Second City TV

It's a shame so few people have seen this show, which ranks among the most brilliantly hilarious and astonishinly inventive of all television comedy series. It's important to note that the Cast List here is very misleading, noting only one character per actor. In reality, SCTV operated much like MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS, THE KIDS IN THE HALL, and Saturday NIGHT LIVE, programs which it is most definitely AT LEAST on a par with. All these versatile and talented performers played literally DOZENS of character roles -- often pulling off multiple roles WITHIN THE SAME SCENES! The writing and acting talent level on this show was of the highest caliber at all times and they did it all on one of the lowest budgets in modern TV history.

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.

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.

Off the wall comedy show that greatly surpasses Saturday Night Live a thousand times over, with a better assortment of performers, skits and writing. Stars such as John Candy, Catherine O'Hara, Rick Moranis and Eugene Levy went on to bigger, deservedly, and better things after the success of SCTV.

The genius of not just delivering above average sketch comedy, but creating a false network and city, with repeating characters is what sets this show apart, especially from the over hyped and often comedic-ally challenged SNL. I can't believe how much enjoyment I still get out of watching these old shows and marvel at its enduring ability to make me laugh uncontrollably, a feat equaled only by Monty Python. For instance, there's a woman's prison sketch that's done as a parody of the anti-marijuana films of the 1950s. About halfway thru it, John Candy rushes in dressed as a matron, I swear I laughed for half an hour. The old original raw shows featuring and driven by Ramis were all writing and acting, almost like Harvard Lampoon. After Ramis's departure, the show evolved into a bigger more mainstream version of itself, culminating in a 90-minute late night Friday extravaganza that for a while even had major musical guests. They had done so much material, that the 90-minute shows could throw in one of the old movie parodies of the Ramis era, such as Lust for Paint. These newer shows were more about Dave Thomas's comedy, and eventually Rick Moranis, before it finally fizzled out with Martin Short, who would later go on to polish his act for a terrific stint on SNL. Just a tremendous achievement by some really funny talented people. I love how Eugene Levy and Cath OHara have carved out a place in film. Id like to see more of Thomas and Flaherty. Interesting, Ramis, Candy, Flaherty, and Thomas all appear in Ramis's 'Stripes'. Here's some free advice, do NOT watch these after having thrown out your back. You will substantially delay the recovery process. Thats a tip from LaRue, to you.