Opening Credits
The original opening of the show begins with a ringing telephone on Bob's office desk, which he answers with a simple, "Hello?" This is a reference to Newhart's stand-up comedy act, which often featured him carrying on a phone conversation with an unheard party on the other end. A piano riff then introduces a jazzy, trumpet-heavy instrumental theme tune ("Home to My Emily," composed by series co-creator Lorenzo Music with his wife Henrietta), as numerous brief shots document Bob's journey home from work, ending with a shot of Emily greeting Bob at their apartment.
From season 4 onwards, the opening (and ending) theme was set to a newly arranged funk-fusion sound and this time shows Bob's morning commute.
In the 1990s, Nick at Nite parodied this opening by adding lyrics to it. The lyrics consisted solely of the words "Bob Newhart" repeated throughout, echoing the melody (and drum rhythms), finally ending with "Here on Nick at Nite."
Read more about this topic: The Bob Newhart Show
Famous quotes containing the word opening:
“His reversed body gracefully curved, his brown legs hoisted like a Tarentine sail, his joined ankles tacking, Van gripped with splayed hands the brow of gravity, and moved to and fro, veering and sidestepping, opening his mouth the wrong way, and blinking in the odd bilboquet fashion peculiar to eyelids in his abnormal position. Even more extraordinary than the variety and velocity of the movements he made in imitation of animal hind legs was the effortlessness of his stance.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)