Wasn't Monday night's farewell episode of "Newhart" great?
As previously (and unfortunately) reported, the show did end with Bob waking up in bed with Suzanne Pleshette, who played his wife, Emily, in the old "Bob Newhart Show" in the '70s. Seems the eight years of "Newhart" were all just a dream brought on by Bob eating Japanese food before going to bed.Sort of explains a lot of things. Like an heiress working as a maid at the inn. And three backwoodsmen (two mute and one with a Tennessee accent) living in Vermont. Like why Dick was the only sane one in town. Like . . . Michael.
Did you catch the group hug scene when the the inn crowd was saying goodbye? Surely a parody of "Mary Tyler Moore's" finale.
How about the names of the new Japanese maid and handyman - Sedaka and Sunatra? (The Japanese investor who bought the town was Ogden native Gedde Watanabe.)
And Darryl and Darryl's one-and-only word - "Quiet!" Did you stick around long enough to hear the MTM kitten repeat that?
All in all, an episode that will go down in television history.
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TOGETHER AGAIN: Wasn't it great to see Suzanne Pleshette and Bob Newhart back together? And didn't Mary Frann pale in comparison to Bob's first TV wife?
Sort of made me nostalgic for the old "Bob Newhart Show."
Say, Newhart has already signed to do a new series in 1991. Wouldn't it be great if he brought back Emily, Howard and the whole gang?
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RHYMES WITH RICH: Speaking of Suzanne Pleshette, she's signed to play Leona Helmsley in "The Queen of Mean," an upcoming CBS movie.
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FORGIVE ME: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm reeaaally sorry.
If Mr. Spud had known that "Newhart" was really going to end up being just a dream, he never would have put it in the paper last week. (Chris Hicks has suggested stoning him for this error.) Mr. Spud thought it was just another one of those crazy - although fascinating - stories that was going around, along the line of Bob Newhart's Dick Loudon character dying and meeting his maker.
If Mr. Spud ruined it for any of you, he begs your forgiveness.
Aren't we all glad no one told him who killed Laura Palmer?
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TWIN ENDINGS: Speaking of Laura Palmer, when ABC renewed "Twin Peaks" on Monday, it changed what we saw in Wednesday night's season finale.
According to co-executive producer Mark Frost, they shot two different endings for the show - the one that was aired and one that would have aired if the series had been canceled (which would undoubtedly have been a bit more conclusive).
Frost has also indicated that when "Peaks" returns in the fall, the story lines won't drag on as long as they have this spring.
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BACK ON TOP: After an amazing week that saw normally last-place CBS vault to the top of the ratings week, things are back to normal. This week, NBC was first, ABC was second and CBS was third.
But only half a ratings point separated first from last. NBC tallied an 11.7 rating and a 21 share, ABC an 11.5/20 and CBS an 11.2/20.
And surprising CBS is still amazingly close in the sweeps period - a major point because it helps determine what advertisers will pay for programs this fall. After 25 days of the May sweeps (with three days left), NBC is in first with an 11.9/21, CBS is in striking distance at 11.7/21 and ABC is third at 11.3/20.
For the week, the baseball player who lost his pants and "America's Funniest Home Videos" were both big winners. The baseball player won $100,000 as the grand prize winner on "AFHV" and the show was No. 1.
CBS, which had won the three previous Sunday night movie battles of the sweeps, had to settle for third. NBC's "Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer" was eighth, the first half of ABC's "Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase" was 13th, while CBS' "In the Best Interest of the Child" was 36th.
The Big Eye did place three shows in the Top 10: "Murphy Brown" was sixth, "Designing Women" was seventh and "60 Minutes" was 10th.
NBC affiliates must be just thrilled that the network is going to put the rap music star Fresh Prince in his own series this fall on Mondays at 7 p.m. Last Monday's rap music "Rock the House" was tied for 76th in the ratings - eighth from last.
And another new NBC show, "Hull St. High," will include a bunch of rappers.
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THE TOP TEN: 1. "America's Funniest Home Videos," ABC; 2. "Cheers," NBC; 3. "Roseanne," ABC; 4. "The Cosby Show," NBC; 5. "A Different World," NBC; 6. "Murphy Brown," CBS; 7. "Designing Women," CBS; 8. "Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer," NBC; 9. "L.A. Law," NBC; 10. "60 Minutes," CBS.
THE FINAL FIVE: 80. "Fox Night at the Movies: Wall Street," Fox; 81. (tie) "Head of the Class," ABC; and "The Tracey Ullman Show," Fox; and 83. (tie) Elvis," ABC; and "Booker," Fox.