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Best show ever!

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THE PLOTLINE OF THE JAPANESE GUYS BUYING THE INN. BUT IT SET UP THE SECOND GREATEST ENDING FOR ANY SHOW EVER SO IT JUMPED BACK. REMEMBER THE WHOLE SERIES WAS A DREAM AND HE WOKE UP IN BED WITH EMILY. FOOTNOTE. BEST ENDING GOES TO SAINT ELSEWHERE.
which newhart show was this one?
Best final episode ever
An example of shows that unjumped the shark is Newhart. The first season on video tape looked wrong and wasn't really funny. When they switched to film and switched the cast adding Julia Duffy and Peter Scolari things started clicking.
It did not "jump the shark." Newhart remained consistently good, a high-quality comedy with intelligent writing and a great cast, especially, of course, Bob Newhart himself.We need more shows like Newhart, shows that are funny, decent, and with characters that seem to like and respect each other.
Never jumped! Newhart was always funny. The cast did change, but the show hardly went downhill because of it; in fact, it may have improved. This was the best show of the 80s.
Newhart had eight great seasons and never jumped. Every episode was funny and memorable. Bob Newhart and cast never disappointed their viewers.This show should have won some awards.
Never jumped! Some of those commenting are confused, I Think-- jumping means a decline in quality, not a GOOD cast change. And Newhart never suffered a decline in quality. It was the funniest show of its time.
Newhart didn't jump. Always good, it only got better with time. It always gave me a laugh, always made me smile. And I question how the last episode could be considered "jumping," since you expect some sort of major change (a climax) in the last show. Bob Newhart should return to tv as soon as possible!
In eight years, Newhart didn't jump. It was one of the most clever, innovative, and likable sitcoms on TV, and there was never a turning point when it went downhill. Instead, it climbed steadily upward from its very funny first year.
Did not jump. The creativity of the writers, the charisma of the cast,kept Newhart on top.There was never a show where you might have thought, uh oh, this is it; instead, Newhart remained funny and fresh, and the changes in cast were always a step up.
I always liked it so I guess it didn't jump but it sure came close a few times. Too many shows with Larry, Darryl and Darryl. You can only take so much of those guys.
This show is one of those rare programs that stays consistently funny from beginning to end. One of the best shows of the 1980s and arguably the most deserving of an Emmy that never won any but was nominated.
I was really worried that the show wouldn't be funny after Michael and Stephanie's baby was born, but boy was I relieved when it was.
Newhart is my favorite comedy, but the last season stunk except for the final episode.
This is a rarity in television; a show that stays consistently funny its whole run. The combination of brilliant scripts and a versatile cast made the show what it is.
Hi, I'm Larry...Classic words.
Of all the shows that ran for a long time, Newhart is one that deserved to run as long as it did. From start to finish, every episode was exceptionally creative and funny, the cast was first-rate, and everything about it worked wonderfully.
This show was really great. I do have to say they came close to "Fonzie Syndrome" whenever Larry and the Darryls dropped in - that thunder of applause, just for walking in the door. Those characters became a one-note, predictable bore.
You be dissin' LD&D? You in trouble with me.
Newhart actually got better as time went on, by getting rid of that self-centered S.O.B. Kirk Devane (although his Grandma, played by Ruth Gordon, was hilarious), and adding the doofus townspeople and the most obnoxiously shallow couple on Earth (Michael and Stephanie). Even the finale was perfect, every other show that does a finale that ties up everything will be compared to it, rather unfavorably I might add.
Jump the shark? That final episode jumped the shark about eighteen times, in rapid sucession. I'm sorry, but the "Dream" thing - it's something a three-year old could come up with. I mean, come on, writers - don't go that low. Actually come up with an ending with some INTELLIGENCE, okay? Give loyal viewers some credit.
Come on, I loved the finale! "No more Japanese food before bed." At least it wasn't a sadistic finale where Dick had a nervous breakdown and bumped off Michael, Stephanie, and Larry, Darryl, and Darryl, and everybody else who annoyed him (basically everybody but Joanna and George). That wouldn't have been funny. Putting Dick/Bob back on the old Bob Newhart Show was a stroke of genius.
On Bob's second sitcom, "Newhart" (the 80s show), Dick and Michael were talking about quality television, and CBS's Saturday Night line up in the 70s, he mentioned All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, M*A*S*H, and Carol Burnett. Michael, an afficionado of stupid TV, said "Dick don't remind me. And what about that show with the shrink who stuttered?" I love that quote.
Newhart was one of the greatest shows of all time. My personal favorite moments (last episode not included because it would prejudice the other choices):
--Larry wants to talk physics with Michael and Joanna
--Dick insults local gadfly Curtis Bilgray on his show and in person
--George and Dick joke about the former's date, who has a really big butt.
--Stephanie's stupid sitcom "Seein' Double," in which she plays twins, Dick is their father, and Joanna is the grim reaper.
--Any episode with Stephanie's parents (played by Jose Ferrer and Priscilla Morrill)
Never jumped. I read how Bob Newhart didn't want to put kids on the show, then it would just be another show about "how stupid daddy is," he said. Sound judgement, because the show would have jumped Jaws if they had put kids on it.
A true TV classic. "Payne" would kill to be 1/128th as good as this show.
Thank god they still show reruns of great shows such as this one to offset the garbage on network TV that rips it off. Newhart is a classic show; I have most of them on tape.
Newhart never jumped the shark. It remained consistently funny throughout its run. Even Larry and the Darryls (who, on any other show with less great writers, could have been REALLY irritating) were great. Loony Broony! Loony Broony!
In My Humble Opinion, possibly the best American comedy show of all time, (sit-com has negative overtones for me). Favorite episodes: Where Larry and the Darryls win $30,000 and the first Darryl blows half his share in one weekend at a ski lodge. Also the one with George's date with the enormous arse.
Never jumped, but came perilously close with those two stiffs they dumped after the first season (Devane and that chick). Fortunately the boat righted itself. And, of course, the best final episode ever. No fear of a reunion show here.
No jumping from what I saw. I think it was one of the top two or three sitcoms of the 80's. I've seen a lot of posts that said it jumped the first season then jumped back. But I don't think you can count the first seasons of most shows. They have to develop characters, chemistry, and often times there are cast changes. But I do agree, the switch from tape to film was a huge plus. It added to the depth of the show. It allowed more flexibility. Great ensemble. The Larry and Darryles were a bit much at times, but otherwise, they added to the show. Newhart and the 70's show Bob had were both great and how many people can say they had two great shows in two separate decades? There was no preaching, no messages, just comedy. And both shows went out when they were still fresh.
Yes, quite simply the best sitcom -- and therefore the best television program -- of all time. No one can craft television comedy like Newhart. I completely agree with the writer above who says that the show never took itself seriously. It gave us a world that was only about laughs. Ya, of course Larry, Darryl and Darryl got a little redundant, but strangely enough there was even something tolerable about them, whether or not it was always funny.
This show had the most brilliant and innovative ending I have ever seen. If you listen to the laugh track (which sounds real in this case) you will delight in hearing the audience shriek with joy as they realize that the ending has reverted to the old Bob Newhart where Emily is his wife.
what if the show was so bad it couldn't get worse
Larry, Darryl, Darryl got to be really annoying after a short time. So did Stephanie and Michael. I was wondering, though, if anyone else recognized how much this series resembled Green Acres, substituting Dick Loudon for Oliver Douglas. They were the only sane ones (well Joanna was pretty sane also) surrounded by a bunch of nuts who made them seem like the nutty ones.
