Misplaced Pages

You Can't Do That on Television: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 23:18, 4 May 2010 editJrfoldes (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users875 edits →Kid Actors← Previous edit Latest revision as of 18:22, 31 December 2024 edit undo64.96.70.108 (talk) Revised citation for accuracy. 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Canadian sketch comedy television series}}
{{Infobox Television
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
| show_name = You Can't Do That on Television
{{multiple issues|
| image = ]
{{more citations needed|date=March 2021}}
| caption = Scene from the third opening
{{unreliable sources|date=May 2021}}
| show_name_2 = YCDTOTV
}}
| genre = ]
{{Infobox television
| format = ], ], ]
| image = You Can't Do That on Television (1979) title card.jpg
| creator = ]
| genre = ]
| starring = See ]
| creator = ]
| country = {{CAN}}
| director = {{Plainlist|
| language = ]
* ]
| num_seasons = 10
* Brian Lebold
| num_episodes = 143
* Brenda Mason
| list_episodes = List of You Can't Do That on Television episodes
* Alex Sutton
| executive_producer =
| producer = Roger Price * ]
* Gerben Heslinga
| runtime = 30 min.
}}
| location = ] studios, ], ], ]
| starring = {{Plainlist|
| channel = ]<br>]
* ]
| first_aired = February 3, 1979
* ]
| last_aired = May 25, 1990
*]
| status = canceled
* ]
| preceded_by =
}}
| followed_by = ]
| opentheme = ] (] arrangement)
| related = SlimeCon
| country = Canada
| website = http://www.ycdtotv.com
| language = English
| production_website =
| num_seasons = 10
| num_episodes = 144 (plus 2 compilations)
| list_episodes = List of You Can't Do That on Television episodes
| executive_producer = {{Plainlist|
* ]
* Bryn Matthews
* Jeffrey C. Weber
* John Findlay
* ]
* Robert Wilson
}}
| producer = {{Plainlist|
* Roger Price
* Geoffrey Darby
* Brenda Mason
}}
| runtime = {{Plainlist|
* 60 minutes (1979–80)
* 30 minutes (1981–90)
}}
| location = {{Plainlist|
* ]
* ], Ontario
}}
| channel = {{Plainlist|
* ] (1979–90)
* ] (1981–90)
}}
| first_aired = {{start date|1979|2|3}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1990|5|25}}
}} }}
'''''You Can't Do That on Television''''' ('''''a.k.a. YCDTOTV''''') is<!--Do NOT change to "was". See ]--> a ] ] that first aired locally in ] before ultimately airing internationally in ]. It primarily featured preteen and teenaged actors in a ] format in which they acted out skits based on a theme for that episode.


'''''You Can't Do That on Television''''' is a Canadian ] television series that aired locally in 1979 before airing in the United States in 1981. It featured adolescent and teenage actors performing in a sketch comedy format similar to America's '']'' and Canada's '']''. Each episode had a specific theme, typically relating to the popular culture of the time.
After production ended in ], the show continued in reruns on ] through ]. ''YCDTOTV'' is also known for cast members who became future performers including pop recording artist ] and prime-time actress ].


During its original U.S. run, the show was associated closely with the early years of the cable network ]. It achieved high ratings, and is most famous for introducing the network's iconic green slime. The show was also notable for launching the careers of many performers, including ] musician ], filmmaker ], and television producer and screenwriter ].
In 2002, and again in 2004, ''You Can't Do That on Television'' cast members reunited at ], a fan-produced convention in ]. ''Project 131,'' the official reunion episode, premiered during the 2004 event.


