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SCTV

Original title: Second City TV
  • TV Series
  • 1976–1981
  • TV-PG
  • 30m
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
3.1K
YOUR RATING
Joe Flaherty and Andrea Martin in SCTV (1976)
Sketch ComedyComedy

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

  • Creators
    • Andrew Alexander
    • Bernard Sahlins
  • Stars
    • Joe Flaherty
    • Eugene Levy
    • Andrea Martin
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.5/10
    3.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Creators
      • Andrew Alexander
      • Bernard Sahlins
    • Stars
      • Joe Flaherty
      • Eugene Levy
      • Andrea Martin
    • 25User reviews
    • 10Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Episodes78

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    Photos12

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    Top cast44

    Edit
    Joe Flaherty
    Joe Flaherty
    • Various…
    • 1976–1981
    Eugene Levy
    Eugene Levy
    • Various…
    • 1976–1981
    Andrea Martin
    Andrea Martin
    • Various…
    • 1976–1981
    Dave Thomas
    Dave Thomas
    • Various…
    • 1976–1981
    John Candy
    John Candy
    • Various…
    • 1976–1979
    Catherine O'Hara
    Catherine O'Hara
    • Various…
    • 1976–1979
    John Stocker
    • Staff Announcer
    • 1978–1981
    Jeff Lumby
    Jeff Lumby
    • 1978–1981
    Ron James
    Ron James
    • 1978–1981
    Tony Rosato
    Tony Rosato
    • Various…
    • 1977–1981
    Harold Ramis
    Harold Ramis
    • Various…
    • 1976–1978
    Robin Duke
    Robin Duke
    • Various…
    • 1976–1981
    Rick Moranis
    Rick Moranis
    • Various…
    • 1980–1981
    Donald Cowper
    • Billy…
    • 1977
    Peter Wildman
    Peter Wildman
    • Bailiff…
    • 1978–1979
    Dick Blasucci
    • Extra…
    • 1980–1981
    Jayne Eastwood
    Jayne Eastwood
    • Farmer's Wife…
    • 1976–1977
    Monica Parker
    Monica Parker
    • Fatsby's Woman…
    • 1976–1977
    • Creators
      • Andrew Alexander
      • Bernard Sahlins
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews25

    8.53K
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    Featured reviews

    10frankfob

    Different from SNL in that it's actually funny . . .

    As a previous poster has said, SNL and SCTV were both comedy sketch shows, but that's where the resemblance ends. SNL far too often descended into juvenile, and sometimes even infantile, humor and its casts were way too uneven. It had the brilliant and manic John Belushi, but it also had the mediocre Garrett Morris, who really didn't do much of anything. It had the gifted Gilda Radner, who could do damn near anything, but it also had Laraine Newman, who didn't do all that much, either, and many of the cast members in its later shows really had no business being there. SNL's cast did various running characters, but, with few exceptions, each person's character wasn't really distinguishable from the actor himself. SCTV had no such problems. John Candy's Johnny LaRue, Josh Shmenge and Gil Fisher ("The Fishin' Musician") were about as different from each other and Candy himself as you could possibly get, as were Rick Moranis' Doug McKenzie and Rabbi Yitzhak Karlov, Andrea Martin's Edith Prickley and Mrs. Falbo, etc. Another big difference between the two shows was the writing. Virtually every episode of SCTV was as sharp, incisive and devastatingly funny as anything that ever came out of television; SNL on the other hand could go for weeks without having a decent show, and in fact went for several YEARS in the '80s without having any even HALFWAY decent shows. SCTV integrated all of its guest stars into the actual storyline of the episode itself, with often surprising results (musicians Dr. John, Tony Bennett and Fee Waybill of the Tubes, for example, turned out to be quite good). SNL put its guest hosts into some of the sketches--with many of them obviously reading their lines off of cue cards--and most didn't acquit themselves particularly well.

    One of SCTV's main strengths was that it gave its audience credit for having the intelligence to understand what it was trying to say and do, which was something that SNL often lost sight of, especially in its later years. And how could anyone forget such brilliant pieces as "Abbott and Costello in a Turkish Prison"; "Dr. Tongue's 3-D House of Stewardesses"; the side-splitting parody of "Ocean's 11" with the monumentally untalented Vegas schlock comic Bobby Bittman and his even less talented idiot son Skip; the hapless Count Floyd of "Monster Chiller Horror Theater", who--no matter how pathetic the movie ("Tonight's film: 'Bloodsucking Monkeys from West Mifflin, Pennsylvania'!") he was showing--always stubbornly claimed, "Oooh, wasn't that scary, kids?"; "The Sammy Maudlin Show"; "Farm Film Report" ("They blowed up real good!"); the list goes on and on. Most of the sketches are so sharp, witty and clever that they don't date at all, even though they're almost 30 years old. SCTV set a high standard for sketch comedy, and so far no other show has measured up.
    jonesy74-1

    Coo roo coo coo coo coo coo coo

    All of the user comments are great but they leave out some of the best contributions from SCTV - The McKenzie Brothers and the Redneck Movie Critics.

