Welcome to a new Sitcom Tuesday! Our coverage of Mad About You has been preempted for a five-week series of reruns. Designed to give yours truly some time to finish this semester (where I’m working on wrapping up a feature-length screenplay and an original pilot) and then load more “best of” lists into the queue, these upcoming entries are a FIRST in our nearly five-year Sitcom Tuesday run. Regular programming will resume on May 22nd, but in the meantime, I’m excited to dive into the archives and re-share five posts initially published from 2014-2016.

My intention is to provide a link to each original piece and then offer a tiny bit of updated commentary, either on episode picks I’d call differently now (like in my famous “Regrets” post) or on something broader, like evolving thoughts on the year/series as a whole. I’ve picked a few goodies, so I hope you’re as excited as I am about revisiting our favorites… But please be gentle! Many of the posts you’ll see were written a while ago. The standards here have changed as I’ve changed. (There are plenty of typos, juvenile “hot takes,” and places where more information would now be appreciated.) Also, the Wildcard Wednesdays accompanying this series will be gift-offering entries — scripts and videos — related to the Tuesday subject!

This week, I’m rerunning… The Ten Best THREE’S COMPANY Episodes of Season Five, which you can find here: http://jacksonupperco.com/2015/07/07/the-ten-best-threes-company-episodes-of-season-five/

Of all my Three’s Company lists, Season Five’s is among my proudest — it’s a great curation of terrific, memorable outings, and I wouldn’t make any different selections were I drafting it today. However, I’m rerunning it here for three reasons. One) Because highlighting Three’s Company now gives me the chance to offer an exciting complementary Wildcard Wednesday treat. Two) Because I must reiterate how comedically strong this season actually is — in spite of the energy-consuming backstage drama that necessitated a temporary third roommate, whose limitations indeed hampered the storytelling possibilities. And Three) Because I struggled at the time choosing my MVE. I was torn between the beloved “Dying To Meet You,” a classic ensemble farce indicative of the series in its rarest form, and “Double Trouble,” which is simply a tour de force for John Ritter and favorably represents this unique era — where, in the absence of a solid and viable third roommate to enact stories that fulfill the series’ premise, the show’s sole objective became providing its star the chance to showcase his expert physical comedy. I decided that Ritter’s performance, and the particulars of Season Five (i.e. how it played to its strengths during a period of narrative turbulence) gave “Double Trouble” the edge. Today, though, I probably would side with “Dying To Meet You,” which, in the bigger picture, is the best ambassador for the series (if not the season)… So, anyway, check out the list above again, and feel free to share your thoughts on the series and its trajectory in the comments below!

Come back next week for the next in our rerun series! And tune in tomorrow for a related Wildcard Wednesday!