The Bob Newhart Show: Happy Trails to You

The Bob Newhart Show: Happy Trails to You
CBS
April 1, 1978
Sitcom
DVD
C+

The Charles brothers wrote this unimpressive finale with Lloyd Garver.  Bob and Emily picking up and moving to Oregon feels abrupt and a bit forced, so I'm glad that it would be retconned into part of Bob's dream.  And the episode itself doesn't really have any great moments, although Carlin in a dress is memorable.  I might've gone with a B-, if not for Bobby Ramsen's performance as the landlord Mr. Gerber.  The studio audience is delighted with him, but I find his intonation completely off, like a hostile auctioneer.

Bill Quinn makes his fourth and obviously last appearance on the show, this time as Dr. James Wyler, Bob's replacement for his group.  Both Bonerz and Zinberg directed.

The season ranges from C+ to B, with over half (twelve) of the episodes receiving a B-.  That's perfectly respectable of course, but there's no question that the show had peaked two or three years earlier.  I think this was a good moment to end it.  I just wish they'd given it a better send-off.  And, yes, it's ironic that Newhart would have a very memorable ending.

The Bob Newhart Show: Who Was That Masked Man?

The Bob Newhart Show: Who Was That Masked Man?
CBS
October 15, 1977
Sitcom
DVD
C+

The Charles brothers wrote this episode which tries to mine humor from Mr. Peterson defying his abusive wife Doris (Toni Lamond, who would be a Patient on Three's Company), on Mr. Carlin's advice.  This would've been a C or lower, but I like the costumes Emily, Bob, and Howard wear (Florence Nightingale, Zorro, and Lincoln respectively), as well as the decorations at Mr. Carlin's, like the white cacti and the photographic mural of Mr. Carlin.  Jerry is again absent.

The Bob Newhart Show: Bob's Change of Life

The Bob Newhart Show: Bob's Change of Life
CBS
September 24, 1977
Sitcom
DVD
B-

The Charles brothers wrote this episode where Bob is experiencing changes (no, not menopause).  He and Emily move to a different apartment in their building, and he finishes the manuscript of his book.  Both of these will continue through the season.  However, Carol's pregnancy, unlike Julie Kotter's, has vanished.  (I'm guessing a false positive rather than a miscarriage.)

Charles Thomas Murphy, who plays George Simmons, previously was a Messenger.  Martha Scott makes her last appearance as Bob's mother.  Bonerz directed this.

M*A*S*H: The Late Captain Pierce

M*A*S*H: The Late Captain Pierce
CBS
October 3, 1975
Dramedy
DVD
B+

The Charles brothers, years before Cheers, co-wrote this episode, which was directed by Alda.   It manages to blend the absurdity of Hawkeye being declared dead, as he's informed by Lt. "Digger" Detweiler (Richard Masur, who was then Ann Romano's younger boyfriend on One Day at a Time), with the genuine pain of him not being able to get word to his grieving father.  (No mention is made here, as on other episodes, of his mother or sister.)  It's clear that Hawkeye is himself still mourning the different losses of Henry and Trapper.  And I like BJ in this episode, where his understated style is used to better effect than before, his concern for Hawkeye and for the patients very clear.

Eldon Quick is renamed Capt. Pratt rather than Sloan this once, but is as bureaucratic as ever.  Odessa Cleveland (the last appearance of Lt. Ginger Bayliss, whose role has definitely dwindled since the first season), Jeff Maxwell (Straminsky), and Kellye Nakahara (Yamato) return.  Both Burghoff and Swit are absent, but only he with explanation.