The Ropers were introduced in the first episode of the series, “Man About the House”, which aired on March 15, 1977. Jack Tripper (John Ritter) wakes up in the bathtub of the apartment of two friends, Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt) and Christmas “Crissy” Snow (Suzanne Somers). Once the girls learn that Jack is studying to become a chef, they decide to ask Jack to move in and split living expenses with them. The one thing standing in their way is the Ropers (particularly Stanley) who own the building and won’t be comfortable with the idea of a single man living with two single girls.

The Ropers would appear frequently during the first three seasons of “Three’s Company,” often as comic foils but sometimes as part of the episode’s main plot device. The couple would sell the apartment building Jack, Crissy and Janet lived in the twentieth episode of the third season, “An Anniversary Surprise.”

Their final guest appearance on “Three’s Company” was the eighteenth episode of the fifth season, “Night of the Ropers.” In this episode, the frustrated Helen would find herself in the arms of Ralph Furley (Don Knotts), the apartment building’s current landlord, when the Ropers come for a surprise visit.

The real problems came into play because Audra Lindley and Norman Fell were at the end of their contracts. It is rumored that in an effort to save money, they went with Don Knots rather than the Ropers, as they required hefty salary increased in their new contracts. The new show would give them a chance to branch out on their own and create a new series based just on their characters. They were promised if the show was not successful, they could return to Three’s Company within a year; this promise was never kept. The show lasted a short time, from 1979-1980 with 22 episodes and only 2 seasons.

The series did have a following, though it was cancelled prematurely. Some say the time slot and night it aired on had something to do with its failure. The acting was certainly the same as it was in Three’s Company, Stanly and Helen were both magnificent.

The successful part about the Ropers was Helen and Stanley. The married couple shared a chemistry that not many actors/actresses do. Stanley was as grouchy as ever and Helen, she was just as miserable as in Three’s Company. What the part lacked was the good plot, such as in Three’s Company. The neighbors were lackluster and did not have the appeal with the audience, as the neighbors did in the other show. There were some good moments between Jeffery and The Ropers, which made for good TV. But many found the episodes had a certain redundancy that lacked being worthy of a third season.

The charm of the Ropers was there chemistry. Stanley loved Helen, but his character was grouchy and made to be a typical cranky old man. Helen was a character many women could relate too. Helen was in a marriage with no affection, which she desperately desired. She was flamboyant and loved loud colors and bright rings; she was cutting edge for her era. Somehow the Ropers worked as a super couple of the 70′s.

The Ropers had a good base, being a couple coming from nothing moving up to a posh neighborhood. The nosy neighbor, Jeffry, who always seemed to be in their business, was a good base for drama. What lacked was the amount of plots that could be done with just the small 5 character cast. Having the “kids” from Three’s Company stop by was great, but having the ability to create more dramatic story lines, was ultimately the downfall of the Ropers. Many felt that given a different time slot and a bit more time, the Ropers could have been a hit.

Perhaps it was the wild cock fights that Stanley told Jeffery about, or the misconstrued ideas about the kids from Three’s Company, that put things off on a rocky start for the neighbors. Jeffrey was a stiff shirt and Anne his wife had a flare for the wild side. While she was a typical mother, she maintained the balance in the relationship. What was working for the show was the chemistry between the neighbors and the Ropers.

Helen was a hopeless romantic, Stanley was just hopeless, and Jeffrey he had little use for either one of them. Unlike in Three’s Company, the show lacked a real plot basis. There were five main characters in the show and their love/hate relationship only had so many places that it could go.

Stanley was always a fan favorite because he was the typical older man. Stanley was grouchy, set in his ways, but still loved Helen the best way he knew how. Helen was exotic and had a taste all her own. Her larger than life smile, her wildly colored moo moos and supersize rings gave her a sense of flare. The audience could relate with Helen, because she was the typical older woman in a sexless marriage with a grumpy old man. The chemistry was great, however the shop just lacked the “it” factor. Whether it was the time the show was on, the network or the plot base, it only lasted for a mere 2 seasons.

Though the show was short lived, it still had a strong fan base. Helen and Stanley were classic TV, and they just do not make shows like that anymore.