Bob (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Bob is an American
television
situation comedy
starring Bob Newhart
. It was the actor
's third series for CBS
and proved to be far less successful than The Bob Newhart Show
and Newhart
, his previous outings with the network. It lasted a season and a half, running from September 18, 1992 until December 27, 1993, for a total of 33 episodes. Bill Steinkellner, Cheri Steinkellner and Phoef Sutton
comprised the creative writing team behind the show. The series was produced by Paramount Television
.
superhero "Mad-Dog". When a Senate
sub-committee decided such reading material could corrupt young readers, Mad-Dog faded into oblivion. Bob became a greeting card
artist
, and years later Mad-Dog is revived when the American-Canadian Trans-Continental Communications Company buys the rights to the series. Complications ensued when AmCanTranConComCo head Harlan Stone (John Cygan
) insisted Mad-Dog should be a bloodthirsty vigilante
rather than the hero Bob originally created. Bob initially turned down Harlan's offer to revive the series with the publisher, but after his wife, Kaye (Carlene Watkins) reminded Bob that Mad-Dog would never give up dreams in the face of defeat, he decided to compromise with Harlan on creative direction, and the two became a team.
On the personal side, Bob and Kaye had been married for over 25 years; Kaye was loyal and sensible, and a busy career woman herself (although she nearly quit her job in the pilot, especially after seeing the estimate figure Bob would pull in yearly from the revival of Mad-Dog). Also creating havoc in Bob's life was his grown daughter Trisha (Cynthia Stevenson
), who bemoaned her perpetually single state. Other members of comics staff included Albie Lutz (Andrew Bilgore), a klutzy gofer with low self-esteem; Chad Pfefferle (Timothy Fall), a spaced-out cartoon inker
; and curmudgeonly Iris Frankel (Ruth Kobart
), an old-timer artist at the office who worked with Bob in his early days (she still called him "Bobby McKay"). Seen occasionally in the beginning, but receiving increased screen time as the series progressed were Trisha's best friend, Kathy Fleisher (Lisa Kudrow
); Kathy's parents Patty (Dorothy Lyman
) and Jerry (Tom Poston
); Shayla (Christine Dunford), Harlan's on-and-off girlfriend; and Buzz Loudermilk, as played by legendary Dick Martin
(a regular director on the series), a friend of Bob's and a mature ladies' man.
Perhaps the most irksome character in the whole ensemble was the one who was heard but not seen—Mr. Terhorst (voice of Michael Cumpsty
), the president of AmCanTranConComCo who communicated with all his employees anywhere that fiber-optics could be installed. Harlan even provided Bob will a cellular phone in which Mr. Terhorst would randomly tap into it and begin talking to Bob in his most private, intimate hours. Cryptic yet resourceful, Terhorst was a master mediator in all creative differences in the office, and was determined to make Mad-Dog a cultural phenomenon.
During the series' first year, Trisha collected her neuroses and pushed herself harder into the dating scene, with Bob offering her a position on the Mad-Dog staff along the way. When Trisha joined, Chad instantly developed a crush on her. Later in the season, she and Kathy moved into their own apartment, where Albie, in need of a place, joined them temporarily. Harlan and Shayla, who had quite the love/hate relationship, became serious and talked about marriage.
who hated comic books, and the entire Mad-Dog staff, including Bob, was fired. When Bob returned in late October 1993, the show was revamped completely. All of Bob's co-workers from the previous season disappeared and the show's premise had changed. Sylvia Schmitt (Betty White
), the wife of his former boss (who had run off with his dental hygienist), hired Bob as President of Schmitt Greetings. Her obnoxious son Pete (Jere Burns
), the Vice-President of Sales who had expected to take over the company and now had to work for Bob, was irate. Others working at the company were the sarcastic bookkeeper Chris Szelinski (Megan Cavanagh
) and dumb but lovable Whitey van der Bunt (Eric Allan Kramer
), a member of the production team who adored Bob. Trisha and Kathy remained friends and housemates on a quest for true love, and at one point, Sylvia even set Pete up with Trisha, much to Bob's dismay. Sylvia herself had never lost her following of men, with none other than Buzz moving in on her.
, which featured it on the cover twice during its freshman season, Bob failed to catch on with the viewing public in its Friday night time slot (which had been shifted to 9:30pm). When it was switched to Monday nights in April 1993, ratings improved, and the network renewed it for a second season.
In the fall of 1993, the show was back on the Friday night schedule and its ratings suffered. A switch to Monday nights in December was too late to do much good, and the series was canceled after the December 27th broadcast. Three remaining episodes finally aired during TV Land
reruns in the late 1990s.
As part of the promotion of this series, Marvel Comics
published a six issue "Mad Dog" limited series.
and Batman
movies (obviously to represent the Mad-Dog character and comic books). The opening sequence that accompanied it featured Bob McKay at his artist's desk drawing, inking, then coloring a Mad-Dog comic as the credits appeared. The show's titled appeared in a thin, 3-D rendition of Helvetica font in the pilot episode; after, it was redesigned to be a bolder capital font, but with the same yellow base and red shadowing color. The opening credits appeared in a bold comic-style font.
