TV Time Capsule

Dr. Hartley’s Busiest Season on ‘The Bob Newhart Show’

“Holidays With the Hartleys” continues.

On December 23, 1972, CBS aired “His Busiest Season,” an episode of “The Bob Newhart Show” that finds everyone feeling blue at Christmastime.

While Chicago psychologist Dr. Bob Hartley (Newhart) struggles to treat his sad-sack patients, his wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette) makes her shopping list.

EMILY: What do you think I should buy your Uncle Harry and Aunt May? I can’t think of a thing.

BOB: What did we send them last year?

EMILY: A basket of fruit.

BOB: They should have eaten it by now.

To cheer his patients – and himself and Emily – Bob throws an impromptu Christmas Eve party. He tries to lead everyone in a round of carols, but each song brings back a bad memory for a member of the group.

Suddenly, things begin looking up.

“I just feel great because we’re all having such a rotten time together,” Emily declares as the room erupts in laughter.

See for yourself: “His Busiest Season” is part of “The Bob Newhart Show: The Complete First Season” DVD set and can also be rented and purchased at iTunes and Amazon.com and streamed at Hulu.

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Saturday, December 23, 1972:

8: “Alias Smith and Jones”* (ABC), “All in the Family”* (CBS), “Ernie Ford’s White Christmas” (NBC)

8:30: “Bridget Loves Bernie” (CBS)

9: “Streets of San Francisco” (ABC), “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (CBS), “Climb an Angry Mountain” (NBC)

9:30: “The Bob Newhart Show” (CBS)

10: “The Sixth Sense” (ABC), “The Carol Burnett Show” (CBS)

 

The Record

For the week of December 17, 1972:

Top novel: “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach

Top song: “Me and Mrs. Jones” by Billy Paul

Top movie: “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean”

In the news: U.N. Ambassador George Bush quit

 

 

Captions: “Bob Newhart Show” stars Bob Newhart and Suzanne Pleshette in scenes from “His Busiest Season.”

‘The Bob Newhart Show’s’ Endless Holiday Office Party

“Holidays With the Hartleys” continues.

On December 22, 1973, CBS aired “I’m Dreaming of a Slight Christmas,” a “Bob Newhart Show” episode that finds Chicago psychologist Bob Hartley (Newhart) dreading his office holiday party.

The shindigs always follow a pattern, as Bob explains:

Around 2 o’clock it usually starts and then Carol says what a great guy I am. And then about 2:05, somebody spikes the watercooler. About 2:30, Carol tells me off. And then sometime between 3 and 4, somebody asks for some free psychological advice. And then around 4 o’clock, all the ear, nose and throat men on the sixth floor come down and challenge us to an ice hockey game on the roof. And then at 5 o’clock, Tupperman starts reciting the Hippocratic oath while Jerry hums “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth.”

This year, Bob plans to leave the party early to spend Christmas Eve with wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette). Too bad a blizzard strands him at the office!

See for yourself: “I’m Dreaming of a Slight Christmas” is part of “The Bob Newhart Show: The Complete Second Season” DVD set and can also be rented and purchased at iTunes and Amazon.com and streamed at Hulu.

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Saturday, December 22, 1973:

8: “Partridge Family” (ABC), “All in the Family” (CBS), “Emergency!” (NBC)

8:30: “Snatched” (ABC), “M*A*S*H” (CBS)

9: “Mary Tyler Moore Show” (CBS), “Fitzwilly” (NBC)

9:30: “Bob Newhart Show” (CBS)

10: “Griff” (ABC), “Carol Burnett Show” (CBS)

 

The Record

For the week of December 16, 1973:

Top novel: “Burr” by Gore Vidal

Top song: “The Most Beautiful Girl” by Charlie Rich

Top movie: “Amacord”

Top TV show: “All in the Family” (CBS)

In the news: First-class stamp prices increased from 8 cents to a dime

 

 

Captions: Dr. Bob Hartley, patient Mr. Peterson and receptionist Carol Keester – played by John Fiedler and Marcia Wallace, respectively – learn a blizzard has shut down Chicago during Bob’s holiday office party (top); Emily isn’t thrilled with the tiny tree Bob has brought home for their scaled-down Christmas (middle); Bob braves the blizzard to spend Christmas Eve with Emily, but he’s too tired to celebrate, so they snuggle on the sofa (bottom).

