SNL vs. SCTV

[RoyGBiv]

Poll question: SNL vs. SCTV

In terms of raw talent and continued influence, which is most excellent, eh?

(Disclaimer: Yes, I'm addicted to SCTV re-reruns on TVLand)

[drm604]

1. A clarification

Al Franken was with SNL not SCTV.

[RoyGBiv]

3. Clarification, part 2

Yes, you are correct. My apologies.

Poll edited.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. SCTV was WAAAAY ahead of it s time...and was never on a major network.

oops/ According to this it was on NBC. I thought it was on another channel...

SCTV (Second City Television) starred John Candy, Eugene Levy, Joe Flaherty, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, Catherine O'Hara, Harold Ramis, Martin Short, and Dave Thomas, and featured Robin Duke and Tony Rosato. Among SCTV's breakout characters are Edith Prickley, Count Floyd, Ed Grimley, Johnny LaRue, Sammy Maudlin, Guy Caballero, Bobby Bittman, Lola Heatherton, The Shmenge Brothers, and The McKenzie Brothers.

SCTV ran from 1976-1984, showing in Canada on Global Television and CBC Television, and in the US on NBC Television and Cinemax. The show was called "Second City TV" from 1976-1981, "SCTV Network 90" from 1981-1983, and "SCTV Channel" from 1983-1984.

-

[RoyGBiv]

5. Possible confusion ...

You may (or may not) have been confused by the same thing that confused me on Al Franken. There was a short-lived sketch comedy show called The New Show that tried to sort of merge SCTV talent with the SNL format. Al Franken was a writer for this show. It ran less than a full season on NBC, but few really remember it as being on a network. It was just that show that went nowhere.

Anyway, yeah, it was definitely ahead of its time. I'm watching this show now and thinking there are skits here that inspired some of my favorite skits from shows like MadTV.

[u4ic]

4. SCTV all the way, bay-bee!

[Blue_Tires]

6. SNL arguably has had more influence

(especially when you count the ground-breaking original crew of 1975-80)

but SCTV was able to do much, much more with less, and easily had more comedic talent and better chemistry.

I've always been a BIG sctv fan as well (along with kids in the hall)

[a kennedy]

7. Oh my gawd....SCTV was a staple of mine on friday night @ midnight.

Our NBC affiliate carried SCTV at midnight every friday night. The best television around at the time. I watched the TV Land episodes of SCTV, but it wasn't the same. It had everything, but was chopped up so bad it wasn't the same. Nope, the first one time 90 minute original run was just the best. SCTV, not even SNL could come close to the talent that SCTV had, genius. They were all so gifted. I miss it terribly. :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[RoyGBiv]

8. More with less ...

After watching a skit that was a parody of a commercial, it occurred to me that the props in this show were horrible, made of cardboard and standard foil. It could have come off like a bad high school skit, but it didn't. That, to me, is part of the measure of their brilliance.

As for influence, I dunno. In a numbers game, yeah, SNL might win simply because it has run so long and thus has been able to produce so many singular talents. But, if you take the original SNL cast and the SCTV cast as a whole and compare them, which do you see and/or benefit from the influence of more often? Bill Murray is still working, and doing some good work I might add, but with SCTV, several of the cast members are still on the cutting edge of comedy today. Eugene Levy, for example, still shows up everywhere. I personally think he's been the saving grace to many movies that could have been pure garbage without him.

Now if Gilda Radner had lived ...

[sasquatch]

9. I just saw the thrown fight scit and shoplifter torture

:D