The show was produced by and aired on ]'s ] station ]. Initially a local program, it was marketed specifically for a North American-wide audience from its third season on. After production ended in ], Nickelodeon aired reruns in the United States through 1994, when they were replaced with the similarly-themed domestic sketch comedy variety program '']''.
== History ==
=== Local television ===


The show is the subject of the 2004 indie ] ''You Can't Do That on Film'',<ref></ref> directed by ]. Filmed in August 2004, the documentary was released in North America by ] in 2012 and reissued in 2022 by ]. The film's tour of Studio D at CJOH was the final production made in the original studio, as the space had been sealed for tax purposes by station management. The building was demolished in 2011 following a fire in February 2010.<ref>https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ctv-ottawa-newsroom-destroyed-by-fire-1.481652/ CTV Ottawa newsroom destroyed by fire]</ref>
''You Can't Do That on Television'' debuted in 1979 on ] in Ottawa as a low-budget variety program with some segments performed live. The show consisted of ]s, ]s (usually three per episode) and live phone-in contests in which the viewer could win a variety of prizes (]s, ]s, ]s, etc). The format also included performances by local ] dancers and special guests such as Ottawa-based cartoonist ]. Every week the show took its "Roving Camera" to hangouts around town, recording kids' jokes or complaints about life, which would be played on the following week's broadcast. The show's disco dance segments were ]d by Jim Johnson, a ] on Ottawa's leading ] ], ] (which at the time was co-owned with CJOH). Also, after a music video aired, Johnson would tell the viewers interesting facts about the artist featured in the video.


The first 21 half-hour episodes were released on iTunes and Amazon in three volumes, beginning in December 2012, but these volumes are no longer available. In 2021, the first 14 half-hour episodes were made available on ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=You Can't Do That on Television |url=https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/you-cant-do-that-on-television/ |access-date=May 10, 2021 |website=]|date=January 5, 1982 }}</ref> Outside of the 1989 ''Worst of You Can't Do That on Television'' VHS from Elektra Video, the series has never been formally released on home media.
Veteran comedy actor ] played many different characters and was the only adult cast member that first season, though occasionally the older children in the cast (such as ] or Cyndi Kennedy) played adult characters.


]
The show's trademark ] dousing prank was introduced in 1979, as was the practice of using the phrase "I don't know" as a trigger for the prank.


== History ==
The show was meant to offer a program for children on Saturday mornings. It made no attempt to be an ]. The idea was successful. Only three full episodes from the first season are known to exist; the studio masters no longer exist. However, the episodes can now be downloaded and viewed via several websites.
{{multiple issues|section=yes|
{{more citations needed section|date=January 2013}}
{{original research|section|date=August 2012}}
{{tone|section|date=August 2012}}
}}


=== National television in Canada === === Local television ===
''You Can't Do That on Television'' premiered on February 3, 1979, on CJOH-TV in ]. It was a locally produced, one-hour, low-budget variety program with some segments performed live. The show consisted of ], ]s, and live phone-in contests in which the viewer could win prizes such as ]s, ]s, ]s, etc. The format also included performances by local ] dancers and special guests such as Ottawa-based cartoonist ]. Each week, the show took its "roving camera" to hangouts around town, recording kids' jokes or complaints about life, which were played on the following week's broadcast. The show also benefited from links with popular ] Ottawa radio station ]. For example, station personality Jim Johnson emceed the disco-dance segments and shared tidbits about the artists featured in music videos.


Veteran comedy actor ] played numerous recurring characters and was initially the only adult to perform in the show's sketches. He was the only actor to appear for the entire series' run. Actress ], who played the maternal character "Valerie" opposite Lye's paternal role "Lance," joined the series in 1982. Occasionally, the older children in the cast (including ], Sarah West or Cyndi Kennedy) played adult characters.
After a successful first season, a national ] version of the program entitled ''Whatever Turns You On'' was produced for ] and debuted in September 1979 (having already aired an hour-long ] in May). The format was shortened to a half-hour, removed local content, added a ] and replaced music videos with live performances from popular Canadian artists at the time, including ], ], ] and disco singer ]. ] joined the cast and the 22 children from the first season were whittled down to seven: ], ], ], ], ], ], and ] (another first-season cast member, ], only appeared in the pilot episode). The show was placed in the 7 pm timeslot on Tuesday nights, and had poor ratings as a result. The show was canceled after one season.


