The Bob Newhart Show: Group Therapy

Another great set from Shout
 Factory (not a paid endorsement)

The Bob Newhart Show: Group Therapy
Direct to DVD?
Early 2014? (recorded in December '13)
Documentary
DVD
B

Although some of the material isn't exactly fresh, it's still good to see the old friends gather together to pay tribute to a series they are justly proud of, and to remember their late comrades Suzanne Pleshette and Marcia Wallace.  There's obviously a certain poignancy built in, especially since Jack Riley looks so frail in his wheelchair, although still able to get laughs with just a few words.  Bob does most of the talking but the others chime in, as when Bill Daily says he had no funny lines on I Dream of Jeannie but the writing on BNS was so sharp everything afterwards paled in comparison.

Riley hung on till 2016, and the other four are still with us.

The Bob Newhart Show 19th Anniversary

The Bob Newhart Show 19th Anniversary
CBS
November 23, 1991
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Mark Egan and Mark Solomon, who co-wrote the final Newhart episode, are joined by Michael Mahler, who would write some other reunion shows.  This is better than that episode, although it lacks a strong finish.  (Bob sees Larry and his brothers Darryl [William Sanderson, Tony Papenfuss, and John Voldstad] as elevator repairmen.)  I wish some of the original writers had signed on, or maybe that the cast had written their own dialogue, since they seem eager to go back to their old characters, and the DVD commentaries on the episodes are much funnier than this.  Or maybe it's that Dick Martin directed and he belonged to the weaker later seasons of the original series.  Or maybe it's that this is just a clip show, and there's only so much you can do with that.  I wish there were more clever moments, like where Howard flashes back to I Dream of Jeannie, maybe with Bob wondering why his old college buddy the Peeper (Tom Poston) had showed up in his dream as his handyman in Vermont.  Still, it is nice to see everyone reunited and this is on a par with the final episode of BNS.

Fiedler and Libertini only appear in the flashbacks.  Note that Newhart explains in his introduction to the episode why it's the 19th rather than the 20th anniversary, which becomes a running joke throughout the hour, never mind that this contradicts information throughout the original run, like how long Bob was in practice before we met him.

Diff'rent Strokes: The Girls [sic] School

Diff'rent Strokes: The  Girls [sic] School 
NBC
May 4, 1979
Sitcom
C+

This episode written by Leeds & Starr with Dick Clair & Jenna McMahon (who had done an early Bob Newhart Show episode) is more interesting than entertaining.  It is of course the pilot for the spin-off Facts of Life.  The main flaw here is that there are just too many characters, including girls who wouldn't make it to the Fall.  And, although I certainly watched FoL, it, like DS, isn't a series I feel much nostalgia over.  (And so I won't be tagging the  cast, although Julie Piekarski, AKA Sue Ann, at least would guest on Three's Company, while Kim "Tootie" Fields would appear on Mork & Mindy.)

Peter Hobbs, who has two M*A*S*H credits, has his first of two DS roles here, as Mr. Robinson.  This time Jack Riley plays the headmaster, Mr. Crocker.

Diff'rent Strokes in its first season ranges from  a C+ to a B, with the exception of the premature flashback episode, and the overall average is a high  C+.  It's a pleasant show and I kept  watching it to the end, as I did FoL, through my adolescence, but you can see why I haven't  followed up on it as an adult.  It doesn't have the campiness of The Brady Bunch or the solid cast of the first season  or two of Welcome Back, Kotter, and Gary Coleman just  isn't enough .

Diff'rent Strokes: The New Landlord

Diff'rent Strokes: The New Landlord
NBC
February 16, 1979
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Jack Riley returns, this time as the title character, who, like Mr. Carlin, is a heartless landlord.  This, the first of two DS stories by Norman Liebmann. is another episode where the kids team up, this time trying to pass off Arnold on stilts as 15-year-old "Arthur" so they won't be evicted.  Note that by this point, Kimberly is 14 and Willis 13.

Diff'rent Strokes: Retrospective

Diff'rent Strokes: Retrospective
NBC
December 29, 1978
Sitcom
DVD
C-

A one-hour retrospective?  I can see that after seven seasons, but after seven episodes?  And we get flashbacks to more than one scene of each of those seven episodes, with the family, together for 56 days and about to celebrate Christmas, reminiscing in the frame sequences written by Gilligan's Island veteran Budd Grossman and Brady Bunch vets Howard Leeds (writer of one episode but producer of all) and Ben Starr (three Brady scripts).  Riley and Travolta are re-tagged since their cameos are long enough.

