Customer Reviews

SCTV: Behind the Scenes

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SCTV is perhaps the best comedy television ever produced or written. If you are at all a fan of the show, you will love this book. Who can forget Johnny Larue, 5 Neat Guys, The Days of the Week, The Great White North, the Sammy Maudlin Show, Bobby and Skip Bittman, and the VJ (before there were VJ's) Gerry Todd. The satire is dead on. The show just nails TV; the horrible vision that was the variety hour shows of the 70's, the newsroom, the "sweeps week", and especially the commercials.

The book itself is a running commentary on the show, it's stars, the writers, and the various ways the show aired. The photos are perhaps the best feature (who can forget Carl's Cuts with the pig-men) or the fact that Rick Moranis does Woody Allen better than Woody. Dave and Rick really do Bob Hope and Woody Allen so well it is scary. The book runs in mostly chronological order, with input from the starts all along the way. However, some of the commentary is WAY behind the scenes, perhaps a bit too far back for the average fan.

Dave Thomas, the author, does an excellent job of capturing the egos, the infighting, and the creative styles of the shows writers and performers. People often forget just how much talent came out of this ensemble: John Candy, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis, Catherine O'Hara; all have had major roles in TV and movie comedy since their stint on SCTV.

The best features of this book: The photos and the quizzes at the end of each chapter. The worst feature: too much information on the writers and producers behind the scenes and not enough info on what went in front of the cameras.

Overall, I recommend highly as a great look at the best comedy shows ever made.

For years, I'd been waiting for some kind of compendium of SCTV trivia or a chronology of shows, and when this book came out, I had to buy it.

It's missing commentary from a few of the principal cast members, but overall, well worth the investment. The insight into that one episode with Sir Ralph Richardson and Sir John Gielgud alone is worth it, and it's got a well-balanced view of the show from the producers, to the cast, to the production department, make-up artists, etc.

It's a tragedy that this brilliant show hasn't been put on DVD just yet, but it will. SCTV was far more irreverent than SNL, and much cleverer than Monty-Python, not to mention more prolific. Until then, pick this up as an SCTV primer.

All in all a good book that charts one of the most inventive shows in television history. SCTV on a bad day was better than most episodes of Saturday Night Live in my opinion, and this book chronicles the genius behind the show. I would have liked a bit more info on the actor's backgrounds and some of the post SCTV collaborations such as C.M.M. of Ed Grimley - but this book is both heartfelt and well-written, espescially in his honest reporting of the rest of the cast's resentment following his and Moranis' success following Strange Brew. A great read for any fan.

SCTV is one of the funniest shows of all time. The show was a sketch comedy show based around a fictional television station. Dave Thomas was one of the stars and writers on the show and most famously known as one half of the McKenzie Brothers which was created on the show. The book takes you from the early pre-TV days of the comedy troupe through to it's end. You get the insider's perspective from Mr. Thomas and it is a very intriguing read. The book is also chock full of great pictures. If you are a big fan of the show, this book is a must read.

If you've ever said, "Take off, hosers!" to your friends, or caught yourself humming the tune of "Who Made the Egg Salad Sandwiches?" or had a hankering for Mrs. Vilve Yachke's cabbage rolls and coffee, this book is for you. SCTV was, for my money, the best comedy sketch program ever, combining the hip irreverence of Saturday Night Live with the conceptual brilliance of Monty Python's Flying Circus, and featuring a cast so excellent that my favorite performer on the show was whoever I happened to be watching at the time. Dave Thomas, a cast member and head writer of the show, provides invaluable commentary on its the backstage operations and the sometimes less-than-amicable relations between cast members. The book is a great read for anyone who loved the show. One of the most refreshing things about it is Thomas's friendly, unpretentious, self-deprecating narration--even when he's admitting to being a jealous, angry, overambitious jerk!

Those with any gray matter in the '70s and '80s adored SCTV, and this loving tribute to one of the five funniest series ever on TV is sure to thrill and amuse anyone who loved the show. Dave Thomas, we love ya, and thanks to all of you great SCTV cast members--John Candy, Rick Moranis, Joe Flathery, Catherine O'Hara, Tony Rosato, Eugene Levy, and all the rest--who will live in our hearts and minds forever. This is definitely a must-read, written by someone who was actually there, unlike the SNL tell-alls. Hey...why hasn't there been an SCTV reunion???

This is like a sort of holy grail for SCTV fans. Tons of background information on how the cast(s) met and how they came together to create this unforgettable series. One of the things I liked about this book was how the writing process went for these people. It talks about how they got along with management and how passionate they were about getting their ideas on air. It also tells us what some of the highlights were for various cast members, but also some of the bad times. For instance, I didn't know how much tension there was among these people when Bob and Doug MacKenzie became stars. Even Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis were bothered by it, because they felt that those Great White North skits were not nearly the best things being produced on the show. It's also nice to see how things progressed over the years and how their outlooks on what they were producing changed. Just watch any first season episode and then one from a few years later and you will see what I mean. All in all, this is a very good read and is an ABSOLUTE MUST OWN for any fan of the show. You will definitely not be disappointed!

SCTV FAN? You should already have it then. Great book pick one up.

This is a must for fans of SCTV. There is much valuable information about the show and its cast, plus a wide array of enjoyable photographs. SCTV is easily the one of the best shows in the history of TV, and Dave Thomas explains why.

Dave Thomas - performer, writer, & producer on "SCTV Network" - gives us an insider's view of the great sketch comedy show which spawned such talents as John Candy, Martin Short, Harold Ramis, & Rick Moranis. Whereas "Saturday Night Live"'s backstage atmosphere was that of a snakepit, "SCTV"'s was friendly and harmonious, creating a more pure artistic statement (and one just as funny as "SNL," if not funnier). The show may have been less high-profile or propular than "SNL" when it was on, but it still has a large, loyal cult following and is often in reruns. That Thomas (most famed as one-half of "The McKenzie Brothers") was in the center of it all from it's inception guarantees the accuracy of all events reported. Plus, he gives generous space to the other writers and stars (among them Andrea Martin, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Robin Duke, & Tony Rosato - the latter two who were also on "SNL"), creating a full panorama of feelings and takes on different situations so that the "SCTV" story is told through the eyes of more than one person involved. A must-read for lovers of the show and anyone interested in comedy.