The Bob Newhart Show backdrop
Comedy

The Worst Episodes of The Bob Newhart Show

Every episode of The Bob Newhart Show ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of The Bob Newhart Show!

Binge this in 6h 0m•Peaking at 8.8/10

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 April 1, 1978. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psychologist having

Airs on
CBS
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons6

All123456

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
    Click to reveal
    The Bob Newhart Show Season 6 Episode 21 - Crisis in Education
    6.3/10(103 votes)

    #1 - Crisis in Education

    S6:E21

    At the school where Emily works, low reading scores prompt indignant outbursts and threats from angry parents. Principal Phil Bannister flees their wrath by going on an extended fishing trip—but not before he tells Emily to handle the crisis.

    Director:Peter Bonerz
    Writer:Earl Pomerantz

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. The Bob Newhart Show Season 4 Episode 10 - Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
    6.5/10(126 votes)

    #2 - Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

    S4:E10

    Bob moves up in the world from the seventh to the tenth floor when he joins the firm of a swinging psychiatrist.

    Director:Richard Kinon
    Writers:Jay Tarses, Tom Patchett

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. The Bob Newhart Show Season 6 Episode 7 - My Son the Comedian
    6.5/10(104 votes)

    #3 - My Son the Comedian

    S6:E7

    It's no laughing matter for Howard when his 12-year-old son Howie announces he's leaving home to become a comedian.

    Director:Dick Martin
    Writer:David Lloyd

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. The Bob Newhart Show Season 6 Episode 19 - It Didn't Happen One Night
    6.5/10(117 votes)

    #4 - It Didn't Happen One Night

    S6:E19

    Bob's friends close ranks to "protect" Emily Hartley when a handsome old flame pays her a very warm visit.

    Director:Dick Martin
    Writer:Laura Levine

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. The Bob Newhart Show Season 5 Episode 10 - Jerry's Retirement
    6.6/10(114 votes)

    #5 - Jerry's Retirement

    S5:E10

    Bob defends the work ethic when Jerry comes into a pile of money and promptly retires from the dental profession.

    Director:Alan Myerson
    Writer:Hugh Wilson

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. The Bob Newhart Show Season 6 Episode 18 - Easy for You to Say
    6.6/10(108 votes)

    #6 - Easy for You to Say

    S6:E18

    Paul Billingham—known to his radio fans as Ralph Alfalfa, the Happy Farmer—comes to Bob because of his stuttering problem. On radio, he practiced several unseen rhythmic devices to mask his problem, but a new television opportunity threatens to expose his problem with disastrous results.

    Director:Dick Martin
    Writer:Andrew Smith

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 BEST Episodes of The Bob Newhart Show

    READ
  7. The Bob Newhart Show Season 4 Episode 19 - My Boy Guillermo
    6.7/10(109 votes)

    #7 - My Boy Guillermo

    S4:E19

    Jerry Robinson's depression turns to instant joy when a globe-trotting ex-flame suddenly re-enters his life and proposes.

    Director:Alan Myerson
    Writer:Sy Rosen

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. The Bob Newhart Show Season 4 Episode 17 - Carol at 6:01
    6.8/10(111 votes)

    #8 - Carol at 6:01

    S4:E17

    Bob contends with a patient's delusion that her bingo game is fixed, staggers through a series of wild poker parties, and watches in wonder as his secretary slowly smothers under an attack of love.

    Director:Peter Bonerz
    Writers:Gordon Farr, Lynne Farr

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. The Bob Newhart Show Season 4 Episode 20 - Duke of Dunk
    6.8/10(112 votes)

    #9 - Duke of Dunk

    S4:E20

    A professional basketball team hires Bob to give a psychological assist to its superstar.

    Director:Peter Bonerz
    Writers:Phil Doran, Douglas Arango

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. The Bob Newhart Show Season 6 Episode 15 - Son of an Ex-Con Job
    6.8/10(104 votes)

    #10 - Son of an Ex-Con Job

    S6:E15

    Bob counsels a quintet of jovial ex-convicts to help them find honest employment.

    Director:Michael Zinberg
    Writer:Emily Marshall

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. The Bob Newhart Show Season 1 Episode 9 - P-I-L-O-T
    6.9/10(205 votes)

    #11 - P-I-L-O-T

    S1:E9

    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.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writers:Lorenzo Music, David Davis

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. The Bob Newhart Show Season 4 Episode 2 - Here's Looking at You, Kid
    6.9/10(120 votes)

    #12 - Here's Looking at You, Kid

    S4:E2

    Howard insists on joining Bob and Emily's anniversary dinner at a fashionable Chicago restaurant in order to enlist their aid in popping the question to Ellen. But he chokes up in the clutch, and Bob is forced to do the proposing for him.

