SCTV Review: The Sammy Maudlin Show (1-21) / World at War (1-22)

/

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

“The Sammy Maudlin Show” (season 1, episode 21, aired Nov. 7, 1977)

COUNTERATTACK

  • A family of immigrant bugs uses Counterattack spray to defend itself against extermination.

  • This was enjoyable, particularly Eugene Levy’s performance as Papa and Dave Thomas’s extended death scene in that cumbersome outfit, which has some nice physical work.

  • I’ve noticed that a lot of sketches from this part of the show’s run have very faded looking picture and somewhat muffled sound. I thought it may have been an issue with the copies the Comedy Network had, but I’ve acquired a 1980 rerun of the U.S. cut of the show, and the picture and sound issues are the same. Did Global reuse videotape to record that particular taping?

*** 1/2

OPENING

PAUL’S WORKSHOP WITH PAUL FISTINYERFACE

  • Weaselly Bill (Dave Thomas) tries to help Paul (John Candy) build a table for little boys and girls.

  • Not the most original idea, but Candy and Thomas do what they can, and the physical comedy of Paul bashing pieces of wood through the top of the table makes me laugh. Some of the jokes themselves are pretty good (Paul’s insistence that the table needs lots of legs).

***

PROMO: BARETTA’S BIRD

  • Fred the Cockatoo is spun off in his own weekly police drama.

  • The stuffed cockatoo from last episode’s Dr. Tongue sketch makes a return appearance here. This is admittedly dumb, but the sight gags are pretty good.

  • Looks like Candy’s scene was shot in the Global parking lot.

*** 1/2

SCTV AM NEWS TODAY

  • Earl’s (Eugene Levy) news items all revolve around dogs, to Floyd’s (Joe Flaherty) annoyance. Rhoda Barrett (Catherine O’Hara) reports on former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi’s (Andrea Martin) nightclub act.

  • The first part of this is pretty much primo Earl and Floyd, while the second part, with several of the regulars in brownface, unfortunately weighs it down. I’ll say Andrea Martin’s performance is fun, and there’s a nice bit of character continuity with Swami Bananananda (Harold Ramis) heckling with a very ineffectual and wordy insult about her singing, but it’s kind of uncomfortable to watch now, especially Barrett’s post-clip review of the show as “veddy veddy guud”.

**** for the first part, ** for the second part.

PROMO: JAMES WHITMORE TONIGHT

  • One great character actor impersonates another as Hal Holbrook (Dave Thomas) plays James Whitmore in a one-man show.

  • Short and sweet; it does help to be familiar with both actors being known for their one-man shows at the time (Holbrook as Mark Twain, Whitmore as Harry S Truman), but it has enough packed into it that it’s funny without this background, particularly Holbrook taking his Twain wig off and the whole Whitmore bit.

****

THE SAMMY MAUDLIN SHOW - PART I

  • Bobby Bittman (Eugene Levy) crashes the show to promote his new comedy special, and shows Sammy (Joe Flaherty) and William B. (John Candy) some outtakes.

  • Making their first appearance since episode 4, Sammy and the gang have a (somewhat) better set and are still as fawning as ever, but this really establishes Bobby Bittman’s character further, as his “hilarious” bloopers involve him verbally abusing and firing one costar (Catherine O’Hara) and being more concerned about finishing his sketch than the Charo parody character Chi-Chi (Andrea Martin) after her electrocution.

**** 1/2

COMMERCIAL: SERFS (repeat from 1-17)

THE SAMMY MAUDLIN SHOW - PART II

  • Sir Kenneth Clark (Harold Ramis) drops by to promote his new special The History of Intelligence and shows some outtakes of his own.

  • Not quite as good as the first part, but still a funny continuation of the “outtakes”, with Sir Kenneth getting an art period wrong and poking a hole in the Mona Lisa driving Sammy to the floor in his laughing fit.

  • I love the detail of Dave Thomas being on stage with no lines and no real explanation of who his is or why he’s there, as well as his facial expression when Sammy bumps him for Sir Kenneth.

****

PSA: SHOPLIFTING (repeat from 1-14)

DIALING FOR DOLLARS

  • Suspicious Moe Green (Harold Ramis) uses the show to check in on his girlfriend (Catherine O’Hara).

  • Kind of a so-so Dialing for Dollars; it’s just a short bit, but it’s not quite as fun as him deliberately trying to avoid getting a winner or pocketing the jackpot (which is now only $24) himself.

  • I love the little detail at the end with “dinner for two at the China Garden Pizzeria”.

