SCTV 1 Gerry Todd_Tom Monroe "Turning Japanese"

[Kossta996]

This song is going to be a meme one day...

[thatSpooner]

Brilliant. Arguably, this version actually holds up better today, and is more culturally relevant than the hit by The Vapors. I admit I enjoyed both versions at the time (1980 or '81?)

[blaklodge]

Turneen Jehpanees

[MisterLogiks]

@Esully7 WHY DONT YOU MAKE LIKE A BANANA AND SHIT

[truerock74]

Gerry Todd was way ahead of its time . . . great stuff.

[MisterLogiks]

this is fucking gay as fuck why the fuck am i watching this

[Esully7]

@MisterLogiks stfu faggot

[666Harland]

Japaniece?

[zortation]

@666Harland Jap paneece, There are two "p"s.

[EthelMaeMertz]

nothing short of frigging genius.  period. end of story

[Wolfe222]

Probably wouldn't be able to show this these days...you know with everything needing to be "politically correct" and all....

[izzonj]

Genius!

[indyfan22k]

too bad they don't a SCTV show now, it was be so much better than SNL!!

[fukuinerd]

funniest 1:17 ever

[charlyW34]

This was shot in Hawrelak park, named for a dead Mayor of Edmonton. The site was a former gravel quarry.

[timroberts1968]

I generally sing this version more often than the original

[twpjrintx]

@timroberts1968

Me too

[twpjrintx]

@timroberts1968

I want the Doctor...too take a picture

When I hear this I always do Todd Monroe's Version...It sounds better

[truerock74]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's Rick Moranis singing . . . loved Tom Monroe and The Gerry Todd Show . . . Gerry Todd was years ahead of its time.

[Jorganti]

so the guy who does ''down with the sickness'' and other songs in the ''lounge'' style pretty much stole it from this....nice

richard cheese i think....

[karmadhyana]

@Jorganti Also, when Bill Murray did his lounge singer, "Nick" (5th season SNL?), I'm pretty sure it was, at least in part, lifted from RM's Tom Monroe character. I don't know if I like this or his version of "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da," more. Both brilliant. Too bad Rick Moranis bowed out of the entertainment scene...

[ozzymotorhead]

way better than the original song

[DemonFoxAkira]

Is that really Rick singing? Damn!

[michelformika]

Vadio

[sadhuable]

Completely....... Jap. Paneeeeeeeeeeeeeeese.

[barquedust]

Absolutely maahvelous. The choreography is brilliant, and Tom Monroe brought the helmet hair into the 80's. There's just nothing like this on television anymore. Give me the good ole days... I think I may be turning Jap-Paneese as I write this!!

[LittleDragon2000]

brilliant. you'd almost think that guy who plays Gerry Todd was a real DJ!

[engineerzerochannel]

You could put this in an elevator mix and probably only people of a certain generation would crack up. 

[2BRKSHS]

Paul Anka now does the same thing....20 freakin years later!

[DemonFoxAkira]

Oh, my God! What a voice!

*Sighs admiringly and faints.*

[PacRimJim]

Are those orange pants or did I just have a stroke?

[Fongolitus]

nice! really easy listening! More Tom Monroe!! Should've released an entire album for real, 'On a New Wavelength' would've made a killing!

[racookster]

Rick Moranis is incredibly talented. The first time I saw "Little Shop of Horrors," I thought, "Wow, he's doing his own singing?!" Now I look at this and go, "Well, duh!" I had actually forgotten how well he could.

I read somewhere (take this with a grain of salt) that he backed out of the limelight because he was tired of being cast in nerdy roles. If so, he had a point: he can play anything. In "Streets of Fire" he played a nasty, arrogant little rich guy named Billy Fish. He was good, too.

[attentiondoozers]

oh my god thank you

[ptguy98368]

Richard Cheese, eat your heart out

[gale31]

Hilarious!!!!! Love Rick Moranis! Those orange pants are insane!!LOL

[ftsjr]

I wish Tom Monroe would release a "greatest hits" album.

[GrandFunker]

Is this available on 8 track? Can I pay C.O.D.?

[SpacemannSpiff]

OMG, Rick Moranis is so freakin' hilarious!

[dartmouthhoop]

why can't there be more tom monroe's today???

[MattAHTatTat]

@dartmouthhoop Google "Richard Cheese and Lounge Against The Machine"

[Rudie29]

brilliant. i love this.

[usualsuspect101]

love these old clips i too grew up watching all the sctv show's.greatest comedy show ever.thanx for the posting don cook47

[kingalow1]

Total genius!

[marjar1985]

:) completely Jap-A-Nese!~

[jjbucky1217]

Watched SCTV right from the start when they used to tape the shows in Toronto. When I'm having a bad day I'll think of one of there skits. Kinda embarrassing when it happens while I'm on the bus and start laughing.

[AntiTraci]

LOLOLOLOL

[singinglawnchair]

I love how a song about masturbation can be turned into something so classy and smooth.

Rick Moranis was a genius.

[saraphinn]

COMEDY GOLD

[TheMondocain]

lol

[jarasitis]

I think SCTV changed my life. Things can be funny and cool in a small way. They grow in your mind, which is the best of all. I just love the immediate nature of this. It captures the "video" revolution.

I love SCTV. Many times people had no idea why I would laugh at something, but it worked for me.

Thanks for posting.

:59 kills me.

Beautiful VIDEO. Thank you Tom Monroe and DonCook47.