A Crowded Christmas Eve on ‘The Bob Newhart Show’

“Holidays With the Hartleys” continues.

On December 21, 1974, CBS aired “Home is Where the Hurt is,” another “Bob Newhart Show” episode where everyone spends Christmas Eve together.

Chicago psychologist Bob Hartley and wife Emily (Newhart, Suzanne Pleshette) – decked out in their very finest – are headed to the symphony when neighbor Howard Borden (Bill Dailey) shows up and asks to borrow some tinsel for his aluminum tree.

After Howard finally scoots out the door, Bob’s receptionist Carol Keester (Marcia Wallace) arrives and embarks on a long-winded monologue about her unhappy childhood.

Later, Howard returns to borrow more decorations.

“I thought you guys were going to the symphony,” he says.

“We thought we’d give them another year to practice,” Bob responds.

Carol finally musters the courage to confront her father and leaves. Bob awakens his dozing wife by sliding next to her on the sofa.

“It was kind of a nice Christmas Eve,” Bob says as he and Emily snuggle.

“And I think it’s going to turn out to be a lovely Christmas morning, too,” she coos.

See for yourself: “Home is Where the Heart is” is part of “The Bob Newhart Show: The Complete Third Season” DVD set and can also be rented and purchased at iTunes and Amazon.com and streamed at Hulu.

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Saturday, December 21, 1974:

8: “A Dream for Christmas”* (ABC), “All in the Family” (CBS), “Emergency!” (NBC)

9: “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (CBS), “Geronimo”* (NBC)

9:30: “The Bob Newhart Show” (CBS)

10: “The Carol Burnett Show” (CBS), “Nakia” (ABC)

 

The Record

For the week of December 15, 1974:

Top novel: “Centennial” by James Michener

Top song: “Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas

Top movie: “The Man With the Golden Gun”

In the news: Stimulate the economy, experts urged

 

 

Captions: In “Home is Where the Hurt is,” Dr. Bob Hartley (Bob Newhart) dozes off while receptionist Carol Keester drones on (top); neighbor Howard Borden, played by Bill Daily, drops by to borrow decorations and Emily and Carol – played by Suzanne Pleshette and Marcia Wallace – chat (middle); and Bob and Emily finally have some alone time (bottom).

Hi Again! ‘The Bob Newhart Show,’ 19 Years Later

On November 23, 1991, CBS aired “The Bob Newhart Show 19th Anniversary Special,” a one-hour retrospective of the 1972-78 sitcom.

The broadcast featured the show’s cast members returning – in character – to help Chicago psychologist Dr. Bob Hartley (Newhart) analyze a lengthy dream in which he was a Vermont innkeeper named “Dick Loudon.”

“Bob Newhart Show” clips were interspersed throughout the special, which ended when Bob spotted three elevator repairmen who resembled Larry (William Sanderson) and his brothers Darryl (Tony Papenfuss, John Voldstad) – the odd backwoodsmen who constantly befuddled poor Dick Loudon.

(TVSeriesFinale.com has a fuller synopsis.)

The Los Angeles Times’ Howard Rosenberg called the special a reminder of “just how funny, fresh and contemporary [‘The Bob Newhart Show’] remains.”

Too bad the “19th Anniversary Special” was a ratings bomb.

The broadcast drew viewers in just 6.7 million homes, finishing fourth in its time slot and ranking 79th out of 90 programs in the weekly ratings.

