∇
troperville

∇
tools

∇
toys

SubpagesMain

main index

Narrative

Genre

Media

Topical Tropes

Other Categories

random

Subpages:

Three Sheets

A Travelogue series focused exclusively on alcohol and the hijinks that ensue after consuming it.

Taking the phrase "three sheets to the wind" to its logical extreme, the show features comedian Zane Lamprey traveling around the world, meeting people and learning about the popular alcoholic beverages of the region. While it possesses many of the traits of a standard food-based travelogue show (obligatory visits to a production plant; a trip behind the bar; a physical activity segment), Lamprey's wisecracks, devil-may-care attitude and seemingly genuine desire to get as drunk as he can and have as much fun as he can provide the show with its irreverent vibe.

Its broadcast history is... storied. Ran on the little-noticed MOJO HD network starting in 2006 for three seasons until the channel closed. Fine Living Network picked the show up for the fourth season (after Zane's "Save Three Sheets" campaign) and it became one of the network's biggest hits until it shut down to become Cooking Channel in mid-2010. Scripps Networks (which owns FLN/Cooking Channel, Food Network, and the Travel Channel) gave the show a trial run on Travel Channel that... didn't go anywhere. Late in 2010, Lamprey announced that Spike TV had picked up the show. After a year of sporadic airtimes and time slot shifts, Spike stopped airing episodes in September 2011.

Episodes can still be seen on Hulu. Lamprey now hosts Spiritual Successor Drinking Made Easy on HD Net, which sticks to locations in the United States.

This show provides examples of:

Adored by the Network: It got to the point where Fine Living Network was running back-to-back episodes five nights a week. Twice.
Ascended Extra/Ensemble Darkhorse: Steve McKenna, Jim The Cop.
Butt Monkey: Curtiss the cameraman. Jim The Cop in his first appearance.
Channel Hop: From MOJO HD to Fine Living Network to Travel Channel (briefly) then finally to Spike TV.
Drinking Contest: Several.
Drinking Game: In-universe; created in the Costa Rica episode.
Eagleland: Mostly averted. Almost all of the episodes take place in foreign countries.
Everything's Better with Monkeys: Pleepleus.
Title Drop: Zane: "...so join me as I go three sheets to (location)." Sometimes he'd do this in a bar surrounded by other people, who would all chime in.

Episodes of this series provide examples of:

Drinking On Duty: During a private poker game with Zane, his wife and some friends in the Las Vegas episode, poker pro Phil Laak does this to eliminate his "extreme edge". It works. Jim The Cop ends up the big winner.
Hair of the Dog: One episode had Zane visit a beverage stand where he thought he was getting some fruit juice... until the vendor dumped a bunch of vodka into it.
Hideous Hangover Cure: Some of the food Zane eats the morning after...
Invisibility: Done via special effects in Barbados.
Umbrella Drink: Not too many. You can tell when Zane's drinking one because his pinky will be sticking out.

This American Life

American Series

Three's Company