This show "anti-sharked" when the original neighbor (Kirk - the guy who owned the Minuteman Cafe) left. He was so depressing. This move allowed the Newhart show to become a classic.
First of all the whining on this show was annoying. Secondly the cat fights with the maid were not that cool either. Thirdly the shows had some funny moments but they were way too low key and dragged way too much. From day one Newhart was a classic example of a flawed masterpiece. However the point where Bob jumped the shark was when the creators decided that maid and her whinny boyfriend were destined for a spinoff. When Newhart becomes Michael and Stephanie it becomes very annoying. The lame humor surrounding Michael and Stephanie is not funny. Just like it was not funny when Cheers became The Frazier Show- among other things.
This show is unique in sitcom history. It didn't jump and then jump back. It just jumped back. Does anyone even remember the first (videotaped) season? Heck, we might as well call that a different sitcom. Bob Newhart seemed cast against character, and there really wasn't much situation to the comedy. When shows go into turnaround they rarely survive, but somehow this one turned into an all-time classic. The set remained the same, Dick, Joanna, and George were still there, but the show was worlds apart. Remember Stephanie's older sister? She came first, I can't even remember her name, but she was a helpful, sensitive, straight A college student who worked @ the inn. What's funny about that? So they axed her, and brought in younger sister Stephanie, who was vain, shiftless, and spoiled rotten. They matched her w/ yuppy Michael, and the show became not only hillarious but it also reflected pop culture. Towards the end I don't think anybody ever stayed @ the Louden's inn, but we didn't CARE. Dick had his TV show, Larry Daryll and Daryll were serving meals in a pouch at the Miniteman Cafe, George was covering KC & the Sunshine band, and those two eccentric New England guys (there wasn't a single person w/ a "Pepridge Farm" accent on the first season) were always making fun of Dick. To cap it all off, it ended w/ the funniest and most famous last episode in TV history (compare that to Seinfeld's attempt @ a finale). I was very sad to learn that the actress who played Joanna had died. She was every bit as worthy a foil as Suzanne Pleshette. Too bad they can't do a reunion now. Or maybe they could, where Bob goes back to sleep and Emily IS his wife this time around!
Slow paced - Low key - Very Funny. Great Show
this show never really jumped, it got better. towards the end of its run however, the shark was close, then they ran the episode where dick wants to be a cowboy, and the series was restored! What a hilarious episode.
Some of the first episodes were shot on video - I hate that. After they went to film it jumped back and never jumped again. A classic!
Newhart, overall, was wonderful. Yet, when supporting characters get the Fonzie treatment (applause at every entrance), that is when the shark jumping happens.
Yes, the first season sucked. Yes, the marriage of Michael and Stephanie was hideous. But come on, that finale was probably the best final episode in TV history.
Final episode still makes me laugh till I cry. I'd like to nominate Bob Newhart as the reverse Ted McGinley--every show he's on (even if they don't last very long-I sneezed and missed "George and Leo") is quality TV and should be honored.
When they dropped Kirk (Steve Kampmann?) in favour of Stephanie and her preppie boyfriend. Kirk was the best!
I agree that Kirk and his pathological liar schtick was old, but he did come up with one of the funniest lines ever: I think that Dick or Kirk saw UFOs or aliens or something around the inn and Kirk started to talk about it at the breakfast table. Dick asks him to keep it down, because he doesn't want to alarm the other (as he spells it) G-U-E-S-T-S. Kirk looks at him and replies, "Good, Dick. We can spell and they can't" Hilarious. Also, one of the best endings to a TV show ever. It was NOT, as one poster proclaimed, an insult to the viewers intelligence--it was probably the only time the "dream" sequence actually worked. What was a more "intelligent" series finale--MASH? Wow--the war is over and ultra-sensitive Hawkeye cracks up. Hard to get happy after that one (bonus points to whomever can identify that last line).
I think the show lost something when every time the darryls came on with larry the audience broke out in applause. I mean come on they were so darn annoying...They became the Urkel of Newhart.
I agree with the majority opinion here: the show started out mediocre in the first season and then improved vastly, to become one of TV's best in the genre. However, what bothered me most from the beginning was the pairing of the stunning beauty Mary Frann with Bob Newhart. She was lovely, sweet and sexy all at once (and did for sweaters what Madonna did for bustiers) and he was a wrinkled old prune of an innkeeper at least 20 years her elder. I strongly suspect that Joanna and Stephanie were doing the nasty with Larry and the Darryls while Dick and Michael were off taping the mind-numbing stupidity of Vermont Today. Or maybe Joanna and Stephanie were doing each other! With all that Vermont maple syrup around! Not to mention George's tool belt ... And ... excuse me, I have to go now.
Best show of the 1980s, and one of the four or five best sitcoms of all time. A fantastic cast and great writing added up to one of the funniest, most inspired comedies in TV history. It's an absolute crime that Julia Duffy, Peter Scolari, Tom Poston, and Newhart himself never won Emmys for their acting, and while the show was nominated a couple of times for Best Comedy Series, it never won either. Unbelievable! Sometimes, it's hard to believe a show this surreal aired on a mainstream network like CBS.
Never jumped. Came perilously close during the latter days of Larry, Darryl & Darryl. Kirk was delightfully selfish. Spoiled Stephanie and Michael (the King of Aliteration) were classic characters for a couple of seasons. The finale was perhaps the best of all time. Does anyone recall the only word Darryl and Darryl ever spoke on the series? They simultaneously yelled "quiet" (great irony) as their new brides yapped away ceaselessly.
Say what you want about Bob Newhart, but only a brilliant actor could have made a lame premise, filled with lame characters, last as long as it did. Bob singularly carried this show. It was only his deadpan looks at the hicks and bozos around him ("Hi, I'm Larry. And this is my brother Darryl. And this is my other brother Darryl". And don't get me started on Stephanie) that made the continuing, one-note shtick bearable. I had new respect for Newhart after watching this mess.
Newhart was a great show, but I did not like the final episode at all, although apparently everyone else does. I liked the characters and to me it seemed like a waste to say "oops! It was just a dream - sorry!" This is especially true as I did not particularly like "The Bob Newhart Show" (where he was a psychiatrist) anywhere near as much as I enjoyed "Newhart". The whole last season, it did get a little crazy, with so many changes occurring (baby Stephanie, etc.), but everything was okay; but then at the last episode, first all the characters were run through a blender (Larry, Darryl, and Darryl get married!) and then we find out it didn't matter anyway, all of the characters were just a dream. I sort of like having the characters "be real." (For the same reason, I don't like it when they "break the fourth wall" too often and have the characters say "we're not real, yoo-hoo!" In fact, doing this really hurt the last few years of the comic strip "Bloom County.")
I, too, thought the final dream episode with Emily was just hilarious! But no one has yet mentioned yet that it happened just after the dream episode on Dallas. I believe it was in the same season - Dallas opened the season with their dream episode, then Newhart ended the season with their dream episode. Dallas fans were still fuming, which made it a perfect parody for Newhart. Also, I thought Larry, Darrell, and Darrell were great - could easily have been overdone, but weren't.
Never JTS. Great Show. Excellent cast. I believe Mary Frann died a couple of years ago. What a beautiful lady - what she did for wool sweaters was unbelievable. A tremendous talent and gorgeous lady lost way too soon.
