The Bob Newhart Show - General Discussion

[David T. Cole]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

[David T. Cole]

Celery salt on a hot dog? Sure why not.

[Rinaldo]

I think the show was good pretty much throughout its six-season run. I thought it took a while at the start to hit its stride and build up the stock company of Bob's patients (we'll never speak of the regrettable real pilot, which ended up buried partway through Season 1), and in the last year or so they were sometimes reaching for stories, so that it's probably good that they called a halt then. But there were funny episodes throughout the run, and I'm always happy when I get a chance to watch Bob and Emily.

[Lola16]

NY Times has a great article about Bob and the release of the series on DVD:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/arts/television/bob-newhart-master-of-the-one-sided-conversation.html?_r=1

[Lola16]

Chicago dogs are great.  Better than the pizza.

 

Floved the opening to this series.  Always wanted to live in Chicago and have Bob's commute.  I think this series and MTM's probably had the longest openings --- and I watched them every time.

 

One Chicagoan figured out where Bob and Emily's apartment was:

 

http://jbw53191.blogspot.com/2009/03/quest-for-bob-newharts-apartment.html

[Lola16]

"Hi Bob" the drinking game made it into an Arlo and Janis comic strip:

 

http://www.gocomics.com/arloandjanis/2012/03/07#.U4WKBfldVN0

Edited May 28, 2014 by Lola16

[Lola16]

A nod to the theme song.

 

I can't imagine anyone else playing Emily.  Suzanne was the perfect foil for Bob and was able to breathe life into the character of Emily even in the first season when she was fairly one dimensional.

 

Ken Levine wrote a nice post about Suzanne after her passing:

http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2008/01/suzanne-pleshette.html

[Lola16]

One of my favorite episodes was the cruise to Europe.  The lead up to the cruise with Emily cajoling Bob into taking a real vacation was funny.  As was his support group deciding to hold sessions at one of their homes.  But the best part was when they surprised B & E in the cabin that was all about 5 sq feet and no one could find the bed.  Perhaps the funniest thing was cruising to Europe from Lake Michigan.

[Rinaldo]

I remember when the series started, the two of them seemed like an incongruous pairing -- they had had such different sorts of careers till then, a standup and a hot starlet. And they turned out to be a match made in heaven, perfect foils for each other. 

 

That was a lovely tribute from Ken Levine. One movie in which Suzanne got to curse more like her real self was Hot Stuff. It's no masterpiece, but I remember enjoying it when it was on cable all the time. I hope it still turns up occasonally.

[Rinaldo]

Long openings were standard back then, and I'd say there were plenty of longer ones (in fact MTM's was relatively short -- it didn't introduce the cast or anything like that). The Quinn Martin crime-story intros tended to go on, and as we get into the 80s, Bosom Buddies and Hill Street Blues set new records for length. (Or so it seems looking back.)

 

I preferred the new setup for the opening credits for the last three seasons, beginning at home and going to work -- largely because the new arrangement of the theme song was much snazzier and didn't slow down partway through.

[Lola16]

Marcia Wallace was exceptional as Carol Kester, the statuesque redheaded secretary to an office of doctors, dentists and Bob.  Wise cracking, fun loving, ever patient Carol.

 

One of the funnier episodes that centered around Carol was when Jerry (reluctantly) and Bob nominate Carol for Secretary of the Year - an honor that she wins after she resigns to go work for Mr. Carlin.

 

EW had a nice write-up on Carol after she passed last year.

 

http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/10/26/marcia-wallace-actress-from-the-simpsons-and-the-bob-newhart-show-dies-at-70/

[Lola16]

Don't know what Quinn Martin is...  My grandmother loved Columbo and Ellery Queen.

 

More on the Newhart's apartment:

 

http://www.bygonechicago.com/2010/10/20/hi-bob/

 

I went to Chicago as a child, never as an adult.  if I do go back, I am certainly walking by the apartment!

[SnarkySheep]

I'd almost forgotten the Bondurant....likely because that was the most bizarre shotgun wedding ever! Honestly, I had believed til the last moment that something would happen so Carol wouldn't go through with it, but then, alas. Then we never, or almost never, even heard about the husband afterward...