In the second season, as part of the show's revamping, a short opening credits sequence, just featuring the title, was used. The theme music also changed to a soft classical tune, featuring a flute, which was reminiscent of Henry Mancini
's instrumental theme to Newhart
.
In addition to the change in Bob's career setting in the second season, the set of Bob and Kaye's house significantly changed as well. There were no references in the scripts to suggest that the McKays had moved, however.
Cynthia Stevenson would later be hired by Bob producers The Steinkellners as one of the leads for their NBC
sitcom Hope & Gloria (1995–96).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
starring Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
. It was the actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
's third series for CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and proved to be far less successful than The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, , to April 1, . Comedian Bob Newhart portrayed a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers...
and Newhart
Newhart
Newhart is a television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who owned and operated an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was home to many eccentric characters. The show aired on the CBS network from October 25, 1982 to May 21, 1990...
, his previous outings with the network. It lasted a season and a half, running from September 18, 1992 until December 27, 1993, for a total of 33 episodes. Bill Steinkellner, Cheri Steinkellner and Phoef Sutton
Phoef Sutton
Robert Christopher Sutton is American television writer and producer.A 1981 graduate of James Madison University , Sutton began his career writing scripts for Newhart. He later became executive producer of and a writer for Cheers...
comprised the creative writing team behind the show. The series was produced by Paramount Television
Paramount Television
Paramount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...
.
First Season
Newhart portrayed Bob McKay, the creator of the 1950s comic bookComic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
superhero "Mad-Dog". When a Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
sub-committee decided such reading material could corrupt young readers, Mad-Dog faded into oblivion. Bob became a greeting card
Greeting card
A greeting card is an illustrated, folded card featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas or other holidays, they are also sent to convey thanks or express other feeling. Greeting cards,...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, and years later Mad-Dog is revived when the American-Canadian Trans-Continental Communications Company buys the rights to the series. Complications ensued when AmCanTranConComCo head Harlan Stone (John Cygan
John Cygan
John Cygan is an American actor, voice artist, and comedian.-Career:Cygan is notable for his television work and his voice work .-Filmography:*The Commish ......
) insisted Mad-Dog should be a bloodthirsty vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
rather than the hero Bob originally created. Bob initially turned down Harlan's offer to revive the series with the publisher, but after his wife, Kaye (Carlene Watkins) reminded Bob that Mad-Dog would never give up dreams in the face of defeat, he decided to compromise with Harlan on creative direction, and the two became a team.
On the personal side, Bob and Kaye had been married for over 25 years; Kaye was loyal and sensible, and a busy career woman herself (although she nearly quit her job in the pilot, especially after seeing the estimate figure Bob would pull in yearly from the revival of Mad-Dog). Also creating havoc in Bob's life was his grown daughter Trisha (Cynthia Stevenson
Cynthia Stevenson
Cynthia Stevenson is an American actress.Stevenson was born in Oakland, California, the daughter of Gayle, an editor, and Al Stevenson, an upholstery warehouse owner. She grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia....
), who bemoaned her perpetually single state. Other members of comics staff included Albie Lutz (Andrew Bilgore), a klutzy gofer with low self-esteem; Chad Pfefferle (Timothy Fall), a spaced-out cartoon inker
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
; and curmudgeonly Iris Frankel (Ruth Kobart
Ruth Kobart
Ruth Kobart was an American performer, whose six-decade career encompassed opera, Broadway musical theatre, regional theatre, films, and television.-Life and career:...
), an old-timer artist at the office who worked with Bob in his early days (she still called him "Bobby McKay"). Seen occasionally in the beginning, but receiving increased screen time as the series progressed were Trisha's best friend, Kathy Fleisher (Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress, best known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the television sitcom Friends, for which she received many accolades including an Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards...
); Kathy's parents Patty (Dorothy Lyman
Dorothy Lyman
Dorothy Lyman is an American television actress, director and producer. She is most commonly known for her work as architect Gwen Parrish Frame in Another World and in All My Children as Opal Sue Gardner, and on the syndicated sitcom Mama's Family, as Naomi Harper.Lyman was born in Minneapolis,...
) and Jerry (Tom Poston
Tom Poston
Thomas Gordon "Tom" Poston was an American television and film actor. He starred on television in a career that began in 1950...
); Shayla (Christine Dunford), Harlan's on-and-off girlfriend; and Buzz Loudermilk, as played by legendary Dick Martin
Dick Martin
Dick Martin may refer to:*Dick Martin , American illustrator, particularly associated with the Land of Oz*Dick Martin , co-host of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In*Dickie Martin, British test pilot-See also:*Richard Martin...
(a regular director on the series), a friend of Bob's and a mature ladies' man.
