The Bob Newhart Show (1972–1978)

One of those rare shows where everything came together--cast, characters, writers, stories.

Bill Daily kept me in stitches. One episode he bought a stand-up bass--the Hartleys were going nuts from his practicing, which consisted entirely of Howard strumming the same string over and over. Best line: Bob: I feel like I'm living inside a heart. Best joke of all--Howard was a navigator. Thank heavens he wasn't a pilot.

Or the night when Jerry and Bob and Howard drove to a cheap motel in Illinois to watch a Bears game that was blacked out in Chicago. Probably the best drunk scenes ever.

And the bedroom dialogues with Emily and Bob. Particularly the night Bob was eating cereal, and Emily noticed that he chewed each mouthful exactly 47 times. (I forget the exact number.) What an actress--she made you believe that Bob was a hunk. As I recall, when the show began, Suzanne Pleshette was known mainly for cheapo movies of the week and insipid Disney comedies. Hats off to the genius who thought of casting her.

Gotta love it.