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The Best Episodes of The Bob Newhart Show

Every episode of The Bob Newhart Show ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Bob Newhart Show!

The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, 1972, to...
Genre:Comedy
Network:CBS

Top Episode Ratings Summary

"Over the River and Through the Woods" is the best rated episode of "The Bob Newhart Show". It scored 8.8/10 based on 238 votes. Directed by James Burrows and written by N/A, it aired on 11/22/1975. This episode scored 0.5 points higher than the second highest rated, "Death Be My Destiny".

  • Over the River and Through the Woods
    8.8/10238 votes
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    #1 - Over the River and Through the Woods

    Season 4 Episode 11 - Aired 11/22/1975

    It's a stag Thanksgiving for Bob when Emily flies off to join a family reunion, leaving Bob to share the holiday with his male buddies.

    Director: James Burrows

    Writer: N/A

  • Death Be My Destiny
    8.3/10117 votes
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    #2 - Death Be My Destiny

    Season 5 Episode 19 - Aired 2/12/1977

    Bob strikes out against a friend's fear of falling, but succumbs to the same phobia himself when he is subjected to a harrowing elevator experience.

    Director: Michael Zinberg

    Writer: N/A

  • Happy Trails to You
    8.2/10116 votes
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    #3 - Happy Trails to You

    Season 6 Episode 22 - Aired 4/1/1978

    Bob gives up his psychological practice in Chicago to become a professor at a small college in Oregon.

    Director: Peter Bonerz, Michael Zinberg

    Writer: Glen Charles, Les Charles, Lloyd Garver

  • T. S. Elliot
    8.1/10122 votes
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    #4 - T. S. Elliot

    Season 2 Episode 14 - Aired 12/15/1973

    Bob's patient Elliot Carlin parades all his phobias and insecurities as he prepares to ask Carol Kester for a date. He then finds it even harder to accept her answer—which is ""yes.""

    Director: Peter Baldwin

    Writer: Gerry Renert, Jeff Wilhelm

  • Fly the Unfriendly Skies
    8.0/10282 votes
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    #5 - Fly the Unfriendly Skies

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/16/1972

    Bob invites Emily to join his fear of flying group on a trip to New York City. Much to Bob's surprise he finds that Emily also has a fear of flying and refuses to go. After a conversation with Howard she decides to go only to back out after boarding the plane.

    Director: Jay Sandrich

    Writer: Lorenzo Music

  • Mister Emily Hartley
    8.0/10143 votes
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    #6 - Mister Emily Hartley

    Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 11/3/1973

    Bob suffers an inferiority attack when a test reveals that Emily's IQ is higher than his.

    Director: Jerry London

    Writer: N/A

  • An American Family
    8.0/10137 votes
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    #7 - An American Family

    Season 3 Episode 11 - Aired 11/23/1974

    Emily's plans for a wonderful turkey dinner go downhill when Bob's mother and Emily's father begin insulting one another the night before Thanksgiving.

    Director: Peter Bonerz

    Writer: N/A

  • The Ceiling Hits Bob
    8.0/10114 votes
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    #8 - The Ceiling Hits Bob

    Season 3 Episode 24 - Aired 3/8/1975

    Bob becomes the ""oldest permanent psychologist in Chicago"" when the ceiling in his office collapses and he has to set up shop wherever he can find the space.

    Director: Alan Rafkin

    Writer: Jay Tarses

  • Caged Fury
    8.0/10108 votes
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    #9 - Caged Fury

    Season 5 Episode 2 - Aired 10/2/1976

    The Hartleys miss their friend's gala Fourth of July Bicentennial party celebration when they become trapped in a storage locker.

    Director: Michael Zinberg

    Writer: N/A

  • A Day in the Life
    8.0/10100 votes
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    #10 - A Day in the Life

    Season 6 Episode 6 - Aired 10/29/1977

    Bob's impulsive decision to leave town for a week is received with disastrous emotions by his patients, who seemingly can't make it without him.

    Director: Dick Martin

    Writer: N/A

  • 'Twas the Pie Before Christmas
    8.0/1097 votes
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    #11 - 'Twas the Pie Before Christmas

    Season 6 Episode 12 - Aired 12/24/1977

    Bob finds himself with unhappy and hostile patients who refuse to attend his Christmas party when they are mistakenly informed of a rate increase at the height of the Yuletide season. One patient is moved to hire a pie-throwing service.

    Director: Dick Martin

    Writer: N/A

  • Somebody Down Here Likes Me
    7.9/10144 votes
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    #12 - Somebody Down Here Likes Me

    Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 10/6/1973

    Rev. Dan Bradford seeks professional advice from Bob then makes a startling announcement in his Sunday sermon.

    Director: Jerry London

    Writer: Peter Meyerson

  • Mutiny on the Hartley
    7.9/10125 votes
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    #13 - Mutiny on the Hartley

    Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 11/10/1973

    Bob decides to meet the rising cost of living by raising his rates. But the members of his therapy group revolt when he picks the most inappropriate moment to tell them.

