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Syndication
 Syndication Episode Guide
Syndication in the U.S.
U.S. Syndication Episode Guide
After it was finally cancelled, SCTV was syndicated in 185 half-hour shows; unfortunately, the Network 90 and Cinemax shows were rather unceremoniously chopped and edited to fit the 30 minute format, and quite a bit of material was dropped altogether. The syndicated versions of the first three series, originally half an hour themselves, follow the original shows pretty closely, with some odd exceptions.
SCTV Guide matches the episodes as they were originally broadcast. Well, even this is not entirely true; US versions of the original Series 1-3 varied a bit from the Canadian shows, while Series 4 and 5 aired in 60 minute (not 90) episodes on the CBC in Canada. Regardless, what's in the Guide may not match what you may have recently (after 1984) seen on tv. I've made some notes regarding these syndicated shows throughout the guide.
To further complicate matters, US and Canadian syndicated shows also differ, with the Canadian ones being 1 to 2 minutes longer. The more recent Comedy Channel and NBC run (c.1998 on) has featured syndicated shows that have been further edited for what appears to be music rights issues.
Syndication Episode Guide
Compiled by Larchman
This guide follows the order of the Canadian version of the syndicated shows. Click the syndicated show number to see a list of sketches in the show.
Series 1
1: Backstage
2: Murder At SCTV
3: Ethnic Humour
4: Crosswords
5: Match Unto My Feet
6: Memoirs Of Anton Chekhov
7: Dialing For Dollars
8: Shock Theatre
9: Philosophy Street
10: Therese Et Joe
11: Broads Behind Bars
12: The Taxidermist
13: Ben Hur
14: The Hefty Neil Story
15: Leave It To Beaver
16: Goodbye America
17: Galaxy 66
18: Madame Blitzman
19: The $129,000 Question
20: Dr Tongue's Evil House Of Wax
21: The Sammy Maudlin Show
22: World At War
23: The Grapes Of Mud
24: Officer Friendly
25: King Of The Popes
26: Lust For Paint |
Series 2
27: Second Season Premiere
28: Bob Hope Desert Classic
29: Kidnapping Of Moe Green
30: SCTV Solid Gold Telethon
31: Writer's Strike
32: Municipal Election
33: How The Middle East Was Won
34: The Mirthmakers
35: Undersea World Of Cousteau
36: Edith Prickley, Stn Mgr
37: SCTV 30th Anniversary
38: The Occult
39: Bad Acting In Hollywood
40: Alfred Hitchcock Presents...
41: Fighting Air Dogs
42: Death Takes No Holiday
43: Rock Concert
44: Fantasy Island
45: On The Waterfront Again
46: SCTV Disco
47: Pipeline
48: Consumer Action Line
49: Relaxing With Raoul
50: The Flaming Turkey |
Series 3
51: Lee Iacocca's Rock Concert
52: Thursday Night Live
53: Death Of A Salesman
54: My Factory, My Self
55: Death Motel
56: The Lone Ranger Show
57: Play It Again, Bob
58: Gaslight
59: Man's Ability To Imitate
60: Rock Pile: Speed Of Light
61: The Sammy Maudlin Show
62: Hugh Betcha's Night Gallery
63: Star Wars
64: Hollywood Salutes Its Extras
65: The Irwin Allen Show
66: Big Brother
67: Two-Way TV
68: Alpha Channel
69: Midnight Express Special
70: Quincy, Cartoon Coroner
71: The Mating Game
72: Gene Shalit's America
73: Rock Pile: MacArthur Park
74: Dick Cavett |
Series 4 and 5
75: Battle Of The PBS Stars
76: Fishin' Musician: The Tubes
77: Merv: The Special Edition
78: Polynesiantown
79: Walter Cronkite's Brain
80: Lunchtime Street Beef
81: Gerry Todd Show: Tom Munroe
82: Days Of The Week #1
83: Godfather I
84: Godfather II
85: One On the Town: L Helm
86: Days Of The Week #2
87: I'm Taking My Own Head...
