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The Bob Newhart Show - The Complete Third Seasonx$15.85
  (23 reviews)
Best Price: $29.98 $15.85
Bob Newhart is back as successful Chicago psychologist Dr. Robert Hartley in the third season of this hilarious '70s sitcom. As the good doctor continues working with his patients on their issues he continues to be a "master of denial" concerning his own personal issues at home. But Bob is finally forced to accept the fact that he may have a problem or two when his obsessive-compulsive behavior and inferiority complex cause his self-doubt to soar and his patient list to shrink. Maybe it's finally time he took his wife's advice and scheduled a psychologist appointment of his own!Episodes-Bonus Features: Episode Description:Disc 1 side 1:Big Brother is WatchingThe Battle of the GroupsThe Great Timpau Medical Arts ExperimentThe Sepration StoryDisc 1 side 2:Sorry Wrong MotherThe Gray Flannel ShrinkDr. Ryan's ExpressBrutally Yours Bob HartleyDisc 2 side 1:Ship of ShrinksLife is a HamburgerAn American FamilyWe Love You. . . Good ByeDisc 2 side 2:Jerry Robinson CrusoeServe for DaylightHome is Where the Hurt IsTobin's Back in TownDisc 3 side 1:Think Smartly-- Vote HartleyThe Way We Weren'tA Pound of FleshMy Business is ShrinkingDisc 3 side 2:The New LookBob Hits the CeilingEmily Hits the CeilingThe Ceiling Hits BobSystem Requirements:Running Time 632 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 024543227984 Manufacturer No: 2232798
It's more of the same in this box set from the third season of The Bob Newhart Show. That's altogether a good thing, as the mid-'70s series (these 24 episodes, compiled on three discs, come from 1974-75) remains a model of restraint in a sea of sit-com overkill, then and now. What a pleasure, not to mention a relief, it is to watch a comedy that manages to be more than a frantic cavalcade of shrill one-liners, would-be witty repartee, and endless sexual innuendo. Not that the show (the first of his two long-running series; Newhart followed in 1982), isn't funny. As Bob Hartley, Newhart brings his usual repertoire of deadpan takes, mild physical shtick, and exquisite timing to the part of a sometimes reticent, often confused Chicago psychologist who's not a whole lot more comfortable in his own skin than some of his group therapy patients; it's his equanimity as a performer that keeps the character amusing without going over the top. And while the other roles (including the reliable Suzanne Pleshette as wife Emily, Peter Bonerz as bachelor orthodontist Jerry Robinson, and Bill Daily as neighbor Howard Borden) are also well-defined, this is genuinely an ensemble program, dependent more on the characters' interactions than on the storylines and gags. Without a doubt, some of it will seem dated; when Emily (Pat Finley) moves in with Howard across the hall, the buttoned-up Bob treats his thirtysomething sister as if she were his teenage daughter, a dynamic that will hardly ring true these days. But The Bob Newhart Show makes no effort whatsoever to be hip. Indeed, its very squareness (cf. Bob's ironic description of one of Emily's outfits as "boss threads") is a big part of its charm, as is the fact that this is first and foremost a show for grownups. Bonus features include commentary (by Newhart and others) on five episodes, as well as a "making of" featurette. Nothing special, but with well over ten hours of material, the set is still a bargain. --Sam Graham
MPN: 2232798 - UPC: 024543227984
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Customer Reviews
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Third Season for Bob Newhart
By A349SDBAUDKWMS on 2006-03-15
Bob's third season consists of the following:
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING Bob struggles to come to terms with the idea of his little sister, Ellen, moving in with Howard.
BATTLE OF THE GROUPS Bob takes two of his therapy groups on a retreat into the woods, and all they do is complain about the accommodations. Daniel J. Travanti guest stars.
THE GREAT TIMPAU MEDICAL ARTS EXPERIMENT Jerry suggests the doctors treat each other for free. Result: chaos.
THE SEPARATION STORY Bob's up to his neck in patients and Emily's trying to finish her master's thesis, so they decide to live apart for awhile.
SORRY, WRONG MOTHER In an effort to please his son Howie, Howard tries to revamp Ellen into the perfect mom. John Ritter guest stars.
THE GRAY FLANNEL SHRINK Bob gives up private practice to join the corporate world as a staff psychologist.
DR RYAN'S EXPRESS Jerry hires a temp receptionist who can't even remember Bob's name.