    From the beginning of the opening credits where it was announced that "SCTV is on the air" followed by t.v. sets being thrown out of windows to crash on the sidewalks below, the laughs ensued.

    I understand that Canadian Television had an extra two minutes more than U.S. television, so they asked Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis to come up with an extra two minutes of material that would air on Canadian Television. Their contribution? The Mackenzie Brothers, eh? It was all ad-lib. The Great White North sketch was eventually added to the American version.

    Each week would be a different topic - "This week, our topic is how to stuff a mouse in a beer bottle, eh?" "Take off, eh?" "No, you take off, you hoser." "How do you like my new toque (rhymes with kook), eh?" "It's a beauty way to go, eh?" These guys were absolutely hilarious! They had the entire country doing Canadian-speak," eh?

    The other guys I loved were the Red-neck movie reviewers. Dressed like Elmer Fudd on a wabbit-hunt, Joe Flaherty and John Candy rated movies based on whether they "blowed 'em up real good," or not. You guessed it - if the movie "blowed 'em up real good" (followed by lots of guffaws and yuks), it was a good movie. If there were no car crashes or explosions, well, it was a bad movie.

    This was an extremely clever show and launched the careers of some powerful comic geniuses (Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara included among those already mentioned). It's definitely worth the late-night t.v. watch on T.V. Land.
    Groucho734

    True satire at its best

    Probably the best TV version of the many SCTV formats, even without Martin Short's Ed Grimley or Jackie Rogers Jr. A sharply focused parody of (mostly) television AND smalltown mid-western culture, both American and Canadian at the same time! A true world unto itself, filled with enough in-jokes and running gags to make your head spin.
    kylewalken2

    SCTV

    I was born after SCTV ended, but I always remember seeing re-runs that I thought were extremely hilarious. One of the best things about SCTV is if you look at the cast, they are all classic actors who's names we all know. Even better was that all these great talents and names got together in a mid sized city (my city, Edmonton) to create this amazing show. They didn't need the glitz of New York or a new guest host every week (who on SNL now probly hosted like 3 weeks ago, and 3 weeks before that) to make something that was truely great. I will always remember how all these famous people once lived and worked in my city.
    RNMorton

    Top Notch television (early episodes)

    Weekly television is rarely this good. Originally aired very late on weekend nights. Skit and parody show centered on operation of cheesy television station. Where else can you see John Candy playing Babe Ruth or Harold Ramis Dialing For Dollars? As with SNL the first few years are the best (during Ramis' tenancy), some of the late stuff - like Thomas making fun of Bob Hope - is pretty grim.

    More like this

    SCTV Network
    8.4
    SCTV Network
    SCTV Channel
    8.3
    SCTV Channel
    The Best of SCTV
    8.4
    The Best of SCTV
    The Tracey Ullman Show
    7.1
    The Tracey Ullman Show
    Fridays
    7.4
    Fridays
    Mad TV
    7.2
    Mad TV
    The Kids in the Hall
    8.4
    The Kids in the Hall
    Hee Haw
    7.0
    Hee Haw
    The Best of John Candy on SCTV
    7.9
    The Best of John Candy on SCTV
    The Last Polka
    7.1
    The Last Polka
    The Ben Stiller Show
    7.0
    The Ben Stiller Show
    Mr. Show with Bob and David
    8.4
    Mr. Show with Bob and David

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Rick Moranis is the only cast member not to have been a member of The Second City comedy troupe. Moranis was recommended by Dave Thomas.
    • Quotes

      Station Manager Harold Ramis: This is Harold Ramis speaking for the management of Second City Television. SCTV recognizes its responsibility to the community, and condemns the excessive use of explicit sexual material in television today. We do, however, love violence, so parental discretion _is_ advised in viewing the following program. Viewers will note, however, that the attitudes and opinions reflected in this program do not reflect the views of the management of this station, the producers of this program, the writers, the actors, or indeed, anyone in the audience. So if you're thinking of suing or phoning in complaints, don't bother. This program is produced in Argentina and then dubbed into English. Besides, if you're all that sensitive, you just don't have to watch the program! I mean you've got arms, why don't you get up and change the channel? See who's on Merv Griffin, that's about your speed, isn't it? Nothing offensive about old Merv! Take your parental disc...

      [Ramis is pulled off the screen by a giant hook]

    • 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.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Best of SCTV (1988)
    • Soundtracks
      Dance of the Hours
      Music by Amilcare Ponchielli

      Performed by Spike Jones and His City Slickers

      (1976-1978)

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    FAQ14

    • How many seasons does SCTV have?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 1, 1977 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Canada
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Second City TV
    • Filming locations
      • Edmonton, Alberta, Canada(Studio)
    • Production companies
      • Second City Entertainment
      • Old Firehall Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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