SCTV Review: Lee A. Iacocca's Rock Concert (3-1) / Thursday Night Live (3-2)

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Before we begin: As stated at the beginning of this project, I am reviewing these shows as they originally aired in Canada. While the Canadian strip syndication package compiled by Allarcom (which, then called Allarco Broadcasting, Ltd., became co-owners of the show this season) usually presented the first two seasons’ shows more or less the same as how they originally aired (minus opening titles, bumpers, etc.), the third season necessitated a little more editing to fit a 25-minute show without commercials into 23:40, even with a shorter opening sequence. Fortunately, the only segment from this season I don’t have a copy of is just the SCTV News teaser from the first episode.

There are four specific packages of the season 3 shows:

  • the original episodes as broadcast on CBC, which are considered the versions of record. My reviews will reflect these versions; as well, I will be using the original CBC airdates. The “Best of the Early Years” DVD release uses these versions, though some episodes have edits for music clearance reasons.

  • the original Rhodes Productions weekly syndication package for the U.S., which run two minutes shorter than the CBC versions, but aside from omitted sketches are pretty much identical. Airdates vary from the CBC versions and shows may have aired in many American markets a few weeks before their CBC premiere; there was also one episode run out of order (3-4).

  • the Allarcom strip syndication package assembled in 1984 for the Canadian market. These largely resemble the CBC versions, aside from a new shorter opening and NBC-era bumpers, but have short segments cut, moved to, and added from other episodes. I will be listing the show number for the strip version as well as for any show where sketches cut from that episode were moved. These versions were further edited for music clearance reasons in the late 1990s after Allarcom was acquired by WIC; if an edit was made to a sketch imported from another episode, these will be listed with the show the sketch was added to.

  • the Blair Entertainment strip syndication package assembled in 1984 for the U.S., which interspersed the season 3 shows with the cut down versions of the NBC-era shows, and use the Russ Little theme from the season 4 & 5 syndicated shows. These versions are usually missing at least one sketch, regularly include promos for the next shows in the package, and occasionally include new Robert Corness voiceovers in the season 3 material. Several sketches that originally finished under the closing credits were also edited if the show closed with a generic credit scroll over stills of sketches that appeared. As well, several entire episodes were omitted from this package, with a number of those sketches moved to shows with primarily NBC-era content. I will be listing the show number for these versions, as well as for any show where content was moved, including any corresponding Allarcom show number if the sketch also appears in that version.

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

“Lee A. Iacocca’s Rock Concert” (season 3, episode 1, originally aired Sept. 19, 1980)

OPENING

  • A new opening title sequence this year, continuing the storyline from the previous year’s opening by having the cast enter the station cafeteria as (minor) celebrities; when they realize there are people in the world who have never heard of SCTV (and are all apparently eating at the next table), they get inspiration from a hot-dog rotisserie to launch the SCTV Satellite System, “beaming their laughter and good cheer to peoples across the globe”.

  • Officially, this season is known as SCTV Television Network (IIRC, they couldn’t use “Second City” in the show title because Bernard Sahlins was no longer involved, though he retains a credit for developing the show); the opening and bumpers just abbreviate the title to SCTV.

  • The show underwent some significant cast changes this season: John Candy had gotten his own show (Big City Comedy) on CTV and Catherine O’Hara decided to take time off; new cast members Robin Duke and Tony Rosato, both no strangers to the show, join from Second City Toronto, as well as former disc jockey Rick Moranis. The show also gets three new staff writers: Dick Blasucci, Paul Flaherty (Joe’s brother), and Mike Short (brother of Martin, who would join the cast two years later).

  • As well, production of the show moved to Edmonton due to the financing deal with Allarco that resurrected the show; this gave them access to the facilities and crew at their independent station CITV (branded as ITV), including director John Blanchard, who would stay with the show after production moved back to Toronto in 1982.

  • This would also be the first season that the show would be available across Canada; earlier seasons may have been available in markets that had a sister station to Global (such as Winnipeg’s CKND) or an American station that picked up the show in syndication.

MESSAGE FROM PRICKLEY: ROCK CONCERT

  • Edith Prickley (Andrea Martin) welcomes viewers back and previews tonight’s concert with a “special host”.

