1287 – Dreaming of Newhart – In The Beginning Ep1
A new kind of bedtime story TV rewatch appears out of a high concept dream.
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Episode 1287 – Dreaming of Newhart – In The Beginning Ep1
[START OF RECORDING]
SCOOTER: Friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s time for the podcaster who’s looking up the word ‘bucolic’. Though if you’re a parent, you say, there’s nothing bucolic about the word ‘bucolic’. So, maybe we’ll have to look up the entymology of that, because you say, who came up with that word? I mean, maybe bu-something. But this episode is about bucolic…Dreams of Bucolic Things; I’ll take that for…Dreams of Bucolic Things; I’ll take that for $1000. I don't have…but I can't think of…what is turning off…for some people, turning off Sleep With Me podcast?
So, yeah, welcome to Sleep With Me. This is a podcast. It’s a little bit silly. It’s a little bit goofy. If you’re new, I’m so glad you’re here. Regular listeners, what up? What up, all fishes, all pets out there, all partners that are so sound asleep that we’re so happy for? I’m glad you’re here. Welcome to Sleep With Me. It’s a podcast that’s here to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff so you could fall asleep. It kinda puts you to sleep indirectly. It’s your friend in the deep, dark night. It is very different. It does take a few episodes to get used to, but give it a try. You got nothing to lose. I know because last…my sleep has shifted since I had to go to the East Coast, and I got a couple more trips coming up.
So, yeah. It’s weird, though; my sleep shifted later this Pacific Time…I don't know, man. So, I know what it’s like not being able to…trouble getting to sleep, trouble staying asleep. So, I’m glad you’re here. What we got coming up; support, a few minutes of support so the podcast is free for everybody, then a long, meandering intro separate from the support that eases you into bedtime, and then…support and then a bedtime story. Tonight it’ll be about the dreams of a character from the TV show Newhart. Kind of part TV watchalong and part…it’s a new thing we’re doing, so we’re testing it out. So, that…and then there’s thank-yous at the end. So, I’m glad you’re here, and I appreciate you coming by, and thanks for making it possible, my bore-friends.
INTRO: [Intro music] Hey, are you up all night tossing, turning, mind racing? Trouble getting to sleep? Trouble staying asleep? Well, welcome. This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. We do it with a bedtime story. Alls you need to do is get in bed, turn out the lights, and press Play. I’m gonna do the rest. What I’m going to attempt to do is create a safe place where you could set aside whatever’s keeping you awake. It could be things on your mind, thoughts about the past, the present, the future, so thought…you know, things you’re thinking about. Yeah, so, thinking stuff; that keeps me awake.
It could be feelings, anything emotionally related to those thoughts or feelings that are just there, it could be physical sensations, it could be changes in time, temperature, routine, work schedule, you could work a different shift, you could work one of those shifts…I keep hearing from people that work different shifts where you work a long time, and a lot of those are in care professions or transportation professions, which need care. Then you have a break and then you’re trying to sleep, and then you work…so, yeah, that’s not easy, either. Could be people that work the third shift or shifts that I’ve invented, the eighteenth shift. I say, why can't there be twenty-four…why can't there be forty-eight shifts in a day?
I mean, someone from payroll would be like, do you realize how much work you’ve just made for me, inventing forty-eight shifts? I’d say, yeah, keeping you in…you know what I’m saying? I’m doing you a…I’m keeping you in business, a busy payroll person. The more shifts the merrier; that’s what they say at The Great Payroll…that’s what they’ll say if…I mean, I don't think they’d ask me to speak at it, but maybe they could give me an…for inventing…'cause I’ve invented other ones, too, with letters. I say, okay, I don't know, what, is there twenty-seven letters? Probably too many, 'cause I can't do the math on that.
So…but yeah, we could…I mean, twenty-four shifts, forty-eight shifts…I don't know. Yeah, so, whatever’s keeping you awake. The reason I list some of that stuff is so you get a sense that you’re not alone in the deep, dark night, because for me and a lot of other people listening, that’s one of the things that makes it hard, is how it feels in the deep, dark night. But that’s not the case for everybody, but knowing that there’s someone else out there who knows how you feel, who can relate…you might say, no, no, no, you don’t know what I’m going through. You haven't been where I’ve been. I say, no, no, I’m not saying that.
I’m saying I could probably relate to how it feels, and even if I can't relate, there’s someone else out there listening right now somewhere in the world who has experienced something similar, and they can really relate to how you feel, and right now they’re perking up in bed, kinda nodding in a loving way, welcoming you here and saying, I hope this podcast helps you as much as it did for me, because I know how that feels. Not only that; they hope that one day you could do that and then be there for somebody else that needs it, and be nodding and holding a loving space for somebody. Because not only is it hard; you deserve a bedtime where you could get the rest you need.
You deserve a bedtime where you’re…you don’t have to dread going to bed, where you get the rest you need so your life is more manageable, and really, if you get the rest you need where your life’s more manageable on a regular basis, maybe you get the rest you need so you could be out there flourishing, and that means the world we’re in is better, because your world’s better. So, what I’ll do here, though, is I’ll send my voice across the deep, dark night. I’ll use lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones, which means my voice is not traditionally soothing, and the structure of the show is a riddle bit…a little bit brambled. I guess that’s pretty accurate. Instead of…it’s a little bit brambled instead of a little bit…a little bit ram…it’s a riddle bit brambled. That’s hard to say, but it fits the sleep podcast.
It’s like a riddle I’ve never figured out, though. It’s one of those riddles that doesn't tax you, though. You say, I’m not gonna figure…that’s interesting. You know, what waves in the air but rests its arms but doesn't fly in the sky? But when it moves in the sky…I don't…you say, I don't know, man. It’s great. Maybe…if I don't think about…that’s cool, man. I’m gonna…I’m a riddle bit brambled right now, so I can't figure out your riddle. Or it could be…if I ever did get into having a booth at a Renaissance faire, it could be Riddles and…I would need a partner who’s good at riddles. Or it could be Rambling Riddles and Brambles, which would be bramble creation…I’m not exactly sure what a bramble is, but I’m pretty sure there’s somebody…so, I guess I wouldn't be good at anything.
Maybe I’d just be the proprietor. Of course, I would say, m’laise? Any time the queen and her cohort…what do…they don’t call it that, but I’d say ‘m’laise’ instead of ‘m’ladies’. That’s my way of saying ‘malaise’. We’re getting more uses just of ‘malaise’. Riddles and Bram…A Riddle Bit Bramble. Maybe there’s…is there something call…? I mean, I’ve heard of brambleberry pie, but I’m pretty sure that was in a piece of fiction. But if there’s brambles, there’s probably berries. But…oh, I was saying that maybe there’d be a shop…it would be more of a booth or a stall, Riddles and Brambles. So, bramble-based creations, bramble-based art…I’d have a bramble artist. That wouldn't be me. I’m just not capable of any…most…I’m not a crafty person.
Riddles…I would feel like it was not being clear if I called the shop Riddles and Brambles, because my riddles are not…you know. Then Blaine the Train would not take my…not enjoy my riddles. Blaine the Train is a big riddle fan from fiction. But, yeah, I wouldn't…I’m not good at that. So, it’s just an ideal…I guess it’s a fantasy. I guess I could say that. Oh, where are the riddles and the brambles, sir? Oh, no, no, this is a fantasy…I’m in a fantasy realm, and so, my shop has no riddles or…it’s just called A Riddle Bit Bram…it used to be called A Riddle Bit Bramble. Now it’s called Riddles and…this year we’re calling it Riddles and Brambles, which I guess is more confusing, 'cause we have no riddles or brambles. It’s an idealized fantasy shop. I do sit here and…yeah, it’s not going great.
I mean, I’m good at thinking up names for stuff and saying…I only did it so that hopefully the queen would walk by and I could say, m’laise? Or whatever else you’re supposed to say. But then they changed her route specifically because the parade never goes by this…she doesn't walk by here at all. So, it’s not going great. But actually, believe it or not, I’m in the middle of introducing a sleep podcast, so I can't…I don't have more time to describe my fantasy-based shop. Sir, I don't think you get the idea of a fantasy realm. Oh, a fan…I guess maybe I’m misusing it. Maybe it’s a fantastical realm. A fantastically-named shop that sells nothing. Actually, it was just something I accidentally said at the start of a sleep podcast when I was trying to describe pointless meanders and superfluous tangents, so, job done.
