MovieChat Forums > Newhart (1982) Discussion > Michael is so annoying

Michael is so annoying

posted 10 years ago by BDrums1971
31 replies | jump to latest

I love, love, love Newhart, but Peter Scolari just annoys me. As in Bosom Buddies, he acts like he's always on the verge of a seizure. His voice (sounds like he's trying to be hip like Sammy Davis), his mouth is always going in all directions at once (again like he's having a seizure), and his antic demeanor (wonder if he was on cocaine or something) make it so I just can't stand the guy.

I feel that Peter's character Michael doesn't really fit on the show. He comes across as too "big city" and ruins the laid back feel of the show in general. I really wish they would have stuck with Kirk. I liked him much better.

What do you think?

.........................................
It's all bulls*it - the late, great George Carlin

[–] doug65oh 10 years ago

Well, I can see what you mean - but my own feeling is that neither Kirk nor Michael added anything but eternal annoyance to the show.

[–] porovitch 9 years ago

Here, Here!!!! (Handclaps of approval)

Wheee!

[–] rebound4july 10 years ago

The only thing he did that really irritated me was whenever he started crying. Anytime he did that, I just wanted to slap him.

Aside from that though, he was a good character. He was a "city" person, but that was a good contrast on the show with him thinking he was better than the town while secretly wanting their acceptance at the same time. He was better than Kirk because underneath their similarities, Michael was a much nicer person. Kirk was funny, but hard to like or care about.

Michael was much different in his early appearances on the show in Season 2 before he became a regular. While there were signs of him being a bit of a weasel and deceitful, he wasn't nearly as whiny or hyper as he became.

[–] jarrodmcdonald-1 10 years ago

Michael over Kirk. Scolari has a deep respect for Newhart, which comes across between the actors in their scenes, even when the character of Michael is uppity and whiny; and Dick is exasperated or annoyed by Michael. Also, there was no chemistry between Stephanie and Kirk; so Michael becoming a regular opened new story avenues for her.

Personally I think Kirk should have been demoted to recurring, not entirely written out. He and Cindy could have still popped up every now and then, even after the cafe was sold to the three brothers. This became a show about an extended community, and there is no reason that Kirk and his wife could not have still remained a part of the larger, general community-- just not seen as often. Like they could have moved to a nearby town where Kirk ran a ritzier business, or Kirk could have changed careers and had a new job that took him out of town frequently, but yet he still turned up in stories that did not involve Vermont Today.

[–] dini0519 10 years ago

Tie. I liked them both. I wish they could've kept them both on the show as both are good characters and good actors.

Dini

[–] abajasds 10 years ago

Well Michael was a yuppie, and that's how they usually acted at least on TV. Basically like they were better than someone, fast talkers and shallow. I sometimes compare Michael with Steve Rhoades from Married With Children.

Michael did sometimes talk as if he was on speed. I like him and Kurt Devane. I like how they would come down hard and blame everything on Dick.

My job is to inform, not persuade- Dan Rather

[–] synergy273 10 years ago

His character bugged me too! added nothing to the show!

[–] richard.fuller1 10 years ago

As has been noted, Michael was the yuppie-type person that was around back then, very much so. Michael wasn't supposed to be deep, he was the shallow male version to Stephanie.

Whatever went wrong with Kirk, either the actor was fired or he left the show, I don't think he would have paired up with Stephanie. He was actually dating the previous lady who I didn't recall.

I still say Kirk was some strange clone of Peter Bonerz from the previous Bob Newhart Show who didn't work out.

Michael and Stephanie were like the '80s present day people and George, Larry, the Darryls and the other characters were the down-home set. Same thing took place in the Return to Mayberry movie, with the younger characters to the now-old Mayberry citizens of Andy, Barney, Gomer, Goober, Thelma Lou, etc.

[–] scottstvshop 10 years ago

Good appraisal,for Kirk, Leslie was the maid he was infatuated with in the series, which is now rerunning on antenna tv network. Kirk's bit if you want to call it was being shallow and lieing constantly usually to try and impress someone.