  • Just a short bit to start the show and reintroduce the SCTV station manager; Andrea Martin’s back in character without missing a beat.

  • When Edith is going through the budget at the beginning (“$2000 for the cyc?!”), she addresses an offstage “John” (Blanchard?). There’s also a line about Edith replacing “that schmo Moe Green” and insinuating that he’s really “hobnobbing in Santa Monica with those millionaire schmenges”, a reference to former co-star/head writer Harold Ramis’ burgeoning film career.

  • This season has a lot of station announcements from either Edith Prickley or Guy Caballero, usually to tease a longer sketch that appears later in the show. Andrea Martin and Eugene Levy both had only limited availability to tape in Edmonton, so this may have been a way to make sure Martin was present in every episode. As well, Joe Flaherty took an unplanned vacation during production and improvised a number of solo pieces to make up for his absence.

***

PROMO: RHODA

  • Now a dietician at a resort, Rhoda (voice of Andrea Martin) is still insecure about her weight.

  • Just a short in-and-out bit; not really much, but Andrea Martin’s Valerie Harper impression is funny.

  • The standard lower-third promo graphic at the end hasn’t been finalized yet.

**

PROMO: MY FAIR LADY

  • SCTV’s production of the musical stars English-mangling Pirini Scleroso (Andrea Martin) as Eliza Doolittle.

  • A fun use of the character, and the premise pretty much writes itself. There’s just something about the cheerful obliviousness in Martin’s performance that’s enjoyable, and Joe Flaherty’s Higgins (“Higgy!”) has some good moments as her foil.

  • Col. Pickering (Dave Thomas) has the line of the sketch: (responding to Pirini’s garbled repetition of “You pushed him over the brink”) “Pussy brinko…I don’t think so my dear, I’m much too old for that kind of action”. I’m surprised they got away with that in 1980.

*** 1/2

TEASER: SCTV NEWS

  • Not in my copy of the show. I won’t be rating these segments but they usually do have some amusing interplay between Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy) and Floyd Robertson (Joe Flaherty).

KANADIAN KORNER (#1)

  • Bob (Rick Moranis) and Doug McKenzie (Dave Thomas) explain the show title change and show off their boots, then kick back with some beers.

  • A fitting debut for Rick Moranis, playing what turned out to be his and Dave Thomas’ signature characters. As well documented elsewhere, these bits were intended as filler for the CBC shows (and a little tongue-in-cheek malicious compliance at the request for “identifiably Canadian content”), but the improvised aspect gives these sketches a lot of their charm and makes them work as well as they do.

  • As per the number used in Dave Thomas’s SCTV: Behind The Scenes book This is the first one taped; the set is considerably more spartan than it would be and the familiar “coo-roo-coo-coo-coo” theme hasn’t been adopted yet. Thomas and Moranis usually taped several of these sketches in one sitting; the set decorations would change for each new taping session. I’ve compiled a guide to the different sittings on the SCTV Guide.

  • The ending text scrolls are usually pretty funny; this one is about how the Great White North is 100% Canadian Content.

*** 1/2

SCTV NEWS

  • Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy) has trouble pronouncing words in his copy.

  • A little basic for an SCTV News sketch, though again it does serve as a good reintroduction to the characters. Things pick up a little when Floyd Robertson (Joe Flaherty) starts to give Earl a hard time about his stumbles.

  • The debut of a brand new set and title graphic for SCTV News, though the graphic’s colours are different than what they would be for the rest of the season (white text with pink stripes instead of blue text with yellow stripes). The music is the same synthesizer jingle used in season 2.

***

PROMO: MY LIFE, ONE MORE TIME

  • Woody Allen (Rick Moranis) finds a woman he can relate to (Andrea Martin) in his latest movie.

  • Another short piece, featuring the debut of Moranis’ great Woody Allen impression; Andrea Martin also holds her own with hers.

  • This season has a lot more location shooting than before; it’s always fascinating to see Edmonton in these shows, especially since it has a markedly different look than Toronto.

  • The stock music in this piece would be used a few times throughout the season, mainly in promos that featured just a graphic and voiceover.

*** 1/2

LEE A. IACOCCA’S ROCK CONCERT

  • Lee A. Iacocca (Dave Thomas) wants viewers to pressure the government into giving him a $1.5 billion dollar loan for his late night televised rock show.

