SCTV, Volume 1 - Network 90 (5 Disc Set) (1981) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Whenever I got together with friends discussing television and movies we always wondered why every crummy TV show and movie made it to DVD while SCTV was not yet on DVD. Then we would inevitably begin to reminisce about the show, out favorite sketches, etc. Now we can all watch together because SCTV is finally on DVD . . . well, at least some of it is, and that's a good start.
For those who fondly remember the series I must first state that this is not a collection of the 30-minute shows that were shown in syndication. Rather, this collection contains the first nine shows of SCTV-90 that ran on NBC during the early 80's. Fortunately, the first episode of the collection is a retrospective of some of the best sketches that ran on the syndicated show. Fans will be able to see "Night School Hi-Q," a quiz show where Eugene Levy plays a harassed Alex Trebek to Catherine O'Hara's clueless Margaret Meehan; John Candy as a fully grown Beaver who finally gets revenge in Eddie Haskell; Rick Moranis as Merv Griffin comparing jacket linings with Yasser Arafat and Liberace; and the jewel of the disk, Rick Moranis as Woody Allen playing against Dave Thomas as Bob Hope in "Play It Again, Bob." No one ever imitated Bob Hope like Dave Thomas; seeing him on the screen almost makes us believe were really were seeing Bob Hope, that's how good the impersonation was.
And there's more to come with some of the best-loved characters in SCTV: Guy Callabero, Edith Prickley, Bob and Doug McKenzie, Johnny LaRue, Mrs. Falbo, Lola Heatherton, Bobby Bittman, Earl Camembert, Floyd Robertson, aka Count Floyd, Dr. Tongue, Perini Scleroso, Mel Slirrup, and Sammy Maudlin. They're still as funny, and almost as fresh, as when we watched them back then.
Other highlights to look for include the following:
-- John Candy as Civil War coward "Yellowbelly," a spoof on Chuck Connor' series, "Branded."
-- Rick Moranis a video deejay Gerry Todd, pre-MTV and eerily prescient.
-- The Sammy Maudlin Show where Bobby Bittman (the unfunniest funny-man in Hollywood) is upstaged by Bob Hope.
-- The Ingmar Bergman film parody that shows up of Count Floyd's "Monster Chiller Horror Theater." Floyd is under the impression that it's a horror film. His disappointment when he finds out the truth is as hilarious as the parody itself. ( A bit of SCTV trivia here: Count Floyd, who was SCTV news anchorman Floyd Robertson in a vampire costume and cheesy make-up, is based on Bill Cardille, who Joe Flaherty watched as a kid growing up in Pittsburgh. Cardille did the weather for the local NBC station, and on weekends hosted the studio wrestling matches and as "Chilly Billy" hosted the Saturday night horror feature.)
-- Joe Flaherty as station owner Guy Callabero, who, although he can walk, uses a wheel chair. ("I only use it for respect!")
-- "The Grapes of Mud," a parody of "The Grapes of Wrath."
-- "Mrs. Falbo's Tiny Town." Andrea Martin at her funniest.
-- Johnny Larue's "Polynesiantown," with its ending crane shot that got LaRue in hot water with Guy Callabero because it went so far over budget.
-- "The Merv Griffith Show," with Rick Moranis as Merv doing the part of Sheriff Taylor. Look for Eugene Levy as a great Floyd the Barber and John Candy as Otis.
-- "Dr. Tongue's 3-D House of Stewardesses," a cheesy send-up of 3-D movies.
-- Catherine O'Hara as Lola Heatherton. Simply hilarious.
That said, the only stumbling block would be the price, which is due to the cost of obtaining the music rights. But it's worth it, and the music's not bad. For instance, the late Roy Orbison, Dr. John, and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes (fans of Conan O'Brien and the Max Weinberg 7 should watch for LaBamba and Mark Pender in earlier incarnations) are among the performers.
Besides the excellent commentaries on each disk, there is also a 24-page booklet with articles by Conan O'Brien and Ben Stiller, among others. O'Brien says in his piece that in regard to SCTV, "I don't think anyone's ever topped it." I agree.

Click Here to see more reviews about: SCTV, Volume 1 - Network 90 (5 Disc Set) (1981)

SCTV VOL 1:NETWORK 90 - DVD Movie

Get 12% OFF

Click here for more information about SCTV, Volume 1 - Network 90 (5 Disc Set) (1981)

Read More...

Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 4 (Girl in Gold Boots / Hamlet / Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / Space Mutiny) (1988) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This fourth collection of episodes from the classic TV comedy show, "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (which, if you don't already know, is the program where a silhouette of a man and his two robots sitting in theater seat provide running comedic commentary to rotten movies), contains four episodes from the later seasons that appeared on the Sci-Fi Channel. That means Mike Nelson is the host, Billy Corbett is doing Crow's voice instead of Trace Beaulieu, and Pearl Forrester is now the evil scientist holding the crew of the Satellite of Love hostage.
The early DVD collections were all focused on the Comedy Central years of MST3K, so this is a nice shift in Rhino's marketing. Some fans aren't fond of the host segments in these later years, but there are some occasional funny ones. The riffing, however, is as good as ever, and has changed to an angry, sarcastic style different than the Joel and early Mike years. I love both styles, but some fans prefer one or the other. Just be aware that in this package you're getting a full-assault of the later, Sci-Fi Channel episodes. (Rhino is about release another package of Sci-Fi Channel episodes, after which I hope they'll return to some of the early seasons to maintain balance.)
Of the four episodes on this collection, two are superb, while the others are entertaining but more average. Here's what you'll find:
GIRL IN GOLD BOOTS: A really sleazy `go-go' film from the late 60s with some disturbing similarities to "Showgirls" (except it's better). Sleazy `elf boy' picks up a girl in a greasy spoon restaurant with the promise of making her a dancer in Los Angeles at the club where his drug-addled sister works. Unfortunately, Elf Boy is a bit psychotic, the boss at the club is oily and sleazy, and a poetic spouting dude named Critter (or "Yak Boy") tries to lure our girl from her plunge into a life of...(gasp!)...SIN! Oh, and there's lots of cameras leering at girls in skimpy go-go outfits dancing to lousy music. The film is similar to early MST3K episodes like "Hellcats" and "Wild Rebels" in its greasy ugliness, but the film is mostly slow and boring. Mike and the `Bots do a decent job with it, but this is only an average episode. There is a funny host segment where Mike sings a syrupy guitar ballad while the ship burns.
HAMLET. A 60s German TV production of the play, horribly dubbed into English, and starring Maximilian Schell. It's bleak, drab, slow, and shot entirely on a single very uninteresting set of black curtains and granite furniture. The amusement of this episode is watching Mike and the `Bots take on a classic of literature, and riff off of famous lines, some of which is hysterical. But the production is so ponderous and slow that you'll be screaming along with the hosts for Hamlet to just shut up and die at the end ("Is there a word in English language he hasn't said?" one of them asks). There's a funny host segment called "Alas Poor Who?" set up as gameshow, where contestants must identify celebrities based on pieces of their bones. An intriguing, if not fantastic, episode.
SPACE MUTINY. Ah, here's the gravy! An awful South African-produced sci-fi stinker that rips off the plot of "Battlestar Galactica" - as well as all of its effects footage! (I'm not sure this was legally done.) The inhabitants of the giant space cruiser `The Southern Sun' - which is mostly a large basement and boiler room - face a mutiny by guys in marching band outfits. A chunky loser and his love interest (old enough to be his mother) must save the ship. There are loads of people flipping over railings as they get shot (railing kill!), mutineers who can't aim worthy a damn, a chase on vehicles that go slower than golf carts, and a hero who screeches like a woman at odd moments. Mike and the `Bots really let this film have it, and the result is one of the funniest episodes of the Sci-Fi Channel years.
OVERDRAWN AT THE MEMORY BANK. Just as great an episode as "Space Mutiny" is this horrendous Public Television-produced film. Acutally, it isn't a film: it was shot on VIDEO! Cheap and flat looking, and filled with cheesy video toaster effects, the film blows any chance of succeeding it might have had. And it had potential. It has a real star, Raul Julia, and an early cyberpunk and proto-`Matrix' idea of a man whose mind is lost inside a giant corporate computer in a dystopian future. But none of it makes the least bit of sense, and it reaches hysterical levels of incomprehensibility by the end. Mike and the `Bots are in top form, and there's plenty to laugh at here. The end sequence, where they call the tech-support line for the movie to complain, is a classic!
In addition to the films, Mike Nelson makes brief introductions to each episode, describing a bit of the behind-the-scenes torture the writers went going through. It's a nice feature, and I hope Rhino continues it.
Unlike some earlier Rhino discs, there are no "un-cut, un-MST3K" versions of the films available. Frankly, I never watched the un-cut films on the discs where is WAS available, and I don't think anyone would want to watch any of these film without Mike and the `Bots. They change awful entertainment into great entertainment - and that's a magic feat all on it's own, and why "Mystery Science Theater 3000" will live forever as one of comedy greats.
Come on, JUST PUSH THE BUTTON, FRANK, and buy this collection!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 4 (Girl in Gold Boots / Hamlet / Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / Space Mutiny) (1988)

Item Name: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 4 (Girl in Gold Boots / Hamlet [1961] / Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / Space Mutiny); Studio:Rhino Theatrical

Click here for more information about Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 4 (Girl in Gold Boots / Hamlet / Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / Space Mutiny) (1988)

Read More...