We haven't done one of these for a while but I thought I'd note (and provide ordering links) for three upcoming DVD collections of the work of very amusing men.
I've always loved Robert Klein and I sure wish he'd do standup again on a more regular basis. He was the guy who showed everyone else how to "perform" on a stage, keeping your oft-repeated lines sounding fresh and making the audience just plain enjoy being with you. With his HBO specials, of which this new release is a collection, he pretty much invented the idea of doing one's standup act on cable TV. So I've ordered Robert Klein: The HBO Specials 1975-2005 and you might want to, as well.
And then, coming out in a week or so, we have a complete collection of the cable specials by the other great standup guy, George Carlin. It's called George Carlin: All My Stuff and it's also, one can be certain, great stuff. At $170.99, however, it seems a bit pricey even though you get fourteen specials on fourteen discs. That's $12.21 per special, whereas the Robert Klein collection gives you eight specials on four discs for $29.99, which works out to $3.74 each. (Both collections feature extras. The Klein one has an interview of him by Alan Colmes. The Carlin one has two long interviews, one of which is 75 minutes.)
The other notable thing about the Robert Klein collection is that it's all pretty much material that hasn't been available on home video…or hasn't been available for quite some time. (I have two of these specials on Beta.) Most of the Carlin material is available on DVD…so if you're a fan of George's specials and have been buying them in that format, you have to buy those specials again to get the full collection plus the extras. We always get annoyed when they do this to us.
Lastly, I know nothing about The Best of Jack Benny, other than that it promises us 41 episodes of his TV show on four discs and that it sells at Amazon for $13.49. One assumes these are old, public domain prints mastered at a very slow speed. Then again, Jack Benny operated at a very slow speed…and it's hard to imagine that in 1,260 minutes of Jack Benny, you won't find thirteen and a half bucks worth of goodies. I've ordered a copy and I'll let you know if there's a catch. There's something poetic about a Jack Benny collection being cheap.