I love this show, I really do, but I can't take the character of Howard Borden. I like the actor himself, loved him in I dream of Jeannie, but here he's just too dumb to be believable. How can we possibly find it plausible a navigator can be so dumb??? This is the only complaint I have about this show.
shareI think it would have been better if Howard was a bit less flaky and dumb, and Moosie Drier appeared in more episodes as his son visiting on the weekends as was supposed to be the case. They could have had more Howard / Little Howie subplots. Moosie was a cool little actor back in those days. Here he is with Kim Richards back in the day...
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bhgmy3IIQAAEY2B.jpg
Great comic timing? Bob Newhart had great comic timing, Bill Daily was merely chewing up the scenery. It's all in the way he interpreted the character. Peter Bonerz would have done wonders with that part, especially with his directorial insight. He had many lines that could have been fed to the character of Howard, but he always played it straight. That's where the humour lies. I think a lot of people didn't notice it early on in the show because Howard was underdeveloped. Daily and Bonerz shared a niche, and Daily won out. His part was increased at the expense of Bonerz's, giving birth to the worst character in the history of television. The show should have been Newhart; Bonerz encroaching on Bob's professional and personal space; and Jack Riley (with the therapy group), turning the patient-therapist relationship on its head. Less Pleshette. No Daily.
shareHis part was increased at the expense of Bonerz's, giving birth to the worst character in the history of television.
I read somewhere that Howard was supposed to always be jet lagged and spacey from it, and maybe originally that was the idea, but he devolved over a short time into an idiot.
I guess it's like looking at clouds. You see one thing and I see another. Peace.
If guys that stupid were allowed to navigate airliners in the real world, we'd all be screwed.
shareHow can we possibly find it plausible a navigator can be so dumb???