Perhaps the most irksome character in the whole ensemble was the one who was heard but not seen—Mr. Terhorst (voice of Michael Cumpsty
Michael Cumpsty
Michael Cumpsty is a British actor. He has been acting since childhood. He has worked extensively performing Shakespeare, as well as both musicals and dramas on Broadway...
), the president of AmCanTranConComCo who communicated with all his employees anywhere that fiber-optics could be installed. Harlan even provided Bob will a cellular phone in which Mr. Terhorst would randomly tap into it and begin talking to Bob in his most private, intimate hours. Cryptic yet resourceful, Terhorst was a master mediator in all creative differences in the office, and was determined to make Mad-Dog a cultural phenomenon.
During the series' first year, Trisha collected her neuroses and pushed herself harder into the dating scene, with Bob offering her a position on the Mad-Dog staff along the way. When Trisha joined, Chad instantly developed a crush on her. Later in the season, she and Kathy moved into their own apartment, where Albie, in need of a place, joined them temporarily. Harlan and Shayla, who had quite the love/hate relationship, became serious and talked about marriage.
Second Season
In the final episode of the first season, AmCanTranConComCo was sold to a millionaireMillionaire
A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. It can also be a person who owns one million units of currency in a bank account or savings account...
who hated comic books, and the entire Mad-Dog staff, including Bob, was fired. When Bob returned in late October 1993, the show was revamped completely. All of Bob's co-workers from the previous season disappeared and the show's premise had changed. Sylvia Schmitt (Betty White
Betty White
Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
), the wife of his former boss (who had run off with his dental hygienist), hired Bob as President of Schmitt Greetings. Her obnoxious son Pete (Jere Burns
Jere Burns
Jerald Eugene "Jere" Burns II is an American actor who has appeared in theatre productions and on television and is best known for his role as ladies' man Kirk Morris on the television series, Dear John.-Early life:...
), the Vice-President of Sales who had expected to take over the company and now had to work for Bob, was irate. Others working at the company were the sarcastic bookkeeper Chris Szelinski (Megan Cavanagh
Megan Cavanagh
Megan Cavanagh is an American actress who portrayed the roles of Marla Hooch in A League of Their Own , Broomhilde in Robin Hood: Men in Tights , Essie in Dracula: Dead and Loving It and was the voice of Judy Neutron in Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Hilary Higgenbottom in The Mighty B!...
) and dumb but lovable Whitey van der Bunt (Eric Allan Kramer
Eric Allan Kramer
Eric Allan Kramer is an American actor, perhaps best known as Little John in Robin Hood: Men in Tights, as Thor in The Incredible Hulk Returns, as Whitey van de Bunt in Bob and as Dave Rogers in The Hughleys...
), a member of the production team who adored Bob. Trisha and Kathy remained friends and housemates on a quest for true love, and at one point, Sylvia even set Pete up with Trisha, much to Bob's dismay. Sylvia herself had never lost her following of men, with none other than Buzz moving in on her.
Critical and viewer response
Although it was hailed by the critics and heavily promoted by TV GuideTV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, which featured it on the cover twice during its freshman season, Bob failed to catch on with the viewing public in its Friday night time slot (which had been shifted to 9:30pm). When it was switched to Monday nights in April 1993, ratings improved, and the network renewed it for a second season.
In the fall of 1993, the show was back on the Friday night schedule and its ratings suffered. A switch to Monday nights in December was too late to do much good, and the series was canceled after the December 27th broadcast. Three remaining episodes finally aired during TV Land
TV Land
TV Land is an American cable television network launched on April 29, 1996. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures, and networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon...
reruns in the late 1990s.
As part of the promotion of this series, Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
published a six issue "Mad Dog" limited series.
Production notes
The series' theme music was originally a full orchestral piece featuring a heavy horns and woodwinds sound, an arrangement very much in style of the SupermanSuperman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
and Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
movies (obviously to represent the Mad-Dog character and comic books). The opening sequence that accompanied it featured Bob McKay at his artist's desk drawing, inking, then coloring a Mad-Dog comic as the credits appeared. The show's titled appeared in a thin, 3-D rendition of Helvetica font in the pilot episode; after, it was redesigned to be a bolder capital font, but with the same yellow base and red shadowing color. The opening credits appeared in a bold comic-style font.
In the second season, as part of the show's revamping, a short opening credits sequence, just featuring the title, was used. The theme music also changed to a soft classical tune, featuring a flute, which was reminiscent of Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
's instrumental theme to Newhart
Newhart
Newhart is a television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who owned and operated an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was home to many eccentric characters. The show aired on the CBS network from October 25, 1982 to May 21, 1990...
.
In addition to the change in Bob's career setting in the second season, the set of Bob and Kaye's house significantly changed as well. There were no references in the scripts to suggest that the McKays had moved, however.
Cynthia Stevenson would later be hired by Bob producers The Steinkellners as one of the leads for their NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom Hope & Gloria (1995–96).