| rdfs:comment | - Proof that Canadians are attempting to control America through comedy. In 1976, there was a small group of comedians who had worked together for a season on a previous series, The David Steinberg Show -- a sort of It's Gary Shandling's Show a good decade before Garry Shandling did it. They got together and produced a sketch comedy show around the premise that the sketches were episodes of local shows (or commercials for local businesses) being produced and aired by the television station for the mythical city of Melonville.
- SCTV (Second City Television) was a Canadian television sketch comedy show which ran in various incarnations from 1976 to 1984, first in syndication, then on CBC Television, on NBC (as SCTV Network 90), and finally on Cinemax. A blend of sitcom and sketch humor, the series focused on the SCTV station in the small town of Melonville, its eccentric staff, and array of programming (including movie spoofs and celebrity impersonations). By the time it reached NBC, most episodes featured wraparound plot lines or themes involving the station.
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| abstract | - SCTV (Second City Television) was a Canadian television sketch comedy show which ran in various incarnations from 1976 to 1984, first in syndication, then on CBC Television, on NBC (as SCTV Network 90), and finally on Cinemax. A blend of sitcom and sketch humor, the series focused on the SCTV station in the small town of Melonville, its eccentric staff, and array of programming (including movie spoofs and celebrity impersonations). By the time it reached NBC, most episodes featured wraparound plot lines or themes involving the station. Several fictional characters from the show have crossed-over into the Muppet universe as celebrity cameos (performed by the original actor), or were re-worked slightly for their appearances.
* Mrs. Falbo, under the name "Wanda Falbo (Word Fairy)," appeared as a recurring element on Sesame Street
* Edith Prickley appeared in various roles on Sesame Street, and in animated form as the earliest version of Lecture Lady
* Yosh Shmenge appeared in an episode in which he sells a clarinet to Slimey, and the celebrity version of "Put Down the Duckie"
* Ed Grimley appeared on Sesame Street (a clip of which was seen in Stars and Street Forever!) and Muppets Tonight episode 110.
* Irving Cohen appeared on Muppets Tonight episode 110.
- Proof that Canadians are attempting to control America through comedy. In 1976, there was a small group of comedians who had worked together for a season on a previous series, The David Steinberg Show -- a sort of It's Gary Shandling's Show a good decade before Garry Shandling did it. They got together and produced a sketch comedy show around the premise that the sketches were episodes of local shows (or commercials for local businesses) being produced and aired by the television station for the mythical city of Melonville. This show, SCTV (Second City Television), has probably had more impact on American comedy than most American shows. How is that? Well, let's run down the original cast: John Candy. Joe Flaherty. Eugene Levy. Andrea Martin. Catherine O'Hara. Harold Ramis. Dave Thomas. Martin Short. Add in latecomer Rick Moranis, and you have a veritable who's who of comedy. Due to the connections between the Chicago and Toronto branches of the Second City comedy troupe, there was considerable constructive feedback between this show and Saturday Night Live. The show started with a thirty-minute format on the Global Television Network, which ran from 1976-1979. After that, the show was picked up by CBC and expanded to an hour. During this era, the show's most popular characters, Bob and Doug McKenzie, debuted. The show was expanded to ninety minutes in 1981 when NBC picked it up as late-night programming (this version was known as SCTV Network 90). During this stretch of the run, coupled with the fact that it was neither live nor taped before a live audience, it was able to push the boundaries of traditional sketch comedy. It won 15 Emmys over its network lifespan. A final season of 45-minute episodes aired on Superchannel in Canada and Cinemax in the U.S. (as SCTV Channel) over 1983-84.
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