Some Are Born Writers... Others Have Writers Thrust Upon Them

There is something missing here. This story is straightforward. It's about nice people giving false hope. One of the hardest things to do is to evaluate the work of someone you like personally. In this episode, Joanna is approached at the market by a woman who wants Dick to read her work and give her an opinion. Being nice, he tells her it's pretty good. What he doesn't say is how hard it is to get published and how much effort must be put forth to get your foot in the door. What happens? The family gives up everything to allow her to write and she takes over Dick's life. The conclusion is what one would expect from a regular dramatic show. There's little comedy.

I plan on reviewing all of the episodes of the first and second seasons of Newhart plus an additional four episodes in the series that I feel are worth reviewing.

This episode is called Some Are Born Writers... Others Have Writers Thrust Upon Them.

Even in these first two seasons before the show became completely unwatchable with the exception of 4 episodes after season 2, a lot of these episodes do not really give one much to talk about. That is the case with this episode.

The two main guest actors this week are worth noting for their interesting connections to this series Our two main guest stars in this episode play man and wife. They are portrayed by Earl Boen and Judith Kahan respectively.

Earl Boen played Dr. Peter Silverman in the Terminator movies. He even played the character of Mayor Dodds in a later 1985 episode of Newhart called Candidate Larry.

Judith Kahan is Steven Kampmann's real life wife. They married the year prior to this episode being made and are still together to this day.

Besides these two guest stars, let's look at the other positives in this episode. Bob Newhart gives a good performance. Tom Poston gives a good performance as George Utley. The inn setting is maintained and that dependable laugh track is on hand. The main positive however, is the fantastic performance of Steven Kampmann as Kirk Devane. He is the best part of this episode and any episode in which he is included.

The main negatives here are the mediocre script, the low number of laughs, and the poor performances of Mary Frann and Jennifer Holmes. Also, there is a scene near the beginning of the episode where Dick is helping Joanna put away groceries. This scene is an embarrassment because it is a big step backwards from Bob's previous sitcom The Bob Newhart Show. There is an episode from The Bob Newhart Show called Change Is Gonna Do Me Good where similar ideas are expressed that are similar to this scene. Change is Gonna De Me Good handled this scenario probably fifty times better than what we got here. This grocery scene feels like regrression and it is the blandest type imaginable. Let's not forget Bob is playing a character in Newhart that is somewhat similiar albeit nowhere near as nuanced and believable as Bob Hartley. Still, having the character unlearn basic things that the previous character knew is intolerable in most cases.

Next up, I'll be reviewing the ninth episode. The Christmas entry called No Room at the Inn.

Stay tuned!