Review Newhart

Mad_Monster_Party

Sandbox Chief Commissioner
I'll always remember watching Newhart as a kid on nick at nite It was always fun watching. I am not sure if they show re-runs at all but I know they show episodes in full on YouTube.

Does anyone have any thoughts or opinions on it?
Thanks for any comments in advance!!!!:emoji_alien:
 

chainsaw_metal1

Member: Rank 8
I remember seeing it first run on CBS, and loved it up until the last season (funny how many sitcoms I feel that way about). The humor was always pretty good, if at times repetitive. The twist ending for the finale makes my list for top five best sitcom endings ever. I also loved that, after the series ended, they had a Bob Newhart Show reunion special that even referenced the "dream". I think he did two or three other sitcoms after, but they never lasted more than a season or two. He just couldn't recapture the magic of his first two shows, even when they paired him up with Judd Hirsch.
 

Mad_Monster_Party

Sandbox Chief Commissioner
I remember seeing it first run on CBS, and loved it up until the last season (funny how many sitcoms I feel that way about). The humor was always pretty good, if at times repetitive. The twist ending for the finale makes my list for top five best sitcom endings ever. I also loved that, after the series ended, they had a Bob Newhart Show reunion special that even referenced the "dream". I think he did two or three other sitcoms after, but they never lasted more than a season or two. He just couldn't recapture the magic of his first two shows, even when they paired him up with Judd Hirsch.
Yeah I didn't realize that he had a sitcom in the 1990s (1992's Bob) until recently. Unfortunately it wasn't around
more than a year a two. I am still going to see if they have YouTube clips of it though. :emoji_man_dancing:
 

Doctor Omega

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The Bob Newhart Show

Created by
Starring
Theme music composer
  • Lorenzo Music
  • Henrietta Music
Opening theme "Home to Emily"
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 6
No. of episodes 142 (list of episodes)
Production
Camera setup
Multi-camera
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) MTM Enterprises
Release
Original network
CBS
Audio format Monaural
Original release September 16, 1972 – April 1, 1978
Chronology
Followed by
Newhart
The Bob Newhart Show
is an American sitcom produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes spanning over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psychologist having to deal with his wife, friends, patients and fellow office workers. The show was filmed before a live audience.


Premise

Standing, from left: Howard Borden, Carol Kester, Jerry Robinson; seated: Bob and Emily Hartley
The show centers on Robert Hartley, Ph.D. (Newhart), a Chicago psychologist. It divides most of its action between the character's work and his home life, with Hartley's supportive, although occasionally sarcastic, wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette), and their friendly but inept neighbor, airlinenavigator Howard Borden (Bill Daily). At the medical office where Hartley had his psychology practice are Jerry Robinson, D.D.S. (Peter Bonerz), an orthodontist who also has a practice on the floor, and their receptionist, Carol Kester (Marcia Wallace), as well as a number of other doctors who appear occasionally.

Hartley's three most frequently seen regular patients are the cynical and neurotic Elliot Carlin (Jack Riley), the milquetoast Marine veteran Emile Peterson (John Fiedler), and shy, reserved Lillian Bakerman (Florida Friebus), an elderly lady who spends most of her sessions knitting. Carlin was ranked 49th in TV Guide's List of the 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time, and Riley reprised the character in guest appearances on both St. Elsewhere and Newhart.

Most of the situations involve Newhart's character playing straight man to his wife, colleagues, friends, and patients. A frequent running gag on the show is an extension of Newhart's stand-up comedy routines, where Newhart played one side of a telephone conversation, the other side of which is not heard. In a nod to this, for the first two seasons, the episodes opened with Bob answering the telephone by saying "Hello?". Emily routinely acts as straight woman to slow-witted Howard, and on occasion to Bob.



