The Case

Three minutes and ten seconds into the last episode of The Bob Newhart Show: The Final Season, Chicago Psychologist Bob Hartley (Newhart), addresses the long-standing members of his weekly group therapy session:

"I've decided to take a new direction in my career, and I've accepted a post at a small college in Oregon."

That was all, folks. That's how they wrapped up a long-running, much-loved sitcom in the halcyon days of the late '70s—none of this countdown-to-execution style crap dished out today ("Only eight episodes left. You won't want to miss the big finale that everybody's going to be talking about!") they do whenever a veteran weekly laffer heads off to rerun heaven. Just one and done. Short and sweet. Buh-BYE, Bob!

Actually, Bob (Newhart) was gone long before Dr. Hartley's announcement in that fateful group therapy session—In spirit, anyway. In his autobiography, I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This! And Other Things That Strike Me as Funny, Newhart states that "After five seasons, The Bob Newhart Show was still at the top of its game, which is exactly where I wanted to end it. The problem was that CBS had me under contract for another year."

Using his considerable clout, the star was able to negotiate a lighter work schedule for himself during Season Six. First, there were only twenty two—instead of the usual twenty four—episodes this time out. Even more importantly, these included a handful of stories that had Bob "out of town," essentially leaving Emily (Suzanne Pleshette), Jerry (Peter Bonerz), Carol (Marcia Wallace) and company to fend for themselves. Of course, these were seasoned professionals playing these much-loved characters, so it hardly led to disaster, but as you can imagine, there's something lacking in these Bob Newhart's Co-stars Show episodes.

There are also a number of "what were they thinking?!" elements: In the season opener, the Hartleys move up to the penthouse apartment in their building. Why? The new set doesn't seem to serve any purpose, aside from looking different. Not better or worse, mind you—though I much preferred their old apartment—but it does make the constant intrusions of neighbor Howard Borden (Bill Daily), now several floors below them (as opposed to just across the hall), seem a lot less plausible.

Speaking of Howard, the wacky bachelor continues to lose brain cells at an alarming rate. For instance, at one point, he gets so incensed that his Pizza delivery order is wrong that he resolves to "sue Italy." Howard's supposed to be a professional airline pilot, but really, I wouldn't trust this man to fly a kite! It's truly a tribute to Daily's unique skills that this houseguest-that-will-not-leave remains funny and likable, if not the least bit believable.

But the most telling sign that the show's creators have checked out early has to do with the evolution of Carol's character. You may recall that in the final episode of Season Five, Bob's zany, red-afroed secretary announced that she was pregnant? Well, apparently that condition cleared up over the summer hiatus, never to be mentioned again. What the what the…WHAT?!

Not to worry, there are plenty of golden comic nuggets to be mined from this final season; it's just not quite up to par with the ones that came before it.

As for the technicals, what can I say? Shout! Factory presents these eps in their original 1.33:1 full frame, with no apparent clean-up effort expended. I'll admit that they're watchable, which isn't to say that some of what's on screen isn't pretty rough looking. The Dolby 1.0 Mono mix is equally threadbare, and Shout! Factory's stubborn refusal to subtitle these older programs continues to be a customer disservice. In this case, the very last line of the very last episode (spoken by Bill Daily) seems to be lost forever.

Getting back to that last episode, there's one final, classic touch. Determined not to dissolve into a puddle of sobs and tears at their going-away party, Emily has come up with a little defense strategy. Whenever she feels her emotions starting to get the better of her, she'll start singing. The trouble is, she only knows two songs all the way through: "Oklahoma," and "Melancholy Baby." Cue the wind, sweepin' down the plain, right behind the rain, with the wavin' wheat smellin' sweet, and all the rest. Aside from ending the show (literally) on a high note, this strategy actually seemed to come in handy for the actors, who seemed about to burst into real tears just before the curtain fell.

'Night, Howard. 'Night, Jerry. 'Night, Carol. 'Nite, Emily. 'Nite Bob.

Case Number 28321: Small Claims Court

The Bob Newhart Show: The Final Season

All Rise...

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