[Lola16]

I'd almost forgotten the Bondurant....likely because that was the most bizarre shotgun wedding ever! Honestly, I had believed til the last moment that something would happen so Carol wouldn't go through with it, but then, alas. Then we never, or almost never, even heard about the husband afterward...

Me either.  It almost looked like she would be stuck at the "altar" or courthouse in this case.

 

Unfortunately, we did.  There was a whole episode about how Larry (I think) would follow Carol around and take her photo.  And then subject everyone else to it.  He even went to work with her to take her photo.   There was another episode of him getting an office on the same floor in her office to run his travel agency.  Those 2 episodes stick out to me as cringe worthy.

[ebk57]

A charming interview with Newhart on Morning Edition this past Tuesday

 

http://www.npr.org/2014/05/27/316269175/bob-newhart-looks-back-on-a-career-of-one-sided-conversations

[SnarkySheep]

Oh, I totally forgot about the creepy photo stalking thing!!

 

See, Carol...this is what happens when you marry a guy you've known for two minutes...

[TudorQueen]

The wedding episode did lead to one of Carol's great deadpan moments.

 

Somehow a large pipe organ has been mistakenly delivered to the doctors' floor, and when Carol gets off the elevator she excitedly tells everyone about her upcoming wedding - they're all skeptical, of course - and invites them to the courthouse, adding, "But if I knew we were going to get an organ, I'd have arranged to have it here."

 

Another Carol moment I adore is in the one where Emily decides to have a 'yard' sale at the apartment. The newspaper ad runs with some misprints - notably, the grandfather clock is listed as a 'ganderfeather clock'. When Carol arrives, with the sale well under way, she looks around and says, "Darn, I missed the ganderfeather clock". Marcia Wallace's delivery was always perfect.

[Lola16]

Bill Daily is best known for playing an astronaut in I Dream Of Jeannie and commercial airline navigator in The Bob Newhart Show.

 

As Howard Borden, he was always interrupting Bob and Emily at meal times, inviting himself to eat and even eating off their plates.  Somehow, rarely did Bob or Emily tell him off. 

 

Behind the scenes, there were reports that Bill messed up his lines a lot due to dyslexia and while the cast & crew liked him, he was very frustrating to work with.

 

Here's a nice article about him:

 

http://data.desmoinesregister.com/famous-iowans/bill-daily

[Rinaldo]

And of course The Mary Tyler Moore Show attempted to give him a backdoor pilot as a well-meaning but inept Minneapolis politician with a loyal ragtag staff. It didn't take, but he got the Bob Newhart role the following fall in any case. (Both shows from MTM Enterprises.)

[Kromm]

Newhart was on (via videotape) the Spike TV Don Rickes "One Night Only" Tribute that aired a few days ago, and was honestly the most brilliant thing on it.  It's a bit that built up, in a way modern comedians just don't have the guts to attempt (basically it starts out sounding like a somewhat generic taped tribute to Rickles then morphs into something else).

 

(sadly I can't find any online clips of this, so you'll have to watch the actual Spike show to see it probably--even Spike's own website didn't excerpt this into it's own clip)

[Lola16]

And of course The Mary Tyler Moore Show attempted to give him a backdoor pilot as a well-meaning but inept Minneapolis politician with a loyal ragtag staff. It didn't take, but he got the Bob Newhart role the following fall in any case. (Both shows from MTM Enterprises.)

Oh, I never knew about that.  I didn't get to see this shows in first run so I probably missed a lot of the chatter etc.

[Lola16]

 

The Bob Newhart Show: Season 6, Episode 8

You're Fired, Mr. Chips (19 Nov. 1977) Bob is looking for an assistant which is more difficult than it seems. Emily has a new burglar alarm system put in the apartment.

Bob interviews a bunch of looneys, I mean psychologists for an assistant position --- harder than when they try to find a temp for Carol.  Bob's college professor applies for the job and takes over.