88: Mean Joe Greene Playhouse
89: Days Of The Week #3
90: Bouncing Back To You I
91: Bouncing Back To You II
92: Days Of The Week #4
93: Great White North: Ian Thomas
94: Rome, Italian Style
95: Sammy Maudlin: Skip Bittman
96: Days Of The Week #5
97: Rockpile: Roy Orbison
98: Indecent Exposure I
99: Indecent Exposure II
100: Melonvote I
101: Melonvote II
102: The Jazz Singer
103: Soapy Maxwell
104: Gerry Todd Show 2
105: Days Of The Week #6
106: Sweeps Week I
107: Sweeps Week II
108: Sweeps Week III
109: Stars In One: Linda Hopkins
110: Days Of The Week #7
111: Chariots Of Eggs
112: Moral Majority
113: The Nutty Lab Assistant
114: Days Of The Week #8
115: CCCP I
116: CCCP II
117: Dr X |
Series 4 and 5 (cont'd)
118: 3D Stake From the Heart
119: Days of the Week #9
120: Towering Inferno I
121: Towering Inferno II
122: The Happy Wanderers: Linsk Minyk
123: Midnight Video Special
124: Days of the Week #10
125: Great White North Palace I
126: Great White North Palace II
127: Days of the Week #11
128: Days of the Week #12
129: Christmas I
130: Christmas: Happy Wanderers
131: Christmas: Nutcracker Suite
132: Christmas: Staff Party
133: Maudlin's Eleven I
134: Maudlin's Eleven II
135: 3D Firing Line: Midnight Cowboy
136: Vic Arpeggio
137: I Was a Teenage Communist
138: Oh, That Rusty!
139: New York Rhapsody
140: Pepi Longsocks/Sammy Maudlin
141: Mrs Falbo: Liddy/Merv: The 60's
142: CBC I
143: CBC II
144: Sammy Maudlin 23rd Anniversary
145: Mel's Rock Pile: Punk Rock
146: Jane Eyrehead
147: NASA Launch: Robert Gordon
148: 3D House Of Beef
149: Bowery Boys/Maudlin: Pavarotti
150: Zontar I
151: Zontar II
152: Teacher's Pet
153: The William B. Show
154: Bobby Bittman Retires
155: Golden Choice Awards I
156: Golden Choice Awards II
157: Wok On The Wild Side
158: South Sea Sinner
159: Irv Goldfarb/One On the Town |
Series 6
160: Cdn Gaffes and Practical Amusements
161: Scary Previews
162: Oliver Grimley
163: Das Boobs
164: Youth, Do They Give A Damn?
165: Happy Hour: Six Gun Justice 6
166: Celebrity Faerie Tayles
167: Gimme Jackie
168: It's A Wonderful Film I
169: It's A Wonderful Film II
170: Happy Hour: Six Gun Justice 7
171: Jackie for President
172: Stalag SCTV I
173: Stalag SCTV II
174: Happy Hour: Six Gun Justice 8
175: Allenscam
176: Black Like Vic I
177: Black Like Vic II
178: Happy Hour: Six Gun Justice 10
179: 2009 I
180: 2009 II
181: Maudlin O' The Night
182: Stars In One: Bob Hope
183: Happy Hour: Six Gun Justice 11
184: Hollywood Dirt Tonight
185: The Date Debate |
Syndication in the United States
John Hedegor
Episodes of SCTV were syndicated (or re-syndicated in the case of Series 1-3) around late 1984 (shortly after the Cinemax series ended) by a company called Blair Entertainment, I believe. These appeared on WGN in Chicago. Then, when Nick at Nite picked up SCTV in 1988, they were syndicated by Rhodes Entertainment Group (I'm not sure of the name.). This would normally make little if any difference, except that the shows were not always identical from one syndicator to the other. Some Blair episodes had the sketches in different running order from the Rhodes shows (which were often different from the original Canadian shows!), or had different sketches inserted. Some shows combined material from the syndicated and NBC versions. Some shows gave incomplete credits (one director would be credited, when some shows had more than one, depending on the sketches involved; also, performance credits were often incomplete: Robin Duke and Tony Rosato often appeared in shows credited to Catherine O'Hara and John Candy, and John Hemphill and Mary-Charlotte Wilcox appeared in many more shows than those in which they were credited). Rhodes tended to censor the episodes much more strictly. Sketches dealing with drug abuse were particular targets. One show edited part of a Floyd Robertson / Earl Camembert newscast because of some jokes about marijuana (yet they left in the newscast where Earl was high on drugs!). Also, Rhodes edited out the entire Dr. Braino sketch with Candy and Joe Flaherty and replaced it with "Dr. Tongue's 3-D House of Stewardesses!" All in all, a very messy situation (I remember for a while Rhodes shows aired on Nick at Nite while Blair shows aired at the same time on WGN!).
