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Saturday, July 20, 2024

A night at the Stratford

Two-lane road through
New England countryside
Waybury Inn 
Homes in the Cape Cod style
Golden Pond feel
Muted Mancini theme
Rest easy, Bob
What a hell of a dream

I didn't watch Newhart during its regular run.  Seemed like an old people show.  But at some point in my considerable bachelor years, I discovered it.  One of the local channels aired it in syndication late at night.  They would air two episodes of Cheers at 10, followed by two episodes of Newhart at 11.

Let it be stated for the historical record that these were the days before streaming services, DVR, on-demand, watch-whatever-you-want-whenever-you-want.  We had VCR's, but you had to remember to set them.  Then if your VCR clock wasn't in sync with the television station, you'd catch the last couple of minutes of The Nanny and it would cut off the ending of your show.

By and large you had to be home, awake, and in front of the TV at the exact time your show aired.  Today, my kids would claim child endangerment.

(We'll get into TV Guide during our next historical blogging exhibit.)

Back to our show.  Those opening scenes of Newhart were so peaceful, and the cozy Stratford Inn was always a place I wanted to be.  Like the bar on Cheers, the studio at WKRP, or hanging out at The Max on Saved by the Bell.

Feeling welcome in a fictional setting is very important to me.

As I began to write stories from my life on these virtual pages, I started referring to myself as Larry, and the two friends I hung out with for a large part of my thirties as the Darryls.  This obviously was from the running gag on the show where upon every entrance, Williams Sanderson's character would say, "Hi, I'm Larry.  This is my brother, Darryl.  And this is my other brother, Darryl."  And the brothers, who never spoke (until the series finale), would salute.

Seeing Bob Newhart pop up in later years would always bring a smile, a feeling of comfort.  Letterman.  NCIS.  Elf.  Hearing of his passing takes me back to those late nights in the '90s in my old 2-bedroom apartment.

Losing someone famous who has existed for most or all of my life, someone who entertained and provided so many laughs, it feels as if I have lost a part of my life.  My younger days.  And it's always an unwelcome reminder of the endless march of time.

To quote the aforementioned Mr. Newhart: "Laughter gives us distance.  It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it, and then move on... I guess I laugh to keep from crying."

So sometime late tonight I plan to pour a bit of bourbon, put some Newhart on Prime Video, raise a glass and laugh a little pain away.  

Probably right around 11:00 p.m.

6 comments:

  1. Although I had forgotten about it until this post, I remember those days of your two brothers named Daryl!

    I remember those days of going away for a couple weeks on vacation and having to decide what six hours of programming I would put on my VCR using extended play and hoping the power didn't go off or a long sports game push back all the times for the rest of the evening. Man was it rough compared to today.

    Newhart reruns were on during my years without a television and so I'm not sure I've ever seen an entire episode but I may just stream a few to see what I missed.

    Cheers.

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    1. Ah, the unexpected power outages. Yep, those ruined everything.

      I still remember having a TV with a knob. And no remote. And the knob broke off, so we would change the channel with a pair of pliers.

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  2. Pretty sure we didn't get Newhart back when it first aired 🙈Our TV situation was grim was for awhile.

    I miss stories about the Darryls.

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    1. Did someone have to hold the antenna? Was any tin foil involved? I need to hear the story now.

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  3. I am probably the age of your parents. I watched the first Bob Newhart show, the one in which he's a psychologist. Never watched "Newhart" except for a clip from the last episode in which he wakes up and he's Bob the psychologist again, and "Newhart" was all a dream. Pure genius. Bourbon and watching old Newhart episodes sounds like a fine idea.

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    1. Just this morning I see that I missed a Bob Newhart tribute that CBS aired last week. I need to see if I can find the first Newhart show streaming somewhere as I never watched it.

      Thanks for stopping by.

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