The show was slow in early season. The addition of Michael and Stephanie, along with the entire moron town was hilarious. And the final episode when Dick wakes up from his dream and tells Emily that she should start wearing more sweaters was great!
This was the funniest show! LD&D were great! I pattern my life after them. Gotta go now. It's time to play "Build a nest and se what crawls into it!"
The many changes in the last season seemed to be made out of sheer boredom. Both Michael and Stephanie, while played outstandingly in prior years, began to wear out their welcome. Contrary to most posts here, I am quite partial to the 1st season. The video tape has a nostalgic quality to it. Kirk, while at times depressing, was a source of many of the best lines and contrasted well with Dick and I was sorry to see him go.
Newhart never jumped. My favorite episode is when Dick proposes to Joanna for a renewal of the wedding vows. Who can forget Newhart's delivery of the line: "I love you so much it . . . it hurts."
Never Jumped. Possibly one of the best shows of all time, consistently great the whole time. The writing and the performances were exactly where they had to be. Future sitcom actors and writers should be forced to watch at least 20 shows, or until they "get it", whichever comes first.
Almost from the beginning, when they allowed Larry, Darryl and Darryl to become regulars....without a single redeeming funny quality. The essence of Newhart's comedy is in his reaction (as an essentially normal guy) to a parade of quirky eccentrics. But if the characters are SO unreal and unfunny, then it's all about as funny as a nail in the head. A special category should exist, by the way, for shows that allow live audiences to become apoplectic over the simple entrance of a character, as 'Newhart' did with the idiot brothers....this annoyance, ironically enough, was originated by the godfather of shark-jumping shows, 'Happy Days'.....when the audience learned to scream over the entrance of virtually every single performer (with the possible exception of Anson Williams (and how does THAT make him feel, I wonder -- the Howard Cunningham was cooler than him?))
Never jumped. While the first season was my least favorite, it still has many funny moments. And although I wasn't sad to see Kirk go, his wedding episode was VERY funny when they had to bring him out vertically on a gurney so that he wouldn't faint again. Other favorite later episodes: The Poetry and Pastry Club (featuring Drew Carey's Kathy Kinney as the town's sexpot librarian); George's terrible secret that he drove a car into Johnny Cake Pond when he was a teenager; Dick writes a book where the character of the wife gets murdered and the town thinks he actually has killed Joanna; and when Joanna is a realtor and they have to put up a backwoods couple in the inn whose trailer she's sold (paraphrasing: "Did you ever think of leavin' the little woman, Loudon?""No,and if I did it wouldn't be for Judy Jetson!"), among many other episodes. Whenever I need a good laugh, I pull out my videotapes of Newhart.
This was a classic show. It never jumped, despite cast changes galore. In fact, it improved -- the Law and Order of comedy. Dick's move into television expanded plotlines (remember the one with Edwin Newman?) The finale was classic, not for just brining in the old Bob Newhart Show, but for not resorting to maudlin sentimentality. Newhart went out with the same wonderful cheekiness it always had. Thanks Bob.
Newhart never jumped the shark at all! It is one of my personal favourite sitcoms of all time. Sure, there have been many curious changes to the series, including the first season being shot in tape (1982-83), while the other seven are shot in film (1983-90). Kirk was funny, but shed his image as a sadistic, obnoxious liar and married that sweet clown (Cindy). Otherwise his character would have continued to fit in with the rest of the cast for the remainder of the series. Bob Newhart's dry sense of humour, Joanna' s (Mary Frann's) pleasantness and the naive nature of George (Tom Poston) made the show a classic. The idea of Stephanie, a spoiled, money fueled brat, ever being related to Leslie is hillarious. Both fit well into the series though. I guess the fact that both characters, supposedly related, yet a contrast to each other, was another aspect that made the series so humourous. L, D & D kicked ass!
Newhart was horrible at first, and then it managed to undo it by the third or fourth season. Nevertheless, Newhart's important note is the BEST. SHOW. ENDING. EVER. Seriously, it ended at the zenith of its form with an ending that can never, ever be topped.
This show usually made me laugh to the point of tears! Bob Newhart is the quintessential straight man. The show never jumped the shark!
From the git-go. The show was just a video version of Bob Newhart's annoying "last sane man on earth" comedy routine. It might have been tolerable had the acting been better (like his 1970s show). As it was, Tom Poston played that part like he was an emissary from Hire the ********. Mary Fran was a lack-luster foil compared to Suzanne Pleshette. Larry, Darryl and Darryl were funny the first 5 times they played, but after that it got old. Julia Duffy and Peter Scolari had to be two of the most un-funny, un-likeable characters ever to pollute the small screen. I hardly ever watched it but when I did I found myself grinding my teeth and changing the channel. The only good episode was the last one- not only because it meant we were through being tortured on prime time, but also because it may have been the most clever kiss-off any comedy has ever had.
Larry, Daryl & Daryl were a big improvement over Kurt. Stephanie was an improvement over whats her name. Anything for a Buck is a great slogan. Mel Ferrar as Stephanie's ultra rich father was surprisingly funny. They had a couple of great Thanksgiving episodes. When the boys prepare a beautiful dinner and Bob is shocked. the surprise comes when the boys don't carve the turkey, but just rip it up with there hands. Mary Frann could fill out a sweater and looked good in high heeled boots. So did Stephanie.
This show jumped when Larry, Darryl and Darryl became the main subject of whole episodes and not just background comic relief. (But it got back on the shark with the brilliant finale)
Last episode- was rushed like crazy- thumbs down to CBS for not giving Bob at least an hour. I hate to say it, but this show's comedy didn't age well. Still, it's cozy- good comfort zone viewing in a Welcome Back Kodder kind of way.
"Newhart" never jumped. When I watched this show in the 80's I liked it but thought it wasn't as good as the old "Bob Newhart Show." Then I got to see the old show again on Nick at Nite and I realized Newhart is funnier. I thought Kirk DeVane was hilarious - from his opening line ("I bet I looked stupid right now. But I'm happy I do, and I'll tell you why - now you know I'm not just some slick-talking guy off the street. How ya doing, Kirk DeVane." He was a great foil for Bob. ("Start making sense, Dick!") I think they only got him married because they knew he'd be leaving at the end of the first year so they wrote in an excuse for him. In other words, if he'd stayed on the show he wouldn't have been married to that clown (and I mean that literally.) Having said that, I think the show got better. Julia Duffy as Stephanie was much funnier than her perfect cousin was ever even meant to be (I think the writers realized they didn't need a third sensible person on the show) And when Peter Scolari joined the cast as Michael Harris the show rode away from the tank faster than ever. Of course I've been a Peter Scolari fan since "Bosom Buddies" but he was hilarious in this. And when they became a couple it was perfect, and totally natural. (One of the best episodes was when they were trying to get the "Pizz" back in their "Zazz" and went to the therapist together. I think these two actors did what very few actors since Ted Knight did - take a character with basically no redeeming features and only faults and still make the character likable. Joanna was a perfect wife for Dick. I could have done without all the applause for Larry and the Darryls (actually, for the most part I could have done without Larry and the Darryls themselves) but that was a small price to pay for watching this show. Oh, and the ending was hilarious. A couple comments about some of the other postings: Kudos to the person who pointed out the similarity between this show and "Green Acres." I never noticed that even though I love both shows. "Hard to get happy after that one" - Vic Ferrari's classic line after Alex Reiger tells him, "I liked Latka - and I don't like you!" And finally, shame on the person who dared mention "Welcome Back Kodder" (sic) in the same e-breath as Newhart. Newhart was, is and always will be funny. Watching "WBK" now is like looking at a picture of how I dressed back in the late 70's - that slightly sick, faintly embarrassed "What was I thinking" feeling. The only show besides "Mork and Mindy" I'm actually ashamed of liking when I was young.
