Bob Newhart

Holy shit, Carol = Edna Krabapple! I never made that connection, but of course, that voice!

The first season is new on DVD.

I find TBNS waaay less self-congratulatory than Seinfeld.

I even remember, sometimes, when I would have a really awful day at school, I would actually think about that show and that character and try to remind myself that it wasn't me that was crazy, it was the school (turns out, of course, that it was both).

"You can't do it
You can't do it
You can't conquer a Whale!"

I guess Ray Romano is supposed to be an example of this, but it's not funny *at all*.

This PBS retros of Newhart's career airs tonight in most of the country... I never realized how 'overnight' his success was as a standup... he got the Best Album Grammy (not comedy album -- the major award) for his FIRST live club engagement.

I love Newhart's response to an Emily Gets Pregnant script: "Very funny; who will you get to play Bob?"

Aside from the fact that some of his jokes were just fucking terrible (of the "asians eat dogs" and "women are bad drivers" variety)

OTM in the first case (I cringed), but I demur on the second (The Driving Instructor bit was the only classic he did from the first 2 albums, I think). What can one reasonably expect from a guy who started writing jokes 50 years ago? It was a different culture. He also had a canny setup bit when he initially drew groans from women in the audience:

"Some of you think it's sexist? OK, I can adjust. We'll make it a Chinese driver. [Sits in chair and begins to speak in pidgin Chinese.] Now I can do this for the next 8 minutes, or..."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103372/

I didn't know there was a second (albeit short) season.

maybe my favorite episode of television ever.

btw Neil Patrick Harris, yes, Bob Newhart was an accountant. #buttoneddownmind

he should do a silent movie, he was hilarious last night without saying a word.

He looks the same for years now. he guest starred in an episode of The Big Bang Theory, for which he won his first Primetime Emmy Award

Haven't seen his guest spot

it's okay

90 today

If you can access it:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/04/arts/television/bob-newhart.html

that interview was wonderful, especially this:

On your 1980s sitcom “Newhart,” you had one of the most famous finales in TV history, waking up to discover the entire show was a dream.

Some people felt cheated. They devoted eight years of their life and it turns out none of them existed.

What’s your response?

O.K.

'Tis the day for TBNS S4 E11, "Over the River and Through the Woods."

if Howard Borden was my neighbor i would have him arrested

he is an idiot and a menace
DO NOT LET HIM IN YOUR APARTMENT BOB HE IS A NIGHTMARE

(but i love the actor bcz I Dream Of Jeannie)

seriously, I started watching reruns of this recently, for the first time since I was a kid, and it never occurred to me how freakin annoying and boundary-less dude he is… “here I’ll just pop into my neighbors house with my new upright bass”

I had forgotten how sweet and funky the theme tune is.

I've been watching an episode each week--this show is relentlessly brown! It's a shame no one has given it a remaster--both the streaming and DVD episodes look subpar, especially when compared to Columbo. (Although the latter is blu-ray, so perhaps an unfair comparison). My Mary Tyler Moore sets also look a little pixelated.

My favorite bit of the theme is when it slows down in the middle, with the tinkly piano.

I would also be uncomfortable with Howard Borden being my flight navigator.

Have we mentioned the excellent use of this shop in the "Hi Bob!" episode of For All Mankind when the three of them are all alone together on Jamestown Base?

otm! i think about that all the time

Shop = show. My autocorrect needs an autocorrect

I can't think of anyone else to have done the thing Newhart did in his old phone-call routines where ... it's just a solo straightman! Alone on a stage, reacting to implied dialogue. Totally agree with Nick in his thread start about how this made the sitcoms interesting: they have a straightman so good he doesn't even need comedy to react to, so they can just set up a mundane awkward conflict and it's more than funny enough to watch the guy just stand there in it. I can think of a few performers you could kind of do this with today, but I can't picture any television brave enough to actually try it.

nabisco otm!

Peter Sellers was brilliant when he did something similar in Dr. Strangelove. By then, Newhart's phone bits were already well-known and massively popular, so one wonders if it came to mind when they wrote that scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO7O7meqZlo

FWIW, a cursory search shows that Newhart's a big fan of the film, especially due to Sellers's performance (paywall prevents me from seeing whether he mentions the aforementioned scene).

Never thought of that before (or did I?) but it makes sense.