SCTV Review: Premiere (2-1) / Bob Hope Desert Classic (2-2)

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

“Premiere” (season 2, episode 1; originally aired Sept. 16, 1978)

OPENING

  • Season 2 begins with a brand-new “origin story” opening sequence, which features the famous scene of the televisions being thrown from the balcony (the building is 100 Roehampton Avenue in Toronto). The theme music for this year is “Freestyle” from the DeWolfe library, which would be used through the first NBC cycle, as well as the Canadian syndication versions of seasons 1-3 from Allarcom.

  • Harold Ramis is no longer credited with the main cast. I’m not sure what they do for his guest appearances this season.

  • The guy the cast shoves out of their way (third screencap above) is Canadian actor Saul Rubinek.

SCTV EDITORIAL

  • Moe Green (Harold Ramis) announces the station has its license back and a new season is ready to begin, but gets a call from Guy Caballero (Joe Flaherty).

  • A strong appearance from the hapless Moe Green, getting caught on the air mid-bite and forced to begin his editorial with a mouth full of food, as well as being on the butt-end of Caballero’s abuse once again.

  • The original airings of this season have the first commercial break before the first segment of each show, but the Allarcom package insert a bumper and commercial break after the first segment of each show this season. This segment should immediately flow into the next one; there are a few other instances where the altered break structure causes the show to flow awkwardly.

*** 1/2

ERNEST KIRSCH, SCTV WRITER

  • Station owner Guy Caballero (Joe Flaherty) demands the new season’s scripts from SCTV’s lone writer, Ernest Kirsch (Dave Thomas).

  • The first on-screen appearance of Guy Caballero, white suite, wheelchair and all. He’s a fair bit meaner than Flaherty would play him throughout the series, but this makes a strong statement, and has the classic explanation about his wheelchair (“You just use it for sympathy!” “I use it for respect!”)

****

PROMO: LOLA HEATHERTON IN CONCERT

  • The multitalented Lola Heatherton (Catherine O’Hara) performs, Saturday at 10.

  • Another signature SCTV character making a debut tonight; Catherine O’Hara has pretty much everything about Lola down pat already (the laugh, the catchphrases), though later sketches develop the character even further.

  • Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, and Joe Flaherty play an embryonic version of what would become The Juul Haalmeyer Dancers during the NBC years (already with the downward pointy gesture).

  • Music: “Salsation” by David Shire, “I Want To Take You Higher” by Sly and the Family Stone.

**** 1/2

PROMO: LOVE CRAFT

  • Captain Alki (Joe Flaherty) tries to woo a wealthy American divorcee (Catherine O’Hara).

  • Flaherty carries this one pretty well, but I’m not too big on the implied gang-rape at the end, though.

  • “Protzos” was in the US-Only “Dining With LaRue: Jimmy’s Parthenon” sketch from last season.

***

WATER SPRAY FROM POCKETPIC

  • Fight back against pyorrhea with the new dental care tool.

  • Short and sweet; Eugene Levy’s delivery and eyebrow work make this even better.

****

SCTV NEWS

  • Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy) bugs Floyd Robertson (Joe Flaherty) by making informal chit-chat during the newscast.

  • This was around the time that the happy talk format was starting to take off, and it makes sense that Earl would annoy Floyd by doing it (“Don’t keep telling people we’re friends! We just work together!”). The “look for your children at 11:00” also seems to be a reference to Buffalo anchor Irv Weinstein, an inspiration for Camembert.

  • SCTV News gets a new opening theme and graphic, replacing the Mendelssohn with a more electronic piece of music (which the show would use through the second NBC cycle). The set is the same as in the second half of season 1, though Floyd’s large chromakey screen is replaced with one the same size as Earl’s. Unfortunately this causes some awkward framing for Floyd’s stories until a slight set redesign a few shows later.

  • For some reason, they have Joe Flaherty wearing a wig in this and the next SCTV News sketch.

****

WORDS TO LIVE BY: REV. ERNEST KIRSCH

  • Ernest Kirsch (Dave Thomas) tries to end the programming day early.

  • A good continuation of the main runner in tonight’s show, with some laughs from Kirsch’s weaseliness.

***

THE INCREDIBLE BULK

  • Bulk (John Candy) visits his psychiatrist (Andrea Martin) and connects with another patient (Catherine O’Hara).

  • There are a few good moments here and there, including the therapist’s absolutely inaccurate description of what Bulk was trying to communicate, as well as two dummy tosses, but this was way too long (5 minutes) for a sketch that was mostly John Candy growling and throwing things around. I do have to give him some credit for being able to express so much with just his face and body language, though.

**

MOXWELL HOUSE DECAFFEINATED COFFEE

  • Margaret Hamilton (Andrea Martin) recommends the coffee that will make you sleep for a thousand years.

  • This is one that I’ve always enjoyed; a fun combination of Margaret Hamilton’s Maxwell House commercials with her signature role as the Wicked Witch of the West.

  • I also love the detail of Dave Thomas’s character specifically mentioning “these 48 ounce tins of juice”.

  • The flying monkeys were played by Catherine O’Hara’s niece and nephew.