[monkeysoulpoet]

@jarasitis YOu know what? I was wondering what moment you meant by .59 and when it came, I realized that it was one that I always thought was hilarious.

The genius of SCTV was that they observed TV and other pop culture so closely that they could make a little moment like that stand out without being an obvious "joke."

[myndhold]

That which has been seen cannot be unseen.

[cinchbassist]

I'm pretty sure this was filmed in Hawrelak park in the Edmonton river valley.

[teflonmagnet]

JAP!!-bunnies!!!!!

[Aragond68]

Cannot believe that was Rick Moranis. These people look *nothing* like their latter popular characterisations. How weird. :D

[CptMystery]

Waaaay before Richard Cheese.

[Frabffib]

I love when he looks up at the sky at 0:27 hysterical! Tom Munroe rocks!

[hmbpnz]

Classic, beautiful video.

[Dennis10111]

as a kid i would do impressions of them doing impressions. too funny...

[El135o]

If I dressed like Tom Monroe, I could sell a used car every week. Dammit, I know I could!

[melodicsweepea]

Brand new 'vudeo'!

[junkie4vids]

LOL. Reminds me of Steve Lawrence. SCTV was always hilarious.

[tpep55]

Rick Moranis has hardly dropped off the face of the Earth....he's still doing lots of things

[BipolarPics]

love the hard s in japamese

[almostfm]

and the way he softens the "p" in "picture". Keeps it from popping when you get close to the mic.

[vigo894]

It's too bad he didn't make more of these. I would have bought that album lol.

[bobvar]

He always twisted stuff around into a friendly family middle of the road fare. This was at the peak of New Wave and Punk.

[stevel738]

Gerry Todd was less a spoof of MTV (which didn't exist then anyway) and more a spoof of what today we'd think of as a home consumer electronics geek. In fact the first SCTV skit I ever saw was his "public service message" on the importance of turning off the TV and getting out of the house. He concluded, "and if you're worried about missing anything, just do what I do--record everything." The camera then panned back to show him standing on his roof surrounded by about 40 satellite dishes.

[felixbaxter]

Man, we used to smoke like so much dope and be rolling on the floor with laughter when SCTV came on. Peeing our pants!

[NoSocialSkillz]

you love it.

[drbotanus]

"..... Japaneeeiiissss!!!" LOL. I remember this so well.

'Let's sweeten that up a bit." Rick Moranis was a DJ whom Dave Thomas met at a party & thought was funny. Rick was never in the Second City, except on the TV show.

Where is he now??? Dropped off the earth. Very funny guy. Local TV weekend Music video shows actually started in the seventies. Record promotors would distribute live or concert video. Remember Midnight Special with the Wolfman?? Hey Moranis also spoofed that on SCTV.

[NoSocialSkillz]

Jap

pan

niece.

[lorut]

Brilliance.

[Clevinger67]

I remember watching this back in the early 1980s...where'd the time go!? Gerry Todd was always one of my favorite SCTV characters.

[nostology]

I hear ya man!

[Mpoconnor7]

Rick Moranis was a DJ in Toronto before he drifted into comedy. Back in the early 80's a lot of people didn't get MTV because much of the country was not yet wired for cable, which forced a lot of TV stations to create late night weekend shows where a big local DJ would play videos, and in many cases they would bring their radio mentality to TV. I think Gerry Todd was a spoof of those local video shows.

[Clevinger67]

Moranis was great; always liked his style.

[NoSocialSkillz]

that sounds good except you're wrong.  The episode aired in May of 1981 and MTV launched in August of 1981.

[simonjeste]

I forgot how awesomely cheesy Tom Munroe was... his "interpretations" of songs is like the opposite of Weird Al's polka compilations... Tom just slowed down the fast-tempo songs and made you wonder if you were watching The Lawrence Welk Show :)

[djvictroladadj]

incredible, SCTV was friggin' GREAT.....highly recommended for great comedy

[MillBelater]

Videeeeeeeo!

[ButtercupTwinkle]

WOW MR COOL!

[felicity4711]

Gerry Todd: best SCTV character ever. I love Tom Monroe--On a New Wavelength. :-)

[MillBelater]

Buzzard Radio down there, lets check in on Cleveland...And Gerry Zooms in to Cleveland on the map, just like many TV Stations do in 2009, (a shooting in the 300 block, lets go there courtesy of google earth) but he did it in 1981? Rick Moranis, Way Ahead of the Curve.

[AlexandriaM]

I think my favorite thing about this is that he's not even looking at the photo he's holding in the beginning.

[MillBelater]

As much as I loved the original...When I think Turning Japanese today, I do it easy listening style. Thanks, Rick.

[randyreverb]

hahaha Richard Cheese eat your copy catin' heart out!

[MillBelater]

This was done very close to the time the Vapors relased this. SCTV had a bunch of on the edge musical guests. NBC wanted musical guests, by god, they got musical guests for Network 90. Plastics, Wendy O Williams, Tony Bennett. Hall and Oates in Chariots of Eggs. Tubes. Talking Heads. Recess Monkeys.

[cwcpr]

lol recess monkeys... don't forget the queenhaters

[MillBelater]

I can't afford me dope!

[rosepearljanis]

dont forget joe walsh

[morknmindl]

....and John Cougar religiously smoking!

[voxman77]

Soundtrack to a responsible life.

[pmarchino]

Japan-eese...lol