SCTV: The Complete First Season

Shout! Factory | minutes | | | Standard DVD reviewed by: Christopher Bligh

Saturday Night Live gave a nice push to skit comedy on television to a live studio audience. Many rival skit shows through the years had come and gone with some success or steady success (as is the case of Mad TV, still rolling). Around 1980, the Not Ready for Prime Time players had gone and the SNL players (including Gilbert Gottfried and Joe Piscopo) were nowhere in comparison to the previous troupe that dominated those five years. At the same time, another skit comedy show was making it's waves in syndication and making the move to network TV with sets of fine skits not recorded with a studio audience hailing from Canada and having their own cast of characters set at a network with off the wall programming and fine spoofs of films and television shows along with some talented impressionists/writers that were knocking the socks off of viewers more so than SNL troupe 1980 (who the majority were ceremoniously fired at seasons end). It's a Friday, it's after Johnny Carson, and what thunder the Not Ready for Prime Time cast left was picked up the day before and an hour after SNL with a ninety minute program called SCTV/ Network 90.

It's the town of Mellonville and "wheelchair ridden" Guy Caballero (Joe Flaherty) is in charge of the day to day operations at SCTV. Assisting him is station manager Edith Prickley (Andrea Martin) with a taste for a tacky wardrobe and cat glasses. The network includes intriguing programming such as "The Sammy Maudlin Show", a talk show complete with host Sammy (Flaherty), sidekick William B. (John Candy) and many guest stars in comfy chairs yucking it up with frequent guest appearances by nightclub entertainers Bobby Bittman (Eugene Levy) who throws his signature Wave-and-HOW ARE YA to the audience and Lola Heatherton (Catherine O'Hara) who sings, dances and gives her constant laugh. The show is always joined already in progress.

"The Merv Griffin Show" is also rerun on the network with the charming host (Rick Moranis) breaking out in song and entertaining with guests and fascinating questions. There is also a Canadian talk show called "Great White North" (aka Kanadian Korner) with brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie (Moranis and Dave Thomas) chatting away Canadian life public access style.

But SCTV is not only known for their talk shows, their known for their assorted variety of programming like the game show High Q with Alex Trebek, a dance show for kids called Mel's Rock Pile, and The Gerry Todd Show that showcases the DJ putting on the tunes visually for the listeners and watchers. And that's not all....

It's one big network, it's a lot of shows, it came before Friday Night Videos and after The Midnight Special but overall it's all the comedy that's fit to produce in ninety minutes.

This show produced a lot of childhood memories for me with it's edgy humor, great wit and it's multi-directional spoofs along with the interaction between the employees at SCTV and the misadventures of all the different characters both in promoed and in a full program. The entire ensemble cast went on to big things both past and present and remind me what great skit comedy can be done without the reliance of the studio looking on.

This is only the first NBC and for a first season it delivers with some of the best impressions (The Return to Mayberry skit is classic) all around the entertainment spectrum along with many funny moments and various inspired characters working amongst the SCTV system. Young moviegoers know some of the players from some teen comedies (American Pie series, Happy Gilmore) and improv comedies (All the Christopher Guest films) and this set would be good to show where they came from originally before their present day big time success came about.

It's great to see that this show that was a product of my youth still holds up in humor and remains constant throughout most of the set.

SCTV Network 90 Vol. 1 is a tremendous set filled with great memories of present day performers that make us laugh along with comic geniuses both alive and past on that are truly missed and one of the best first seasons (or cycle in this case) for any comedy show.

SCTV Network 90 Vol 1. is shown in full-frame on this set and the results visually are great. Even though the show is filmed on video, the majority of any specks or dirt are reduced to any stock footage but the video gives a clear picture without any burn in and not a hint of grain or a scratch on anything. On video, it has a look that is light years ahead of soap operas and it makes for a good look visually with all the daytime and indoor shots.

With a few exceptions of choppiness on some of the channels during two episodes, the 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track on this set is satisfactory more so than other shows made around the time of that show. The musical numbers sound good, not great and the track is mostly reduced to the center channels focusing on the dialogue, effects and some of the background music. Everything comes out clear without having to resort to the volume button and it makes for a good track. This disc has no subtitles which would've been welcomed on this disc.

The entire Cycle 1 of SCTV Network 90 is spread upon 5 discs with different extras on all. On Disc 1, we are treated to a commentary on Episode 2 with players Eugene Levy and Joe Flaherty. Their presence is welcomed and the little informative things come few and far between but their comments are most amusing throughout making for an entertaining commentary track. Also on Disc 1 is "Remembering SCTV" which brings back the majority of the cast in interviews along with clips reminiscing about how it came to pass on how SCTV ended up on NBC. It was a kick to see one of the many openings of the show with a colorful animated peacock starting the show. The cast is amusing chatting up about the making of the show in Canada instead of the states as well as the creation of some of the characters on the show which originated from some of their old live Second City sketches. All together produced a most interesting featurette.

Disc 2 offers a look at the live shows that went on with the Second City troupe in Chicago in the featurette "The Origins of SCTV". In this they show some actors that have come and gone from the troupe along with black and white footage of some of the early attempts to bring Second City to the small screen along with the different methods that were used throughout the shows. It's a good piece that furthered my interest in the Second City troupes throughout the years.

Disc 3 is the second commentary track of Levy and Flaherty during Episode Six that discusses a little more about the ongoing stuff on the SCTV set along with little hints about why there were three different beginnings during the show's run on NBC. As with the first commentary track, both players are very amusing and entertaining that one wishes more of the cast could've put a contribution in this medium. Also on Disc 3 is a tribute called "Remembering John" which is quite a touching look back at John Candy, the only cast member that has since the show has been off past on. There's a great many clips and interviews with the cast and crew sharing their thoughts on Candy and reminded me of what a talent Candy was.

Disc 4 has "The Craft of SCTV" which go over the costuming, makeup and hair elements of the show with all of that crew sharing their ideas of how to dress and present the characters on the show with thoughts from the cast as well. It also recalls the struggle of what they went through to get the show the way it was despite being under the restrictions in Canada. With all that plus the present day storage of the costumes, it is a nice piece.

Disc 5 has the trailer of the Freaks and Geeks DVD as well as the "SCTV Reunion" bringing back the majority of the cast (sans John Candy and Rick Moranis who I wish was there) to reflect in a panel moderated by Conan O'Brien at the 1999 Comedy Arts Festival. It's good to see the cast in one room reflecting on what the viewer already knows in the extras previous along with some new info. It's one of the best featurettes and certainly a great way to go out on this set.

Shout! Factory is supposed to be coming out with more sets in the near future of this show. I look very much forward to the remaining ninety minute shows from the many skits, parodies and impressions, to The Days of The Week (a theme which is still playing in my head as I write this review).

SCTV Network 90 Vol. 1 is a great highly recommended set filled with a lot of laughs and fond memories that is not only a great show making justice on DVD but a great addition to any DVD collection and has earned a guaranteed place on my 10 best list of this year as well.