The final 1982-83 fifth season (although, yes, it is the fourth volume) in SCTV's legendary Network 90 incarnation is somewhat like Monty Python's Cleese-less series (as by this time, regulars Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis, and Catherine O'Hara had departed), but John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, and Andrea Martin remain a dream team, and Martin Short moves from "new kid" status to breakout star. His signature character, the hitched-pants geek Ed Grimley, more than fills the void left by the dear, departed Mackenzie brothers, as witness the wonderful sketches "The Fella Who Couldn't Wait for Christmas," "Whatever Happened to Baby Ed?" and "The Nutty Lab Assistant." In addition to his definitive Jerry Lewis ("Scenes From an Idiot's Marriage"), Short also performs wicked impressions of Jamie Farr and Robin Williams (the real Robin Williams enlivens the Emmy-nominated episode "Jane Eyrehead" with his performance as a closeted Leo Gorcey in the brilliant cross-parody, "The Bowery Boys in the Band."). Other classic episodes include the Emmy-nominated "Sweeps Week" (featuring the jiggly new game show, "Jumping for Dollars"), "Sammy Maudlin 23rd Anniversary/CBC," in which a janitor's strike forces Guy Cabellero to broadcast content from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ("It's a Canadian Fact," "Hinterland's Who's Who"), and the election night special "Melonvote." DVD extras include commentary tracks, an interview with Short, cast and crew home movies, and some original Canadian TV clips that served as fodder for SCTV parodies. Recommended. (D. Liebenson)
SCTV, Volume 4
Shout! Factory, 6 discs, 840 min., not rated, DVD: $89.98 Volume 20, Issue 6
SCTV, Volume 4
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: