Newhart - The Complete Second Season DVD Review

[TJ]

Dick, Joanna, George, and Kirk are back in Newhart - The Complete Second Season! And in this season, the cast changes a bit as Julia Duffy joins the cast as the new maid Stephanie, who grew up with a silver spoon (only to now be the one washing those silver spoons as she tries to gain experience in the "real world").

For those unfamiliar with the series, it was Bob Newhart's second successful journey into the sitcom world. After playing Chicago psychologist Bob Hartley in the '70s sitcom The Bob Newhart Show, he came back with this series in 1982, where he is now Dick Loudon, a New Yorker who runs a small bed and breakfast in Vermont with his wife Joanna. Naturally, it isn't all smooth sailing, and as the series progresses, it evolves into something along the lines of an '80s Green Acres as Dick has to deal with the crazy things in his world every day, even as they seem to make less and less sense as the days go by. The first season, even though it did well in the ratings, had less of the "crazy" aspect of the series, but it really started to kick in with this season, where the series really began to leave a legacy of its own.

Read our review by skees53 here:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/newhart...dvdreview.html

Please post any questions or comments about this set.

[zypherix]

The two episodes clocking in around 22:20 are definatly edited.
I have unedited copies from canadian Comedy Gold channel and they both run about 24:00.

[Wiseguy2]

Originally Posted by TJ

The episodes on set mostly seem to be unedited... but there are a few on here that I'm pretty sure are syndicated episodes simply based upon shorter runtimes (by two whole minutes) and including the syndicated version of the opening credits (which runs about 15 seconds shorter). The episodes in question are "Kirk Ties One On" and "Leave it to the Beavers." While I do not have unedited versions to compare these to in order to say with 100% certainty that they are edited, I think it is reasonable to say that they are almost definitely syndicated versions, but we'll let fans judge for themselves.

Some episodes may indeed be edited but don't base this on the opening credits. There were always two versions of the credits on the original CBS episodes, a long and a short version. The long version was rarely seen in the first seasons, then disappeared during the middle years and returned in the later years more frequently. Although the episodes with the long version may be uncut it is incorrect to assume the ones with the shorter version are edited.

[tlc38tlc38]

Thanks for the review! I can't wait til this comes out, I've been looking forward to season 2 for years.

[Wiseguy2]

Originally Posted by TJ

Dick, Joanna, George, and Kirk are back in Newhart - The Complete Second Season! And in this season, the cast changes a bit as Julia Duffy joins the cast as the new maid Stephanie, who grew up with a silver spoon (only to now be the one washing those silver spoons as she tries to gain experience in the "real world").

For those unfamiliar with the series, it was Bob Newhart's second successful journey into the sitcom world. After playing Chicago psychologist Bob Hartley in the '70s sitcom The Bob Newhart Show, he came back with this series in 1982, where he is now Dick Loudon, a New Yorker who runs a small bed and breakfast in Vermont with his wife Joanna. Naturally, it isn't all smooth sailing, and as the series progresses, it evolves into something along the lines of an '80s Green Acres as Dick has to deal with the crazy things in his world every day, even as they seem to make less and less sense as the days go by. The first season, even though it did well in the ratings, had less of the "crazy" aspect of the series, but it really started to kick in with this season, where the series really began to leave a legacy of its own.

Read our review by skees53 here:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/newhart...dvdreview.html

Please post any questions or comments about this set.

I may be in the minority but I prefer the first two seasons. I liked the characters of Kirk and Leslie. It didn't help that I heard the rumor (fact?) that it was Newhart himself that wanted Kirk out. Leslie may have been bland but I found Stephanie to be too annoying. Peter Scolari was ok but his character grew to be somewhat annoying as well. And as much as I liked Larry, Daryl and Daryl, their constant appearances began to be too much not to mention the audience reaction as if Fonzie walked in (although it was good move to have them take over the cafe if Kirk HAD to be written out). If that's not bad enough, even at the time I realized the final season (except for the classic finale) was mostly a time waster with hardly any real laughs. Perhaps Newhart should have ended this after 6 seasons like his first sitcom.

[quincywagstaff]

During the second season, Newhart and the writers decided that they wanted to add a workplace setting for him to add more storyline possibilities so they gave him his own TV show. Peter Scolari was perfect as his phony, shallow producer and his character was perfectly matched with Julia Duffy's self-absorbed rich girl character. So my take is that Kirk was written out mainly because once Leslie was gone (and after he married Cindy), there just wasn't a lot more millage left in his character. (Plus the unexpected popularity of Larry, Darryl and Darryl meant the show had to find a way to get them involved in the Loudon's world on a regular basis.) I also loved Steven Kampmann and was sorry to see him go, but in retrospect, I think the show made the right decision by taking the show in new directions with the TV station and LD&D's takeover of the Cafe.

[tlc38tlc38]

It was so much fun watching these episodes again! I can't wait for season 3! Kudos to Shout! for listening to the fans!

[principehomura]

I'm watching season 2.
Jut five episodes and you can clearly see that the authors are changing lots of things.
I still haven't adjusted to Stephanie (and I'm missing Leslie), and Kirk is slowly fading away.
But yesterday I've seen the episode with the play The girl from Manhattan and it's one of the funniest, not on Newhart but of every sitcom.

[PhoenixAcres]

Originally Posted by principehomura

Kirk is slowly fading away.

I've noticed this season they were really reaching when it came to Kirk. The writers were coming up with the most random reasons for him to pop in for a few minutes and justify his status as a "starring" character. You could tell his role in the series was on shaky ground and I sort of felt sorry for him. Still, he did have a few highlights this season, the best of which may be his wedding episode.

Originally Posted by principehomura

But yesterday I've seen the episode with the play The girl from Manhattan and it's one of the funniest, not on Newhart but of every sitcom.

Agreed! That one is hilarious from beginning to end. Classic Newhart.

[principehomura]

Saw some other episodes and still loving it.
Now I'm adjusted to Stephanie, and Kirk gained back some screen time with some love interests.
Feeling and setting are still the very best thing. I read some 'spoilers', never having seen it before, and I hope the changes that are gonna be introduced will not spoil these things!