I don't really remember the Kirk season, although my dad swears it's the funniest year in sitcom history. I found the middle few seasons to be hilarious, especially when the townspeople would pop by. My favorites were the librarian (Mimi from Drew Carey) and Officer Shiflitts. This guy, I don't know who played him, but he was hilarious! Best line on the series: There was a costume contest or it was Halloween or something, I'm not sure, and those two old town guys were dressed as Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Someone went missing and the Sheriff was organizing a search party, so he starts naming the searchers by how they're dressed and he says "Tweedles Dum and Dee, you're with me." Okay, so it's funnier if you're actually watching it. The whole Stephanie and Michael thing with the TV show got really lame after awhile. And Larry, Darryl and Darryl would have been good as occasional guest stars, sort of like George's parents on Seinfeld. The first episode with them, where Stephanie gets lost and ends up in their cabin, was classic. Best Larry line. "Come on, Darryl, let's go to the interstate and see if there's any roadkill we can have for dinner." Wee-hoo! And the ending of the show was absolutely brilliant. I don't see why anyone would say that it ruins the show. If you think it's stupid, just disregard it. It's not like it has any effect whatsoever on other episodes. It was just a silly joke. I don't think the writers were ever out to insult or piss anyone off. It was just meant to be a joke. Pretend it wasn't a dream. It's like those Simpsons Halloween episodes. They don't fit into the other shows, especially when people die and they return in other episodes. That's what this was meant to be. So lighten up, you Newhart-dream-sequence-finale-haters!
"Newhart" in my opinion is the best sitcom in the history of television and also the most underappreciated. It featured terrific characters from the main cast (Dick, Michael, George) to the crazy town people (Officer Shifflet, Harley, Jim, Chester). It never jumped even though it went through major changes. It should be noted, though, that Newhart always changed at the right times. Kirk was a good character the first two years, but you would have grown tired of him had he been there in season eight. Larry, Darryl, and Darryl were brilliant additions that the writers always found inventive ways to involve them in scripts and develop their characters. BEST EPISODES: Kirk's Wedding; Larry courting Stephanie; the Colonial Days episode; Thanksgiving with L, D &D; and the Great White Buck episode. The only downside to the show came in the final season when the writing slacked off some, but then Newhart wisely wrapped up production after that.
Michael was a moron. When he did his "improv" routine, singing Dick...Da..Da..Dick...Da..Da..Dick...Da..Da..Dick...Da..Da..Dickster! to the tune of Bonanza . . . I just wanted to crawl into a hole. Too bad they couldn't have let the neurotic, distracting wimp slide out of the series early. It was an insult to the rest of a great cast to keep him around.
I was SOOOOO glad to find Newhart in the never jumped category- this must say something about the Emmy voters who constantly snubbed it. My DAD of all people got me hooked on this show! He was a huge Newhart fan- and actually kind of looks like him!- and watching it every Monday night at dinner warmed me up to it as well. I agree that the show was probably on its way to the ramp the final season- where the "dumbing down" of characters (and storylines) went a little over the top- but it never got there. Instead, it graced its audience with the best final episode of any program I have seen. We got it on tape and I find myself rummaging around for it every time I go back home to visit. Seinfeld should have taken lessons from this finale- that whole series was SERIOUSLY tainted for me because of their amazingly crappy final episode. I sincerely hope Newhart makes a return to television REAL soon, with the junk that's on now we need someone to take up the slack!
Show was a classic the moment they made changes after the 3rd season. Micheal was a TV Producer Introduced earlier In the season and decision to Include him...brilliant. Dick would beg for quality guests while Micheal would book fools who talked about UFO's & other stuff.My favorite was perhaps the baseball player episode. Dick angry at his father has this famous local baseball player and his son on.They go on n on about how close they are and finally he turns and goes"OK DUKES LETS CUT THE CRAP!" His dad said the best line ever though.."SON DO YOU THINK IT WAS NICE MAKIN LITTLE DUKE CRY LIKE THAT?" Jesus man ya just had to love this show! Bob needs the unusual to play off of.Like L,D & D man and the towns people.I can't understand why some diss this show..besides CHEERS & COSBY this is perhaps one of the 80's best shows!
One of my favorite sitcoms of all time. Who would have thought that the Green Acres premise would work in the '80s? I do agree that the show averted certain death by shedding that annoying Kirk character. The boat left the dock when Michael lost his job and had to "grow up" a little, but the jump occurred when baby Stef arrived. It was still watchable thanks to Bob Newhart's comic genius, but there was no more gas in the tank.
I've read many comments about Bob Newhart's second sitcom (and third series) "Newhart". First, I totally agree that this show never jumped the shark despite a weak last season. One person commented on a great line that set up the whole "return to the old show" scenario. That's the scene between Dick and Michael when Dick mentions "that great CBS lineup" from "All In The Family" to "The Carol Burnett Show", omitting the name of his old series. But Michael reminds him "What about the shrink who stuttered?" A great line, followed by a classic Newhart response, "St-, st-, stammered." After this I remember my father commenting, Why don't they just bring the old series back?" A few extra comments: I actually liked the first season on videotape; at the time I described the taped shenanigans as looking like documentary pictures from an alternate universe. And the episode introducing Larry, Darryl & Darryl-with Dick & co. trying to get a suspected witch out of the cellar, was one of the best of the whole series. The single funniest moment might have been when Stephanie sings a bouncy version of "Old Man River." Lastly, despite the fact that his other sitcom, "The Bob Newhart Show" DID indeed jump the shark in the final season when Bob himself only made token appearences, overall I believe that seies was better than "Newhart"
Show never jumped. Plain and simple. To the poster above...The Andy Griffith show is different than The Bob Newhart Show?? Wow! All show are not alike?? Differences?? Man I wish all shows were always exactly alike, much like today's dribble of entertainment. That's why I am so happy with the pablum of today. MORE MOO-GOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NEVER EVER JUMPED!!!! Favorite episode (besides the finale): the Halloween episode mentioned earlier, where Dick and Joanna are hosting a costume party at the Stratford, and Chester and Jim dress up as Tweedledee and Tweedledum (and argue over who's who!) Reports start coming in that aliens are invading the town, and Officer Shifflett comes in to round up a posse to hunt them down. Harley says, "Maybe we can't see the aliens, because they're already among us!" Jim says, "Oh, that's ridiculous. Who in this room could be from outer space?" And then everyone looks at Dick!! Chester: "He is always lulling us to sleep with his television show!" Jim: "And he writes those how-to books, so the aliens will know how to fit in when they arrive!" I about fell out of my chair! Dick holds up his pinky and tells everyone it's a ray gun and he'll vaporize everyone if they don't leave immediately, and then he starts ranting in some alien babble to try to scare them off: "NYURIT NYIUD GIUSSNR!!" Nobody moves. Dick says, "Well aren't you gonna go?" and Jim says, "Oh come on Dick, no alien would talk like that!" Oh my God that was HILARIOUS!!!!!
