold on a sec, while I get my tools." Mr. Furley goes back into the bedroom.
Larry waits anxiously. He starts whistling, looking around. His eyes wondering to the papers on Mr. Furley's desk. He reads over the papers. Mr. Furley comes back into the room. " Hey uh...Who's Leslie Furley?"
"Uh...he's my son."
" I didn't know you had a son."
"Uh...I don't. That's just a I was filling out a form and I accidently claimed for one. "
"Ah, so you accidently gave him a name." Larry knew where Mr. Furley was going with this. He wasn't the one to scheme.
"It was a better option than crossing it off. It had to look professional."
"Mr. Furley, you devil. Cheating on your in-come taxes."
"I know, I know." Mr. Furley said feeling guilty.
But Larry wasn't listening. He had his thinking face on. "I got to try that sometime." He goes to leave the apartment.
"Larry, what about your sink."
"I'll call a guy about it." Larry shuts the door behind him, leaving the Landlord puzzled.
Call a guy about it? Furley mouthed to himself, thinking on it for a second. He shrugged.
The roommates are sitting in the living room. Jack is going over a list of items that they had bought. "I can see where most of our money's gone. We're spending to much on miscellaneous. What did you buy?"
"I don't remember, that's why it was miscellaneous." Janet said.
"I can't remember spending that much on one item." Terri said, looking over the list.
"Oh, I remember now. It was the toaster." Janet recalled.
"The toaster." Jack groaned. He got up from the couch.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going down there and giving him a piece of my mind and explain he's the reason we don't have this months rent."
"Now Jack..." Janet but he was already out the door. "Can you believe him?"
Terri just shakes her head. Putting on her glasses to check over the list.
"Mr. Furley. Open up. I need to talk to you." Jack pounds on the door.
"Jack." Mr. Furley said surprised as Jack barged in past him.
"It's about the rent...it's due on Monday." Jack said.
"I know that. Don't worry about it. Take all the time you like. You're like a son to me."
"Well thanks, Mr. Furley."
"As long as you make it no later than Wednesday."
Jack just stands their a minute confused. He was about to say something but held it back. He said something simple instead. " Right." He said. "But you see what I came up here to say was that...Under the circumstances..." He has his back to Mr. Furley.
An idea strikes Mr. Furley. "Son."
"Yes?" Jack half turns toward him.
"What? oh...nothing. Nothing. You were saying..."
"Uh...according to circumstances, we've uh..." He pauses as Mr. Furley looks him over "We're a little short..."
"Forget about that. Sit down, sit down." The over eccentric landlord waves for Jack to sit down on the couch.
Jack sits down on the couch. Mr. Furley sits down on the arm rest. "You see the thing is Mr. Furley..." He cuts off when he notices the land lord staring at him.
"Never mind that. We'll talk about that later." He leans a little closer to Jack. "Son."
Getting slightly uncomfortable, Jack moves over. Mr. Furley sits down next to him. Jack moves one cushion over. "Why do you keep saying that?"
"Now listen up, I got a little proposition for you, son."
The four friends, Jack, Janet, Terri, and Larry are at the Regal Beagal.
"He wants you to what?" Janet asked, once Jack told them that Mr. Furley wanted him to pose as his son and that if he did
"Are you nuts? You could have saved a months rent, right there." Larry said.
"I would have done it, if I were you." Terri said.
"Oh, yeah, sure. Meet my son. He's had an operation." said Janet sarcastically.
" Imagine, Mr. Furley fiddling his in-come tax. I'd expect something like that from Mr. Roper." Jack said.
"Or Larry." Janet added.
"Why am I always brought into these conversations?" Larry wondered more to himself.
"You see if I would have helped him I would have been an accessory." Said Jack.
"What, like a handbag?" Terri said, laughing at her own joke. She stops when Jack gives her a glare.
"Well I...I think I did the right thing." He looks at Larry suspiciously. "You girls think I did the right thing."
"Well...I need another drink." Janet said, "Terri."
"Right with ya." She follows Janet.
"Perhaps I should have done it."
"No, no. You stick to your priorities." Larry said to Jack. "You could have saved a months rent." He gets up and leaves.
"I heard you the first time." Jack calls after him.
The girls were having their own conversation over at the bar.
"I mean Mr. Furley doesn't often ask for favors." Janet was saying to Terri. "I mean, half an hour and it would have been over. And he was willing to pay for it."
Mike the bartended is overhearing the conversation, getting the wrong idea. "Mr. Furley, well that old dirty devil."
"What?" Janet asks.
"Nothing, it's none of my business. Uh, two halves of lager."
"Um...would you accept a check?" Terri asks.
"for three dollars? I'll put it on your tab." He goes to the back of the bar.
"I don't think it would have worked anyway." Janet continued. "besides I don't think Jack looks like a Leslie."