 

Emily shows off the new alarm system which features recordings of a barking dog and James Cagney as a cop.  There's been a few nods to apartment crimes over the few seasons of this show.  I was looking up the area on Trulia last week and a few blocks north of the Hartley's apartment is rated as very high crime.  Perhaps it was back then too.

[ebk57]

Newhart was on with Craig Ferguson tonight.  Unfortunately, I had fallen asleep and only woke up for the last part of his segment, but what I saw was wonderful.  Definitely going to watch it OnDemand or online tomorrow.  

[Lola16]

Sorry I missed it.  And sorry I am going to miss Bob's only NY appearance as I'll be away.  Per Bob's Facebook page, here are his upcoming shows:

 

• 6/28/14 Atlantic City, NJ Harrah's
• 6/29/14 Englewood, NJ Bergen Performing Arts Center
• 8/16/14 Peekskill, NY Paramount Hudson Valley
• 8/17/14 Lancaster, Pa American Music Theater
• 9/26/14 Modesto, CA Gallo Center for the Arts
• 11/13/14 Great Falls, MT Mansfield Theater
• 11/15/14 BC, Canada River Rock Casino
• 2/20/15 Palm Desert, CA McCallus Theatre for the Performing Arts

[Blergh]

On paper, one  would think that     having the name of Emily and being a schoolteacher would have made Emily a dull, nebbishy helpmate of Bob but Miss Pleshette turned Emily into the coolest of cool characters on that show and even when she showed her flaws [e.g. fear of flying], Emily never lost that coolness. Also, I like that she was a genuine friend to Carol instead of considering her just her husband's employee OR someone to be irrationally jealous of!  Miss Pleshette said she told the writers to write the character 'like a man and I'll turn the lines into a girl' and she did it perfectly! Oh, and unlike The Fonz, Emily never had to snap her fingers and SAY she was cool, she just WAS.

Edited June 15, 2014 by Blergh

[henrysmom]

I got the complete collection of the show not too long ago and have to admit I was disappointed with the last two seasons, especially season six.  The "group" was down to just Mr. Carlin, Mr. Peterson and Mrs. Bakerman.  Does anybody know what happened to Renee Lippin, who played Michelle?  I missed her.  The writers tried to put Howard Hesseman into the group as Mr. Plager but that just didn't work for me.

 

And even worse, Bob Newhart himself was gone from what seemed like an awful lot of episodes.  Again, does anybody know why?

[Rinaldo]

I can answer the second question, at least. There was a question whether there would be a sixth season at all -- ratings were slipping, The Mary Tyler Moore Show (also from MTM Enterprises, of course) ended, and Bob Newhart was inclined to end the series then and move on. CBS (and an outpouring of fan mail in reaction to the possible cancellation) persuaded him to return for a sixth season, but his condition was that his workload be reduced and he be allowed to be "away" in some episodes, seen only on his end of a phone conversation (which could all be filmed together at some convenient time, obviously). So that was how they did it.

[Lola16]

 Emily never had to snap her fingers and SAY she was cool, she just WAS.

I much prefer Emily as a role model over Mary Richards.  Yes, Mary had a more successful (in the beginning) and more glamorous career, but Emily was more confident.  I didn't always like Emily's hairstyle (thank gawd I wasn't around for that era) but I always liked her swagger!

[chrisshelley]

Does anyone remember which show featured a televised exercise leader who demonstrated increasingly difficult maneuvers, finally revealing herself to be an amazing contortionist.  I laughed 'til I cried.

[mbutterfly]

I've been watching the entire series on amazon prime. Does anyone think Emily clothing (given the period) is really cute most of the time, I mean really really cute. 

[BizBuzz]

I've been watching the entire series on amazon prime. Does anyone think Emily clothing (given the period) is really cute most of the time, I mean really really cute. 

 

Hole up, the whole series is on Prime?  I have only been watching on Hulu Plus, and it's only a selection, cool to know!

[mbutterfly]

Hole up, the whole series is on Prime?  I have only been watching on Hulu Plus, and it's only a selection, cool to know!