I really thought this was a cool show. It didn't seem like the kind of show a lad like me would dig (I was pretty young when it first came on) but those goofy characters were so funny, I was totally hooked. I never saw the last episode. I'd be happy to say the show never jumped, but it did take a little jump when the audience started going mad every time Larry Darryl & Darryl walked in the door & he had to wait 'till they calmed down to introduce them & then they'd all go bonkers again. Yeah, they were really funny characters, but that kinda took away from it a little for me. There were really lots of hilarious characters like LD&D who had funny little bits & quirks, but to just focus on them that way cheapened it, just a little. Well, now that we dealt with that, one of MY fave Newhart episodes was the one where George invents a boardgame, called "Handy Man" (using wingnuts for game pieces), & the whole town goes crazy for it; until they realize it's defective because you can't score a million points, evenly, in increments of nine. They all quickly come to detest the game & Stephanie (who was pregnant) cries out in disillusionment: "I was gonna name my child Wingnut!" I'm smiling as I type. Oh yeah, the reason I got into this show as a boy was 'cause my Mom turned me on to it. Back to work.
"Newhart" was kind of unusual in having huge behind-the-scenes turnarounds -- every so often the entire writing staff would just leave. After the first two seasons, creator Barry Kemp just abandoned the show and took all his writers with him. But the show continued strong with some new, younger writers -- the standouts being Doug Wyman and especially David Mirkin, who would later become exec producer of "The Simpsons" and creator of "Get a Life!" After the sixth season, Mirkin and the other writers left, and the new writers simply didn't do a good job. The rumor at the time was that CBS wanted younger-skewing stories, so the writers focused more on Michael and Stephanie -- who weren't as much fun in such large doses -- and made Newhart almost irrelevant to his own show. Bad mistake. Even the finale wasn't that great up until the justly famous closing scene; all the surrealism had gotten out of hand, and the characters had become complete idiots. The real question is, when was this show at its best? In some ways I prefer the earlier seasons, with Kirk, and with Larry and the Darryls making *occasional*, rather than incessant, appearances. Kirk brought an edge to the show, because he was completely screwed-up and depressed while everyone else in town was just a happy weirdo. Also the earlier scripts had more variety and character insight in the classic MTM style. I think my favorite season is season 2, with Kirk still there but with Stephanie replacing Leslie as the maid. Runner-up is season 5, with Wyman and Mirkin executive producing and coming up with some really funny satirical stories.
Judging from the responses, it seems that there was no point in watching after Season 3. You watched charming Leslie and then clever Kirk leave. Stephanie (and later Michael) were watchable. Larry and his brothers were not yet overexposed. Dick and Joanna still found purpose in running the inn. The writing did not get any better. As for the video-taping, to me, those episodes seem less visually dated.
Although there still were some pretty clever episodes towards the end. Like when Stephanie gets her on TV show, written by Michael, on the local station were Dick had a show. It was a rip-off of the old Patty Duke show, and Steph played dual roles (except when her stand-in was playing opposite her, back to camera, in a cheap wig, nodding her head like a Garfield window ornament). There was a silly storyline where Stephanie and her "twin" think that Daddy, played by Dick, is being visited by the grim reaper. It was just nutty. And the last episode was also classic. But there is one thing that always annoyed me about the show, even as a kid. As someone pointed out with Night Court, the set on Newhart doesn't make any sense. There's a staircase next to the front doors of the inn which leads upstairs. With a full shot of the main entrance area, you can see the second level which has doors apparently leading to rooms. But yet, the doors would have to lead back, away from the audience, out over the entrance to the inn. This would put the rooms where? Another dimension?
They got rid of Kirk? He was better than Larry and and the Darryls. He had a little of Mr. Carlen in him.
Never jumped. As with his first sitcom, good old Bob always knew when to leave them wanting more. The show jumped in the last season, some of you say? No way! Besides the final, there was the episode where Don Rickles appeared and Dick became his talkshow sidekick (Pick on Dick!). There was the one where Dick, George, Michael and the old guys formed a street gang...totally warped! There was the episode where Bill Daily played a pesty guy who wanted to be Dick's best friend (hey, it was all a dream of Bob Hartley's, so what does this say about Bob's relationship with Howard? Hmmm....) Then all the other guys - Michael, Chester, George, etc. insisted on being Dick's best friend. As some of you noted, "Newhart" was one of those rare, rare shows that actually got better as it went along.
I agree with the earlier poster who observed both that Larry, Darryl, and Darryl were annoying, as were Michael and Stephanie. He also pointed out that Newhart became Green Acres and Dick became Oliver Douglas. I made that observation myself a long time ago. I did laugh hysterically when Buffy Denver cohosted Vermont Today and asked when Ethan Allan got into the furniture business. That show, the dream show (although Joanna didn't get to have a dream of her own), and the final show were all great, but mostly the show seemed to be about how much the local nuts of this town in Vermont could make Dick feel like a nut himself.
I can't believe no one has mentioned the episode where Dick got drunk in the duckblind and sang "Ya' Got Trouble" from the Music Man. Absolutely hysterical!! And anytime Buffy Denver was on was a riot too. Absolutely never jumped!!
The early episodes were funny, and the show seem to rejuvenate itself in later years with some new strange townsfolk. Kirk was loathsome, but Michael was downright annoying, as was Stephanie. Stephanie's father (played by Jose Ferrer), however, was a trip.
The Vermont Newhart was above average but compared very poorly to the Lake Michigan version--"I'm Larry, this is Darryl, this is my other brother Darryl" was a contrived attempt to revive the "neurotics" formula and became a more overused catchphrase than "weakest link--goodbye" (given that he was trying to continue the formula I feel this is the appropriate show to post this on). At the inn Tom Poston lost his Peeper edge (BTW he's married to Pleshette). Good news: In addition to the Mormon, Howard had Warden Gordon Borden as a brother (most memorable line was when Howard came in at 4 am after his flight, knowing that Bob and Emily were still up after an argument because they didn't want to go to bed angry: "I was flying home and saw the light on in your apartment.")
I loved this shows whacked out surreal style.One of the funniest bits had to do with Larry having a near death experience and meeting God. When asked,what does God look like? Larry's response was "God looks like Tootie from the Facts of life" and later in the episode, after a series of events,Larry explains it all away by saying "It was Tootie's will" Great show, supreme final episode. I'm so glad I saw the ending when it first aired. To this day I remember pounding the couch with my fist and falling down on the carpet screaming with laughter.
The theme of the final episode -- the sudden reversion to Newhart's earlier sitcom -- was foreshadowed earlier in the series. Bob and Joanna go to see a marriage counselor. As they're sitting in the waiting room, the door to the therapist's office opens and out walks Mr. Carlin! Taken aback, Bob stammers to him, "Haven't we met before? I'm sure I know you from somewhere." Carlin says back, "I don't know what you're talking about. You're crazy." Bob: "But I'm sure we've met before." Carlin: "No way. I'm leaving." Bob and Joanna then go into the therapist's office. Still startled by his meeting with Carlin, but not able to place him, Bob says to the therapist, "I'm sure I've him before, I just can't figure out where." The therapist rolls her eyes. "He's been off his rocker ever since he used to see some quack therapist in Chicago." Hilarious. The show went downhill after Kirk left, but it was always worth watching.
This was the best sitcom ever! Season one started slow, but when that moron Kirk and maid #1 (what was her name?) left the show it was nothing but laughs. I worried for about half-a-season after Michael lost his job at the WPIX. The show seemed to be heading for the jump-ramp, but luckily it veered off before making the jump!
