SCTV Review: Man's Ability To Imitate (3-9) / Mel's Rock Pile (3-10)

/

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

“Man’s Ability To Imitate” (season 3, episode 9, originally aired Nov. 14, 1980)

SUNRISE SEMESTER: MAN’S ABILITY TO IMITATE

  • Mr. Wilcox (Rick Moranis) uses Ed Sullivan and Jimmy Stewart impressions to demonstrate the human skill of emulation.

  • The first Sunrise Semester this season not to focus on a region’s communication style; Moranis’ “tips” for impressions are pretty funny, particularly Jimmy Stewart being reduced to “forget what you are about to say”.

*** 1/2

PSA: CONCERNED CHILDREN FOR TRUTH IN ADVERTISING / NATIONAL ORGANIZATION TO REINSTATE CIGARETTE ADVERTISING

  • A kid decries the misleading depictions of tobacco and alcohol use in advertising; an industry spokesman (Dave Thomas) says they were meant to be used in the right environment.

  • An underrated gem; I particularly like the details of Rosato and Duke in the background of the first part and the kid lighting a smoke at the end.

****

TEASER: SCTV NEWS

  • Arson and Tootsie Rolls, tonight at 6.

KANADIAN KORNER (#17)

  • A loaded Bob (Rick Moranis) and Doug (Dave Thomas) show how to flip back bacon without a spatula.

  • This one is particularly loose (it’s the last one taped in the second session) and both Moranis and Thomas seem to be trying to crack one another up here.

  • Note the back bacon sandwich on the plate, which is featured in another segment that will air later this season.

  • This week’s crawl has the Great White Prospectus, with a cost breakdown for each show (Talent: Nil, Beer: $250,000, less deposit)

*** 1/2

PROMO: MONSTER CHILLER HORROR THEATRE

  • Count Floyd (Joe Flaherty) invites viewers to watch one of the scariest movies ever made: The Odd Couple.

  • A nice distillation of what makes Monster Chiller Horror Theatre funny, including Count Floyd breaking character to get some workmen (including Peter Wugalter) off the set, and improvising a spin to make The Odd Couple sound like a horror movie.

****

PROMO: SEA TALK

  • Lloyd Bridges (Dave Thomas) narrates his underwater talk show.

  • A spoof of the old syndicated series Sea Hunt. I wonder if this was supposed to be a longer piece that ended up getting edited down to a promo during post-production; the shorter length works in its favour, though.

  • Nice return of the Kip Addotta and Freddie deCordova running gags.

***

SCTV NEWS

  • Floyd Robertson (Joe Flaherty) reports on a suspicious fire at an icepick factory and Soviets invading Yemen; Earl Camembert’s (Eugene Levy) stories are just advertisements for products.

  • The usual enjoyable SCTV News; I love how Earl carefully enunciates the name of the company he advertises, and the ending with him and Floyd one-upping each other with product placements was a good twist on the usual SCTV News format.

*** 1/2

COMMENT WITH DAVID BRINKLEY

  • David Brinkley (Rick Moranis) editorializes on a substandard Viletones show he saw at CBGB’s.

  • Rick Moranis’ first David Brinkley sketch since episode 3-2 has the veteran newsman looking a little beat-up and opining about “the only decent force in popular music today”. An inspired juxtaposition.

  • The Viletones are a real punk band from Toronto.

****

PROMO: THE INVISIBLE MAN

  • Malfunctioning special effects undermine Governor Jerry Brown’s (Dave Thomas) demonstration of his powers.

  • This is a reference to a disastrous commercial that Francis Ford Coppola directed for Brown’s presidential campaign that year. It’s amusing enough without that background, but the specific knowledge of what’s being parodied fills in a lot of gaps.

***

COOKING WITH MARCELLO

  • Marcello (Tony Rosato) tries to make lobster cacciatore, but the featured ingredient doesn’t wish to cooperate.

  • This is the first time we see Marcello in his usual context, a parody of Pascale Carpino and his then-local TV show La Cucina Italiana con Pasquale (the outfit, occasional speaking in Italian and singing are direct references). Unfortunately, this is a bit slow-moving and a little too broad and slapsticky for my tastes; it also happens to be the longest sketch of the show.

  • Rosato would play an Italian chef cooking lobster in the cold opening of the Daniel J. Travanti / John Cougar episode of SNL.

**

Final thoughts: A show of mostly good-to-great shorter pieces, unfortunately weighed down by the last sketch; once again, the longest sketch is the show’s weak point.

MVP:

  • Rick Moranis

Rhodes version differences:

  • Removed: Kanadian Korner 17

Allarcom version differences (show #59C):

  • Removed: SCTV News teaser

Blair version differences:

  • episode not included in package; Sunrise Semester moved to show 16A/86C, PSA: CCTA/NORCA moved to show 80A/138C, Monster Chiller Horror Theatre moved to show 95A/147C, Sea Talk moved to show 74A/134C, SCTV News moved to show 3-23/77A*, Comment moved to show 3-18/32A, The Invisible Man moved to show 31A/96C.

*the Blair episode synopsis sheet lists this as show 77A, but the promos for the following episode in the package indicate that this show was intended to run as 17A.

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.

