Dr. Robert Hartley is a Chicago psychologist living with his schoolteacher wife Emily. Complicating life for the serene, stammering doc is his neighbor, Howard, a flighty navigator; and Bob's coworkers, dentist Jerry and flippant receptionist Carol.
Emily joins Bob's fear of flying group after she confesses that she is also afraid of flying in airplanes.
Bob wants to go to Emily's class to talk about being a psychologist, but Emily is worried that he will bore the kids.
Emily's new tennis teacher is also one of Bob's patients, who feels cursed for being too good looking and having women chase after him.
Emily invites Bob's mother over for dinner, so that Bob can confront an issue that's between him and his mother for years.
Emily is unexpectedly jealous of Bob's old girlfriend Nancy.
Carol tries to get Bob to approve her moving in with her new boyfriend Roger, who has just separated from his wife. Bob refuses, telling her she will have to make her own decision.
Howard is crushed when his son Howie prefers spending time with Jerry.
When the Hartleys have a fight, they resolve not to go to sleep until they've settled their differences.
The Hartleys try to adopt a child and meet with a woman from the adoption agency.(Note: This is the original unaired pilot of the show, with some scenes added or re-shot.)
Bob and Emily return from vacation to discover that Jerry is engaged to a woman he just met, but Bob wonders if they aren't moving too quickly.
Bob feels like everyone wants his time and that he has no time to himself. He decides to stay at a hotel for a night for the solitude. Everyone thinks he is leaving Emily. Meanwhile, Emily tries to get a book for the school library.
Howard is smitten with Carol after they go out on a double date with Bob and Emily, but Carol is not interested in him at all.
Jerry starts going to Bob for therapy, which hurts their ability to be friends.
It's Christmas time and Bob's therapy group is not a happy bunch. Bob invites his patients to share Christmas Eve with him and Emily. Bob worries about what to give Emily for a gift.
Bob & Emily decide to go on a weekend trip and pick a nearby ski resort. Instead of a relaxing time together, the only other guests share their bathroom and want to share time with them.
Depressed at turning twenty nine, Carol decides to quit her job and do something new with her life.
Bob is too nervous to wear the expensive watch that Emily bought him.
One of Bob's patients has fallen in love with him which makes Emily incredibly jealous.
Howard Borden's 22-year old sister Debbie arrives to spend the week with him. Emily arranges a blind date for her with Jerry Robinson and Howard suddenly turns into an overprotective big brother.
Bob and Emily consider moving out of their apartment and into a house.
Emily is offered a job with the school, and Bob tells her she should take the job if she wants it. She takes the job and Bob has a hard time adjusting to the differences.
Bob becomes a local hero when his therapy helps a Chicago Cubs pitcher end a losing streak.
Bob is reluctant to go on an ocean voyage with Emily and abandon his therapy group.
Bob finds out that Jerry has been sleeping on his office couch overnight. Jerry is hurt over a broken romance and does not want to go home to his apartment.
At the prodding of his patients, Bob reluctantly accepts an offer to allow TV cameras into a group therapy session.
Jerry convinces Bob into going to Peoria to watch a football game that is blacked out in Chicago. At the motel, Bob feels guilty, especially when two women want to spend time with him and Jerry.
One of Bob's more masculine patients enthusiastically slaps him on the back and, unfortunately for Bob, it throws his back out. Even more unfortunately, Bob and Emily were supposed to be going to Mexico for a vacation.
A Minister decides to leave the Church because of Bob's advice, leaving Bob overcome with guilt.
Carol goes on vacation and the doctors in Bob's building need a temporary receptionist. Emily fills in and everyone enjoys her - except Bob.
Emily's recently divorced friend moves into the same apartment complex as Bob & Emily. Jerry and Howard compete for her affection.
Carol goes to the hospital for minor surgery and she falls for her doctor who is twice her age.
Bob suffers an inferiority attack when a test reveals that Emily's IQ is higher than his.
Bob's support group becomes very angry when he decides to raise his rates for his sessions.