That was a pointless meander and a superfluous tangent, which means I go off-topic, I get mixed up, I never get to the point, then I go on and on and on about it. So, this is a podcast, believe it or not, you just barely listen to — I think you could have figured that part out — kinda like background noise or a TV on in the other room. Then, it’s also a podcast…I’m not really here to put you to sleep. I’m here to keep you company while you fall asleep, to be your bore-friend, your bore-bae, your bore-sib, your bore-buzz…buzz, your bore-bud, your bore-bestie, your bores, your Borbie, your neigh-bore,your bore-bor, your bore-bruh, your bore-friend, your bore-bestie, BFF f’eva. What that means is there’s no pressure to fall asleep with this show.
The reason the episodes are over an hour is so you go, oh, I got plenty of time. There’s over 600 episodes ready to go. So, you could say, okay, I’ll just fall asleep when I fall asleep. I’m here to keep you company, ‘cause there’s people listening during the day that need a break and people that just can't sleep at all, and that’s kinda where the invention of the podcast came from, is me just talking to people without…with the intention of like, you could fall asleep, but you don’t have to. I’ll be bare…it’s just the history of being barely interesting and barely entertaining. It’s like…I mean, it’s the truth. I have half-ideas. Riddles and Brambles is not bad; it’s just, it’s not…it’s not fully-formed, either. I think A Riddle Bit Bramble is even better. But you say, I don't understand what I’m going to that shop to buy.
You say, I don't know, he’s…I guess…here’s what they would say at the Renaissance faire, and maybe this is my role; they’d say, that’s where the town F-double-O-L lives. It’s his shop, but he doesn't know it. He’s unwittingly…he just is, 'cause…we know it. He doesn't need to know. We don’t actually use that term here. But yeah, that’s how it works. He’s not…we have a jester, that’s a paid position, but he’s just…he’s a natural. He’s not a jester. A jester is a career path. You know, that’s a trade. But he’s just…he just is. But we don’t…we enjoy his presence, generally. The queen doesn't. Maybe the next queen will like being called part of m’laise. But she said, if you heard it once, you heard it enough. Okay, what was I saying? Oh, no pressure to fall asleep.
I’m gonna be here…plenty of time to keep you company while…and then you just wake up tomorrow and you go, oh, wait a second, what was he talking about? I thought he was gonna be talking about the TV show Newhart and then he opened…I don't know, he was talking about bramble…I know he was talking about brambleberry pie, and then…but so, that’s…what else do you need to know? I was gonna look up the…some word which I already forgot, but it’s…luckily I got a phone. But what else do you need to know? Structure of the show definitely throws people…oh, here’s the thing I forgot to tell you already; most people loathe me. I mean, you might be chuckling now. Just like at the Renaissance faire, it’s kinda like that, but a stronger version of that, and it makes sense for a few reasons.
One, if you’ve been looking for a podcast to put you to sleep, you’re probably a little bit grouchy. I would be. I mean, I have been, and then you’re confused 'cause you get here…maybe somebody told you about the show or you searched for it or you read about it. Then you say, what in the fifth realm is this? You say, whoa, whoa, whoa, how many realms are there? I’d like to know. But you say, does he even know what malaise is? I say, I don't know. I just know that it sounds natural. If you say, m’laise…my queen, m’laise. So, you could do…you could bring your own…B-R…bring your own Renaissance faire, Renaissance festival, your spirit of the Renaissance festival, wherever you go, internally. That’ll be in one of my books that I’ll never write; I bring a Renaissance faire wherever I go.
I actually don’t because I never remember. I’m so focused on what I’m worried about, interacting with people. If I would know that, maybe I’ll just say, m’laise? I’m sorry, what’d you say? Just so comfortable here. I’m doing…I’m gonna be doing some active listening to you. Yeah, no, I just…there’s something…there was something in my mouth, so I had to…I always say ‘malaise’ to get it outta my mouth. Did you say ‘my Lays’? Oh, no…yeah, 'cause I saw…I brought chips to the party and I saw somebody put their hands on them, and then I had to remind myself I brought them for everyone. They are not my Lays. Anyway, back to you. Can you tell me…? I don't know, this could solve all my problems except opening this sleep podcast. So, most people do not like me or the podcast when they get here.
I’m just telling you that to be clear. It does take a couple times to get used to this show, but there’s a lot of people who support the show directly who loathed me. Then they said, oh, I get it; this is not an act or…he’s not buying time here. This is the podcast, or part of it. This is…oh, these are pointless meanders and superfluous tangents. He is really here to keep me company and take my mind off of stuff, to be my friend that’s not really that interesting but is barely…oh, he was serious about that. But it never happened…it happens like that slowly. Now, there’s some people…probably most people who never will listen to the show again…and I do have a website set up for you.
Sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou has other sleep podcasts and sleepy stuff on there so you still can find something to put you to sleep. So, there’s that. Oh, structure of the show I still gotta talk about. Man, I’m going on and on. Let me just do quick, then, bucolic. It’s from the Latin ‘bucolis’ or something. Rustic, pastoral, meter used by pastoral poets. Literally pertaining to cow herds. Bucolic scenery…bed and breakfast…that’s kinda why inns are called bucolic. Pertaining to herdsmen or peasants. Bucolic…oh, so maybe it was a little bit of…jerks might have said it back in the day. But anyway, not important. I just wanted to know what that word was. Okay, so, structure of the show also throws people off.
Great news; when you’re listening to this, we have even more options now to adjust how you listen to the show, but this show is really designed…I don't know, most people listen to this version of the podcast linearly, but you don’t have to. But I would say give it a few tries like this and then adjust, because this is very intentional. It’s just what we’ve learned over the years of making the show. So, the show starts off with a greeting; friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, so you feel seen. You say, okay, I might check that podcast out. Then there’s support so the show could be free for everybody, then…and if you don’t like…if you want a ad-free version, you could get that through Sleep With Me+, through Apple Podcasts, or through our referral program for free, just referring people to the show.
Then there’s a long, meandering intro which is separate from the support, which we’re like, eighteen minutes into, where I try to introduce the podcast that I’ve made for…over 1,200 episodes…unsuccessfully, and it takes me twenty minutes. But it’s different…it follows the same structure every time, but it’s different every time. That’s just one of my theories, is keeping it different every time but familiar. You have some reassurance, but whatever part of you keeps you awake…I had no idea…we definitely talked about stuff we’ve never talked about here before, but also familiar themes like me being at a Renaissance faire unsuccessfully. That theme comes up every eighty episodes, probably. So, there’s that. What was I saying?
Oh, structure of the show. But the intro…when people are…get really upset about the intro, they think it’s part of the sponsor stuff or that it’s gratuitous, and I guess it is gratuitous in the sense that it’s here to just ease you into bedtime. Some people do fall asleep to it. Some people skip it. No longer do you just have to skip it; you could listen to Sleep With Me Bedtime Stories. That’s everywhere…in every podcast app now. Or, Bedtime Stories From Sleep With Me, I think it’s called. But the intro is just meant to ease you into bedtime as you’re getting ready for bed, as you’re chilling out, getting comfortable, winding down. That’s what works for me personally most of the time and what’s been shown to work most of the time. It doesn't work every time. So, that’s why the intro goes on and on and on.
Then after the intro is support, and then after that will be our first time doing this Newhart…Dreaming of Newhart or Newhart’s Dreams. I don't know what it’s definitely gonna be called…a style of show I’m excited about about a old sitcom or a sitcom…is that…would that hurt the sitcom’s feelings? It’s a sitcom from the eighties, I think. I don't know if the first episodes were in the seventies. No, the eighties to the nineties, I’m pretty sure, yeah. Then there will be thank-yous at the end. So, that’s the structure of the show. That’s why I make the show. I’m really glad you’re here. I work really hard on this show. So do a team of people, and we all yearn and strive and really hope we can help you fall asleep. Thank you again for coming by, and here’s a couple ways we get to do this for you twice a week.
