Newhart 

The misadventures of an author turned innkeeper in rural Vermont and his friends.

Creators:

Barry Kemp, Sheldon Bull

Stars:

Bob Newhart, Mary Frann, Tom Poston

Nominated for 6 Golden Globes. Another 6 wins & 37 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Bob Newhart	...	Dick Loudon / ... 184 episodes, 1982-1990
Mary Frann	...	Joanna Loudon 184 episodes, 1982-1990
Tom Poston	...	George Utley 184 episodes, 1982-1990
Julia Duffy	...	Stephanie Vanderkellen 163 episodes, 1983-1990
Peter Scolari	...	Michael Harris 142 episodes, 1984-1990
William Sanderson	...	Larry 91 episodes, 1982-1990
Tony Papenfuss	...	First Darryl / ... 91 episodes, 1982-1990
John Voldstad	...	Second Darryl / ... 91 episodes, 1982-1990

Storyline

Dick Loudon (Bob Newhart) and his wife Joanna (Mary Frann) decide to leave life in New York City and buy a little inn in Vermont. Dick is a how-to book writer, who eventually becomes a local television celebrity as host of "Vermont Today". George Utley (Tom Poston) is the handyman at the inn, and Leslie Vanderkellen (Jennifer Holmes) is the maid, with ambitions of being an Olympic Ski champion; she is later replaced by her cousin Stephanie (Julia Duffy), an heiress who hates her job. Her boyfriend is Dick's yuppie television producer, Michael Harris (Peter Scolari). There are many other quirky characters in this fictional little town, including Dick's neighbors Larry (William Sanderson), Darryl (Tony Papenfuss), and Darryl (John Voldstad)...three brothers who buy the Minuteman Café from Kirk Devane (Steven Kampmann). Besides sharing a name, Darryl and Darryl never speak, until the final episode.

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Plot Keywords:

vermont | 1980s | sitcom | hotel | 1990s | 

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Taglines:

Bob's Inn Trouble! Running a 200-year old inn is Bob's way of getting back to nature. But it's really nature's way of getting back at him. Looks like Bob's open for laughs year round. Starring Bob Newhart. Also starring Mary Frann and Tom Poston. (season 1)

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-G

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the end of each episode, the voice of the kitten meowing in the "MTM" logo is that of (Bob Newhart.

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Goofs

Joanna and Stephanie always appear in full makeup, even in bed.

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Quotes

Arthur Vanderkellen: I can't help it, I like that boy.

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Crazy Credits

After the credits The MTM kitten lip-syncs Bob Newhart's understated "Meow".

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Alternate Versions

In episode #6, "No Tigers at the Circus," Dick is seen watching a TV show, and only the theme song is heard. In the original run, it was the theme from "Mister Ed" (1961), but in reruns it was changed to the theme from "Bob Newhart Show, The" (1972).

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: David Steinberg/Jann Karam/Don Yesso (1987)

User Reviews

Hilarious

That's how I describe "Newhart" in one word. I've always enjoyed Bob Newhart's dry humor and wit.

I liked almost all of the characters on the show. The only one I wished stayed for the entire run was Kirk Devane (Steven Kampmann). He was hilarious the way he lies and the one episode that sticks out with me was when he produced and stared in his own commercial with Dick's wife Joanna for his diner. He does the commercial like the old Ronco ads from the 70s ("How much would you pay for this hamburger? Well don't answer yet...."). Then he says Joanna paid this outrageous price and the look on her face was priceless.

The other episode that sticks out with me was when Dick goes to a Boston Celtics game and has courtside seats. He apparently gets kicked out of the seat I believe because it was someone else's seats and he had to stand outside in the aisle area. Then I believe it was Larry Bird goes hobbling out of the game to the Celtic's team clubhouse, which became the perfect set up for the parody of the "Mean" Joe Greene Coke commercial from 1980. That was a classic.

The final episode was the best and ultimate way to end the show. One of the biggest "curve balls" was thrown. This was one ending you could never see coming.

A bit of trivia: Larry and the 2 Darryls were originally planned by the writers to appear in about 2-4 episodes and were to be written off shortly thereafter. Since "Newhart" was taped in front of a studio audience, the audience would cheer, applaud and holler when the trio walked in the door, then the introduction would follow: "Hi, I'm Larry, this is my brother Darryl and this is my other brother Darryl". That would then follow with more cheers and applause or laughs. It was said, that the studio audience kept the trio from being written off the show.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Newhart

Filming Locations:

Middlebury, Vermont, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

MTM Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (184 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1