NOT-SO-NEWHART

NEWHART
1982-1990 CBS

NOT-SO-NEWHART
MAD #245, March 1984
w: Arnie Kogen
a: Angelo Torres

Bob Newhart's comeback in the eighties with a sitcom about an author from New York moving to the country to become the manager of a bed and breakfast, making it sort of a combination of Green Acres and Fawlty Towers. I think Arnie Kogen writing this may have led to his becoming one of the writers for the actual show when it devolved into surreal self-parody (which made it funnier, in my opinion).

Bob Newhart was Dick Loudon, who managed the Stratford Inn with his wife Joanna (Mary Frann). The show and the one before this were vehicle for his stammering laconic straight man persona.

The “hockey puck” button is a reference to Don Rickles. Though they were never a team, they may have worked together professionally on a celebrity roast or special if that, their long-time friendship in real life was well-known.

Emily was his first TV wife. George Utley (Tom Poston) was the local handyman.

Throughout the parody are background signs of founding fathers who share the same last names of real life celebrities, though most of the celebrities are from the writers' generation rather than the readers'.

Kirk (Steven Kampmann) was the owner of the cafe next door before being replaced by Larry, Darryl, and Darryl. Leslie (Jennifer Holmes) was the maid of the Stratford Inn early on.

”Button-Down Mind” is a reference the comedy albums he did as a stand-up comedian.

The punchline is that Dick becomes a psychiatrist like his previous character, which is funny considering this series ended revealing the entire series was all a dream of that character.