Alright everybody, Scoots here. This is…welcome to a new TV recap style and series. This is something I’m excited about and it’s something we’ve never done before, and I love how this kinda came organically to us. So, I’m excited to introduce our new series. What is it…? I’m not sure of the name of it yet 'cause it’ll be a while ‘til it comes out. Dreaming of Newhart or Newhart Dreaming? I think ‘Dreaming of Newhart’ is pretty good, huh? So, what we’re gonna do here is…I guess I’ll…maybe I should go into a long explanation just for everybody since this is the first episode, and we’ll kinda see how this develops and go from there.
A lot of you…since the strikes, we’ve had…we recorded an entire series of Great British Bake Off before the strikes happened, and then we kinda let those sit through the strikes, and then during the strikes…it’s just…became a thing where I was like, huh, we’ve just had a gap in doing regular…a regular series for a sustained time in the recording side. I mean, on the release side, we…it wasn’t that long ago we had the Great British Bake Off episodes. So, I’ve kinda been trying to figure out what we’re gonna do and just kinda letting it happen, because we’re a little bit boxed in with the strikes and had to adjust on the fly. Those are good things, right? Some of the changes from the show come from creative constraints.
So, at some point not that long ago…so, I’m recording this…it is May 2024. You’ll probably be hearing this in August 2024. At some point…I think probably even this month, maybe last month, I was thinking about it, and one show that came up every once in a while…not…no, that’s not actually accurate. One comedian, Bob Newhart, has come up…connected to the show every once in a while as a indirect influence of the show, because…and so, that’s something that’s honestly like a subconscious influence of the show. Because as an adult, I didn’t watch a lot of Newhart or Bob Newhart or Newhart stand-up, but as a kid, I guess I watched some of this version of Newhart, which was Bob Newhart’s second sitcom, and I’ll read through the Wikipedia article on it.
But his humor is pretty similar and his cadence and stuff to the show in the sense of, whoa, boy…and it was mentioned to me before I even realized it. I said, well, I didn’t really intensely even watch Newhart. I was not even probably allowed to watch it ‘til one of the…towards the end of the show’s run. But I do remember watching it, and then probably from there on, I probably saw Bob Newhart a lot more on late-night television shows, getting…doing…being interviewed. I will say that Bob Newhart is a brilliant comedian and pretty darn good in a sitcom. Yeah, there’s just something similar, like dry humor. I guess Sleep With Me has a lot of dry humor. It also has this kind of dull pacing that makes the dry humor work.
So, I don't know, I was always like, huh, I’m gonna have to really sit down and watch some Newhart personally unrelated to podcast content. So, that was like…man, I should watch some Newhart. Then I was like, oh, maybe I’ll watch it for the podcast. I wonder…but it’s a sitcom, but there’s a lot of episodes. Then there’s the Bob Newhart Show which became…came before Newhart, which I have not…I’ve probably seen a couple episodes but not real…I never really watched it. It was before my time. So, I was like…what sealed the deal is like, okay, maybe I’ll watch some Newhart. I don't know about the podcast.
But then I remembered just recently — this is in the last month, two months — that…so, I’m trying to think what…so, some finale of something else…and I can't think of what it was, but it reminded me that when the…for the conclusion of Newhart, they did this pretty…now, while the idea has been used before, I think it was a pretty unique idea, the way they delivered it. Now, I did not watch it when it aired. I haven't been able to find it even though in the US, the entire season of New…the entire series except for the finale — and the finale may be there; I just can't find it — is on Prime available for streaming, and probably you could watch it other places.
So, the interesting thing about the finale…'cause it was a big deal then, because back then, it was like water-cooler television when people would talk about a show and its finale because there wasn’t…believe it or not, there wasn’t…you couldn't watch TV when you wanted to. You had to watch it when it was scheduled, and if you missed it, you missed it, and then people would just tell you about it. Maybe one time you would see a repeat or it would be syndicated, but that would be a long time down the road. Now, a good question that just came up in my brain; when I was watching Newhart, was it syndicated or was it on its original run? I don't know the answer to that. Syndicated probably would make more sense, but I don't know the syndicated history.
What does ‘syndicated’ mean for those of you…? So, syndicated meant…which is kind of like…we’re seeing a resurgence of it, in a sense, in a different format. So, right now, the most popular shows on streaming…or two of the most popular shows, we’ll just say, are Suits and The Office, right? I think most people know that. They’re just really successful shows on streaming, and they actually have been for the last…since 2019, 2020, maybe even before that. So, it’s like, people have kind of found them after their runs on television. I don't know a lot about Suits. I haven't seen it. I have seen The Office. But when…so, that was on streaming, right? But when it was syndicated it was very similar, but it was just at a station, probably not a major station…this is very confusing; I get it.
Whether it was on cable or broadcast, which meant over-the-air antenna television, they would buy the rights to Newhart, we’ll say, and then they would run it. Okay, Newhart every night at 7:00 p.m. or whatever. Or if it was a channel like Nick at Nite, it would seem like…maybe Newhart’s too recent for that? But, I don't know. They’d say, oh yeah, every day at 2:00 p.m. is Newhart. Now we have stuff like Pluto TV, too, which I don't know if…who owns the right to Newhart. But that’s almost similar to over-the-air TV in the sense that those are like syndicated channels of just one content. Like I’ve talked about, my dog Koa watches…and people think I’m making this up; she watches The Addams Family pretty much exclusively.
As far as I know, there’s only two seasons of Addams Family. So, I’m slowly becoming acquainted with every episode but not sitting down and watching it, but Koa does whenever she’s…I’m not gonna be there for a little while. I think it’s similar; there’s something reassuring to Koa about The Addams Family, probably that it’s like, this is just what my regular…this is exactly like my regular life with this guy. I think the same goes for Suits or The Office, is…or anything on syndicated. I don't know why I’m talking about it, though. I just don’t know when I saw Newhart. But yeah, let’s pull up the Wikipedia page, huh, and let’s get some actual Wikipedia facts. Except, this iPad has offloaded every app. The old, broken iPad is what I’m calling it up in. I don't even have Chrome on here right now.
Oh wait, I never explained what the finale was. That was…talk about a superfluous tangent. Sorry about that. Oh boy, Scoots. This is pure sleep podcast, huh? Okay, so, on the finale of the New…of Newhart — not the Bob Newhart show — I don't know what happened 'cause I don't know, but at some point there was some sort of story, right, situational comedy, but it was resolved because it was gonna be the final situational comedy. I think the town and the inn and all that changed. But then at the end of the episode he woke up and it was all a dream from the Bob Newhart…from the previous show. He was in bed with his wife from the previous show, and I think he was like, I just had the strangest dream. I ran a inn in Vermont. So, let me read through the Wikipedia thing here.
Newhart is an American television sitcom. CBS…so, that would mean it should be on Paramount+, maybe? I don't know. But, ‘82 to ‘90…okay, so, I probably saw it in ‘90…I could have seen it between ‘88 and ‘90. No, not ‘88. But yeah, maybe ‘89, ‘90. Maybe ‘88. Maybe even ‘87, I may have seen it. It’s 184 half-hour episodes, eight seasons. Stars Bob Newhart and Mary Frann as an author and wife who own and operate the Stratford Inn in rural Vermont. The finale was named one of the most memorable in television history, and the premise is introduced in the favorite thing…the actual outside is the Waybury Inn in East Middlebury, Vermont. So, we don’t need any of that. Let’s see what else we could use. Henry Mancini does the theme music. Oh, that was gonna come up, though.
