
About this season
Second City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.
Episodes (27)

1. Backstage
Aired 21 September 1976 • 30 min
The inaugural show introduces several major characters, including Johnny LaRue, Earl Camembert, Floyd Robertson and Moe Green. It features a somewhat tenuous wraparound concept involving LaRue - according to Dave Thomas' book, the running time for this episode ran well past 30 minutes, much of the linking material for the wraparound being cut to achieve the final running time. The show also introduces four programs that would feature frequently throughout the show's run: Sunrise Semester, a vehicle for an assortment of characters to educate viewers, would end up appearing in every series except the last; Words To Live By, the inspirational station signoff, would also appear frequently in the first three series; SCTV News; and Masterpiece Theatre, hosted by Alistair Cook.

2. Murder At SCTV
Aired 21 October 1976 • 30 min
Perini Scleroso and Gus Gustofferson's first appearance. Gus is featured in a wraparound concept dealing with the murder of puppeteer Lampeer.

3. Ethnic Humour
Aired 18 November 1976 • 30 min
Harold Ramis warns viewers that this show contains ethnic slurs, and all the jokes are about the gypsies. From ""Gypsy Mythology"" on Sunrise Semester to the Hints for Homemakers (a gypsy recommends holding up an Amish family and stealing their food), this show is indeed a gypsy rogue. Sunrise Semester, The Leutonian Hour, Out-Patient, Hints for Homemakers, Theatre North American, Words to Live By

4. Crosswords
Aired 16 December 1976 • 30 min
Sammy Maudlin, Sunrise Semester, The $211,000 Triangle, Cooking with LaRue, Backstage, Masterpiece Theatre, Words to Live By

5. Match Unto My Feet
Aired 13 January 1977 • 30 min
Sunrise Semester, Witness to Yesterday, PSA:So You're Dead...Now What?, Match Unto My Feet, Words to Live By

6. Memoirs of Anton Chekhov
Aired 10 February 1977 • 30 min
Star Trek comes to the steppes of Russia in a very funny parody of Chekhov. Heavenly Bodies, Mr Science, Masterpiece Theatre, The Memoirs of Anton Chekhov

7. Dialing For Dollars
Aired 24 February 1977 • 30 min
BEAUTY AND THE BEETS Beauty learns to like beets... the hard way. Beauty and the Beets, Firing Squad, Alice, the Wonder Dog, Dialing for Dollars, Changing Partners

8. Shock Theatre
Aired 10 March 1977 • 30 min
Dining with LaRue, The Wacky World of Poverty, Eye on Science, Shock Theatre:Early to Bed

9. Philosophy Street
Aired 24 March 1977 • 30 min
Good-Bye America, Sunrise Semester, Philosophy Street, Total Women, A Fistful of Ugly, Feedback with Moe Green

10. Therese et Joe
Aired 7 April 1977 • 30 min
On SCTV News, Floyd Robertson (Joe Flaherty) and Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy) report earthquakes, deli crises, the arms race, and Earl asks terrorists to surrender; Dr Hammond Greer (Dave Thomas) delivers a speech against scientists; Johnny LaRue (John Candy) cleans out the food at Lin Ye Tang's (Dave Thomas) garden restaurant; Lou Jaffe (Eugene Levy) witnesses Irish group techniques (and a bombing); On the SCTV Movie of the Week, a depressing French film about a live-in couple, Jerry Lewis-impersonating Joe (Joe Flaherty) and his fawning lover, Therese (Andrea Martin). Sunrise Semester, Dining With LaRue, Perspective '77, Therese et Joe

11. Broads Behind Bars
Aired 21 April 1977 • 30 min
Broads Behind Bars is a classic, with Candy's over the top prison guard Shultzy ("Lock 'em up, keep 'em down, and work 'em over") and Martin's lifer Kitty ("No Dice!"). Trivia: the crew put real liquor in Ramis' bottle for the Mort Finkel sketch. (ref: sctvguide.com) Sunrise Semester, Dining With LaRue, Broads Behind Bars

12. The Taxidermist
Aired 5 May 1977 • 30 min
Farm Report, Welcome Back President Kotter, Alistair Cook's Armenia, The Taxidermist

13. Ben Hur
Aired 19 May 1977 • 30 min
A landmark show, featuring a show-length parody of the film, introduced by Moe Green on Dialing For Dollars. Additional Viewing: William Wyler's 1959 epic Ben-Hur.

