This guide lists the 22 episodes of the second and final season of The Ropers, series, which premiered on ABC-TV on March 13, 1979. A spinoff of Three's Company, the show was based on the UK series George and Mildred, which itself was spun off of the inspiration for Three's Company, Man About The House, which also appeared on Thames TV in the UK.
Season summary[]
Due to the strong Nielsen ratings in the spring and the summer sweeps period of the previous season, many at ABC-TV and those connected to the show were led to believe that The Ropers would have a long run. Thus, at the beginning of the 1979-80 season, ABC moved the show to Saturday nights at 8pm before the popular The Love Boat and Fantasy Island as the lead-in feature show in that night's lineup. Unfortunately it instead resulted in a big drop in viewers, putting it near the bottom of the ratings.
Being placed on Saturday nights, rather than on the familiar Tuesday night lineup with Three's Company, caused an immediate fall into the bottom ten (#52 out of 61 shows for the week of September 17–23, its second week of the season) as the show was in direct competition with the popular NBC show CHiPs. The show later moved to 8:30pm on Saturdays by January 1980. The drop in ratings and the fact that the show wasn't pulling in the key young demographic audience, led to announcement of the show's cancellation by ABC in May 1980. The last three episodes aired Thursdays at 9:30pm after Barney Miller in May 1980.
Season 2 episodes[]
- Nº = Overall episode number
- Ep = Episode number by season
Season 2: 1979–80[]
| Season Nº# | Episode # | Title | Directed by: | Written by: | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "The Party" | Jack Shea | George Burditt | 15 September 1979 |
| The second season begins with Helen complaining about never getting to take a vacation. To keep her quiet, Stanley prepares a secret disco birthday party with the aid of his former tenants Jack Tripper, Janet Wood, and Chrissy Snow. | |||||
| 8 | 2 | "Days of Beer and Rosie" | Jack Shea | Martin Rips,
Joseph Staretski |
22 September 1979 |
| A man shows up at the condo and introduces himself as Stanley's son from an affair years ago. The Brookes want to send their son, David, to a private school. | |||||
| 9 | 3 | "Power Play" | Jack Shea | Martin Rips,
Joseph Staretski |
29 September 1979 |
| When the electricity to the Roper's house is cut off when Helen's sister is supposed to come for dinner, Stanley "borrows" electricity from the Brookes. | |||||
| 10 | 4 | "Baby Talk" | Jack Shea | George Burditt | 6 October 1979 |
| Stanley fears that Helen will ignore him if they adopt a child. But when a social worker says they're too old to adopt, he raises her spirits by giving her Muffin, a dog. | |||||
| 11 | 5 | "Two for the Road" | Jack Shea | Wayne Kline,
Martin Rips, Joseph Staretski |
13 October 1979 |
| Stanley and Jeffrey get drunk and are arrested after both have arguments with their respective spouses. | |||||
| 12 | 6 | "Puppy Love" | Jack Shea | Martin Rips,
Joseph Staretski |
20 October 1979 |
| Stanley loses their dog and buys another one to try to calm Helen down. | |||||
| 13 | 7 | "All Around the Clock" | Jack Shea | George Burditt | 27 October 1979 |
| On their 23rd wedding anniversary, Stanley buys a fake antique clock which happens to resemble the Brookes' stolen clock. Helen then tries to sneak into the house to return the clock. | |||||
| 14 | 8 | "Odd Couples" | Jack Shea | Mark Fink | 3 November 1979 |
| When the Ropers' kitchen is accidentally set on fire by Mr. Roper, Brookes thinks it's his fault and lets them stay with his family. | |||||
| 15 | 9 | "Pal Joey" | Jack Shea | Martin Rips,
Joseph Staretski |
17 November 1979 |
| When Stanley gets a new (or so he tells Helen) living room suite from his friend Joey, he finds out the "new" furniture once belonged to Helen's sister, Ethel. | |||||
| 16 | 10 | "Helen Makes Music" | Jack Shea | Stephen Neigher | 24 November 1979 |
| The Brookes and Ropers fight over the commission money Helen gets when she sells one of the townhouses to a buyer, so the Brookes decide to buy her something — an organ! | |||||
| 17 | 11 | "The Skeleton" | Jack Shea | Alan Hackney | 1 December 1979 |
| Jeffrey's hobo uncle comes for a visit. | |||||
| 18 | 12 | "The Other Man" | Jack Shea | Neil Rosen,
George Tricker |
15 December 1979 |
| Helen creates a phony lover named Roman to make Stanley jealous. | |||||
| 19 | 13 | "And Who's Been Sleeping in My...?" | Jack Shea | George Burditt,
Stephen Neigher, Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, Bernard West |
26 January 1980 |
| The Ropers find out that a 18-year-old girl has been living in their store room for weeks. | |||||
| 20 | 14 | "Jenny's Date" | Jack Shea | Martin Rips,
Joseph Staretski |
2 February 1980 |
| Stanley pays the Brookes' nephew $50 to take Jenny out on a date. | |||||
| 21 | 15 | "Of Mice and Horses" | Jack Shea | George Burditt | 9 February 1980 |
| Ethel attempts to retrieve a valuable horse-shaped vase from the Ropers. | |||||
| 22 | 16 | "Family Feud" | Jack Shea | Katherine Green,
Barbara Allyn |
16 February 1980 |
| The Ropers and Brookes feud on David and Helen's birthday. | |||||
| 23 | 17 | "The Other Woman" | Jack Shea | Stephen Neigher | 1 March 1980 |
| Helen thinks Stanley is cheating on her. | |||||
| 24 | 18 | "Men About the House" | Jack Shea | Martin Rips,
Joseph Staretski |
8 March 1980 |
| Stanley takes David to a poker game while babysitting him. | |||||
| 25 | 19 | "Old Flames" | Jack Shea | Martin Rips,
Joseph Staretski |
15 March 1980 |
| Stanley is jealous when Helen's old boyfriend wants to see her. | |||||
| 26 | 20 | "The Rummage Sale" | Jack Shea | George Burditt | 1 May 1980 |
| Stanley's men's magazines are accidentally donated to a church rummage sale. | |||||
| 27 | 21 | "Four Letter Word" | Jack Shea | George Burditt | 8 May 1980 |
| When Stanley goes over to his brother-in-law Hubert's office to get a job, he finds two tickets for Hubert and his secretary to Acapulco. | |||||
| 28 | 22 | "Mother's Wake" | Jack Shea | George Burditt | 18 May 1980 |
| Helen's mother holds a wake at the Ropers' house to discuss her will, complete with presents. | |||||