Joe Flaherty will always remain dear to comedy fans, thanks to 'SCTV' and 'Freaks and Geeks'

Though he worked steadily into the second decade of this century, Joe Flaherty, who died Monday at 82, will be remembered for two series: the Canadian sketch comedy "SCTV," which sneaked onto American television by way of late-night syndication in the late 1970s, and "Freaks and Geeks," the 1999 CBS comedy that would prove to be ground zero for American comedy in the 2000s.

Neither were hugely successful in their time — "SCTV," though it twice won Emmys for writing, shared by Flaherty, was overshadowed by "Saturday Night Live," the other series to emerge