Browse episode ratings trends for Second City Television. Simply click on the interactive rating graph to explore the best and worst of Second City Television's 136 episodes.
Best Episodes of Second City Television
Pledge Week
S4 Ep7
10.0
17th Jul 1981
SCTV holds a pledge drive.
Moral Majority
S4 Ep6
10.0
10th Jul 1981
Guy tries to appease a major advertiser.
Repeats
S4 Ep4
10.0
19th Jun 1981
A selection of sketches from the previous seasons.
Southside Fracas
S4 Ep3
10.0
29th May 1981
Guy Caballero hires illegal immigrant Pirini Scleroso; the Fracases argue about their daughter's wedding.
SCTV 30th Anniversary Show
S2 Ep11
10.0
25th Nov 1978
Features the show-length, star-studded salute to SCTV's 30th anniversary, with some great parodies of 50's television.
Additional Viewing: Branded, the 1965 TV show starring Chuck Connors; and What's My Line?, the long-running 50s panel show. While Kirk Douglas made two appearances as a mystery guest on What's My Line? (in 1953 and 1960), he was never a guest panelist (his second wife, Anne Buydens, did appear as a guest panelist on a 1966 show, however). Coincidentally, Andrea Martin, like Arlene Francis, is of partial Armenian descent, while Catherine O'Hara, like Dorothy Kilgallen, is from an Irish-Catholic family. The opening sequence of What's My Shoesize? has more in common with the 1968-75 syndicated version of What's My Line? (Thanks William Brown
SCTV Solid Gold Telethon
S2 Ep4
10.0
7th Oct 1978
Sammy Maudlin, Bobby Bittman and Johnny LaRue anchor the show-length star-studded charity telethon. A great celebrity schmooze fest. The Solid Gold Telethon marks the first of three telethons SCTV would air in an attempt to get cash from viewers; it was followed by Pledge Week in Series 4, and the very final SCTV episode, Pledge Week in Series 6.
The Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme duet is an almost note-for-note parody of Jackie and Roy's rendition of the tune "You Smell So Good", a jazz classic. (Thanks Charlie R)
Kidnapping of Moe Green
S2 Ep3
10.0
30th Sep 1978
The Leutonian Liberation Front has threatened Moe Green with his life and his career. Once the dirty deed is done, SCTV's on-air personalities cannot hide their relief.
Premiere
S2 Ep1
10.0
16th Sep 1978
As the show starts, the scripts are not finished. The first on-screen appearance of Guy Caballero, in a wheelchair (which he uses for respect) with a phone. And, seemingly out of nowhere, Lola Heatherton appears, fully formed, in her first special.
Additional Viewing: 70s TV series The Love Boat and The Incredible Hulk.
Worst Episodes of Second City Television
Broads Behind Bars
S1 Ep11
4.5
21st Apr 1977
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
Therese et Joe
S1 Ep10
6.0
7th Apr 1977
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
Dialing For Dollars
S1 Ep7
6.5
24th Feb 1977
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
Crosswords
S1 Ep4
6.8
Sammy Maudlin, Sunrise Semester, The $211,000 Triangle, Cooking with LaRue, Backstage, Masterpiece Theatre, Words to Live By
Backstage
S1 Ep1
6.9
21st Sep 1976
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.
Zontar
S4 Ep12
7.0
31st Oct 1981
The SCTV cast and crew falls victim to alien mind control.
Murder At SCTV
S1 Ep2
7.2
21st Oct 1976
Perini Scleroso and Gus Gustofferson's first appearance. Gus is featured in a wraparound concept dealing with the murder of puppeteer Lampeer.
Memoirs of Anton Chekhov
S1 Ep6
7.2
10th Feb 1977
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
Second City Television Episode Guide
Backstage
S1 Ep1
6.9
21st Sep 1976
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.
Murder At SCTV
S1 Ep2
7.2
21st Oct 1976
Perini Scleroso and Gus Gustofferson's first appearance. Gus is featured in a wraparound concept dealing with the murder of puppeteer Lampeer.
