# Bob Newhart to guest on Big Bang Theory **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329 "2013-05-02T17:34:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/41 "2013-05-03T16:58:20Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > From reading different reports about the episode: Chuck Lorre decided not to announce Newhart to the live audience beforehand and he asked “What if they don’t remember me?” When he came out he got a two minute standing ovation. > Then the DJ started playing the theme song from his old show. Newhart started crying, then “Leonard” started crying. > Rumors are he may have a recurring role. I would love to see him in a recurring role! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/42 "2013-05-03T17:02:26Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I think the story was cobbled together for Bob’s appearance, and Penny was generally out of character. But she wasn’t really part of the story, just there to set up some punch lines. It’s an episode worth watching because you don’t get to see Bob perform much anymore, but that’s pretty much it. However reports are he’d like to guest again in the future, and maybe we’ll see more of Professor Proton Jr. in other episodes also. Maybe they could get him to do a guest speaker for the faculty at Caltech and it turns out that many of the professors love him and he lives happily ever after. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Righteous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/43 "2013-05-03T17:11:19Z")
(if someone else upthread already said this and I missed it, sorry…) I think Penny had to be ‘stupid’ here because the storyline was that Prof. Proton was jaded and sick of his job, but Sheldon and Leonard make him feel a little better. If he was actually teaching Penny some science he’d get his reassurance from that, and we wouldn’t need the (IMO) lovely pep talk the Sheldon & Leonard gave. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/44 "2013-05-03T17:47:04Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Maybe they could get him to do a guest speaker for the faculty at Caltech and it turns out that many of the professors love him and he lives happily ever after. I can see Prof. Proton Jr. guesting on “Fun With Flags.” ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/45 "2013-05-03T18:06:31Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I don’t find Penny’s dialogue to be particularly “dumb” or evidence of her getting any dumber. For me it wasn’t so much her not knowing of potato clocks but the tone of awe with which she responded to it. Also, the followup question about solving the world’s energy problem was kind of dumb, though maybe the kind of thing you’d ask before giving something any thought. The “can we plug your pacemaker into the potato question was really dumb” but I am willing to accept it being in the camp of going where the joke is. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/46 "2013-05-03T18:23:38Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I can see Prof. Proton Jr. guesting on “Fun With Flags.” Frankly, I can’t see him being willing to re-enter _chez_ Cooper/Hofstadter until the elevator is repaired. Maybe if they were to produce an episode at Amy Farrah Fowler’s apartment… What am I saying; that setting would be completely wrong for “Fun With Flags.” It doesn’t have Sheldon’s SPOT, for starters ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/47 "2013-05-03T18:24:24Z")
Come on guys, its was just a funny gag. Penny = Dumb. Sometimes she’s dumber for the sake of a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/48 "2013-05-03T18:37:45Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > For me it wasn’t so much her not knowing of potato clocks but the tone of awe with which she responded to it. Also, the followup question about solving the world’s energy problem was kind of dumb, though maybe the kind of thing you’d ask before giving something any thought. Like I said, I saw my 6th teacher plug a lightbulb into a potato and then the lightbulb lit up. I’m 31 years old now and that still seems impossible to me. I know it’s real, but my brain doesn’t want to believe it because electricity isn’t supposed to come from vegetables. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/49 "2013-05-03T19:00:48Z")
there likely would not have been a potato clock but a lemon clock on the original Prof. Proton show. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/50 "2013-05-03T19:36:44Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Like I said, I saw my 6th teacher plug a lightbulb into a potato and then the lightbulb lit up. I’m 31 years old now and that still seems impossible to me. I know it’s real, but my brain doesn’t want to believe it because electricity isn’t supposed to come from vegetables. [snarky retort] It’s not coming from the vegetables… [/snarky retort] I agree though. If someone just told you that you could stick things into a vegetable and get electricity (not the point of the experiment, AT ALL) someone like Penny and even smarter would be incredulous. I do also agree with Silenus that it was a missed opportunity for Penny to show a little growth. Even a tiny smidge where she didn’t have to be the full idiot all the time would have been nice. