The Bob Newhart Show: The Complete Third Season [DVD]

It's another year of deadpan hilarity for Chicago psychologist Bob Hartley (Bob Newhart), his schoolteacher wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette), and all their friends and co-workers as The Bob Newhart Show enters its third season. In addition to such familiar supporting characters as neurotic airline pilot Howard Borden (Bill Daily), swinging bachelor dentist Jerry Robinson (Peter Bonerz), and scatterbrained receptionist Carol Kester (Marcia Wallace), a number of other well-known faces dot the guest-star landscape during season three. Among these are Daniel J. Travanti (in the episode "The Battle of the Groups"), John Ritter ("Sorry, Wrong Mother"), Barnard Hughes ("An American Family") and Fred Willard ("Tobin's Back in Town"). Episode highlights this season include "Life is a Hamburger," in which Carol announces her engagement to would-be poet Don Fezler (Richard Schaal); "Jerry Robinson Crusoe," wherein Jerry's latest romance may inspire him to pull up roots and move to Tahiti; "Think Smartly--Vote Hartley," which finds a reluctant Bob dragooned into running for the chairmanship of the school board; "The New Look," outlining the chilling aftereffects when Emily decorates the apartment with antiques; and "The Separation Story," in which Bob and Emily conduct an experiment with separate residences. The season ends with a trilogy of episodes unified only by (almost) common titles: "Bob Hits the Ceiling," wherein Bob comes to grief when he agrees to treat a family friend; "Emily Hits the Ceiling," a tale of summer camps and silly nicknames; and "The Ceiling Hits Bob," or what happens when Bob is forced into a change of scenery. Though The Bob Newhart Show dropped from 12th to 17th place in the ratings during season three, the series was still among the most popular of CBS' sitcoms.