The show offered programming for children on Saturday mornings that made no attempt to be an ]. The idea was successful, as (according to one episode) the show scored a 32 share of the ratings for CJOH in its 10:30&nbsp;a.m. Saturday time slot. The studio masters for the first-season episodes no longer exist, and all but three of the episodes from the first season were believed lost until early 2013, when copies of the missing episodes from off-air recordings were contributed by Roger Price and posted on ].
=== Nickelodeon ===


The format was similar to ''You Must Be Joking!'' and ''You Can't Be Serious'', children's sketch variety shows that Price created and produced for ] in Britain from 1974 to 1978.
In January 1981, production on ''YCDTOTV'' resumed, and a new batch of episodes aired locally on CJOH through May of that year. The format of the 1981 episodes as aired on CJOH was similar to that of the inaugural 1979 season, with the differences being that each show featured skits revolving around a certain topic (something that carried over from ''Whatever Turns You On'') and that the disco dancers were replaced by video game competitions. The season proper ended in May, but cast members were asked to come back in May and June 1981 to film some additional scenes for the syndicated version of the show (including re-writes or re-shoots of already-filmed sketches to filter out Ottawa-centric or Canada-centric content). At the time the season ended, it was uncertain whether the show would continue. In the meantime, some ''YCDTOTV'' cast members continued to hone their on-camera skills through appearances in ''Bear Rapids'', a Price/Darby pilot film that was never picked up, and ''Something Else'', a local game show on CJOH with a format somewhat similar to the live and local episodes of ''YCDTOTV''.


=== National television in Canada ===
Later in 1981, the new ] youth-oriented cable network, ], took an interest in ''YCDTOTV''. Nickelodeon originally aired a handful of episodes in edited half-hour form during 1981 as a test run, since producer ] and director ] had edited the entire 1981 season of ''You Can't Do That on Television'' episodes into a half-hour format similar to ''Whatever Turns You On'' for national and international ]. Toward the beginning of 1982, Nickelodeon began airing the entire edited season and ''YCDTOTV'' quickly became their highest rated show.
<!-- ] redirects here. Do not rename section without adding {{anchor}}. -->


After a successful first season, a national ] version of ''You Can't Do That on Television'' entitled '''''Whatever Turns You On''''' was produced for ] and debuted in September 1979 (its hour-long ] had aired in May). The show's creators shortened it to 30 minutes, removed local content, and added a ]. They replaced music videos with live performances from popular Canadian artists including ], ], ], Ottawa's own ] (one of whose members, ], later became a writer for ''YCDTOTV'') and disco singer ]. ] joined the cast playing many of the adult female characters, including a strict schoolteacher named Miss Fidt and the studio secretary Miss Take. In addition, the 22 children from the first season were trimmed down to seven: ], ], Jonothan Gebert, Kevin Somers, Kevin Schenk, Rodney Helal and Marc Baillon. Another first-season cast member, Elizabeth Mitchell, only appeared in the pilot episode. The show was placed in the 7:00&nbsp;p.m. timeslot on Tuesday nights, and some CTV affiliates opted not to carry the show, possibly because of concerns about its content. As a result, CTV cancelled the show in December 1979 following poor ratings after only 13 episodes.
Production on new episodes of ''YCDTOTV'' resumed full time in 1982, with all episodes from that point onward made in the half-hour all-comedy format. Also in 1982, Nickelodeon and CJOH had then became production partners on ''YCDTOTV''. Over the next few years, the ratings gradually declined in Canada (by 1985, it was seen only once a week in a Saturday-morning time slot on CTV), but ''YCDTOTV'' continued to go strong in the U.S. on Nickelodeon, where it aired first five times a week and, eventually, every day.


In January 1981, production on ''YCDTOTV'' resumed, and a new set of episodes aired locally on CJOH through May 1981. The format of the 1981 episodes was similar to that of the inaugural 1979 season, but each episode featured sketches that revolved around a certain topic (something that carried over from ''Whatever Turns You On''). As disco's popularity had waned, the dancers were replaced by ] competitions.
In 1984, ''You Can't Do That on Television'' became Nickelodeon's highest-rated television program, lasting until mid-1986.{{Fact|date=July 2007}} Kids across America were making slime and water sounds with their mouths and sending in their own entries for the Slime-In, a contest hosted by Nickelodeon that flew the winner to the set of ''You Can't Do That On Television'' to be slimed (which was later replicated by Canada's YTV, with their version being called the Slime Light Sweepstakes).


