Customer Reviews

Sctv: Behind the Scenes

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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!

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 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

SCTV was as funny as TV ever got. That's what I tell people when the subject of Second City Television is introduced. It's cast of nobodys, shown too late for most to find, and coming from Canada made the early years of the show less than noteworthy. Yet, like a great restaurant nobody knew about, the secret didn't last. SCTV became a success because it showcased talented, funny people in a show with few restrictions (or expectations)! SCTV: Behind the Scenes shows how the cast created the show and how they managed to work together. If you loved the show, this book will add to your appreciation of what became the funniest show on TV.

This sat on my "wish list" for quite a while because it was unavailable. However, it recently was restocked here at Amazon, and I suspect that it was because of the upcoming release of the first set of DVDs of the show. Well, the wait was worth it, and the timing great! Can't wait to get the DVDs even more now after reading Dave's very interesting, very well produced book. The human stories, the business insights, as well as the hilarious recantings of many legendary skits come together perfectly here. I only wished there were more direct quotes from Eugene and Andrea. It seems Andrea was the most inaccessible, perhaps because of some bad blood between she and Dave (?).

Any true fan of SCTV owes it to themselves to read this book. Very interesting. Very funny.

This is a book more about how the SCTV concept came about and was executed, rather than a bunch of reflections about where the idea for this or that sketch came from. While I'd like to hear these stories, I was refreshed with an insight into the details of producing a series and how they relate to Thomas' progression as an artist. Between the lines, there's much to be learned about the entertainment industry itself.