Never jumped the shark! The classic final show where Bob wakes up next to Suzanne Pleshette at the end and after telling her about his 'dream', tells her that she should really wear more sweaters, turns the light off and goes back to sleep. It doesn't get any better than that.
I watch Newhart every weekday morning before I go to school and I never get tired of it. Dick and Joanna Loudon are the perfect example of a typical American couple, especially when the husband is an author of many how-to books. Kirk "The Jerk" DeVane was annoying and always making people mad and Leslie wasn't all that funny. But when they dropped Kirk "The Jerk" and added the high-pitched Stephanie Vanderkellen and the hip TV producer Michael Harris, laughs kept pouring in. And what about the three brothers Larry, Darryl & Darryl (who seem to have shed surnames)? They crack me up every time. "I'm Larry, and this is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl." My top 5 favorite moments of the brothers were: 5) the time they sawed Dick in half; 4) when Darryl #1 stomped on the potato; 3) the brothers seeking revenge on the Stratford; 2) The War of the Worlds; and 1) [drum roll please!] the last episode ever. Well, it wasn't about them, but the last episode of Newhart was quite possibly the best episode of Newhart AND the best series finale ever! On this one, the town of Vermont was bought out by the Japanese, and 5 years later, everybody returns. One highlight: you get to hear Darryl & Darryl acutually speak! When Dick got knocked out by the golf ball, and woke up beside Suzanne Pleshette, I thought that was just perfect. I love Newhart and if they ever issue all episodes on DVD, I will buy them!
Best ending ever! It was an extreme longshot, but I was hoping that they would end the Seinfeld show in the same manner. I wanted Jerry to wake up next to Suzanne Pleshette and realize that it was all a dream. Too obscure a reference, but so much better then the awful (but honestly revealing) Seinfeld ending. And here's a message to all television writers. We love hidden references to actors previous roles. Please do it as often as possible. Make my television dreams come true! Actors, Don't deny your earlier roles, We love them. Be proud! Matlock should mention that he used to work in Mayberry. Barnaby Jones should talk about his nephew Jethro. Monica's lover on Friends acknowledging that he used to be a Private Investigator. Any other examples of this besides Bob Newhart? JTS how about a category listing these. Also, JTS how about a category of connected shows such as Petticoat Junction and Green Acres (not spin offs, but simultaneous show character sharing).
To me the show jumped when Michael married Stephanie. It seemed like right after that episode everybody on the show had become stupid.It was as though the writers writing an idiot show.
God, what a great show. Bear with me on this one; It's been a while since I've seen it. Does anyone remember the episode with "The Rumble?" I can't remember all the motivations underpinning the episode, but it pits two groups of the town's men against each other in rival "gangs." I think prior to fighting, the two groups have to meet and discuss what to fight about. In the obliquely shot scene where the two groups are squaring off, each man is posturing hilariously in a manner completely unrelated to fighting (Michael is pirouetting...HA!). The whole time, Dick is trying to convince all the townspeople how ridiculous the whole thing is, but at the Rumble Jim and Chester--members of the rival gang, if I'm not mistaken--start insulting his writing style (My god, Dick...You split an infinitive?!!?!). Pretty soon, the two groups are brought together by their mutual distaste for Dick's writing, with the townspeople making their characteristic non-characteristically insightful comments (You know what I mean). The episode ends with Dick's anger boiling to the point of actually WANTING to fight, which the others unilaterally condemn as part of his big-city past. That episode is probably my favorite, although the series was rife with gems. My favorite character was probably George: remember him going down to the basement when he was depressed to "measure himself?" Hilarious. Bob Newhart was the king of the live studio audience; remember how perfectly timed his reactions were? That audience just went crazy, and my parents and I were howling along with them. My vote is definitely "Never Jumped" on this one.
This show never jumped. I long felt that there was a unspoken running gag about inbreeding: Stephanie and LD&D were basically two ends of the same rainbow.
The Bob Newhart Show was, and is, one of my favorites; so I wanted to like Newhart, and I really tried, but I just can't. All the characters are portrayed as such over-the-top caricatures that they aren't funny, this show was a shark target by the second episode. The townspeople are such morons it's hard to believe they can even dress themselves; Kirk did nothing but annoy people all day, when did he ever actually run his diner. The preppie/yuppie couple were so shallow and obnoxious I couldn't believe anyone would associate with them, particularly in a small town. The producers couldn't decide whether George was to be a fantastically capable handyman or a complete idiot. And Larry, Darryl, and Darryl were a one joke act that was run into the ground by their second appearance. Like JJ (dy-no-mite), Fonz (aaay), Mork (nanu nanu), and others, their one line got so tiring I would change the channel as soon as they appeared. If that small Vermont town ever voted for a village idiot...everyone would win. The worst episode of The Bob Newhart Show is a magnitude better than the best one of Newhart. The last episode was nice though.
I didn't particularly care for Larry, Darryl and Darryl but I could tolerate them. What I couldn't tolerate was the way the audience would break into thunderous cheering and applause when they stepped into a scene. Like Fonzie in Happy Days, Carmine in Laverne & Shirley, wow that is annoying! That alone makes me turn away from a show! Can a show JTS because of audience performance????
Stephanie and Michael were bad enough as individuals. As a married couple, blech! Even Larry and the Darryls had more class.
Stephanie and Michael together were nauseating. I would propose that Julia Duffy is the female equivalent of Ted McGinley -- after she and Peter Scolari ruined Newhart, she went on to sink Designing Women.
NEVER JUMPED! My all-time favorite episode is when Kirk married Cindy the clown. He keeps fainting right after the "dearly beloved". After about the fourth or fifth time, the gang finally straps Kirk onto a gurney and holds it upright so he can make it through the whole ceremony! I laughed so hard I wound up on the floor in tears. Michael and Stephanie were the ultimate parody of the '80s yuppie couple. The entire cast was great, and I loved the theme song too! Great show!
It never jumped! Simply one of the greatest sit-coms of all time. This thing took the "Green Acres" formula (i.e., take a relatively normal person/couple, dump him/them in a town full of lunatics and watch the fun) and rode it for eight years. And, of course, the final episode was just top-notch. I still miss this show like crazy.
This show never jumped. It only got better with time. If anything, the earlier episodes where a little hard to take, though they did have their moments. It was definitely Micheal and Stephanie that kept me watching. They where so friggn' hilarious! I adored the last show but I was disappointed we didn't get to see more of their married life than we did, and it would have been great to actually see baby Stephie grow up into an adorable little snob other than just the last episode.
Jumped day one. Stupid premise for a show with annoying characters and sets in the early episodes look like they were made by a high school drama club. Does anyone actually believe that Bob Newhart would be married to the babes who play his wives on his shows? The only redeeming thing about this show is that it has the most brilliant final episode ever televised. In the context of Bob Hartley's dream the show finally made sense!
A desperately unfunny pageant of cliche, repetition, and sight gags. To think that this bumpkin sludge came from the same guy responsible for The Bob Newhart Show, a sophisticated CLASSIC that never jumped, is cause to weep.
The early episodes with annoying Kirk and unfunny Leslie sucked! It started to get funny when Michael and Stephanie replaced them and got funnier when it became all surreal and Simpsons-like. The last season is the best; the last episode is the greatest series finale ever.