 

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Cast


Emily listens to Howard in the Hartleys' apartment

Bob (right) congratulates Carol and Larry Bondurant on their marriage

Stars
  • Bob Newhart as Dr. Robert Hartley, psychologist
  • Suzanne Pleshette as Emily (née Harrison) Hartley, his wife, a school teacher and later assistant principal
  • Bill Daily as Howard Borden, their next-door neighbor and friend, an airline navigator and later co-captain
  • Peter Bonerz as Dr. Jerry Robinson, Bob's friend, an orthodontist
  • Marcia Wallace as Carol Kester, their receptionist
Bob's patients
Bob and Emily's relatives
Neighbors, friends and others
  • Patricia Smith as Margaret Hoover, Emily's friend
  • Tom Poston as Cliff "The Peeper" Murdock, Bob's college friend from Vermont
  • Moosie Drier as Howie Borden, Howard's son
  • Will Mackenzie as Larry Bondurant, Carol's boyfriend and later husband
  • Richard Schaal as Don Livingston (later Don Fesler), boyfriend/short-lived fiancé of Carol's; in the 1st season played Chuck Brock, husband of Nancy, who was briefly engaged to Bob
  • Mariette Hartley as Marilyn Dietz, downstairs neighbor and friend of Emily's
  • Gail Strickland as Courtney Simpson, a girlfriend of Jerry's
  • Raúl Juliá as Dr. Greg Robinson, Jerry's brother
  • Heather Menzies as Debbie Borden, Howard's younger sister
  • William Redfield as Howard's brother, Gordon Borden, the game warden; the actor also appeared in the pilot episode as Margaret's husband Arthur Hoover
Rimpau Medical Arts Center
  • Larry Gelman as Dr. Bernie Tupperman, urologist
  • Howard Platt as Dr. Phil Newman, cosmetic surgeon
  • Shirley O'Hara as Debbie Flett, elderly, scatterbrained temp receptionist who constantly calls Bob "Dr. Ryan"
  • Gene Blakely as Dr. Ralph Tetzi, Ear/Nose/Throat specialist
  • Julie Payne as Dr. Sharon Rudell, who prefers "scream therapy" as a therapeutic device whenever she feels stressed
  • Tom Lacy as Dr. Stan Whelan
  • Paula Shaw as Dr. Tammy Ziegler
  • Ellen Weston as Dr. Sarah Harris
  • Kristina Holland as Gail Bronson, Carol's vacation replacement
  • Phillip R. Allen as Dr. Frank Walburn, another psychologist
  • Teri Garr as Miss Brennan, Dr. Walburn's receptionist
 

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Episodes

Thorndale Beach North condominiums, at 5901 N. Sheridan Road in Chicago's Edgewater community, was used for exterior establishing shots of the Hartleys' apartment building
Further information: List of The Bob Newhart Show episodes
The first four seasons of The Bob Newhart Show aired on Saturday nights at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. During the winter of the 1976–77 season, the program moved to 8:30 p.m. EST. For its final season during 1977–78, the program moved to 8:00 p.m. EST.

The program typically aired following The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which was also produced by MTM Enterprises
 

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Final episode

In the show's final episode, "Happy Trails to You," Bob gives up his psychology practice and accepts a teaching position at a small college in Oregon, with the Hartleys leaving Chicago, as well as their friends and neighbors, and Bob's patients, behind them. The closing scene, in which the cast exchange tearful goodbyes and embrace before bursting into an impromptu refrain of "Oklahoma," is a wry nod to The Mary Tyler Moore Show finale (also produced by MTM) from the previous year.

Later appearances by series characters

St. Elsewhere (1985)

Jack Riley reprised his Elliot Carlin role on a 1985 episode of St. Elsewhere and partnered with Oliver Clark as the amnesiac John Doe Number Six. Carlin and Doe have been committed to the hospital's mental ward, where Carlin treats Doe with the same verbal abuse he directed toward Clark's "Mr. Herd" on The Bob Newhart Show. Carlin blames his insanity on an unnamed "quack in Chicago." While Oliver Clark's recurring portrayal of John Doe Number Six is essentially identical to Mr. Herd, the two are never stated to be the same individual. In a nod to the Mary Tyler Moore Show, John Doe Number Six addresses a character played by Betty White as Sue Ann Nivens, which Betty White's character denied.

