Four years after his first CBS sitcom ended, Bob Newhart returned with another sitcom, this one being more successful than the first.
Newhart ran for 9 seasons (1982-90), as opposed to 6 for The Bob Newhart Show (1972-8). This time, Newhart plays Dick Loudon, a successful author who relocates with his wife (Mary Frann) from New York to Vermont to take charge of an inn. Aside from the locale being different, the fact that the lead characters had moved from New York wasn't new (Green Acres).
However, there were some tweaks and changes. For starters, Kirk, the owner of a neighboring inn (Steven Kampmann), was written out after the 2nd season. Denise, the maid, left after the first season, with her cousin taking her place. At the end of the 2nd season, Loudon becomes a local talk show host, in addition to his other duties running the Stratford Inn. In hindsight, this was an even better fit for Newhart's Everyman persona.
But, in a creative decision similar to an infamous episode of another CBS series, Dallas, the final episode in 1990 revealed that the entire series was a 9 year dream of Newhart's previous TV alter-ego, Bob Hartley, in Chicago, with then-on-screen wife Suzanne Pleshette a special surprise guest. The only other link between the two series was series regular Tom Poston, who filled the time between Newhart's two shows by landing a supporting role on Mork & Mindy.
The fan-favorite trio of Larry, Darryl, & Darryl wouldn't debut until the 3rd season, and won't be seen in this first season Christmas episode, which has parallels to a certain Nativity story......
Rating: B.
Fun Fact:
ReplyDeleteAbout a year after the finale of the second Newhart, CBS ordered up a clip-show "reunion" of the first Newhart Show, with the original cast: Pleshette, Bonerz, Wallace, Daily et al.
The set was the lobby of Dr. Hartley's office, with Bob's family and friends trying to talk him down from "that crazy dream" he had about New England.
The Big Finish:
After an hour of clips, all the regulars get on one of the elevators to leave; Dr. Bob stays behind for a few seconds to regroup.
When the other elevator arrives, there are three maintenance guys working on it ...
... and when the audience cheers die down, one of the three speaks:
"I'm Larry, this my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl."
... and Dr. Bob says "I think I'll take the stairs ..." - and does so.
And - Scene.
Hey, I liked it ...
I'm still trying to figure out why they took that route to end "Newhart", considering it was the longer, more successful show.
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