*** 1/2

FEEDBACK

  • Moe Green (Harold Ramis) asks for viewers to call in about SCTV’s new lineup, but eventually has to make the call himself.

  • More humiliation for Moe here, with him begging at one point “Don’t make me call you!” (doesn’t work, though) and having a viewer tell him the shows made his dog sick.

*** 1/2

ERNEST KIRSCH, SCTV WRITER

  • Guy Caballero (Joe Flaherty) confronts Ernest Kirsch (Dave Thomas) about the quality of his scripts, and a physical altercation ensues.

  • A decent ending with some fun physical comedy.

  • Robert Tischler is credited for sound production and as post-production supervisor for the first few episodes this season; Tischler had worked on the National Lampoon Radio Hour with Harold Ramis and Brian Doyle-Murray, and had just produced The Blues Brothers’ Briefcase Full Of Blues album

***

Final thoughts: A pretty strong show, aside from the overlong Incredible Bulk sketch, and a good reestablishment of the series’ concept. Aside from Ramis making a guest appearance of Moe Green, this seems a little like the tone is being set for the later years, with Guy Caballero and Lola Heatherton appearing, as well as the scenes involving the backstage reality of the station.

MVP:

  • Joe Flaherty

Rhodes version differences:

  • Removed: Moxwell House Decaffeinated Coffee

Blair version differences:

  • Removed: Moxwell House Decaffeinated Coffee (appears in 2-6)

  • Added: new syndication promo for Bob Hope Desert Classic (Robert Corness v/o)

Additional screen captures for this episode are available here.

“Bob Hope Desert Classic” (season 2, episode 2; originally aired Sept. 23, 1978)

PROMO: MONSTER CHILLER HORROR THEATRE - THE HOUSE OF CATS

  • Count Floyd (Joe Flaherty) reminds the kids to send in for their 3-D glasses so they can watch the “semi-classic” featuring Dr. Tongue (John Candy) and Bruno (Eugene Levy).

  • Another strong Count Floyd and Dr. Tongue sketch; it doesn’t have the classic 3-D music sting yet (just an electronic sound effect here), but the “waving the object back and forth from the camera” is cemented. The sketch also has the first instance of bickering between Dr. Tongue and Bruno.

  • There are some good laughs coming from Candy trying to pretend the cats are “attacking” him, as well as the image of Bruno supposedly killed by a tiny kitten.

**** 1/2

SCTV SPORTS CENTRAL

  • Keith Hampshire (Dave Thomas) and Phyllis Gumbel (Catherine O’Hara) tease the Bob Hope Desert Classic later tonight and take a look at Bob’s short-lived golf career.

  • This actually manages to pack a few good jokes in what is essentially a set-up for a longer sketch (particularly 3-year-old Hope lying about his age and passing himself off as a 21-year-old dwarf).

*** 1/2

DELAY

  • The headache medication that lets you postpone pain until you have time for it.

  • This was amusing, particularly Andrea Martin’s over-the-top screaming at the end.

  • That’s a bottle of Tanqueray gin on the table.

***

BETTY BAIN: PROFESSIONAL JUROR

  • Betty (Andrea Martin) takes her responsibilities in jury duty very seriously.

  • Good premise, including a nice bait-and-switch reveal at the beginning. It could have been a little tighter (I agree with Jeff Robbins that it would have worked better as a promo) but it’s nice to see the show try something a little longer-form.

  • I always loved the randomness of John Candy’s judge character having a hook for his left hand.

***

MASTERPIECE THEATRE: NAUGHTY CHAMBERMAIDS

  • Bob Hope (Dave Thomas) crashes Alistair Cook’s (Joe Flaherty) show to promote the Bob Hope Desert Classic.

  • The debut of Dave Thomas’s signature impression makes a big splash, but Joe Flaherty gets laughs from his reaction to Hope hijacking his show.

****

BOB HOPE DESERT CLASSIC

  • Lou Jaffee (Eugene Levy) and Bob Hope (Dave Thomas) present the tournament live from Rub’ al Khali.

  • A well-known sketch, co-written by Dave Thomas and Brian Doyle-Murray (who was at SNL by this time). We get a bit more of Thomas’s Hope impression here, but this is mostly a collection of short bits (with Flaherty alone playing three different roles).

  • Thomas mentions in SCTV: Behind The Scenes how a suggestion from makeup artist Beverley Schechtman (who started working on the show this season) helped him find the right voice for Hope.

*** 1/2

BOB HOPE DESERT CLASSIC - CONCLUSION

  • Bob (Dave Thomas) says goodnight, urges donations to the Gland Foundation, and plugs upcoming appearances.

  • I’m not sure how much this warrants a rating, but it was an OK (if anti-climactic) ending to tonight’s show.

Final thoughts: A consistently good show, even if the actual Desert Classic sketch doesn’t quite live up to the hype (I give credit to the idea, but the Monster Chiller Horror Theatre sketch was much funnier).

MVP:

  • Dave Thomas

Rhodes version differences:

  • Removed: Delay (appears in 2-11)

Blair version differences:

  • Removed: Masterpiece Theatre: Naughty Chambermaids

  • Added: new syndication promo for Donna (Robert Corness v/o)

  • Edited: Bob Hope Desert Classic - Conclusion

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.