Just want to point this out to for SCTV lovers who might not be aware of its existence ~ the Canadian [lilred]David Steinberg Show[/lilred] series which ran on CTV in the mid-'70s featured several people who would later become SCTV cast members:



Comedian David Steinberg is the host of an all-star variety show, where the funniest moments all happen behind the scenes. Every week Steinberg welcomes a new celebrity guest who is thrown into the hilarious backstage antics of the show’s eccentric cast. While sketch comedy is performed at the studio, Vinnie DeMilo (Bill Saluga) serves up his own laughs at the "Hello Deli" across the street. The series’ other regular players include Martin Short (singer Johnny Del Bravo) and John Candy (hippie musician Spider Reichman) as well as other stars of SCTV – before they were stars – like Joe Flaherty, Andrea Martin and Dave Thomas.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009NZ6OS/?tag=imwan-20

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Amazon also has a "best-of" DVD from this series, if you'd just like a taste of it rather than the full box set:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FCW25E/?tag=imwan-20

This is coming out on October 24, 2006. Looks like they've given up on the full season concept and will be issuing the remaining SCTV DVDs as "best of era" collections. (Hopefully they'll make one for the show's final year on Cinemax too.)

[bigred]SCTV - Best Of The Early Years[/bigred]



Amazon.com
Even the worst of SCTV would be superior to much of what passes for contemporary sketch comedy. This three-disc set collects 15 of the now-legendary 30-minute syndicated episodes from 1978-80 that initially formed the bedrock of SCTV's Network 90 incarnation (now available in its entirety on DVD). There are but three episodes from season 2, which feature SCTV's most popularly known ensemble: John Candy, Joe Flahrety, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, Catherine O'Hara, and Dave Thomas. Arguably the best of these is "On the Waterfront Again," with Levy's old school and out of touch comedian Bobby Bittman and O'Hara's B-list entertainer Lola Heatherton appearing on "The Sammy Maudlin Show" to promote their hopeless remake of the Brando classic. The bulk of this collection hails from season 3, which lamentably saw the departure of Candy and O'Hara, but also the auspicious arrival of Rick Moranis. Also joining the cast were the unsung Tony Rosato (who does a wicked Lou Costello in "Midnight Express Special") and Robin Duke. They would later make the jump to Saturday Night Live, which gets an upstart thumping in the episode, "Thursday Night Live." One of the season's running gags is a series of promos for Taxi Driver, recast with Woody Allen, Dick Cavett, Gregory Peck, and even Bob Hope ("You talkin' to me? Nobody talks to me that way. I didn't let Darryl Zanuck talk to me that way."). Thomas's definitive Hope also pops up to upstage Bittman on "The Sammy Maudlin Show" to promote "I Owe Peking 2000 Dollars," and alongside Moranis' uncanny Woody Allen in the masterpiece, "Play It Again, Bob." Thomas and Moranis make their momentous first appearances throughout this season as bickering, beer-swilling brothers Doug and Bob McKenzie, SCTV's breakout characters. "The Great White North" (a.k.a. "Kanadian Korner"), their sublimely silly improved segments, introduced such Canadian patois as "Take off," "Hoser," and "Beauty, eh?" into the pop culture lexicon.

SCTV mastered the art of cross parody. "My Factory, My Self," one of Martin's finest half hours, somehow combines An Unmarried Woman, Coming Home, Norma Rae, Kramer vs. Kramer, and The China Syndrome. It's unfortunate that The Early Years represented in this collection do not extend to the first season (Harold Ramis fans, arise!). But these gems are dazzling in their--to quote the hilarious "The Trial of Oscar Wilde" sketch--"sparkling wit and unbelievable intelligence." Some of the references are dated (anyone remember gossip columnist Rona Barrett, transformed here into sportscaster Ronny Barrett?). But we agree with SCTV station manager Guy Caballero. This is "the hippest comedy you'll ever see."

Product Description
SCTV's best half-hour episodes from 1978 - 1980 are showcased in this 3-DVD collection. From its humble beginnings in 1976, SCTV transformed from a half-hour comedy airing monthly in Canada on the Global Television Network to a widely embraced series that, by the third season, was airing weekly on the CBC and syndicated in the U.S.

Guy Caballero and Edith Prickley were born in the early years. The McKenzie Brothers started here. Earl Camembert, Floyd Robertson, Johnny LaRue, Sammy Maudlin and Bobby Bittman—characters destined to become household names—were first beamed into consciousness here.

Starring: John Candy, Robin Duke, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, Catherine O'Hara, Tony Rosato and Dave Thomas.

DVD Features
Commentary by: Robin Duke and Joe Flaherty
Andrew Alexander answers fan mail with Scott Dobson
Looking back with Andrea Martin: Andrea Martin looks back on her theater roots, SCTV and the charecters it spawned
The McKenzie Brothers "Take Off, Eh!" : A look at the impact "The Great White North" had on Canada - available for the first time in 20 years
SCTV at The Firehall: Executive Producer Andrew Alexander gives a behind-the-scenes tour of SCTV's home for 20 years

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H6SY1O/?tag=imwan-20

Speculation, or have you seen specific information?

Just speculating. For a while they were issuing "complete" boxes (half a season each of the NBC years, I believe) like clockwork, then ... nothing. Now this distillation of the pre-NBC seasons. I wonder if they don't have confidence in the Harold Ramis era, or if sales weren't as good as they had hoped for the NBC stuff.

Remember, also, that the SCTV D.V.D.s were pricier than usual, because of the music licensing fees... this may be a way of offering a product at a lower price point, depending on what's included.

As I mentioned in another thread, I can't imagine why Harold Ramis's name isn't listed on the cover. He was a major writer and performer in the early years. Although he had left by the 3rd season of syndication, so maybe this box doesn't go back all the way. Then we'll have to wait for the really early years.

If I already have the first four box sets of SCTV, is the best of taken from these discs, or is it from episodes before these sets?

Before. This latest set is comprised of sketches from the syndicated years, before they wound up on NBC. You need it! (Me too.)

[bigred]Bob and Doug McKenzie: Two-Four Anniversary DVD True Hoser's Collectors Edition[/bigred]



http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B000WM84XQ/?tag=imwanca-20

How did I miss hearing about this when it was released back on November 20th? Probably because it was only released in Canada (note the link to Amazon.ca). A shame...

"What started out as a parody of a CBC request for Canadian Content, the McKenzie Brothers hit television in 1980 and went on to make a platinum-selling album, a cult movie, dozens of commercials, action figures, appear in editorial cartoons and become enduring icons in Canadian culture.

In 2007, the McKenzie Brothers reunited for the first time in 10 years with new footage on the Great White North set and were joined by some of their celebrity friends.

Also included are Bob and Doug's first appearances on Saturday Night Live, the Junos and the Hoser Parade in Toronto along with rare never-before-seen footage of the McKenzie Brothers.

Bonus Features: 7 Classic Great White North Sketches Songs: Take Off & Twelve Days of Christmas Famous People Talking About Bob & Doug Original McKenzie Commercials Sounds of the Great White North A Q&A with Bob and Doug Free Bottle Opener included in pack

So the majority of this is all new material?

AWESOME!!!!!

I have always loved Bob and Doug McKenzie! The funny thing is that I never thought they were talking "Canadian" with the "eh"s and all that... I just thought the characters were supposed to be a couple of regular guys who walked in from off the street, unpolished, and did a talk show.