ALF (1987)

In the episode "Going Out of My Head Over You", Willie visits a psychologist, Dr. Lawrence "Larry" Dykstra, portrayed by Bill Daily. Jack Riley is in the waiting room, apparently portraying Elliot Carlin. Also in this episode, ALF mentions learning about psychology by watching episodes of The Bob Newhart Show.

Newhart (1988 and 1990)

Riley appears in a 1988 episode of Newhart, playing an unnamed character who acts very much like Mr. Carlin. This character is being treated by the same therapist in Vermont whom Dick Loudon (Bob Newhart) visits for marriage therapy. Dick feels he recognizes Riley's character, but cannot place his face; whereupon the unnamed patient insults him. Echoing Carlin's statement from the 1985 St. Elsewhere, the therapist apologizes for his patient, explaining that it has taken her "years to undo the damage caused by some quack in Chicago."

Later, Bob Newhart and Suzanne Pleshette reprised their roles from the show for the 1990 finale of Newhart, in which it was revealed that the entire Newhart series had been just Bob Hartley's dream. Bob and Emily are shown in a room appearing to be identical to their Chicago apartment bedroom from The Bob Newhart Show.

The Bob Newhart Show 19th Anniversary (1991)

The entire cast assembled for the one-hour clip show The Bob Newhart Show 19th Anniversary in 1991, which finds the show's characters in the present day. This show is set in Chicago, in the same apartment and office that Bob Hartley had in his 1970s show. During the course of the show, the characters analyzed Bob's dream from the Newhart finale. At one point Howard recalled, "I had a dream like that once. I dreamed I was an astronaut in Florida for five years," as scenes from I Dream of Jeannie featuring Bill Daily as Roger Healey were shown.

Murphy Brown (1994)

Newhart played Bob Hartley on Murphy Brown, in the episode "Anything But Cured" (March 14, 1994) to beg Carol (Marcia Wallace reprising her role from The Bob Newhart Show) to leave her job as Murphy's secretary and come back with him to Chicago.

Saturday Night Live (1995)

Newhart reprised Hartley twice in the February 11, 1995 episode of Saturday Night Live. In one sketch, he appears on a satirical version of Ricki Lake, befuddled by both Ms. Lake's dysfunctional guests and Lake's armchair pop psychology. The episode ended with a repeat of Newhart’s "just a dream" scene, in which Bob Hartley again wakes up with Emily (Pleshette), and tells her that he just dreamt he had hosted SNL. Emily responds, "That show's not still on, is it?"

George & Leo (1997)

In the 1997 episode, "The Cameo Episode", Bill Daily makes an appearance as "The Pilot". Jack Riley also appeared on this episode, but it's unclear whom he is portraying.

CBS at 75 (2002)

Newhart and Pleshette, as "The Hartleys", were the hosts of a segment of the CBS at 75 broadcast.
 

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Created byBarry KempDeveloped bySheldon BullStarringBob Newhart
Mary Frann
Jennifer Holmes
Julia Duffy
Tom Poston
Steven Kampmann
Peter Scolari
William Sanderson
Tony Papenfuss
John VoldstadTheme music composerHenry ManciniCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal language(s)EnglishNo. of seasons8No. of episodes184 (list of episodes)ProductionExecutive producer(s)Barry Kemp
Mark Egan
Mark Solomon
Dan WilcoxProducer(s)Sheldon BullRunning time24 minutesProduction company(s)MTM EnterprisesDistributor20th TelevisionReleaseOriginal networkCBSOriginal releaseOctober 25, 1982 – May 21, 1990


Newhart is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from October 25, 1982, to May 21, 1990, with a total of 184 half-hour episodes spanning over eight seasons. The series stars Bob Newhart and Mary Frann as an author and wife who own and operate an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that is home to many eccentric characters. TV Guide, TV Land, and A&E named the Newhart series finale as one of the most memorable in television history. Newhart was recorded on videotape for Season 1, with the remaining seasons shot on film. The theme music for Newhart was composed by Henry Mancini.