See for yourself: “The Bob Newhart 19th Anniversary Special” isn’t online or on video, but the first four seasons of “The Bob Newhart Show” and the first season of “Newhart” are on DVD.

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Saturday, November 23, 1991:

8: “Who’s the Boss?” (ABC), “The Bob Newhart Show 19th Anniversary Special” (CBS), “Cops” (Fox), “The Golden Girls” (NBC)

8:30: “Growing Pains” (ABC), “Walter and Emily” (NBC)

9: “Funny Farm” (ABC), “A Party for Richard Pryor” (CBS), “Charlie Hoover” (Fox), “Empty Nest” (NBC)

9:30: “Get a Life” (Fox), “Nurses” (NBC)

10: “Sisters” (NBC)

 

The Record

For the week of November 17, 1991:

Top novel: “Scarlett” by Alexandra Ripley

Top song: “Cream” by Prince and the New Power Generation

Top movie: “Cape Fear”

Top TV show: “60 Minutes” (CBS)

In the news: Massachusetts allowed bettors to play the lottery by telephone.

 

 

Captions: “The Bob Newhart Show 19th Anniversary Special” reunited cast members, from left, Bill Daily, Suzanne Pleshette, Jack Riley, Newhart, Marcia Wallace and Peter Bonerz (top, photograph from TVSeriesFinale.com); CBS’s advertisement for the special, from TV Guide’s November 23, 1991, issue (bottom).

Betty White, Carol Burnett and the Saga of Ellen and Eunice

“Betty, White Hot!,” a series of periodic flashbacks to key moments in Betty White’s amazing television career, continues.

On November 22, 1975, Betty White made her first guest appearance on CBS’s “The Carol Burnett Show,” creating the memorable role of snobby Ellen Jackson.

Ellen was featured in the show’s recurring “The Family” sketches, which starred Burnett as Eunice Higgins, an emotional and frustrated homemaker in the south; Harvey Korman as her husband Ed, a dimwitted slob who worked in a hardware store; and Vicki Lawrence as Thelma “Mama” Harper, Eunice’s mother, an ornery and bitter widow who always picked fights with her daughter and son-in-law.

“The Family” sketch that aired 35 years ago tonight introduced Ellen, Mama’s oldest daughter, who had married into money and seemed rather embarrassed by her uncouth family.

“Mean as she was, Ellen was the apple of Mama’s eye and took credit for whatever poor Eunice had knocked herself out to do,” White recalled in her 1995 memoir, “Here We Go Again: My Life in Television.”

In the sketch, Eunice throws a birthday party for Mama and presents her with a fly swatter. Of course, Ellen upstages Eunice when she gives Mama a fur shawl.

“I’m so glad one of my girls married someone with some get-up-and-go,” Mama says as she strokes the fur.

White made at least one more appearance as Ellen before “The Carol Burnett Show” ended its 11-season run in 1978, then reprised the role in NBC’s “Eunice,” a 1982 special that found the squabbling Harpers reuniting for Mama’s funeral.

“It doesn’t sound like too many laughs, but the writers had put a marvelous spin on the subject,” White wrote in her book.

“Eunice” was a ratings hit, inspiring NBC to resurrect Mama for “Mama’s Family,” a weekly sitcom starring Lawrence.

White appeared occasionally on the show, including one episode that found Ellen scheming to regain her social status after her wealthy husband dumped her.

NBC cancelled “Mama’s Family” in 1985, but the show returned the following year with new episodes that were syndicated to local stations.

White returned for one of these installments: a storyline in which vain Ellen gets a fanny lift.

See for yourself: “The Carol Burnett Show” isn’t online or available widely on video – neither is “Eunice” – but “Mama’s Family: The Complete First Season” is on DVD. The next “Betty, White Hot!” installment will be posted December 1.