But wait! There's more!
Both Blair and Rhodes cut the third series episodes (CBC) very harshly. Some sketches were scattered into the NBC cut-downs, but many sketches were left out entirely, most notably the parody of the film "Gaslight", most of the Bill Needle sketches, and the McKenzie sketches in which Bob and Doug were thrown out of the SCTV studios for being disruptive and had to do The Great White North in various outdoor locations. Also, one whole show was missing: the parody of "The Cisco Kid" in which actual old film footage was used, with silly voices dubbed on the soundtrack. Evidently it was left out for legal reasons involving the old footage (or possibly because none of the cast members were in it). Out of 26 shows (actually just 25, as one was a "Best Of"), Blair and Rhodes both managed to pare them down to 21.
Rhodes and Blair ignored the Cinemax episodes completely, although I believe this was due to contract restrictions rather than misgivings over content. The Cinemax shows, however, were a bit raunchier than their predecessors, and Flaherty did indeed utter a swear word in one show ("Gaffes and Practical Amusements").
Anyhow, in 1999 a company called WIC gained the rights to SCTV. They obtained the Cinemax shows, thus expanding the number from 156 to 185. But WIC re-edited the shows yet again. Sketches from all over SCTV's history can often be found in one half-hour! Many of the sketches from the third series (like "Gaslight") were restored, but the order was shaken up even further, making the shows harder to follow chronologically. The NBC "Later" shows were altered from the WIC shows, with more cuts for commercials and a new opening (with the "Later" logo) added on. "Later" also often obnoxiously ran only halves of shows (Part One of the CCCP1 and Stalag SCTV shows were aired, but not Part Two).
On top of that, because of the ongoing musical-rights problem, some sketches with copyrighted music have either been redubbed or erased (like Bill Murray singing "Mrs. Robinson") or eliminated entirely (like "Stairways to Heaven").
Again, a very messy situation. Syndicating a show like SCTV (at least, in its 90-minute form) is a risky proposition anyway, and we should at least give the syndicators points for trying. But the presentation by all three has left a very great deal to be desired.
The Blair and Rhodes shows have the same generic opening credits that the WIC shows have (with the TV sets being thrown off the balcony).
U.S. Syndication Episode Guide
The list numbers the US syndicated shows exactly as they appear on the Blair synopsis sheets handed out with the shows in the U.S. The order is essentially the Network 90 shows, shown in order interspersed with Series 3 shows (and two Series 2 shows), followed by Series 1 and 2 in order. As these are from Blair shows, Series 6 is not included. Unfortunately, the synopsis sheets don't provide complete sketch lists, just highlights. With that caveat, I could only find one discrepency with the original Canadian syndicated shows: according to the US synopsis, Indira is included in Midnight Video Special (60A-123C), but it didn't appear in the Canadian show to my knowledge.
Episodes are grouped according to minor differences on the sheets: 1-20 are numbered without the 'A' designation; starting at 41A, the pages have a different letterhead; starting at 109A, the letterhead changes back and there are no credits; the letterhead changes again at 131A.
US Group 1
1: Battle Of The PBS Stars
2: On The Waterfront Again
3: Fishin' Musician: The Tubes
4: Fantasy Island
5: Lee Iacocca's Rock Concert
6: Merv: The Special Edition
7: Polynesiantown
8: Walter Cronkite's Brain
9: Lunchtime Street Beef
10: Gerry Todd Show: Tom Munroe
11: Days Of The Week #1
12: Godfather I
13: Godfather II
14: Play It Again, Bob
15: One On the Town: L Helm
16: Days Of The Week #2
17: I'm Taking My Own Head...