The episodes are about twenty-four minutes, which, again, when I think about that, I’m like, okay, this is…this is good for the concept we have. Originally I couldn't do it because twenty-two minutes just wouldn't be enough to fill an hour. But we got this extra idea. So, Bob Newhart, Mary Frann, and Tom Poston…oh, George…he plays George Utley. Mary Frann plays Joanna. Dick is Bob Newhart, Loudon. Who else? Leslie…so, Jennifer Holmes plays Leslie Vanderkellen, Steve Kampmann plays Kirk Devane, and I think those are the only characters we’ve met before. Let’s see what else. Yeah, so, they talk about The Last Newhart. Oh, I guess I could search for that one. There’s a lot about the finale. Oh, in 1991 they were reunited in a Prime Time special. Bob Newhart hosted Saturday Night Live, so, I probably saw that.
Let’s see, Newhart was always a solid-ratings winner, finishing its first six seasons in the Top 25. It was in the…finished Top 30 for the last two seasons, but CBS was satisfied with it enough to give it a ninth season in 1990. But Newark…Newhart declined the offer, and then he did do another show called Bob — oh, that’s funny — for two seasons in 1992. Let me just look up…let me just give you a little bit about Bob Newhart so those of you who aren't familiar…and then we’ll go onto the concept for the season…series. So, Bob Newhart; 1929, American comedian, deadpan, stammering delivery style. So, maybe that’s what it is. Started as a stand-up, then went into television, and has won numerous accolades including the Mark Twain Prize.
In 1960 he had a record album, The Buttoned-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, and that was a album. So, let’s just look and see if I can listen to that album on streaming here. Let’s see discography. They just have The Best of Bob Newhart and Off the Record. But anyway, that was a number-one album. It reached number-one on the Pop Album Chart and is the twentieth best-selling comedy album in history. There was a follow-up which was also a success. Then Newhart hosted an NBC variety show called The Bob Newhart Show, and then from ‘72 to ‘78 starred on the Bob Newhart Show while…he was psychologist Robert Hartley. I did not know that. That’s interesting.
Then Newhart, ‘82 to ‘90, then Bob and George and Leo were two other sitcoms…definitely in movies. Oh, most prominently, Elf. He was also in Disney’s The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under, also on The Big Bang Theory, Professor Proton. That was where he got his first Prime Time Emmy Award. He’s from Oak Park, Illinois, and there’s a lot more about it, but I think that’s a pretty good start. Okay, so, what we’re gonna do here…so, this is…so, basically, I want to be clear as possible. What we’re gonna attempt to do is pretend…this is very similar to a TV-recap episode, but taking the concept from the finale as fact or as creative fact, but as fact in this sense.
So, we’re gonna be looking at each episode maybe in a interview format as a dream from Dick…oh no, it would be Bob Newhart’s dream or whatever his name was, Robert…was that…? I can't even remember now. What was that show? Robert Hartley’s dream, I guess. So, Bob Hartley’s dream. So, each one of those will be a dream from Bob, who I know nothing about. So, we’re gonna be learning about Bob through Bob’s dreams, and each episode we’ll cover one dream and we’ll kinda go through the details of the dream. This Robert, Bob, is a very, very detailed dreamer. So, we’re lucky to have access to these record…dream recordings. Or are they based…?
So powerful that they created a sitcom based on his dreams. Then what we’re gonna do is I’m gonna work with a little chatbot I’m trying to create, like a AI chatbot about…that will help us interpret the dreams, and then I kinda will go through…hey, what did you come up with with this dream of this guy, and we’ll go from there. So, the first episode we’re gonna watch is the pilot, which is called In the Beginning. Again, this is all a conversation based…a parody, satire recap of the episode…Newhart, Season 1, Episode 1, In the Beginning. So, this is just a TV recap discussion. This is not something I’m imagine…I mean, I’m only imagining the way I’m talking about it.
So, okay, Bob, come on in, and…so, we’re gonna be talking about your dreams here. My name’s Scooter. It’s nice to meet you. Oh, nice to meet you, Scooter. And we’ll be doing this dream work. I’m excited. I’ve heard you’re quite the dreamer and I’m glad you’re coming in. So, why don’t you tell me a little bit about the dream you had last night to start off our session? Okay, well, I have some notes from the dream, but then I also can…I can access my memories of the dream, too? Does that sound good? That does sound good. Okay, so, it starts off…I’m flying over the countryside and there’s a town. It’s picturesque. There’s trees, there’s barns, there’s a road, there’s a pond, a boat, maybe even a covered bridge.
But there continues to be a road and the same car. The car goes through town, and it’s very rustic and bucolic, but it’s a lone car on the road. Eventually it goes through a small town, and the car slows and turns. A brown car; I know you were gonna ask that. We see a white building with black shutters called The Stratford Inn. 1774; it has a sign outside. At the top it says ‘1774’, then it says ‘Stratford Inn’ in kind of cursive writing, and then there’s a carriage drawn on the bottom side. Okay, that’s interesting. Okay, and we’ll talk more about your dream. Then what happened next in the dream? Well, then I can see the inside of the inn, right? There’s…it’s kind of in a state of disarray. There’s dropcloths. Someone tries to open the door; the door sticks, which is a recurring theme in the dream. I’ll just tell you.
Then there’s a laughing real estate agent. He’s laughing. He’s a little bit uncomfortable. He’s very tall and he has a bowtie. He asks us in. He says, yeah, don't worry about it. I’m with my wife in the dream, who’s…I have a dream wife. I mean, I have a wife…it’s different than my normal wife, but every dream I have that I dream of my wife, I dream of a different wife. Okay, well, I’m just listening right now. We’re not interpreting anything. That’s interesting, though. In the dream, we start talking about the inn. We’re looking at buying the inn. He’s talking about…that James Maddison lived there. He stayed at the inn, so, we’ll know things about James Maddison we never knew from a book. My wife’s not sure about it.
She’s very skeptical about the inn. I mean, I can see her skepticism 'cause it doesn't look very nice on the inside. Now, then we talk about a caretaker for the inn. George Utley’s his name. Him and his family have taken care of the inn for a long time. I asked my wife what she thinks about it. She says she likes it, but I know she’s not telling the truth. Then she says she does like it. She’s not excited about it. We’re disagreeing about how she feels. But she’s trying to tell me she’s excited, but her face says she isn't. Then I say, why don’t we just forget the idea? We don’t have to buy a inn. We’ll just say we came up here for a drive and fresh air. But we’ve put down a $2000 deposit, so it would be like a $2000 lunch. She says, that’s not realistic, honey. In the dream, my name is Dick, Dick Loudon. She’s Joanna.
Then George comes in. The door sticks yet again. He’s also tall, not as tall as the real estate agent. He’s got a red hat on, overalls, and he wonders if he’s gonna lose his job. I say, no, no, we’re still gonna need somebody to help. But then he asked for a raise and I tell him straight up, no. Why would I give you a raise? Then he tries to show his expertise. He calls something with the furnace a ‘doohickey’. That’s what’s he’s working on, a doohickey inside the next…inside the furnace by the door, under the screen. The real estate agent just listens. But I’m like, oh, I guess…should I be impressed or should I be…? My wife says, let’s just go ahead and do this. I say, yeah. She says, yeah, I have my doubts, but…'cause we’ve…we’re from New York and we have a lot of friends. She’s got a lot of life.
She’s involved in a lot of different causes. The real estate agent tries to say, we got causes here. Then, I’m used to writing in my apartment. She says, you’re used to writing in our apartment…and the real estate agent says, if you can't write here, you can't write. We laugh. Then she says, there’s a lot of repairs…this place. We don’t know how to repair things. The real estate agent says, well, that’s true, but I have written books. In my dream, I’m a writer of how-to books. Excuse me, Robert, could we just agree that…just say…just treat everything as reality? You don’t have to keep telling me it’s a dream. Okay, I’ll do that. So, then I try to close the deal with my wife, and I say, look, there’s a million reasons not to get this place.
Most people wouldn't do this, but that’s maybe why we should. We’re standing on the threshold of one of the great adventures of our lives. She’s still skeptical. We have a rare opportunity to pursue a dream. We just have to have the courage to say, let’s go for it. She says, that’s familiar to me. Where have I heard it before? I said, well, it was the opening of my book, Build Your Own Patio Cover. Every once in a while, people will laugh in my dream like they’re laughing at my jokes or other things, or clap. But she tells the thing…Mr. Shaver will take it. Right after that, George runs down the stairs. You didn’t buy the place, did you? Oh, never mind, he says, like he was gonna tell us something. No big deal.