Premise

Bob Newhart plays Dick Loudon, an author of do-it-yourself and travel books. He and his wife Joanna move from New York City to a small town in rural Vermont to operate the 200-year-old Stratford Inn. (Although the town's name was never specified in the show, some media sources identified it as Norwich.)[1]

Dick is a sane, mild-mannered everyman surrounded by a community of oddballs in a town that exists in an illogical world governed by rules that elude him. Near the end of the second season, Dick began hosting a low-rated talk show on the town's local television station. As the series progressed, episodes focused increasingly on Dick's TV career and the quirky townsfolk.



 

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Cast

Main
  • Bob Newhart as Dick Loudon: owner of the Stratford Inn
  • Mary Frann as Joanna Loudon: Dick's wife
  • Tom Poston as George Utley: handyman at the Stratford Inn
  • Jennifer Holmes as Leslie Vanderkellen: maid at the Stratford Inn (1982–83)
  • Steven Kampmann as Kirk Devane: owner of the Minuteman Café (1982–84)
  • William Sanderson as Larry, Tony Papenfuss as Darryl and John Voldstad as Darryl: backwoodsmen who live in the same town. The three take over the Minuteman Café following Kirk's departure. The two Darryls never speak until the final episode. (recurring 1982–84, main cast 1984–90)
  • Julia Duffy as Stephanie Vanderkellen: maid at The Stratford and Leslie's cousin (1983–90)
  • Peter Scolari as Michael Harris: producer of Dick's television show and married to Stephanie (recurring 1983–84, main 1984–90)
Recurring
  • William Lanteau as Chester Wanamaker: town mayor (1982–90)
  • Thomas Hill as Jim Dixon: Chester's best friend (1982–90)
  • Rebecca York as Cindy Parker-Devane: professional clown, Kirk's girlfriend and later wife (1983–84)
  • Jeff Doucette as Harley Estin: friend of George who is always looking for a job (1983–88)
  • Fred Applegate as J.J. Wall: director of Dick's television show (1984–87)
  • Ralph Manza as Bud: assistant director of Dick's television show (1984–90)
  • Linda Carlson as Bev Dutton: television station manager (1984–87)
  • Todd Susman as Officer Shifflett: town chief of police (1984–90)
  • Melanie Chartoff as Dr. Mary Kaiser: Stephanie and Michael's therapist (1987–90)
  • Kathy Kinney as Prudence Goddard: town librarian (1988–90)
  • David Pressman as Mr. Rusnak: local shoe store manager (1989–90)
 

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"The Last Newhart"

(Top) Dick Loudon is hit by a golf ball. (Bottom) Dr. Robert Hartley wakes up and tells his wife about the dream he had, of living in an inn in Vermont.
The series finale of Newhart, titled "The Last Newhart", has been described as one of the most memorable in television history.[2][3] The entire town is purchased by a visiting Japanese tycoon, who turns the hamlet into an enormous golf course and recreation resort. Dick and Joanna are the only townspeople who refuse to leave. The others accept huge payoffs and leave in a farewell scene that parodies Fiddler on the Roof.

Five years later, Dick and Joanna continue to run the Stratford Inn, which is now located in the middle of the golf course. The other townspeople, now richer and older than before, unexpectedly return for a reunion. The Darryl brothers also speak for the first time on screen, loudly yelling "Quiet!" at their wives in unison. Dick gets frustrated with the increasingly chaotic scene, eventually storming out shouting "You're all crazy!" only to be knocked out by a golf ball.

The final scene takes place in a setting previously seen on The Bob Newhart Show. Bob Newhart reprises the role of Dr. Bob Hartley, with Suzanne Pleshette reprising the role of Emily, Hartley's wife. Hartley wakes and explains his weird dream, apparently revealing that the entire Newhart series was just a dream. Several references are made to Newhart's former show, including the use of its theme song and credits. Although the Bob Newhart Show theme was missing from the final closing credit shot in the series' initial syndication run, the theme has been reinstated in the current version syndicated by 20th Century Fox Television.
 