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Saturday, November 22, 1975:

8: “Saturday Nigth Live with Howard Cosell” (ABC), “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”* (CBS), “Emergency!” (NBC)

8:30: “The Jeffersons” (CBS)

9: “S.W.A.T.” (ABC), “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (CBS), “Doctor Zhivago, Part 1” (NBC)

9:30: “The Bob Newhart Show” (CBS)

10: “Matt Helm” (ABC), “The Carol Burnett Show” (CBS)

 

The Record

For the week of November 16, 1975:

Top novel: “Ragtime” by E.L. Doctorow

Top song: “Island Girl” by Elton John

Top movie: “Rooster Cogburn”

Top TV show: “Sanford and Son” (NBC)

In the news: Vice President Rockefeller warned activists

 

 

Captions: “The Family,” a series of recurring sketches on CBS’s “The Carol Burnett Show,” featured Betty White and Burnett as sisters Ellen and Eunice, seen her in a 1976 episode.

A Celebrity Olympics: ABC’s ‘Battle of the Network Stars’

On November 13, 1976, ABC launched “Battle of the Network Stars,” a series of specials featuring teams of actors from ABC, CBS and NBC shows competing in swimming, kayaking and other sports, as well as games of tug-of-war and Simon Says.

Howard Cosell hosted most “Battles,” which ABC aired about twice a year through the mid-1980s.

Joyce Millman remembered the specials in a 2003 New York Times column:

Everybody who was anybody in prime time suited up for “Battle of the Network Stars” – it was like Emmy night with taunting and a dunk tank. Which led to memorable incidents, like Robert Conrad, the competition-crazed captain of the NBC team, crowing over a foot race and making the ABC captain, Gabe (“Welcome Back, Kotter”) Kaplan, so mad that he dug down deep and blew Mr. Conrad off the track.

“Battle of the Network Stars” was a celebrity peep show, with egos as exposed as a Charlie’s Angel in a wet T-shirt (of which it offered many glimpses). It was utter trash, and it was delicious.

See for yourself: “Battle of the Network Stars” isn’t online or on video; visit TVShowsonDVD.com and petition its release!

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Saturday, November 13, 1976:

8: “Holmes & Yoyo” (ABC), “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (CBS), “Emergency!” (NBC)

8:30: “What’s Happening!!” (ABC), “The Bob Newhart Show” (CBS)

9: “Battle of the Network Stars” (ABC), “All in the Family” (CBS), “Macon County Line” (NBC)

9:30: “Alice” (CBS)

10: “The Carol Burnett Show” (CBS)

 

The Record

For the week of November 7, 1976:

Top novel: “Sleeping Murder” by Agatha Christie

Top song: “Rock’n Me” by Steve Miller Band

Top movie: “Carrie”

Top TV show: “Gone With the Wind, Part 2” (NBC)

In the news: The movie industry sued to stop selling VCRs

 

 

Captions: Howard Cosell speaks to Gabe Kaplan on the first “Battle of the Network Stars” special (top, photograph by ABC Photo Archives courtesy Getty Images); ABC’s advertisement for the special, from TV Guide’s November 13, 1976, issue (bottom).

‘The Godfather’ – Bigger, Longer, Uncut

On November 12, 1977, NBC launched “Mario Puzo’s The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television,” a four-night, seven-hour miniseries that combined the first two “Godfather” films into one epic.

“The Godfather,” which was released in 1972, chronicled the final days of aging don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando); 1974’s “The Godfather, Part II” followed the reign of his son and successor Michael (Al Pacino), interspersed with flashbacks to the rise of young Vito (Robert De Niro).

“The Complete Novel” told the story in chronological order, beginning with the flashbacks.

NBC reportedly paid between $12 million and $15 million for the miniseries, which was edited by Barry Malkin, who collaborated with director Francis Ford Coppola on the original films.

Malkin included scenes cut from the theatrical versions, as well as a new introduction by Coppola’s sister Talia Shire, who played Vito’s daughter Connie.

The Washington Post’s Tom Shales called the miniseries “the most satisfying and significant television event since ‘Roots’” – but “The Complete Novel” averaged just 41 percent of the available audience – 19 points lower than NBC expected.