    Director: Peter Baldwin

    Writer: Jay Tarses

  • My Business is Shrinking
    7.9/10112 votes
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    #14 - My Business is Shrinking

    Season 3 Episode 20 - Aired 2/1/1975

    With his confidence fading as fast as his list of patients, Bob decides to follow Emily's advice and see a psychiatrist about his problem.

    Director: Alan Rafkin

    Writer: Arnie Kogen

  • Death of a Fruitman
    7.9/10119 votes
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    #15 - Death of a Fruitman

    Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 9/27/1975

    Bob's patients observe tradition by planning a surprise party to honor the fourth year of the group's therapy sessions. When an unseen member, a Mr. Gianelli, threatens to turn the party into a disaster, Bob kicks him out of the group. His decision meets with instant group approval until Mr. Gianelli dies under a ton of zucchini.

    Director: Peter Bonerz

    Writer: Jay Tarses

  • Who is Mr. X?
    7.9/10128 votes
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    #16 - Who is Mr. X?

    Season 4 Episode 9 - Aired 11/8/1975

    Bob accepts a seemingly innocent invitation to appear as the guest on a TV discussion program. He winds up in the jaws of a dilemma when the show host turns out to have the disposition of a shark.

    Director: Peter Bonerz

    Writer: N/A

  • Bob Has to Have His Tonsils Out, So He Spends Christmas Eve in the Hospital
    7.9/10126 votes
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    #17 - Bob Has to Have His Tonsils Out, So He Spends Christmas Eve in the Hospital

    Season 4 Episode 15 - Aired 12/20/1975

    Christmas Eve finds Bob in the hospital with tonsillitis and an impending operation. Meanwhile, his friends are all suffering from an attack of Christmas-itis.

    Director: James Burrows

    Writer: Jay Tarses

  • Tracy Grammar School, I'll Lick You Yet
    7.8/10223 votes
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    #18 - Tracy Grammar School, I'll Lick You Yet

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/23/1972

    It's Vocation Day in Emily's class, and Bob feels left out when he's not invited. At the last minute, he's asked to fill in, but Emily's worst fears are confirmed when Bob fails to excite the kids' interest.

    Director: Jay Sandrich

    Writer: Carl Gottlieb

  • Bob and Emily and Howard and Carol and Jerry
    7.8/10169 votes
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    #19 - Bob and Emily and Howard and Carol and Jerry

    Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 12/9/1972

    Howard "floats" into Bob's office on Cloud Nine after having a tooth pulled. He is so poetic that Carol tells Emily, "I want him." Emily agrees to help Carol get him, and the two have an up-and-down romance.

    Director: Peter Baldwin

    Writer: N/A

  • His Busiest Season
    7.8/10174 votes
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    #20 - His Busiest Season

    Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 12/23/1972

    Christmas becomes a sad memory for Bob's group therapy session, and it's evident that "'tis not the season"" for everyone to be jolly. Bob decides to invite the group over for Christmas Eve.

    Director: Peter Baldwin

    Writer: Lorenzo Music

  • Fit, Fat, and Forty-One
    7.8/10131 votes
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    #21 - Fit, Fat, and Forty-One

    Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 11/24/1973

    Determined to lose eight pounds from around his middle, Bob goes on a strict diet. With Jerry's help, he joins a weight-reducing class that seems to be populated mostly by women.

    Director: Peter Baldwin

    Writer: N/A

  • The Modernization of Emily
    7.8/10128 votes
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    #22 - The Modernization of Emily

    Season 2 Episode 17 - Aired 1/12/1974

    Emily decides to update her image with a kicky new wardrobe that she says is youthful and Bob says is childish.

    Director: Peter Baldwin

    Writer: N/A

  • The Jobless Corps
    7.8/10124 votes
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    #23 - The Jobless Corps

    Season 2 Episode 18 - Aired 1/19/1974

    Depressed after losing his job with the airline, Howard accepts Bob's offer to join his ""out of workshop,"" a special therapy group for the unemployed. (Bob extends the invitation at Emily's insistence when Howard's attempts to help her around the apartment begin driving her up the wall.)

    Director: Peter Baldwin

    Writer: Jay Tarses

  • Clink Shrink
    7.8/10131 votes
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    #24 - Clink Shrink

    Season 2 Episode 19 - Aired 1/26/1974

    Hoping to make a contribution to society, Bob offers his psychological counseling services free to a parolee out on an armed-robbery conviction. But Bob seems to be more influenced by his patient's manner than the patient is by Bob's therapy.

    Director: Peter Bonerz

    Writer: Howard Storm

  • Confessions of An Orthodontist
    7.8/10130 votes
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    #25 - Confessions of An Orthodontist

    Season 2 Episode 23 - Aired 2/23/1974

    While filling in for a fellow psychologist, Bob is surprised to find that his first patient is Jerry Robinson, who is reluctant to reveal his problem. A little prodding produces the startling admission that Jerry is in love with Emily.

    Director: Peter Baldwin

    Writer: Jay Tarses