The history of television flashing before your eyes

Nobody, but nobody, could bite the hand that fed them like SCTV could. Some of the greatest, most devastating satire ever produced on television about television came from this show, which began on Canadian television in the mid-1970s before making the move to NBC, and then Cinemax, running for a total of six seasons. (I always thought the smart move on NBC's part would have been to dump Saturday Night Live and put SCTV in the timeslot, but what do I know?)

Increasingly, I find that when I watch highlight clips from television shows of the 1970s and '80s—the reels you see on excellent YouTube channels like FredFlix and RwDT09—I become convinced that I'm actually watching an SCTV rerun. Of course, those were the programs that SCTV was satirizing in the first place, but their ideas were so absurd at yet at the same time so plausible, it really can be hard to tell the difference.

There's a lot more to SCTV than satire, though. The elaborate, occasionally show-length skits are smart and literate as well as funny, and even when they're ravaging television, they manage to show a warmth and respect for it at the same time. This is particularly evident in 1983's "Sweeps Week," an Emmy-winning episode that takes on the practice of loading up the Sweeps period with the most spectacular, titilating, exploitative programming possible. The centerpiece of the episode (besides the absurd The Dallas Cowgirls Salute Copland) is a nearly 50-minute skit entitled Night of the PrimeTime Stars, a ridiculous parody of celebrity-laden variety shows ("starring" Linda Lavin, Lorne Greene, Jamie Farr, Merlin Olsen and Gavin MacLeod), wrapped up in a Poltergeist-like story.

Amid the satire, though, a couple of moments stand out: John Candy's spot-on impression of Jackie Gleason playing Ralph Kramden, and Andrea Martin's wicked take on What's My Line? star Arlene Francis. These, and other references throught the skit (culminating in a "regurgitation" of the history of television) display a true knowledge of and affection for the those old shows and the pioneers of television behind them, an appreciation that can't be faked. Here, take a break and check it out for yourself.

 

Of course, this familiarity with the medium's history is something that runs through the course of SCTV; how many people know, for example, that Joe Flaherty's private detective character Vic Arpeggio is a takeoff on John Cassavetes' "jazz detective" Johnny Staccico? That takes a real appreciation for history.

It is said that NBC, which saw SCTV as a stopgap until something better came along, was surprised by the show's popularity among young viewers, who presumably wouldn't be familiar with these "old" shows. The same thing they say about why they don't release vintage TV on DVD any more, isn't it? I guess it just goes to show how smart those network executives are, doesn't it? TV  

Around the dial

One of these days I'm going to hold a contest for you all to come up with the best caption/story behind the pictures I use in this feature each week. It doesn't matter what the real meaning of the picture is; take this week's, for example. I have no idea what the context is, but whatever it is, I'm confident that you can come up with a better, more entertaining one. For our classic TV bloggers out there, it should be no trouble at all.

One of the things I like best about Rick's movie reviews at Classic Film & TV Café is that they can make me want to watch a movie I've never considered before. Take Hour of the Gun, director John Sturgess' follow-up to The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. It boasts a stellar cast, including James Garner in a rare straight dramatic role, and dwells in the aftermath of an event that became part of American history.

Staying in the Western genre, Television's New Frontier: The 1960s takes measure of Whispering Smith, the 1961 Audie Murphy Western that I reviewed myself a while back. I think the series made a more positive impression on me than it did at New Frontier, but there's some fascinating insider and behind-the-scenes information on this single-season series. I wonder if I can interest Eventually Supertrain in this.

Audie Murphy was a tough guy indeed, but so was Robert Conrad, and David has a very nice appreciation of Conrad's career at Comfort TV. The man has a lot of credits, and even in the shows and movies that were, shall we say, less than memorable, he almost always rose about his material.

Speaking of appreciation, you'll know from my TV Guide reviews how much I appreciate the rip jobs that Judith Crist would write about a particularly bad Saturday Night at the Movies feature. (There were a couple of good ones last week, in fact.) Therefore, you can't be surprised that I thoroughly enjoyed (and agreed with) the trashing of the PBS series Sandotin, based on the unfinished novel by Jane Austen, at The Flaming Nose. My wife, who loves Austen, wouldn't go near this.

Finally, on Wednesday I wrote about a rather critical review of The Andy Griffith Show, which generated a good number of interesting comments. One of the best came from BDHarrell, who linked to a very, very funny spoof from Spy magazine titled "The Truth About My Three Sons."  If you don't read any other link from today's roundup (and, really, you should read them all), read this one. I think you'll be glad you did. TV