    Director:Peter Bonerz
    Writers:Gordon Farr, Lynne Farr

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. The Bob Newhart Show Season 4 Episode 21 - Guaranteed Not to Shrink
    6.9/10(108 votes)

    #13 - Guaranteed Not to Shrink

    S4:E21

    Bob develops a unique psychological problem when his receptionist, Carol, decides to resume her college career and become a psychologist.

    Director:James Burrows
    Writer:Sy Rosen

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. The Bob Newhart Show Season 5 Episode 22 - The Mentor
    6.9/10(103 votes)

    #14 - The Mentor

    S5:E22

    A despondent friend accepts Bob's suggestion and turns the psychologist's reception area into a mini-Polynesian village.

    Director:Michael Zinberg
    Writer:Gary David Goldberg

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. The Bob Newhart Show Season 1 Episode 7 - Father Knows Worst
    7.0/10(218 votes)

    #15 - Father Knows Worst

    S1:E7

    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
    Writers:Jay Tarses, Tom Patchett

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. The Bob Newhart Show Season 3 Episode 15 - Home is Where the Hurt Is
    7.0/10(143 votes)

    #16 - Home is Where the Hurt Is

    S3:E15

    Facing the depressing prospect of returning home to Iowa to spend the holidays with her domineering parents, Carol brings her troubles to Bob's apartment. There she spends Christmas Eve pouring out the disasters of her childhood.

    Director:Alan Rafkin
    Writers:Jay Tarses, Tom Patchett

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. The Bob Newhart Show Season 4 Episode 16 - No Sale
    7.0/10(106 votes)

    #17 - No Sale

    S4:E16

    Bob becomes his patient's partner in a get-rich-quick real-estate venture.

    Director:Eddie Ryder
    Writer:Michael Zinberg

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. The Bob Newhart Show Season 5 Episode 6 - Et, Tu, Carol?
    7.0/10(103 votes)

    #18 - Et, Tu, Carol?

    S5:E6

    Both Bob's receptionist and a Buddha figure with a clock in its navel give the psychologist a hard time.

    Director:Alan Myerson
    Writer:Gary David Goldberg

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. The Bob Newhart Show Season 5 Episode 7 - Send This Boy to Camp
    7.0/10(96 votes)

    #19 - Send This Boy to Camp

    S5:E7

    Bob and his friends host an orphan contingent for a wildly improbable camping-out experience.

    Director:Michael Zinberg
    Writer:David Lloyd

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. The Bob Newhart Show Season 5 Episode 11 - Here's to You, Mrs. Robinson
    7.0/10(99 votes)

    #20 - Here's to You, Mrs. Robinson

    S5:E11

    Jerry, retired orthodontist and orphan, takes off on a world tour to search for his long-lost parents.

    Director:James Burrows
    Writers:Gordon Farr, Lynne Farr

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. The Bob Newhart Show Season 5 Episode 17 - Halls of Hartley
    7.0/10(100 votes)

    #21 - Halls of Hartley

    S5:E17

    Bob succumbs to the pressures of living in a big city and desperately seeks employment of a small rural college.

    Director:James Burrows
    Writer:Michael Zinberg

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. The Bob Newhart Show Season 5 Episode 23 - Shrinking Violence
    7.0/10(106 votes)

    #22 - Shrinking Violence

    S5:E23

    Bob offers sound psychological advice to his wife and his therapy group on how to handle anger. Then he proceeds to blow up himself.

    Director:Peter Bonerz
    Writer:Sy Rosen

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. The Bob Newhart Show Season 6 Episode 1 - Bob's Change of Life
    7.0/10(110 votes)

    #23 - Bob's Change of Life

    S6:E1

    Bob's well-ordered life turns topsy-turvy when he and Emily move to a new Chicago residence.

    Director:Peter Bonerz
    Writers:Les Charles, Glen Charles

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  24. The Bob Newhart Show Season 6 Episode 14 - Grizzly Emily
    7.0/10(102 votes)

    #24 - Grizzly Emily

    S6:E14

    Emily Hartley discovers a new low in male chauvinism when Bob's father arranges a fishing trip to his cabin and assigns her woman's work while the men brave the great out-of-doors.

    Director:Peter Bonerz
    Writer:Laura Levine

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  25. The Bob Newhart Show Season 3 Episode 23 - Emily Hits the Ceiling
    7.1/10(123 votes)

    #25 - Emily Hits the Ceiling

    S3:E23

    Emily agrees to help operate a children's summer camp and tries to persuade Bob to be one of the counselors.

    Director:James Burrows
    Writer:Jerry Mayer

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Worst Episodes Summary

"Crisis in Education" is the worst rated episode of "The Bob Newhart Show". It scored 6.3/10 based on 103 votes. Directed by Peter Bonerz and written by Earl Pomerantz, it aired on 3/11/1978. This episode scored 0.2 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time".