Bob (1992) s01e06 – P.C. or Not P.C.

The cold open is Bob Newhart whining about wanting a son to watch sports with. He whines to the cat, who’s the only one who has any interest in joining him. It’s kind of foreshadowing for the eventual plot, but it’s also not funny.

The main plot is Newhart’s daughter, Cynthia Stevenson, starting her first regular day at the comic studio as a colorist. She comes into the kitchen to ask Newhart what he thinks of her outfit, but he doesn’t look because it’s silly she wants to look nice. Then there’s a joke about comic book colorist not being a real job.

Things are off to a great start.

Fast forward a bit and Stevenson notices the female character she’s coloring is always either taking a bath or a shower, which kicks off John Cygan berating Stevenson and the other women in the office for having an opinion about it—what’s a little weird is they’ve established Newhart draws the comic and Cygan writes it so… unclear why Newhart’s got nothing to say. Even when Cygan’s yelling at Stevenson, something the episode just skips over.

Cygan’s not in favor of Stevenson as a colorist firstly because she’s Newhart’s daughter and he hates nepotism (there’s no mention he got his girlfriend the same job last episode) and secondly because she’s a Bible thumping, book burning Feminist communist. It’s weird Cygan’s not in favor of nepotism because it’s the only way to explain why he got the part on the show, especially for this episode’s take on the character. The show creators contributed the script, which seems like a bad sign six episodes in no one can get a handle on the show. Maybe because they keep screwing it up.

Stevenson stages a walkout and there are changes after Newhart decides he can’t pointlessly objectify women in drawings his daughter is going to have to color.

As a “Bob Newhart wakes up,” the episode’s way too thin and way too noncommittal. Especially after it rewinds all the progress for a dumb joke from Cygan.

I was expecting something worse from a 1992 TV episode entitled P.C. or Not P.C.—and at least the female background characters get lines and SAG pay—but it’s pretty bad.

Especially when Andrew Bilgore’s terrible jokes (he’s socially awkward office guy) land better than anything else in the episode.

There are also some continuity issues as it’s unclear why the comic is all about scantily clad women showering together when it’s been about a male superhero until this point but clearly no one involved cares.

Ruth Kobart’s got a subplot involving being a baseball fanatic, which directly contradicts the cold open but again… clearly no one involved cares.

Bob (1992) s01e05 – Terminate Her

The episode opens with Bob Newhart taking the L home and realizing there are a number of little people on the train and he comments on it to one of the little people. He does it in that muted Newhart way—the issue is his embarrassment over questioning whether or not people have the right to exist; it’s fairly gross and astoundingly dated. And very sad it wasn’t dated for 1992.

It’s an appropriate start for the episode, which is all about Newhart wanting to hire daughter Cynthia Stevenson to be a colorist on his comic book but John Cygan has already hired his girlfriend, Christine Dunford. Dunford is a ditzy, Bronx-rude blonde caricature and the episode is astoundingly sexist. Show creators Bill Steinkellner, Cheri Steinkeller, and Phoef Sutton wrote it, which is a surprise and a big disappointment.

The job stuff with Stevenson makes fun of her for not being able to get a job with her liberal arts degree, then shifts to Dunford. Newhart’s too nice to fire her while Cygan doesn’t seem to want to upset the relationship. But when Newhart can’t bring himself to do it, Cygan reveals the real problem is he’s a little bit of a woman when it comes to confrontation.

Luckily Timothy Fall’s around to make fun of Andrew Bilgore’s mental health issues and to suggest they kill Dunford to get rid of her.

The end manages to do introduce some toxic masculinity into the mix—it’s funny because Newhart’s tougher than Cygan (wokka wokka).

It’s a really gross episode, with all the laughs leveraging internalized or externalized misogyny. Though Bilgore gets a laugh. No one else gets a laugh.

Cygan’s got some terrible early nineties outfits again this episode—his performance is terrible but who can blame him, it’d be worse if he were any better—if only they were the only crap thing about it.

Oh, I forgot to mention Carlene Watkins, who gets to be subject of some sexism too. She doesn’t get to do anything in the episode herself, of course. Just to take some eye-widening shit.

It’s so bad. Possibly jumping off bad.