At that time, Price and Darby tried to syndicate ''YCDTOTV.'' They edited each 1981 episode into a half-hour format similar to that of ''Whatever Turns You On''. Some scenes were reshot to remove any specifically Canadian content, and the half-hour syndicated edits became entirely sketch comedy. The 1981 season was rerun on CJOH in early 1982 in the half-hour syndicated format. To compensate for the removal of local content, Price and Darby created a new local show for CJOH titled ''Something Else'', which featured many of the ''YCDTOTV'' cast in a game show/variety format similar to that of '']''. The ''YCDTOTV'' team also made a pilot television film for ] in 1981 titled ''Bear Rapids'' that was never picked up.
By 1987, many of the "veteran" cast members such as ], ], ], and ] had grown too old for the show. Longtime hostess ] ("Moose") had departed the previous year, as had ] (who had been promoted to co-host with Moose in 1985 before leaving towards the end of the 1986 season); ] ("Motormouth"), Moose's longtime sidekick on the show, was also gone, having left at the end of the 1985 season. Only five episodes were filmed in this season, the shortest season of ''You Can't Do That on Television's'' 15-year span on the air, and one of the episodes (''Adoption'') proved so controversial that it was banned after being shown twice{{Fact|date=July 2007}} ( a "DO NOT AIR" sticker on the master tape at CJOH).{{Fact|date=July 2007}} (''Adoption'') is the only episode that was banned in the U.S, and the second one banned in Canada (''Divorce'') was the other one.


Four of the hour-long CJOH episodes from the 1981 season ("Strike Now", "Sexual Equality", "Crime and Vandalism", and "Peer Pressure") are available for public viewing on ]. The rest are only currently available in the half-hour edits.
In addition, Nickelodeon had removed the half-hour edits of the 1981 episodes of ''You Can't Do That on Television'' from its daily time slot rotation, along with the 1982 "Cosmetics" episode.{{Fact|date=July 2007}} The 1981 episodes were supposed to air for the last time ever during a week-long promotion in 1985 called "Oldies But Moldies", which featured contests where Nickelodeon viewers could win prizes like "tasty, fresh chocolate syrup". However, the episodes continued to air until the end of 1987 but were not played very often. Reportedly, this was because Nickelodeon's five-year contract to air the 1981 season expired in 1987, and since Nickelodeon was beginning to aim for a younger ] and many of the 1981 episodes dealt with topics more relevant to adolescents (such as smoking, drugs, ], and ]); the network opted not to renew the contract. Allegedly, Nickelodeon removed the "Cosmetics" episode from rotation for the latter reason as well (although the "Addictions" episode from that same season was not dropped).
]


=== Nickelodeon ===
Roger Price moved to ] in 1988. CJOH decided not to make new episodes without him due to lack of ideas, and production was suspended. When Price eventually returned to Canada, he wanted to resume production of ''You Can't Do That on Television'' from the city of ], but was convinced by the cast and crew to return to Ottawa and CJOH.


==== Peak years ====
''You Can't Do That on Television'' resumed production in 1989, but the only child cast members to make the transition from 1987 to 1989 were ] and ], although a few minor cast members seen in 1986, including ] and ], returned for an episode or two. According to YCDTOTV.com, 1984-87 cast member ] was given the option of returning for the 1989 season, but chose not to in order to focus on her piano playing. Thus, an almost entirely-new cast of children was assembled, including a new host ] (whose trademark was the leather jacket he always wore), ], Ted Wilson, Jennifer Brackenbury, Carlos Braithwaite, Sariya Sharp, Stephanie Bauder, Patrick Mills, Kevin Ward, Chantal Tremblay, and sisters Jill and Amy Stanley.
In 1981, the new American youth-oriented cable network ] took an interest in ''YCDTOTV''. Nickelodeon originally aired several episodes in the edited half-hour syndicated format as a test run. The response was positive, and in January 1982, Nickelodeon began airing the entire edited season. By 1983, ''YCDTOTV'' was the network's highest-rated show.