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Reception to the finale

Interviews with Newhart, Pleshette, and director Dick Martin[4] reveal that the final scene was kept a secret from the cast and most of the crew. A fake ending was written to throw off the tabloids that involved Dick Loudon going to heaven after being hit with a golf ball and talking to God played by George Burns or George C. Scott. Pleshette was kept hidden until her scene was shot. When the scene began, many people in the audience recognized the set as the bedroom from The Bob Newhart Show and burst into spontaneous applause. Pleshette and Newhart did the scene in one take.[4]

In 1991, the cast of The Bob Newhart Show reunited in a primetime special. One of the things they did was analyze Bob's dream. During the discussion, the Hartleys' neighbor, Howard Borden (Bill Daily), quipped, "I had a dream like that once. I dreamed I was an astronaut in Florida for five seasons", while scenes were shown from I Dream of Jeannie, which featured Daily in all five seasons. At the end of the reunion special, Dr. Bob Hartley gets on the elevator only to see three familiar workmen doing repairs in the elevator and one of them says to Bob, "Hi. I'm Larry. This is my brother Darryl and this is my other brother Darryl."

In his book I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This! And Other Things that Strike Me as Funny, Newhart stated that his wife Ginnie proposed the ending of Newhart.[5] He reiterated this in a 2013 interview with director and comedian David Steinberg, saying,

That was Ginnie's idea. ... She said, 'You ought to end in a dream sequence because there was so much inexplicable about the show.' She said, 'You should wake up in bed with Susie and explain what's so—" and I said, 'What a great idea,' and I gave the idea to the writers and they fleshed it out with the Japanese buying the town and our not selling."[6]

In a letter-to-the-editor published in Entertainment Weekly, the show's executive producers, Mark Egan, Mark Solomon, and Bob Bendetson, wrote, "[T]he final episode of Newhartwas not 'dreamed up' by Bob's wife, Ginny. She had absolutely no connection with the show. ... We wrote and produced the Emmy-nominated script (with special thanks to Dan O'Shannon)."[7]

In November 2005, the series finale was named by TV Guide and TV Land as the most unexpected moment in TV history.[citation needed] The episode was watched by 29.5 million viewers, bringing in an 18.7/29 rating/share, and ranking as the most-watched program that week.

In 2011, the finale was ranked number four on the TV Guide Network special, TV's Most Unforgettable Finales,[8] and in 2013 was ranked number 1 in Entertainment Weekly's 20 Best TV Series Finales Ever.
 

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In popular culture

On the February 11, 1995 episode of Saturday Night Live which was hosted by Bob Newhart, the episode's closing sketch ended with a redux of Newhart's final scene, in which Bob Hartley again wakes with his wife Emily (special guest Suzanne Pleshette) and tells her that he had just had a dream of hosting Saturday Night Live. Emily responds, "Saturday Night Live, is that show still on?"—this during a period when SNL was heavily criticized for its declining quality.[10][11]

In 2010, Jimmy Kimmel Live! presented several parody alternate endings to the television show Lost, one of which mirrored the finale of Newhart complete with a cameo appearance by Bob Newhart and with Lost star Evangeline Lilly in place of Emily/Pleshette.[12]

The final scene with Newhart and Pleshette was later parodied in an alternate ending to the television series Breaking Bad where actor Bryan Cranston wakes from a dream next to his Malcolm in the Middle co-star Jane Kaczmarek where they assume their respective roles of Hal and Lois. Hal recounts the events of Breaking Bad in humorous fashion as though he is horrified that he could do those things albeit as Walter White. Lois reassures him that everything is all right and the final shot is of Walter's hat.[13]

The final scene of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson parodied this, as well. After revealing that Bob Newhart had been playing the on-set pantomime horse Secretariat, Ferguson wakes up as his The Drew Carey Show character Nigel Wick, in bed with his co-star Drew Carey. The two then discuss the crazy possibility of Wick being a talk show host and Carey losing weight and becoming a game show host. (The shot continued with a parody of the twist ending of St. Elsewhere and then the closing song from The Sopranosfinale.)
 

