The Best TV Show of the '80s

One of the best TV shows of the '80s was Newhart. Bob Newhart returned to TV in 1982 as Dick Loudon along with his wife Joanna (Mary Frann) who leave New York City to run the Stratford Inn in Vermont. Dick writes how-to books and becomes the host of a local TV show Vermont Today. Newhart's real-life friend Tom Poston played the lovable but sulky handyman. And Dick and Joanna played two reasonable people trying to cope with eccentric staff, guests and locals in a winning combination of warmth and weirdness on one of the best '80s TV shows.

Most Memorable Line: "Hi, my name's Larry, and this is my brother Darryl, and my other brother Darryl." If you always wanted to eat at a place run by 3 scruffy hillbillies, look no further than the Minuteman Cafe. These guys were such a hit, their guest appearance was extended for the full 8 seasons.

Shrewd Transition: The habitual liar Kirk Devane provided some of the biggest laughs in the first episodes. But rather than wearing the joke out, Kirk and his would-be girlfriend were replaced by two new characters. Stephanie VanderKellen was an heiress and reluctant maid who hooked up with Dick's TV show producer Michael Harris in a match made in vapidity. Stephanie leafed through beauty magazines snapping "Prettier than her, prettier than her" and they spent romantic evenings together making fun of other people's hair.

Favorite Scene: Dick was arrested on the town Colonel Day for not wearing a costume and put in the stocks. He desperately asked the crowd to scratch his nose for $5. So Larry, Darryl and Darryl exchanged a reckoning look, gave Dick $5 and scratched his nose.

Message to 20th Century Fox: The show got much better after the first season. But Fox has only released the first season of Newhart so far on DVD. So there are a lot of people hoping for the later Newhart episodes.

Great Finale: The finale was also brilliant with Bob Newhart waking up in bed next to Suzanne Pleshette (his wife on the '70s Bob Newhart Show). Bob Newhart tells her he had the strangest dream about running an inn in Vermont. The joke was perfectly timed to coincide with exasperation at the Dallas series which had explained away an entire season as a dream. And, for the first and last time, the Darryl's spoke. They said "Quiet" to their new and obnoxious wives (one of whom was the future Friends star Lisa Kudrow). Well, like Hamlet said, the rest is silence.