Production on new episodes of ''YCDTOTV'' resumed full-time in 1982 in the half-hour all-comedy format, with Nickelodeon and CJOH as production partners. Over the next few years, the series was screened nationally in Canada. ], the network CJOH-TV was affiliated with, broadcast the show on Saturday mornings between 1982 and 1990, with little publicity. However, ''YCDTOTV'' continued to expand its audience in the United States on Nickelodeon, where it initially aired five times a week and eventually every day. The series gained broader exposure in its native Canada in 1988 when it was added by the newly established youth-oriented ] cable channel. It was heavily promoted and aired daily during peak viewing hours.
Opinions on the 1989 and 1990 episodes of ''YCDTOTV'' are mixed among longtime fans of the show, particularly regarding the new episodes' increasing reliance on ] to attract a younger audience than the show had targeted in years past. In any case, the show did not completely sever ties to its past, as many former cast members reappeared during the 1989 season in cameo roles, most notably in the "Age" episode, which was hosted by Vanessa Lindores and also featured cameos by Doug Ptolemy, Alasdair Gillis, Christine McGlade, and Kevin Kubusheskie (who by that time had become a stage producer on the show). Gillis also appeared briefly in the "locker jokes" segment during the "Fantasies" episode, and Adam Reid, who by this time had become an official writer for ''YCDTOTV'', also appeared (and was slimed) at the very end of the episode "Punishment."


Viewers in the United States were given the opportunity to enter the Slime-In, a contest hosted by Nickelodeon that flew the winner to the set of ''You Can't Do That on Television'' to be slimed. The contest was later replicated by Canada's YTV as the Slime Light Sweepstakes.
The show's ratings declined throughout 1989 and 1990, ranking ranked fifth on Nickelodeon. The network's desire to produce more of its own shows at ] at ] in ], coupled with the poor rating, cause the production of ''You Can't Do That on Television'' to officially end in 1990. Though ratings declined, Nickelodeon continued to air ]s until January 1994, at which point it was only being aired on weekends.


In 1983 at ] in ], Roger Price created a version of ''YCDTOTV'' for American public television network ] titled ] (originally to be titled ''Don't Tell Your Mother!''). The show was similar to episodes from the 1979 season of ''YCDTOTV'', including music videos and several earlier ''YCDTOTV'' sketches and motifs (including a variation on the show's trademark green slime gag called "Yellow Yuck"). Despite high ratings, the series ended after its five-episode trial run in October 1983, possibly because of complaints from parents about its content. Nickelodeon was also concerned that if ''Don't Look Now'' was successful, it could mean the end of ''YCDTOTV''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=You Can't Do that On Television |url=http://members.shaw.ca/wtyo/ycdtotv.html |access-date=2016-04-20 |website=members.shaw.ca}}</ref> The series was believed lost until all five episodes surfaced in early 2013. They have been posted on ], excluding the copyrighted music videos.
=== Reunion ===


Price created another show for Nickelodeon in 1985, the less successful '']''. It featured several main cast members of ''YCDTOTV'' including Les Lye, Christine McGlade, Kevin Kubusheskie and Adam Reid. By this time, McGlade, now in her twenties and eager to move on with her life, had moved to Toronto and was flying back to Ottawa for ''YCDTOTV'' taping sessions. ''Turkey Television'' also marked McGlade's debut as a producer, a career that she continued after leaving ''YCDTOTV'' in 1986. Another Price production using ''YCDTOTV'' cast members, ''UFO Kidnapped'', was made in 1983. Although the pilot aired on Nickelodeon, the series was not picked up.
In July 2004, a reunion special called ''Project 131'' was produced at ] starring five members of the original cast. These included ], ], and ] (pregnant at the time), with cameos by ] and ] (Also originally scheduled for the program were ], who had to back out due to a scheduling conflict, and ], who had to back out due to illness). Directed by ] and produced by ], this was the final production ever made in Studio D, the same studio where the show had been produced fourteen years prior. The studio was sealed permanently for tax purposes following the 2004 convention. The front of the lockers and the bookshelves from the library were the only original sets still available at the time of this taping, necessitating that most of the show be shot in green screen.


