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SCTV Network/90 - Volume 1

SCTV Network/90 - Volume 1

List Price: $89.98
Your Price: $71.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A MUST HAVE FOR ANY COMEDY FANS
Review: I grew up watching SCTV
If you love comedy and haven't seen SCTV yet,Its like someone who loves music and has yet to hear the Beatles or The Stones!!
Hopefully they'll release the entire catalog!!!
WARNING!!!FUNNY FUNNY STUFF!!NOT FOR THE WEAK AT HEART!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: There is a God . . .
Review: I have been waiting for literally YEARS for a SCTV box set. Finally, finally, finally my prayers have been answered! In its prime, this show made its period peers ("SNL" and "Fridays") seem like lame high school talent night productions! Even today, just thinking about the Julia Child/Mr. Rogers boxing match on "Battle of the PBS Stars", or 'Gavin MacLeod's' tribute to Bonnie Franklin, or Jake the Guy With The Snake On His Face, or "Dr. Tongue's 3-D House of Stewardesses", never fails to make me laugh! I can't wait to get my hands on this DVD set!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Child's Prayer Answered
Review: I never could have dreamt that in these troubled times, the most longstanding and enduring prayer of my life would be answered. A proper release of these 90 minute shows is the only thing I have ever wanted more than world peace. If that sounds insensitive, please account for the fact that I was only 13 when I began to pray. When our Betamax began to fail, my collection of homemade tapes was injured; and when it died completely, my access was lost. Watching these masterpieces chopped into senseless 23 minute syndicated bits has provided some of the saddest moments of my life; just imagine if The White Album were cut down to a single disk (sorry, George--we disagree). The only thing better would have been if the original Chic jeans commercials (the REAL commercials) could have been restored for this release, but naturally that would have been too much to ask. As long as they kept the musical guests. And concerning the price: $63.00 is a PITTANCE for the only gift greater (to the 13-year-old in me) than world peace. Now just pray that they please FINISH THE JOB and release the rest of the Network 90 seasons!!! (I probably shouldn't say this (shh!), but I will pay ANY price. Next stop: Cinemax?)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A terrific memory of the best of eighties tv
Review: I positively loved SCTV (Second City) and SNL (Saturday Night Live). Call me crazy but these ensembles of comic genius gave us a pop cultural gift that will never be as influential. I was tickled to find this available and couldn't wait to see these episodes again. The dvd brings back some of the very best spoofs from SCTV. Ever wonder where Martin Short, Rick Moranis, John Candy, Dave Thomas, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, and Andrea Martin came from? Now you know, they honed their timing and impeccable comedic brilliance with one another on SCTV and they're all here in this dvd set.

"The Great White North" (Thomas and Moranis) used to make me laugh literally to tears as the northern beer-motivated border boys called the McKenzie brothers. (If you saw the movie "Brother Bear" - the moose characters reminded me so much of the hilarious McKenzie brothers it was uncanny) Two of my other favorite spoofs were "Polynesiantown," and "The Sammy Maudlin Show," but I also remember giggling while watching "Play It Again, Bob," and "Indira".