Then another segment of my dream starts where Joanna’s…she’s in a blue sweatshirt. She’s cleaning the inside of the fireplace. It’s looking better and better. I bring out a thing of stuff, a box of stuff. I feel like I’m on a treasure hunt, but she’s working hard and I don't want to…but I don't want to switch jobs. I’m actually enjoying it. The inn’s starting to look a little bit nicer. Then the door sticks again. George is there to get…he says, remind me to fix that. He fixed a shutter, a shutter that he broke when he was trying to fix something else, and he broke a window. So, I’m starting to wonder how reliable this George is, you know? He says, yeah, I was trying to clean it. What do you want me to do next? My wife says, fix the front door.
He says, what’s the matter with it? She goes, it sticks, dude. Holy moly. Oh, yeah. So, he goes to get some equipment to fix the door. It sticks again. Sometimes I get the sense that whatever is outside of the inn isn't real, but I don't know, that’s just a sense. Then the door sticks yet again as two people come in, a couple, and we say, hey, what’s up? They say, hey, are you open? We say, no, we’re not…I say, we’re not open. My wife says, yes, we are, but…so, I say, okay. Says, how much are your rooms? No…how much are our rooms? We’re not open. But I look in the old ledger. John Hancock’s writing is in the ledger, but that doesn't stick out to me or I just deflect it as a joke.
Oh yeah, 'cause he says, how much? I say, that’ll be a farthing, which I don't even know how much a farthing is worth. I laugh. My wife says, how about forty bucks? They say, that’s too much. She says, how about twenty? They say, yeah. The couple is breathless. They say, sign in here? It feels like a bed and breakfast. I don't know if we’ll serve breakfast. We’re an inn, not a bed and breakfast. They’re Mr. and Mrs. Pomerance. My wife says, don't worry, I’ll be upstairs to fix some stuff up soon. It’s our first twenty bucks. Yeah, don't worry, we’re gonna get this figured out. I keep trying to reassure my wife of my fears that this isn't gonna work and that we won't have any money left over, but it just encourages her thoughts. Then the door sticks yet again, and a man comes in very comedically.
He’s in a blue sweater, dress pants…he says, yeah, I didn’t…that wasn’t very smooth. But he goes, I want you to know I’m not just some slick dude coming in here. Kirk Devane’s the name. Running a gift shop’s my game. Happy, thrilled to meet you, Kirk says. Minuteman Shop and Souvenirs and Cafe. He said, this is gonna be great for both of us. We’re gonna be neighbors and friends. He’s…knocks on the table but he says that he’s a habitual liar. This is within five minutes of our first conversation and he’s telling untruths, but he says he’s working on changing it, that he has help, but then he says he’s lying about having the help. But I think that’s fine. Also in the dream, it’s like the 1980s, but it feels a little bit like the 1970s. The phone rings; I answer it.
It’s Mr. Pomerance, and he says, what’s going on down there? What’s the weather? I say, tonight it’ll be thirty degrees, freezing rain, wind. He says, we don’t got a window in our room. I say, huh, interesting. Let me look into that. I’ll ask George Utley and we’ll get it fixed. Don't worry. No trouble at all. Then he says, don't worry about it. Hang up the phone…there’s a lucky horseshoe behind my desk. Kirk says that’s fascinating. He was talking to my wife about how I wrote a book, The Joy of Tubing, and Know Your Harley. My wife’s very, very proud of me in the dream. My phone rings again. It’s Mr. Pomerance. He says, there’s no heat in our room, either. I say, double-check it, man. It could be 'cause you don’t have a window. But he says there’s no radiator in our room. They say, in New York City, we got radiators.
I don't know what they have in Vermont. I’m learning my way. Behind me is a empty space which one day will become one of those things you see in the movies, full of cubbies and hooks for keys to rooms and mail. I take the phone off the hook, and Kirk says he’s bored. I’ll drop by and see you another time. He says, maybe you get 10% discount at my store; maybe not. Your guess. The door sticks yet again, and he leaves. My wife says, maybe you could get used to him. I say, I’ll take that bet. She goes to get linens, then she says, hey, we need to hire some other help, here. I say, yeah, I will, but I don't know how we’re gonna pay for it, I think, alone. The door gets stuck yet again, and George comes in. He says, I got my plane. Which door do you want me to fix?
I say, buddy…I give him a look, a long look, then I’m in a office. The dream has changed yet again. Now the office looks pretty good. I’m in a jacket. I’m interviewing someone named Leslie for a job working at the inn, helping. She’s gonna help with cleaning and preparing. She says she wants to get experience as an average person in the real world. She comes from privilege; money, cars, clothing, schooling. She’s just finished one degree and now she’s working on her graduate degree. She seems overqualified and she says she doesn't even have a chance getting the job, but she says she’ll work really hard. A degree in European History…Dartmouth is…in Renaissance, Theology, and Masters.
She wants to become a member of the US Olympic ski team. I say, perfect. It’s like a dream. I’m gonna say yes. So, my shirt’s open…many buttons open. My chest is hairier than I perceive it to be in the dream, but I’m not so sure about that. I wear a gold chain around my neck, but I can't quite see what’s on the end of the chain. There’s old books on my desk. Kirk comes in to return some stuff he’s taken without permission from the inn over the years. The first thing he takes out is a strange piece of metal. It looks like some sort of shoe-measure…foot-measuring device. He puts it in his jacket. He introduces himself to Leslie as Kirk Douglas. She’s Leslie Vanderkellen.
I tell her…he doesn't tell the truth, by the way, so just be aware of that moving forward, you know? You’re not…he says, well, maybe I’m not Kirk Devane, maybe I’m not Kirk Douglas. Oh dear, oh dear. Joanna comes in, my dream wife, you know. I guess I’ll just call her my wife in dreams since we’re…she meets Leslie. She says ‘hi’ to Kirk. I say, Leslie’s hired. She’s gonna work in and live here. Wonderful. I can have George show you around…or Kirk volunteers to show her around. He says, oh, I’m studying…I’m a expert in the same things you are. Say ‘hello’ to fate. My wife says, the DWI called. I say, who’s the DWI? She says, the Daughters of W Independence. They heard the inn was opening. They booked twelve rooms for next week.
I say, we’re not ready for it. Why would they even want to stay here? I have many doubts. She says her…their families stayed here in 1775 in the winter. I said, we don’t have any experience. How can we host people? She says, that’s a lot of money. It is; five hundred bucks at least. She goes, we already spent a bunch of money to fix up the Pomerance Room. He says, okay. He goes, well, I didn’t want to restore…I wanted to restore this inn, not just make money off it. She lets me express my doubts and says, okay, if you feel that strongly, I’ll tell them ‘no’, but you were supposed to make a speech about the history of the inn. In the dream I love history, which is strange. I’m obsessed with it in the dream.
Not obsessed, but I have a passion for it and I love talking about history. It’s another recurring theme in my dream that’s different than my real life. So, she says, what do you want to do? I say, well, I could change my mind, then, and we’ll do it. We’ll welcome them. My wife laughs with relief. Then that part of the dream ends, but then I had another one, again, 17…winter, 1770s. This part of the dream is different 'cause I’m not in it. So, I’m very interested to learn more. But Kirk and Leslie are in it. Kirk comes in and asks Leslie out on a date. She’s cleaning and waxing the floor. She says, you’re Kirk something, right? ‘Cause…it’s a joke because he couldn't even figure out his name. He asks her once…out once, and she says, no, thank you.
He asks, what about food? No thank you, she says. I’m busy. Then he says, what about a date tomorrow night? She gives a long explanation, the most meandering explanation I’ve ever heard, about…but it really…it takes her minutes to describe that she’s in a wedding, maid of honor at a wedding, and that’s tomorrow night. He says, can you get out of it? She says…she just ignores him because it’s so tonally different. Then I’m back in my office. My wife comes and she’s in a gray sweater with flying turtles on it or something. They’re red. I’m reading a letter. I’m not listening to her. She’s talking about…I can't even remember. The letter is from the History of the End from the winter of 1775.
