SCTV 

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

Creator:

Andrew Alexander

Stars:

Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin

Cast

Series cast summary:
Joe Flaherty	...	Various / ... 78 episodes, 1976-1981
Eugene Levy	...	Various / ... 78 episodes, 1976-1981
Andrea Martin	...	Various / ... 78 episodes, 1976-1981
Dave Thomas	...	Various / ... 78 episodes, 1976-1981
John Candy	...	Various / ... 52 episodes, 1976-1979
Catherine O'Hara	...	Various / ... 52 episodes, 1976-1979
Tony Rosato	...	Various / ... 37 episodes, 1977-1981
Robin Duke	...	Various / ... 29 episodes, 1976-1981
Harold Ramis	...	Various / ... 28 episodes, 1976-1978
Rick Moranis	...	Various / ... 26 episodes, 1980-1981

Storyline

Sketch comedy show set around the fictitious TV station SCTV. The programs broadcast by SCTV were parodies of films and other television shows. They included "Farm Film Report", Woody Allen's "Play It Again, Bob!", "Monster Horror Chiller Theatre", and "Great White North." Other skits involved the staff of SCTV, like president Guy Caballero, clueless newscaster Earl Camembert, washed up actor Johnny LaRue, and leopard-skin print wearing station owner Edith Prickley.

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Plot Keywords:

tv station | television | sketch comedy | parody | black comedy | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 September 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

SCTV

Filming Locations:

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Second City Entertainment, Old Firehall Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (78 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

While Eugene Levy's "SCTV News" co-anchor character, Earl Camembert, was named after Earl Cameron, his persona was modeled after Buffalo, NY TV news anchorman Irv Weinstein.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Lola Heatherton: I love you! I wanna bear your children!

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Crazy Credits

In the first 2 seasons the cast names were given by voiceover (by Dave Thomas) instead of opening credits, and the last name was given as "And Dave Thomas as the Beaver". In the first 2 seasons the opening includes a parody of the Indian-head test pattern.

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Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: Natural Born Killers/Blankman/Fresh/Wagons East/The Advocate (1994)

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Soundtracks

Dance of the Hours
Music by Amilcare Ponchielli
Performed by Spike Jones and His City Slickers
(1976-1978)

User Reviews

Best variety comedy--ever

There are not a lot of things about this world I can state with full assurance, but I can say with full confidence that SCTV is, bar none, the funniest show of all time. Younger viewers--those born after, say, 1970--may have a hard time with the allusions to and parodies of pop culture circa 1980, and my guess is this would cause those viewers to meet my claim with skepticism. But think about it: every show by and large depends on its time, including SNL and Monty Python. Nevertheless, there is plenty here for anyone with half a brain and a good sense of humor to enjoy. Some of the sketches involve topical matters, but the sheer chuztpah and intelligence of them makes such topicality secondary.

The acting alone is without comedic peer for a TV show in English. Over the past twenty-five years I have never been able to decide who my favorite SCTV actor is. I love the two (main) women: both Martin and O'Hara are game for anything, and they are loaded with comic nuance. But the same goes for all the rest of the cast. Sometimes I conclude that Eugene Levy edges out the others, but as soon as I say that I think of John Candy as William B. or Curly (etc.) or Rick Moranis as Jerry Todd or Skip Bitman, and I renege on my statement. But thinking about Skip leads me to think of Levy as Bobby Bitman, and the process starts all over. (And this is to say nothing of the very great, very funny work by Dave Thomas and Joe Flaherty.) The movie and TV work of the cast, post-SCTV, has been merely OK overall, but don't let it deceive you: all of this great casts' best work occurred on SCTV. After the show ended, Candy fared the best, but he sadly deprived us of his great presence way too early, god rest his soul. Others have done OK in Christopher Guest films. But, again, these usually only make me yearn for SCTV. Martin Short is probably my least favorite of the regulars, yet he has his moments (Boy from Deliverance, some Ed Grimley bits, etc.).

The writing, too, is consistently excellent. (All the cast wrote bits, but some more than others.) Watching the DVDs--and thank god for those!--I see that there are stretches of "padding," but even this is usually pretty funny. (Even Monty Python has some not-so-great shows.) Some of the guest bits are a little lame, and sometimes I wish they had not bothered with guests, unless they make sense to the story (Zontar was funny). Much has been made of the laugh track; I never liked it either. Still, one can punch holes in about anything, and they do not, in the end, add up to much. And this is why I can proclaim that, for me, SCTV is the very zenith of TV comedy. I urge anyone who is uninitiated to jump in with both feet. Any of the four NBC seasons would be a good starting point. (If you want a single DVD, try the Christmas show.) I hope that someone will now release the Cinemax shows.