“Mel’s Rock Pile” (season 3, episode 10, originally aired Nov. 21, 1980)

OPENING

  • This is the first episode where the animated SCTV globe logo in the opening credits and commercial bumpers sprouts antennae, one of which gets bent by an asteroid.

PROMO: SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK

  • Norman Gorman (Joe Flaherty) plays Hamlet and does battle with the set and an obnoxious audience member.

  • A bit quicker paced than the Sunrise Semester that featured Gorman; while some of the gags were reused (the set falling over), Gorman’s interactions with the audience member (culminating with him chasing him with a mace) are funny.

*** 1/2

CHERYL KINSEY, TRAVELLING SEXOLOGIST

  • Dr. Cheryl Kinsey (Andrea Martin) makes an unexpected house call.

  • The show and Martin have finally nailed the Kinsey character down here, as she’s seen getting her jollies from watching (and eventually being invited to join) a couple having sex. The whole “demonstration” she gives is hilarious.

  • I also enjoyed the callback to the first Kinsey appearance at the end (“Make me a woman, big boy!”)

  • A few more Canadianisms here, with the Institute of Sexology being in Guelph, Ontario, and the announcer saying that Kinsey will be visiting the Forest Hill neighbourhood (a real neighbourhood in Toronto).

*** 1/2

KANADIAN KORNER (#19)

  • Bob (Rick Moranis) and Doug (Dave Thomas) get distracted by an audio problem and show off the boom microphones before deciding to try their real topic again the next show.

  • This comes from the third taping session; Moranis and Thomas feel like they’re only warming up on this one.

  • True to their word, the next Kanadian Korner is the planned topic for this one, “Stuff that bugs us”. It will air in show 3-20.

  • This week’s crawl is about how the show is supposed to represent an accurate picture of Canada’s Cultural Identity as “a strong, unique, expanding cultural mosaic” as opposed to “a vast unconquered wasteland raped by Multi-National Interests and Mary Tyler Moore reruns”.

***

PROMO: THE MERV GRIFFIN SHOW

  • Merv Griffin (Rick Moranis) shows off his jacket lining and banters with Yasser Arafat (Joe Flaherty), Liberace (Dave Thomas), Loni Anderson, Lou Ferrigno (Tony Rosato), and Lou’s makeup artist (Robin Duke).

  • Moranis’ first Merv sketch, with another fully-formed impression (“We’ll be right back!”). His leering and invasion of personal space is pretty dead-on (“My, you have fascinating breasts”).

****

MESSAGE FROM GUY: VIEWER MAIL

  • Guy Caballero (Joe Flaherty) explains the missing year between the second and third seasons and reads a letter asking if they will commemorate the station’s anniversary.

  • I’m guessing this was another improvised sketch; this has some fun in-joke references to the show being out of production for a year, as well as the “station’s” new co-owner “Dr. Allarco”.

  • As in show 3-6, Caballero is misidentified as the station manager, and just as in that one, he gives a mailing address for the place he’s staying.

*** 1/2

PSA: PARTICIPACTION

  • People all across Canada are getting active.

  • A very specific Canadian reference spoofing ads from a Canadian government program designed to promote healthy living. The sketch works enough without that background (judging by how the segment was still included in American edits of the show), but the Canadian audience gets a better appreciation of the joke.

  • Filmed in the Old Strathcona neighbourhood.

***

PROMO: FLASHING EYES

  • Chuck Clark (Joe Flaherty) puts Rosie Mendoza (Andrea Martin) and Gov. Jerry Brown (Dave Thomas) in the hot seat.

  • A worthy sequel to last season’s “4th Degree”, even admitting that its the same show.

  • Andrea Martin’s character is a reference to Boston Marathon course-cutter Rosie Ruiz, while Brown’s interview mentions both the Coppola commercial and Proposition 13.

  • A similar premise was used on SNL in 1993’s “Shifty Eyes” sketch.

*** 1/2

MEL’S ROCK PILE

  • Rockin’ Mel Slirrup (Eugene Levy) presents the Top 10 and chats with the kids on the dance floor, who all seem to be named “Blough” and attend “Greenback High”.

  • Another characterization that finally gets nailed down here, with Mel as the decidedly uncool host who’s the butt of the joke and can’t even keep tonight’s booked band.

  • Joe Flaherty in particular cracks me up in this sketch, especially his dancing during the first number.

  • Music: “Burbank Robber” by Paul Zaza (theme), “Fire” and “It’s All Over” by the Ohio Players.

****

Final thoughts: A solidly entertaining show, with some more assured outings from familiar characters. Rick Moranis debuts another killer impression, while Joe Flaherty gets a few fun showcases.

MVP:

  • Joe Flaherty

Rhodes version differences:

  • Removed: Kanadian Korner 19

Allarcom version differences (show #60C):

  • Removed: Participaction (moved to 3-11/61C)

  • Added: Totacontrol (from 3-11)

Blair version differences (show #19A*):

  • Removed: Kanadian Korner 19

  • Added: new promo for Vic Arpeggio, Private Investigator (Robert Corness v/o)

*the Blair episode synopsis sheet lists this as show 19A, but the promos for the following episode in the package indicate that this show was intended to run as 77A.

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.