"He looks more like a David. Course it could be a girls name as well. "
"David?" Janet asked confused.
"Leslie."
"Actually if he wanted a daughter he could have done it standing on his head." While Janet it saying this Mike comes back with his checkbook, with a wide eyed expression.
The roommates were back at the apartment, playing cards.
"I'm not going to let him bribe me into it either."
"You did the right thing, Jack." Terri said, setting down a card.
"I wouldn't put it past Larry to do it though." The door bell rings. Jack gets up to answer it. "And of course, it's Larry."
"Speaking of the devil." Janet said.
"You were talking about me?" Larry asked. "Hey, listen, Jack.'
"Forget it, Larry. "
"Ok, if you don't want me to help you with your money situation..."
"You're going to let us borrow some money?" Janet asked. She didn't believe that he would.
"I only have five dollars. Listen, There's a race at the track at two o'clock."
" Yeah, what are you going to bet on a horse with? " Jack asked. "You only have the five dollars, and that's to get it." "
It's on the tv too." Larry pointed out.
"Well I'm going to go to the store to see if I can get some credit." Terri headed to the door.
"Who are you going to get that from?" Janet asked.
"Paul from hardware's. He's taken a like to me."
"Oh, great. We can have a nail omelet for lunch." Janet said sarcastically.
"If we had some eggs." Jack added.
"Yeah." Janet answered back, curling a strand of hair around her finger.
"I'll talk to the man at The Corner Shoppe." said Terri.
"He's over 70." Jack said.
"So, that means I'll be safe." Terri leaves the apartment.
" Look at this. Front Page." Larry shows Janet the newspaper.
"That's the back page."
"No, the horse is named Front Page. It can't loose. He's on handicapped. He's been placed twice. And look at the odds." He hands the paper to Jack.
"Eight to one. That's...pretty good. Are you sure it's going to win?"
"It can't loose."
Time Lasp
Janet is trying to adjust the antenna on the tv. "This think is on the blink again." She hits the side of it. "What time do they kick off?"
Jack comes over to her. "No, no, Janet in races they don't actually kick off the horses."
"Come on. It's nearly half past two." Larry was growing impatient.
Jack grabs the antenna off the tv.
Janet tells him to hold it up. "Try backing up a bit. A bit to the left. There. No. Back a bit more."
"A whack on the side usually helps." Larry says.
"No. He's doing his best. Back a bit more." She motions to Jack. "Keep going back. Keep going." Jack keeps backing up until he is outside. "How's that?" Janet calls.
"I wouldn't know would I?"
"I've seen better pictures on the radio. " Larry says.
"Hey, that's it. Stop. There."
Jack sets the antenna carefully on the ledge. Janet sits down on the couch next to Larry while Jack comes back in.
"Hurry up." Larry says, "They're just lining up." He pats the seat next to him. Janet comes to sit down on his left, while Jack jumps over the couch, sitting between them.
"With out luck we'll get enough for the rent and some left over. How much did you put down?" Jack asks Larry.
"Nothing. I went off it."
"Why?"
"Well you're backing it. You're unlucky with horses."
Terri comes in. "I'm back. I bought the groceries. Did you know you left the door wide open." She closes the front door. As it shuts, the antenna is knocked off the ledge. The television looses it's picture, causing the three to look up. Jack runs out the door.
They all rush down to Mr. Furley's to finish watching the race.
"Uh...Mr. Furley, sorry to barge in here like this. But our tv isn't working."
"There's nothing much on except racing."
"Oh, good. We'll watch that then." Janet rushes over to turn on the TV.
"Did you place a bet?" Mr. Furley asks.
"No. Did you?" Jack asks him.
"No. No." Mr. Furley plays with his ear anxiously when the two kids aren't looking.
Larry and Terri enter Mr. Furley's apartment.
"I think you're being rather ridiculous getting so worked up over a race." Terri says.
Jack hushes her. The announcer lists all name of the horses, with Front Page coming in last place.
"Yeah, well...there you go then." Larry clapping his hands together nervously.
"Which horse weren't you betting on?" Mr. Furley asks.
"Well, all of them." Jack says. "But mainly Front Page."
"If you'll excuse us,' Janet said, getting up from the couch, Jack get up at the same time. "while we kill somebody."
"Now listen, it's not my fault..." Larry puts his hands up defensively, backing up towards the door. Jack and Janet chase Larry out of the apartment.
Mr. Furley lets the tax inspector in. "Thank you, I'm afraid I'm a little early." The tax inspector said.
"Oh, no not at all. Uh..have a sit."
"Thank you." He sits down.
"Would you like something to drink. Mr..."
"Matthews. With two tees."
"Actually I'm all out of that."
"No. My name."
"All I got is a bottle of sherry, which I save for special occasions. If you know what I mean." Mr. Furley said in his macho man voice.
"The sherry would be fine."