**1/2

Final thoughts: Another pretty good outing; not without its weak spots (particularly the Indira Gandhi bit), but there’s enough throughout worth checking out. Eugene Levy in particular has a good night, as he’s the highlight of no less than three of tonight’s sketches.

MVP:

  • Eugene Levy

Rhodes version differences:

  • Removed: James Whitmore Tonight (moved to 1-11)

Blair version differences:

  • Removed: Serfs repeat, Shoplifting repeat, Dialing For Dollars

  • Added: Philosophers (from 1-7), Mrs. Prickley’s Jams, Jellies and Preserves (from 1-17), Staywhite Toothpaste (from 1-22), syndication promo for Sandwich on the Orient Express (Robert Corness v/o)

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.

“World at War” (season 1, episode 22, aired Nov. 14, 1977)

HEAD AND CHEST

  • The dandruff shampoo shouldn’t be used on normal hair.

  • Another strong, quick opening. For some reason Andrea Martin’s over the top facial expressions and vocalizations make this even funnier for me, as does John Candy’s closing narration.

*** 1/2

OPENING

PASSPORT TO ADVENTURE

  • Bob (Dave Thomas) and Betty Wilson (Catherine O’Hara) mostly stuck to airports and hotels during their trip to Africa.

  • A Thomas and O’Hara two-hander; there are a few laughs from their natural chemistry and the obvious stock photos of the airplane and hotel rooms, and it does a decent job of setting up that this middle-aged couple is actually pretty ignorant and unadventurous, but it’s pretty thin and repetitive (“This is the thing.”)

**

PROMO: KLAGG

  • Swedish detective Klagg (Harold Ramis) stops criminals with his wooden shoes.

  • Kind of a companion piece to Baretta’s Bird in the previous show; very similar format and sight gags. I give the edge to this one, though, if only for the line “Stop or I’ll shoe!”

*** 1/2

THE WORLD OF MYSTERY: SANDWICH ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

  • Orsin Wells (John Candy) presents the story of a man, a woman, some Gestapo and a sandwich.

  • Written by Brian Doyle-Murray

  • Another somewhat repetitive sketch but this one works much better, largely due to the absurdity of the whole thing, especially the dialogue about the sandwich’s papers and gun, as well as Harold Ramis’s business as the non-speaking officer.

*** 1/2

SLEEPFAST

  • The strongest sleeping aid you can get without a prescription.

  • Another funny and quick piece; great drop from Thomas as he takes the pill, and the sight of O’Hara lugging him on her back and tossing him into bed is memorable.

  • A second sketch pairing O’Hara and Thomas tonight.

*** 1/2

HOMELIER YOU (repeat from 1-7)

WORLD AT WAR

  • The story of how Hitler tried to demoralize America by wiping out Major League Baseball

  • A successful parody of the 1973 British series; there’s a level of absurdity throughout the whole thing I really liked, and the remembrances from the interviewees have their share of good jokes. Eugene Levy’s rival manager and John Candy’s construction worker with a bad memory stick out in particular.

  • Another Thomas/O’Hara pairing, this time as Hitler and Eva Braun.

****

STAYWHITE TOOTHPASTE

  • Johnny LaRue (John Candy) endorses the toothpaste that makes sure the previous night’s smoking and drinking doesn’t affect his close-ups.

  • The first time we see Johnny LaRue in a little while; not really much to it aside from a good sight gag of LaRue’s disgustingly chapped lips.

***

LOWELL THOMPSON REMEMBERS

  • Commentator Lowell Thompson (Joe Flaherty) remembers the events of 1937, somewhat.

  • A great showcase for Joe Flaherty, who improvised the whole thing. I particularly love some of his lines here (“Harold Ickes, Secretary of Boxing”, “Hitler invades…the Jeffries-Fitzsimmons fight”, “Running around their houses because the fascists were on the move”) and the whole aspect of him trying to make the footage hit his narrative.

  • Lowell Thompson is a parody of real-life radio commentator Lowell Thomas.

**** 1/2

Final thoughts: Another enjoyable late cycle show with two particularly great sketches in the back half, a number of good to very good commercials and promos, and a nice bit of silliness in the Sandwich on the Orient Express sketch. Also, this show has several examples of how well Dave Thomas and Catherine O’Hara worked together, even though Passport to Adventure was the weakest sketch in the whole show.

MVP:

  • Joe Flaherty

Rhodes version differences:

  • Removed: Homelier You repeat

Blair version differences:

  • Removed: Sleepfast (moved to 1-16), Homelier You repeat, Staywhite Toothpaste (moved to 1-21)

  • Added: PSA: Warning Signs (from 1-5), Sale of the Century (from 1-2)

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.