SCTV Review: Writer Strike (2-5) / Municipal Election (2-6)

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

“Writer Strike” (season 2, episode 5; originally aired Oct. 14, 1978)

RESTLESS DOCTORS

  • Nurses Jennifer (Catherine O’Hara) and Meg (Andrea Martin) and Dr. Michaels (Eugene Levy) lament their unchanging lives, until they run out of cue cards.

  • A decent start to this week’s show, with some great overwrought acting from O’Hara, Martin and Levy in the first half; Levy’s attempt at improvisation in the second half was the funniest to me (especially the “one said poison, one said…okay” bit).

*** 1/2

SCTV NEWS BULLETIN

  • Floyd Robertson (Joe Flaherty) reports: SCTV staff writer Ernest Kirsch is on strike, but programming will continue.

  • This is just a bit of exposition; I’m not going to give a rating.

MASTER RALPH ROISTER DOISTER

  • Ralph (Dave Thomas) and his wife (Catherine O’Hara) fleece the sheriff (Joe Flaherty) when he comes for the food tax.

  • Mostly just a parody of sitcom cliches within a medieval setting, complete with audience applause and cheers after particularly bad jokes. The idea’s funnier than the actual sketch, which felt underdeveloped.

  • Ralph Roister Doister is the name of a 16th century play by Nicholas Udall, once considered the first comedy written in the English language.

** 1/2

PALMOVAL

  • Edith Prickley (Andrea Martin) has the solution for dishpan hands: Palmoval dishwashing liquid, with acid-based chemicals.

  • Edith Prickley’s first appearance in the second season has her playing the Madge role from the real Palmolive commercials (“You’re soaking in it!”). A good match for the character, and this take is pretty funny.

  • The 1999 WIC version dubs over Edith’s singing “Just The Way You Are” at the beginning with piano music, though her “Don’t try to change me” before dipping her face in the Palmoval is left in.

***

SCTV NEWS

  • Floyd Robertson (Joe Flaherty) and Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy) write their own copy during the strike.

  • Another solid installment of the news, with Floyd actually doing more than just reacting to Earl’s incompetence by adopting an exaggeratedly tough tone to his items (with the gratuitous use of the phrase “weather-beaten faces”). Earl’s use of a thesaurus is especially funny, particularly the tractor-trailer story, and I love Floyd’s response to his first story (“What did you use to write that, a quill?”)

  • The news set gets a small makeover this week; the “NEWS” text on the backdrop is added to Floyd’s side, and the Chromakey screens are lowered. There is also an SCTV logo added to the screens when they’re not displaying items.

****

LARUE BY NIGHT - PART I

  • Johnny LaRue (John Candy) goes out into the streets at 2 AM to show the town’s nightlife, but can’t find much action.

  • This wasn’t a bad idea, but the actual execution was too dull; LaRue should have been given a little more to do than just react to the lack of activity. Maybe it would have worked better if it were done on location like the later Street Beef sketches.

  • Pirini Scleroso’s (Andrea Martin) appearance did provide some laughs, particularly once she realized she was on TV.

**

HARLETT ROMANCES

  • Learn what real love is all about.

  • Not really much to say, but Catherine O’Hara’s look and performance is funny.

***

LARUE BY NIGHT - PART II

  • Johnny just received two fish wrapped in newspaper; show sponsor Angelo Rosato “drops” by.

  • The Rosato material (set up in the first part) was a little predictable, but works, largely because LaRue’s somewhat questionable connections were already established in the previous episode.

***

ERNEST KIRSCH, SCTV WRITER

  • Ernest Kirsch (Dave Thomas) gets a union contract, but it’s with the Federation of Interstate Truckers. Guy Caballero (Joe Flaherty) sees this as a lesson for Kirsch and the viewers.

  • A short but effective close to tonight’s runner; Caballero slamming the desk on Kirsch’s hand is a nice call-back to the first episode. We also get the first of Guy’s moralizing speeches (“Unions are the work of the Devil!”).

  • Streetnoise is now credited with audio post-production instead of Robert Tischler.

*** 1/2

Final thoughts: The concept of a writer’s strike was an interesting idea, but overall didn’t pay off as much as it could have. Perhaps it happened too soon after the premiere (which also included a shortage of programming), or the show would have handled it better a little further into the series run. The most successful piece tonight was the news segment, with Earl once again demonstrating his unfitness at his profession.

