Here's another complete, rare, first-run broadcast (in fact, this was the regular series premiere in America - the first episode shown after the one-hour pilot which aired on 8/27/77) of Second City Television (SCTV).

The episode, "Backstage" (S01E01, originally transmitted in Canada on the Global Television Network on September 21st and September 23rd 1976), is presented here as broadcast over WNAC Channel 7 (now WHDH) in Boston, MA. (WNAC at the time was owned by RKO General, whose then-sister station in New York, WOR Channel 9, also ran this series from 1977 to 1979.)

Interesting note - series regular Joe Flaherty was initially credited on the Canadian airings in the first few episodes as "Joseph O'Flaherty" before the credits were fixed (by Global or the syndicator?); the corrected version is reflected on this airing of the debut episode.

Note also - there is no voiceover introducing the cast during the opening credits as was later standard - just the "It's Second City Television, now beginning it's programming day..." - along with the Spike Jones music (which had to be reversed here in parts to avoid Copyright issues).

Includes:

Segment 1 - "Laser-Matic Flash Camera Attachment" ad parody (recording comes in not long after this starts) and (original) show opening title sequence (with "laughing Indian" test pattern)

Commercials for:
Dristan decongestant tablets
TreeSweet orange juice (with O.J. Simpson) (OJ selling OJ!)
Theatrical trailer for "The White Buffalo" (main voiceover by Whitfield Connor) (ending voiceover by Leif Jensen, "The Voice of WNAC")
Gaspar's Linguiça

Segment 2 - featuring "Sunrise Semester," (opening music had to be reversed a bit to avoid Copyright issues), "Unnecessary Surgeon"/"Ted Gordon, Malpractice Lawyer," "The Johnny LaRue Exercise Show," "SCTV AM News Today," and "Evelyn Woods Speed Talking School" ad parody

Commercials for:
Kraft Thousand Island Dressing
National Home Health Plan (with Canadian native son Art Linkletter)
Promo for When Movies Were Movies (no, not the venerable WGN-TV showcase) presentation of "Station West" (voiceover by Leif Jensen)
Promo for Sha Na Na (with the eternal greasers singling the "Up and Coming 7" jingle)

Segment 3 - featuring "Backstage" (with Monica Parker), Gregory Peck (Flaherty) for "Stop Those Depressing Ads," "Masterpiece Theatre" presentation of "The Girls of Vienna - Part XII: Betty Freud," and "SCTV PM News"

Commercials for:
Bolens Mulching Mower
"Up and Coming 7" station promo (for When Movies Were Movies, 60 Minutes, Lawrence Welk, SCTV, Newsroom 7, and Merv Griffin)
Focus with John Tene, President and Director of Romania of Massachusetts, Inc., offering reading and writing classes for gypsy children of all ages
Money Matters - on airline cancellation insurance - with Tanya Kaye (sp?)

Final segment - "Words to Live By" (with Andrea Martin as 'Joni Newton Buffy', an apparent amalgam of the names of Joni Mitchell, Olivia Newton-John and Buffy Sainte-Marie), with closing credits (and 1977 copyright date)

Commercials for:
Swanson Hungry-Man dinners (with Gerri and Dave DeBusschere)
"Up and Coming 7" promo for That's Hollywood (voiceover by Leif Jensen)
PSA for The New Boston Kindergarten

Station ID / PSA for Massachusetts Association of Older Americans (voiceover by Leif Jensen)

The Late Movie opening sequence, with titles delayed as voiceover (by Leif Jensen) introduces upcoming film "Cat Ballou" (recording ends midway through show main titles)

This aired on local Boston TV on Friday, September 16th 1977 during the 11:30pm to 12:00am (Eastern) timeframe.

This footage was donated to The Museum of Classic Chicago Television as part of The Steve Albert Collection.

About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television:

The MCCTv (FuzzyMemoriesTV) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s to early 80s, mostly) recorded off of TV (in Chicago or other cities now too); things which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. If you have any old 1970s videotapes recorded off of TV please email: tapes@fuzzy.tv Even though (mostly) short clips are displayed here, we preserve the entire broadcasts in our archives - the complete programs with breaks (or however much is present on the tape), for historical preservation. For information on how to help in our mission, to donate or lend tapes to be converted to digital, please e-mail tapes@fuzzy.tv Thank you for your help!

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