The Second City - First Family of Comedy
by Sharon Bartlett
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DVD details
Director: Sharon BartlettBrand: THOMAS,DAVE
Editor: Chris Holmes
Producer: Randolph Eustace-Walden
Writer: Dave Thomas
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 180 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-02-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Acorn Media
DVD Reviews of The Second City - First Family of Comedy
DVD Review: Full of rare live stage footage you never knew existed!
Summary: 5 Stars
FOR FANS OF SCTV, SNL & The RED GREEN SHO!!! A chance to learn about the rise of the starts of these shows.
First to clear up some confusion, this DOCUMENTARY is about the Second City stage group which SCTV spun off of and SNL hired away the talents of. However, SCTV is prominently talked about in the middle 43 minute segment. Red Green's Patrick McKenna (Harold) is interviewed & talks about his days on the Second City stage performing with Ryan Styles & Colin who later went on to WHO'S LINE IS IT ANYWAY?.
My only wish at times is that the interviewees would shut up during the classic footage of the late 1950's & early 1960's. This is our only chance to see it & they are talking over it!
That gripe aside, this is a fairly comprehensive overview of the Second City troupes, both Chicago & Toronto. It is broken up into a three-part documentary produced by Canadian television.
Part one covers the Second City troupe before SCTV.
Part two centers on the SCTV show itself.
Part three returns to the Second City troupe after SCTV spun off of Second City.
I did not realize that SCTV was not officially a part of Second City after its first season, they were let loose to continue with their show.
This documentary lasts over 2 hours and is filled with rare vintage recordings of the live stage performances as well as clips from SCTV. While John Belushi gets mentioned & pictured, any recordings of his performances for The Second City are not presented here. Little from the late 1960's & early 1970's is presented here.
The bonus material consists of extended interviews, but I really wish it was the extended uninterrupted performances from the classic footage.
Either way, this is a must-have for any fans of these performers.
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Description of The Second City - First Family of Comedy
Second City has spawned generations of great comedians. With its emphasis on improvisation, narrative, and character instead of simple jokes, it also changed the way we think about culture?while making us laugh out loud.Join hosts (and Second City alums) Dave Thomas, Scott Thompson, and Joe Flaherty for an uproarious, behind-the-scenes history of the troupe that incubated more than four decades? worth of funny people. Meet the producers who introduced the world to John Belushi, John Candy, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Fred Willard, Eugene Levy, and more. See rare archival clips of early performances. Hear Dan Aykroyd, Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Patrick McKenna, Mike Myers, Colin Mochrie, Catherine O?Hara, Harold Ramis, Paul Shaffer, Martin Short, Ryan Stiles, and others reminisce about their salad days. You?ll learn why so many performers call Second City the "university" that gave them a higher education in hilarity.
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE extended interview segments with Dan Aykroyd, Martin Short, Dave Thomas, and Tina Fey.
With its revolutionary improvisation acting techniques and staggering roster of talent who got their starts on its stages, Second City's influence on popular culture cannot be overstated. Although hardly definitive, this three-part retrospective is a welcome and entertaining primer to this comedy institution. The first episode, hosted by Dave Thomas, sets the stage, chronicling the Second City's embryonic incarnations at the University of Chicago, its humble beginnings as a Chicago cabaret, the establishment of a Toronto company, and the launch of SCTV. Scott Thompson, better known as a member of Kids in the Hall, hosts episode 2, which pays tribute to SCTV. Joe Flahrety hosts episode 3, which spotlights notable alumni who brought their improvisational talents to a national prominence, including Mike Myers, Tina Fey, and Ryan Stiles. A Who's Who of comedy reflect on their Second City stints, including Oscar-nominee Alan Arkin, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, Catherine O'Hara, Harold Ramis, and Martin Short. As history, First Family of Comedy is sketchy (there is scant mention of improvisation guru and mentor Del Close). Those who are inspired to learn more about Second City should read Jeffrey Sweet's Something Wonderful Right Away, Sheldon Patinkin's The Second City: Backstage at the World's Greatest Comedy Theatre, or Janet Coleman's The Compass: The Improvisational Theatre That Revolutionized American Comedy. --Donald Liebenson
Interview With SCTV's Dave Thomas
Anyone who knows Saturday Night Live or SCTV knows many of the most famous cast members all came out of Second City, an improv and sketch comedy theater troupe based out of Chicago (with more troupes in Toronto, Las Vegas and other cities). Notable alums include SNL's Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, John Candy, Chris Farley, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Martin Short; Christopher Guest improv players Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara; and famed comedic actors Bonnie Hunt, Steve Carell, Shelley Long, Jim Belushi. (There's tons more.)
