TMC
05-21-2020, 11:52 PM
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/newhart-bob-newhart-interview-true-story-behind-ending-203407321.html
It was Christmastime in Los Angeles circa 1987, but Bob Newhart wasn’t experiencing a lot of good tidings and joy. For six seasons, the stand-up comic-turned-television star had been headlining the CBS sitcom, Newhart, as author and small-town Vermont inn owner, Dick Loudon. It was his second hit sitcom for the network following the beloved 1970s series, The Bob Newhart Show, which paired him with fellow TV legend, Suzanne Pleshette. Although Newhart was a hit with critics and viewers, the star felt that CBS wasn’t necessarily championing his new comedy the way that it should.
While at a Christmas party with his wife, Virginia, he confessed that he was seriously considering ending the show. “Ginny knew I was unhappy with CBS,” Newhart tells Yahoo Entertainment now. “She told me, ‘You know what the final show should be? You wake up in bed with Suzie and you describe this dream you had about owning an inn in Vermont.’ I said, ‘Honey, that’s a great idea!’ Suzanne was actually at the same party, and we told her about it when we saw her. She said, ‘I’ll be there in a New York minute.’”
Ultimately, Newhart made peace with CBS and Newhart continued on for two more seasons. But when the time came to write the actual series finale, he had the perfect ending ready to go. “I gave the idea to the writers, and they filled out the rest,” he says of the surprise “It was all a dream!” reveal on “The Last Newhart,” which premiered 30 years ago on May 21, 1990. What started as a casual Christmas conversation between husband and wife immediately entered TV history as one of the all-time great finales.
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Even before the final shot, “The Last Newhart,” took some big creative risks. The episode begins with a Japanese businessman buying the Vermont town Dick and his wife, Joanna (Mary Frann), call home and tearing it down to build a golf course. While they refuse to sell their inn, the rest of the town’s eccentric citizens happily take the money and run. Five years later, though, their neighbors — everyone from handyman George Utley (Tom Poston) to the three brothers Larry, Darryl and Darryl (William Sanderson, Tony Papenfuss and John Voldstad) all return professing guilt at having fled and plan to stay forever with Dick and Joanna. Unable to be heard above the cacophony, Dick leaves the room and is promptly hit in the head by a stray golf ball.
Cut to the bedroom from The Bob Newhart Show, where psychologist Bob Hartley wakes up next to his wife, Emily. “All right Bob, what is it?” Pleshette asks, as the studio audience cheers and claps in obvious surprise and delight. “I was an innkeeper in this crazy little town in Vermont,” Newhart says. “Nothing made sense in this place,” rattling off all the oddities that defined his dream life. “That settles it — no more Japanese food before you go to bed,” Pleshette replies. Newhart gets the last gag of the series: “Go to sleep, Emily. You know, you really should wear more sweaters.”
Newhart wasn’t the only 1980s series to reveal to viewers that what they had been watching was a dream; Newhart himself points to the popular dramas Dallas and St. Elsewhere as two obvious predecessors. But “The Last Newhart” has become the defining example of that particular plot twist, one that’s been referenced and parodied numerous times over the past three decades. “It always presents a problem for people when they're writing that final show,” Newhart says of the enduring legacy of Newhart’s surprise ending. “I remember on The Big Bang Theory, I talked to Chuck Lorre, and they weren't sure how to end the show. [Newhart had a recurring role as Professor Proton on that series.] I said, ‘Well, I've had a great deal of success waking up in bed with my wife!’”
It was Christmastime in Los Angeles circa 1987, but Bob Newhart wasn’t experiencing a lot of good tidings and joy. For six seasons, the stand-up comic-turned-television star had been headlining the CBS sitcom, Newhart, as author and small-town Vermont inn owner, Dick Loudon. It was his second hit sitcom for the network following the beloved 1970s series, The Bob Newhart Show, which paired him with fellow TV legend, Suzanne Pleshette. Although Newhart was a hit with critics and viewers, the star felt that CBS wasn’t necessarily championing his new comedy the way that it should.
While at a Christmas party with his wife, Virginia, he confessed that he was seriously considering ending the show. “Ginny knew I was unhappy with CBS,” Newhart tells Yahoo Entertainment now. “She told me, ‘You know what the final show should be? You wake up in bed with Suzie and you describe this dream you had about owning an inn in Vermont.’ I said, ‘Honey, that’s a great idea!’ Suzanne was actually at the same party, and we told her about it when we saw her. She said, ‘I’ll be there in a New York minute.’”
Ultimately, Newhart made peace with CBS and Newhart continued on for two more seasons. But when the time came to write the actual series finale, he had the perfect ending ready to go. “I gave the idea to the writers, and they filled out the rest,” he says of the surprise “It was all a dream!” reveal on “The Last Newhart,” which premiered 30 years ago on May 21, 1990. What started as a casual Christmas conversation between husband and wife immediately entered TV history as one of the all-time great finales.
ZgdUWXf8jJk
Even before the final shot, “The Last Newhart,” took some big creative risks. The episode begins with a Japanese businessman buying the Vermont town Dick and his wife, Joanna (Mary Frann), call home and tearing it down to build a golf course. While they refuse to sell their inn, the rest of the town’s eccentric citizens happily take the money and run. Five years later, though, their neighbors — everyone from handyman George Utley (Tom Poston) to the three brothers Larry, Darryl and Darryl (William Sanderson, Tony Papenfuss and John Voldstad) all return professing guilt at having fled and plan to stay forever with Dick and Joanna. Unable to be heard above the cacophony, Dick leaves the room and is promptly hit in the head by a stray golf ball.
Cut to the bedroom from The Bob Newhart Show, where psychologist Bob Hartley wakes up next to his wife, Emily. “All right Bob, what is it?” Pleshette asks, as the studio audience cheers and claps in obvious surprise and delight. “I was an innkeeper in this crazy little town in Vermont,” Newhart says. “Nothing made sense in this place,” rattling off all the oddities that defined his dream life. “That settles it — no more Japanese food before you go to bed,” Pleshette replies. Newhart gets the last gag of the series: “Go to sleep, Emily. You know, you really should wear more sweaters.”
Newhart wasn’t the only 1980s series to reveal to viewers that what they had been watching was a dream; Newhart himself points to the popular dramas Dallas and St. Elsewhere as two obvious predecessors. But “The Last Newhart” has become the defining example of that particular plot twist, one that’s been referenced and parodied numerous times over the past three decades. “It always presents a problem for people when they're writing that final show,” Newhart says of the enduring legacy of Newhart’s surprise ending. “I remember on The Big Bang Theory, I talked to Chuck Lorre, and they weren't sure how to end the show. [Newhart had a recurring role as Professor Proton on that series.] I said, ‘Well, I've had a great deal of success waking up in bed with my wife!’”