Fearing that their marriage has lost its spark, Bob and Emily go to a marriage counselor.
Birthday boy Bob's physical finds him eight pounds plumper than he should be at 41, so Bob determines to diet and exercise away those excess pounds.
Howard Borden suffers a bad case of the blues when his young son tells him about his marvelous new "uncle," who seems to have taken up permanent residence with Howard's ex-wife.
A visit from Emily's parents has Bob feeling intimidated by his father-in-law.
Mr. Carlin goes on a date with Carol.
Christmas Eve is almost spoiled when Bob is trapped in the office because of a power failure.
Jerry Robinson's brother shows up in Chicago after finishing dental school. He takes over Jerry's life, his apartment, and his dental practice.
Shaken after meeting a former student who's all grown up, Emily tries to recapture her youth with an embarrassing new wardrobe.
After Howard is laid off, he joins Bob's therapy group for unemployed people.
Bob gets a suspiciously expensive gift from a client who is an ex-convict.
To help manage his money, Bob hires a business manager who puts him on a budget of $50 a week.
Bob's sister, Ellen, is getting married and Emily throws her a shower. But things get complicated when Howard falls in love with her at first sight.
When Carol's new love interest interferes with her work, Jerry Robinson doesn't seemed too concerned. But when it disrupts his love life, he decides to fire her.
Bob temporarily takes over a practice for another psychologist. One of his first patients is Jerry, who confesses he's in love with Emily.
Emily stands on her principles and defies an order to let an unqualified student skip a grade.
Bob disapproves of the idea of his sister Ellen moving in with Howard.
Bob takes two of his therapy groups to a rustic retreat for a marathon session that never progresses further than everyone's complaints about the primitive conditions of their accommodations.
Jerry suggests that all the doctors in the building form a co-op to treat each other for free. This leads to chaos and hostility that find expression in Bob's special all-doctor therapy group.
With Emily busy studying for her masters and Bob busy with therapy groups, things are hectic at home. Emily moves to a hotel so she can study without interruption and be closer to the school. Friends think Bob & Emily have separated.
As Howard prepares to introduce Howie to Ellen, he tries to mold Ellen into an image the boy will like.
Bob gives up most of his private practice to become the staff psychologist with a major insurance company. He soon learns that it's possible for a man in the corporate world to do his job too well.
When Carol is away again, Jerry hires an incompetent temp.
Bob vows to be completely honest with everyone, which soon leaves everyone hating him.
Bob writes a chapter for a book, and is excited the day it is to be published. When Bob gets his copy of the book, he is disappointed to find they only used two of his twenty pages in the book.
Carol announces her engagement to her weird poet boyfriend,
Bob and Emily's Thanksgiving plans are threatened when Bob's mother gets into an argument with Emily's father.
Bob forms an all women consciousness raising group. He gets kicked out after Emily joins and inadvertently points out some of the unliberated areas in their own marriage.
Jerry decides to leave everything behind and move to a South Seas island with his new girlfriend.
Bob wants to win a tennis match but doesn't think his doubles partner, Emily, is good enough to win.
The Hartleys have to spend Christmas Eve listening to Carol talk about her depressing family and personal relationships.
Howard gets jealous when Ellen's ex comes to town with the intention of winning her back.
Emily gets Bob to run for a spot on the school board.
Emily finds out a secret about the girl Bob was dating before he met her.
Bob and Jerry have a falling out when Jerry demands that Bob lend him money for a new motorcycle.
Bob suffers a loss of confidence when several patients cancel appointments. He regains his groove by attending group therapy in a friend's office.
Bob avoids Emily as she completely redecorates the apartment and he hates the result. When she gives away Bob's favorite chair it is just too much. A compromise is reached.
Bob reluctantly agrees to a therapy session to help Emily's friend with her marriage problems.
Emily agrees to help operate a children's summer camp and tries to persuade Bob to be one of the counselors.
Everything's collapsing around Bob: Howard and Ellen announce they're moving to New York, Carol announces she's looking for a new job, and the ceiling literally collapses in his office.