Bob (1992) s01e04 – Penny for Your Thoughts

Show creators Bill Steinkeller, Cheri Steinkeller, and Phoef Sutton are back writing this episode, which must be why Bob Newhart’s able to get laughs from the lukewarm jokes. Not all the jokes are lukewarm, some are good, but a lot are lukewarm. However, the writers are just as unable to give Cynthia Stevenson material she can effectively essay. Actually, I’ll bet a memoir from Stevenson about doing nineties sitcoms would be insightful.

After a cold open joke only Newhart can make amusing, the first plot point in the episode is Stevenson getting a new job in a beer hall. She has to dress as a serving wench and she and mom Carlene Watkins talk about making her boobs stick up while dad Newhart gets real uncomfortable. Did push-up bras not exist in 1992? Maybe they hadn’t hit CBS yet.

Not only does Stevenson get this meek, shallow character, she’s now got to do it with some weird self-body-shaming thrown in? Stevenson gets a lot of sympathy for “Bob.”

Anyway. The main plot has Newhart and creative partner John Cygan (who finally has better clothes) waiting to hear what the board of directors thinks of their comic book. Because multi-national conglomerates care about their single issue comic books.

There’s going to be a lot of forehead crunching at “Bob”’s version of comic book publishing this episode—including finding out Timothy Fall is the inker and Ruth Kobart is the letterer, which means the entire rest of the office—at least ten people, all but two non-speaking (more on them in a second)… are coloring the comic book. Or just hanging out.

Eventually the comic gets sent to a focus group, which is a fairly successful scene thanks to Laura Waterbury and Rebecca Staab, but then Watkins hears the group doesn’t like the girl in the comic and it’s based on her so she’s got an existential crisis. And a bad lightweight drunk scene—the smoking stood out more, but I forgot the nineties I guess—before it all gets resolved.

Though I did forget everyone in the office—including all the women—mock Newhart for thinking Watkins is a great looking woman. Oh, the nineties.

Like when the show brings in Patty Holly as one of the office staff so when Cygan is shitty to her, it’s not just misogynist; Holly is a Black woman so there’s a very weird misogynoir aspect to it.

The episode’s definitely an improvement over the previous one and the “tone” seems better, but it’s still Newhart holding everything together. Cygan’s not funny and the show can’t figure out how to make him funny. He’s got this terrible monologue then Newhart’s got one and nails it.

Last thing. Bill Zuckert plays the shoeshine guy who has sway with the board regarding the comic book (yep) and he’s quite bad and quite poorly written. It’s very strange how many opportunities the writers pass up, especially where they often go instead.

Bob (1992) s01e03 – My Daughter, My Fodder

Well, Andrew Bilgore’s character’s name is spoken for what I think is the first time, but otherwise… there’s nothing mundane or good distinctive about this episode. Everything else is a flop, starting with the cold open where Bob Newhart does a tired spoiled milk bit and seems tired at the end of it. This episode’s the first without the show creators writing and Jerry Perzigian and Don Seigel are profoundly incapable of writing material for Newhart.

They do flex on John Cygan’s character, making him a backstabber in addition to being insufferably whiney. Though his wardrobe doesn’t stand out this episode so maybe it’ll get less terrible going forward.

The episode revolves arounds around Newhart and Cygan still unable to crack their first Mad Dog comic book story. At least until they get to the idea of borrowing from real life; neither of them have anything going on, but Newhart’s daughter (Cynthia Stevenson) had confided in him earlier about some relationship troubles—her still unseen boyfriend was having one of their sandwiches at the deli with a different girl—and the two men are able to make it into a comic plot.

When Newhart tries to get wife Carlene Watkins onboard with taking the material from Stevenson’s emotional turmoil, he doesn’t get the support he apparently expected. Then Stevenson gets home and things get even worse. But they are able to get to a very sexist conclusion, though I suppose Stevenson does get the two best moments in the episode. But they’re literally just two good line deliveries when almost no one else has anything more than—at best—middling ones because the lines are so tepid.

Ruth Kobart’s still funny, Timothy Fall’s still annoying (though he gets half a good line, then they ruin it by bringing him in for nonsense filler), but “Bob” really isn’t far enough along to have such a piddling episode.

Bob (1992) s01e02 – Drawing a Blank

The episode opens with a really bad joke for Carlene Watkins, which Bob Newhart miraculously saves, but then by the end of the episode it’s Watkins who can do the heavy lifting. I’ve been iffy on Watkins just because she can’t hold her own against Newhart, but no one can so at least having her maneuver around him instead of trying to square off might be the secret to “Bob.”

