I Want My SCTV!!!
06-09-03 | 04:35 PM
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From: Los Angeles, CA, USA
I Want My SCTV!!!
I swear I remember reading a post (I thought it was at this forum) a while back with news that the SCTV television show would be released gradually on dvd. I haven't heard a word about it since, especially not via any "official" channels. I do not even remember what studio was supposedly planning to do the distribution.
To heck with SNL... I want my SCTV!
In case you've forgotten, these comic geniuses all got their start on the SCTV program:
Catherine O'Hara
Eugene Levy
Rick Moranis
Dave Thomas
Joe Flaherty
John Candy
Andrea Martin
Martin Short...
These are just the ones that come immediately to mind; there are many MANY others.
Eric
To heck with SNL... I want my SCTV!
In case you've forgotten, these comic geniuses all got their start on the SCTV program:
Catherine O'Hara
Eugene Levy
Rick Moranis
Dave Thomas
Joe Flaherty
John Candy
Andrea Martin
Martin Short...
These are just the ones that come immediately to mind; there are many MANY others.
Eric
06-09-03 | 05:39 PM
#2
DVD Talk Legend
Oh man, as a kid I used to stay up religiously on Fridays in the early 80's to catch SCTV late night on Canadian TV.
I always remember John Candy's "Fishin' Musician" outdoors adventure/music show when he had the Plasmatics as his guests
, or the 3-D terror of "Monster Chiller Horror Theater". And of course all the Great White North and Ed Grimley sketches.
Completely classic!
I always remember John Candy's "Fishin' Musician" outdoors adventure/music show when he had the Plasmatics as his guests
, or the 3-D terror of "Monster Chiller Horror Theater". And of course all the Great White North and Ed Grimley sketches. Completely classic!
06-09-03 | 06:27 PM
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Right on Eric! SCTV!! Yes! Complete brilliance. I'd snap these discs up in a second if they were available. Eugene Levy's "Bobby Bittman" is a personal favorite along with Short's "Jackie Rogers Jr". persona as well as many, many others. For my money, along with Python, this was the best 'sketch' comedy ever.
Updates anyone?
Updates anyone?
06-10-03 | 01:19 AM
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I read a on another website a month or two ago that SCTV producer Andrew Alexander was in talks to bring out SCTV on DVD in some undefined format. Whether that meant season sets, or some other type of compilation was not specified, nor was the time frame. I sure hope these come out as full season sets. This would be one of the holy grails of TV shows on DVD in my opinion.
06-10-03 | 12:08 PM
#5
DVD Talk Special Edition
Need to have the Network 90 shows in their entirety.
Love the story arcs on those (The Battle of the PBS Stars, The Night of the Prime Time stars, the Towering Inferno episode, the network strike) and its a shame to watch them butchered on the 30 minute syndicated episodes.
Would also love to see some of the Cinemax episodes and related hour long specials (The Last polka, the Enigma of Bobby Bitman) on DVD.
Love the story arcs on those (The Battle of the PBS Stars, The Night of the Prime Time stars, the Towering Inferno episode, the network strike) and its a shame to watch them butchered on the 30 minute syndicated episodes.
Would also love to see some of the Cinemax episodes and related hour long specials (The Last polka, the Enigma of Bobby Bitman) on DVD.
08-11-03 | 07:47 PM
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From: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Prayers ARE Answered!
SCTV Is Finally Coming to DVD
Author: FRED TOPEL
[email protected]
Posted: August 8, 2003
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The first DVD set of the classic “SCTV” show, based on the Second City comedy group, is in production for a January release, Video Store Magazine has learned. There’s no word yet on a distributor.
The only reason it has taken so long to hit DVD is because of music clearance issues, said Second City veteran Eugene Levy, who is probably better known as the pie-proffering dad in the “American Pie” movies.
“Every tune that we used over eight years had to be re-tossed a lot of money just for clearance, to re-license these things,” Levy said.
The DVD release will not be a “complete first-season” package, Levy said. “SCTV” began as a series of half-hour shows but eventually moved to a 90-minute format when the program began airing on NBC. The DVD collection starts with those 90-minute shows.
“Those really are, I think, the best shows,” Levy said. “The show reached its creative peak in those 90-minute shows on NBC.
“If they started with season one, I’d go, ‘Boy, we’ll never make season two. It’s not going to work.’”
Levy said the decision was made to start the DVD collection with the 90-minute shows because it’s always smart to “start with your strongest stuff.”
Not that the earlier programming was bad.
“There were some great shows in the first [season],” Levy said. “The first couple of seasons are funny, but they’re raw. We didn’t have a lot of money so the sets look a little chintzy.
“I have a soft spot for them because it was the very beginning, but it’s hard to look at some of the stuff now only because everybody was still fumbling around a little bit.”
Still, Levy has fond memories of those growing pains.
“We just got out of theater and we’re now doing a television show,” he said. “It took a while before we developed our writing styles.
“We started writing a half-hour television show the way we did Second City theater, which was we’d all get in a room and try to improvise stuff.
“Then you realize it’s just not a very efficient way of writing a weekly television show.