  • Born out of Dave Thomas’ annoyance at the U.S. government bailing out Chrysler, this is a good example of the show taking an off-center approach toparody and satire. At 12 minutes, this takes up half the show, but the Iacocca bits (offering $5 rebates to viewers) and the guest segments are quite funny.

  • The best of the guest segments is Gino Vannelli (Eugene Levy) growing hairier during “I Just Wanna Stop”, but Rick Moranis also gets two impressions in, as both Ringo Starr and a devastating take on George Carlin.

  • New players Robin Duke and Tony Rosato also get their first significant appearances here: Duke (who had a small part in the Rhoda promo) gets a physical bit playing Lee’s fictitious “daughter” Imogene Iacocca, who drinks a bottle of transmission fluid before keeling over (with a panty flash), and Rosato plays Tony Orlando, who duets with Lee on “Tie A Yellow Ribbon ‘Round A Dodge Omni”.

****

Final thoughts: A good, if understated, beginning to the season. While John Candy and Catherine O’Hara’s absence is felt, the return of several recurring characters softens the blow somewhat, and the Rock Concert sketch builds on last season’s sketch with Big Jim and Billy Sol. Of the newcomers, Rick Moranis makes the quickest impact as both an impressionist and collaborator with Dave Thomas.

MVP:

  • Dave Thomas

Rhodes version differences:

  • Removed: Kanadian Korner 1 (moved to 3-12)

Allarcom version differences (show #51C):

  • Removed: SCTV News teaser

Blair version differences (show #5A):

  • Removed: SCTV News teaser, Kanadian Korner 1 (moved to 6A/77C)

  • Added: new promo for Merv: The Special Edition (Robert Corness v/o)

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.

“Thursday Night Live” (season 3, episode 2, originally aired Sept. 26, 1980)

MESSAGE FROM GUY: THURSDAY NIGHT

  • Guy Caballero (Joe Flaherty) says SCTV has a new “hip, relevant, contempo” comedy show to draw the “pimply-faced kids zonked out on Quaaludes”.

  • A reintroduction to the “hard-hitting” owner and president of SCTV; this has a loose feel to it (I wonder if this is one of the bits Flaherty taped after his vacation). The line about the raggedy looking plant seemed like an ad-lib.

  • I also enjoyed the back and forth between him and the bitter announcer (Dave Thomas) who introduces him with a snotty tone.

*** 1/2

THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE

  • Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy) hosts SCTV’s new live sketch comedy show.

  • A devastating spoof of both Saturday Night Live and Fridays (which had premiered that April). What really makes this work is how many specific details of both shows are parodied; there are so many aspects that are touched on that it would be redundant to list them all, but the putting the black actor in drag is a particularly stinging one.

  • This is also notable for featuring Robin Duke and Tony Rosato about six months before the real SNL poached them both for its cast. I love Rosato’s deliberate look at the camera for the “because I’m so stoned” line.

  • The non-regulars playing the cast (also doubling as the audience) include writers Dick Blasucci and Paul Flaherty, ITV crew member Peter “Wallygator” Wugalter, and Second City Edmonton performer Gail Kerbel. I wonder if some of the other performers were also cast members from Second City Edmonton. As well, the cast runs past makeup designer Bev Schechtman before the opening montage.

  • The end credit crawl also has a few good jokes, including references to SNL cast and writers (particularly former SCTV scribe Brian Doyle-Murray), a writer listed for every letter of the alphabet, and Oscar Meyer and George Plimpton in the writers list (as well as Robert Lewis listed alphabetically where ‘Q’ would be). The show is also credited as “An SCTV-Caballerco Production”, referencing the show’s new co-owners.

  • Oddly enough, the show opening line is “Live, from Edmonton, it’s Thursday Night!”; SCTV was taping in Edmonton at the time, but I find it odd that they used that city instead of Melonville.

  • Theme music: “Countdown” by John Coltrane

**** 1/2

KANADIAN KORNER (#2)

  • Doug (Dave Thomas) misses his cue to start the show because he has his earmuffs on.