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/51 "2013-05-03T20:31:33Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > Bazinga! That’s what I like about this place. You don’t have to _explain_ the jokes. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/52 "2013-05-04T02:25:49Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > “You’re the genius” > > Bob looks pretty old now, still it’s nice to see him again. Not only IS he pretty old right now, the character is supposed to be - old frail and a bit bitter. I sure hope he is recurring … as a reluctant father figure to Sheldon. He was great. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/53 "2013-05-04T02:46:01Z")
Dr. Proton: “I have a doctorate from Cornell…” Sheldon: “Yeah, yeah. But did you bring your puppet?!” ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/54 "2013-05-04T03:01:28Z")
It was nice to see Bob Newhart, but I don’t particularly want to see him again. He’s just too old, and he’s lost “it”. His performance seemed forced, and didn’t really work for me. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/55 "2013-05-04T03:08:40Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > It was nice to see Bob Newhart, but I don’t particularly want to see him again. He’s just too old, and he’s lost “it”. Don’t piss on my dreams of seeing him and Ellen DeGeneres play father and daughter. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/56 "2013-05-04T10:16:01Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > Personally, I felt it was the best episode of the season. From the appearance of Newhart on, it moved. In the scenes that Newhart was in, it was real and (for me) funny. It wasn’t just the regulars doing standard lines for the _Bangers_. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I was expecting Bob to play a bitter old man, but he put his own spin on it and made it more exasperated/tired. He was less bitter than resigned to his situation. His continued disbelief at Sheldon was played great. “I-I’m awake, right? This. . .this is happening?” Which, if you think about it, should be EVERYONE’S reaction to Sheldon. > [@standingwave](#): > > Would you suggest trying to hook it up to a pacemaker? It just seemed out of character to me. She’s not _that_ dumb. I liked that. She seemed amazed by the potato-clock idea, but no one wanted to talk about it. She’d use any pretense to come back to it: Hey, it can power a clock, can it power a pacemaker? ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/57 "2013-05-04T11:24:27Z")
Personally I thought it was absolutely awful, possibly the worst episode they’ve done. So much of it was built around a “woo hoo it is this Newhart chap”. The problem is, I’ve heard of the show (via here) but never seen it. I’m not even sure if they showed it in the UK. So I had absolutely no emotional connection to it, all I saw was an old guy that really couldn’t act. I really hope the earlier poster is wrong in that there are rumours of a recurring role. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/58 "2013-05-04T20:59:00Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Personally I thought it was absolutely awful, possibly the worst episode they’ve done. So much of it was built around a “woo hoo it is this Newhart chap”. The problem is, I’ve heard of the show (via here) but never seen it. I’m not even sure if they showed it in the UK. So I had absolutely no emotional connection to it, all I saw was an old guy that really couldn’t act. > > I really hope the earlier poster is wrong in that there are rumours of a recurring role. It was meant to give us another chance to see an aging comedy television icon. His performance wasn’t great, he’s quite old, and it’s a shame it wasn’t a better episode otherwise. I think everyone can admit, and still see that it was a worthwhile gesture to honor an industry great. I do hope to see him on again, but I do hope it will be done with a better episode. BTW: The BBT cast and writers are pretty good, but they present easy stereotypical roles, it’s tough for an old man who once displayed the epitome of comic timing to really shine in those circumstances. The devious subtlety of his comedy is not going to work in a show that consists almost entirely of punchlines. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/59 "2013-05-04T21:37:42Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > It was nice to see Bob Newhart, but I don’t particularly want to see him again. He’s just too old, and he’s lost “it”. His performance seemed forced, and didn’t really work for me. I felt the same way after seeing Groucho Marx live in 1972. It made me a little sad. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329/60 "2013-05-05T03:45:39Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The second any character on that show gets knocked up, thinks about getting knocked up, or tries to get knocked up is the second I stop watching it for good. . . . unless AFF discovers a way of knocking up Sheldon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-newhart-to-guest-on-big-bang-theory/657329.md?page=4)