I was a consistent fan of Newhart, but I don't recall ever watching an episode of the other two. BNS was such a popular program during its run that one cannot help but know what it was about, generally.
Newhart was comfortable and always "clean fun," with Bob Newhart's typical style of being surrounded by wacky characters and being "the straight man" reacting to their excesses. I recall they filmed the show in its first season or two, then switched to the more traditional videotape, giving the early seasons a very different feel. Though they had a few cast changes during the run, the changes actually improved the show rather than taking away from it. Leslie, their original maid, seemed rather bland despite her interesting back-story (she was a "runaway heiress" who decided to take a job as a maid in order to escape the pressures of her wealthy family). Replacing her with her snooty, pampered-princess cousin Stephanie was a stroke of genius, since Leslie had been so agreeable and perfect; Stephanie was the very definition of high-maintenance, generating irritation with Joanna.
Those amazing sweaters aside, Joanna seemed to be the only character who did not get to fall into ridiculous behavior. As Dick's sensible wife, she didn't do a lot of the wacky stuff all the other characters were allowed to do. Mary Frann was so good at the role, though, that I felt really sad when I found out she had passed away.