Diff'rent Strokes: Goodbye Dolly

Diff'rent Strokes: Goodbye Dolly
NBC
December 8, 1978
Sitcom
DVD
C+

This was written by another Brady Bunch veteran.  (I'm assuming the thinking of the DS producers was that both shows were about kids in blended families.)  It's the first of ten scripts by Albert E. Lewin, who'd done three for the Bunch.  And it's about as corny as the rest of the episodes so far.  Which is a shame, because while it's nice to see Jack Riley in his first of four appearances on the show, here as '40sish detective Miles Monroe, it makes me sad that he's not getting better material to work with in his early post-Bob-Newhart days.  Note that Arnold's doll, one, is actually a stuffed animal, not a doll; and two, looks like a Paddington bear rip-off.

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: Carol Ankles for Indie-Prod

The Bob Newhart Show: Carol Ankles for Indie-Prod
CBS
March 4, 1978
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Lloyd Garver's script has some funny moments, mostly from Bob, and I do like that this time when Carol quits, it's for good.  However, I don't think it lives up to its potential in either the scene showing Carol working for Carlin, or in the Howard getting his driver's license subplot.

Angry Man 1 Joe George would have three roles on Three's Company.  The title has a Variety touch to it, making it sound like Carol is a gofer on an independent film.

The Bob Newhart Show: Easy for You to Say

The Bob Newhart Show: Easy for You to Say
CBS
February 11, 1978
Sitcom
DVD
C+

This is the weakest of the three BNS stories by Andrew Smith (who did "Carlin's New Suit" and "Group on a Hot Tin Roof").  Part of the problem is that I don't find stuttering funny, and Bob is counseling a stutterer, Paul Billingham (Jerry Fogel, who previously played Paul Hollander).  The rest is that I just don't find it plausible that he would be able to not only get a radio show but spin it off onto television, without someone (a producer or whoever) finding out about his stuttering and either putting a halt to the project or getting him more help than Bob seems capable of.  Still, the ink-blots scene is cute and we later get to see Jerry dressed as a dog and Bob as a scarecrow.

The Bob Newhart Show: Emily Carlin, Emily Carlin

The Bob Newhart Show: Emily Carlin, Emily Carlin
CBS
February 4, 1978
Sitcom
DVD
B

Laura Levine seems to have become the main "Emily" writer in the last days of the series.  This story, as you might guess from the title, has Emily pretending to be Mr. Carlin's wife, at his 20-year high school reunion.  It's good to see Emily try to be sympathetic but self-respecting despite how irritating Elliot is, and her speech about "her husband" is well done.  Meanwhile, Howard has another funny (for him) new hobby: cooking.  And Bob is again on tour promoting his book.  Bonerz directed.

The Bob Newhart Show: Group on a Hot Tin Roof

The Bob Newhart Show: Group on a Hot Tin Roof
CBS
January 28, 1978
Sitcom
DVD
B

Andrew Smith seems to have been one of the better Season Six writers.  (He also did "Carlin's New Suit.")  In this one, Mr. Plager, on the advice of the group, decides to write a play.  He sets it in World War I but the characters suspiciously resemble Bakerman, Carlin, and Peterson.  Their leader, Major Hartman, is handsome and heroic, so Bob doesn't mind, but the others are upset.  We get to see some of the play, as well as the party afterwards.  It's fun to watch everyone bounce off each other.  And the subplot has Emily practicing Chemistry experiments at home, including a self-tossing salad.  I'd go with a B+ but there are some relatively slow moments in the first half.

Amzie Strickland, who did a lot of television going back to the '50s, including two appearances on That Girl, had previously played Mrs. Walhauser and is the Bakerman character here.  Lou Cutell least resembles his inspiration (Peterson) and had previously played a Delivery Man.

The Bob Newhart Show: 'Twas the Pie Before Christmas

The Bob Newhart Show: 'Twas the Pie Before Christmas
CBS
December 24, 1977
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Phil Davis's last BNS story doesn't mesh with previous Christmas episodes, such as the first-season one where the Hartleys threw a party for Bob's patients.  Also, I caught an error, where a man can be seen lurking in the hallway when he shouldn't be, and it doesn't really make sense for Mr. Peterson to answer the door when he's trying to avoid being seen.  Still, the episode has its moments and it's amiable enough.

The Bob Newhart Show: You're Fired, Mr. Chips

A fellow who looks like Ralph Bellamy

The Bob Newhart Show: You're Fired, Mr. Chips
CBS
November 19, 1977
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Ralph Bellamy guest stars as Bob's former professor and new assistant, Alan Dreeben, in this Lloyd Garver story.  We learn that Mrs. Bakerman's late husband was named Burl.  And we see the Hartleys' new bedroom, which looks nothing like their previous one, suggesting that, if we accept the closing moments of Newhart, then Bob dreamed this sixth season as well.  Bonerz directed this episode.

