Search - SCTV, Volume 1 - Network 90 (5 Disc Set) on DVD

Thank you! Thank you!

Peter M. | West Orange, NJ | 06/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With the exception of a handful of worn videotapes I still have in my video collection containing some episodes I had taped off TV over 20 years ago, I've had to rely on my memory. The fact that my memory has held up with vivid clarity after all these years is a testament to just how unforgettable this show is.Conan O'Brien makes a poignant statement during the '99 reunion special contained in the set. SCTV was "his" show in the sense that, while the entire country was watching SNL and it's cast members were getting famous, SCTV was a little show of cult status that had no production values, no proper exposure, and no corporate idiots telling them what they could and couldn't do, not to mention horrible time slots. In other words, if you wanted to watch it, you had to look for it, or stay up past 1:30am. With SCTV, you felt like only you and a handful of friends were hip enough to recognize the true genius comedy show on TV. Perhaps it was SCTV's lack of exposure and budget that enabled the stellar cast to develop their ideas and hone them, playing to themselves and their own amusement rather than any particular Nielsen rating statistics. Even back then some of their references were a little esoteric, making it all the more funny if you "got" it. (i.e. comedian Jack Carter endorsing the Mr. Boom microphone. Show me one person under the age of 35 that would get this today). Whatever the case may be, SCTV managed to escape the grasp and restrictions of corporate involvement (for the most part, though NBC's revamped intros to each season got increasingly cheesier), and as result was able to keep up a consistently high level of quality (until they went to Cinemax in their final season).This set only scratches the surface, as it represents the first 90-minute episodes made after they were picked up by NBC. Luckily, these episodes were interspersed with both older skits and newer material, so those of us hoping for the early first few seasons to be released at least have a few classic snippets
contained herein such as Grapes of Mudd (with Harold Ramis)and Shock Theater. This also means that these episodes predate Martin Short's involvement (though he does appear on the extras material), which is personally fine by me because I never particularly cared for Short's work with SCTV. IMO, Rick Moranis was the best "newcomer" to the cast, as he seemlessly blended in with the rest of the cast and didn't appear to upstage any of them. Short's style, on the other hand, always seemed too "polished" and incongruous to me in relation to the rest of them, though I will say that I enjoy his work more now than than I did when he first joined the cast. There are far too many classic bits here to mention, and if there's any criticism of this set it's that it leaves you craving more (I've heard a 2nd volume will come out on October). Here's some of my favorites bits you might have forgotten about(some of which are not on this particular set):1. Moe Green's Dialing for Dollars: cheapskate Moe Green (Harold Ramis) hurriedly hanging up the phone when someone calls in to guess the correct film title.
2. Edith Prickley live at the Mellonville Baths - Q: what night at the baths would be complete without a dramatic reading of the letters of Alezander Hamilton by Charleton Heston?
3. Indira the musical with Indira Ghandi and Slim Whitman: sung to the tunes of Evita.
4. The Merv Griffith Show: "we'll be right back"
5. Mel's Rock pile with Richard Harris
6. Monster Chiller Horror Theater's, "Ingmar Bergman's Whispers of the Wolf" ("un shrimpka")
7. Julia Child and Deforest Kelly cooking show ("Needs more cimminon!")
8. Dimaggio's on the Wharf: Joltin' Joe (Bill Murray guest star)
is plugging his new restaurant by challenging patrons to try to strike him out for a free meal. He's whacking line drives in the middle of a crowded restaurant. Patrons are given batting helmets to wear.
9. Dr. Tong's 3D House of Slave Chicks in Smell-O-Rama: says it allLong live SCTV!"

Revolutionary television comedy

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 03/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While Saturday Night Live added a hip-edge to the television variety show, it was in many ways more of a return to TV's live performance roots than a revolution in comedy. SCTV, "the little show from Canada that could," was the late '70s and early '80s real innovator.

A comparison between SNL and SCTV is in some ways akin to comparing McDonald's and Burger King: each had a unique premise that shaped everything they did. Burger King (in its day) was a slave to the pace of a flame-broiler, while McDonald's pre-cooked. Likewise, SNL wrote, staged, and performed a show in 6 days. They worked in front of a live audience and were beholden to the pace (i.e., waiting out laughs) that such an arrangement dictated. SCTV was performed for cameras, and had time to write, edit, digest, reduce, and re-use in a way SNL never could.

The result is that SNL pushed towards catch-lines and easily identifiable, repeatable characters. SCTV, on the other hand, evolved into an ever more complex tapestry of comedy, irony and parody that wrapped around and glided through their sketches. Further, the isolation of their Canadian studio location (particularly the Edmonton years) kept the cast a true ensemble. Unlike the ego wars of SNL, SCTV remained largely devoid of breakout stars through its entire run.

At the heart of SCTV's success is the concept (or conceit) that the program was day-in-the-life of a low-end television network. The programs present a seamless intertwining of the "SCTV Network" programming and the characters and traumas which fictionally produced it. Even the musical guests (which in this set include Dr. John, The Tubes, Roy Orbison, and Robert Gordon) have their performances (both musical and acting) woven into the sketches. Real-world production incidents, such as the "Polynesian Town" budget overrun, are worked into the characters' lives, and the show develops continuity from week to week, rather than resetting the characters' history each time they appear in a new sketch.

These 90-minute shows created for NBC (following the show's original 30 minute syndicated version) include fantastic wrapper material that stiches the sketches together. Lola Heatherton's cancelled special, Johnny LaRue's budget problems and subsequent demotion, and the McKenzie Brother's off-set hunt for a topic all provide the sort of mind-bending transitions from foreground to background wrought by films like "A Face in the Crowd."

SCTV's writers are geniuses of hybridizing their influences. They'll spin a Fantasy Island parody through a Hope & Crosby road picture, Casablanca, and The Wizard of Oz, cross Merv Griffin with Andy Griffith, or feature Bing Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. At its peak SCTV reaches the level of surreal layering that Firesign Theater pioneered on LP. Personal favorites include Gil "The Fishin' Musician" Fisher, Sammy Maudlin, Lola Heatherton, Bobby Bittman, Hollywood producer Larry Siegel, Mel's Rockpile, Gerry "Good Video" Todd (and the Todd Monroe videos and Crazy Hy's commercials that he shows), and periodic skewerings of Woody Allen and Bob Hope.

That said, one must also admit that these shows don't provide the same rush they did when first broadcast, though perhaps it's unfair to expect them to do so. Twenty-five years of comedy inspired by these originals can't help but change the context in which these are now viewed. The clubby nature of being an SCTV fan was part of its charm, as were late-night viewing hours, the social setting against which these shows were viewed, and the ephemeral nature of TV-before-DVD. There is some terrific material here, but viewers are likely to find themselves skipping and picking. A few of the characters (such as Andrea Martin's European cleaning lady) get tiresome, and the canned laughter can be truly annoying.

Most of the extras are skippable. Eugene Levy and Joe Flaherty's commentary, as well as a short piece on John Candy, shed little light. The one truly worthwhile piece is a 1990 cast reunion with Conan O'Brien as the interviewer. Overall this is a great reminder of what a towering invention SCTV was, and 25 years later on, what a huge impact it made on comedy."