SCTV Network 90

Unlike Fridays, which had great music but mostly forgettable if not downright awful comedy, SCTV had some of the best music guests on top of brilliant satire:

The Plasmatics, Jimmy Buffett, Levon Helm, the Tubes, Talking Heads, Hall & Oates, The Plastics...how rare was it for the Plastics to be on American TV? Where else could you see The Boomtown Rats, including in a comedy skit?

Where else could you see Jackie Kennedy (seriously?) doin comedy? Carol Burnett as a guest star? Spoofs of Evita and Dirty Harry? Dr. Tongue's House of Stewardesses in 3D?

And future comedy giants, Eugene Levy, John Candy, Rick Moranis. Unlike both Fridays and SNL, SCTV was consistently funny.

Too bad they don't Write shows like this any longer. Canada truly Delivers With Comedy and it's Actors!

When NBC hired the producers and cast members of "Second City Television" for "SCTV Network 90," they provided them with a larger budget and longer programming time than the original show had. As a result, the performers/writers elaborated on the show's original premise of a cheap TV station. Established characters like Joe Flaherty's Guy Caballero and Andrea Martin's Edith Prickley were deepened with more quirks that often thematically unified the sketches, such as an episode when Guy's job as station owner is threatened when he forges a check. The sketches became lengthier and more layered, exploring further possibilities in television satire, such as a "Godfather" parody likening TV executives to mob bosses. And SCTV still maintained its comic bite, thanks to both the writing and the performers. The humor remained intelligent and insightful and unlike SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE never became self-consciously hip or stale. SCTV 90 provided some of the greatest TV comedy ever, the like which we may never see again.

SCTV was always a great show, but during the brief rein of "Network 90," the series really hit its stride. Mired in an awful time slot (12:30 a.m., just after the "Tonight Show"), it nonetheless built a loyal audience. The ensemble cast of "Network 90" was SCTV's strongest, especially for the handful of brilliant shows when Martin Short first joined the cast, and Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis hadn't left yet. All cast members perfected stunning imitations of noted celebrities, but most people probably recall the original characters even more fondly. Dr. Tongue, Count Floyd, Lola Heatherton, Sammy Maudlin and every member of "Pre-Teen World" and "Five Neat Guys" are some of my favorites. I'd love to see a great box release of SCTV's best on DVD.

In an alternate universe, SCTV is still on the air after 30 years, and SNL was cancelled after the 1979 season. And the people living in that alternate universe are both much happier and better off than we will ever be.

SCTV is simply one of the greatest television programs ever. Surreal, topical, and laugh out loud funny, it simply must be experienced to be believed. And the performers were easily the most talented bunch ever to work on a television comedy. Now an entirely new generation can behold and enjoy this gem.

Thank God for DVD!