Ethnic Humour
S1 Ep3
7.5
18th Nov 1976
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
Crosswords
S1 Ep4
6.8
Sammy Maudlin, Sunrise Semester, The $211,000 Triangle, Cooking with LaRue, Backstage, Masterpiece Theatre, Words to Live By
Match Unto My Feet
S1 Ep5
7.6
13th Jan 1977
Sunrise Semester, Witness to Yesterday, PSA:So You're Dead...Now What?, Match Unto My Feet, Words to Live By
Memoirs of Anton Chekhov
S1 Ep6
7.2
10th Feb 1977
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
Dialing For Dollars
S1 Ep7
6.5
24th Feb 1977
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
Shock Theatre
S1 Ep8
7.7
10th Mar 1977
Dining with LaRue, The Wacky World of Poverty, Eye on Science, Shock Theatre:Early to Bed
Philosophy Street
S1 Ep9
7.3
Good-Bye America, Sunrise Semester, Philosophy Street, Total Women, A Fistful of Ugly, Feedback with Moe Green
Therese et Joe
S1 Ep10
6.0
7th Apr 1977
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
Broads Behind Bars
S1 Ep11
4.5
21st Apr 1977
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
The Taxidermist
S1 Ep12
8.0
5th May 1977
Farm Report, Welcome Back President Kotter, Alistair Cook's Armenia, The Taxidermist
Ben Hur
S1 Ep13
8.0
19th May 1977
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.
The Hefty Neil Story
S1 Ep14
SCTV Sports Central: The Hefty Neil Story, PSA: Shoplifting
Leave It to Beaver
S1 Ep15
10.0
26th Sep 1977
Exorcising, Leave it to Beaver 25th Anniversary Party, PSA:Rip Masters for Children on Booze, Dr Tongue and his Animal Friends
Goodbye America
S1 Ep16
3rd Oct 1977
Winning Chess with Borris Morris, PSA:So You're Dead...Now What?, Good-Bye America, Johnny LaRue
Galaxy 66
S1 Ep17
10th Oct 1977
Diving for Dollars, Sunrise Semester, Sci-Fi Theatre: Galaxy 66, Beside the Point, Words to Live By
Wake Up With Alki Stereopolis, PSA: Do Not Remove Tags, The $129,000 Question, Elvira Mad Again Part II, Words to Live By
Dr Tongue's House of Wax
S1 Ep20
Sunrise Semester, It Was That Way With Keith Hampshire, I Cry Each Day I Die, SCTV Boogie
Sammy Maudlin Show
S1 Ep21
Paul's Workshop With Paul Fistinyourface, The Sammy Maudlin Show, PSA: Shoplifting, Dialing For Dollars: Sandy Moss
World at War
S1 Ep22
14th Nov 1977
Passport to Adventure:Africa, The World of Mystery: Sandwich on the Orient Express, World at War:Baseball, Lowell Thompson Remembers
The Grapes of Mud
S1 Ep23
21st Nov 1977
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
Officer Friendly
S1 Ep24
28th Nov 1977
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
King of the Popes
S1 Ep25
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
Lust for Paint
S1 Ep26
12th Dec 1977
Dialing for Dollars: Lust For Paint features a show-length parody of Moulin Rouge, with promos for celebrity tattletales and the Babe Ruth story
The best rated episodes of Second City Television are:
Pledge Week S4E7 rated 10.0
Moral Majority S4E6 rated 10.0
Repeats S4E4 rated 10.0
Southside Fracas S4E3 rated 10.0
SCTV 30th Anniversary Show S2E11 rated 10.0
SCTV Solid Gold Telethon S2E4 rated 10.0
Kidnapping of Moe Green S2E3 rated 10.0
Premiere S2E1 rated 10.0
The lowest rated episodes of Second City Television are:
Broads Behind Bars S1E11 rated 4.5
Therese et Joe S1E10 rated 6.0
Dialing For Dollars S1E7 rated 6.5
Crosswords S1E4 rated 6.8
Backstage S1E1 rated 6.9
Zontar S4E12 rated 7.0
Murder At SCTV S1E2 rated 7.2
Memoirs of Anton Chekhov S1E6 rated 7.2
The first episode of Second City Television aired on September 21, 1976.
The last episode of Second City Television aired on July 17, 1984.