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Reception

Newhart was a solid ratings winner finishing six out of eight seasons in the Nielsen top 25 at its highest rating of number 12 for two consecutive seasons from 1986 to 1988. Despite not finishing in the top 30 for its last two seasons, Bob Newhart stated in an interview with the Archive of American Television that CBS was satisfied enough with the show's ratings to renew it for a ninth season in 1990. However, Newhart, who was anxious to move onto other projects, declined the offer, promising CBS that he would develop a new series for the network, which he was under contract to do. This resulted in the 1992 series Bob, which lasted for two seasons.
 

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Bob
Genre
Comedy
Created by Bill Steinkellner
Cheri Steinkellner

Phoef Sutton
Written by Mark Evanier
Phoef Sutton
Directed by Dick Martin
Andrew D. Weyman
Starring Bob Newhart
Carlene Watkins
Cynthia Stevenson
John Cygan
Michael Cumpsty
Andrew Bilgore
Timothy Fall
Ruth Kobart
Lisa Kudrow
Tom Poston
Dorothy Lyman
Christine Dunford
Dick Martin
Betty White
Jere Burns
Megan Cavanaugh
Eric Allan Kramer
Country of origin USA
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 33
Production
Executive producer(s)
Bill Steinkellner
Cherie Steinkellner
Phoef Sutton
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Steinkellners & Sutton
Paramount Television
Distributor CBS Television Distribution
Release
Original network
CBS
Original release September 18, 1992 – December 27, 1993
Chronology
Preceded by
Newhart


Bob is an American sitcom which aired on CBS from September 18, 1992, to December 27, 1993, with a total of 33 half-hour episodes spanning over two seasons. It was the third starring vehicle sitcom for Bob Newhart, and proved to be far less successful than The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart, his previous outings with the network. Bill Steinkellner, Cheri Steinkellner, and Phoef Sutton comprised the creative writing team behind the show. The series was produced by Paramount Television. The series was set in Chicago, Illinois.






 

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Synopsis

First season

Newhart portrayed Bob McKay, the creator of the 1950s comic book superhero "Mad-Dog". Mad-Dog was a casualty of the Comics Code Authority, a real-life self-regulation authority formed to assuage concerns over violence and gore in comics in the 1950s. In the wake of the CCA, Bob became a greeting card artist, and years later Mad-Dog is revived when the American-Canadian Trans-Continental Communications Company buys the rights to the series. Complications ensued when Ace Comics head Harlan Stone (John Cygan) insisted Mad-Dog should be a bloodthirsty vigilante rather than the hero Bob originally created. Bob initially turned down Harlan's offer to revive the series with the publisher, but after his wife, Kaye (Carlene Watkins), reminded Bob that Mad-Dog would never give up dreams in the face of defeat, he decided to compromise with Harlan on creative direction, and the two became a team.

On the personal side, Bob and Kaye had been married for over 25 years; Kaye was loyal and sensible, and a busy career woman herself (although she nearly quit her job in the pilot, especially after seeing the estimated figure Bob would pull in yearly from the revival of Mad-Dog). Also creating havoc in Bob's life was his grown daughter Trisha (Cynthia Stevenson), who bemoaned her perpetually single state. Other members of the comics staff included Albie Lutz (Andrew Bilgore), a klutzy gofer with low self-esteem; Chad Pfefferle (Timothy Fall), a spaced-out cartoon inker; and curmudgeonly Iris Frankel (Ruth Kobart), an old-timer artist at the office who worked with Bob in his early days (she still called him "Bobby McKay"). Seen occasionally in the beginning, but receiving increased screen time as the series progressed were Trisha's best friend, Kathy Fleisher (Lisa Kudrow); Kathy's parents Patty (Dorothy Lyman) and Jerry (Tom Poston), a fellow comic book writer alumnus who created "The Silencer"; Shayla (Christine Dunford), Harlan's on-and-off girlfriend; and Buzz Loudermilk, as played by Dick Martin (a regular director on the series), a friend of Bob's, creator of "Katie Carter, Army Nurse," and a mature ladies' man. Other Ace Comics titles included Blue Streak, Heat the She-Wolf, Lady Minerva, Mazza the She-Devil, Oyster Boy, Sex Cats, Tiny Silver Hands, Z-Man and Boing-Boing, and The New Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Ace's best-selling title, much to Harlan's chagrin.