==== Changing of the guard and controversies ====
In January 2007, the special was posted on ].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S65fm9mfq4 ''Project 131'' reunion special on Youtube.com</ref> Yawn's lines in the opening scene were overdubbed.
By 1987, many of the veteran cast members such as Matthew Godfrey, Douglas Ptolemy, Vanessa Lindores and ] had grown too old for the show. Longtime host Christine McGlade ("Moose") had departed the previous year, as had ] (who had been promoted to co-host with McGlade in 1985 before leaving toward the end of the 1986 season). Lisa Ruddy ("Motor Mouth"), McGlade's longtime sidekick on the show, left at the end of the 1985 season. Only five episodes were filmed for the 1987 season, tying with the 1990 season as the shortest during the show's 15-year run.


The episode "Adoption,"<ref>{{Citation|title=YCDTOTV adoption episode|url=https://www.bitchute.com/video/V5FvuKZ6JFMS/|language=en|access-date=2022-01-26}}</ref> was so controversial that it was banned after being shown twice.<ref>{{Citation |title=You Can't Do That on Television |date=1979-02-03 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078714/alternateversions |access-date=2016-02-29}}</ref> A "DO NOT AIR" sticker was placed on the master tape at CJOH.<ref>{{Citation |title=You Can't Do That on Television |date=1979-02-03 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078714/trivia |access-date=2016-02-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=OLD SCHOOL NICK |url=http://oldschoolnick.tumblr.com/page/10 |access-date=2016-03-01 |website=oldschoolnick.tumblr.com}}</ref> "Adoption" is the only episode that was banned in the United States. Co-creator Geoffrey Darby has stated that he felt the episode went too far, and that the writers were unaware of the sensitive nature of the material.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Klickstein |first=Mathew |date=2012-03-26 |title=So You Think You Can't Do That on Television? |url=https://www.vulture.com/2012/03/so-you-think-you-cant-do-that-on-television.html |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=Vulture |language=en}}</ref> In Canada, the "Divorce" episode was banned. However, the "Adoption" episode was shown with edits. In the sketch in which Senator Prevert calls the adoption agency to send his son back after using him to do chores all day, the line in which he calls the adoption agency officer a "damn bureaucrat" was excised.
=== Future ===
As of 2005, CJOH had no plans to release re-runs of ''YCDTOTV'' nor are there any plans to produce new episodes. In 2006, rumours began floating that Nickelodeon would release DVDs of the series as part of its "Rewind" series of DVD releases of shows from its past. However, in early February 2006, reported that because of changes in the hierarchy of ], there would be no DVD release in the immediate future. Although fans still hold out hope that the series will one day be released commercially, some web sites, including ''ycdtotv.com'' and ''barthsburgery.com'', have made episodes of the series available in the interim, through either free downloads of episodes or sales of homemade DVD compilations.


In addition, Nickelodeon had removed the half-hour edits of the 1981 episodes of ''You Can't Do That on Television'' from its daily rotation, along with the 1982 "Cosmetics" episode.{{Citation needed|date=July 2007}} The 1981 episodes were set to air for the last time during a 1985-week-long promotion called "Oldies but Moldies," with contests in which viewers could win prizes such as "tasty, fresh chocolate syrup". Instead, the episodes continued to air until the end of 1987, but not often. Reportedly, this was because Nickelodeon's six-year contract to air the 1981 season expired in 1987. As Nickelodeon was beginning to aim for a younger demographic, and many of the 1981 episodes dealt with topics more relevant to teenagers (such as smoking, drugs, ] and ]), the network opted not to renew the contract. Nickelodeon allegedly removed the "Cosmetics" episode from rotation for the latter reason (although the "Addictions" episode from that same season was not dropped). By contrast, when Canada's YTV began airing the series in 1989, they continued airing the 1981 season as part of the package, as well as ''Whatever Turns You On'', which was never shown in the United States.
=== ''You STILL Can't Do That on Television!'' ===