Acorn has released The Second City: First Family of Comedy, a behind-the-scenes documentary on the troupe's history that features interviews with much of the famed graduates. SCTV's Dave Thomas, a Second City alum who's best known for "The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew," his skit with Rick Moranis, and recent appearences on Arrested Development and Weeds. We got Mr. Thomas to wax nostalgic on the old days of Second City and share some memorable tales as well as his own recommendations. -- Ellen A. Kim
Hello Dave - Thanks for talking to Amazon.com today.
Always a pleasure to talk to the merchants of tomes.
You host part of Second City: The First Family of Comedy and contribute many memories from being an alum. Can you share with us one memorable tale from the early years of Second City?
One night John Candy and I decided to do an improv scene in gibberish--you know, like a fake foreign language--just to see if we could get some laughs without using any real words. About a minute or two into the scene, a woman threw a highball glass at us and it shatter at shoulder level on the back wall between John and I. I left the stage, grabbed a police jacket and hat and went into the audience. When I got there, John was still on stage and I yelled, "Who threw that glass?!" John told me later that he thought I was a real cop and couldn't believe how fast the police got there. The audience thought so too, because they pointed at this woman as the offender and I pointed at her and said, "You, out!" and she got up and walked over to me.Now I realized I had taken the street theater thing too far. What was I going to do? Arrest this woman? What if she got violent? But before she even got to me, Candy was off the stage and into the audience. He took her by the arm and led her backstage, saying, "You are barred from this theater. You are never allowed to come here again." Then he opened the door behind the stage and tossed her out into the alley behind the theater. When he closed the door, we both burst out laughing. It was one of those moments of stage where the whole theater becomes the stage and it all gets much more exciting and fun.
Say it's your first day as a member of the theater troupe. Is the atmosphere more like a) the first day of junior high, b) basic training, or c) rushing a fraternity?
It's not like any of those things. Anyone who joins a theater troupe has been there in their minds many times before the actual thing happens.
Who are your greatest comic influences?
Peter Sellers, Jonathan Winters, Bob Hope.
Which young comedians (Second City or not) impress you right now?
I really loved the Borat movie. Will Ferrell makes me laugh. Paul Rudd is hilarious. He was the best thing in The 40 Year Old Virgin. Sarah Silverman is very funny.When you were in Second City, was there one person everyone knew right away, "Oh, he/she will easily be a big star"? Or anyone who was a late bloomer?
Actually, I kinda felt that they were all going to be big stars and they all did. I was on stage with Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin. I think the only one I was worried about was me.
You were famous for playing Bob Hope, most recently in a Simpsons episode. Did you ever meet Mr. Hope, and what did he think of your impression?
Yeah, I met Bob Hope many times. I did a couple of shows with him, played golf with him, went to his house. It was really crazy.
Second City is legendary in Chicago. Is there a membership card you can whip out and get, say, a better table or free parking anywhere?
My membership card is my face--with an upcoming expiry date that will make it unusable very soon.
You've appeared in episodes of Arrested Development, Weeds and King of the Hill. What's the funniest show out there right now?
I like a lot of shows. The Simpsons is still consistently good. I love Boston Legal. I think David E. Kelley's summations that he writes for James Spader are absolutely brilliant. Letterman and Conan O'Brien make me laugh a lot. I also watch other weird stuff like Heroes. I love sci-fi.
Since we're Amazon, we'd like to know what films/DVDs you're watching, what books you're reading, or what CDs you're listening to. Any recommendations?
I'm very happy Flyboys was released on DVD. I missed it when it came out [in theaters]. I liked The Departed. I just read A Futile and Stupid Gesture: How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever. I knew Doug and a lot of those guys, so it was interesting to see how Karp portrayed them. I am about to read The Stolen Child: A Novel by Keith Donohue. I'm looking forward to that.
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