See for yourself: “The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television” isn’t available on DVD.

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Saturday, November 12, 1977:

8: “Tabitha” (ABC), “The Bob Newhart Show” (CBS) “The Bionic Woman” (NBC)

8:30: “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”* (ABC), “We’ve Got Each Other” (CBS)

9: “The Jeffersons” (CBS), “Mario Puzo’s The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television” (NBC)

9:30: “The Tony Randall Show” (CBS)

10: “The Carol Burnett Show” (CBS)

* Repeat

 

The Record

For the week of November 6, 1977:

Top novel: “The Silmarillion” by J.R.R. Tolkien

Top song: “You Light Up My Life” by Debby Boone

At the movies: “Pete’s Dragon”

Top TV show: “Laverne & Shirley” (ABC) 

In the news: Congress relaxed environmental regulations

 

 

 

 

 

Captions: “Mario Puzo’s The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television” stars, from top, Al Pacino, Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro on TV Guide’s November 12, 1977, cover (top, illustration by Charles Santore); NBC’s advertisements for the miniseries, also from that issue.

When Betty White Met ‘Bob’

“Betty, White Hot!” a series of periodic flashbacks to key moments in Betty White’s amazing television career, continues.

On October 22, 1993, CBS tried to save Bob Newhart’s struggling sitcom “Bob” by adding Betty White to the cast – a move the network ultimately bungled.

When “Bob” began in September 1992, Newhart’s character – greeting-card artist Bob McKay – quit his job to return to his first love: drawing the comic book superhero Mad Dog.

At work, Bob was surrounded by the usual eccentrics; his home life included sensible wife Kaye (Carlene Watkins) and flaky daughter Trisha (Cynthia Stevenson).

Viewers didn’t warm to the show the way they had with Newhart’s previous CBS sitcoms – “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Newhart” – but the network renewed “Bob” anyway, announcing plans to add White to the cast.

The second season premiere introduced her character: Sly Sylvia Schmitt, the wife of Bob’s old boss, who had run off with another woman. Bob accepted Sylvia’s offer to assume the presidency of Schmitt Greetings – much to the chagrin of her son Pete (Jere Burns), an obnoxious salesman who thought he deserved the job.

CBS planned to air “Bob” on Friday nights at 9:30 – but days before the season premiere, the network decided to move the show a half-hour earlier.

In her 1995 memoir “Here We Go Again: My Life in Television,” White called it “the most baffling network move of all time. … It was not only too late to correct the listing in TV Guide, but every major newspaper across the country had us scheduled for 9:30!”

The result: Betty’s “Bob” debut was seen in just 6.9 million homes; the episode ranked 74th out of 86 prime-time broadcasts, finishing behind a “Perry Mason” rerun on NBC and “Step By Step” on ABC.

“Bob” limped along for a few more weeks and was then put on hiatus.

In her book, White blasted CBS for treating Newhart so shabbily:

[T]hey didn’t even give him a clean cancellation. They took him off the air and left him dangling with a lot of vague talk about possibly coming back later in the season. Shame on them. They could have handled Bob Newhart better than that. He had earned it.

Bam!

Don’t mess with Betty White.

The next “Betty, White Hot!” installment will be posted November 18.

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Friday, October 22, 1993:

8: “Family Matters” (ABC), “Rescue 911” (CBS), “Adventures of Brisco County Jr.” (Fox), “The Defense Rests: A Tribute to Raymond Burr” (NBC)

8:30: “Boy Meets World” (ABC)

9: “Step By Step” (ABC), “Bob” (CBS), “The X-Files” (Fox), “Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk-Show Host”* (NBC)

9:30: “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper” (ABC), “Good Advice” (CBS)

10: “20/20” (ABC), “Picket Fences” (CBS)

* Repeat

 

The Record

For the week of October 17, 1993:

Top novel: “The Bridges of Madison County” by Robert James Waller

Top song: “Dreamlover” by Mariah Carey

Top movie: “Demolition Man”

Top TV show: “Roseanne” (ABC)

In the news: President Clinton was criticized for acting human

 

Caption: CBS’s advertisement for “Bob,” from TV Guide’s October 16, 1993, issue.

