SCTV Review: The Grapes of Mud (1-23) / Officer Friendly (1-24)

/

RATINGS SYSTEM:
***** - Classic
**** - Great
*** - Good/Average
** - Meh
* - Awful

“The Grapes of Mud” (season 1, episode 23, aired Nov. 21, 1977)

MULEY’S ROUNDHOUSE - PART I

  • Switchman Muley (Harold Ramis) whines about his childhood and his lunch.

  • Muley from The Grapes of Wrath as a kiddie show host is a particularly funny idea and one that ties this sketch into the major one later in the show; an early example of the show successfully tying several sketches together in a single episode.

  • I love that the lunch Muley complains about is poached turbot almandine in a dijon mustard sauce with a bottle of Beaujolais.

****

THE THREE DUMMIES: OF MICE AND DUMMIES

  • Exterminators Larry (Joe Flaherty), Curly (John Candy) and Moe (Eugene Levy) arrive and an upper-crust party.

  • It’s dumb, but it’s a fun homage to the Three Stooges. A lot of that comes from Dave Thomas and Catherine O’Hara doing their best impressions of the archetypical upper class straightmen in the films, but there are some other laughs from the standard slapstick, as well as the actors struggling to get off the floor after their entrance and trying to get out of their jumpsuits.

***

MULEY’S ROUNDHOUSE - PART II

  • Muley complains more about his thwarted ambitions, the kids' drawings, and Bolsheviks.

  • This was just as funny as the first part; not only does Muley complain about everyone thinking he’s “tetched”, even in his war pilot fantasy he imagines Roosevelt telling him “You’re doing a fine job, but you’re tetched”.

****

PROMO: LIBRARY POLICE (repeat from 1-15)

  • This version uses different graphics for the show title than the original airing did.

SCTV AM NEWS TODAY

  • Floyd Robertson (Joe Flaherty) reports on Truth or Consequences host Bob Baker (Dave Thomas) going berserk; Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy) reports on a picnic by the International Association of Terrorists. Floyd asks Earl about the pronunciation of his surname.

  • A great and dark installment. The whole scene with Dave Thomas slowly losing it during the game show is particularly good; the terrorist picnic (another rare filmed-on-location piece, presented as a light item with jaunty music) is also pretty funny and looks like the cast had fun shooting it, and Floyd’s horrified reaction to the piece (which casually mentions 12 fatalities) is particularly good.

  • This edition also caps off with one of the better endings to SCTV News, with Earl punching Floyd for mocking the pronunciation of his last name (“Don’t you mean ‘And that’s the mews’?”).

  • Kind of interesting seeing the old KFC bucket and cans of Schweppes and Diet 7-Up (the latter with the 70s logo) in the terrorist picnic film.

****

SPRAY ON SOCKS (repeat from 1-4)

SCTV MOVIE OF THE WEEK: THE GRAPES OF MUD - PART i

  • Tom (Joe Flaherty) returns home from prison to find his family is migrating to Oklahoma to escape the California mud-slides. After a long trek which claims Grandpa (Dave Thomas), Tom gets a job as a crop-duster, but gets mad at Muley (Harold Ramis).

  • A classic. While the Ben-Hur parody gets a lot of mileage out of its cheapness and irreverence, this sketch demonstrates the show’s growth in writing as well as the increased production values George Bloomfield brought to the show, even if it’s still very silly and done on the cheap (including Eugene Levy having to shuffle to make it look like the Joads’ truck is moving up to him).

  • As great as Joe Flaherty is as the sketch’s anchor, I don’t know who walks away with the sketch the most: Dave Thomas as Grandpa (with his eagerness for chicken-fried steak), Catherine O’Hara as Ma, Eugene Levy as the preacher, or Harold Ramis as Muley (“That don’t make it your’n.”)

  • Music: “Red River Valley” by Henry Fonda

*****

MRS. PRiCKLEY’S JAMS, JELLIES AND PRESERVES (repeat from 1-17)

DISCO FARMING

  • Pumpkin farmers boogie in the patch.

  • There isn’t much to it aside from the cast dancing in front of a greenscreened pumpkin patch with rakes, shovels, hoes and an insecticide sprayer (well, maybe the guys in belly shirts plus Joe Flaherty and Harold Ramis flirtatiously bumping hips), but this 30 second bit of randomness is absolutely hilarious.

  • Music: “That’s The Way (I Like It)” by K.C. and the Sunshine Band

****

SCTV MOVIE OF THE WEEK: THE GRAPES OF MUD - PART II

  • Tom (Joe Flaherty) tells Ma (Catherine O’Hara) he’s fleeing to Arizona and vows he’ll be where the little people are.

  • While not as dense with memorable scenes as the first part, this still is quite funny.

****

Final thoughts: The strongest episode in a little while, anchored by a very good SCTV News and one of the classic movie parodies on the show. This is also one of those shows where it’s best to watch the whole thing, as the opening sketch ties into The Grapes of Mud; while both pieces are funny on their own, watching the full thing makes them even better.

MVP:

  • Harold Ramis

Rhodes version differences:

  • Removed: Spray-On Socks repeat

Blair version differences:

  • Removed: Library Police repeat, Spray On Socks repeat, Mrs. Prickley’s Jams, Jellies and Preserves repeat, Disco Farming

  • Added: Check Please (from 1-25), new syndication promo for Officer Friendly (Robert Corness v/o)

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.

