SCTV: Behind the Scenes by Dave Thomas Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of SCTV: Behind the Scenes
Book Review: Finally...
Summary: 4 Stars
SCTV is starting to get it's due with this book and the release of the DVd collections. Dave Thomas, a founding member of the troup, brings in just about everyone involved in the show to give their 2-cents worth. The book is very comprehensive taking the reader through many of the groups sketches from the original concept idea to the finished sketch. It really is a must read for fans of the show because of the input from cast members and producers, and director and even the hair and makeup talent. My only reason for the four stars and not five stars is the fact that very little attention was paid to the final Cinemax season , which was without Dave Thomas. I guess this is natural, but the final season is given a real short-change treatment and none of the better sketeches are covered in much detail. The book is loaded with pictures and and a per-show sketch budget. very good read.Book Review: For Comedy Lovers
Summary: 4 Stars
In the pantheon of televised comedy, "SCTV" (or "Second City Television") is often cited as a little-seen but much-praised example of the heights of creative brilliance. In "SCTV: Behind the Scenes", former cast member Dave Thomas sifts through his memory bank to recount the tale of the little Melonville station that could.
Now for the disclaimer: I haven't seen all that much of SCTV. NBC did a fair job of running reruns of the show a few years back, but I saw very little of it. I was interested in purchasing the DVD box sets when they first came out simply on word-of-mouth, but the price tags scared me off. So this is my first real look at the show...in a book form.
Back to the review: Dave Thomas recounts the highs and lows of performing cutting-edge sketch comedy at a time when "Saturday Night Live" was gradually becoming the very "showbiz variety" program it had set out to mock. Beginning in 1976, and coming to an end eight years (and several network changes) later, the show was much-heralded but little-seen stateside during its prime. Only in the aftermath of its final Cinemax season, when the various cast members began turning up in a variety of comedy productions, did the show earn a small but cultish audience.
The book starts with Thomas revealing how the show was born from the talents of various stage performers like himself, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Joe Flaherty, Andrea Martin, and others. Thomas proceeds to document the various behind-the-scenes struggles that the cast went through with producers and directors, and networks. From its lowly birth to the expansion to the States and going from a half-hour to a full ninety minutes (the "Network 90" version that most people remember when they think of SCTV), Thomas lets the reader in on all the various ups-and-downs that he and the rest of the cast went through to maintain creative control. In a time when producers like Lorne Michaels or Fred Silverman dictated the content, SCTV was unique in having control and final say on the direction of the show.
Unlike its more popular peer SNL, SCTV was not littered with drug problems that picked off cast members ala Belushi or Farley. But they did suffer a big loss years later; Thomas provides a loving memorial to departed John Candy, the only one of the original cast who is not alive for interviews (the other absent voices, Levy and Martin, are thankfully very much alive; their absence is missed, but not necessary).
Again, I wouldn't pretend to be an expert on SCTV, but after reading this book and keeping in mind the comedians who got their start, I feel a little more in awe of what they managed to achieve far from the madding crowd of American television crassness.
Thomas's is not the only voice heard, as various personalities associated with the show (writers, producers, directors, and the cast) share their own tales. The oral history of anything is bound to be fraught with inaccuracies or omitted memories, but the book is coherent on many main points.
From analyzing how he and Rick Moranis became distanced from their castmates thanks to their alter egos Doug and Bob McKenzie, all the way to what the cast are doing now (or "now" as in 1997, when the book was published), Dave Thomas shares memories and lets us in on the way SCTV worked. The result is a loving look back at what many of the cast members feel was their best work. I'll leave that to the more experienced SCTV fanatic to determine that, but for my money "SCTV: Behind The Scenes" is a worthy tribute.
Book Review: SCTV was great--this was just as good!
Summary: 5 Stars
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???Book Review: The perfect gift for all the Leutonians in your life.
Summary: 5 Stars
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!Book Review: Welcomed...but we want more.
Summary: 4 Stars
This was a book that definitely should have been written, and thankfully Dave Thomas did us the favor. Second City was a breeding ground for most of the innovative comedians from the mid 70s on. Its contributions to comedy exceed John Mayall's to music. This book deals with those roots and continues to follow the SCTV show, which is the more ideal sketch comedy offsprings. Saturday Night Live, being on NBC, had its control shifted away from the performers to Lorne Michaels and the programming office, whereas SCTV simply translated their stage improvisation to low budget TV with little such interference. It makes for a fascinating study. Where this book falls short is somewhat obvious after a brief looksee. Dave Thomas is an unashamed packrat. He had, over those years, collected everything from the shows. The exhastive tabulation of every sketch in every episode in the appendix is evidence of that. However, that would also be welcomed by SCTV fans in a book outlining the development of each of the sketch characters and perhaps a sketch-by-sketch description with his recollections. Perhaps that should be his next book. (C'mon Dave, what else are you gonna do with all that crap?) Anyway, it's a good two sittings of reading entertainment.
More SCTV: Behind the Scenes reviews:
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