[–] richard.fuller1 10 years ago

I just caught the first episode and saw Leslie and the first thing she said was she had always had everything given to her and she wanted to see what it was like to have to work for a living.

The actress seemed to have no concept or direction with the idea as Julia Duffy did. Likewise, I suppose the same could be said for Kirk.

Michael likewise was vain, but was completely unaware of his vanity and shallowness, as were the yuppies of that era. They thought they were productive and real go-getters.

Kirk and Leslie were clearly ideas that didn't work until they brought in Michael and Stephanie. They might as well have had Scolari and Duffy portray Kirk and Leslie in recastings, cuz that's really all it was.

[–] modica 9 years ago

Stephanie was introduced as Lesley's cousin in the first season. Kampmann was so much better than Scolari. It wasn't that Kirk wasn't popular on the show, it was that Newhart thought that Kampmann was getting all the attention(especially in the second season), so Scolari was brought in and Kampmann was kicked out. Kirk was a more interesting character than Michael. Michael was a one note character that got tired fast.

[–] crlnrgbrght5 9 years ago

modica, where in the world did you get that information about Bob Newhart wanting Kampmann off of the show, because he was getting too much attention? First of all, Mr. newhart seemed to be generous when it came to audiences responding well to certain characters, such as Larry, and the two Darryls (the audience would always applaud them whenever they came on the screen), and Newhart in interviews would acknowledge that. However, Kirk barely got laughs, so I intend to think maybe, the actor wanted out, or the producers wanted to liven the show up, and that's why they brought in the Stephanie and Michael characters.

[–] crazykeyman 9 years ago

Kirk actually married Cindy the clown lady.

[–] srklondie 10 years ago

That's the way his character was meant to be portrayed, Zippy. If he bothers you so much, just don't watch the show.

[–] dragongirl30 10 years ago

I think he did a great job, he was much better than Kirk who was awful, I was glad when he left

[–] modica 9 years ago

kirk had much better lines than Michael ever did. Kirk was really someone who got under Dick's skin, Michael, for the most part, was just annoying. I enjoyed the early Newhart shows much more than the later ones. Too much emphasis on Michael and Stephanie in the later shows.

[–] sea_salt53 9 years ago

Who in the world really talks like Michael? Nobody! His lines are so goofy. Full of dumb puns and alliteration. Kirk was just an annoying guy and we've all had interactions with somebody just like him. Kirk was only in 44 episodes, but they are the best of the series!

https://www.facebook.com/The-Kirk-Devane-Fan-Club-1069087409770071/?ref=hl

[–] modica 9 years ago

Yup...Kirk is the man. I heard Bob Newhart got rid of Kampmann because Kirk was overshadowing Newhart, especially in the second season.

[–] crazykeyman 9 years ago

That doesn't make sense. The key to both of the Bob Newhart shows was Bob & wife are normal and all the other kooky characters. This is what Bob wanted. When the audience went crazy for Larry, his brother Daryl and his other brother Daryl Bob told the writers they need to write them into the show.

[–] crazykeyman 9 years ago

Here is a Associated Press article about Peter Scolari, who after being a guest star in season 2 was brought on as a regular in season 3 to replace Kampmann.

The producers decided to make the switch when it became apparent that Kampmann's character had nowhere to go. The character was supposed to antagonize Newhart, but he had become too strong.
(...)
"When you have an obnoxious character you can go one way, as Danny DeVito did on 'Taxi,' and become a character you love to hate," said Scolari. "Or you can have a character who's obnoxious and doesn't realize it, as I do with Michael. This year Michael will be a lot more human. It's to avoid the same trap that Steven fell into, and to keep in step with the rest of the show."

It seems like the writers thought Kirk was too depressing and unlikable of a character (getting him married was supposed to make him more relatable, but it actually made him worse) and Newhart didn't think he made a good comic foil.

Of course people seem to forget that this is not the actor's fault. The writers are responsible for characters that have no more place to go.