Sorry. I was wrong. I'm watching it on xfinity. [[[smacking head since I'm watching it right now]]]]  I hope you can get it there. I just found it so I'm thinking maybe it is new there. 

[rubaco]

Just popping in to point out that this show returns to MeTV's schedule as of tonight (Sept. 1). 

[Lola16]

Does anyone remember which show featured a televised exercise leader who demonstrated increasingly difficult maneuvers, finally revealing herself to be an amazing contortionist.  I laughed 'til I cried.

OMG.  No.  But that sounds hysterical.

[BizBuzz]

Remember how Newhart was violently against his character having an on-screen child and said as much when the scriptwriters tried to hand him such a storyline?

 

Actually, no I didn't know that.  Did he have something against children, or did he just want an adult focused show?

[Loandbehold]

 

Remember how Newhart was violently against his character having an on-screen child and said as much when the scriptwriters tried to hand him such a storyline?

 

 

Actually, no I didn't know that.  Did he have something against children, or did he just want an adult focused show?

Here is relatively recent interview Newhart did. http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/04/09/bob-newhart-show-dvd/

 

It was a brief question and answer (there might be another interview where he went into further detail and vitriol):

 

 

EW: Now, Bob and Emily Hartley never had any kids…

BN: I didn’t want to have kids. That isn’t the kind of show I want[ed] to do. I wanted to do an adult show. I don’t want to do Daddy is a Dolt, you know.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Loandbehold

[BizBuzz]

I can totally get that.  This era had a bunch of family/kid shows, so why one more?  He was looking to appeal to a different kind of demographic.

 

That was a nice article, thanks for sharing it.

[Rinaldo]

Good news on the DVD front: Seasons 5 and 6 will be released separately early next year.

[torqy]

Thanksgiving again, and Mrs Torqy and I trotted out the "Over the River" epi once again. I never tire of "more goo to go" and "whatever you do, Emily, don't look in the dishwasher!"

I still find uses for the line: "I knew it was gonna be bad, but I didn't know it would be this bad this early!"

And remember, a butter dish is forever!

Edited December 3, 2014 by torqy

[jjj]

I don't see any thread for the "Newhart" show (Vermont), so I'll mention here that Season 4 is about to be issued on DVDs!  It sure took a while for that show to get to the DVD stage. 

[roseha]

Maybe this is the best place to mention this - apparently the producers of the show got the idea of asking Suzanne Pleshette to play Emily after seeing her chemistry with Newhart when they happened to be guests on the same Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.  Ironically, I don't think that would happen today since it seems every single late night show keeps their guests from sitting down together now.  I don't understand why, it used to create some very funny situations in the old days.

[Kev]

Sounds perfectly plausible to me. 

[Lola16]

I wasn't a fan of the Vermont show.  It's airing now on ANTenna TV if you get that channel.

 

I haven't seen too many of the later years of Bob Newhart so many of the ones that are airing now on ME-TV are new to me (40 years later!).   One that aired last week was when Bob gets a job at a small college in Oregon.  There are the expected scenes of shock, dismay, and whining from the office staff, patients and Howard.  What cracked me up was the landlord/apartment manager who came to inspect the apartment.  Every speck of dust was a tragedy - herd of elephants, circus, etc.  Many laugh out loud moments for me.

 

Bob & Emily's apartment is very different in these episodes - there's a room off to the left of the balcony and the balcony now has some interesting architecture to it.  Plus the whole apartment is very 70s brown and gold in decor.  Did they move in the series to another unit in the same building or are we supposed to believe that this is a remodel that added to the square footage?

[Rinaldo]

Bob gets a job at a small college in Oregon.  There are the expected scenes of shock, dismay, and whining from the office staff, patients and Howard.  What cracked me up was the landlord/apartment manager who came to inspect the apartment.  Every speck of dust was a tragedy - herd of elephants, circus, etc.  Many laugh out loud moments for me.

That would be the series finale, following in the then-new Mary Tyler Moore tradition of bringing a series to a specific and (hopefully) satisfying conclusion. The landlord, by the way, was played by Bobby Ramsen, the series' most frequent "stock player" -- he appeared six times (essentially once per season), each time in a different role. That's another reminder that current ideas of continuity or consistency don't apply in that pre-VCR, pre-cable era.

