Bob

Bob McKay (Bob Newhart) is a long-suffering greetings card artist in Chicago. He complains about the health food from his wife (Carlene Watkins). His adult daughter Trisha (Cynthia Stevenson) is painfully single. When his old comic book character gets revived, he has a second chance to pursue his dream.

The show struggled to gain traction during its full run of the first season. Newhart is doing fine and Stevenson is great. Watkins is too young to be Trisha's mom. The two actresses are only ten years apart and it's noticeable. The office doesn't have the goods. Cygan is rather generic as the overbearing boss. Chad has a little fun with Trisha. The funniest moments come from a pre-Friends Lisa Kudrow. She and Albie are a good pairing. It's tough when a guest star with three episodes at the end of the season is the funniest aspect of a show. They needed Kudrow right from the start.

The first season went poorly. The second season got a complete retooling. Bob is a sitcom legend and I can see the network saying let's give him more help. The family stays the same. The home is changed. I think the cat is different. Bob goes back to the greetings card company after Mad-Dog gets shut down. He is given the job of the new president on the first episode. The new cast includes Jere Burns and Betty White. Eight episodes were made and only five were aired. While the change is not illogical story-wise, it basically dumps the first year and the main aspect of the show. I must think that the few fans left over from the first season would feel untethered by the show. They are adrift at sea when Mad-Dog is such a big part of the show. Bob could have drawn Mad-Dog from his home and keep a few characters from the first season. They could have done Caroline in the City with Chad and Albie. This retooling is too big and too abrupt.

Bob was the new vehicle for CBS during its 1992-1993 season. It was a critic's favorite, and it's 1st season alone landed Bob Newhart on the front cover of TV guide twice-a rare accomplishment! Often on many of the critics 10 best list for the 1992-1993 television season, `BOB' was an under appreciated, gem. Unfortunately, CBS decided to re-tool the show (changing it's format), dumping 90% of the cast, putting it back on Fridays (the show received a major ratings boost when it appeared on Monday's midway through it's first season) and adding Betty White for it's second season. But to no avail, the show was quickly cancelled.

In my opinion, its first season was one of the sharpest sitcom's I have ever seen: Quick, Odd, Quirky, Funny, and touching. I would have to disagree with the previous `critique' above/below, the chemistry on this show was great and the timing was wonderful. May this series finally get some credit? Way above it's time, and sharper and more sophisticated than Seinfeld was at the time.the best show on all four networks of the 1992-1993 season.

Bob Newhart's third sitcom was mostly a crashing non-success,which is a shame since,besides Mr.Newhart,the show had a very good ensemble cast that included veteran actors like Ruth Kobart and Carlene WAtkins mixed in with solid younger talent like Cynthia Stevenson,Andrew Bilgore and John Cygan. This was the first season. Then CBS decided to re-up this show(rather tenuously it appeared)for a second year,they blew-up that cast,inserted pros Betty White,Tom Poston and Jere Burns,that and a schedule move(from the no-man's land that was Friday nights to Monday nights)and hoped it would inflate the less-than-scintillating returns.It didn't,and the show was quietly pushed off the air after the half-way point of the 1993-94 season.

I personally felt like this show,while hardly up there with the first two Newhart entries,was still very watchable,quite funny and seemed to have plenty of potential to get better and/or get a better following. But who knows? Maybe audiences were expecting too much of either Dr.Bob HArtley or Dick Loudon. Or maybe the loyal t.v. audiences didn't like what they saw in grouchy cartoonist Bob McKay. Or maybe the audiences were not warming to Newhart's dry,button-down style of comedy. Whatever,I thought this show deserved a better treatment,given the pedigree of the eponymous star.

I cannot call the series "Bob" one of the greatest ever, only because the fools at CBS didn't realize what a gem they had, changing almost everything after the first season, then cancelling it halfway through the second season.

For the first year, Bob was hilarious, with the same formula practiced on "The Bob Newhart Show" and on "Newhart", and, in my opinion, better success than on "Newhart." The actress (Cynthia Stephenson) who played his daughter added a delightful presence to the series. I'll never forget her line after her mother had committed a major blunder destroying a valuable item of Bob's. Speaking to the family cat, she lamented, "It's too bad that Mom can't live with us anymore." I consider "Newhart" to have been a fine show, and "Bob Newhart" one of the ten greatest comedies of all time. "Bob" had a first season that would have let it join those ranks, had it only lasted long enough.

The first season of "Newhart" sucked eggs. The only really funny episodes were a couple with Larry, Darryl and Darryl and one with a visit by Stephanie. Fortunately, CBS showed its faith in Bob Newhart and gave his 1980s show a slightly retooled 2nd season, with more visits from Larry and the Darryls and making Stephanie a regular. The third season moved the brothers three next door and added Peter Scolari, and "Newhart" proved a classic.

"Bob," Bob Newhart's 1990s show, had a solid premise: milquetoast greeting-card artist has an early comic book of his revived, but rather than a cuddly, old school superhero comic book it's dark and edgy. Bob is surrounded by strange comic book people including an A-personality partner. He also has a home life (harkening back to the double setting of "The Bob Newhart Show.") Only, this time he has a daughter (one of the biggest laughs I ever got from a TV show between the end of "Newhart" and the start of "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" was an episode where his daughter got a hot date . . . By phone. It might not be an odd occurrence today, but back then it was downrighr bizarre).

The daughter is played byCynthia Syevenson, a real, deadpan plus to the show. She's great.

Again, CBS showed their faith in cash cow Bob Newhart and they let the show run a full season. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, "Bob" never got traction.

"Bob" was retooled for a second season, and, unlike "Newhart," which started out limping and got better and better for nine seasons, "Bob" in its second season got worse. Rather than tweaking the show until it was as fine-tuned as a racing engine, the entire office side of the show was thrown out and changed. When the revamped "Bob" didn't catch fire, it went where the bad shows go.

I liked "Bob" and, seeing what happened with "Newhart," I was willing to give it time to find its sea legs. But I'm not a network exec.

For a different sort of Newhart vibe, the first season of "Bob" is worth a peek, if you can find it.