The Bob Newhart Show: My Son the Comedian

The Bob Newhart Show: My Son the Comedian
CBS
November 12, 1977
Sitcom
DVD
B-

David Lloyd's last BNS story has no longer so little Howie (Moosie Drier in his last appearance on the show), now about twelve, wanting to become a stand-up comic.  He attends a summer school (yes, this is not set in November) for comedians, run by Mickey Melnick (Bobby Ramsen again), and then is invited to perform in little Nevada towns.  Howard has to voice his disapproval before it's too late, although of course it's Uncle Bob who has the real impact.  The ending, with Bob onstage pretending to be a comic, is of course ironic, especially since it's not at all his button-down persona.

One of the other comics is Don Rickles wannabe Minnie Farber, played by 65-year-old Elizabeth Kerr, who the following year would gain fame as Mindy's wisecracking grandmother on Mork & Mindy.

The Bob Newhart Show: A Day in the Life

My favorite running joke in the episode

The Bob Newhart Show: A Day in the Life
CBS
October 29, 1977
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This is the only BNS episode Madeline Di Maggio and Kathy Donnell wrote, though they would do a Three's Company the next year.  The Peeper (whom we don't actually see or hear) calls up Bob and wants to meet up in New Orleans for a week.  So Bob has to scramble to reschedule everything.  There's a nice little twist in the end with Emily on the phone.

Richard Stahl plays Bob's drunk barber Mel.  The Kenneally family play the Swerdlows.  Jerry is absent again.

The Bob Newhart Show: Carlin's New Suit

Anderson and Marcus reunited,
but this time he's Mr. Carlson's son.

The Bob Newhart Show: Carlin's New Suit
CBS
October 22, 1977
Sitcom
DVD
B

This, the first of three BNS scripts by Andrew Smith, is better than any lately.  The main plot is that Leslie Greely (32-year-old Loni Anderson, still almost a year away from hitting it big on WKRP) brings a paternity suit against Mr. Carlin.  Although he's of course attracted to her, the real appeal for him is playing dad to her son (but not his) Billy (9-year-old Sparky Marcus, playing younger than his age, as he did as Ape Face in Freaky Friday the previous year).  Not only does he teach the boy about real estate, but he takes him to see Star Wars, and they wear matching outfits.  Meanwhile, Howard brings Bob a beeper back from Japan.  A funny, kind of sweet episode, not a classic for the series, but I suspect one of the best entries of this last season.

Pat Cranshaw, who previously played the Old Gentleman on Carol's wedding day, here is the Bum with a beeper.

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: Shrinking Violence

The Bob Newhart Show: Shrinking Violence
CBS
March 12, 1977
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Sy Rosen wrote this story where not only Bob's patients but Bob himself confuse expressing anger with being hostile and even violent.  Robert Ridgely had previously played an Elevator Repair Man and here is Marvin the Mechanic.  Bonerz directed.

The Bob Newhart Show: Desperate Sessions

The Bob Newhart Show: Desperate Sessions
CBS
February 26, 1977
Sitcom
DVD
B-

A pre-CHiPs Robert Pine is on the other side of the law in this story by Michael Zinberg and Michael Davidson, as a bank robber who holds Bob hostage.  Mr. Carlin's resentment of having to share his session is the best part, although Walker Edmiston, who was a Krofft regular, is pretty good as Sgt. Webber, who's been watching too much Dragnet.  Note that the robbery is very specifically set on Tuesday, April 5, 1977, since the date is displayed in the bank.  That was indeed a Tuesday, but this also means that this episode is set before the previous one and may explain why Bob has forgotten both buying Emily an anniversary gift and filing his taxes.

The Bob Newhart Show: Of Mice and Men

Bob Newhart as a mouse (with Dean
Martin, Nipsey Russell, and Petula Clark) 

The Bob Newhart Show: Of Mice and Men
CBS
January 22, 1977
Sitcom
DVD
C+

This is the third and last BNS script written by Bruce Kane, and considering he gave us the "Moo Goo Goo" episode, it should be much better than it is.  Even when Howard thinks that the role-playing game is like charades-- with Mr. Peterson as himself, Mr. Carlin as Mrs. Peterson, Mr. Herd as Mrs. Peterson's mother, and Emily as Barbara Walters-- it's just not that funny or insightful.  I couldn't help thinking that if this were a second or third season episode, it would've been a B or even B+.

Waitress Flo (not to be confused with the one on Alice) played Mrs. McCarty on That Girl, and was in fact married to Lew Parker, as well as Jim Backus. Bonerz directed.