“So, by the time we learned to break up into groups and actually start writing, we went through some bumpy times.”
Looking back at the old shows, Levy feels they hold up well.
“We created our own universe with ‘SCTV,’” he said. “The brilliance of the idea was that you’re creating a television station in your own town, so you develop all these characters at the station and you eventually got into characters in the town, like Mayor Tommy Shanks.
“We had Melonville elections, with continuing news coverage, election central and all that stuff. These ads would come on for local aldermen who were running for Melonville that you’d show throughout the programming. We got so into the underbelly of this world we created that it’s almost completely insular from being dated.”
DVD producers are in the process of putting together bonus content for the “SCTV” set, and Levy is ready to play a part in the extras.
“They’re doing that stuff now and finding whatever footage that they can muster, off-camera stuff or anything else,” he said. “There will be commentary. They’re trying to organize that.”
Author: FRED TOPEL
[email protected]
Posted: August 8, 2003
Email this Story to Friend
The first DVD set of the classic “SCTV” show, based on the Second City comedy group, is in production for a January release, Video Store Magazine has learned. There’s no word yet on a distributor.
The only reason it has taken so long to hit DVD is because of music clearance issues, said Second City veteran Eugene Levy, who is probably better known as the pie-proffering dad in the “American Pie” movies.
“Every tune that we used over eight years had to be re-tossed a lot of money just for clearance, to re-license these things,” Levy said.
The DVD release will not be a “complete first-season” package, Levy said. “SCTV” began as a series of half-hour shows but eventually moved to a 90-minute format when the program began airing on NBC. The DVD collection starts with those 90-minute shows.
“Those really are, I think, the best shows,” Levy said. “The show reached its creative peak in those 90-minute shows on NBC.
“If they started with season one, I’d go, ‘Boy, we’ll never make season two. It’s not going to work.’”
Levy said the decision was made to start the DVD collection with the 90-minute shows because it’s always smart to “start with your strongest stuff.”
Not that the earlier programming was bad.
“There were some great shows in the first [season],” Levy said. “The first couple of seasons are funny, but they’re raw. We didn’t have a lot of money so the sets look a little chintzy.
“I have a soft spot for them because it was the very beginning, but it’s hard to look at some of the stuff now only because everybody was still fumbling around a little bit.”
Still, Levy has fond memories of those growing pains.
“We just got out of theater and we’re now doing a television show,” he said. “It took a while before we developed our writing styles.
“We started writing a half-hour television show the way we did Second City theater, which was we’d all get in a room and try to improvise stuff.
“Then you realize it’s just not a very efficient way of writing a weekly television show.
“So, by the time we learned to break up into groups and actually start writing, we went through some bumpy times.”
Looking back at the old shows, Levy feels they hold up well.
“We created our own universe with ‘SCTV,’” he said. “The brilliance of the idea was that you’re creating a television station in your own town, so you develop all these characters at the station and you eventually got into characters in the town, like Mayor Tommy Shanks.
“We had Melonville elections, with continuing news coverage, election central and all that stuff. These ads would come on for local aldermen who were running for Melonville that you’d show throughout the programming. We got so into the underbelly of this world we created that it’s almost completely insular from being dated.”
DVD producers are in the process of putting together bonus content for the “SCTV” set, and Levy is ready to play a part in the extras.
“They’re doing that stuff now and finding whatever footage that they can muster, off-camera stuff or anything else,” he said. “There will be commentary. They’re trying to organize that.”
08-12-03 | 12:30 PM
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From: Phoenix AZ - West Side
WOW!!! Best news I've heard in a while... Starting with the 90 minute episdoes is fine by me, as I think that's the first I ever saw of them. (NBC shows) Too many characters to mention, but as I'm reading the post above I was hearing Gerry Todd doing the Police's De Doo Doo Doo...and running around that Melonville park!
Since they are getting music clearance, I wonder if they'll have the music spots as well. (Plasmatics, Boomtown Rats, etc) I figured they'd eventually put out just the sketches...or at least GWN, but if they do the episodes in their entirety....
(fainted....back now..)
Great news!!! Thanks!
Since they are getting music clearance, I wonder if they'll have the music spots as well. (Plasmatics, Boomtown Rats, etc) I figured they'd eventually put out just the sketches...or at least GWN, but if they do the episodes in their entirety....
(fainted....back now..)
Great news!!! Thanks!
08-14-03 | 08:35 AM
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From: Texas! Damn right.
Re: Prayers ARE Answered!
Originally posted by EricBill
The only reason it has taken so long to hit DVD is because of music clearance issues, said Second City veteran Eugene Levy, who is probably better known as the pie-proffering dad in the “American Pie” movies.
“Every tune that we used over eight years had to be re-tossed a lot of money just for clearance, to re-license these things,” Levy said.
The only reason it has taken so long to hit DVD is because of music clearance issues, said Second City veteran Eugene Levy, who is probably better known as the pie-proffering dad in the “American Pie” movies.
“Every tune that we used over eight years had to be re-tossed a lot of money just for clearance, to re-license these things,” Levy said.
