The Bob Newhart Show: Season 3
Season 3 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of The Bob Newhart Show Season 2.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 3 Progress Shield
Big Brother is Watching
Sep 14, 1974
Bob is faced with the possibility that his younger sister, Ellen, may move in with Howard, her boyfriend.
The Battle of the Groups
Sep 21, 1974
Bob takes two of his therapy groups to a rustic retreat for a marathon session that never progresses further than everyone's complaints about the primitive conditions of their acco
The Great Rimpau Medical Arts Co-Op Experiment
Sep 28, 1974
Dr Newman removed a wart from Bob's neck and charged him. Bob tells Jerry he should have done it for free since Bob had helped him with his marriage. Jerry agrees and sets up a pla
The Separation Story
Oct 5, 1974
For the sake of their marriage, as well as Emily's Master's Degree and Bob's heavy work schedule, the Hartleys decide that it would be best if they took up separate residences.
Sorry, Wrong Mother
Oct 12, 1974
As Howard prepares to introduce Howie to Ellen, he tries to remold Ellen into an image the boy will like.
The Gray Flannel Shrink
Oct 19, 1974
Bob gives up most of his private practice to become the staff psychologist with a major insurance company. He soon learns that it's possible for a man in the corporate world to do
Dr. Ryan's Express
Oct 26, 1974
Bob's office routine becomes a wreck when Jerry hires a temporary receptionist. She's a very nice but very vague woman who can't even get Bob's name straight.
Brutally Yours, Bob Hartley
Nov 2, 1974
Having preached honesty in relationships to his patients, Bob decides to follow his own advice. Immediately he offends two dinner guests and starts an argument with Emily.
Ship of Shrinks
Nov 9, 1974
Bob's first literary venture turns out to be less than triumphant. His embarrassment makes him reluctant to join a convention of psychologists on a flight to Hawaii, especially whe
Life is a Hamburger
Nov 16, 1974
Carol's announcement that she's going to marry Don Fesler—an unpublished poet with bad feet—brings negative reactions from her friends.
An American Family
Nov 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.
We Love You... Good-Bye
Nov 30, 1974
Bob forms an all-women consciousness-raising group. He gets kicked out after Emily joins and inadvertently points out some of the unliberated areas in their own marriage.
Jerry Robinson Crusoe
Dec 7, 1974
After renewing an acquaintance with the beautiful and free-spirited Courtney Simpson, Jerry decides to give up his dental practice: he wants to follow his dreams of romance and adv
Serve for Daylight
Dec 14, 1974
Bob thinks his chances of winning a doctor's tennis tournament are pretty good until he learns that his doubles partner will be Emily.
Home is Where the Hurt Is
Dec 21, 1974
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 Christma
Tobin's Back in Town
Jan 4, 1975
Ellen's ex-fiancee, John Tobin—a tall, handsome egomaniac in suede and leather—arrives in Chicago to win Ellen back. The situation plays havoc with Howard's basic insecurities.
Think Smartly--Vote Hartley
Jan 11, 1975
Before he has a chance to say no, Bob finds himself running for the chairman of the local school board against an incumbent who hasn't attended a board meeting for six months.
The Way We Weren't
Jan 18, 1975
Emily is more than a little curious about Bob's reluctance to talk about a girl he used to date. Then Howard inadvertently spills the beans.
A Pound of Flesh
Jan 25, 1975
Bob and Jerry have a falling-out when Jerry demands that Bob lend him money for a new motorcycle.
My Business is Shrinking
Feb 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.
The New Look
Feb 8, 1975
Emily redecorates the apartment in antiques. Bob finds her choice of furniture uncomfortable, unappealing, and hazardous to his health.
Bob Hits the Ceiling
Feb 15, 1975
Bob breaks a long-standing rule against treating friends when he agrees to counsel Emily's chum, whose marriage to a muscular gym teacher seems to be breaking up.
Emily Hits the Ceiling
Feb 22, 1975
Emily agrees to help operate a children's summer camp and tries to persuade Bob to be one of the counselors.
The Ceiling Hits Bob
Mar 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.