It has a body of prose in it. It’s a letter to Annabelle, who once ran the inn. The inn was a place where people would come to slow dance and learn slow dance only, what have been called the Forbidden Dance. That’s not slow, though; Lambada or something. This is just slow-dancing lessons. The Tender Affection…the Dance of the Tender Affections, and that’s winter 1775. Independence…people working for independence, forefathers of independence, I guess you’d say, came here to slow dance. Maybe the great, great, great grandparents, that could be them, but I don't know. Then it’s the night of the event. Leslie’s handing out hor d’oeuvres in…our main room is full of the Daughters of Independence. Or are they just the Daughters of Slow Dance? The inn looks great, by the way, at this point in my dream.
I’m dressed up in a suit, a three-piece suit, with a vest, even, gray, a tie…I have a speech prepared, but I’m not sure I should give it. George has set up a podium, a brown podium. George states the obvious…sometimes he states the obvious like it’s a mystery. He has a shirt on; I’m not sure if it’s flannel or not. I don't know when flannel shirts started being a thing. He has…what do you call those? A shirt, undershirt, on. I go in to make the speech. Everyone there is excited. The daughters are excited to have me. We start…they introduce me. It’s the second-half of their meeting. They say, this is the person. He’s gonna talk about the winter of 1775. The leader, she has a giant corsage on, a yellow corsage…ribbons and flowers.
I want to give everybody a warm welcome…Dick Loudon. Everyone claps and cheers for me. I head to the front of the room. The room looks beautiful; dark wood panelling, paintings. Behind me, a ship, a model of a ship. Nathan Potter built this in 1774, I say, similar to his home in Stratford, England, but he didn’t get to live here. His family moved to Boston where Mrs. Potter had relatives. Then it got passed on and on, and I tried to skip over the part and jumped to the 1800s, but I’m interrupted. They say, you jumped over the winter of 1775. That’s what we’re here to hear about. ‘Cause in the back of my head, I say, not everybody…there’s…this is a world where people are unsure about…slow dancing is so personal. They say, we know our relatives were here in the winter of 1775, and they had a wonderful time.
I say, oh boy, I’m wearing reading glasses, too. I read…I wear reading glasses in the dream. So, I say…they say, we want to know about the winter of 1775. We’re not worried about anything else at all. Very clear communication. At first, I’m…still hesitate. I say, well, if you’re gonna make me talk about it…but sometimes you don’t want to know what you don’t want to know. He goes, there’s a lot going on, stuff that…there’s a song about it, W-A-R, what’s it good for? Absolutely nothing. Plus, lousy winter weather where you have to stay inside and spend time indoors and pass the evenings. They say, what are you gonna say? That’s when I…again, I say, well, you don’t…are you sure you want to know everything?
Very clearly, the woman with…not a boutonniere, right? It’s a corsage? She says, what do you know, London? Loudon, Loudon. I say, okay, well, here’s the thing; in the winter of 1775, people were working on independence. They were tired. They were…spent a lot of time away from their families, and sometimes they wanted to pass the evenings slow dancing, but they needed dance partners to dance with. ‘Guilty feet got no rhythm’ wasn’t true in this case, 'cause their feet weren't guilty. Their feet just needed to dance slowly with partners to dance with because they were away from home. Everyone’s stunned. But I tell them, you know what? It’s really not something stunning, 'cause this dancing meant a lot to these people away from home.
As a matter of fact, there’s…in the future there will be a musical about this. It’ll put it a lot more interestingly than I’m putting it now, and there will be a song about…there will be songs about it that are…and it would give context to the slow dancing, because if it wasn’t for the slow dancing that took place in this inn, maybe they wouldn't have had full hearts and lighter feet, felt the relief of a slow dance and the comfort it brings people. People from New Hampshire and Massachusetts even came here to slow dance. Everybody starts to get their spirits up, all the listeners. I say, America wouldn't be America without this inn, maybe. So, I tip my hat and I say, well done.
Everyone cheers at my speech and is joyed, and they gather ‘round me and they celebrate me, and they’re clapping. Then my wife comes in and she’s impressed. She goes, what did you say? She says something about…she’s the one who says ‘guilty feet got no rhythm’, right? I say, no, no, silence. Then normally at the end of my dreams, I feel…I watch a recap of my dream, like with scenes from my dream, but that’s pretty much my dream. Okay, well, I’m glad…thanks, Robert. This is our first meeting, so normally we try to stick to fifty-minute hours, you know, even…I know this is a different context, but let’s run through some stuff together, okay? We’ll talk about different approaches here. Now, I’m not a expert.
This is…I’m not a dream expert, so I’m gonna be using what is called artificial intelligence to interpret your dream, but then I’ll base my interpretations off of…this is only gonna be a start, though. So, there’s Freudian analysis, which, according to this…my assistant here, is unconscious desires, conflicts, repressed emotions. In that case, the inn could be a place of rest on your life journey. It might even…I mean, this is so obvious, though; an idyllic or idealized version of the life you might want to be living and that need for repairs, right? This first dream is kind of…I guess you could interpret…I’m just giving you the tools to interpret it yourself. It could be underlying things that need to be fixed, though, personally, I don't believe in fixing.
I just believe in adjusting. I guess…not to jump ahead with my own interpretations, but maybe that’s why George is a good part of your dream, and maybe your frustration with George…I guess I’m already going off topic, but that George is really the sign that doesn't…things don’t have to be fixed in the traditional sense, but maybe areas need attention, right? The inn needing repairs…now, if you’re George in this Freudian analysis, then you could maybe feel some inadequacy? I don't know, or frustration? Maybe a inability to accept help, or is there something that’s not feeling manageable? Now, you kind of putting your worries on your wife, especially around money, that might be the idea of taking risk or deeper stuff with loss or failure deep down.
You had your own mixed emotions, and that could be just mixed emotions. This new phase in your life in the dream, that could be a new phase. Maybe there’s work to be done, maybe there’s…yeah, feelings. So, we’ll do that. Now, we could jump to the Jungian…oh, you don’t need to correct my…thanks, Bob, but…oh, Robert; okay. So, Jungian…we’ll talk about archetypes, collective unconscious, individualization. Oh no, I don't know…I’m just reading and interpreting from this interpretation. So, the inn could be a symbol of transition or a new phase. A little bit repetitive, this information I’m getting. Now, the repairs part could be the process of individuation where you’re integrating different aspects of yourself, personal growth, inner work.
Now, George, as I kinda said earlier, maybe a shadow self…I don't necessarily agree with this interpretation. George could represent your feelings of inefficiency or inadequacy that you must confront or integrate. So, maybe that’s integration. Then what you’re dealing with…where you’re projecting your fears onto your wife could be your anima. That’s your inner feminine aspect, and that could be a practical vocalization and representing some of the emotional aspects of a new phase in your life. Then the mixed emotions you have in the dream maybe is a tension between your conscious desire for growth and excitement versus the underlying things keeping you back.
Now, there’s a contemporary, modern dream analysis, according to this…according to this is…it’s just various theories. So, a new venture; maybe you’re undertaking it together with your wife. Maybe there’s real-life things outside of your dreams, or maybe you just need thorough preparation to overcome obstacles. There could be…the repair person, George, could represent external factors or people who are not reliable, or your own self-doubt. Then the stuff about the money and your doubts you projected onto your wife — I like how you said that, though, because it kinda does seem true to me, too — that could highlight stuff that you’re thinking about and potentials, and then how it would impact your…not…your relationship with your non-dream wife, your daytime wife.
Now, your feelings could be optimism and desire for growth, and then the opposite. So, let’s look at the door next. I don't know, that might be all we have time for, unfortunately, but…yeah, let’s see what the door…comes up with the door. My associate is getting to me right this moment. So, with the Freudian one, a door could be a symbol of transition or entry into a new stage of life, opportunity or a barrier. Now, the sticking door, that’s resistance. It could be repressed emotions, though, Bob. I mean, hello, you have a dream wife. But I’m…oh, did I mention I’m not a expert at anything other than talking to you in an imagine…? Oh, okay. Yeah, well…why do you use a fifty-minute hour, then?