Bob's college roommate ('the peeper') visits Chicago and shows he has not lost his school age demeanor. He keeps extending his stay, causing friction between Bob and Emily.
Howard is ready to propose to Ellen. She accepts, but then each of them wonder if they are ready for marriage. Bob & Emily celebrate their wedding anniversary and discuss the gifts each receives.
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 party into a disaster, Bob kicks him out of the group. His decision meets with instant group approval until Mr. Gianelli dies under a ton of zucchini.
Emily starts to feel she and Bob are in a rut. They start trading jobs to shake up the routine. Each find it is not that easy to pick up the other person's job. Carol is also bored with her routine.
Bob's therapy group for overweight people has one negative member, saying it is thin people who have the problem against their weight. Bob asks Carol to sit in on the meeting since she used to be heavy. Carol is asked out by a heavy man.
Emily has a penchant for setting up couples and Carol is her next target. However, when Carol's sudden romance with Larry leads to marriage, no one seems to believe that Carol will actually go through with it.
The Hartleys agree to host a French colleague and his wife when they visit Chicago. Things do not go as smoothly as they planned.
After realizing that he's not actually helping any of his patients, Bob goes to his old mentor for guidance.
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 disposition of a shark.
In an episode framed as an homage to The Sting, Bob enters into an uncomfortable new partnership with an upscale psychologist.
With Emily out of town, Bob spends Thanksgiving with Jerry and Mr Carlin watching a football game. They proceed to get drunk and try to order Moo Goo Gai Pan from a Chinese restaurant for dinner.
Bob's mother stays with Bob and Emily while her house is being painted. Bob has issues with her meddling and treating him like a child.
The doctors in Bob's building regret giving Ellen permission to write an article about them.
Emily is promoted to Vice-Principal over another teacher who's been at the school longer.
While everyone else is making plans for Christmas, Bob learns he needs to be hospitalized right away to have his tonsils removed. Not only is he embarrassed by having the operation at his age but his nurse was once his patient as well.
Bob and Jerry invest in Carlin's real estate deal, but discover that it involves evicting an old man.
The Hartleys notice the devotion that Larry has for Carol but it seems to go beyond the usual behavior of newlyweds. Even Carol wishes to have some time to herself once in a while.
Howard gets a visit from his brother Gordon Borden the Game Warden, who becomes his romantic rival for Ellen.
Jerry's free-spirited ex-girlfriend Courtney returns, offering to let him marry her and help raise her son.
A professional basketball team hires Bob to give a psychological assist to its superstar.
Carol decides to follow in Bob's footsteps and enrolls in a night school psychology course.
Bob teaches the art of assertiveness to Mr. Herd, whose first act after learning to stand up for himself is to bring a lawsuit against Bob.
Howard gains custody of his son Howie, but leaves most of the actual work of taking care of him to Bob and Emily. Bob hires a gorgeous young woman as Howie's babysitter.
The Peeper returns to Chicago after being dumped by his wife, and Jerry shows him how to live life as a swinging bachelor.
The Peeper returns yet again, this time with a new wife.
Emily accidentally gets herself and Bob trapped in the basement storage locker while they're preparing for their Bicentennial party.
Bob has to handle the prejudice in his group when Mr. Plager comes out as gay.
The Hartleys take a vacation. In their absence, Howard undergoes a crash psychological program that changes his entire personality.
Slumlord Mr. Carlin takes over Bob and Emily's building, leading Bob to organize a rent strike.
The doctors in the building fight over Carol's duties and she quits.
Bob and Jerry volunteer to organize a camping trip for underprivileged children.
Bob turns amateur detective when he believes that his expensive tape recorder has been stolen.
Bob and the Peeper want to go to their alma mater's annual basketball game between their school and their rival. But along with this bit of odd nostalgia, the pair pull a prank, which lands them both in jail.
Jerry makes a fortune on a real estate deal, and decides to retire at age 38. Emily's father Junior and his friend turn Bob and Emily's home into their vacation lodge.
Jerry returns from a trip to Europe determined to find the parents who left him at an orphanage as a baby. Meanwhile Howard has taken up a new instrument.
