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The Bob Newhart Show - The Complete First Season by Alan Rafkin, George Tyne, Jay Sandrich, Jerry London, Martin Cohan
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DVD detailsActor: Bill Daily, Bob Newhart, Marcia Wallace, Peter Bonerz, Suzanne Pleshette Director: Alan Rafkin, George Tyne, Jay Sandrich, Jerry London, Martin Cohan Brand: NEWHART,BOB Writer: Austin Kalish DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 1.0; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 1.0 Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled Picture Format: 1.33:1 Running Time: 630 minutes DVD Release Date: 2005-04-12 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of The Bob Newhart Show - The Complete First SeasonDVD Review: Bob Newhart Summary: 5 StarsThe season that started it all. Still funny and a great example
of comedic timing.
DVD Review: The best of seasons 1-3 Summary: 4 StarsSurprising that there are no special features and that the sound is a little flat.
But the amazing big point is that this show got off to a rousing start! (Despite the presumptive pilot episode when Bob plays the typicak frantic sitcom husband who really wants a kid). It seems the characters are fully developed - if the set contains shooting dates, I missed it - but unlike so many sitcoms (even the classics like The Honeymooners, Seinfeld, The Odd Couple) which had that rough-around-the-edges exaggeration in the early stages. Jerry and Carol, especially, are right on the money; in fact, Carol is perhaps even funnier and sexier than in later years. Another plus is that Howard, the out of sorts next door neighbor who happens to be an airline pilot (the writers stretched a bit on that deal), has less tod o and that's good. Want a character to slow down the works with a spaced out soliliqy? - that's what we got more and more of as the series progressed but that character never did.
We also have the benefit of no "Bob's sister", who was omnipresent in later seasons. A very dull and unnecessary addition - the writers apparently thought she'd make a good helpmate for Borden. It was grueling.
It's easy to throw in the word "dated", but it's really unavoidable, and even some of the best-loved characters, including Mr. Carlin, are just too unbelievable.
A highlight of this set is the episode with Chuck McCann, as a noisy co-vacationer, who stays at the adjoining cabine (or room)...no problem sharing the bathroom with Bob and Emily. They're staying at a mountain retreat, with just two other folks, and the four or five staffers who at as waiters, entertainers, social directors, whatever.
This set is a good place to start if you are a fan of Bob Newhart...or just far above average '70s sitcoms.
DVD Review: Very nice - a good investment Summary: 5 StarsIt takes a little while to get used to seeing the shows again; once you take them at their face value, and just enjoy them, it is quite a treat to watch one. We try to limit ourselves to one per sitting, so as not to get burned out on them. We enjoy them quite a bit!
DVD Review: blast from the past! Summary: 4 StarsThis was a great investment. I am more entertained by these old shows than by 95% of what is on TV today. The editing is a bit choppy, but I'm assuming that is due to the time it was filmed to begin with. Great buy!
DVD Review: Oh Bob Summary: 2 StarsI always loved the Newhart show, but never got to experience The Bob Newhart Show. It's a start and you can see as it goes on the characters developing. I'm almost halfway through and I can see Suzanne's character change to what we all remember her as, so savvy, not the typical housewife. One thing I do notice, the interaction and admiration between the husband and wife. As far as the other characters I am not too impressed, you see too much of the airline navigator/neighbor stopping by too much and too much of Jerry Robinson, the Dentist. It's usually Bob's patients that will generally make you laugh and I hope to see more of them in the upcoming seasons. I am not so happy with the way it was restored. The color seems very brown and the audio is terrible compared to most shows, but it is the 1st season. And as far as I can see, no great special features on this one. But like I said, it's a start and part of a collection set to improve.
Description of The Bob Newhart Show - The Complete First SeasonIt's time again to say "Hi, Bob!" when The Bob Newhart Show Season 1 hits DVD on April 12, 2005! Relive the memories of this true comedy classic -- a "must have" for TV comedy fans! In addition to inspiring a college drinking game that's never gone out of style, The Bob Newhart Show gave one of America's greatest stand-up comedians a perfect sitcom showcase. This wasn't Newhart's first TV show (following the success of his comedy albums, he hosted a short-lived variety show in 1961-62), but it was the first to transfer his wry, inimitable wit to an effective alter ego, and as mild-mannered psychologist Bob Hartley, 43-year-old Newhart found a sublime character conduit for stone-faced sarcasm that was biting but never malicious. Watch our exclusive interview with Bob Newhart: high bandwidth or low bandwidth | Living in a Chicago high-rise with Emily, his wife of three years and a third-grade schoolteacher (played with underrated smartness by Suzanne Pleshette), 40-year-old Bob divides his time equally between happy (but not too happy) domesticity and time at the office, where he employs a feisty and frequently lovelorn receptionist Carol (Marcia Wallace, who later enjoyed a thriving career providing voices for The Simpsons and other animated shows) who also works for Jerry (Peter Bonerz, who became a respected TV director), a bachelor dentist and Bob's best friend. The first season (of six, on CBS until August 1978) offered the same high quality as The Mary Tyler Moore Show (also produced by Moore's MTM Enterprises) and established many of the memorable characters who contributed to the show's enduring greatness. Bill Daily (late of I Dream of Jeannie) would thrive as the Hartley's divorced neighbor Howard (his uninvited "Hi Bob!" intrusions inspired that infamous drinking game), while married neighbor Margaret (Patricia Smith) would disappear by season's end. Among Bob's hilarious group-therapy patients, the miserable misanthrope Mr. Carlin (Jack Riley) was a comedic goldmine as the series progressed, but it's Newhart's own comic genius--including his perfected phone-call routines and deadpan reactions to everyday dilemmas--that remained the show's greatest asset. These 24 first-season episodes are remarkably consistent under the direction (mostly) of sitcom veterans Jay Sandrich and Alan Rafkin, and guest stars include Penny Marshall, Louise Lasser, Allen Garfield, Chuck McCann, and a host of other '70s TV stalwarts, all meshing nicely with one of TV's funniest ensemble casts. --Jeff Shannon
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