  • There’s a funny little bit under the text crawl (which the same one used in the last episode) where Doug says he’s going to “suck it off [the bottlecap] with my teeth” and Bob reprimands him “Watch what you say, we’re on TV, eh?”; this seems to make them both break a bit.

***

PROMO: DAT’S DA NAME OF DAT TUNE

  • Bobby Blake (Tony Rosato) has his funky guests try to identify songs.

  • A quick-moving indirect parody of the Robert Blake show Baretta; Rosato is pretty funny in this.

  • Nice little joke with Martin’s character misidentifying “Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow” as “Theme From S.W.A.T.” (both were recorded by Rhythm Heritage).

  • The black cast member from Thursday Night Live plays the funky dude who gets stabbed in the back.

***

PROMO: BITTMAN DOES DALLAS

  • Bobby Bittman’s (Eugene Levy) special has plenty of singing, dancing, crying, and cheerleaders.

  • Bobby Bittman’s first appearance of the season is a tight promo that manages to efficiently convey the character’s essence (particularly his tearful “Remember the Alamo” speech) in a short amount of time.

  • Nice little detail with the flag in the background during Bittman’s speech not actually being the Texas flag.

*** 1/2

K-TEL’S FAST TALKING PLAYHOUSE

  • Harvey K-Tel (Dave Thomas) presents the world’s fastest production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

  • It’s even funnier if you’re familiar with the play and movie, but even without that background it holds up pretty well thanks to the performances, particularly from Thomas, Martin (as Barbra Streisand) and Flaherty (as Broderick Crawford). Poor Robin Duke seems a little lost in the shuffle as Sandy Duncan; the only thing she really gets to do is make a nauseous face.

  • Crawford (as Nick) and Streisand (as Martha) “dancing” to “Yakety Sax” while K-Tel (as George) tells his story always makes me laugh.

  • I also love how abruptly it goes from the dark ending to Thomas saying “Goodnight!”.

****

PROMO: GUY FRIDAY

  • Guy Friday (Rick Moranis) is the man behind his high-powered female boss (Andrea Martin).

  • Rick Moranis’ performance makes this sketch works as well as it does, particularly his attempt at a more “butch” voice.

  • There’s a funny backstory about the scene where Guy’s boyfriend (Dave Thomas) shows him something in a magazine (to which Guy replies “Let’s get one!”); apparently, it was just pictures of phalluses.

*** 1/2

HALF-LEGS

  • Joyce de 1/2 Wit (Andrea Martin) touts the extra-sheer pantyhose.

  • Parodying the real Joyce DeWitt’s commercials for Undie L’eggs (particularly this one); I always love at how inept Martin’s impression is at sexiness (the clumsy moment where she tries to step on the stool).

*** 1/2

POINT/COUNTERPOINT: ALCOHOL

  • David Brinkley (Rick Moranis) and Walter Cronkite (Dave Thomas) drink themselves silly.

  • Moranis and Thomas debut their Brinkley and Cronkite impressions with a hilarious sketch that turns the respected newsmen into drunken buffoons eating junk food, at one point hiking down their pants to look thinner.

  • I wonder if Thomas improvised his ramble during the rocket footage.

  • The opening music was previously used for SCTV Election Central in season 2.

  • The DVD replaces the music during the credits (the same jazz instrumental from the end credits of 2-22) with the Ira Newborn theme from NBC Cycle 2; unfortunately, this also takes out all of the dialogue that played over the music, including a bottle breaking and Cronkite bellowing “Alcohoooooolism!”

****

Final thoughts: A solid episode with several strong sketches, and somewhat breezier pacing than the one before. Rick Moranis in particular has a good showing this week, both in collaboration with Dave Thomas and on his own.

MVP:

  • Rick Moranis

Rhodes version differences:

  • Removed: Kanadian Korner 2

Allarcom version differences (show #52C):

  • Removed: K-Tel’s Fast-Talking Playhouse (moved to 3-4/54C)

  • Added: Crazy Crafts (from 3-3)

Blair version differences (show #94A):

  • Removed: Kanadian Korner 2 (moved to 52A/115C)

  • Edited: Point/Counterpoint (ending cut)

  • Added: new promo for Mrs. Falbo’s Tiny Town (Robert Corness v/o)

DVD differences:

  • Edited: Point/Counterpoint (end music replaced)

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.