==== Final years ====
During late 2005, a fan-made animated version called '''''' or simply ''You Still Can't (YSC)'' was produced. The show's theme song was an updated, dance-flavoured remix of the original ''YCDTOTV'' theme (itself a Dixieland jazz-style rendition of Rossini's '']''), composed by ]. Voice artist Patte Rosebank (of "]") was the only Canadian contributor. Other cast members included Cristina Vee, Sean Farm, Jared Lee, Amber Aviles, Ken Dukes and Peter Miller.
Roger Price moved to ] following production of the 1987 season after being informed that Nickelodeon was not planning to order more episodes. Production was suspended for 1988. When Price eventually returned to Canada, he wanted to resume production of ''You Can't Do That on Television'' from ], but was convinced by the cast and crew to return to Ottawa and CJOH. Nickelodeon ordered more ''YCDTOTV'' episodes for the 1989 season. Auditions were held at CJOH in the spring of 1988, and taping began that fall. ] and Andrea Byrne were the only child cast members to transition from 1987 to 1989. However, a few minor 1986 cast members returned for episodes, including Rekha Shah and James Tung.


Opinions regarding the 1989 and 1990 episodes of ''YCDTOTV'' are mixed among longtime fans of the show, particularly regarding the new episodes' increasing reliance on ] and more slime and water gags (which was supposedly at the request of Nickelodeon executives). The show did not completely sever ties to its past, as many former cast members reappeared during the 1989 season in cameo roles, most notably in the "Age" episode, which was hosted by Vanessa Lindores (who was slimed twice during it) and also featured cameos by Doug Ptolemy, Alasdair Gillis, Christine McGlade and Kevin Kubusheskie (who by that time had become a stage producer on the show). Gillis also appeared briefly in the "locker jokes" segment during the "Fantasies" episode, and Adam Reid, who by this time had become an official writer for ''YCDTOTV'', also appeared (and was slimed) at the very end of the episode "Punishment."
== Notable episodes ==
=== "Adoption" and "Divorce" ===


The show's ratings declined throughout 1989 and 1990. The network's desire to produce more of its own shows at ] at ] in ], coupled with low ratings, caused production of ''You Can't Do That on Television'' to officially end in 1990 after only five episodes (tying 1990 with 1987 as the shortest season of the series). Though ratings declined, Nickelodeon continued to air ]s until January 1994, at which point it was only aired on weekends.
The 1987 season included the episode "Adoption" that was banned after only one accidental airing on Nickelodeon. Among the content that led to the banning is a scene where Valerie (Hagyard) and Lance (Lye) adopt Doug because it was cheaper than buying a dog. In another sketch, Lance adopts Adam Reid only to serve as a hired hand to do chores around the house. When Adam finishes the chores, Lance calls the adoption agency to send Adam back, and is furious when he is told that "adoption is for life." Although Adam and Vanessa Lindores gave a disclaimer in the episode's opening link explaining that the show was all in fun and not to be taken seriously, Nickelodeon was deluged with complaints from viewers who came from adopted families, and barred the episode from being rerun (even going as far as to slapping a "DO NOT AIR" sticker on the master tape). In contrast to Nickelodeon, the "Adoption" episode was shown on YTV, with one minor cut: after learning that adopted kids cannot be sent back to the agency, Lance Prevert grumbles, "Damn bureaucrat!" The "Damn" in "Damn bureaucrat!" is muted out.


