Summary of "Volume 3 - Volume 3": I recently picked up a British DVD of the sketch show Big Train (which features Simon Pegg of Shaun of the Dead fame.) In one episode he and another cast member play Daryl Hall & John Oates. I watched this, laughed, and put in the SCTV disc with Chariots of Eggs (which spoofs Chariots of Fire obviously, only with more eggs) - which features Daryl Hall & John Oates. I couldn't breath. It's was the comedy equivalent of mixing household cleaners. Don't do it, you'll only asphyxiate yourself.
I would have to say that this is a banner year for SCTV. While some members were moving on, they did still put in appearances, so it's hard to tell they supposed to be gone. And Martin Short joins the cast, upping the ante for everyone with his energy and insane impressions. Considering they're all excellent impressionists and a few, like Eugene Levy and Rick Moranis and spectacular, adding Martin Short to the mix made for fireworks. Levy and Short's fistfight between Norman Mailer and Gore Vidal is nothing short of genius.
If I have one complaint about the set, it's the box. It's like they decided to put all the worst elements of various DVD cases into one box, just to make me mad. Take a fold-out case with sleeve, add an inside flap for the booklet and CD, but arrange it in such as way that they will fall out everytime you fold the flap open to get at the discs. Then, for the discs, use a modified version of the 4-in-1 Overlap type case, wherein two discs, well, overlap one another, which makes it impossible to remove one without removing the other. Only, the set has 5 discs, so add a single extra disc housing. On a flap.
To whom it may concern at Shout! Factory. Keep it up, the sets are awesome, but please, do something about the case. You're headed the wrong way! (read entire review)
Summary of "Volume 2 - Volume 2": Funny story - When I was younger, my parents took the family for a weekend in Banff, Alberta. We stayed at the Banff Springs Hotel, which is one of those massive, extremely lavish and posh hotels from the turn of the century (the last one, obviously.) Sure, it was a bit pricey, but it was one of those "let's do something totally grand" kind of holidays. Anyhow, part of staying at the hotel was that you got to go to a fancy dinner. Suit, tie, the whole deal. While we're eating we notice a man on the dance floor that we would swear was Mr. Drummond from Diff'rent Strokes. Being very young (and thus being completely free of all the adult hang-ups that keep grown-ups from pestering celebrities) my brother marches out into the dance floor to ask for an autograph.
He got his autograph, but not as he expected. After a brief and polite chat, he comes back to the table with a very serious look on his face.
"He says he's not him. He says he's his twin brother."
I recall thinking that's the lamest brush-off ever (I was a bit cynical, even then). As it happens though, Conrad Bain actually does have a twin brother. Who knew? The two of them were born and raised in Lethbridge, Alberta. Conrad went off to act. Bonar (not a name I would have picked, but they were born in the 20s - maybe it's an old-timey thing) stayed in Alberta. Which meant he was pretty close when he acted (as Conrad Bain's twin brother) in the Zontar episode of SCTV.
There is a point to this, honest.
With all the stuff happening behind the scenes, it's largely impossible to cover it all. I hope somehow a definitive cataloging of the creation of SCTV will one day all come together, but in the meantime we have this DVD set. There are so many cool behind-the-scenes extras to have a look at, it will take you hours to go through them all. And then you watch something like the Zontar episode and you wish you knew how the hell Conrad Bain's twin brother ended up guest starring on SCTV.
Maybe the accompanying booklet, by Howard Rosenberg, covers this, but I doubt it (again, my review copy is sans booklet, so if you buy this set - and you should - you'll be one up on me.) What we have then is an excellent DVD set that can never possibly cover everything fans want to see. But it does its best. I only hope Shout! Factory keeps it up. (read entire review)
Summary of "Volume 1 - SCTV": I kind of like where this set is going. I've always been a big proponent of presevation of popular culture over simple repackaging. For example, I applaude the full Scooby-Doo season sets over the pick-a-mix single discs originally released. Another example is that I wish season sets would acknowledge the accomplishments of the shows they are presenting - did they win awards? Could we maybe talk about that a bit?
The SCTV Network 90 set does embody that sense of totality - from beginning to end, you know that each episode was exactly how fans saw it on TV in 1981 and the features let the cast talk at length about how it all came together. It's true, that preserving every film score or pop song used in the show does affect the price point of a set, in this case the set was never targeted at casual buyers (who can get it everyday on TV anyhow). This set is for the fans. While there are a few raised eyebrows over things like the lack of subtitles (now how's my dad going to watch the show without turning the sound way up?), overall it delivers some quality TV history.
"Gee, Babe. Will you eat a hundred hot-dogs for me?"
"A hundred hot-dogs!? Where am I going to get a hundred hot-dogs from?"
A week ago we brought you the happy news about the SCTV - Christmas with SCTV DVD release on Oct. 4th. Now we have a lot more to tell you about this:
There will be 2 Emmy-nominated specials on this... (read entire news item)
8/07/2005
Your Holiday Present From Canada Is Laughter!
Laughter is one of the best gifts you can give, and Shout! Factory is spreading around the chuckles this holiday season with SCTV - Christmas with SCTV, heading to DVD on October 4th. The studio has... (read entire news item)
7/15/2005
4th Volume (5th Season) Cover Art & Complete Details
We've had a release listing here at the site for SCTV Network 90 - Volume 4 for quite a while now, but we've been a bit lax about providing the details and cover art for you about this September 13th... (read entire news item)
3/25/2005
4th Volume on tap, plus 2 other releases!
DVDPlanet.com, the popular online retail source, has updated their system with new DVD releases of SCV Network 90. Not one, not two, but *3* new releases are on tap!
Fans who have been collecting... (read entire news item)
2/02/2005
Official Announcement & Box Art For Volume 3
Shout! Factory has distributed their press release and cover art for SCTV Network 90 - Volume 3 on DVD, an 5-disc package that hits on March 1st for $89.98 SRP. Amazon.com has this up for pre-order at... (read entire news item)
12/31/2004
3rd Volume set for March DVD debut
Both DVDEmpire.com and DVDPlanet.com have pre-order listings up now for SCTV Network 90 - Volume 3. The popular e-tailers - who (along with Amazon) TVShowsOnDVD partners with - are showing a release... (read entire news item)
7/23/2004
More Details - Extras, Episodes and Artwork
Frequent contributor Matthew Kozlowski sent us more information on the SCTV Volume 2 set that was announced by Shout! Factory for release on October 19th.
Here's a list of the special features on the... (read entire news item)
7/23/2004
Volume 2 is scheduled
Shout! Factory sent a quick note letting us know that they have scheduled the second volume of SCTV for October 19th. This will contain episodes 10-18 from the 1981-1982 season, known at SCTV Network... (read entire news item)