Sue Ann Nivens, Happy Homewrecker

“Betty, White Hot!” a series of periodic flashbacks to key moments in Betty White’s amazing television career, continues.

On September 15, 1973, CBS aired “The Lars Affair,” the classic “Mary Tyler Moore Show” episode that introduced Betty White as TV hostess Sue Ann Nivens, whose dimpled smile masked a deliciously bitchy personality.

The episode, which served as the sitcom’s fourth season premiere, finds snobbish Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman) devastated to learn henpecked husband Lars is having an affair with Sue Ann, the star of “The Happy Homemaker” on WJM, the Minneapolis TV station where Phyllis’s friend Mary Richards (Moore) works.

Phyllis confronts Sue Ann on “The Happy Homemaker” set, where she slams the oven door, deliberately destroying a chocolate soufflé Sue Ann is baking. (“My poor baby!” Sue Ann wails.)

Before Sue Ann, White was known for playing sweet-as-spun-sugar characters such as newlywed Vicki Angel, her role on the 1950s sitcom “Date With the Angels.”

In White’s expert hands, Sue Ann became a precursor to Martha Stewart: a perfectionist with a helpful hint for every occasion.

In “The Lars Affair,” as Mary’s neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper) helps tidy up after a dinner party, Sue Ann admonishes the “dear” for throwing out the coffee grounds (“They’re the perfect plant food for Mary’s geraniums!”). In “Happy Birthday, Lou!,” a December 22, 1973, episode,  Sue Ann objects to the chafing dish Mary plans to use at another party (“What do we plan to do about the tarnish?”).

Sue Ann’s favorite sparring partner was WJM newsroom writer Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod): He zinged her for being promiscuous, she zapped him for being bald.

From “Not With My Wife, I Don’t,” a January 3, 1976, broadcast:

SUE ANN: Mary, I just dropped by, dear, to tell you to be sure to stop in my studio this week. I’m devoting all my shows to you poor unfortunate single girls.

MARY: Sue Ann, in case you’ve forgotten, you are single also.

SUE ANN: Oh yes, but that’s only because I don’t happen to place my love life above my profession.

 

MURRAY: I thought that was your profession.

SUE ANN: Oh Murray, witty Murray. Jokes fall from your lips – almost as fast as hair falls from your head.

The show’s writers occasionally explored Sue Ann’s vulnerable side. In “The Happy Homemaker Takes Lou Home” – a December 6, 1975, installment – Sue Ann finds herself spurned by her favorite target, gruff Lou Grant (Ed Asner), who gently tells her she’s “too good” to keep throwing herself at him.

“Isn’t life funny?” Sue Ann says. “I’ve been accepted by lots of men and felt rotten. You’ve just rejected me and I feel like a million dollars. Thanks, Lou.”

Sue Ann was conceived as a one-time character, but White proved so popular that producers made her a semi-regular. She appeared in 33 episodes after “The Lars Affair,” twice winning Emmys for her performance.

In White’s 1995 memoir “Here We Go Again: My Life in Television,” she credited Moore, her longtime friend, with Sue Ann’s success:

No matter how funny the part is, if a guest character is someone the lead character doesn’t like, the audience can often get protective and not respond well to the newcomer. It might work in drama, but that syndrome can do you in when you’re going for comedy. It was thanks to Mary’s choice as an actress that Sue Ann worked. Rather than disliking her, Mary Richards found Sue Ann Nivens laughable, so the audience could relax and laugh with her.

“The Lars Affair” can be rented for 99 cents or purchased for $1.99 at iTunes and downloaded for 99 cents from Amazon.com. The episode is also part of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show: The Complete Fourth Season” DVD set. The next “Betty, White Hot!” installment will be posted tomorrow.

