The Bob Newhart Show

"The Bob Newhart Show" is possibly the most brilliant of the "adult sitcoms" of the early 1970's. Along with "The Odd Couple" and "Mary Tyler Moore", this show exhibits a subtle, mature humor that has all but disappeared from television today. Great actors make this show with a simple "situation" -- adults working, talking, eating, and going to bed -- hilarious and reflective. Bob Newhart's unique comedic style finds a perfect outlet in "The Bob Newhart Show." For the uninitiated, it might be compared to "Seinfeld" in that it is a "show about nothing" that derives humor from the interactions between people and not "jokes."

I loved this show as a kid (I was 10 in 1975)... it was a show that actually made sense to me (yeah, yeah, I watched all the other 70's shows too...). It was adult without being sexy (I hated that in TV shows... nothing's grosser than Marion & Howard getting "frisky")-- the characters were wry, the situations were plausibly ridiculous (?!?!?), and the writing was intelligent. I knew, even then, that there was a difference between intelligent humor and (gawd help us) pratfall humor (think: Jack Ritter), and what I preferred. I also dug that I "got" it, and that Bob was a nebbishy kind of guy, who stumbled along through life, really making it on his wits (certainly wasn't his good looks). Gave a geeky girl a certain hope for her future.

I spent WAY too many hours glued to the TV as a youngster during the 1970s. Many of the shows I thought were absolutely perfect in 1972 or 1975, I have trouble sitting through for 10 minutes today. Some, however, have stood the test of time.

I would have to say that The Bob Newhart Show, more than any other show, has grown in my estimation as I have matured. I enjoyed it as a kid, but love it all the much more now.

Mr. Newhart, simply put, was and is a comedic genius. One blank look from him can surpass a 15-minute monologue by many comedians, for laugh production. In the right setting, with the right handling, Bob Newhart was one of the funniest ever. Fortunately for us, that perfect setting came together in the 1972-78 Bob Newhart Show. This show had impeccable writing by Charlotte Brown, Dick Clair and others, great directing by Peter Baldwin and many others, as well as wonderful acting.

One might have doubted that the struggles of a psychologist and his patients would make good fodder for comedy. Wrong! Who can forget the obnoxious Elliot Carlton (Jack Riley), the sharp knitting needles of Mrs. Bakerman (Florida Friebus, a.k.a., Dobie Gillis' mom), and wimpy Mr. Peterson (John Fielding, also in `12 Angry Men')? Who can forget the elevator and its frequent involvement in scenes, or Bernie Tupperman (Larry Gelman), the pudgy urinologist, or the periodic visits from `The Peeper' (Tom Poston)? And these, of course, were NOT part of the main supporting cast.

Suzanne Pleshette was perfect as Bob's lovely and usually supportive wife, Emily. Marcia Wallace became a household name as Carol, the perky secretary. Peter Borenz and Bill Daily, meanwhile, were absolutely delightful as Bob's two best friends, dentist Jerry Robinson and navigator Howard Borden. Daily, who was also great in `I Dream of Jeannie,' provided one of the most hilarious characters in sit-com history, as the clueless neighbor, Howard.

The cast of The Bob Newhart Show was so good and so deep that I have to make one confession. While I love Bob Newhart himself, I believe my favorite episode was one in which he had only a cameo appearance, phoning home from a convention somewhere. Carol, Jerry and Howard became convinced that an old flame visiting Emily while Bob was gone, spelled trouble. They spied on the two in a restaurant and the scene was possibly the most hilarious in the show's run, as Jerry wore a ridiculous fake glasses/nose combo and Howard could never seem to recognize him.

The Bob Newhart Show was a high-water mark for intelligent, sophisticated humor - although occasional forays into slapstick gave it an even more satisfying balance. Overall, I would call it one of the top three or four comedies ever made.

