"Second City TV" (1976) TV series 1976-1981

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Creator:

Andrew Alexander

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

1 September 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Don't touch that dial! Don't touch that one either! And stop touching yourself! SCTV is on the air!

Plot:

The staff of Melonville's TV station put on programming that is unique in its own silly way.

Plot Keywords:

Second City | Satire | Spoof | Actor Playing Multiple Roles | Number In Title

Cast

Joe Flaherty	...	Various / ... (76 episodes, 1976-1981)
Eugene Levy	...	Various / ... (75 episodes, 1976-1981)
Andrea Martin	...	Various / ... (75 episodes, 1976-1981)
Dave Thomas	...	Various / ... (75 episodes, 1976-1981)
John Candy	...	Various (50 episodes, 1976-1979)
Catherine O'Hara	...	Various / ... (50 episodes, 1976-1979)
Tony Rosato	...	Various / ... (36 episodes, 1977-1981)
Robin Duke	...	Various / ... (28 episodes, 1976-1981)
Harold Ramis	...	Various / ... (28 episodes, 1976-1978)
Shelley Long	...	Various Characters (26 episodes, 1976-1977)
Rick Moranis	...	Various (25 episodes, 1980-1981)

Also Known As:

SCTV (Canada: English title) (new title) (USA)
Second City Revue (Canada: English title)

Runtime:

30 min (78 episodes)

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Old Firehall Productions

Trivia:

The names of the SCTV News anchormen, Earl Camembert (played by Eugene Levy) and Floyd Robertson (Joe Flaherty), are derived from broadcasters Earl Cameron and Lloyd Robertson who appeared on CBC Television's nightly news broadcast '"National, The" (1970)' in the 1970's.

Quotes:

Filth's boss: The pope's coming to town next week.
Harry Filth: You want me to off him?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Dance of the Hours

The greatest show that ever was, and that ever will be...

SCTV is now on the air! and I LOVE IT!! I'm only 18 yrs old, so naturally, I was born after the show ended, but I've been watching reruns for quite a while now, and I have to say that I know the show pretty well. There's so much to say about it. Like most of the other posters stated, SCTV surpassed SNL in every aspect. I'm not much of a fan of SNL just because I find it's humour too simple, too forced. I like the wit. For example, this may seem to be stupid, but when you think about it, it's very ingenious: The Days of Our Lives becomes The Heys of Our Lives and everyone says "hey" all the time!! I mean, it's corny, yes, but it works! Oh, I love of the actors so much! They're so awesome at what they do! John Candy's sleazy Johnny LaRue, Joe Flaherty's equally sleazy and money-hungry Guy Caballero, Eugene Levy's funnyman Bobby "How are ya?!" Bittman, Andrea Martin's loud-mouthed, cackling Edith Prickley, Rick Moranis's super (as in the supers on his show) crazy Gerry Todd, Catherine O'Hara's spoiled, man-crazed performer, Lola "I want to bear your children! HA!haha!" Heatherton and Dave Thomas's opinionated Bill Needle.

Yes, SCTV had it all, and all the actors had caliber. There are so many more characters and impersonations worth naming and remembering: Floyd Robertson, Count Floyd, Earl Camembert, Bob and Doug McKenzie, Dr. Tongue, Woody Tobias,Jr. aka Bruno, Alex Trebel, "Rockin'" Mel Slirrup, Mrs. Falbo, Big Jim McBob and Billy Sol Hurok, Yosh and Stan Shmenge, Harvey K-Tel, Lin Ye Tang, Richard Harris, Bob Hope, Rabbi Karlov, Crazy Hy, Ricardo Montalban, Don Strom, Sid Dithers, Moe Green, Ed Grimley, Jackie Rogers,Jr., Pierre Trudeau, Hugh Betcha, Alistair Cook, Larry Siegel, Merv Griffin, Sammy Maudlin, Lou Jaffe, William B. Williams, Brock Linehan, Harry (The Guy with a snake on his face), Skip Bittman, David Brinkley, Lorna Minelli, Barbra Streisand, Divine, Brian Johns, Mayor Tommy Shanks, William F. Buckley, Mother Theresa, Angus Crock, the 5 Neat Guys, Brooke Shields, Raoul Wilson, Joyce DeHalfWitt, Jack Klugman, Tex and Edna Boil, Liberace, G. Gordon Liddy, Gus Gustofferson, Al Peck... oh! there are SOOOOOO MANY!!! All of them memorable. One of my favourite skits is when Richard Harris (Dave Thomas, of course) guest stars on Mel's Rock Pile and sings a re-mix of MacArthur's Park. Actually, anything with Dave Thomas as Richard Harris is hilarious. There are so many sketches I could name, but I won't, because it would literally take me a full day, if not two.

How can anyone NOT enjoy this show? I mean, if you've seen it at least once, be you Canadian or American, there had at least one sketch that made you chuckle! I am glad that it never became as popular and widely known as SNL... and that it didn't as long. For those who knew and loved SCTV, they know that it was never bad comedy and that it went out with dignity... and humour! This show is a timeless classic and I hope that it's memory will live on with the DVD box sets. I am glad to have stumbled upon this treasure... it's too bad that more people don't appreciated the comedic talent of these fine, fine actors.