Bob Newhart: Button Down Concert

A treat for fans of Bob Newhart's standup comedy routines from the early 1960s, as well as those who know Newhart primarily through his various TV sitcoms, Bob Newhart: Button Down Concert is a greatest-hits revival of classic material. Originally a 1995 Showtime special, this hour-long concert taped in Pasadena contains such memorable Newhart bits as "The School for Rude Bus Drivers" (in which bus drivers learn, among other things, to pull away from stops just before desperate, would-be passengers reach the doors), "Abe Lincoln's PR Man" (in which a presidential handler struggles to keep Lincoln hewing to his carefully-crafted image), and "King Kong and the New Security Guard" (in which a guard at the Empire State Building tries to explain to his boss over the phone that a giant ape is on the premises). The show culminates with two brilliant routines, "Sir Walter Raleigh Explains Tobacco" (Raleigh's boss, who considers him a kook, takes his phone call) and "The Tipsy Accountant's Retirement Party" (in which a retiring number-cruncher drunkenly explains how—through pilfering and blackmail—he plans to live well). DVD extras include a recent featurette in which Newhart talks about the art of standup. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (T. Keogh)