The Bob Crane Show is an American sitcom that aired on NBC. The series starred Bob Crane as Bob Wilcox, a man in his 40s who quits his job as an insurance salesman to return to medical school. The series co-starred Patricia Harty as his wife Ellie Wilcox, who becomes the family's breadwinner while Bob is in school. After initial delays, the series debuted on March 6, 1975. The Bob Crane Show performed poorly in the Nielsen ratings and was canceled after 13 weeks.
Production
The Bob Crane Show was originally titled Second Start and NBC planned to debut it in the fall of 1974, however the Federal Communications Commission re-instituted its Prime Time Access Rule, which limited the broadcast networks to programming only three of the four hours of the prime time programming block. This decision led NBC to delay the series until January 1975. Crane re-shot the pilot, leading to another delay to March 1975.[1]
Crane expressed his desire that his series be what he called "hard comedy", which he described as comedy that "goes for the fences. It's also what you might call take-a-risk comedy because if you don't hit a home run, you might strike out. It's either a belly laugh or it's no go and no show."[2]
Bob's mother (Audra Lindley) moves in with a man the same age as Bob.[4]
3
"The Incredible Shrinking Bob"
Norman S. Powell
Unknown
March 20, 1975 (1975-03-20)
Bob's anxiety over leaving his wife as sole financial supporter grows.[5]
4
"Ellie's Sister"
Norman S. Powell
Jim Allen
March 27, 1975 (1975-03-27)
Two of Bob's classmates fall in love with his visiting sister-in-law.[6]
5
"One Summer of Misery"
Norman S. Powell
Unknown
April 3, 1975 (1975-04-03)
Bob receives a summer scholarship to Columbia University but frets that Ellie, who can't afford to go with him, is a little too eager to see him go.[7]
Bob treats an old friend (John Astin) and is surprised to learn the man is a prominent gay activist, prompting concern that people will think he is also gay.[9] NBC, worried that the script might be offensive to gay people, refused to approve the episode until it was reviewed by gay media activist Newton Dieter.[10]
10
"The Lyle Principle"
Norman S. Powell
Unknown
May 15, 1975 (1975-05-15)
Bob and a friend give the newly appointed dean a pep talk.
11
"An American Fiasco"
Norman S. Powell
Martin Donovan
May 22, 1975 (1975-05-22)
The descent of a pair of young documentary filmmakers on the Wilcox household creates havoc in domestic tranquility for Bob and Ellie.
12
"The Doctor Sings the Blues"
Norman S. Powell
Unknown
May 29, 1975 (1975-05-29)
Bob's burgeoning friendship with his anatomy professor backfires when the man unloads his marital problems on Bob.[12]
13
"The Embezzler"
Norman S. Powell
Unknown
June 5, 1975 (1975-06-05)
When the last man he hired before resigning as an insurance company executive embezzles thousands of dollars from the firm, Bob is suspected of having been an accessory.
14
"The Son of the Campus Capers"
Norman S. Powell
Unknown
June 12, 1975 (1975-06-12)
A campus flirtation of 20 years before causes some anxious moments for Bob when the lady turns up married to the dean of the medical school.
Reception
The Bob Crane Show finished the season in 65th place with a 14.9 Nielsen rating, a disappointment to the network.[13] NBC cancelled the series after 13 weeks.
Series star Crane blamed the failure on the lack of chemistry among the characters. He compared The Bob Crane Show to its fellow series, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show, in wishing that the same sorts of character relationships on those series had been present in his. "I had nobody to talk to....In my series, I had no Bill Daily."[14]