Watkins is in the cold open, then goes into work at the comic company with Newhart on his first regular day of work. The episode seems constructed to ignore the pilot as much as possible, soft resetting Newhart’s relationship with new creative partner John Cygan and even giving Timothy Fall’s character a name. Andrew Bilgore still doesn’t get one.

After introducing Watkins and Cynthia Stevenson (as Watkins and Newhart’s daughter, which only works age-wise for Newhart) to the office staff—including a creepy but amusing interchange between Fall and Stevenson, which succeeds even though Fall’s bad and Stevenson’s only got like three lines and a loud outfit. But then it’s time for Cygan and Newhart to get to work on the first issue of the comic.

After the pilot established Cygan as a writer and artist, this one demotes him to just the writing. He’s even got a laptop he’s so hip. Newhart’s going to do the art. They’re excited to get to work. It does not go well.

The episode’s got a lot of easy, gently mean-spirited jokes (hey, it was the early nineties, mental health and homelessness are laugh riots), but the biggest moments hinge on Newhart monologuing while Cygan looks on in horror. Newhart’s really good at the monologuing, even if they’re not particularly well-written. It’s just the show leveraging Newhart being able to make anything work.

The only thing it can’t seem to do is move the episode along. But bring in Watkins at the finish and give her some scenes with irate staff member Ruth Kobart, who the show also relies on way too much to carry Bilgore in particular, and it’s all of a sudden just fine. Hopefully the show will figure out a way to plot better. Though you can do worse than Bob Newhart riffing for seventeen minutes and then Watkins coming in to wrap it up.

Though the very predictable finale manages to be both subtly ableist and subtly sexist in a way you usually don’t get anymore. Kind of like Cygan’s early nineties eyesore wardrobe.

Bob (1992) s01e01 – Mad Dog Returns

“Bob” premiered in 1992, back when Alan Moore probably thought he’d get those Watchmen rights back someday and Frank Miller was still on time with Sin City. The show’s got no overt comics pedigree despite being a spot-on (just early?) look at grimdark revisionist comics, with lead Bob Newhart’s Silver Age-ish hero Mad Dog getting a post-Dark Knight Returns revamp by grim and gritty creator John Cygan.

Now, the show doesn’t use any of those phrases—I wouldn’t bet anyone told Newhart the phrase “Silver Age”—but there’s a surprisingly solid comics foundation to it. Cygan’s going to bring back friendly neighborhood wholesome Mad Dog (a vet who gives himself dog powers through medical science) but as a vigilante. His first step? Killing off his sidekick so no one thinks they’re gay.

Despite a life-changing fortune offer, Newhart hears Cygan’s idea and is out the door—leading to this other prescient subplot about the CEO (Michael Cumpsty) listening in to every conversation in the building and talking to his employees—only for them to get together after the commercial break and decide it’s a better idea for a show if Cygan and Newhart work together on the relaunch than Newhart just going back to illustrating greeting cards.

As a sitcom, “Bob”’s high middling. Newhart’s hilarious, even when the jokes go stale onscreen, but the supporting cast isn’t on par. Carlene Watkins is blandly fine as his wife; Cynthia Stevenson is their daughter, who Watkins apparently had at ten. Stevenson’s got Mr. Magoo-esque near-sided jokes and otherwise just has a crappy (unseen) boyfriend. You can see Stevenson trying to act and the script getting in the way, like she doesn’t know how to do sitcom.

Watkins can do sitcom.

We also meet the art department staff, who don’t get character names except Ruth Kobart, who knows Newhart from the old days. When were these old days? Given Mad Dog: The Comic ran twelve issues before Stevenson was born and assuming she’s not playing her thirty… it’s still like twenty-five years ago….

Doesn’t matter. I’m overthinking it. Or I'd just forgotten how much sitcoms can under-think, especially when they’ve got Newhart still able to get laughs whenever he wants. They’re even able to do a telephone gag.

Cygan’s okay enough… he plays really well opposite the cat, which helps immensely. But he’s wearing this puffy windbreaker thing with shoulder pads and it’s hard not to stare in abject horror at early nineties fashions. Plus one of the white comics dudes is wearing shorts (both the so far unnamed dudes in the art department are white comics dudes).

“Bob” is Newhart’s last titular sitcom so I always figured I’d give it a shot someday, but I had no idea how well its ideas would age even if its fashions are an exceptional eyesore. Also the ableism is very weird.

But it’s a good mix of interesting and okay and it doesn’t hurt Newhart can just make the laughs happen.