The Bob Newhart Show: Season 4
Season 4 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 3.
- 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 4 Progress Shield
The Longest Good-Bye
Sep 13, 1975
Bob's old school friend Murdock is in town for a day to sell a complex giveaway item to a Chicago cereal company. Bob invites him to stay overnight at his home. The brief encounter
Here's Looking at You, Kid
Sep 20, 1975
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
Death of a Fruitman
Sep 27, 1975
Bob's patients observe tradition by planning a surprise party to honor the fourth year of the group's therapy sessions. When an unseen member, a Mr. Gianelli, threatens to turn the
Change is Gonna Do Me Good
Oct 4, 1975
Emily accuses Bob of being stuck in a middle-aged rut and challenges him to switch family responsibilities.
The Heavyweights
Oct 11, 1975
Bob and Emily invite Carol to share her "heavy" experiences with the "overweight workshop."
Carol's Wedding
Oct 18, 1975
A blind-date-initiated, 12-hour romance culminates in Carol Kester's civil marriage to a handsome travel agent.
Shrinks Across the Sea
Oct 25, 1975
Bob and Emily suffer international complications when they host a French psychologist in their home as part of a medical exchange program.
What's It All About, Albert?
Nov 1, 1975
Bob is depressed by his seeming lack of success as a psychologist. He seeks help from his old college professor, who manages to heighten his despair by informing him that psycholog
Who is Mr. X?
Nov 8, 1975
Bob accepts a seemingly innocent invitation to appear as the guest on a TV discussion program. He winds up in the jaws of a dilemma when the show host turns out to have the disposi
Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
Nov 15, 1975
Bob moves up in the world from the seventh to the tenth floor when he joins the firm of a swinging psychiatrist.
Over the River and Through the Woods
Nov 22, 1975
It's a stag Thanksgiving for Bob when Emily flies off to join a family reunion, leaving Bob to share the holiday with his male buddies.
Fathers and Sons and Mothers
Nov 29, 1975
Bob suffers family problems when his mother becomes a houseguest and an elderly patient involves him in a parent-child vendetta.
The Article
Dec 6, 1975
When she's given an assignment to see what makes a bunch of doctors tick, inquiring news reporter Ellen Hartley gives Bob and his medical cohorts the tell-it-like-it-is treatment.
A Matter of Vice-Principal
Dec 13, 1975
Emily must contend with irate teachers, hamsters, and an escaped snake when she's unexpectedly upped to the position of school vice principal.
Bob Has to Have His Tonsils Out, So He Spends Christmas Eve in the Hospital
Dec 20, 1975
Christmas Eve finds Bob in the hospital with tonsillitis and an impending operation. Meanwhile, his friends are all suffering from an attack of Christmas-itis.
No Sale
Jan 3, 1976
Bob becomes his patient's partner in a get-rich-quick real-estate venture.
Carol at 6:01
Jan 10, 1976
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 a
Warden Gordon Borden
Jan 17, 1976
Howard's game-warden brother comes to Chicago to witness the mating of two whooping cranes—and stays to make a play for Howard's girlfriend.
My Boy Guillermo
Jan 24, 1976
Jerry Robinson's depression turns to instant joy when a globe-trotting ex-flame suddenly re-enters his life and proposes.
Duke of Dunk
Jan 31, 1976
A professional basketball team hires Bob to give a psychological assist to its superstar.
Guaranteed Not to Shrink
Feb 7, 1976
Bob develops a unique psychological problem when his receptionist, Carol, decides to resume her college career and become a psychologist.
Birth of a Salesman
Feb 14, 1976
The Hartleys are bombarded with legal hassles when Bob is sued by a shy patient and Emily decides to fight a parking ticket.
The Boy Next Door
Feb 21, 1976
The Hartleys entertain Howard Borden's young son and hire a beauty queen as his babysitter.
Peeper Two
Feb 28, 1976
Cliff Murdock, Bob's old laugh-a-minute college buddy, affectionately known as The Peeper, pays a return visit.