MVP:

  • Joe Flaherty

Rhodes version differences:

  • Removed: Palmoval (moved to 2-6)

Blair version differences:

  • Removed: Harlett Romances (moved to 2-11)

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

1999 WIC version differences:

  • Edited: Palmoval (Edith Prickley singing “Just The Way You Are” replaced with piano music at the beginning)

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.

“Municipal Election” (season 2, episode 6; originally aired Oct. 21, 1978)

JOHNNY LARUE FOR CITY COUNCIL

  • Johnny LaRue (John Candy) wants your vote in the upcoming election.

  • This is a more promising idea than LaRue By Night, with LaRue’s sleaziness and shortcomings making him a perfect fit for political candidacy, if not office. The prop “family” (which he fires) was a nice touch.

  • I love the set design here with all the political pictures (from Carter to Mao) and religion books on his desk; I also love the detail with him unscrewing the booze bottle cap at the beginning.

****

PROMO: THE SILLY BASTARD

  • A three-month, 24-part miniseries based on the John Jakes novel about illegitimate idiot Andrew’s (Dave Thomas) search for his real father.

  • A spoof of the miniseries based on the real novel The Bastard; this is an early example of SCTV’s multi-layered parodies, with Tom Boslee [sic] (John Candy) playing Benjamin Franklin as Howard Cunningham from Happy Days.

  • Good goofy voice from Dave Thomas here.

*** 1/2

SCTV ELECTION CENTRAL - PART I

  • Waiting for election returns, Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy) and Floyd Robertson (Joe Flaherty) replay last week’s debate between Johnny LaRue, Shirley MacLennan Black (Catherine O’Hara) and Jack Brown (Dave Thomas). The results come in, and Johnny’s campaign manager Earl isn’t happy.

  • They’re really having fun with the show’s concept here: I love that the “record” turnout is only 18% (up from 6%), and the plot line of Earl being Johnny’s campaign manager was a solid idea.

  • The debate clip itself is classic, with the other candidates being a flaky actress and a military nut who wants a global conflict (in a municipal district), and yet both still come across better than LaRue; the ending with the others refusing to shake Earl’s hand was another great humiliation for him (until the results come in, where Floyd clearly enjoys watching).

*****

PROMO: ONE IS ENOUGH

  • Barbi Somers (Catherine O’Hara) has no roommates, no lover, no job, and no friends, but keeps the laughs coming.

  • A good example of Catherine O’Hara’s ability to carry a scene by herself; nice ditzy/Californian voice on the character too (a precursor to Moira Rose perhaps?).

  • I like the “to-do list” segment (“Buy some more val-i-ummm!”)

*** 1/2

MOXWELL HOUSE DECAFFIENATED COFFEE (repeat from 2-1)

SCTV ELECTION CENTRAL - PART II

  • Floyd (Joe Flaherty) has some late returns from Melonville North; Earl (Eugene Levy) wastes time with some useless statistics.

  • Probably the least essential part of the runner, but there are some classic annoyed reactions from Floyd as Earl blathers on.

***

CAREER HOME STUDY

  • If you’re stuck in a low-paying dead-end job, look on your book of matches for new career ideas.

  • An underrated Dave Thomas hard-sell spoof, taking aim at the commercials for International Correspondence Schools with some ridiculously specific fields of study.

****

SCTV ELECTION CENTRAL - PART III

  • Floyd (Joe Flaherty) reports that Shirley MacLennan Black has won Melonville West. Earl (Eugene Levy) reports from LaRue campaign headquarters, where Johnny (John Candy) is drunk and bitter.

  • Solid way to end tonight’s episode, with Johnny no longer donning the ingratiating façade and Earl facing humiliation on all sides, including trying to collect the hats and buttons for a refund, and being reported for his conflict of interest in the campaign.

****

Final thoughts: A rebound from the disappointing previous episode, with a strong runner, worthy material for the other segments, and a good use of the show’s characters. The town of Melonville is also becoming a character in itself at this point.

MVP:

  • (tie) John Candy/Eugene Levy

Rhodes version differences:

  • Removed: Moxwell House Decaffeinated Coffee and Promo: One Is Enough

  • Added: Palmoval (from 2-5)

Blair version differences:

  • Removed: Career Home Study (moved to 2-10)

  • Added: new syndication promo for How The Middle East Was Won (Robert Corness v/o)

  • Edited: Johnny LaRue for City Council (new bumper, Robert Corness v/o, and music added)

Additional screen captures for this episode are available here.