If you never watched SCTV, you missed these amazing comedians early on in their illustrious careers but you now have a "second" chance to fill your pop cultural history void and enjoy this wonderful series so go for it, rent it or own it but see it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Where's the really funny stuff?
Review: I was really looking forward to this Boxed DVD set. I have to admit I was disappointed. There was not enough Sammy Maudlin, Count Floyd, Lola Heatherton, Bobby Bitman, Johnny LaRue, William B., Schmeinge Brothers, Dr. Tounge, and well I could go on & on. My favorite skit is probably when Hollywood actors read Bible Verses. Kirk Douglas (Joe Flaherty) reading "The Lord Is My Shephard" is about the funniest bit I've ever seen on TV. Of course it wasn't in the set. Too much time was spent on talking about what a great time they had instead of the cast showing what a great time they had. The tribute to John Candy was awful. Show us the skits he was in which we remember him by. And as much as I like "Freaks & Geeks", the clip of that just to try to get you to buy that set was bogus. By the way, if I see one more bit with Dave Thomas as Bill Needle, I'll scream. Even though I was disappointed in this set, I'm sure I'll buy the 2nd one when it comes out. I only hope they'll do away with the tributes and small talk and show good SCTV bits. Here's hoping Kirk Douglas shows up.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Don't throw your TV set out the window!
Review: I'm glad to see SCTV finally out on DVD but why this season? The NBC stuff just wasn't as funny as their earlier shows. I guess it's because these are the episodes that are most familiar to American audiences but the show went from the core members in the early days writing a lot of funny, original stuff to having a bunch of writers and the comedy being stretched thinner over the 90 minute long episodes appearing each week. There is still a lot of great moments but the NBC run was really the lowest. That being said, I'm looking forward to rhe rest of the DVD releases, I might not buy them all but I still want to support them in the hopes of releasing the funny and original first season and strange, quirky last season of the non-NBC series, both of which contain the best content.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Missing Martin Short, but still an absolute classic!
Review: If you are unfamiliar with SCTV, that is simply something that must be remedied quickly. This is the set to do just that. After years of watching my old homemade VHS tapes of this show slowly deteriorate from too many viewings, finally they release this classic comedy on DVD.

However, the format is not how I remember it as I used to watch the half hour shows in reruns late at night as opposed to the 90 minute NBC shows depicted here, but many of the same bits are here. Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas do some dead on ringers of Woody Allen and Bob Hope. I think Rick does Woody better than Woody does, if that is possible. Who can forget the "Great White North"? There are simply some unforgettable moments of the kind of satire that makes the Simpson's so funny. The late great John Candy in some bits he later reprised in various films ("Splash", for example) playing Johnny LaRue, with his exercise show with famous line "better take it easy, my heart is beating like a rabbit". For those too young to remember Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, the comedy satire of "Mel's Rock Pile" may not make sense, but for those who do it is too funny for words.

The show was a parody of television, with "SCTV" representing a TV channel (likely modeled after 1970's ABC). The commercials, the "sweeps week", the late night programming, and the behind the scenes productions, and more, are all just a wonderfully written satire of what was the unbelievable spectacle of 1970's network television.

The only downer is that this set does not include the inclusion of Martin Short, who created some memorable characters such as Ed Grimly, and who participated in some of the best sketches they did. Also missing are dozens of classics which were not part of the NBC 90 minute show. That said we can always hope those are released in DVD quality as well. Considering how many films these actors went on to be in, they represent the same kind of talent development that made SNL famous. I would call this SNL combined with Monty Python, classic sketch comedy, but more satire than antics.

Highly recommended. It is great to see John Candy, Rick Moranis, Eugene Levy, and others so familiar to comedy films in the last two decades, and how they all got their start. Thanks for finally releasing these, now get busy with the second set!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Finally
Review: If you love SCTV, and there are a lot of us out there, this is a must have. I'm sorry to say that I've forgotten just how funny the cast and the characters they created were. The first nine episodes of the 90 minute show that aired at 12:30 on Friday nights are included here and the stuff is largely unaffected by the passage of time. To think the show was cancelled so that they could put on Friday night music videos...oh well, at least they've been digitized. If you've never seen the show, and you like to laugh...order this volume, you won't regret it. It's one of the most underrated comedy shows ever made. There's also a bonus called remembering SCTV with cast members that shows how the chemistry contributed to the creativity.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: SCTV is on the air
Review: It had been years since I last saw any of the SCTV shows, so this was like the end of a drought. Laugh out loud funny, with wonderful classic bits. I found the commentary offered by Eugene Levy and Joe Flaherty to be delightful, and the other extras (Remembering John, and the Aspen Comedy Festival, to name but two) quite wonderful. It is a must-own for serious comedy lovers.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ADD A STAR FOR BRILLIANCE
Review: It's been a long time coming, but the release of SCTV is a godsend. (...). Who could forget their rendition of the Godfather (I use this wheelchair for RESPECT!), or the infamous "crane shot" from the Chinatown parody (who authorized that???). Even the musical segments capture some great moments (Check out Wendy O. Williams!!!). Thanks to Shout for pursuing this, and BUY THIS SET!


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