The two reviews written so far are so all-inclusive, that I really don't have that much to add. I would like to point out a few things to those who don't know who all these people are:

1) John Candy - the loveable fat guy that died before his time. Probably everyone knows who Candy is. Although he was seemingly in every "B" comedy film made in the 80's and 90's, his best work by far was in Uncle Buck (1989) and his BIG break was in "Stripes" (1981) with who other than Bill Murray and Harold Ramis. The young - almost "slim" (by comparison) Candy of the SCTV days is hilarious as the wanna-be actor/director. His emotions vary from rage to being a complete sycophant/toady to the boss. His blubbering when the chips are down and his ego when things are going his way is very reminiscent of Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden.

Some may not remember but Bill Murray also started out as an SCTV guy - I have seen him doing skits on STAGE with the SCTV gang - wow would that be a fun thing to dig up and put on DVD!!

2) Harold Ramis - the least "visible" of the SCTV bunch. Although Ramis didn't do a lot of work in front of the camera with SCTV (he did more early on less later on), he was THE driving force behind the writing of the show. Although all the cast members were brilliant comedians in their own right - Ramis was the premier writer of the bunch. Who else went on to write ....

Animal House
Meatballs
Caddy Shack
Stripes
Groundhog Day
Analyze that

Wow. Nuff said? Even if you don't know Ramis for his acting - you have to believe that he is a one of a kind comedy writer - and here is where he honed his art - SCTV!!

3) Joe Flaherty - Count Floyd!!! People these days know him as the guy in "Happy Gilmore" who harasses Sandler's character - making him lose his cool. Flaherty is an amazing character actor, and a pretty good impressionist as well. Although he can't match David Thomas for his impressions, or Eugene levy for his high-energy whackiness, he is a solid straight man with a goofy side as well. If you are old enough to remember the weather-guy from your local UHF station being the guy dressed up on friday nights introducing "scary" B-movies for your late-night enjoyment - then Count Floyd is the man for you. His new anchor is great as is his Guy Caballero. His best impression is probably a tie between his weasly Alan Alda and his spot-on Bing Crosby.

4) Eugene Levy - characters, characters, characters!! People today know him as the dad from "American Pie" and "American Wedding." Levy's strength - like all of the cast is original, hilarious characters, plus gut-busting impersonations. His vegas-schmaltzy, rat-pack wanna-be, comedian "Bobby Bitman" is a classic. His Gene Shallit and his Floyd the Barber (from Andy Griffith) impressions are spit-you-coke-through-your-nose funny. A lot of the humor from SCTV is "period-dependant," so I think a lot of the comedy will be lost on those who don't know who or what the guys and gals here are spoofing.

5) Andrea Martin - the Gilda Radner of SCTV. Probably best known these days as "Aunt Voula" from "My BIg Fat Greek Wedding." I think the ladies got the short end of the stick on SCTV. The main writers were guys - and 80% of the cast was guys. I think the ladies had a hard time getting their best material on. Martin's Edith Prickly is memorable, but not overly funny. She is allowed to shine most doing impressions - Indira Ghandi, Barbara Striesand, Marsha Mason - hilarious. She also gets worked into sketches "needing a woman" and shines there as well. As a footnote - After watching the "extras" on the DVD, the girls did in fact say that they had to fight hard to get their stuff to the front. I'm not suprised.

6) Catherine O'hara - The other SCTV "chick." O'Hara. hard to say what she is best known for by todays audiences - maybe "Cookie" from "Best in Show." O'hara's Lola Heatherton is my favorite - a complete mental breakdown waiting to happen. Today's audience might not quite understand how really really poor the "talent" of the 70's was. "Lola" was a kind of composite of the female singing talent of the times. For those that lived through it - we get it!! O'hara also gets "need a woman in this one" spots inthe sketches. She does a great Kate Hepburn impression.

7) Dave Thomas - Impressionist extraordinaire. These days he does animated voices (King of the Hill, The Simpsons) and is in a lot of forgetable movies. Dave does the best Bob Hope ever, the best Cronklite, the best Richard Harris, Michael Caine, DeForest Kelly (bones from Star Trek), etc , etc. He is also the HOSER brother Doug McKenzie to Rick Moranis' Bob. These two probaly had the single most famous offshoot from SCTV - the McKenzie brothers. they made a great cult-movie from it, and even those who don't know SCTV know "take off eh?"

8) Rick Moranis - yet another master of impressions. Probably the most well known of the SCTV "core" gang. He has done so many movies I can't imagine anyone doesn't know of him today - Honey I Shrunk the Kids + sequels, Ghostbusters, The Flintstones, Parenthood. His Woody Allen might be better then Woody Allen himself. His Merv Griffin and Dick Cavett are hilarious and his David Brinkley slays. Of course he is the younger of the McKenzie brothers what a hose-head. His "Larry Siegel" is an amalgam of every fast-talking, know it all producer in Hollywood is perfect - and timely even today.

Tony Rosato and Robin Duke were bit players kind of like the people who get the "also appearing" slot on Saturday Night Live. I don't know a lot about them or their current careers. Also, Martin Short, while probably the second-most well know SCTV alum (behind Bill Murray) was a late-addition to the team. The SCTV I know and loved was all about these "core" of 7 that I have covered.

The funniest show ever made was Monty Python. After that what was there? For many people in the 70's there was only SNL. They simply didn't know about this obscure little group out of Toronto. Here is the low-down....

SCTV had better writers and better actors than SNL, period. The brilliance of SCTV was that the writers and the actors were the SAME PEOPLE. That is what made the quality of the show so much better.

The same people that made SCTV what it was - are movers and shakers in the industry today. We are all familiar with them, and they are still very influential in the comedy movie business. Even though many of them aren't center stage - every time one of them has a project or a role - they get others from the good old days parts. Hence, the people you see in all the funny movies today, even if you don't know them or they don't have the "star power" of the likes of Martin Short or Bill Murray - they are all from this little company called SCTV that used to make a funny show back in the 70's.

I hear the 2nd edition comes out at the end of the year I can't wait!!!!

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older