SCTV

"SCTV" was one of my favorite television shows in the early '80s. Arguably the funniest comedy show I've ever seen, it was bright, original, and even subversive in it's own subtle way. It was in the same league as the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players from the first seasons of "Saturday Night Live". It even rose to the same level of genius that Monty Python's Flying Circus achieved. Such is my opinion, but it is shared by many (Conan O'Brien, for one, has said that SCTV was his all-time favorite comedic series, and that his own humor is greatly influenced by the actors on the program).

It was where John Candy got his start, but by no means was he the stand-out performer on "SCTV". Every member of the cast brought something unique and hilarious to the show. It was basically a character-driven show with each actor portraying several different ones. The skit comedy based around these characters was held together by bogus commercials and promos for upcoming shows (almost all of which were scheduled for "Thursday at 9:00 pm"), the concept being a day in the life of a small, struggling TV station.

The cast and some of their unforgettable characters:

John Candy: Johnny LaRue, Harry (the guy with the snake painted on his face) from "Harry's Sex Shop", Dr. Tongue

Joe Flaherty: Guy Caballero, Count Floyd, Sammy Maudlin, Rocco (from "The Days of the Week" soap opera)

Eugene Levy: Bobby Bitman, Earl Camembert

Andrea Martin: Edith Prickley, Mojo (from "The Days of the Week")

Catherine O'Hara: Lola Heatherton

Rick Moranis: Bob McKenzie, Gerry Todd

Dave Thomas: Bill Needle, Doug McKenzie

Martin Short: Ed Grimley

These are not the only characters these guys have invented...just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. They are also by no means "funnier" than other personas, but they are awful damn funny.

A few weeks ago while buying staple products at the Dollar General Store I noticed that they still had a copy of the complete NBC Cycle 1 DVD box set...I had seen the first three seasons on their shelves about a year before, but had not been able to buy them at the time. They are all five disc boxes and for whatever reason they were being sold there for $10. Which is incredible, seeing as how they go for over $50 new on Amazon. And these were all new, still in the shrink wrap.

So, this last time I saw the first set and I had to buy it. I got it home and watched the first episode. That was all it took to remind me of just how awesome "SCTV" was. It was even funnier than I remembered it being. The best 10 bucks I've spent in a long time, that was for sure.

I wanted more, and I remembered that, all that time ago, they'd also had the 2nd and 3rd seasons. I doubted they were still around, because surely there was someone, even in this small town, who remembered how great "SCTV" was and would snatch those suckers up for that bargain price. I went back to the store and searched through every cheap DVD and VHS tape...I even checked the rack behind it, thinking that they may have slipped back there.

My persistance and tenacity in the search paid off, as I miraculously located the DVDs. I was happy to find 'em, but really very surprised that no one had snagged them before my return. I mean, this was at least a year later.

I didn't know if the last NBC cycle, the fourth volume, was to be found at any of the many Dollar Stores within a 30 mile radius of the one in my town. It's a 6-disc set, and for some reason I thought that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to track down. But I tried. I went to six or seven dollar stores and raided their miniscule video sections. I actually found copies of the first and third seasons at a few locations. But season 4 eluded me, and I had almost given up on ever finding it. I even considered paying the full asking price at Amazon because I so wanted the complete series.

Even so, I continued to look in the Dollar Stores. I was through with the quest, but you never know, now, do you?

Then one day when I took my family to Seminole, to buy groceries and eat at A&W, we needed to get something from the Dollar Store there. I had not hit this one up earlier, but I still had little hope that I would find what I was looking for.

Lo and behold IT WAS THERE!!! Same $10 price tag. I snatched that thing up like there was a line of people outside the door, each one wanting to take it for their own. I could hardly believe it...the entire NBC cycle of one of the greatest television shows in history, preserved in pristine digital quality and spanning a whopping TWENTY-ONE discs, all mine for FORTY DOLLARS.

These "SCTV" sets are some of the most cherished DVDs in my collection (second only to my copy of the Sigur Ros documentary, "Heima"). I have watched 20 of the 21 discs and I'm sure I'll go through the entire run on a yearly basis for the next few years. Unlike the majority of TV programs throughout the years, this one doesn't seem to get old.

So if you're out and about and you find yourself at a Dollar General Store, take a gander at the video aisle and hunt for one of these gems. Even if you can only track down one season, it's worth a lot more than ten dollars and you'll no doubt come to think of it as money well-spent.