SCTV Review: On The Waterfront Again (2-19) / SCTV Disco (2-20)

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

“On The Waterfront Again” (season 2, episode 19, originally aired Jan. 20, 1979)

THE SAMMY MAUDLIN SHOW - PART I

  • Sammy Maudlin (Joe Flaherty) and William B. Williams (John Candy) laud each other with escalating praise; Edith Prickley (Andrea Martin) explains why she’s proud to present Bobby Bittman’s remake of On The Waterfront on SCTV.

  • The first Sammy Maudlin Show in a while, and also the first to have a decent set and to not be joined in progress. The usual fawning praise that Sammy and William B. lavish upon each other is always funny.

  • Edith Prickley walking on the couch over to Sammy is such an Edith thing to do, and I like that she’s as confident and assured as ever in her new role.

  • The Sammy Maudlin theme music is the same library music used for the 30th Anniversary Show (“Basie 77” by Nick Ingman).

****

DR. CHET VET, THE DEAD PET REMOVER

  • Dr. Chet Vet (Dave Thomas) and his team will safely and affordably dispose of any deceased pets you have.

  • One of the best Dave Thomas parodies of hard-sell advertising; the premise is funny enough, but the manic gleam in Thomas’s eyes really pushes this into classic territory.

*****

LARUE TOYS

  • In response to consumer complaints, Johnny LaRue’s (John Candy) making safer toys like Jessie The Sponge.

  • Another funny use of LaRue, who casually mentions his regular toys smothered and lacerated kids, and doubles down on his insistence that “Billy The Sword” makes kids “real men”. Nice visual with the barbed wire on the stable with the other toys.

****

THE SAMMY MAUDLIN SHOW - PART II

  • Bobby Bittman (Eugene Levy) shows a clip of “On The Waterfront Again”; his co-star Lola Heatherton (Catherine O’Hara) joins the panel.

  • Bobby Bittman’s at his egotistical best here, and this is a much better use of him than “The Mirthmakers” was earlier in the season. I also like his dismissive “she was okay” in response to praise for Lola Heatherton.

  • The movie clip is hilariously terrible, with Bobby Bittman’s overacting, Lola Heatherton excitedly shouting her lines, and their ill-advised attempts at injecting a little bit of levity to the scene.

*****

EVELYNN WOLF SCHOOL OF SPEED EATING

  • Let Evelynn Wolf (Andrea Martin) help you stop lingering over your food.

  • A funny idea for another Evelyn Wood parody, and some good jokes about Wolf’s “patented open-throat method” and how the weight stays off. The Johnny LaRue speed drinking bit also has a very funny performance from John Candy.

  • That plate of food at the beginning looks positively disgusting. I wonder how long it was sitting out in the studio.

  • This also looks like it was shot very late in the season, going by O’Hara’s perm and Candy’s wig as LaRue. There’s also a certain “vibe” the late season sketches have to them that I can’t quite describe.

****

THE SAMMY MAUDLIN SHOW - PART III

  • Bobby (Eugene Levy) presents another clip from the movie and Lin Ye Tang (Dave Thomas) joins the panel.

  • The whole aspect about the questionable casting of a Chinese man to play Bittman’s brother in a movie is a little iffy, but Lin Ye Tang’s impatience always makes me laugh, and the other clip from the movie is another fine example of how bad it is.

  • The backhanded compliment at the end about how anybody, no matter how bad they are, can act was a good way for this to go out.

****

Final thoughts: Another very good episode; while it doesn’t have the ambition of the “Fantasy Island” show, this has one of the best uses of The Sammy Maudlin Show, and develops the self-important aspect of Bobby Bittman even further. The three commercials also work well, with one (Dr. Cher Vet) being an all-timer.

MVP:

  • Eugene Levy

Rhodes version differences:

  • Removed: LaRue Toys

Blair version differences:

  • Removed: Chet Vet The Dead Pet Remover

  • Added: new syndication promo for The Fishin’ Musician (Robert Corness v/o)

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.

“SCTV Disco” (season 2, episode 20, originally aired Jan. 27, 1979)

PROMO: THE BUTCH GRANT SHOW

  • Bully Butch (John Candy) takes over the school newspaper.

  • There’s a bit of charm from John Candy in short pants and a bad baldcap interacting with the kids, and I like that they actually used real Lou Grant characters names (Rossi, Billie, Mrs. Pynchon), but something about it feels half-assed.

  • The kid who played Damien in Mr. Science earlier this season shows up again as the blonde boy telling Butch to pick on someone his own size.

  • Music: “Terminal Five” by Steve Bretton.

**

OIL OF OIL

  • Yenna Olsen (Andrea Martin) keeps her skin moisturized with Oil of Oil.

  • Pretty forgettable. This also feels almost too self-consciously “funny”, from the prop oil can to the faster piano music when Martin slips on the floor.

**

PROMO: THOSE TWO ZANY AMBULANCE DRIVERS

  • Chick (Eugene Levy) and Chuck (Joe Flaherty) goof around while attending to a patient.

  • At least this time the over-the-top silliness is intentional, and I like the bit with Dave Thomas as the doctor more interested in their antics than the patient, but again, this doesn’t really do a whole lot for me.

  • Dave Thomas has an anecdote in SCTV: Behind the Scenes about shooting this sketch: the cast hadn’t been paid in some time and he didn’t want to shoot until they got their money, but the producers tried to trick him into thinking they were just rehearsing; when he realized the camera was on, Thomas cursed them out.

**

PROMO: WOMEN SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS

  • Art Linkletter (Dave Thomas) is amazed at what comes out of housewives mouths.

  • The first worthwhile sketch so far tonight, with Thomas being hilariously patronizing to the intelligent women on the show.

****

RONKO WIENER SKINNER

  • The device that strips skin off your hot dogs, bananas, and cucumbers.

  • Pretty juvenile, but it seems like they’re leaning into it, particularly with that goofy voice John Candy uses. Not great, but somewhat of a guilty pleasure.

  • Candy’s noticeably shorter haircut is because he started filming 1941 around that time.

** 1/2

TEX AND EDNA BOIL’S ORGAN EMPORIUM

  • Tex (Dave Thomas) and Edna (Andrea Martin) smuggled some Shetland budgies to give away with their organs.

  • I actually like this one even more than the first installment; this has so many funny lines (the names of the trucker friends, Edna drinking 388 cups of coffee in a half hour, the whole thing about being able to ride Shetland budgies). Tex’s manic fake organ playing at the end is also a riot.

**** 1/2

SCTV NEWS

  • Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy) is driven to distraction by what he sees as crew inefficiency.

  • A bit of a change of pace; it’s fun to see an angry Earl react to various headaches on set, and even more so to see how the little the crew respects him (not just Floyd, who makes sure they know he approves of their work).

****

CAPTAIN O’SHAUNNESSY TABLE TOP SMOKE ALARM

  • The only fire alarm with a doze button, so you can be well rested for your fire.

  • Not a bad idea, especially compared to some of the stuff earlier, but the sketch should have ended with the couple leaving for the Salvation Army; the ending voiceover really feels superfluous, like they needed to pad time.

  • The 1999 package has the jazzy instrumental version of “Just The Way You Are” replaced with generic music; this also necessitated a new voiceover, so Robert Corness (announcer for cycle 2 of the NBC shows and the syndication package) does it in this version.

***

SCTV DISCO

  • Rockin’ Mel Slirrup (Eugene Levy) chats with some of the dancers, and Melba the Disco Queen (Andrea Martin) shows how to dance with your head and face.

  • A bit overlong, and the Melba scene really drags, but Levy’s got more of Mel’s character down this time, and there are a few funny moments, particularly how bad everybody’s dancing is.

  • At one point, Mel still calls refers to the show“SCTV Boogie”.

  • Catherine O’Hara’s character is named after Levy’s wife, Debbie Divine.

  • I kind of like how Dave Thomas and John Candy play their gay characters as toughs instead of more stereotypical.

  • Music: “K-Jee” by MFSB (opening theme), “Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me” by Peter Brown (both “Disco Benedict” and “Don’t Disco On My Parade”), “Get Off Your Aaahh and Dance” by Foxy (Melba’s head movement demonstration), “Do What You Wanna Do” by T-Connection (last song, also played over credits).

  • Jim Fisher and Jim Staahl receive an “additional sketches” credit in this episode.

** 1/2

Final thoughts: A noticeable step down in quality from the previous two episodes, also bringing to mind the weaker moments of the “Rock Concert” episode; there seems to be a lack of inspiration compared to the show’s usual standard. It may be that they ran out of material generated while Ramis was around, or everyone was just trying to make it through the rest of the season, but a lot of the sketches from this point forward feel forced and amateurish, the kind you would expect from a lesser show.

MVP:

  • Eugene Levy

Rhodes version differences:

  • Removed: Oil of Oil

Blair version differences:

  • Removed: Oil of Oil, Ronko Wiener Skinner (moved to 2-21)

  • Added: Half Legs (from 3-2), new syndication promo for Pipeline (Robert Corness v/o)

1999 WIC version differences:

  • Edited: Captain O’Shaunnessy Table Top Smoke Alarm (instrumental “Just The Way You Are” replaced, new Robert Corness v/o added).

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.