History Series / SCTV

* {{Kaiju}}: Grogan on ''The Tim Ishimura Show'' and Johnny Nucleo (and {{Godzilla}} (!)) on "Towering Inferno."

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Both Guy Caballero (who ranks up with [[Main/TheSimpsons Mr. Burns]]) in all-around venality and Melonville Mayor Tommy Shanks (involved in bribery, but his corruption is more along the lines of him being [[HanlonsRazor too stupid to know any better]] than any inherent vice.)

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Both Guy Caballero (who ranks up with [[Main/TheSimpsons Mr. Burns]]) in all-around venality and Melonville Mayor Tommy Shanks (involved in bribery, but his corruption is more along the lines of him being [[CloudCuckoolander too stupid to know any better]] than any inherent vice.)

* CanadaEh: Taken to a truly extreme length in the episode "The Sammy Maudlin 23rd Anniversary Show", where the station has to pipe in broadcasting from the {{CBC}} due to budget cutbacks. The resulting footage skewers several Canadian films and series (including ''Goin' Down The Road'', ''Front Page Challenge'' and the "Hinterland Who's Who" nature commercials) and makes fun of established institutions like curling and Prince Edward Island.

The show started with a thirty-minute format on the GlobalTelevisionNetwork, which ran from 1976-1979. After that, the show was picked up by {{CBC}} and expanded to an hour. During this era, the show's most popular characters, Bob and Doug [=McKenzie=], debuted. The show was expanded to ninety minutes in 1981 when Creator/{{NBC}} picked it up as late-night programming (this version was known as ''SCTV Network 90''). During this stretch of the run, coupled with the fact that it was neither live nor taped before a live audience, it was able to push the boundaries of traditional sketch comedy. It won 15 Emmys over its network lifespan. A final season of 45-minute episodes aired on Superchannel in Canada and Cinemax in the U.S. (as ''SCTV Channel'') over 1983-84.

** Supposedly Perini Scleroso was Turkish according to one sketch, but who knows

[[caption-width-right:350:[-Top row, left to right: EugeneLevy as Bobby Bittman, JohnCandy as Johnny [=LaRue=], Andrea Martin as Edith Prickley. Bottom row, left to right: Catherine O'Hara as Dusty Towne, Joe Flaherty as Guy Caballero, RickMoranis as Bob [=McKenzie=] and Dave Thomas as his brother Doug.-] ]]

This show, ''{{SCTV}} (Second City Television)'', has probably had more impact on American comedy than most American shows.

How is that? Well, let's run down the original cast: JohnCandy. Joe Flaherty. EugeneLevy. Andrea Martin. Catherine O'Hara. Harold Ramis. Dave Thomas. Add in latecomers RickMoranis and Martin Short, and you have a veritable who's who of comedy. Due to the connections between the Chicago and Toronto branches of the Second City comedy troupe, there was considerable constructive feedback between this show and ''SaturdayNightLive.''

* YouSayTomato: JohnCandy and EugeneLevy as Yosh and Stan Schmenge each pronounced their last name slightly different (which was part of the joke). Candy pronounced it "''Shmen''-gee", while Levy's pronunciation sounded more like "''Schman''-gee."

* BreakoutCharacter: Bob and Doug were created to be strictly filler to satisfy, and make fun of, Canadian Content broadcast rules, but they became the most popular characters of the series. In fact, the show itself lampshades this in "The Great White North Palace." In that episode, Guy Caballero realizes how popular Bob and Doug are, and gives them their own variety show to shore up the flagging network. This is [[ThePeterPrinciple completely outside the brothers' comfort zone]], however, and the show is an instant failure.

** Especially evident in the 30 minute episodes, which would often do [[ANSIStandardBroadcastTVSchedule a full day's worth of shows]] in 30 minutes (and in the proper order, at that).

* VitriolicBestBuds: Guy Caballero and Bill Needle, [[InsistentTerminology critic at large]]

In 1976, there was a small group of comedians who had worked together for a season on a previous series, ''The David Steinberg Show'' -- a sort of ''[[ItsGarryShandlingsShow It's Gary Shandling's Show]]'' a good decade before Garry Shandling did it. They got together and produced a sketch comedy show around the premise that the sketches were episodes of local shows (or commercials for local businesses) being produced and aired by the television station for the mythical city of Melonville.

* NightmareRetardant:[[invoked]] Count Floyd is often frustrated by the tendency of the movies featured on ''Monster Chiller Horror Theatre'' to have this... if the films are even horror films at all, as opposed to old RatPack movies or IngmarBergman films.

The show started with a thirty-minute format on the Global Television Network, which ran from 1976-1979. After that, the show was picked up by {{CBC}} and expanded to an hour. During this era, the show's most popular characters, Bob and Doug [=McKenzie=], debuted. The show was expanded to ninety minutes in 1981 when Creator/{{NBC}} picked it up as late-night programming (this version was known as ''SCTV Network 90''). During this stretch of the run, coupled with the fact that it was neither live nor taped before a live audience, it was able to push the boundaries of traditional sketch comedy. It won 15 Emmys over its network lifespan. A final season of 45-minute episodes aired on Superchannel in Canada and Cinemax in the U.S. (as ''SCTV Channel'') over 1983-84.

How is that? Well, let's run down the original cast: JohnCandy. Joe Flaherty. EugeneLevy. Andrea Martin. Catherine O'Hara. Harold Ramis. Dave Thomas. Martin Short. Add in latecomer RickMoranis, and you have a veritable who's who of comedy. Due to the connections between the Chicago and Toronto branches of the Second City comedy troupe, there was considerable constructive feedback between this show and ''SaturdayNightLive.''

