The Button-Down Mind on TV

Did you know there was another Bob Newhart Show besides the one that ran for seven years in the 70s? It was different in two ways from its namesake: one, it was a comedy/sketch variety show instead of a sitcom, and, two, it totally flopped! But Bob wrote some truly inspired material for that short-lived 1962 program, and so this album, which compiled his funniest bits, didn t flop, but went to #26 on the charts. Includes Introducing Tobacco to Civilization , in which Bob places a call to Sir Walter Raleigh; there's also a look into how to tell your friend that his precious pet dog is a vicious monster (if at all), a speculation on what it would be like if chariot corporations in ancient Rome were run like modern car companies, and amateur bomb defusing. Pure genius!