Saturday Night Live or SCTV?

[Crankie Avalon]

[BurtWorm]

1. Without a doubt, SCTV was consistently higher quality than SNL

But SNL had better musical guests (because SCTV didn't have musical guests), and some finer, edgier moments (like Andy Kaufman and Richard Pryor appearances). Still I have to give the nod to SCTV. It never made me run from the room, the way some really, really, really, lame SNL sketches have.

PS: Just today I was making myself laugh thinking about "Indira" ("Don't Cry for Me, Rawalpundi") with special guest star Slim Whitman.

[Crankie Avalon]

4. I got volume 1 of the SCTV DVD for Christmas...

...and just got around to watching it.

The cast didn't want musical guests, but were pressured by executives into having them, so they did have musical guests like Dr. John, Southside Johnny, and other really lame people except for Roy Orbison.

Unlike SNL, SCTV worked the musical guests into the sketches. Dr. John was a very important character in "Polynesian Town," for example, and actually did a good job. Roy Orbison appeared on "Mel's Rockpile."

I liked both SNL and SCTV. They were very different in that one was live and on every week, whereas the other was more crafted and prepared and ran on a different timetable.

[BurtWorm]

6. That's right! I forgot about that.

I liked them both, too. But since you asked, I had to make a choice. Bless you!

[Crankie Avalon]

8. Bless me...AGAIN???

No, bless YOU!!!

In the end, I'd have to take SCTV, as well.

SNL had a tight schedule to meet and would have to go on live week in week out whether the show was really ready for it or not. It also depended more heavily than SCTV did on jokes about current events, many of which now seem sort of dated after so many years.

SCTV did a great deal of absurd juxtaposition humor (like the Indira/Slim Whitman sketch you mentioned, as well as the fantastic Bob Hope/Woody Allen collaboration sketch), and absurd juxtaposition is one of my very favorite comedic techniques.

[BurtWorm]

9. I love that Bob Hope/Woody Allen one!

:thumbsup:

[judge_smales]

2. .

SCTV rocked!! Waaayyyyy better than SNL. Fortunately I have quite a few episodes on tape, and revisiting them is a real pleasure.

[lpbk2713]

3. Saturday Night Lame is more like it.

[terrya]

5. Even during the Tony Rosario/Robin Duke period of SCTV...

SCTV was STILL much, much funnier than SNL ever was.

T

[Touchdown]

7. Neither. Kids in the Hall!

...and 30 Helens agree with me!