 

Also on TV

On September 15, 1973, CBS also aired the season premieres of “All in the Family,” “M*A*S*H,” “The Bob Newhart Show” and “The Carol Burnett Show” (guest: Jim Nabors, natch); ABC broadcast the season premiere of “The Partridge Family” and showed “Irma La Douce,” a 1963 flick starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine; and NBC carried “America Goes Public,” a Democratic Party telethon.

 

The Record

During the week of September 9, 1973, the number ones included Mary Stewart’s “The Hollow Hills” (book) and Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” (song). “American Graffiti” was new at the movies, and in Washington, President Nixon and special prosecutor Archibald Cox were at an impasse in their dispute over the Watergate tapes.

 

  

Captions: Mary Tyler Moore and Betty White in a 1976 photograph by Ken Whitmore (top, courtesy IMDB.com, via MPTV); CBS’s advertisement for “The Lars Affair” from TV Guide’s September 15, 1973, issue (bottom).

Monday, May 21, 1990

Bobby Ewing’s return to “Dallas” and the series finales of “St. Elsewhere” and “Newhart” all turned on the same plot twist – it was all a dream! – yet only the latter is considered a classic.

Why?

For one thing, the “Newhart” revelation – which aired on this night in 1990 – linked that show to “The Bob Newhart Show,” making it a series finale and a reunion, all at once.

(Quick aside: The “Newhart” finale raises an interesting question. When Bob Hartley wakes up next to wife Emily in 1990 and reveals his dream about running a Vermont inn, the couple seems to be using the same bed linens they did when “The Bob Newhart Show” ended in 1978. Or maybe Bob and Emily simply have a thing for grid patterns?)

I think the real reason the “Newhart” finale is held in such high regard is because the dream revelation reflects the show’s kooky tenor.

“Newhart” was a precursor to absurdist sitcoms like “Seinfeld” and “30 Rock.” Consider how Bob explains his dream to Emily (transcribed with Newhart’s trademark stammering style):

I was an innkeeper in this crazy little town in Vermont. … Nothing, nothing made sense in this place. I mean – the, the maid was an heiress. Her husband talked in alliteration. The, the handyman kept missing the, the point of things. And then there were these three woodsmen – but only, only one of them talked.

Of course, “Newhart” was a dream. How could any of this possibly be real – even by sitcom standards?

Contrast “Newhart” with the shows it satirizes.

“Dallas,” while never terribly serious, wasn’t known for flights of fancy – one reason  why its dream revelation came off like a cop out.

“St. Elsewhere” did exhibit a sense of whimsy, but its 1988 series finale – in which the show was revealed to be the dream of an autistic child – seemed too weird.

There’s another reason the “Newhart” finale didn’t leave fans feeling cheated.

Bob Hartley’s last line to Emily on this night in 1990 – “You know, you uh, you really should wear more sweaters” – was a nice tribute to dream wife Joanna Loudoun, played by the late Mary Frann.

Maybe the lovely Joanna existed only in Bob’s dream, but the good doctor – like “Newhart” fans – won’t soon forget her.

 

Elsewhere on Television

TV Guide listings for May 21, 1990:

SYNDICATED ARSENIO HALL; 60 min.

Scheduled: Dolly Parton.

11:30 NBC TONIGHT; 60 min.

Scheduled: Dudley Moore, singer Etta James and the Roots Band, comedian Jack Mayber. Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon. (Repeat)

12:30 NBC LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN; 60 min.

From 1989: Director Rob Reiner. (Repeat)

 

For the Record

Also on May 21, 1990:

Madonna’s “Vogue” vamps to the top of the music chart. Stephen King’s “The Stand” stands atop the best sellers’ list. “Bird on a Wire” soars at the box office. And almost a decade after President Reagan promised to return power to the states, state officials say they have more expensive responsibilities and less federal money.