The show started with a thirty-minute format on the Global Television Network, which ran from 1976-1979. After that, the show was picked up by {{CBC}} and expanded to an hour. During this era, the show's most popular characters, Bob and Doug [=McKenzie=], debuted. The show was expanded to ninety minutes in 1981 when {{NBC}} picked it up as late-night programming (this version was known as ''SCTV Network 90''). During this stretch of the run, coupled with the fact that it was neither live nor taped before a live audience, it was able to push the boundaries of traditional sketch comedy. It won 15 Emmys over its network lifespan. A final season of 45-minute episodes aired on Superchannel in Canada and Cinemax in the U.S. (as ''SCTV Channel'') over 1983-84.

* DeadAir: During an episode about an up-and-coming boxer who was slated to fight the champ on their station. The entire episode is spent hyping up the underdog, even making a short film about him. At the end, when the fight begins, the underdog is [[CurbStompBattle knocked out by a single punch,]] leaving SCTV with nothing but dead air for the remainder of the program as they desperately looked for something, anything they could fill it with.

* ExecutiveMeddling: The level of influence NBC tried to impose upon the show during its run on the American network is the stuff of legend.
** They sent executives up to Edmonton to provide input into the show's development (which the cast and crew often ignored because it was stupid), gave them minimal budgets for each episode, and aired the show at odd hours (''11:30 PM???'' on a '''Sunday?'''). It's a wonder the show survived, and even thrived, because of these setbacks.

** Guy Caballero after the movie ''The Gay Caballero''.

* VitriolicBestBuds: Guy Caballero and Bill Needle, [[{{InsistentTerminology}} critic at large]]

** Newsman Floyd Robertson also portrayed "Count Floyd" on ''Monster Chiller Horror Theater'' (a not-uncommon practice at RealLife stations in the heyday of locally-produced kiddie shows and horror hosts.)

* NightmareRetardant:[[invoked]] Count Floyd is often frustrated by the tendency of the movies featured on ''Monster Chiller Horror Theatre'' to have this, if the films are actually horror films at all.

* BreakoutCharacter: Bob and Doug were created to be strictly filler to satisfy, and make fun of, Canadian Content broadcast rules, but they became the most popular characters of the series. In fact, the show itself lampshades this in "The Great White North Palace." In that episode, Guy Cabellero realizes how popular Bob and Doug are, and gives them their own variety show to shore up the flagging network. This is [[ThePeterPrinciple completely outside the brothers' comfort zone]], however, and the show is an instant failure.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Both Guy Cabellero (who ranks up with [[Main/TheSimpsons Mr. Burns]]) in all-around venality and Melonville Mayor Tommy Shanks (involved in bribery, but his corruption is more along the lines of him being [[CloudCuckoolander too stupid to know any better]] than any inherent vice.)

* ObfuscatingDisability: Used by Guy Cabellero, the owner of the TV station, who used a wheelchair even though he could walk, apparently "for respect".

* VitriolicBestBuds: Guy Cabellero and Bill Needle, [[{{InsistentTerminology}} critic at large]]

** Officer Friendly's segment was a very specific one, a parody of MisterRogersNeighborhood. Like the other show, it featured interviews with special guests and cartoon segments. Unlike Mr. Rogers, however, Officer Friendly was a real police officer, and his guests were in jail. When they didn't want to talk to him right away, he'd smile, and introduce the cartoon. [[ViolenceDiscretionShot After the cartoon ended, the guest had bruises and cut lips, and whimpered]], but was much more forthcoming.

* StuffBlowingUp: The ''Farm Film Report'' critics like movies with this trope the best. ("Blowed up real good!") Even when reviewing art-house fare. They love Michelangelo Antonioni's ''ZabriskiePoint'' (where everything blows up at the end), but are sadly and ironically disappointed by ''BlowUp'' -- in which nothing blows up!

->''"Don't touch that dial! Don't touch that one either! And stop touching yourself! SCTV is on the air!"''

** "Sweeps Week" (''{{Poltergeist}}'')

** "TheGodfather" (Though it only takes up about 2/3rds of the episode)

----

* StuntCasting: Several musicians also acted in skits, including Natalie Cole, Tony Bennett, Hall & Oates, The Boomtown Rats. Several actors also appeared, including Sir John Gieguld, Al Jarreau (who starred in a parody of ''The Jazz Singer'') and John Marley (Jack Woltz from ''The Godfather'', playing the exact same character as the one from the film)

** Officer Friendly's segment was a very specific one, a parody of MisterRogersNeighborhood. Like the other show, it featured interviews with special guests and cartoon segments. Unlike Mr. Rogers, however, Officer Friendly was in the show a real police officer, and his guests were in jail. When they didn't want to talk to him right away, he'd smile, and introduce the cartoon. [[ViolenceDiscretionShot after the cartoon ended, the guest had bruises and cut lips, and whimpered]], but was much more forthcoming.

* TakeThat: Bob and Doug [=McKenzie=] were created to mock a CBC requirement that the show contain at least two minutes of "distinctively Canadian content." And yes, the StylisticSuck was also intentional, thinking that this is what the CBC deserved for making such a demand.

** When the CBC picked up the show, they demanded a segment of "identifiably Canadian content," despite the fact that the show was already a fully Canadian production. So, they created a sarcastic reply in the form of "The Great White North", with Bob and Doug McKenzie.

* BreakoutCharacter: Bob and Doug were created to be strictly filler to satisfy, and make fun of, Canadian Content broadcast rules, but they became the most popular characters of the series. In fact, the show itself lampshades this in "The Great White North Palace." In that episode, Guy Cabellero realizes how popular Bob and Doug are, and gives them their own variety show to shore up the flagging network. This is completely outside the brothers' comfort zone, however, and the show is an instant failure.