For the six years that "The Bob Newhart Show" originally ran on CBS-TV from September of 1972 to April of 1978,the series never received the attention and acclaim it so clearly deserved(not one Emmy nomination from either Bob Newhart or the rest of the cast which includes Suzanne Pleshette, Marcia Wallace,Peter Bonerz,Bill Daily,and to even mention the recognition from some of the great writing and direction that this show truly deserved)after an astounding 142 episodes. After the sixth and final season,Bob Newhart decided to call it quits.

He told TV Guide that the show was "still doing well enough.But I got very disturbed about the trends in TV....the kiddie audience seemed to be taking over the tube....I felt my type of low-key comedy-aimed an intelligent adults-was finished. So I just told MTM and CBS I wasn't coming back for the seventh season. We were not canceled. I left on my own."

However,the show wasn't canceled by the network. Amazingly,the series was still in the top ten of the Nielsen ratings and was in the top five spot along with some tough competition of its day including some of the greatest shows of the decade(and this was toward the end of the 1970's) were still going strong including "M*A*S*H","One Day At A Time","Alice", "All In The Family","The Jeffersons","Three's Company","Happy Days",and not to mention "The Carol Burnett Show" which was also still in the top ten as well during its final season. When "The Bob Newhart Show" stopped production in April of 1978,the series and its wonderful cast of characters did not disappear from television. Instead they've taken on a second life,replete with character development and some very funny classic moments. In case some may not remember this series,about the misadventures of a Chicago psychiarist(Dr. Robert Hartley,played by Bob Newhart) who lives in a upscale Lakeshore apartment complex with his lovely wife Emily(played by Suzanne Pleshette)and their next door neighbor Howard Borden(played by Bill Daily)and a host of misunderstood characters that Bob deals with within the office complex where he works and at home. The laughs may have been okay in parts,but still it is a television classic.

ABOUT THE CAST:LIFE AFTER THE BOB NEWHART SHOW In the fall of 1982,Bob Newhart's second-longest running sitcom called "Newhart" was also a top ten hit with CBS-TV for the eight seasons that it was on the air(1982-1990).The new sitcom was set at the Stratford Inn in rural Vermont. He played innkeeper Dick Louden,who was also a how-to author and a talk show host where he kept humble residence with his beloved wife Joanna(played by Mary Frann),his handyman George Utley(Tom Poston)and a host of misunderstood characters and some of them were stranger than life. Who remembers the three woodsman,Larry,Darryl and Darryl? The series final episode in May of 1990 is vintage classic TV where most of the original cast of "The Bob Newhart Show" from the 1970's reappears in segments which included his other TV wife(Suzanne Pleshette). However,Bob Newhart made one more successful series as well which included the short-lived series intitled "Bob",which was also on CBS-TV(1993-1994)and it starred Betty White and Tom Poston. As for the the others including Marcia Wallace,Bill Daily,Peter Bonerz,and Suzanne Pleshette? They're still around especially with Peter Bonerz and Suzanne Pleshette who are now working behind the camera and are producing and directing several feature films made for television and also in theatrical films as well. Marcia Wallace made several appearances in TV shows including "Taxi","Murphy Brown","Will and Grace",and others. while fellow BNS actor Bill Daily is doing the club circuit these days and is frequently on the talk show range with Jay Leno,Conan O'Brien and David Letterman and is set to star in the theatrical version of the 1960's Barbara Eden TV classic "I Dream Of Jeannie".

Bob Newhart and MTM put together a winning formula when they debuted the Bob Newhart Show in the Fall of 72. This was Deadpan comedy on the part of Newhart at it's best. Psychologist, Dr. Bob Hartley, deals with the day to day problems of his zany and quite real patient's. Jack Riley's, Elliot Carlin being one of the most notable of the group, with his bizarre problems and abrasive attitude towards other group members, especially the wishy-washy Mr. Peterson.

Bob's life outside his group was a bit less zany but just as interesting and funny. His relationship between his wife Emily, played by the sultry Susan Pleshette, was a very real relationship. Newhart and Pleshette complimented each other quite well.

I think everyone loved his wise cracking secretary, Carol, and the bumbling antics of his neighbor, Howard Borden.