SCTV Review: The Man Who Would Be King of the Popes (1-25) / Lust For Paint (1-26) / US-only sketches

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RATINGS SYSTEM:
***** - Classic
**** - Great
*** - Good/Average
** - Meh
* - Awful

“The Man Who Would Be King of the Popes” (season 1, episode 25, aired Dec. 5, 1977)

TINY TOPS

  • Never let your baby suffer the embarrassment of being bald with new Tiny Tops baby-sized wigs.

  • This would be a fairly unmemorable commercial parody if not for a few things: Catherine O’Hara’s character’s voice, and the fourth-wall breaking at the end showing Harvey K-Tel (Dave Thomas) finishing his take and everyone walking off.

  • This reuses the set from Exorcising with Reagan Blair from show 1-15.

***

MORNING FACIAL WITH PRINCESS CARLOTTA - PART I

  • Princess Carlotta (Andrea Martin) applies her facial.

  • Fairly dull, and the whole princess-as-housewife conceit doesn’t quite work. The only thing particularly notable about this sketch is that Andrea Martin is essentially doing Edith Prickley under another name and costume, but I did like the gag of what she used for her mask.

**

PROMO: CHECK PLEASE

  • A brand new sitcom with Spock (Harold Ramis) and Dr. McCoy (Dave Thomas) working in a diner.

  • A brief but strong promo featuring the first appearance of Thomas’s hilarious DeForest Kelley / Dr. McCoy impression.

*** 1/2

MORNING FACIAL WITH PRINCESS CARLOTTA - PART II

  • Princess Carlotta (Andrea Martin) removes the mask.

  • Again, this is more interesting for the Edith Prickley factor than anything else (right down to singing “You Sexy Thing”), but I found that made this part a little better.

** 1/2

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING OF THE POPES

  • Peter O’Tule (Joe Flaherty), Richard Berton (John Candy), Richard Hariss (Dave Thomas), and Cathryn Hepbern (Catherine O’Hara) demonstrate good acting at its best in the tale of a king, a pope, and a pretender.

  • A classic; Flaherty, Candy, Thomas and O’Hara are all great here (I particularly love Thomas’s take on Richard Harris). Even Eugene Levy, who doesn’t have any lines, steals his scene as Victor Spynneti (sic) with his eyebrow movements.

*****

MR. COFFEE TABLE BOOK FROM VENERABLE ELECTRIC

  • Dom DiMaggio (Joe Flaherty) demonstrates the combination coffee maker/coffee table/coffee table book maker.

  • This parody of the Mr. Coffee commercials with Joe DiMaggio wasn’t bad; the most memorable part is the demonstration of the book maker (shredded newspaper plus water) and one of the titles being “The Development of Artificial Turf in the Middle Ages”.

***

THE UNCLE EARL SHOW

  • Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy) uses his stuffed animals to voice his anger over his kids show’s cancellation.

  • This was fun; especially when we get to Earl’s bad ventriloquism (I also love the hilariously unimaginative name “Doggie the Dog”) and Moe Green (Harold Ramis) and Johnny LaRue (John Candy) bunny-hopping behind him to take him away (“I still have 20 minutes!”).

  • This also works as a further development of the character of Earl Camembert and his ineptitude going far beyond the newsdesk.

****

HARRY FILTH

  • Trigger-happy cop Harry Filth (John Candy) needs a big gun for the big jobs.

  • A fast-paced mixture of dark satire (Harry’s not afraid of killing bystanders and is quick to offer to “off” the Pope when his boss mentions he’s coming to town) with silly sight gags (the giant gun that’s even bigger than Harry plus its recoil after he fires).

  • I’m not sure who the extras in the first scene are aside from O’Hara dressed as an old lady; one of them looks like Laela Weinzweig from SCTV Boogie (1-20).

****

INSIGHTS

  • Rev. Hugh Betcha (Joe Flaherty) shares the lessons of Socrates (Harold Ramis) dealing with a heckler (Dave Thomas).

  • Funny premise, with Dave Thomas perfectly cast as the guy heckling Socrates. The real scene stealers were Levy and Candy’s none-to-bright characters.

  • Very dark joke about Bob Dylan at the beginning (“What would Bob Dylan do [if he were angry]? Would he slap his wife around? Or would he go out and cut another hit record? I think we know what he’d do.”) The previous February, Dylan’s marriage ended after he allegedly punched his wife Sara in the jaw, though I wonder if that was publicized at the time.

  • Music: “Arabesque No. 1” by Tomita.

*** 1/2

GET TOUGH

  • The booklet that helps women living alone in the big city to deal with street harassment.

  • A little underwhelming; this had a good (and still relevant) subject, but I found it wasn’t as good as it could have been, despite Andrea Martin’s demonstration of the book’s lessons.. SNL had already done a superior take on the subject two years before (the “Hard Hats” sketch).

