SCTV
Backstage
TV Flash files “Backstage” as a desk essential hour — SCTV (1976–1984) on Global / Syndicated / NBC, season 1, episode 1, aired 1976-09-21, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E01: listed hour 1 of 78 in the SCTV guide, first listed hour of season 1. It aired 1976-09-21 (30 min). No earlier hour is listed in this guide. Next is “Murder at SCTV” (S01E02).
Essential hour: “Backstage”. Backstage opens the fake television network. Second City Canada's sharpest already satirizing the medium from inside the broadcast: writers' sketch comedy, deep-cut characters, not just later Hollywood alumni.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Backstage sit in the SCTV guide?
S01E01 is listed hour 1 of 78 — first listed hour of season 1, season 1 episode 1.
When did SCTV S01E01 air?
Backstage aired 1976-09-21 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Canadian original or the NBC years?
Same Melonville: Canadian institution that reached the U.S. via syndication and NBC. Sample any era for the station; the troupe is the constant.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Melonville's fake television network lets Second City Canada's sharpest — John Candy, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin — satirize the medium from inside the broadcast. Writers' sketch comedy at championship density. Deep-cut characters, not just the Hollywood alumni list, plus station IDs worth quoting forever.
Calendar first: a fake television network in Melonville, 1976–1984, Canadian institution that reached the U.S. via syndication and NBC — Global / syndicated / NBC labels all describing the same invasion. SCTV, from Bernard Sahlins, Andrew Alexander, and Second City, broadcasts sketches that skewer media, movies, and show business with denser jokes than network rivals. John Candy, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Joe Flaherty, early Harold Ramis. Championship-density satire…
Filed against
- John Candy as Various
John Candy’s SCTV various made Melonville feel overstaffed in the best way — Second City Canada satirizing the medium from inside the broadcast, writers’ sketch at championship density. Deep-cut characters, not just the Hollywood alumni…
- Eugene Levy as Various
Eugene Levy's Johnny Rose learned humility — and family — on Schitt's Creek, crowning a career of dry Canadian comedy. Warmth that could negotiate a motel lobby. TV Flash loves him as proof a late-run sitcom can feel like a hug with…
- Catherine O'Hara as Various
Catherine O’Hara’s Moira Rose turned wigs and vowels into Emmy-winning sitcom soft power on Schitt’s Creek — a matriarch treating a backwater as a failed booking until the town became the right party. “The Crows have eyes” still lives…
- Andrea Martin as Various
Andrea Martin populated SCTV’s Melonville as championship sketch density — a fake television network where Second City Canada satirized the medium from inside the broadcast. John Candy, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, deep-cut characters,…
- Rick Moranis as Various
Rick Moranis helped SCTV satirize the medium from inside the broadcast — Melonville's fake television network, Second City Canada's sharpest at championship density, deep-cut characters instead of a Hollywood alumni list. TV Flash files…
- Dave Thomas as Various
Dave Thomas helped SCTV satirize the medium from inside Melonville’s fake network — Second City Canada’s sharpest, writers’ sketch comedy at championship density, deep-cut characters beside the Hollywood alumni list. 1970s television…