Bob undergoes a shock when his mother announces that she has separated from his father after 47 years of marriage.
Bob takes on the role of Christmas peacemaker when he attempts to reconcile his parents.
Bob watches in amazement as one of his patients supports a blossoming romance with a tissue of lies.
Bob's been asked to give a lecture about sex at the Ironwood Institute - which also happens to be a nudist colony.
Bob wants to add a woman to his group session and has Emily join them much to the dismay of the men.
Bob succumbs to the pressures of living in a big city and desperately seeks employment of a small rural college.
Bob has a female college student shadowing him for a few weeks which makes both Emily and Bob uncomfortable.
Bob strikes out against a friend's fear of falling, but succumbs to the same phobia himself when he is subjected to a harrowing elevator experience.
Bob not only forgets to do his taxes but also forgets his wedding anniversary. Emily plans a surprise trip.
The Hartleys, Jerry and Carol are all at the bank during a robbery. Bob ends up being taken hostage.
On Bob's advice, Carol's husband Larry opens up a travel agency — in Bob's building.
Bob offers sound psychological advice to his wife and his therapy group on how to handle anger. Then he proceeds to lose his temper when dealing with a garage mechanic.
Carol announces she is pregnant. The Hartleys are visited by The Peeper and his wife. Emily announces she also is pregnant.Note: This script was originally written as the series finale. When Newhart decided to return for one more season and didn't want to play a father, the episode was rewritten into a dream sequence.
The Hartleys decide to move to a new apartment. Bob has finally finished writing his book and he begins to worry about all the changes in his life.
Bob's doing group therapy sessions at a prison to men who will soon be released.
Jerry is worried that he's not good enough for his girlfriend, while Bob treats a ventriloquist who thinks his dummy is real.
After having a fight with his wife, Mr. Peterson strikes up a surprising friendship with Mr. Carlin. The Hartleys go to a costume party.
Bob deals with the amusing problems of an improbable paternity suit and a phone paging service that never pages him.
Bob's impulsive decision to leave town for a week is received with disastrous emotions by his patients, who seemingly can't make it without him.
Howard's son wants to become a comedian and shows off his talent at Bob's office.
Bob's looking for an assistant which is more difficult than it seems. Emily has a new burglar alarm system put in the apartment.
Bob's initially encouraged by a patient opening up in his session, but soon regrets hearing what has been said.
While Bob is away, Emily meets an old neighbor who has never adjusted to the modern world. Note: First of five episodes this season which were shot without Newhart, who appears only in pre-recorded sequences on the telephone.
While out having their tenth anniversary dinner, Bob and Emily imagine how different their lives might have been had they married other people.
Bob finds himself with unhappy and hostile patients who refuse to attend his Christmas party when they are mistakenly informed of a rate increase at the height of the Yuletide season. One patient is moved to hire a pie throwing service.
Bob goes on a cruise with Emily to get away from work, but can't resist practicing a little psychology for free.
On a camping trip, Emily is annoyed by the sexist attitudes of Bob's father. Note: Second of five episodes in this season shot without Newhart.
Bob meets with his ex-con therapy group and talks about their goals. After reading a book on Houdini, Howard tries to perform his tricks.
Mr. Plager's written a screenplay about World War I, only it's based on the therapy group.
Mr. Carlin asks Emily to pretend to be his wife at his high school reunion. Note: Third of five episodes shot this season without Newhart.
Bob has a new patient with a stuttering problem joining the therapy group.
While Bob is away, his friends suspect Emily is up to something with a handsome old flame. Note: Fourth of five episodes shot this season without Newhart.
Bob and Jerry nominate Carol for Secretary of the Year only to find that Carol wants to quit and work for Mr. Carlin.
The reading scores at Emily's school are the lowest in the school's history. Jerry and Howard argue over who is Bob's best friend.Note: This is the fifth and final episode that was shot this season without Newhart.
In the series finale, Bob and Emily prepare to leave Chicago for a teaching job at a college in Oregon.
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