As audiences and creative types debate the merits of the final Seinfeld episode, it is befitting to remember the stir caused when Newhart went off the air in 1989, after an eight-year run, because Bob Newhart decided to call it quits while the show was still at its peak.

The final ep saw the Vermont innkeeper wake up in his old bedroom from the previous 1972-78 cbs series The Bob Newhart Show, turn to his wife (played by Suzanne Pleshette) and exclaim that he had just had the strangest dream!

At the time, the finale was deemed the single best and most surprising episode in tv comedy history. Entertainment Weekly magazine placed it at the top of its best all-time episodes.

The Seinfeld comparison is particularly apt since Newhart is credited with being the first stand-up comedian to make the successful transition to primetime television. In the days before The Bob Newhart Show, stand-up comics were relegated to one-time acts on variety shows, or if given a series, it was a platform for sketch comedy routines.

Newhart’s long-running series calmed the anxieties of nervous network execs and eased the entry of numerous other comedians who followed him from the live stage into acting careers on primetime tv. Among them are Robin Williams, Bill Cosby, Tim Allen, Bob Saget and, of course, Jerry Seinfeld.

Today, network primetime schedules are dominated by sitcoms written around stand-up comedians. Newhart himself re-emerged this past season on another cbs series, George and Leo.

But Newhart says the current sitcom environment is a far cry from those early days.

Newhart began working in primetime tv before the advent of cable channels, which he says have had a huge impact on sitcom creative. With cable channels offering more liberal material and targeting younger audiences, the nets were forced to open the gates in terms of the type of material allowed in primetime.

‘Each generation knocks down a few more sacred cows,’ says Newhart, recalling an old tv show where a man got into bed in polka dot pajamas and the female lead wore striped pjs, and when they awoke the next morning, they were wearing mismatched tops and bottoms.

‘Everyone said `Oh my god, how racy,’ ‘ he chuckles.

But in an era where sitcoms tackle the gamut of controversial subject matter, Newhart questions if the serious side of sitcoms has gone too far.

‘I have never been in that camp, I never considered myself an educator,’ he says. ‘My job is to entertain.’

Newhart says the long-running shows stay away from references to topical events and issues.

‘The classic sitcoms deal with basic human themes, not specifics, and the fact that people continue to tune in to reruns years later is evidence,’ he says.

‘I remember saying to my writers, `This show will be in syndication 20 years from now and if we put a Nixon joke in we will look kind of silly.’ ‘

There is no doubt Newhart’s sitcoms have stood the test of time and continue to garner new generations of fans on Nick at Nite.

‘I get fan mail from 10-year-olds who are just being introduced to The Bob Newhart Show; that is a tribute to the writing of the show, that it is so popular with young people.’

It is for this universal and continuing appeal that Newhart, hailed as one of the longest-running comedy stars on tv today, is being feted at the Banff Television Festival with the 1998 Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Network Award.

The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show are series which Newhart describes as early examples of shows combining topnotch writing, great cast and universal themes – the blueprint for a successful sitcom, he says. Friends, Mad About You and Frasier are his current favorite examples.

Much of the network fare today clones these popular shows and the tried-and-tested concepts still tend to win out over daring originality.

This is one of the reasons Newhart jumped at the chance to return to primetime in George and Leo. The show centers on a pair of older men as opposed to the twentysomething crowd most networks are catering to.

‘I liked the idea of being a widower, that was something new, it made the part interesting and real,’ explains Newhart.

The comic tension arises from the pair of mismatched in-laws – George is a quiet bookstore owner and widower and Leo a small-time hoodlum on the run from the mob.

With the stakes in primetime tv much higher, Newhart notes the pressure has been pumped up as well.

‘The acting isn’t tough,’ he says. ‘The tough part is every week being faced with how we did against Ally McBeal. Are we up a tenth or down a tenth? There’s that pressure, you can’t get away from it. It takes its toll.’

As their audience share continues to erode in the face of alternatives offered by cable niche channels, the networks are responding by dipping their hands more into the creative melting pot.

On his previous series, Newhart says he did not feel the presence of the network, which he attributes partially to the success of the shows. But he notes the networks are gradually becoming more involved in the script and casting elements.

Is that for better or for worse?

‘It depends on the network,’ jokes Newhart.

‘There is a certain pressure from the networks,’ he explains. ‘They suggest different characters because of the tendency to skew audiences younger and younger, and you try to please them because it is their bat and ball.

‘Ultimately you have to please yourself,’ he continues. ‘That is what it comes down to. You can’t allocate that responsibility to someone else. You have to make it the kind of show you would want to watch.’

But while he often provides story ideas and critiques the scripts on George and Leo, he leans on his writing team.

‘I respect and encourage the creativity of these people. Some actors take a lot of control in the dynamic but I let the creative people run with ideas. I am not running herd over each episode and this method has always worked for me.

‘It all comes back to the writing,’ he says of the recipe for a popular, long-running sitcom.

And some magical ingredients added to the mix.

‘Some of it is just instinct,’ says Newhart. ‘I knew Cosby was going to be a success when I heard the concept, but then other shows I thought would be hits have failed.

‘If someone had the formula they would have bottled it and sold it by now.’