One character was heard but not seen — Mr. Terhorst (voice of Michael Cumpsty), the president of AmCanTranConComCo who communicated with all his employees anywhere that fiber-optics could be installed. Harlan even provided Bob will a cellular phone in which Mr. Terhorst would randomly tap into it and begin talking to Bob in his most private, intimate hours. Cryptic yet resourceful, Terhorst was a master mediator in all creative differences in the office, and was determined to make Mad-Dog a cultural phenomenon. Also of note was the shows real life cartoonist and Hollywood storyboard artist, Paul Power who created all the Mad-Dog artwork and visual props and was an actor and background player on screen.

During the series' first year, Trisha collected her neuroses and pushed herself harder into the dating scene, with Bob offering her a position on the Mad-Dog staff along the way. When Trisha joined, Chad instantly developed a crush on her. Later in the season, she and Kathy moved into their own apartment, where Albie, in need of a place, joined them temporarily. Harlan and Shayla, who had quite the tempestuous relationship, became serious and talked about marriage.

A couple of cameos from Bill Daily (who played Howard on The Bob Newhart Show) brought cheers from the live audience when he arrived at the house as one of Bob's poker buddies. Daily's character said "Hi, Bob." whenever he showed up. Singer and actor Steve Lawrence guest starred as another poker buddy during the first season.



 

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Second season

In the final episode of the first season, AmCanTranConComCo was sold to a millionaire who hated comic books, and the entire Mad-Dog staff, including Bob, was fired. When Bobreturned in late October 1993, the show was revamped completely. All of Bob's co-workers from the previous season disappeared and the show's premise had changed. Sylvia Schmitt (Betty White), the wife of his former boss (who had run off with his dental hygienist), hired Bob as President of Schmitt Greetings. Her obnoxious son Pete (Jere Burns), the Vice-President of Sales who had expected to take over the company and now had to work for Bob, was irate. Others working at the company were the sarcastic bookkeeper Chris Szelinski (Megan Cavanagh) and dumb but lovable Whitey van der Bunt (Eric Allan Kramer), a member of the production team who adored Bob. Trisha and Kathy remained friends and housemates on a quest for true love, and at one point, Sylvia even set Pete up with Trisha, much to Bob's dismay. Sylvia herself had never lost her following of men, with none other than Buzz moving in on her.
 

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Production

In a rarity for TV sitcoms of the time, Bob was filmed, with a video assist for the directors and producers to monitor the show during filming.

All the artwork in season one was done by movie storyboard artist Paul Power, who also appears as an extra in most of the comics studio scenes.

The series' theme music was originally a full orchestral piece featuring a heavy horns and woodwinds sound, an arrangement very much in style of the Superman and Batmanmovies.[citation needed] The opening sequence that accompanied it featured Bob McKay at his artist's desk drawing, inking, then coloring a Mad-Dog comic as the credits appeared. The show's title appeared in a thin, 3-D rendition of Helvetica font in the pilot episode; after, it was redesigned to be a bolder capital font, but with the same yellow base and red shadowing color. The opening credits appeared in a bold comic-style font.

In the second season, as part of the show's revamping, a short opening credits sequence, just featuring the title, was used. The theme music also changed to a soft classical tune, featuring a flute.

In addition to the change in Bob's career setting in the second season, the set of Bob and Kaye's house significantly changed as well. There were no references in the scripts to suggest that the McKays had moved, however.

Cynthia Stevenson would later be hired by Bob producers Bob and Cheri Steinkellner as one of the leads for their NBC/Warner Bros. Television sitcom Hope & Gloria (1995–96).

The show's brief title followed Newhart's previous eponymous series The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart. During an appearance on The Tonight Show during the run of Newhart, the actor had joked that his next series would probably be titled, simply, Bob.
 
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