**

GRUMBLES ON ROUTE 41

  • You won’t be the only one not having a good time anymore.

  • Another short bit; again, Dave Thomas seems to be the perfect spokesman for this kind of place (love the line “Lousy food, punk drinks, and the upstairs disco’s a real drag.”), and the reveal of the various miserable patrons was funny.

*** 1/2

ENOUGH ABOUT ME

  • Katherine Timber (Catherine O’Hara) dominates the conversation with film director Antonia Luciani (Joe Flaherty).

  • Not much on paper, but what puts this over for me is O’Hara’s performance; she’s just so deep into her character that it gives the piece a more realistic tone. Flaherty’s quietly frustrated director character was also pretty well done.

  • At the very end, Katherine asks Antonio if he was staying long in Canada, still another example of the show not quite having established the Melonville setting.

***

Final thoughts: A bit all over the place, especially compared to the previous two episodes, but what works really works well. Dave Thomas has some particularly meaty roles tonight, from Dr. McCoy to Richard Harris, to Socrates’ heckler and the Grumbles pitchman.

MVP:

  • Dave Thomas

Rhodes version differences:

  • Removed: Mr. Coffee Table Book from Venerable Electric

Blair version differences:

  • Removed: Check Please (moved to 1-23)

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.

“Lust for Paint” (season 1, episode 26, aired Dec. 12, 1977)

DIALING FOR DOLLARS: PART I

  • Moe Green (Harold Ramis) introduces tonight’s movie and tries to call a viewer, but can’t get a dial tone.

  • Like with the Ben Hur episode, this is pretty much just a set-up for the show-length parody, but this also introduces the plot of the Dialing For Dollars runner.

***

LUST FOR PAINT: PART I

  • Toulain Van Trec (Joe Flaherty) annoys the waiter (John Candy) by painting on the tablecloths, is rebuffed by La Goulue (Catherine O’Hara), and helps Marie (Andrea Martin) hide from the police.

  • Right away this piece establishes itself as more ambitious than the Ben Hur parody, with the increased production values and George Bloomfield’s direction adding to the parody. It establishes the parody a little more slowly than Hur, but Flaherty’s slightly crotchety performance gives this part some laughs.

  • There’s a guy who visibly pops into frame behind Flaherty as Van Trec strolls along the street.

*** 1/2

LUST FOR PAINT: PART II

  • Toulain paints Marie, who is more than eager to take his money, but her boyfriend Baboon (John Candy) is jealous.

  • This has some good jokes in here such as Toulain shaking his head while watching Marie jiggle her breasts, but what this is most notable for is the first time the show has a dummy being abused, which would be one of SCTV’s recurring gags (Flaherty’s shouts make it even funnier).

****

PROMO: CELEBRITY TATTLETALES

  • Bert Conby (Eugene Levy) invites viewers to join him every day, where guests like Prince Philip (Joe Flaherty) and Queen Elizabeth (Catherine O’Hara) share private details.

  • An underrated promo overshadowed by the other sketches in tonight’s show. The whole thing about the Queen picking her nose in bed is funny on its own, but what really makes this is Prince Philip’s excitement to win $250.00.

****

DIALING FOR DOLLARS: PART II

  • Moe desperately tries to save face after learning his payment bounced, but a technician (Dave Thomas) takes away the phone.

  • Some good escalation for the Dialing For Dollars plot, with Dave Thomas getting another scene-stealing role as the technician who is more than happy to stand in Moe’s way.

****

LUST FOR PAINT: PART II CONTINUED

  • After Marie leaves him, Toulain drowns his sorrows. His father (Joe Flaherty) tries to give him encouragement. Marie returns to bilk more money and announces she and Baboon are getting married.

  • Like with the Dialing For Dollars runner, this really escalates from the earlier parts really nicely, and mixes the comic (mincing Monet and Degas, Toulain’s father’s short stature and pronunciation of “Louv-r-r-re”, more jiggling breasts and dummy abuse).

****

PROMO: THE BABE RUTH STORY

  • Sick Bobby (Donald Cowper) isn’t satisfied with Babe Ruth (John Candy) just hitting a home run.

  • Donald Cowper’s last SCTV appearance is also his best, where he asks the Bambino to perform an increasingly difficult and humiliating set of favours (I love the detail that the family had 50 hot dogs ready for him to eat), until the Babe loses his patience and starts to throttle the boy (and the doctor has to sedate him).

*****

50 PRACTICAL JOKES (repeat from 1-8)

LUST FOR PAINT: PART III

  • Toulain encounters a drunken and washed up La Goulue. Despite him helping her out, she mocks and insults him; he becomes agitated and collapses.

