Premise
The basic premise of the show is that "SCTV" is an independent television station in the city of Melonville. Rather than broadcasting the usual TV rerun fare, the station produces a bizarre and humorously incompetent range of cheap local programming, as well as acquiring cheap movies from other sources. A typical episode of SCTV would present a compendium of programming seen on the station throughout their programming day. This would mean a given episode could contain everything from SCTV news broadcasts to sitcoms, dramas, talk shows, kids shows, and/or game shows: everything from a soap opera called "The Days of the Week" ("Monday... Tuesday... Wednesday... these are... the days of the week"), to game shows like "Shoot At The Stars" in which celebrities are literally shot at like targets in a shooting gallery, to full blown movie spoofs like "Play it Again, Bob" in which Woody Allen (Rick Moranis) tries to get Bob Hope (Dave Thomas) to star in his next film. Episodes would also feature a range of SCTV-produced promos and commercials, such as spots for "Al Peck's Used Fruit" or "Shower In A Briefcase", or a PSA which helpfully describes "Seven Signs You May Already Be Dead".
Also seen fairly frequently (particularly in the later episodes) were behind-the-scenes plots focusing on life at the station. These plots often featured Guy Caballero (Joe Flaherty), the cheap, tyrannical owner and president of SCTV, who was in a wheelchair only so that people would "respect" him; weaselly, sweating station manager Maurice "Moe" Green (Harold Ramis), who was succeeded by flamboyant, leopard-skin clad station manager Mrs. Edith Prickley (Andrea Martin); vain variety star Johnny La Rue (John Candy); washed-up entertainers like singer Lola Heatherton (Catherine O'Hara) and "funnyman" Bobby Bittman (Eugene Levy); news anchors Floyd Robertson (Flaherty) and Earl Camembert (Levy), talk-show host Sammy Maudlin (Flaherty), beer-addled brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie (Moranis and Thomas), plus many other characters, all played by the SCTV cast.
The small cast (usually six to eight people at any given time) played a wide variety of other roles on the show, ranging from program hosts to commercial spokespersons for the fictional station. They also impersonated numerous popular celebrities who would appear on SCTV programming.
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Famous quotes containing the word premise:
“We have to give ourselves—men in particular—permission to really be with and get to know our children. The premise is that taking care of kids can be a pain in the ass, and it is frustrating and agonizing, but also gratifying and enjoyable. When a little kid says, “I love you, Daddy,” or cries and you comfort her or him, life becomes a richer experience.”
—Anonymous Father. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 3 (1978)