“Officer Friendly” (season 1, episode 24, aired Nov. 28, 1977)

MESSAGE FROM MOE GREEN

  • Station manager Moe Green (Harold Ramis) announces that SCTV’s license has been temporarily suspended but is still allowed to broadcast, and encourages viewers to contact the FCC commissioners directly.

  • Funny, if understated, and the first sketch tonight that involves bribery of some sort. Ramis’s delivery makes Moe’s suggestions (calling late at night and breathe heavily before hanging up, letters with threats) even funnier.

*** 1/2

A.M. LITTLE AMERICA

  • Tom Brokraw (Dave Thomas) interviews the average American family; Lynda Karter (Catherine O’Hara) talks about her acting ambitions.

  • A fast-moving sketch packed with good jokes; the Cowpers make another appearance, with Donald getting a laugh playing the surly fraction in the “average American family of 3 and 3/4 people”, and Catherine O’Hara has a particularly strong turn as Karter [sic], who has a little trouble separating reality from fantasy as she attacks Brokraw for scoffing at her goals and leering at her costume.

****

PROMO: DAN MONEY

  • The cop with the big wallet (Joe Flaherty) is willing to pay whatever it takes to get information.

  • Nice escalation on this one, with Dan having to fork over bills just to get the time (from Thomas’s sweating weasel character, no less) and the verdict in a trial.

  • Candy’s costume as Whitey is absolutely hilarious in itself.

****

SCTV AM NEWS TODAY

  • Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy) shows his interview with organized crime figure Mr. X (John Candy).

  • Disappointing; despite having a good set-up with Earl’s questionable “shovel of questions” metaphor, this doesn’t really go anywhere. Maybe it’s partially because there’s not as much interaction between Floyd and Earl here, maybe it’s just that the bribery and guesses of the Big Chief’s name just kind of peter out.

** 1/2

CIVIL ENGINEERING

  • If you find that your job is making you nasty to people, explore a career in Civil Engineering and other fields.

  • Playing on the double meaning of the word “civil”, what really pushes this one over for me is the music swelling as the surly waitress (Andrea Martin) becomes more friendly and polite after reading the pamphlet.

  • One big blooper: the main topic Thomas is advertising is Civil Engineering, but he also lists it as an additional field of study.

***

PROMO: AC/DC (repeat from 1-5)

OFFICER FRIENDLY

  • Officer Friendly (Harold Ramis) and social worker Ms. Taylor (Andrea Martin) cheerfully explain what happens to a juvenile delinquent (Dave Thomas).

  • An overlooked gem from the first season, with Ramis playing Officer Friendly as a “guilty until proven innocent” cop with little regard for suspects rights who encourages children to rat out their friends. Some very darkly funny stuff here (Martin’s sickly-sweet social worker saying things like “Policemen never work you over when there’s someone else around!”)

  • Music: “Overture” from Light Cavalry by Franz Von Suppe

****

PROMO: THE UNDERSEA WORLD OF MARCEL COUSTEAU

  • The world’s greatest underwater mime (Joe Flaherty) performs.

  • Not really much to go with aside from the concept, but it was short and had a few good jokes (the impression of Sea Hunt star Lloyd Bridges running out of air).

  • One of the things I notice about the George Bloomfield shows is that he will often put objects in the foreground of sketch.

  • Music: “Allegro Deciso” from Handel’s Water Music, performed by Wendy Carlos.

***

PROMO: MASTERPIECE THEATRE: ALL THE LONG-LEGGEDY BEASTIES

  • Alistair Cook (Joe Flaherty) previews a tale of an eccentric veterinarian (Dave Thomas) who is more than a little eager to put animals to sleep.

  • One of the great Masterpiece Theatre sketches with a classic Dave Thomas character; not only is he euthanasia-happy, he’s also very blunt (shaming Candy’s body size and telling O’Hara her dog’s gping to die anyway) and impatient about payment.

  • Written by Dave Thomas and Joe Flaherty

  • L.C. Greenwood was a defensive end for the Pittsburgh Steelers at the time, one of the many references to the area that Pittsburgh native Flaherty would work into sketches.

  • Music: “Overture” from Iolanthe by Gilbert and Sullivan.

**** 1/2

DREAM INTERPRETATION

  • Dr. Raoul Wilson (Eugene Levy) analyzes the dream of Rita X (Andrea Martin)

  • The randomness of the dream was pretty funny, but Eugene Levy steals the whole thing as Raoul, one of the most shamelessly sleazy characters in sketch comedy; his “interpretation” of the dream at the end is hilarious.

  • Who are playing the soldiers at the beginning of the dream aside from Tony Rosato? I’m guessing they were in the Second City Toronto company at the time.

  • Music: “Gardens In The Rain” by Tomita

****

Final thoughts: Not quite as high a peak as the previous episode, but a very good show even if the SCTV News segment (the final one this season) wasn’t up to par. The Masterpiece Theatre sketch is the highlight, but A.M. Little America, Officer Friendly and Dream Interpretation are also particularly worth checking out.

MVP:

  • Dave Thomas

Rhodes version differences:

  • Removed: AC/DC repeat

Blair version differences:

  • Removed: AC/DC repeat

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.