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I recent finished bingeing the entirety of the ‘80s sitcom Newhart. I wrote an entire piece about it. Newhart gave me a ton of enjoyment. Another thing it did? Make me a huge fan of Peter Scolari.
As a certain kind of pop culture connoisseur, I have to admit that before watching Newhart I mostly thought of Scolari as the other guy from Bosom Buddies. He was a fun reference point. Now? I legit considered getting Bosom Buddies on DVD because I feel like a show with Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari has to be at least decent. Scolari absolutely rules on Newhart.
Scolari isn’t on Newhart from the beginning. He makes his first appearance as Michael Harris in the second season as a producer for WPIV, a TV station in Vermont. In this appearance Michael isn’t totally honed in yet. He’s a little more patrician, a little more New Englander. Starting with the third season, though, he’s a regular part of the cast. He gives Dick, Bob Newhart’s character, a show called Vermont Today. They start working together, and Michael also quickly starts dating Stephanie, Dick and Joanna’s maid at their inn. Both things give him an excuse to be around a lot.
It’s hard to describe Michael as a character. He’s fast talking, loves to use fake Spanish, and loves a pun and a nickname. He calls Stephanie things like “Cupcake,” “Cuppers,” “Muffin,” “My Main Muffin,” and so on. Michael is a striver and social climber. He loves money and is vain and materialistic. Stephanie is the same way. Michael will throw anybody under the bus if need be. He also wears some killer sweaters and glasses.
Michael is such a specific character, and he’s incredibly well-written. However, what takes him to the next level is Scolari’s performance. He’s absolutely fantastic in the role. Scolari got three Emmy nominations while on the show. I would have given him one for every season from three through eight and he probably deserved a win or two. That’s how good he is. He can play the enthusiasm, the vanity, and also the vulnerability. Sometimes Michael is sympathetic, and that’s so hard to do with a character who is this awful of a person.
Michael Harris is one of my favorite sitcom characters now. Scolari is a big part of that. He’s so good as a sitcom actor. He had to be good on Bosom Buddies, right? After watching Newhart, I have to assume that’s the case.