BRUTALLY YOURS, BOB HARTLEY Bob discovers that honesty isn't always the best policy.
SHIP OF SHRINKS Bob's first book bombs, making him reticent to go to a psychology convention to Hawaii...even before finding out that Howard is the navigator on the Hawaii-bound flight.
LIFE IS A HAMBURGER Carol announces her engagement to Don Fezler, a man with bad feet and worse poetry.
AN AMERICAN FAMILY It's the Thanksgiving from Hell, because Bob's mother and Emily's father can't stand each other. Barnard Hughes guest stars.
WE LOVE YOU...GOODBYE Bob is kicked out of the all-female consciousness-raising group he started when Emily joins.
JERRY ROBINSON CRUSOE Jerry decides to leave his dental practice in order to follow his dream girl to Tahiti.
SERVE FOR DAYLIGHT Bob and Emily team up to win a doctor's tennis tournament.
HOME IS WHERE THE HURT IS Carol can't stand the thought of going home for Christmas, so instead goes to Bob and Emily's.
TOBIN'S BACK IN TOWN Ellen's handsome ex-boyfriend comes to Chicago to win her back from Howard. Fred Willard guest stars.
THINK SMARTLY...VOTE HARTLEY Bob somehow winds up running for chairman of the school board.
THE WAY WE WEREN'T Emily is suspicious when Bob clams up about an old flame...then Howard spills the beans.
A POUND OF FLESH Jerry grates on Bob's last nerve when he demands Bob loan him the money to buy a motorcycle.
MY BUSINESS IS SHRINKING Bob's patient list is dwindling, so he decides to see a psychiatrist to try to figure out the problem.
THE NEW LOOK Emily decides to make over their apartment; Bob hates it.
BOB HITS THE CEILING Bob breaks his own rule about treating people he knows when he tries to help Emily's friend.
EMILY HITS THE CEILING Emily wants Bob to become a counselor at a children's summer camp.
THE CEILING HITS BOB Bob's office ceiling collapses and he is forced to live a nomadic existence, shrinking heads wherever he can find the space.
In Need Of Group Therapy
By AWLFVCT9128JV on 2006-07-21
The third season (1974-1975) of "The Bob Newhart Show" for me is not quite as good as the second season. To be sure, there are many very funny episodes, but there is one area where it seems to come up short and that is the lack of appearances by the main group of patients. In fact, Mrs. Bakerman (Florida Friebus) doesn't appear at all during the season, and for the only appearance of Mr. Gianelli he is played by Daniel J. Travanti (later of Hill Street Blues) instead of by Noam Pitlik who played him in the previous seasons. In addition, John Fiedler makes only one appearance as Mr. Peterson during the season.
That is not to say that there are no Group appearances, because they do experiment with some new groups such as an all woman's group, and an elderly group (including Mr. Carlin), and they even have Bob as a patient in a group (again including Mr. Carlin). They also develop some new or previously rarely seen patients such as Mr. Herd (Oliver Clark), Mr. Plager (Howard Hesseman), Mrs. Loomis (Merie Earle), and the very funny Mr. Vickers (Lucian Scott). Ellen Hartley (Pat Finley) also becomes a fairly regular member of the cast.
In season two there were many guest stars which went on to make names for themselves, and there are a few this year as well but not as many and for the most part they are not as well known as those in season two. John Ritter is great as Dave, a server at an ice cream shop. Edward Winter plays an ambitious executive at an insurance company. Fred Willard plays Ellen's ex-fiancé John Tobin. Also, Bob's real-life father-in-law Bill Quinn makes a couple of appearances as Eddie the Mailman.
There are many very funny episodes this season as well. In "The Battle of the Groups" Bob is talked into taking two of his groups on a marathon session. "The Great Timpau Medical Co-op Experiment" is another wonderful episode in which Bob's fellow doctors form a co-op where they treat each other for free. The doctors also play a big role in "Serve for Daylight" where they compete in a mixed-doubles tennis tournament. Bob gives up his private practice to become a staff psychologist at Loggers Casualty Insurance Company in "The Gray Flannel Shrink". Emily helps to organize a children's summer camp in "Emily Hits the Ceiling". There are many more as well.
