The Bob Crane Show
Encyclopedia
The Bob Crane Show is an American situation comedy
that aired on NBC
. The series starred Bob Crane
as Bob Wilcox, a man in his 40s who quits his job as an insurance salesman to return to medical school. The series co-starred Patricia Harty
as his wife Ellie Wilcox, who becomes the family's breadwinner while Bob is in school. After initial delays, the series debuted on March 6, 1975. The Bob Crane Show performed poorly in the Nielsen ratings
and was canceled after 13 weeks.
re-instituted its Prime Time Access Rule
, which limited the broadcast networks to programming only three of the four hours of the prime time
programming block. This decision led NBC to delay the series until January 1975. Crane re-shot the pilot, leading to another delay to March 1975.
Crane expressed his desire that his series be what he called "hard comedy", which he described as comedy that "goes for the fences. It's also what you might call take-a-risk comedy because if you don't hit a home run, you might strike out. It's either a belly laugh or it's no go and no show."
Mary Tyler Moore
Enterprises produced the series, which was filmed with a three-camera setup
in front of a studio audience with no laugh track
.
Series star Crane blamed the failure on the lack of chemistry among the characters. He compared The Bob Crane Show to The Mary Tyler Moore Show
and The Bob Newhart Show
in wishing that the same sorts of character relationships on those series had been present in his. "I had nobody to talk to....In my series, I had no Bill Daily
."
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...
that aired on 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...
. The series starred Bob Crane
Bob Crane
Robert Edward "Bob" Crane was an American actor and disc jockey, best known for his performance as Colonel Robert E...
as Bob Wilcox, a man in his 40s who quits his job as an insurance salesman to return to medical school. The series co-starred Patricia Harty
Patricia Harty (actor)
Patricia Harty also known professionally as Trisha Hart, is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles in several short-lived television series, Occasional Wife as Greta Patterson, Blondie as the titular Blondie Bumstead, The Bob Crane Show as Ellie Wilcox and Herbie, The Love Bug...
as his wife Ellie Wilcox, who becomes the family's breadwinner while Bob is in school. After initial delays, the series debuted on March 6, 1975. The Bob Crane Show performed poorly in the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
and was canceled after 13 weeks.
Production
The Bob Crane Show was originally titled Second Start and NBC planned to debut it in the fall of 1974. However, the Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
re-instituted its Prime Time Access Rule
Prime Time Access Rule
The Prime Time Access Rule was instituted by the Federal Communications Commission in 1970 to restrict the amount of network broadcast programming that a local television station, Owned-and-operated station by or affiliated with a television network may air during "prime time"...
, which limited the broadcast networks to programming only three of the four hours of the prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
programming block. This decision led NBC to delay the series until January 1975. Crane re-shot the pilot, leading to another delay to March 1975.
Crane expressed his desire that his series be what he called "hard comedy", which he described as comedy that "goes for the fences. It's also what you might call take-a-risk comedy because if you don't hit a home run, you might strike out. It's either a belly laugh or it's no go and no show."
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
Enterprises produced the series, which was filmed with a three-camera setup
Multiple-camera setup
The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, or multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneously record or broadcast a scene...
in front of a studio audience with no laugh track
Laugh track
A laugh track is a separate soundtrack invented by Charles "Charley" Douglass, with the artificial sound of audience laughter, made to be inserted into television programming of comedy shows and sitcoms.The term "laugh track" does not apply to the genuine audience laughter on shows that shoot in...
.
Episodes
| Title | Original air date | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|
| "Mid-Term Blues" | March 6, 1975 | Bob Wilcox returns to medical school, leaving the responsibility for supporting the family on his wife Ellie and facing mid-term exams. |
| "Not with My Mother You Don't" | March 13, 1975 | Bob's mother (Audra Lindley Audra Lindley Audra Marie Lindley was an American actress, most famous for her role as landlady Helen Roper on the sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off, The Ropers.-Career:... ) moves in with a man the same age as Bob. |
| "The Incredible Shrinking Bob" | March 20, 1975 | Bob's anxiety over leaving his wife as sole financial supporter grows. |
| "Ellie's Sister" | March 27, 1975 | Two of Bob's classmates fall in love with his visiting sister-in-law. |
| "One Summer of Misery" | April 3, 1975 | Bob receives a summer scholarship to Columbia University but frets that Ellie, who can't afford to go with him, is a little too eager to see him go. |
| "But I Love My Wife" | April 17, 1975 | |
| "Acute Bussophobia" | April 24, 1975 | |
| "Grin and Bare It" | May 1, 1975 | Ellie decides to supplement her income by posing as a nude model for art classes at Bob's college. |
| "A Case of Misdiagnosis" | May 8, 1975 | Bob treats an old friend (John Astin John Astin John Allen Astin is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, and is best known for the role of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, and other similarly eccentric comedic characters.-Early years:... ) and is surprised to learn the man is a prominent gay activist, prompting concern that people will think he is also gay. NBC, worried that the script might be offensive to gay people, refused to approve the episode until it was reviewed by gay media activist Newton Dieter. |
| "The Lyle Principle" | May 15, 1975 | |
| "An American Fiasco" | May 22, 1975 | |
| "The Doctor Sings the Blues" | May 29, 1975 | Bob's burgeoning friendship with his anatomy professor backfires when the man unloads his marital problems on Bob. |
| "The Embezzler" | June 5, 1975 | |
| "The Son of the Campus Capers" | June 12, 1975 |
Reception
The Bob Crane Show debuted with a Nielsen rating of 23, a disappointment to the network. NBC cancelled the series after 13 weeks.Series star Crane blamed the failure on the lack of chemistry among the characters. He compared The Bob Crane Show to The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
and 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...
in wishing that the same sorts of character relationships on those series had been present in his. "I had nobody to talk to....In my series, I had no Bill Daily
Bill Daily
Bill Daily is an American comedian and dramatic actor, and a veteran of many television sitcoms. He is best known for playing astronaut Roger Healey on I Dream of Jeannie and commercial airline navigator Howard Borden in The Bob Newhart Show.-Biography:Daily's father died when Bill was very...
."
External links
- The Bob Crane Show at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...