Mary Charlotte Wilcox Movies

This final episode of SCTV: Network 90 features such classic sketches as "Whatever Happened to Baby Ed," with Ed Grimley (Martin Short) suffering torment at the hands of his brother Skip (John Candy); and the 3-D Firing Line production of "Midnight Cowboy II," hosted by Count Floyd (Joe Flaherty), starring Woody Tobias Jr. (Eugene Levy) as Ratzo Rizzo and Dr. Tongue (Candy) as Joe Buck -- and mercilessly skewered by critic Pauline Kael (Mary Charlotte Wilcox). Also, musical guest Joe Walsh and his band perform "I Can Play That Rock 'N' Roll All Night" on "The Fishin' Magician." Billy Sol (Candy) and Big Jim (Flaherty) goad Neil Sedaka (Levy) into blowin' up real good. "Mel's Rock Pile" offers a tribute to punk, featuring The Queenhaters' big hit "I Hate the Bloody Queen." And, at long last, it's the 12th and last episode of "Days of the Week" -- with a truly surprising cameo appearance. (A "real" one, not an imitation this time!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After wrapping production on the weekly, 90-minute NBC comedy-variety series SCTV Network, six members of the Canadian "Second City TV" comedy troupe reassembled for this cable-TV effort, which premiered November 22, 1983 on Cinemax. Seen in a weekly 45-minute slot, SCTV Channel proved an excellent workout for the comic skills of SCTV "veterans" Andrea Martin, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, and Martin Short, as well as comparative newcomers Mary Charlotte Wilcox and Jim Hemphill. Although the absence of former SCTVers John Candy, Dave Thomas, and Catherine O'Hara was sorely felt, all three of these performers were adequately represented via guest appearances.
No longer obliged to use musical guest stars as they had during the NBC run, the producers of SCTV Channel were able to focus exclusively on comedy. As in its previous incarnations, the show specialized in devastatingly on-target satires of contemporary television programs and genres, with each episode representing a "typical" broadcast day at Channel 109, the SCTV network's flagship station in Melonville. Many of the recurring characters had already been established in SCTV's previous syndicated and network shows, notably crooked station owner Guy Caballero (Flaherty), obnoxious station manager Edith Prickley (Martin), burned-out horror show host Count Floyd (Flaherty), pompous news anchor Earl Camembert (Levy), nerdish SCTV janitor Ed Grimley (Short), oily talk show MC Sammy Maudlin (Flaherty), unfunny funnyman Bobby Bittman (Levy), and smarmy Australian superstar Jackie Rogers Jr. (Short), among others. The one significant "new" character was created by Jim Hemphill; lachrymose, heavy-drinking kiddie show host Happy Marsden, who presided over his daily TV series from his favorite tavern, and who featured highlights (?) from the interminable black-and-white movie serial Six Gun Justice. As for Mary Charlotte Wilcox, her main character of note was fatuous "famous for being famous" local celebrity Idella Voudry. Although at its best SCTV Channel was every bit as good as the late, lamented SCTV and SCTV: Network 90, the series' writers tended to stretch and attenuate its material at times; also, the show seemed to run out of gas toward the end, as witnessed by its heavy reliance upon "coming attractions" consisting of vintage clips from earlier SCTV efforts. Even so, the 18-episode SCTV Channel was a worthy swan song for one of the most consistently funny and inventive sketch series in television history. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this Emmy-winning episode, poltergeists from the great TV shows of the past haunt the studios of SCTV while the network mounts an insipid all-star variety special with Linda Lavin (Andrea Martin), Jamie Farr (Martin Short), Merlin Olsen (John Candy), and Gavin MacLeod (Joe Flaherty). Throughout the evening, studio janitor Ed Grimley (Martin Short) is confronted by the spirits of such video icons as Ralph Kramden, the cast of What's My Line, and the Mouseketeers. Meanwhile, SCTV serves up more sweeps-week bilge, including "The Dallas Cowgirls Salute Copeland," "The Long Hard War," "Jumping for Dollars" and Episode ten of "Days of the Week." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An offer by Guy Caballero (Joe Flaherty) to accept low-rent "spot" ads on SCTV segues into the '50s private eye show "Vic Arpeggio," a black-and-white spoof of the vintage TV series Johnny Staccato starring Vic Hedges (also Flaherty). Pop culture maven Brock Linehan (Martin Short) introduces three representative clips from the long-running TV show "Oh, That Rusty," which, through the decades, undergoes a number of startling -- and idiotic -- format changes. Also on the docket: "Koffler and Meltzer," a Jewish-American-Princess version of Starsky & Hutch starring Andrea Martin and Mary Charlotte Wilcox; talk show host Sammy Maudlin (Flaherty) explains that his co-host William B. has walked off the show as he welcomes guest stars Sandler and Young (Short, Eugene Levy) and Luciano Pavarotti (John Candy); "Days of the Week" reaches its eighth episode; and a panel of Canada's foremost philosophers debate over whether The Flintstones was stolen from The Honeymooners. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

SCTV's new studios are located in the world's tallest building -- so guess what happens next, especially with Towering Inferno star Charlton Heston (Joe Flaherty) on hand. In other sketches, Divine (John Candy) and David Steinberg (Martin Short) star in a revival of "Peter Pan." Anchorman Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy) exposes urban transit (bicycles included) on "One on the Town." Musical guests Banda Brava show up on "Words to Live By With Mr. Mambo." And in the new game show "Let's Find Jerzy," contestants search for novelist Jerzy Kosinski (Flaherty) in his own living room. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide