"The Bob Newhart Show" (1972) TV series 1972-1978

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Creators:

David Davis
Lorenzo Music

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Release Date:

16 September 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

The professional and personal misadventures of a psychologist and his family, patients, friends and colleagues.

Plot Keywords:

Psychologist | Dentist | Secretary | Neighbor | Sitcom

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Bob Newhart	...	Dr. Robert 'Bob' Hartley (142 episodes, 1972-1978)
Peter Bonerz	...	Dr. Jerry Robinson (142 episodes, 1972-1978)
Suzanne Pleshette	...	Emily Hartley (141 episodes, 1972-1978)
Bill Daily	...	Howard Borden (139 episodes, 1972-1978)
Marcia Wallace	...	Carol Kester / ... (139 episodes, 1972-1978)
Jack Riley	...	Elliot Carlin (76 episodes, 1972-1978)

Runtime:

30 min | USA:30 min (142 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

430 N. Michigan Avenue, Near North Side, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

MTM Enterprises

Trivia:

When Bob Newhart read the premise for the proposed series, he insisted on two changes. First, he insisted that his character be changed from a psychiatrist to a psychologist so he wouldn't make fun of the seriously mentally ill, and he insisted that his character have no children as to avoid the standard scenario of a goofy father.

Quotes:

Howard Borden: I was, uh, just decorating my Christmas tree and I was wondering, is there a trick to stringing cranberry sauce?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Biography: Mary Tyler Moore: All American-Girl (1995)" (????)

Always In Our Hartleys

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".