I was lucky enough to have experienced SCTV the first time around. Thirty years later, it's nice to hear that others of a new generation still find it as funny. It wasn't just the cheap weed after all. There were too many high points to list exhaustively: Dr Tongue's 3-D House of Stewardesses, the best movie satire ever made (The famous Godfather), the Schmenges, etc., etc. Read Dave Thomas's book for a great behind-the-scenes story. Between bootlegs dating back to the 70s, the 2001 NBC rebroadcasts and the TVLand broadcasts in 2003-4, I may have most of the original shows. The Rhino DVDs are good, but woefully incomplete. Their best contribution is the commentary. MAD-TV, with director John Blanchard and writer Paul Flaherty comes closest to the same spirit as SCTV. Still, despite some good skits and some actors, that show's weakness is having a live audience: like SNL, it dictates shtick. SCTV's greatness came from its isolation from critics and audience. That and the isolation of Edmonton. All the actor/writers had left was the purity of the show. Post-SCTV, like the Beatles, the parts never equaled the whole. Still a great hallmark of comedy! And Dave Thomas should sue Bill O'Reilly for stealing his Bill Needle character!