All 24 episodes are included on three 2-sided DVDs as was the case with the first two seasons. Like the second season, there are five episodes with commentary, and there is a featurette for the season on the third disk. Once again the commentaries are not very engaging, and this is probably true because Bob's talking style is very drawn out and he is known for great reactions which cannot be captured on an audio commentary effectively. Bob is on all the commentaries and there are two with Peter Bonerz who plays Dr. Jerry Robinson; one with Fred Willard; one with director Jim Burrows; and Bob does one by himself. The one with Jim Burrows is my favorite, as he talks about his early directing experiences and where he messed up when filming the episode.
Season Two was better
By A3Q4XAQXKKV6V on 2006-04-01
I realize I am going against conventional wisdom in that "all old shows" get 5 stars for nostaglia factor "regardless" however I have problems with Season Three and I call them as I sees them.
I really do not care for Bobs sister "Ellen" and she houses a fairly significant role in this Season. Her role just alters the chemistry between Bob & Emily, in fact the show seems altered when she is on the set and her persona bothers me. A bigger problem I have with this Season is the fact that too many of the stories either do not involve Bob or Emily or many do not further their characters. The past Seasons had Bob trying to come to grips with buying a house and the two thinking about kids, this season had none of that and too many scripts revolve around not so funny moments with irrelavent story lines. In short, the writing was less personalized and seemed more "70's assembly line" (Bob runs for office? Gah. Talk about out-of-idea-cliches!). The humor here in Season Three of Bob Newhart is also canned jokes that really only made me laugh a time or two. This is not to say I do not endorse buying the show, it is still a nice value, however in the world of Bob Newhart, IMO, this is the weak link so far.
The extras are welcomed and while sparse still OUTDUE all others for older shows like ALL in the Family which have none. And like All in the Family Season Four, I distinguish between good seasons and bad and do not just give them all five stars. There are bright moments though, when Bill Daily is trying to impress his son and make him like Ellen was quite good, but then again, it seemed more like a spin off since Bob and Emily were once again in the background.
Is it possible for a series to get better (YES)
By A20EEWWSFMZ1PN on 2006-04-12
Season one was a great start. Season two (1973-1974) seems like they found what works best and even improved. Season three adds many popular people and maintains the tradition of good writing and acting.
Aside from the great acting one thing that makes this program work is that they pick on problems that one could actually face and show how absurd one can get before coming back to earth. There is everything from job loss to weight gain.
On this set of DVDs there are some commentaries; the commentaries are not as well thought put as they could have been, however they do add a dimension to the episodes. I hope they still keep going with the series.
We did learn that somewhere out there is a pilot of Peter Bonerz whom plays Dr. Jerry Robinson plays a more advances psychologist instead of a dentist. This would make a great extra.
Mean time you may recognize some of the actors from other programs.
More Please....
By A2RAV8KNJ5PF12 on 2006-04-28
I Love This Cast!!!!!! I Grew Up Watching This Show And Loved Emily & Carol, Played By Such GREAT Actresses. I Can't Wait For Next Season!! So Many Wonderful Memories And So Much Laughter, I Love Not Having To Watch The Crud The Networks Put Out Now!!!
- You can't eat a whale!!
By A11ED8O95W2103 on 2006-07-03
For the past thirty or so years I've remembered the classic ice cream restaurant spoof where Bob tries not to attract the attention of the obnoxious waiters and ends up being celebrated as a "single scooper party pooper". This was likely a spoof of the Farrell's chain of ice cream restaurants that hit their peak of popularity just about the time of this season of Bob Newhart.
That was the single funniest sit-com moment of my pre-teen years and I wondered if I would ever see it again. I did research to find out what season this episode is in, and it turned out to be this season so I bought it.
I had a great time watching that episode, but the others are good too. I like a sit com with great chemistry and subtle humor (not many of those around these days) and this one delivers. Now that I'm a grown-up, it's even funnier.
- Warning - First Disk may be is defective
By AYI1SKTBX7Z37 on 2006-08-12
When you order - and you should- check to make sure that all eight epsiodes are present on the first disk. On ours there were only the first four. We received this third season hot off the press so they may have corrected the problem.
- Bob Newhart never grows old!
By A2N532L92JO2CG on 2006-08-05
I have always been a Newhart fan. I had forgotten how hilarious the many one liners were. They are just as good as they were when his series first came out. The characters are terrific and
well developed.
- season three
By A2MF23G8YM5IC1 on 2006-08-20
I have seasons 1 and 2, both very good, but I think season three was the best.If you like Bob Newhart 1 and 2, you'll definitely like season 3.
- Two sided DVD disks?
By AI9UTOJ8ZK6HD on 2007-10-10
I am very disappointed that these disks have episodes on two sides, so you must flip the disk over to get the second half of the episodes. I much prefer a lot of episodes per disk, and only one side. Otherwise, the shows are great.
- Vera & Al loved it
By A1I8ZHIQS86GH2 on 2006-07-04
Outstanding comedy - even better than we remember. A great cast and writing.
- Mix nuts anyone?
By A6SZH9UA81OBL on 2006-07-11
Where eles can a group of nuts fit together for an unquie flavor. A show comfortable enough to sit on the couch and poke fun of patients, co workers, and yes even your neighbor. In its own way.... revealing the salted nuts from the unsalted
- Second-best of All Seasons
By ABX7SEE84DMLU on 2006-12-05
Like many others here, I liked this season a lot, but do not think it was the best - that honor I reserve for Season Two.
I watched this show when it was on TV (although I'd not heard of the accompanying drinking game until today). Being born and bred in Chicago, though, there was a great mystery here...
In the opening sequence, we see Bob leaving his downtown Chicago office. We then see him repeatedly going back and forth across the north branch of the Chicago River. Which leads any reviewer to speculate on the causes for this:
1. Did he find Emily (Suzanne Pleshette) too hard to take, and was debating whether to go home or not?
2. Did Bob have undiagnosed ADHD?
3. Was he looking for the Billy Goat Tavern?
The audio commentaries on the DVD, while great, leave these questions unanswered. What we do get here, though, is great TV: no innuendos, no racial humor, nothing but straight, funny writing and acting.
- good dvds of a great show
By A2XQ99QNR5P1EB on 2006-12-05
This may be one of the funniest shows ever, so I'm thrilled to be able to get good copies to watch. They're pretty simple, not a lot of whippy "extras" except for a couple of commentaries which, if you are not really familiar with Bob Newhart's comedy or have never seen him interviewed, you might find boring, because he's pretty laid back. But I found them hilarious and was glad to be able to listen to them. I think the transfer is good and it looks like they included all the minutes that might have been removed for syndication.
- I've missed this show!
By A18J3X588Z61JL on 2007-01-03
We hadn't seen this show in awhile, and had forgotten just how funny it was! This show is a classic, and we have really enjoyed watching it, and plan to get the other seasons also. The humor used was intelligent, not potty-mouthed like shows resort to today. It's also fun to re-live the 70's through the sometimes-wacky clothing worn by the characters! Check out Bob's plaid pants! Check out Carol's farout patterns and colors! Lots of fun! You won't regret buying this!
- The Bob Newhart Show
By ALGW461ZDIP75 on 2007-01-19
Probably one of the best comedy series of all time. Bob is known for his dry sense of humor, and with a cast of great comedic actors,this is a DVD you will want in your collection. Younger people who don't remember this show should check it out.
- Bob Newhart Show
By A20SIQOR1ETXQ on 2007-01-19
It's Bob. What can you say but "funny!"
They are still funny now.
- Better with Bob
By A2MCZ11CHH5L93 on 2007-01-19
No one is a better straight man to a group of crazies than Bob Newhart. And group it is. One episode brings two battling counseling groups together on a retreat. Emily is perfect. I wouldn't want to fly in an aircraft navigated by Howard, as Bob and Emily do. Jerry and Carol are great subject for humor at the office. Don't miss Tommy the Tooth. And all those patience make me feel normal. Season three makes me look forward to season four.
- I have grown to love having whole season TV DVD sets
By A2ZTKCU56HMWHH on 2007-03-10
It was a lot of fun to revisit Bob and his patients Mr Carlin and Mr Herd Actually Bob at work is much more fun Its a very good cast but Howard He really is a bit too stupid for me but to each his own
I love the show and when Amazon has a TV DVD sale you can get this at a great price but even off sale to get 25 or more shows for about a dollar a show its a great deal
I Now have the first three seasons and will buy them all eventually
Hope you enjoy
- Newhart 3rd season
By A2UTZ7HH4UKDZW on 2007-03-18
Like the MTM show, Newhart has a style of humor that's timeless, and this show seemed to get better with each passing season.
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