"It's nice weather we're having. " Mr. Furley said as he prepared the drinks. "If you like that sort of thing. Some people don't, but if you do, it's rather nice."
"You don't see much of it inside."
"Inside?" Damn, he's on to me. Mr. Furley thought. He's already talking about prison.
"The office."
"Oh. Oh, yes."
"You seemed to have been in a bit of a rush when you filled in your last tax return."
"Oh, it's the old back injury I got from the war." Furley said using his macho voice again. "Right. Well according to this your middle name is 203 East Middleton Terrace, and your address is Ralph Furley."
"Oh uh, that's a mistake."
"Yes, we have realized that Mr. Terrace." He looks down at the paper, correcting himself. "Uh...Furley. And you also have your wife down as no income tax abroad."
Mr. Furley snickers. "My own little joke."
The tax inspector looks at him sternly.
"Uh...my wife. She's no longer with us."
"That is quite unfortunate. Now about your son."
"Oh, yes him."
"You haven't said which college he's attending."
"Well uh...The best thing I can do is let him tell you himself."
Larry steps out of the bedroom. "Did you call me, dad?" He shakes Mr. Matthew's hand. "Nice to meet cha." He sits down on the couch.
"Yes. I was just asking your father which university you attend."
"Westwood.." Mr. Furley says the same time Larry says, "UCLA. uh that would have been nice but now I go to community college.'
"Berkley." Furley says at the same time.
"Yes." says Mr. Matthews. "Let's see how old are you?"
"I'm uh..." Larry turns to Mr. Furley. "How old am I dad?"
"About twenty-ish." Mr. Furley says. "He worries a lot. "
"Hey, I resent that." Larry says. "I'm only..." Larry tries to contemplate the math in his head.
"It's a worrying time, university." Mr. Matthews agreed with Mr. Furley.
Janet walks in, "Mr. Furley I had something I needed to ask you..."
"Oh uh, this is my wife."
"I thought your wife was dead." Matthews said. "
My other wife. The last one left me. Yep. Guys like me don't stay single for long. She's not even used to her new last name yet." Janet just stands there dazed. "Janet, this is Mr. Matthews."
"How do you do." Janet greats Mr. Matthews.
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Furley. Now where were we? The exact date of your sons birth."
"April 29, 1944" Larry says, accidentally giving his real birth year. "...uh...1964"
They are saved by a knock on the door. Janet, who is closest to the door, answers it. Jack walks in.
"Hi, Janet." He then says to Mr. Furley, "Hi ya pops. Listen about what you were saying this morning..."
Mr. Furley is standing there, shaking his head.
Jack notices Larry standing in the room. "Larry?"
"That's Leslie."
"Oh Lord." Jack says covering the side of his face with his hand.
"You have another son." says Mr. Matthews.
"No. No, you see..." Mr. Furley begins. But Larry interrupts.
"Actually he's a student I'm tutoring. Close friend of the family. The kid doesn't even know how to boil an egg."
"That's right." Mr. Matthews said. "Your father told me you're studying to be a cook."
"Did he now?" Jack was finding this amusing.
"Top of your class."
"Oh, really?" Jack asks.
"Does he always start conversations with questions?"
"You know kid brothers." Larry puts his arm around Jack's shoulder.
"Your brother..."
"It feels like he is."
"He kids, he kids." Jack patts Larry on the chest. He gives one patt to hard.
"He's not my son, I mean he is. From the other side of the sheets." says Mr. Furley.
"You mean..." Mr. Matthews looks at Janet.
"She's older than she looks. " Mr. Furley says with a sniff, trying to act macho again. "gotta bless the Italians," Janet gives Mr. Furley a wide eyed look, like he is about to kill him.
" You could have added him as well." Mr. Matthews explains. "It makes no difference."
"It doesn't?"
Janet elbows Mr. Furley as Terri walks in.
"Jack. Larry." She goes over to Mr. Furley and gives him a hug. "Hello daddy." She puts a hand out to Mr. Matthews. "How do you do? My name's Leslie."
"Mr. Furley." Mr. Matthews begins.
Mr. Furley sits up. "All right." He says about to come clean. "I adopted all three of them."
Note: This is a re-write of season 8. Some episodes will be changed to build up Jack and Janet's relationship (like it seemed to for the past 2 seasons before. Then the writers decided to scrap the idea. It seemed abrupt to cut the further budding relationship that could have easily been turned into a romance. And this is making up for what could have been.) Some of the episodes will be the same regular part of the season. Every time I see Some of the Jazz, (from season 6 episode 5 where Janet's dance teacher tries to take advantage of her and Jack tries to warn her. He shows up at the studio to make sure she's ok, and he asks her, "Can I have this Dance?" and the episode "Mate for Each Other" where a computer sets Jack and Janet up on a blind date.) It makes me cry. Because it reminds me what could have been.