Well, just 'cause I got…I got other work I gotta get done. But yeah, the sticking door could be resistance, repression, unresolved stuff, things hindering your progress. The same thing with Jungian, but you could be…that could be about your journey of self-discovery or accessing deeper aspects of your psyche. That could be challenges into your individuation process, the sticking door, the integrating parts of your unconscious, or maybe even facing aspects of your shadow self. The modern thing…transition, new phases, something you’re trying to achieve, the sticking door, real-life obstacles, frustrations. Stuck or hindered, you know? I think as we get to know one another, Robert, we’ll learn more about this, but I think this is good.
I think you’re on the transition and you’ve…the richest dream life I’ve…I thought…not to make it about me, Robert, but I thought I had a rich dream life occasionally. But this is interesting stuff. This sounds like rich, loamy soil to explore, and I think this is a perfect opportunity. This is a new form of invention I’m inventing where you’ll just go from here and we’ll just keep this professional, even though I don't have…I’m not doing this as a profession. I just want you to only bring your dreams into this room, the Robert…whatever your name is, out there, or…we’ll keep that Robert there and I’ll just work with Dick from now on. So, maybe you could even talk to me and be Richard or Dick Loudon…Loudon.
Loudon? Spelled like ‘London’ a bit? Okay, well, I’ll…and I’ll learn more, and we could work together. It’s almost like you’re dreaming of this. So, I’m glad we got to spend some time together. As you rest, I guess you’ll be…rest and then we’ll give it some time and come back with another dream in a couple weeks. We’ll meet again, and I hope to be helpful to everyone…oh, by the way, people will be listening to this to fall asleep to. I think you knew that, though. That’s why this is so freeform. So, thanks, Robert, and thanks everybody, and goodnight.
[END OF RECORDING]
(Transcription performed by LeahTranscribes)
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Dreaming with Newhart
How Plants Get Thorns
https://news.yale.edu/2020/06/18/yale-scientists-solve-thorny-problem
https://www.littlemiracles.com.au/the-beauty-of-thorns/
https://bygl.osu.edu/node/2263
Bob Newhart
https://dan-25707.medium.com/newhart-the-crazy-world-inside-of-a-gentle-mind-6140c9bb94
https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/snapshot/life-well-laughed
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/bob-newhart
Water Cooler TV
https://www.cbr.com/water-cooler-tv-dead-or-evolved/
Syndication in Streaming
https://www.nexttv.com/features/as-tv-evolves-so-does-syndication
https://www.nexttv.com/features/syndications-old-rules-no-longer-apply
DOWN TO BUSINESS
Nothing bucolic about the word ‘bucolic’
Dreams of Bucolic Things
Deep Dark Night United
n/a
PLUGS
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SPONSORS
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INTRO
Care professions or people who need care
Why can’t there be 48 shifts in a day?
I’m doing you a favor, Payroll person
The More Shifts the Merrier
A Little Bit Brambled
A Riddle, bit Brambled
It’s like a riddle I’m too taxed to solve
Or maybe it’s like a booth at a Ren Faire
Rambling Riddles in Brambles
Maybe I’m just the proprietor, not the riddle maker
Malaise aka My Ladies
Brambleberry Pie is just fiction, right?
Bramble-Based Art (BBA)
Riddles & Brambles isn’t a clear name for my shop
A fantastically named shop that sells nothing
Fantastic Realm vs Fantastical Realm
Your BBFF Fo Eva
Riddles and Brambles is not bad, just half-formed
Riddles and Brambles? That’s where the Town F-O-O-L
The unwitting fool
The people enjoy me, but the Queen doesn’t
Bring Your Own Renaissance Festival (BYORF)
The spirit of the Ren Faire
Oh, he’s not buying time, this is the podcast
Bucolic definition
Used by pastoral poets
Pertaining to cowards
Oh no, maybe jerks said this back in the day
Working most of the time
Dreaming of Newhart
Is it rude to say this sitcom is old?
STORY
A new style of series
Maybe Dreaming of Newhart? Newhart Dreaming?
A new model made after the strikes
Bob Newhart comes up as an indirect influence of the show every once in a while
Inspired by Newhart
Bob Newhart is pretty darn good in a sitcom
Dry Humor, Dull Pacing
The conclusion of Newhart
I couldn’t find it to watch, though
This was water cooler television back in the day
I’m not sure if I watched it in syndication or its original run
Explaining Syndication
Suits and The Office on streaming
My dog Koa watches The Addams Family on the TV
It’s just reassuring to Koa
The Old Broken iPad
Man, I never explained what the finale was
A dream reveal that places him back in The Bob Newhart Show
Well, if it’s CBS should it be on Paramount Plus?
From ‘82 – ‘90
Maybe I did watch this in its original run
Running the Stratford Inn in rural Vermont
A character rundown
1991 they reunited in a primetime special
Then he did Bob right after this
Some Bob Newhart facts
Deadpan Delivery
Oh, he played a psychologist in The Bob Newhart Show
He was in Elf
The Rescuers Down Under
Big Bang Theory
Ok, here’s what we’re going to do
Looking at each episode as a dream of Bob Hartley
Learning about Bob through Bob’s dreams
Then I’m gonna use an AI chatbot to help me interpret the dreams
Pilot – ‘In The Beginning’
Doing dream therapy with Bob
Flying over the countryside
A car drives through the bucolic town
It’s a brown car
The Stratford Inn, 1774
The door sticks and that’s a recurring issue
A very tall, laughing real estate person
I have a different wife in my dreams
James Madison stayed at this inn
My wife isn’t excited about buying this inn
Putting down a $2,000 punch
In the dream, my name is Dick Loudon
George comes in – will he lose his job?
No they’ll need him but can’t give him a raise
Working on the furnace doohickey
We’re city writers, we don’t know how to repair things
In my dreams, I write how-to books
Closing the deal with my wife
Standing on the Threshold of one of the Great Adventures of Our Lives
People are laughing at my jokes in my dreams
George fixed the shutter he broke when he was trying to fix something else
How reliable is this George?
George is pretty clumsy and forgetful
Wow, John Hancock’s signature is in the ledger
Somebody asks for a room
We’re an inn, not a bed and breakfast
Kirk DeVane runs the Minuteman Souvenir Shop
Neighbors and friends – a habitual liar
He’s working on telling more truths
It’s the 80s, but it feels like the 70s
No window in the Pomerantz room
No heat either and no radiator, either
Behind me is an empty space that will one day house cubbies and little hooks for keys
We need more help but how will we pay for it
In an office, interviewing Leslie for a job at the inn
She comes from privilege and wants real-world experience
My chest is hairier than I perceive it to be
Kirk comes to return things he’s stolen from the inn over the years
Are any of these names real?
DWI called
The Daughters of W Independence
They’re staying here next week!
We need this money
In the dream, I love history so much
Leslie is hired
Kirk keeps asking Leslie out and she rebuffs
Leslie gives an incredibly meandering explanation of why she can’t go out with him
My wife’s sweater is awesome – it has flying turtles in it
Reading a letter from 1775 with bawdy prose in it
The Dance of the Tender Affections
Forefathers came here to slow-dance
The night of the event of the DWI
Dressed up in a 3 piece suit
George has set up a brown podium
The leader has a giant corsage in
I’m going to give a speech
Glossing over the inn’s slow dance history
They want to hear about the winter of 1775
They want to hear about their relatives!
Very clear communication
Are they sure they want to know everything
They’d partner with each other to slow dance
Someday there will be a musical that will explain this incident
America wouldn’t be America without this inn!
Everyone is impressed!