I liked it all the way through, including (or maybe even especially) the first season, which has had a lot of criticism here. But I agree about the preoccupation with Larry, Darryl and Darryl. And, even without him having anything against William Sanderson, it's hard to imagine Bob Newhart liking it either, because it just didn't really fit on a show of his (an "ensemble" show). Two things I especially disliked. One was that the other supporting actors (like Tod Sussman, who was so good) got just about no attention when it came to publicity about the show.The other thing is this- when a sitcom has a character who's very dumb or uncouth or whatever, they usually have a scene or a whole story where he's suddenly just the opposite, but only here and there. At first, Newhart did this with Larry, but then it started to lay it on heavily, so that Larry seemed to know about every kind of art or science or literature, and he was old friends with wealthy people or famous people (who made guest appearances).Even though these things worked once in a while (except, to me at least, that last thing), it took away the point of a character like Larry to do that so often (in other words, it seems like an uncouth character should be uncouth nearly all the time, so the exceptions will be more surprising). One of their first episodes, the "Goldilocks" one with Stephanie, was one of the best. Nearly my favorite is the Cinderella parody with her, about the beauty pageant (thanks to it, the perfectly dignified name "Inez" always makes me want to laugh).
Newhart JTS in the finale--not because the specific dream wasn't brilliant, but because it ruined the prospect of reruns. I couldn't possibly enjoy reruns of this monumentally funny show because the finale informed me that none of this funny stuff EVER HAPPENED!!!
I thought on the whole this was a pretty funny show, but I never could get past the fact that Mary Frann was horribly miscast as Dick's wife. I just didn't buy the two of them together. She was far too bland and normal to offset Bob Newhart's unique presence. Suzanne Pleshette, on the other hand, was a perfect match for Bob's dynamic. She had her own style of deadpan that perfectly counteracted his. The final episode, with Bob and Emily in that same 70's-decorated bedroom was priceless television. And it explained what in the heck he was doing with Joanna all these years!
I remember watching the final episode with my grandmother. We both dropped our jaws and laughed hysterically at the final scene. Very clever, consistent show!
Never jumped: I like the first shows on video tape, I have the very first show on video: Dick has just bought the Inn and he gets his first guest, tells him he is his first guest and doesn't know what to charge, looks in the book on the desk and says, "that will be a farthing" Then he tells the man, "just put your John Hancock right here....uh....under John Hancock!" He is the king of the nervous look and the nervous lines, got more laughs with just his nervous looks than most comedians get by talking. Like the time Dick and Larry were watching a group of convicts pass by. Larry says, "there go the dregs of humanity" The look on Dick's face got one of the biggest laughs in television history. One of the very best shows was where Joanna decides to have their Christmas picture taken early so they decorate the Inn for Christmas in like May or June. Michael is asked to wrap some boxes in Christmas wrap to put under the tree. Joanna says, "these are heavy, you didn't have to wrap actual gifts!" Michael says, "oh yes I do!" Stephanie says, "Joanna one can tell if they are empty or not" In the middle of all of this officer Shiflett walks in looking very confused and leaves. At the end of the show he comes back and says, "do you mind if I stay around, I get very lonely this time of year." Television was made for moments like that.
The implication of JTS is that the program was good to begin with. A series that starts mediocre and stays mediocre doesn't deserve recognition for not jumping. "Newhart" is such a show. It's reminiscent of countless radio comedies in which each character appeared for his or her weekly turn. There's no chemistry among the actors to compensate. (Where did they ever dig up a vapid non-entity like Mary Fran?) What ultimately damns "Newhart" is the final episode. Dr. Robert Hartley would observe that it's a massive Freudian slip, revealing what Bob Newhart _really_ thought about "Newhart." How "Newhart" can receive a "never jumped" rating while "The Bob Newhart Show" -- still a classic -- is ignored, is beyond me.
Something that hasn't been mentioned which I always found to be one of the shows great features was the theme music. Written by Henry Mancini I believe. It was such a fine piece. The same would apply to "The Bob Newhart Show" theme. I've often wondered if Mr. Newhart gave the final approval on these tunes. I can still hear the final couple of bars to the "Newhart" show. dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum......dum, meow.
Larry & the Darryls. The Great Gazoo it wasn't but it was obviously pandering to the lowest common denominator. Audience hooting whenever they appeared reminiscent of Fonzie etc. The show was better than that. Overall a great show and of course a teriffic ending scene. The episode sucked like most finales but that last scene saved it.
With all its zany moments, when Jim and Chester dressed for a costume party as Tweedledee and Tweedledum and then argued which was which, I lost it. The Tweedle boys and Jim and Chester are now one in the same for eternity...or at least reruns
This show JTS when the writers thought the phrase: "I am Larry & this is my brother Darryl & this is my other brother Darryl" was worth repeating in every single show. That problem has happened in many shows and could be its own JTS reason the show starts to go down hill. Like in Alice when Flo says: "Kiss my grits" or Cloris Leachman would say as Phyllis: "Go suck an egg" or on Good Times JJ would say: "Dyno-mite!" or Gary Coleman would say: "What you mean by that Willis?" (or something like that), etc... All these shows jumped the shark when they obnoxiously repeated a character's "Funny Line" more than once and that repetitive writing technique just shows that the show has lazy, burnt out writers.
NEWHART jumped the shark when Stephanie and Michael broke up -- and when Michael had his nervous breakdown. It was a horribly uncomfortable moment in an otherwise hysterically funny show. Although it continued be the best comedy writing on TV and never ceased being my favorite show (and still is) it never completely recovered -- the plot lines began to seem a little desperate. I must say though that Michael's proposal to Stephanie was one of the finest moments of TV comedy. But the elopement ("I love you too, damn it!") made me cringe -- it was the only time Duffy and Scolari were unable to make me believe them.
This is one of the few shows that never jumped. It never got so out of hand that the show slumped. In fact, some of the greatest gags on television came from this show. -When Larry, Daryl & Daryl bought the Minutemen Cafe. They kept the sugar in their pockets and slinged pancakes through the air. -Larry runs for Mayor, loses and finds out that one of his brothers didn't vote for him. -A historical society, consisting of older ladies whose ancestors fight in the War for Independence, comes to the Inn to learn about the history the Inn played in that war. Dick and Joanna discover that it was a Cat House and Dick convinces them that it was a good thing. -Holloween special. When everyone gets convinced that aliens are invading (War of the Worlds is being broadcast on tv), someone sees a glowing cow, everyone, including the audience, gets convinced that there really are aliens, the lights go out and these strange beams of lights show up at the front door. And the first thing you hear is "Hi, I'm Larry." The audience laughed for some two minutes before another word of dialogue could be spoken. Oh, and the glowing cow: LD&D painted it with glowing paint as a joke.
Although it never jumped, I was let down by the final episode, in that I didn't want for it to be a dream! Newhart proved that it is still possible to be funny without being dirty or mean; Seinfeld may have been as funny, but Newhart was easily the better show.
This was one of those rare (possibly unique) shows where it started out rotten for the first two years. Did anyone laugh during the first season? Why did it have a second? Then it started getting a bit weirder with the introduction of Stephanie and the fact that Kirk was finally getting some good lines (and his marriage was a classic! He went out well). With the addition of Michael and Larry and his brothers and Officer Shiflet etc., the show got more and more bizarre. It nearly jumped when Michael lost his job and his mind and ended up in an institution, but the show recovered the next season, even though the introduction of pregnancy and a baby nearly killed it again. The final season became truly insane with all the stops out, and the ending was a classic. But it jumped the shark from day one, jumped back, came perilously close to jumping several times more, and finally went out with a bang.
Newhart was a brilliant comedy. The best was the episode where Larry had an out of body experience and saw God. God was Tootie from Diff'rent Strokes!
I may be one of few who didn't really like The Bob Newhart Show, but I did like NEWHART. The show was just a nice and simple premise of a man and his wife and crazy people owning a Vermont Inn. Plus the finale is just so great, but if people really like this ending, why do most people blast DALLAS and St. Elsewhere for their dream storylines? Well, DALLAS just cheated us thinking Bobby's death was a dream and we won't mention it. St. Elsewhere's finale was odd because it was an autistic boy making it up, but I thought it was an interesting ending. Newhart pulled it off because it was a comedy.
Terrific show! True, the first and last seasons were rather hit-and-miss, but they both had hilarious episodes like the-body-in-the-basement show that introduced Larry, Daryl and Daryl and the introduction of the character of Stephanie (who was much more lusty than snotty; she even was very friendly and polite towards everyone in this show), or the classic final episode of the last season. Generally the show got more surrealistic as it went along (if you didn't like it you would probably say 'more stupid'). My favorite characters were Stephanie, Bob, George, the Mayor and his friend Tweedledum (or was it Tweedledee?), Officer Shifflet, the sexy librarian (a late addition), LDD, and others I've no doubt forgotten. Agree with many that getting rid of Kirk helped the show; though he was often funny, I simply never liked him. Michael was an improvement because he was often hilarious, but I admit to not much liking him, either. And though I always found the Michael/Stephanie relationship amusing, there's no doubt it was too much emphasized the last couple of years. Some favorite episodes I haven't mentioned: The Great White Buck, Stephanie lost in the woods, the War of the Worlds Halloween, and Stephanie is accompanied by Dick to a high-toned Manhattan party. All in all, one of my 5 favorite sitcoms without a doubt. Possibly one of the top two.
Newhart never jumped. Though the first and last years were rather hit-and-miss, they both included hilarious shows like the first year's 'body-in-the-basement' episode that introduced LDD, and the first appearance of Stephanie (who in this episode was more lusty than snotty; she was positively polite and friendly to the rest of the cast). I agree that getting rid of Kirk was a major upswing (though he was funny at times, I just never liked him). Never really liked Michael, either, yet he could be very funny when not over-used. The show definitely became more and more surreal over time (and it you didn't like it, more and more stupid), and eventually too dominated by Michael and Stephanie, but I always loved Stephanie, Bob, George, the Mayor and Tweedledum (or was it Tweedledee?), Officer Shifflet, the lusty librarian, and probably others that I'm forgetting. Definitely one of my top 5 sitcoms. Favorite episodes: War of the Worlds, Great White Buck, Stephanie lost in the woods, and of course, the classic finale.
It never did, thankfully. Though it wasn't very strong at the start with Kirk and Leslie as supporting cast, the arrival of Peter Scolari and Julia Duffy added vim and venom to the show. Newhart found his role as straight man increased, and even peripheral characters like Larry and the Darryls, Officer Shiplet and the town cronies got their shining moments. Newhart was, and remains, an excellent and shining example of American sit-coms. They don't make them as good or understated these days. Never jumped, excellent even now. The finale is historic.
Bob delivers the deadpan like nobody else. I can remember watching Newhart in grade school, and Bob's squirrel-dance in the "white buck" episode makes me laugh 20 years later.
Now THIS is what a TV show should be! Good at the start, and only improved more and more. The switch from the annoying dude in the restaurant (Kirk, or something like that) to Michael was a good move. Stephanie was hot and fun to watch. All the characters fit in well, and were never overplayed. Bob is a comedic genius. His timing and dry mannerism is hilarious. Probably the best actor ever on a sitcom.
The final episode was THE BEST final episode ever. With a final episode like Newhart's any jumping would have to be reversed. Bob Newhart is also one of the best straight men ever.
IMHO Mr. Newhart was brilliant in this series, perhaps even topping his performance in the Bob Newhart Show. While not all scripts, particularly in the last two seasons, measure up, I can't identify a single jump the shark moment. The series finale, very likely the best series ender of all time, is enough to redeem any earlier lapses. (Bob humbly credits his wife [the real one] for the idea for this episode.) As to favourite episodes, there are many but one is definitely the early 1984 episode 'Book Beat'. Bob interviews a stuffed shirt army officer about his book and the dialogue proceeds straight for several minutes before the army guy veers into insanity. Newhart is at his deadpan best. I can't image a sitcom today that would dare to let so much time pass without a laugh in order to set up the punch line. A classic show from a classy guy. My greatest beef: what the hell is Fox waiting for to release this series on DVD?? One of the principals of the series (the lovely Mary Frann) has already left us. This series deserves to be restored and marketed before we lose anyone else.
This show almost jumped in the last season, with some of the weakest episodes, but the finale has to be considered the standard by which all other finales will be judged - pure genius.
I have been watching all the Newhart episodes, which I have on tape, over the last couple of months and I realize now that this show is even more brilliant than I previously thought. It's the best sitcom ever made.
One of the best comedies of its time, never jumped the shark. From the moment the musical opening with credits began,showing a car driving through the gorgeous countryside of Vermont, I was ready to unwind and laugh for thirty minutes. Had one of the best series finales ever,and this from a show that had to dump two major charactors from its weaker first season.The dream ending was great and besides everyone knew the show was taped before a studio audience in California and most of the actors had never even been to Vermont.Newhart may have suceeded because we want that dream life of having fun people around us daily,running our own business we love and living in a place as unspoiled as Vermont.
It never "jumped the shark". It IMPROVED with the move to film, and the addition of Julia Duffy, and Peter Scolari (kind of unfair...that Tom Hanks has become so big, and Scolari seems left behind.) I apologize if this has been mentioned (I have not read all of the postings), buy my favorite moment: Darryl #1 runs away from home. Larry and Darryl #2 make the usual entrance: "Hi, I'm Larry (pause...pause...pause), and this is my OTHER brother Darryl." BRILLIANT! And what about the two older guys, whose name escape me? The two slightly dimwitted guys,...one may have been the Mayor, and one or the other was named Chester. HILARIOUS! And yes..the second best ending ever...after St. Elsewhere.
It never "jumped the shark". It IMPROVED with the move to film, and the addition of Julia Duffy, and Peter Scolari (kind of unfair...that Tom Hanks has become so big, and Scolari seems left behind.) I apologize if this has been mentioned (I have not read all of the postings), buy my favorite moment: Darryl #1 runs away from home. Larry and Darryl #2 make the usual entrance: "Hi, I'm Larry (pause...pause...pause), and this is my OTHER brother Darryl." BRILLIANT! And what about the two older guys, whose name escape me? The two slightly dimwitted guys,...one may have been the Mayor, and one or the other was named Chester. HILARIOUS! And yes..the second best ending ever...after St. Elsewhere.
"Newhart" never jumped the show. Was funny 1st episode to last, and as to "The Dream Episode" where "Newhart" was supposedly a dream and innkeeper Dick Louden is really "Psychologist Dr. Robert Hartley" (Bob Newhart's former character) This was a humorously inspired takeoff of the 1985 mess made of the nighttime soap "Dallas" by executive producer Phil Capice. In it "Newhart" never happened and he was still married to "Emily" (Suzanne Pleshette).