The late, great comedian John Candy was one of those prodigiously talented individuals who was taken from us way, way too soon. (He was only 44 when he died in 1994.) If one were to select a DVD to place in a time capsule to show future generations what a comic genius Candy was, there would be no better choice than SCTV’s first holiday episode Staff Christmas Party (originally broadcast on Dec. 18, 1981).

The episode’s wraparound premise is that SCTV, the smallest, cheapest television station in the world, is throwing a staff Christmas party which allows for an appearance by just about every recurring character in the series. VJ Gerry Todd (Rick Moranis) is recording the party on video. Tex (Dave Thomas) and Edna Boil (Andrea Martin) are giving out “Boil Bucks” (which, of course, are only good at Tex & Edna’s Organ Emporium). Quintessential angry New Yorker Norman Gorman (Joe Flaherty) is peddling hot dogs. Lin Ye Tang (Thomas), host of Doorway to Hell, shares a Thai stick with butch bartender Nikki (Catherine O’Hara). (One of the show’s few overt drug jokes.) And so on.

The only person not having fun is producer Johnny LaRue (Candy). Station manger Guy Caballero (Flaherty) has kicked him out into the cold to film an episode of Street Beef. (Caballero still hasn’t forgiven LaRue for the expensive crane shot that ended his made-for-TV movie Polynesiantown.) Unfortunately for LaRue, not only is it freezing, there are also no people on the street for him to interview. (An in-joke: Edmonton, the small town in Canada where the show was produced, had absolutely no night life.)

In the meantime, there’s a promo for Liberace’s Musical Tribute to the Holidays special. Among the celebrities appearing with Liberace (Thomas) are Elton John (Moranis), Ethel Merman (Martin) and Orson Welles (Candy).

Welles: Good King Wenceslas looked out on the Feast of Stephen, when the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and… crunchy – I’m sorry. Did I say crunchy? I’m sorry, Lee.

Liberace: No problem. Let’s just –

Welles: (pointing off-camera) It was him! He moved! Please, we’re trying to work here!

Liberace: Please don’t move when Mr. Welles –

Welles: If you’re going to stay there, fine! If not, get out! You’re taking up valuable air!

Liberace: Let’s just try it again.

Welles: Sorry, Lee. Good King Wenceslas last – Your light went out! Am I on 1 or 2? Who’s directing here?

Liberace: I think it’s 1 –

Welles: There’s too much talking here! C’mon, fellas, get it together! We haven’t got all day!

Liberace: Let’s try it again, please.

Welles: Good – Are you on? Good King Wenceslas went – No, I’m sorry, Lee! No, it’s just not working! You don’t know what I’m up against here! I wouldn’t rehearse an actor in Shakespeare the way you people work here!

Liberace: Please –

Welles: No, I’m sorry!

Liberace: Please, Orson, please –

Welles: (pointing off-camera) It’s his fault! He moved! Him! Yes, you!

Liberace: I’ll fire him –

Welles: No, no, I’m sorry! You people are pests! No money is worth this!

And with this, Welles storms out of the studio taking an enormous turkey with him.

In a holiday episode of The Great White North, Bob (Moranis) and Doug McKenzie (Thomas) show us how to make “beer nog” and exchange gifts. (They both give each other a pack of cigarettes.)

Next up is a fireside chat with His Honor Tommy Shanks (Candy), Melonville’s amiable and totally bonkers mayor, who tells the viewers how much he and his wife like Melonville’s new shopping mall. Having concluded his remarks, Mayor Shanks proceeds to feed dog biscuits to a couple of stuffed animals.

This is followed by The Sammy Maudlin Show. Joining Sammy (Flaherty) and announcer William B. Williams (Candy) are playwright Neil Simon (Thomas) and his wife, actress Marsha Mason (Martin). They are there to plug Neil’s new movie Neil Simon’s Nutcracker Suite (which, not surprisingly, stars Mason). After an ad for the new Frank Sinatra room freshener, Frank Incense, The Sammy Maudlin Show comes to an abrupt end when Sammy accidentally sets a Christmas tree on fire with a cigarette.

Then, we are treated to Neil Simon’s Nutcracker Suite itself which is a dead-on parody of every lame unfunny movie ever based on an equally lame unfunny Neil Simon play. In addition to Mason, the cast includes Judd Hirsch (Eugene Levy), Richard Dreyfuss (Moranis) Alan Alda (Flaherty), Maggie Smith (O’Hara), Michael “Cain” (Thomas) and James Coco (Candy). (In their DVD audio commentary, O’Hara and Martin make the point that this sketch so accurately copies the films it’s lampooning that it almost doesn’t qualify as satire.)

Back to Street Beef. Due to an argument with his cameraman, LaRue is all by himself sitting in the snow with a camera and a boom mike. What follows next is John Candy’s single finest moment on film: a drunken, blubbering, self-pitying rant in which LaRue spouts such non-sequesters as: “The Laurence Oliviers of the world, the Andy Devines of the world, do you think they had to beg for a crane shot?”

Totally wasted, LaRue passes out on the sidewalk. Suddenly, he’s bathed in light. Thinking it’s a cop, LaRue starts making snow angels. But it’s no cop. It’s the big man himself, Santa! He makes LaRue ever so happy by giving him the Christmas present of his dreams: a Chapman - Nike camera crane! (Another in-joke: The NBC suits were so livid when they got the bill for renting the crane for Polynesiantown that they issued a dictum: no more crane shots! This motivated Candy and staff writer John McAndrew to create this skit so that the suits had no choice but to shell out for another crane rental.)

The next routine is a promo for Dusty Towne’s Sexy Holiday Special starring Dusty Towne (O’Hara) (a foul-mouthed comedienne who follows every dirty joke with: “Isn’t that cute? Isn’t that true?”), transvestite Devine (Candy), dancer Marcie Odette (Martin) and The Wally Hung Trio.

The episode concludes with a surprisingly poignant rendition of “White Christmas” by the entire cast. As they sing, the camera pulls back to reveal that it’s an elaborate crane shot manned by Johnny LaRue. On this Pirandelloesque note, the episode ends.

No, not quite. Long after the revelers have departed, the McKenzie Brothers show up drunk. Since no one else is there, they amuse themselves by sliding around on the trash-strewn linoleum floor while the end credits roll. (O’Hara and Martin mention that this was back when end credits rolled slow enough that people could actually read them.)

SCTV: Staff Christmas Party is available from Netflix (Volume Two, Disc Five) and Amazon.