Bob & Emily's apartment is very different in these episodes - there's a room off to the left of the balcony and the balcony now has some interesting architecture to it.  Plus the whole apartment is very 70s brown and gold in decor.  Did they move in the series to another unit in the same building or are we supposed to believe that this is a remodel that added to the square footage?

 

I would say "Neither." :) We're just supposed to not notice or mind much. With a summer off from seeing the show (back in the 1970s), our memory of the floor plan is deemed to be loose enough to accommodate some new touches, and think no more than "Oh, Emily redecorated," if that. Same point as in my previous paragraph.

[Lola16]

That would be the series finale, following in the then-new Mary Tyler Moore tradition of bringing a series to a specific and (hopefully) satisfying conclusion. The landlord, by the way, was played by Bobby Ramsen, the series' most frequent "stock player" -- he appeared six times (essentially once per season), each time in a different role. That's another reminder that current ideas of continuity or consistency don't apply in that pre-VCR, pre-cable era.

I would say "Neither." :) We're just supposed to not notice or mind much. With a summer off from seeing the show (back in the 1970s), our memory of the floor plan is deemed to be loose enough to accommodate some new touches, and think no more than "Oh, Emily redecorated," if that. Same point as in my previous paragraph.

Thanks Rinaldo!

 

I think reusing actors in different roles was more prevalent back then.  Saw a lot of that on Barney Miller.

 

One of my favorite episodes was when Emily redecorated.  Ganderfeather clock!

[Lola16]

That would be the series finale, following in the then-new Mary Tyler Moore tradition of bringing a series to a specific and (hopefully) satisfying conclusion. The landlord, by the way, was played by Bobby Ramsen, the series' most frequent "stock player" -- he appeared six times (essentially once per season), each time in a different role. That's another reminder that current ideas of continuity or consistency don't apply in that pre-VCR, pre-cable era.

I would say "Neither." :) We're just supposed to not notice or mind much. With a summer off from seeing the show (back in the 1970s), our memory of the floor plan is deemed to be loose enough to accommodate some new touches, and think no more than "Oh, Emily redecorated," if that. Same point as in my previous paragraph.

Just saw an episode where Emily tells Howard that the apartment next to them is occupied by an old lady, Miss Dubois who is mentally stuck in the 1920s.  And Howard says that's why he couldn't move upstairs to be across the hall from them anymore.  Emily says then you'd be over more than once per day.   Bob is shown at the airport on a pay phone.  Their apartment # is 3208 or something like that. 

 

The Bob Newhart Show: Season 6, Episode 10 A Girl in Her Twenties (3 Dec. 1977)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0528323/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_15

[Rinaldo]

Thanks, Lola16! Boy, I had forgotten that whole exchange -- it's been a long time since I've seen the last two seasons. It sure makes mincemeat of what I said there, doesn't it?

 

In between these two paragraphs I took myself off to Amazon and ordered the last two seasons on DVD (both being released next week), to remedy my ignorance.

[Lola16]

It's funny because I don't remember the last 2 seasons at all. Grandma must have had the set tuned into another program.

[Lola16]

Cool interview with Bob in 2012 where he discusses how the series evolved, not wanting children for Bob & Emily on the show, and the finale:

 

http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/the_bob_newhart_show_memorial_day_weekend_marathon_the_show_holds_up_says_star-2012-05

[Lola16]

Emily had some of the best lines:

 

BOB: Your mother wore black to our wedding.
EMILY: That wasn't black, Bob, that was dark gray. Only her armband was black, Bob.
BOB: It rained on our wedding day. Your mother called it an omen.

 

EMILY: Whoever thought that two ugly ducklings would turn into a swan---and a flabby psychologist.

 

EMILY: Look, Bob---your barbells. You haven't lifted these in a long time.
BOB: Yeah . . . well, you know, it, uh, it got to the point where it was too easy.
EMILY: Yeah, I remember the day Jerry and Howard helped you carry them down here . . .