The Bob Newhart Show – The Complete First Season
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: B
Bob Newhart was already a name in comedy for quite a
while, including a series of hit comedy albums under his belt from the early
1960s. He achieved comedy immortality
when The Bob Newhart Show debuted on CBS in 1972. Another classic from Mary Tyler Moore’s
production company, this was an exceptionally smart sitcom with a height of wit
never seen like this on TV before. Fox
has issued The Complete First Season on three double-sided DVDs.
Before we continue, my big complaint about this set is not
the total lack of extras, even commentary tracks, but that the theme song has
been cut down on all the opening credits.
Though not as butchered as Shout! Factory’s atrocious set of Too
Close For Comfort, which had syndicated shows missing far too much from
each show. These shows here are
complete outside of the opening. With
the change of theme to the more upbeat, bonkers instrumental, vintage fans
deserved to be warned in advance.
The classic cast headed by Suzanne Pleshette, Peter
Bonerz, Bob Daily, Marcia Wallace, Patricia Smith and others was an amazing
match, very rare at any time in TV. The
show was created by David Davis and Lorenzo Music, which became an instant
classic. They were part of the
extremely talented in-house group at MTM that few TV companies ever equaled,
never surpassed. It was the last great
golden age of American Television and endures incredibly well nearly 35 years
later. The episodes are as follows:
1) Fly The Unfriendly Skies – Penny Marshall plays
a stewardess in a show where Bob books his psychiatric patients as a bond to
save money, but his wife has a fear of flying that complicates things further.
2) Tracy Grammar School, I’ll Lick You Yet - Can Bob explain his psychiatric profession
without major trouble, in front of Emily’s school children on career day? Larry Gelman guest stars.
3) Tennis, Emily? – Emily’s tennis instructor
(Peter Brown) has a problem with women; he cannot stop them from coming on to
him.
4) Mom, I Love You – Can Bob deal with the fact he has never told his
mother (Martha Scott) he loves her, so Emily intervenes with unexpected
results.
5) Goodnight Nancy – Bob’s old girlfriend Nancy (Penny Fuller) reenters
Bob’s life and it does not take a PhD to know Emily does not like it. James B. Sikking also stars.
6) Come Live With Me – The great John Fiedler makes his first appearance
as Mr. Peterson in a show where Bob messes up Carol’s love life.
7) Father Knows Worst – Howard’s son Howie (Moosie Drier) comes to
lunch, and when things do not go well, unliked father syndrome kicks in.
8) Don't Go To Bed Mad – Can Bob stop watching the new institution known
as Monday Night Football? Emily hopes
so.
9) P-I-L-O-T – Will The Hartley’s adopt a baby? M. Emmet Walsh and Louise Lasser guest star.
10) Anything Happen While I Was Gone – Elaine Giftos plays a new dental
assistant who has men opening their mouths without being asked to say
“ahhhhhh”. Now Jerry wants to marry
her.
11) I Want To Be Alone – Bernie Kopell is a buddy of Bob’s who turns up
when The Hartleys seem to have split up.
12) Bob and Emily and Howard and Carol and Jerry – Howard is high on
medical drugs, which gets Carol to find him suddenly attractive. Pat Morita shows up as a bartender.
13) I Owe It All To You... But Not That Much – Bob takes on Peter as a
patient to see why he cannot commit.
14) His Busiest Season – Can Bob cure the holiday blues with group
therapy? Maybe not!
15) Let's Get Away From It Almost – Allen Garfield, Chuck McCann and
Joyce Van Patten show up when The Hartleys vacation turns into a kind of
tourist trap at a ski lodge.
16) The Crash Of 29 Years Old – Carol is so depressed about her life at
29 that she quits as Bob’s secretary, only to return to the office… as a patient.
17) The Man With The Golden Wrist – Larry Gelman is back, along with
Michael Lerner, when a pricey gold watch Emily buys Bob for his birthday seems
rejected. Things then get worse.
18) The Two Loves Of Dr. Hartley – A female patient (Emmaline Henry)
gets too interested in Bob, which rubs Emily the wrong way.
19) Not With My Sister You Don't – Heather Menzies is Bob’s younger
sister who Emily tries to fix up with another man. Too bad it’s Jerry. Mel
Stewart also stars.
20) A Home Is Not Necessarily A House – Will The Hartleys buy a house?
21) Emily, I'm Home... Emily – Can Bob survive Emily’s new full-time job
with The Board Of Education. Bored
might sum it up.
22) You Can Will `Em All – Will Bob become the therapist for the entire
Chicago Cubs? An unexpected TV
testimonial might be the path.
23) Bum Voyage – Can Bob enjoy two months in Europe without thinking his
patients with implode emotionally? Noam
Pitlik, Pat McCormick and John Fiedler guest star.
24) Who's Been Sleeping on My Couch? – Jerry breaks up with his
girlfriend. Invited at The Hartleys, he
gets too comfortable and will not go away.
In some ways, the situation comedy has never been as smart
since, especially on U.S. TV, but some people will never get this show. These are constantly funny and witty, with
exceptional comic timing and remarkable teleplays. Newhart and Pleshette are one of TVs all-time great couples and
have actually resurfaced as their characters on other shows decades later. This is where all the fun began.
The 1.33 X 1 image is about right for its age, with some
Video Black limits and slightly aged look on some prints. Cinematographer Pat Uhl gave the show a
unique look based on a brown palette.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is also adequate, though might sound a tad
small. The music was by Pat Williams,
with the original title song by Lorenzo and Henriette Music. There are no extras, but this is just too
terrific a set to pass up, despite what was done to the theme song.
By the way, if you have not heard, there is a Bob Drinking
Game. Yes, inspired by the fact that
the word “Bob” is said more often in any one show than any other. Though we do not encourage alcoholism, it
does show who was the center of the series.
I just hope Fox comes up with extras next time and we hear the whole
opening theme song henceforth. The
Bob Newhart Show - The Complete First Season is key TV on DVD no collection
can do without.
- Nicholas Sheffo
