"Second City TV" (1976) TV series 1976-1981

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Creator:

Andrew Alexander

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

1 September 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Second City | Satire | Spoof | Actor Playing Multiple Roles | Number In Title

Cast

Joe Flaherty	...	Various / ... (76 episodes, 1976-1981)
Eugene Levy	...	Various / ... (75 episodes, 1976-1981)
Andrea Martin	...	Various / ... (75 episodes, 1976-1981)
Dave Thomas	...	Various / ... (75 episodes, 1976-1981)
John Candy	...	Various (50 episodes, 1976-1979)
Catherine O'Hara	...	Various / ... (50 episodes, 1976-1979)
Tony Rosato	...	Various / ... (36 episodes, 1977-1981)
Robin Duke	...	Various / ... (28 episodes, 1976-1981)
Harold Ramis	...	Various / ... (28 episodes, 1976-1978)
Shelley Long	...	Various Characters (26 episodes, 1976-1977)
Rick Moranis	...	Various (25 episodes, 1980-1981)

Also Known As:

SCTV (Canada: English title) (new title) (USA)
Second City Revue (Canada: English title)

Runtime:

30 min (78 episodes)

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Old Firehall Productions

Trivia:

The McKenzie brothers characters, from the "Great White North" sketch, were essentially reincarnated in animal form, when Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas reunited to voice the mooses Tuke and Rutt in Brother Bear (2003).

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...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Champions Online (2009) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Dance of the Hours

The skits equal or best Saturday Night Live

The skits of the SCTV - Second City TV - series are interesting not only because many of them are hysterical but also because the young cast is loaded with people who went on to become movie comedy regulars: John Candy (Planes, Trains and Automobiles), Eugene Levy (A Mighty Wind), Catherine O'Hara (Beetlejuice), Martin Short and Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters).

The list of writers on the show is also impressive: John Candy, Brian Doyle-Murray, Robin Duke, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, Catherine O'Hara, Harold Ramis, Martin Short, Jim Staahl, Dave Thomas.

The regular cast portrayed dozens of very odd characters on the show. My personal favorite is Joe Flaherty's "Count Floyd", the host of "Monster Chiller Horror Theater." Flaherty's Count Dracula makeup and his goofy transylvania/yiddish accent are a hoot.

Some of the other memorable characters are:

John Candy's Johnny LaRue, Dr. Tongue, Orson Welles and Curly Howard

Eugene Levy's Earl Camembert and Yosh Schmenge (also a personal favorite)

Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas as Bob and Doug McKenzie

Harold Ramis's Moe Green and Swami Banananda.

The series has held up well (it's a little dated with some of the topical references) but the skits are well-written and full of laughs.