18: The Sammy Maudlin Show
19: Rock Pile: Speed Of Light
20: Mean Joe Greene Playhouse |
US Group 2
21A: Days Of The Week #3
22A: Bouncing Back To You I
23A: Bouncing Back To You II
24A: Midnight Express Special
25A: The Irwin Allen Show
26A: Days Of The Week #4
27A: Great White North: Ian Thomas
28A: Rome, Italian Style
29A: My Factory, My Self
30A: Sammy Maudlin: Skip Bittman
31A: Days Of The Week #5
32A: Alpha Channel
33A: Rockpile: Roy Orbison
34A: Indecent Exposure I
35A: Indecent Exposure II
36A: Melonvote I
37A: Melonvote II
38A: The Jazz Singer
39A: Soapy Maxwell
40A: Gerry Todd Show 2
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US Group 3a
41A: Days Of The Week #6
42A: Sweeps Week I
43A: Sweeps Week II
44A: Sweeps Week III
45A: Stars In One: Linda Hopkins
46A: Days Of The Week #7
47A: Chariots Of Eggs
48A: Moral Majority
49A: The Lone Ranger Show
50A: The Nutty Lab Assistant
51A: Days Of The Week #8
52A: CCCP I
53A: CCCP II
54A: Dr X
55A: 3D Stake From the Heart
56A: Days of the Week #9
57A: Towering Inferno I
58A: Towering Inferno II
59A: The Happy Wanderers: Linsk Minyk
60A: Midnight Video Special (incl Indira)
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US Group 3b
61A: Days of the Week #10
62A: Dick Cavett
63A: Hollywood Salutes Its Extras
64A: Great White North Palace I
65A: Great White North Palace II
66A: Days of the Week #11
67A: Days of the Week #12
68A: Christmas I
69A: Christmas: Happy Wanderers
70A: Christmas: Nutcracker Suite
71A: Christmas: Staff Party
72A: The Mating Game
73A: Maudlin's Eleven I
74A: Maudlin's Eleven II
75A: 3D Firing Line: Midnight Cowboy
76A: Big Brother
77A: Rock Pile: MacArthur Park
78A: Vic Arpeggio
79A: I Was a Teenage Communist
80A: Oh, That Rusty!
81A: Quincy, Cartoon Coroner
82A: New York Rhapsody
83A: Pepi Longsocks/Sammy Maudlin
84A: Mrs Falbo: Liddy/Merv: The 60's
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US Group 3c
85A: Death Motel
86A: CBC I
87A: CBC II
88A: Star Wars
89A: Sammy Maudlin 23rd Anniversary
90A: Mel's Rock Pile: Punk Rock
91A: Jane Eyrehead
92A: Hugh Betcha's Night Gallery
93A: Death Of A Salesman
94A: Thursday Night Live
95A: NASA Launch: Robert Gordon
96A: 3D House Of Beef
97A: Two-Way TV
98A: Bowery Boys/Maudlin: Pavarotti
99A: Zontar I
100A: Zontar II
101A: Teacher's Pet
102A: The William B. Show
103A: Bobby Bittman Retires
104A: Golden Choice Awards I
105A: Golden Choice Awards II
106A: Wok On The Wild Side
107A: South Sea Sinner
108A: Irv Goldfarb/One On the Town |
Series 1
109A: Backstage
110A: Murder At SCTV
111A: Ethnic Humour
112A: Crosswords
113A: Match Unto My Feet
114A: Memoirs Of Anton Chekhov
115A: Dialing For Dollars
116A: Shock Theatre
117A: Philosophy Street
118A: Therese Et Joe
119A: Broads Behind Bars
120A: The Taxidermist
121A: Ben Hur
122A: The Hefty Neil Story
123A: Leave It To Beaver
124A: Goodbye America
125A: Galaxy 66
126A: Madame Blitzman
127A: The $129,000 Question
128A: Dr Tongue's Evil House Of Wax
129A: The Sammy Maudlin Show
130A: World At War
131A: The Grapes Of Mud
132A: Officer Friendly
133A: King Of The Popes
134A: Lust For Paint |
Series 2
135A: Second Season Premiere
136A: Bob Hope Desert Classic
137A: Kidnapping Of Moe Green
138A: SCTV Solid Gold Telethon
139A: Writer's Strike
140A: Municipal Election
141A: How The Middle East Was Won
142A: The Mirthmakers
143A: Undersea World Of Cousteau
144A: Edith Prickley, Stn Mgr
145A: SCTV 30th Anniversary
146A: The Occult
147A: Bad Acting In Hollywood
148A: Alfred Hitchcock Presents...
149A: Fighting Air Dogs
150A: Death Takes No Holiday
151A: Rock Concert
152A: SCTV Disco
153A: Pipeline
154A: Consumer Action Line
155A: Relaxing With Raoul
156A: The Flaming Turkey |
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