8.0/10289 votes#1 - 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
7.7/10227 votes#2 - 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
7.5/10222 votes#3 - Tennis, Emily?
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 9/30/1972
Bob experiences pangs of jealousy when Emily's handsome new tennis instructor comes to see him with an emotional problem, namely, his inability to turn down the women who are all uncontrollably attracted to him.
Director: Alan Rafkin
Writer: Lorenzo Music
7.5/10201 votes#4 - Mom, I L-L-Love You
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/7/1972
Bob finds it extremely difficult to tell his mother that he loves her.
Director: Alan Rafkin
Writer: Dick Clair
7.6/10203 votes#5 - Goodnight Nancy
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/21/1972
Bob's old girlfriend comes to Chicago with her husband and calls on Emily and Bob.
Director: Jay Sandrich
Writer: N/A
7.2/10184 votes#6 - Come Live with Me
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 10/28/1972
Carol tries to get Bob to approve her moving in with her new boyfriend Roger, who has just separated from his wife. Bob refuses, telling her she will have to make her own decision.
Director: Alan Rafkin
Writer: Jerry Mayer
6.9/10197 votes#7 - Father Knows Worst
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/4/1972
Bob's divorced neighbor, Howard Borden, is convinced that his son, Howie, doesn't really like him. Later, Howard's ex-wife convinces him that Howie thinks he is the greatest guy in the world.
Director: Alan Rafkin
Writer: Jay Tarses
7.4/10182 votes#8 - Don't Go to Bed Mad
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/11/1972
Bob wants to watch football every Monday night. Emily feels this is unfair: their other activities allow the couple only two nights each week to be together, and she thinks they should do something that they both enjoy. This leads to an unresolved, all-night argument that ends only when the two participants become exhausted.
Director: Alan Rafkin
Writer: N/A
6.9/10189 votes#9 - P-I-L-O-T
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/18/1972
Bob and Emily have been trying for some time to have a child. When they attend a party where the conversation turns to the subject of children, they feel so left out that they decide to adopt a child. This is a retooled version of the original pilot. In order for this episode to fit into the series, the office scenes had to be re-shot. Originally Jerry Robinson(Peter Bonerz) was a swinging Psychologist and shared office space with Bob. The characters of receptionist Carol Kester(Marcia Wallace) and patient Elliot Carlin(Jack Riley) were absent. In fact, the part of Bob's patient was played by the Orthodontist who worked upstairs. Bob and Emily also lived in a condo and Bob was head of the building association.
Director: Jay Sandrich
Writer: Lorenzo Music
7.4/10175 votes#10 - Anything Happen While I Was Gone?
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 11/25/1972
As soon as Bob returns to the office from his vacation in Mexico, Jerry announces that he is about to be married to a girl he met nine days ago. Cynthia, a beautiful but domineering oral hygienist, becomes too much for Jerry, and he realizes that he has made a mistake.
Director: Jay Sandrich
Writer: N/A
7.3/10165 votes#11 - I Want to Be Alone
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 12/2/1972
Bob decides that for his own mental well-being, he needs some peace and quiet. He moves into a hotel room by himself, leaving a confused Howard Borden thinking that Bob and Emily have split up.
Director: Alan Rafkin
Writer: Jerry Mayer
7.8/10173 votes#12 - 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
7.4/10167 votes#13 - I Owe It All to You... But Not That Much
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 12/16/1972
Jerry decides there is something wrong with him because he never becomes serious about any of the girls he dates. He asks Bob if he can become one of his patients. Bob agrees, but they have to abandon the plan when it begins to interfere with their friendship.
Director: Alan Rafkin
Writer: N/A
7.8/10180 votes#14 - 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
7.3/10178 votes#15 - Let's Get Away From it Almost
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 1/6/1973
Bob and Emily travel to a ski lodge that's nearly deserted except for the annoying couple with whom they share a bathroom. After sitting through a disastrous dinner, the Hartleys decide to leave only to find themselves caught in the spotlight of the abominable floor show they're trying to escape.
Director: Jay Sandrich
Writer: Jay Tarses
7.6/10160 votes#16 - The Crash of 29 Years Old
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 1/13/1973
Feeling unfulfilled as a woman, and having just passed her 29th birthday, Carol quits her job as Bob's receptionist. After having been gone for a while, Carol suddenly shows up at one of Bob's group-therapy sessions and creates a situation in which Bob finds himself more of a patient than a doctor.
Director: Alan Rafkin
Writer: N/A
7.6/10164 votes#17 - The Man with the Golden Wrist
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 1/20/1973
Bob refuses to wear the beautiful gold watch Emily gave him for his 40th birthday after he learns just how expensive it was.
Director: Alan Rafkin
Writer: N/A
7.4/10151 votes#18 - The Two Loves of Dr. Hartley
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 1/27/1973
When one of his patients falls in love with him, Bob has problems at the office and at home.
Director: George Tyne
Writer: N/A
7.4/10159 votes#19 - Not With My Sister You Don't
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 2/3/1973
Howard Borden's 22-year old sister Debbie arrives to spend the week with him. Emily arranges a blind date for her with Jerry Robinson and Howard suddenly turns into an overprotective big brother.
Director: Alan Rafkin
Writer: Frank Buxton
7.3/10158 votes#20 - A Home is Not Necessarily a House
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 2/10/1973
Bob and Emily try to decide if they should give up their apartment and buy a house.
Director: Peter Baldwin
Writer: Lorenzo Music
7.6/10156 votes#21 - Emily, I'm Home... Emily?
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 2/17/1973
Bob is upset when Emily takes a full-time job with the Board of Education. Emily explains that working full-time makes her feel wonderful, while quitting would make her miserable. Bob decides to leave well enough alone.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/10143 votes#22 - You Can't Win 'Em All
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 2/24/1973
When a star pitcher for the Chicago Cubs credits Bob with saving his career, the endorsement brings Bob a new patient, Moose Washburn, a second-string player whose career is beyond a mere psychologist's help.
Director: Jerry London
Writer: N/A
7.5/10151 votes#23 - Bum Voyage
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 3/3/1973
Afraid that his practice, as well as his patients, will fall apart if he leaves, Bob keeps resisting Emily's plans for a two-month European cruise.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.5/10137 votes#24 - Who's Been Sleeping on My Couch?
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 3/10/1973
Recovering from another broken romance, Jerry Robinson accepts Bob's invitation to spend a couple of days at his apartment. Bob soon comes to regret his kindness.
Director: Alan Rafkin
Writer: Jerry Mayer
The Best Episodes of The Bob Newhart Show Season 1
Every episode of The Bob Newhart Show Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Bob Newhart Show Season 1!
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
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Fly the Unfriendly Skies" is the best rated episode of "The Bob Newhart Show" season 1. It scored 8/10 based on 289 votes. Directed by Jay Sandrich and written by Lorenzo Music, it aired on 9/16/1972. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "Tracy Grammar School, I'll Lick You Yet".