For those who never missed a Friday, and especially for those who only know SCTV by reputation, these nine episodes, presented chronologically on this five disc-set, are as great as we remember, and perhaps even better than you've heard. With the first nine episodes of SCTV's expanded Network 90 incarnation under their belt (available, naturally, on volume 1), the peerless ensemble (John Candy, Joe Flahrety, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, Catherine O'Hara, and Dave Thomas) really found its voice (or voices), and the show relied less on the so-called "golden classics" from the show's early days to boldly subvert sketch-comedy convention with brilliantly conceived and performed wraparounds that link the sketches. Looming large in SCTV legend are the program-length Godfather parody, in which Don Caballero launches an all-out network war; the devastatingly funny, "I'm Taking My Own Head, Screwing It On Right, and No Guy's Gonna Tell Me That It Ain't," arguably one of Martin and O'Hara's finest hours, and the sci-fi spoof "Zontar," in which glowing cabbages take control of the network. Other moments for the pantheon: Meryl Streep blowing up real good on the "Farm Film Report"; Bob and Doug McKenzie demonstrating how to stuff a mouse inside a beer bottle; the cross-parody "Benny Hill Street Blues," and the late Wendy O Williams and the Plasmatics really cutting it up (with a chainsaw!) on Gil Fisher's "The Fishin' Musician. Some of the more topical bits are understandably dated, and that canned laughter reeks of network Zontars imposing their will, but this second, equally indispensable volume rescues SCTV from mere cult object of obsession. Original cast member Harold Ramis is right: In Thomas's encyclopedic history, SCTV: Behind the Scenes, Ramis observes, "Everyone just got better and better. You would notice, if you had the time to sit and watch all the shows, the progression in excellence." --Donald Liebenson
SCTV Volume 2 picks up where the first volume left off, presenting nine more 90-minute shows from SCTV's memorable fourth season. Originally broadcast on NBC in 1981 and 1982, this set contains several of the episodes widely considered to be SCTV's best. Eugene Levy in "The Jazz Singer" or John Candy as the village idiot in the Russian TV show "Hey Giorgy!" are just two examples of the level of excellence the series achieved throughout this season. "CCCP 1," "The Godfather," "Zontar" and "Teacher's Pet" are some of the inspired wraparounds for these memorable shows.
Commentaries, interviews, hidden treasure and other special features round out another stellar collection of programming from Guy Caballero's experiment in television. SCTV is on the air...and you will be on the floor.
And loaded with over 90 minutes of special features including new & unreleased material:
*Larger Than Life: The Norman Seeff Photo Sessions
*SCTV Remembers, Pt. 2
*The SCTV Writers
*The Juul Haalmeyer Dancers
*Behind-The-Scenes Photo Gallery
*SCTV At The 1982 Emmy® Awards
THIS 5-DISC BOX SET INCLUDES:
*Nine 90-minute episodes from the NBC seasons with the comedic talent of Eugene Levy (New York Minute, American Pie, A Mighty Wind, Best In Show), Catherine O' Hara (A Mighty Wind, Best In Show), Joe Flaherty (National Security), Andrea Martin (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), and Dave Thomas (Who's Your Daddy? ), Rick Moranis (Honey, I Shrunk The Kids) and the late John Candy.
*A photo-packed 24-page booklet with an essay by Pulitzer-Price winning television critic Howard Rosenberg.
*Deluxe DVDigistak style package with graphics behind the clear trays in a sturdy slip-case.
*Performances by musical stars Al Jarreau, The Plasmatics, Natalie Cole, The Boomtown Rats, The Plastics and Talking Heads.
*Commentaries by Dave Thomas, Dick Blasucci, writer John McAndrew, Andrea Martin and Catherine O'Hara.
*This set now fully indexed and episodes detailed in booklet.
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