And that’s pretty much my dream
Time for the dream therapist
I’m not a dream expert, first of all
This is just a start
Freudian Analysis: The Inn is an idealized version of your life
If you’re George, then maybe you feel an inability to accept help
Jungian analysis
The inn is a symbol of transition
Individuation
Maybe George is your shadow self
Anima – Inner feminine aspect
The Door – a barrier, resistance, perhaps repressed emotions
Transition to New Phases
We’ll learn more, soon, Robert
This is an incredibly rich dream life, Robert
SWM+ THANKS
Jenna, David, Nicholas, Tasha, Candace, Larissa, Maria, Jack, Simon, Candice, John, Gupta, Zarlee, Anne, Carey, Emil, Laine, Laura, Abigail, Jess, Judy, Amelia, Dan, Christina, Dennis, Michael, Steve, Elizabeth, Grace, Abigail, Stephanie, Karen, Belinda
SUMMARY:
Episode: 1287
Title: Dreaming of Newhart – In The Beginning Ep1
Deep Dark Night United: n/a
Plugs: Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Rusty Biscuit Links; Emily Tat Artwork; NAPAWF; Anti-Racism Resources; Ukraine Relief; Crisis Textline
Sponsors: Helix Sleep; Zocdoc; Progressive; Lumen
SWM+ Thanks: Jenna, David, Nicholas, Tasha, Candace, Larissa, Maria, Jack, Simon, Candice, John, Gupta, Zarlee, Anne, Carey, Emil, Laine, Laura, Abigail, Jess, Judy, Amelia, Dan, Christina, Dennis, Michael, Steve, Elizabeth, Grace, Abigail, Stephanie, Karen, Belinda
Notable Language:
- Bucolic
- Payroll
- A Riddle Bit, Brambled
- Rambling Riddles in Brambles
- Malaise
- Bramble-Based Art (BBA)
- Fantastic Realm vs Fantastical Realm
- F-O-O-L
- Bring Your Own Renaissance Festival (BYORF)
- Subconscious Influence
- Standing on the Threshold of one of the Great Adventures of Our Lives
- The Dance of the Tender Affections
- W-A-R
- Individuation
- Rich, Loamy Soil
Notable Culture:
- Jeopardy
-
- Renaissance Faires
- Riddles & Brambles
- Dreaming of Newhart
-
- SAG-AFTRA / WGA Strikes
- Newhart
- The Bob Newhart Show
- Suits
- The Office
- The Addams Family
- Saturday Night Live
- Elf
- The Rescuers Down Under
- Big Bang Theory
-
- Emmy Awards
- “War” song
- Hamilton
- Sigmund Freud
Notable Talking Points:
- Care professions or people who need care
- Why can’t there be 48 shifts in a day?
- I’m doing you a favor, Payroll person
- The More Shifts the Merrier
- A Little Bit Brambled
- A Riddle, bit Brambled
- It’s like a riddle I’m too taxed to solve
- Or maybe it’s like a booth at a Ren Faire
- Rambling Riddles in Brambles
- Maybe I’m just the proprietor, not the riddle maker
- Malaise aka My Ladies
- Brambleberry Pie is just fiction, right?
- Bramble-Based Art (BBA)
- Riddles & Brambles isn’t a clear name for my shop
- A fantastically named shop that sells nothing
- Fantastic Realm vs Fantastical Realm
- Your BBFF Fo Eva
- Riddles and Brambles is not bad, just half-formed
- Riddles and Brambles? That’s where the Town F-O-O-L
- The unwitting fool
- The people enjoy me, but the Queen doesn’t
- Bring Your Own Renaissance Festival (BYORF)
- The spirit of the Ren Faire
- Oh, he’s not buying time, this is the podcast
- Bucolic definition
- Used by pastoral poets
- Pertaining to cowards
- Oh no, maybe jerks said this back in the day
- Working most of the time
- Dreaming of Newhart
- Is it rude to say this sitcom is old?
- A new style of series
- Maybe Dreaming of Newhart? Newhart Dreaming?
- A new model made after the strikes
- Bob Newhart comes up as an indirect influence of the show every once in a while
- Inspired by Newhart
- Bob Newhart is pretty darn good in a sitcom
- Dry Humor, Dull Pacing
- The conclusion of Newhart
- I couldn’t find it to watch, though
- This was water cooler television back in the day
- I’m not sure if I watched it in syndication or its original run
- Explaining Syndication
- Suits and The Office on streaming
- My dog Koa watches The Addams Family on the TV
- It’s just reassuring to Koa
- The Old Broken iPad
- Man, I never explained what the finale was
- A dream reveal that places him back in The Bob Newhart Show
- Well, if it’s CBS should it be on Paramount Plus?
- From ‘82 – ‘90
- Maybe I did watch this in its original run
- Running the Stratford Inn in rural Vermont
- A character rundown
- 1991 they reunited in a primetime special
- Then he did Bob right after this
- Some Bob Newhart facts
- Deadpan Delivery
- Oh, he played a psychologist in The Bob Newhart Show
- He was in Elf
- The Rescuers Down Under
- Big Bang Theory
- Ok, here’s what we’re going to do
- Looking at each episode as a dream of Bob Hartley
- Learning about Bob through Bob’s dreams
- Then I’m gonna use an AI chatbot to help me interpret the dreams
- Pilot – ‘In The Beginning’
- Doing dream therapy with Bob
- Flying over the countryside
- A car drives through the bucolic town
- It’s a brown car
- The Stratford Inn, 1774
- The door sticks and that’s a recurring issue
- A very tall, laughing real estate person
- I have a different wife in my dreams
- James Madison stayed at this inn
- My wife isn’t excited about buying this inn
- Putting down a $2,000 punch
- In the dream, my name is Dick Loudon
- George comes in – will he lose his job?
- No they’ll need him but can’t give him a raise
- Working on the furnace doohickey
- We’re city writers, we don’t know how to repair things
- In my dreams, I write how-to books
- Closing the deal with my wife
- Standing on the Threshold of one of the Great Adventures of Our Lives
- People are laughing at my jokes in my dreams
- George fixed the shutter he broke when he was trying to fix something else
- How reliable is this George?
- George is pretty clumsy and forgetful
- Wow, John Hancock’s signature is in the ledger
- Somebody asks for a room
- We’re an inn, not a bed and breakfast
- Kirk DeVane runs the Minuteman Souvenir Shop
- Neighbors and friends – a habitual liar
- He’s working on telling more truths
- It’s the 80s, but it feels like the 70s
- No window in the Pomerantz room
- No heat either and no radiator, either
- Behind me is an empty space that will one day house cubbies and little hooks for keys
- We need more help but how will we pay for it
- In an office, interviewing Leslie for a job at the inn
- She comes from privilege and wants real-world experience
- My chest is hairier than I perceive it to be
- Kirk comes to return things he’s stolen from the inn over the years
- Are any of these names real?
- DWI called
- The Daughters of W Independence
- They’re staying here next week!
- We need this money
- In the dream, I love history so much
- Leslie is hired
- Kirk keeps asking Leslie out and she rebuffs
- Leslie gives an incredibly meandering explanation of why she can’t go out with him
- My wife’s sweater is awesome – it has flying turtles in it
- Reading a letter from 1775 with bawdy prose in it
- The Dance of the Tender Affections
- Forefathers came here to slow-dance
- The night of the event of the DWI
- Dressed up in a 3 piece suit
- George has set up a brown podium
- The leader has a giant corsage in
- I’m going to give a speech
- Glossing over the inn’s slow dance history
- They want to hear about the winter of 1775
- They want to hear about their relatives!
- Very clear communication
- Are they sure they want to know everything
- They’d partner with each other to slow dance
- Someday there will be a musical that will explain this incident
- America wouldn’t be America without this inn!
- Everyone is impressed!
- And that’s pretty much my dream
- Time for the dream therapist
- I’m not a dream expert, first of all
- This is just a start
- Freudian Analysis: The Inn is an idealized version of your life
- If you’re George, then maybe you feel an inability to accept help
- Jungian analysis
- The inn is a symbol of transition
- Individuation
- Maybe George is your shadow self
- Anima – Inner feminine aspect
- The Door – a barrier, resistance, perhaps repressed emotions
- Transition to New Phases
- We’ll learn more, soon, Robert
- This is an incredibly rich dream life, Robert
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