14. The Hefty Neil Story
Aired 19 September 1977 • 30 min
SCTV Sports Central: The Hefty Neil Story, PSA: Shoplifting

15. Leave It to Beaver
Aired 26 September 1977 • 30 min
Exorcising, Leave it to Beaver 25th Anniversary Party, PSA:Rip Masters for Children on Booze, Dr Tongue and his Animal Friends

16. Goodbye America
Aired 3 October 1977 • 30 min
Winning Chess with Borris Morris, PSA:So You're Dead...Now What?, Good-Bye America, Johnny LaRue

17. Galaxy 66
Aired 10 October 1977 • 30 min
Diving for Dollars, Sunrise Semester, Sci-Fi Theatre: Galaxy 66, Beside the Point, Words to Live By

18. Madame Blitzman
Aired 17 October 1977 • 30 min
PSA: Re-criminalize Marijuana, Dante's Inferno, Monster Chiller Horror Theatre: Madame Blitzman

19. $129 000 Question
Aired 24 October 1977 • 30 min
Wake Up With Alki Stereopolis, PSA: Do Not Remove Tags, The $129,000 Question, Elvira Mad Again Part II, Words to Live By

20. Dr Tongue's House of Wax
Aired 31 October 1977 • 30 min
Sunrise Semester, It Was That Way With Keith Hampshire, I Cry Each Day I Die, SCTV Boogie

21. Sammy Maudlin Show
Aired 7 November 1977 • 30 min
Paul's Workshop With Paul Fistinyourface, The Sammy Maudlin Show, PSA: Shoplifting, Dialing For Dollars: Sandy Moss

22. World at War
Aired 14 November 1977 • 30 min
Passport to Adventure:Africa, The World of Mystery: Sandwich on the Orient Express, World at War:Baseball, Lowell Thompson Remembers

23. The Grapes of Mud
Aired 21 November 1977 • 30 min
Muley's Roundhouse, Promo: Library Police, The Three Dummies: Of Mice and Dummies, SCTV AM News Today: Terrorist Picnic, Commercial: Spray-On Socks, SCTV Movie of the Week: The Grapes of Mud Part, Commercial: Mrs Prickley's Jams Jellies and Preserves, Disco Farming

24. Officer Friendly
Aired 28 November 1977 • 30 min
Message from Moe: License Suspended, A.M. Little America with Tom Brokraw, Promo: Dan Money, SCTV AM News Today: Mafia Interview, Commercial: Civil Engineering, Officer Friendly, Promo: The Undersea World of Marcel Cousteau, Promo: Masterpiece Theatre: All the Long-Leggedy Beasties, Dream Interpretation with Dr. Raoul Wilson

25. The Man Who Would Be King of the Popes
Aired 5 December 1977 • 30 min
Commercial: Tiny Tops, Morning Facial with Princess Carlotta, Promo: Check Please, Promo: The Man Who Would Be King of the Popes, Commercial: Mr. Coffee-Table Book from Venerable Electric, The Uncle Earl Show, Promo: Harry Filth, Insights with Hugh Betcha: Socrates, Commercial: Get Tough self-help book, Commercial: Grumbles Restaurant on Route 41, Enough About Me: Antonio Luciani

26. Lust for Paint
Aired 12 December 1977 • 30 min
Dialing for Dollars: Lust For Paint features a show-length parody of Moulin Rouge, with promos for celebrity tattletales and the Babe Ruth story