Newhart The first Season
DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:
I can recall the 80’s as not much fun for good clean humor. While Dallas, Dynasty and other dramas dominated, this was the one show I never missed. I loved it from the first episode through the end of the eight year run. I purchased the first DVD when it became available and waited and waited for what seemed forever for season two. I bought it immediately and discovered SHOUT is set to release season three in April. It is long past time this entire series is available for everyone who wants to enjoy it. Others have made excellent observations about the characters, the wit and charm and the genuine fondness of or better yet, the chemistry of the cast. I love this show and Bob Newhart will always have a special place in my heart. It is almost criminal that it has taken this long for this wonderful and funny, as well as original, series to finally make it to season three. I just hope the good folks at SHOUT don’t stop with half of the seasons, like others did with Green Acres and Caroline In The City. Both of these shows were favorites and only three of the six Green Acres seasons were released and only two of the four Caroline In The City. If you enjoy comedy that is not over the top with outstanding acting, great characters and yes an innocence to it, this series is for you. Thank you SHOUT for finally bringing this series to DVD. Just please release the entire eight seasons ASAP.-Stephen Courts
Bob Newhart was four years removed from his first CBS sitcom when he stepped into this one, which finds him playing a how-to book writer who decides to have a go at running a rustic Vermont inn. He and his wife, Joanna (played by the gorgeous and talent Mary Frann), deal with the normal run of tourists and locals as they get adjusted to their new life. That includes Tom Poston, a good friend of Newhart’s who played the inn’s caretaker, George Utley; Steven Kampmann, who wrote for another CBS sitcom, “WKRP in Cincinnati”, as the pathological owner of the Minuteman Cafe, Kirk Devane; and Jennifer Holmes, who played student and skier Leslie Vanderkellen. Along the way, a number of other stars make appearances, including Howard Dodson (Jack Sprague from “Andy Griffith”), Rue McClanahan (Blanche Devereaux from “The Golden Girls”), Daniel J. Travanti (Captain Frank Furillo from “Hill Street Blues”) and Julia Duffy (who appears in one episode at Leslie’s cousin, Stephanie, and plays the character much differently than how she defined the role in later seasons).The first season of “Newhart” was shot on live-look videotape, like many other sitcoms of the era (including “The Cosby Show” and “Kate & Allie”). Later seasons were shot on film and on videotape processed to look like film. But that’s part of the charm of the show, as is the fact that you can actually see the actors shaping and molding their characters in each episode. They’re not yet “set” into a predictable pattern. They’re growing as you watch. The acting is very good, but I’m inclined to agree with other posters that it does get better as the seasons progress – especially as Stephanie and the brothers Larry, Darryl and Darryl (William Sanderson, Tony Papenfuss and John Volstad) – become integral characters.Regardless of whether 20th Century-Fox, the company that owns the MTM library, releases additional seasons, if you’re a fan of the show or a fan of Bob Newhart, you really owe it to yourself to pick up the first season of “Newhart”.-The Angry Charlottean
DVD Wholesale Main Features:
Actors: Steven Kampmann, Rebecca York, Cliff Bemis, Todd Susman, Linda Carlson
Directors: Jim Buck, John Tracy (II), Ellen Falcon, Peter Scolari, Lee Shallat Chemel
Format: Multiple Formats, Box set, Color, NTSC
Language: English (Mono)
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 3
Rated: NR-Not Rated
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Release Date: February 26, 2008
Run Time: 546 minutes
ASIN: B000YKYT1M