  • On its own this scene is a lesser part of the parody, but it is important in advancing the plot.

*** 1/2

PROMO: MICK MASON: POLICE PHOTOGRAPHER (repeat from 1-20)

LUST FOR PAINT: PART III CONCLUSION

  • The dying Toulain sees visions of people from his past and learns from his father that his paintings are in the Louv-r-r-re.

  • A good mix of comedy and pathos in this scene which ties the whole parody together, and also has the genius move of incorporating elements from The Babe Ruth Story (and more dummy abuse for good measure).

****

FLUFFY PUFF TOILET PAPER (repeat from 1-19)

  • The music in this airing has been changed to “Partita in B-flat major, BWV 825 “ by Johann Sebastian Bach.

DIALING FOR DOLLARS: PART III

  • A humiliated Moe watches the crew dismantle the set; Guy Caballero (voice of Joe Flaherty) calls to fire him.

  • A logical and solid conclusion to both the episode and the season; while we still don’t see SCTV boss Caballero in the flesh yet, he gets laughs here.

  • Floor director Jaime Paul Rock has a small speaking role here, and is mentioned by Guy (“Give the money to Rock”)

  • The credits show a larger-than-normal amount of crew, reflecting the increased amount of work put into tonight’s show.

****

Final thoughts: A solid finale, though like with The Grapes of Mud, one should watch the complete episode for the full impact of the sketches; the pieces on their own don’t quite hold up as much as the more immediately comic Ben-Hur, but this is a much more fully realized episode as a whole.

MVP:

  • Joe Flaherty

Rhodes version differences:

  • Removed: 50 Practical Jokes repeat

Blair version differences:

  • Removed: Mick Mason: Police Photographer repeat, Fluffy Puff repeat

  • Added: Amanda II (from 1-5), new syndication promo for The Love Craft (Robert Corness v/o)

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.

The following sketches only appear in the original American syndication package by Rhodes; none of these were included in later compilations or packages. I’m guessing all of these were outtakes from the back end of the Milad Bessada period (spring 1977).

SUNRISE SEMESTER: BEEKEEPING

  • Lin Ye Tang (Dave Thomas) shows how to make money by keeping bees, but gets stung while caring for them.

  • An above-average Sunrise Semester; while the whole “getting stung” aspect was a little predictable, I got some laughs from Lin Ye Tang losing patience quickly. The “bee litter” prop was also very funny. Nice touch at the end with Tang doing the “Beekeeping will not be seen tomorrow due to a change in programming policy”.

*** 1/2

DINING WITH LARUE: JIMMY’S PARTHENON

  • Johnny LaRue (John Candy) and his secretary (Catherine O’Hara) dine at Alki Stereopolis’s (Joe Flaherty) restaurant.

  • This sketch manages to use the full cast (and gives them the chance to say Alki’s “Hey beybeh, what’s a heppening” catchphrase) and gives Johnny a rare win; despite running afoul of Alki a few times and the other Greeks hitting on his date, he manages to impress the Greeks by defeating Alki at a “protzos”.

  • I always liked the ouzo/”ozobozo” exchange.

*** 1/2

SPORTS WORLD

  • Aggressive tennis players Jimmy “The Molester” Cockers (John Candy) and Rod “Pig Face” Laser (Eugene Levy) trash talk each other wrestling-style.

  • A quick piece with a funny concept, though it may come off as quaint today; the most memorable part of this is the hideous mask Eugene Levy wears.

  • Eugene Levy can be seen in the pig mask in the photo under the disc tray in disc one of SCTV: Best of the Early Years.

***

CONSULTATION WITH DR. JAKE SLOAN

  • Dr. Sloan (Joe Flaherty) examines Perini Scleroso (Andrea Martin), a rhinoplasty patient (Harold Ramis) and Sharon “Penny” LaPlante (Catherine O’Hara)

  • Flaherty’s Unnecessary Surgeon character from the first episode makes his only other appearance here, as does O’Hara’s Sharon LaPlante (from Join The Shelley People in 1-20). Dr. Sloan isn’t any better a doctor here (and still pretty cut-happy), but he’s hilariously rude to all of his patients.

  • This is also Pirini Scleroso’s only other appearance in season 1 (though Dr. Sloan refers to her a few times as Mrs. Bumbler); she gets some good physical humor here.

*** 1/2

CHALLENGE MY SERMONETTE

  • Three students (John Candy, Catherine O’Hara and Dave Thomas) challenge flaky Reverend Chuck’s (Eugene Levy) homily.

  • I wasn’t feeling this; there are a few laughs here and there (the names of the schools, Levy;s face after Thomas straight out says he doesn’t like him), but Reverend Chuck’s constant waffling as the main joke got old fast.

** 1/2

Additional screen captures from these sketches are available here.