On October 5, 2015, Nickelodeon's sister network ] brought the show back in reruns as the first program on ], its expanded classic-themed block. The airings began with the first two 1981 episodes, "Work" and "Transportation," marking the first time that those episodes had aired on American television in 30 years. However, only two additional episodes ("Christmas" and "Holidays" from the 1984 season) have been aired since. As of March 23, 2021, the 1981 season has been made available to stream on ].
Similarly, according to YCDTOTV.com, the "Divorce" episode from 1984 was reportedly banned by YTV in Canada when it began showing ''YCDTOTV'' in 1988, <ref>http://www.ycdtotv.com/faq/index.html</ref> although some YTV viewers recall the network showing this episode. The plot of the ''Divorce'' episode involved the producer of the show and his wife getting a divorce, and the producer's wife demanding half of ''everything'' in the studio - including wardrobe, scripts, the stage, food and drink, ''and'' green slime. When Christine mentions that the producer's wife took half of the water, she get sprayed with water. In the end, the producer and his wife didn't get divorced, but Ross explains that the wife gets the producers half too. "Divorce" was not banned in the United States.


=== "Body Parts" === ===International airings===
''YCDTOTV'' was aired in Australia with great success on ] in the mid-1980s, beginning with 1981's "Work, Work, Work." It aired at 5:30 PM on weekdays until August 1987 when the initial run ended. After its first two runs, it was moved to a 7:00 AM weekday morning timeslot in 1989. It continued to run periodically on ABC Television for the next few years, mainly as a filler during the school holidays until the rights expired in the early 1990s. The show was aired in its entirety, including the final two seasons of 1989–90.


The series was also seen in European countries and reportedly in countries in the Middle East (with ] dubbing), although no French-dubbed version for distribution in either France or countries in the ] is known to exist. Nor were any local adaptations based on the ''YCDTOTV'' format known to have been made.
When this episode (from the 1984 season) aired on Nickelodeon, two risque sketches were cut and replaced with less offensive sketches from dress rehearsal:


''YCDTOTV'' was also broadcast in several other countries, such as the United Kingdom (on the former satellite and cable children's network ]), New Zealand (on ]), Germany (on ] with the original English audio), Saudi Arabia (on the country's former English-language channel ]) and the Philippines (on ]).
* An "Opposite" sketch where a teacher shows his anatomy class a pornographic movie.
* A sketch where Ross sells his father's issues of ] magazine to Ben and Alasdair.


=== Parody ===
The replacement sketches for this episode were:
{{trivia|date=March 2024}}
''YCDTOTV'' has been occasionally referenced during episodes of '']'', including some of the show's trademark gags, such as locker jokes, Barth's Burgery and green slime.


In the '']'' episode "]", ] is slimed after saying "I don't know'". It was followed immediately by a still shot that is a direct reference to ''YCDTOTV'''s opening sequence, with the words "You Can't Do That on Television" written in red over a man's face. A later episode of the series was titled "]", but contained no overt references to ''YCDTOTV''.
* Ben complains to his doctor about his new leg being sewn on backwards (resulting in Ben spinning every time he walks).
* Lisa tricks Moose into eating a chocolate-covered grasshopper.


In the '']'' episode "The Song Remains the Same", Mr. James celebrates ] (in February) by having Joe install the "trigger machines" from ''YCDTOTV'', and then tricks the cast into getting slimed and doused with water.
=== "Fears, Worries, and Anxieties" ===


The "1981" episode of ] '']'' features a segment on ''YCDTOTV'' that features ], ] and ] all getting slimed after being tricked into saying "I don't know." ] is also slimed during the opening credits.
When the "Fears, Worries, and Anxieties" episode (from the 1985 season) aired on Nickelodeon, one sketch aired where a boy (played by Alasdair Gillis) is harassed by a bully named Killer Curtis. At the time Nickelodeon aired the episode, an actual murderer named Killer Curtis was in the news (CJOH and Nickelodeon had not been aware of this). The name "Killer Curtis" was then redubbed as "Crusher Willis."


''YCDTOTV'' is also loosely parodied in the 2010 '']'' episode "Glitter", with ]' character on the Canadian television show "Space Teens" making several references to the show. In reality, Smulders grew up a fan of the show.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Movie References |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078714/movieconnections?ref_=tt_ql_trv_6 |website=IMDB}}{{unreliable source?|date=November 2021}}</ref>
The redubbing was very poorly done, especially given the fact that it was difficult to properly sync the "Crusher Willis" with the actors' lip movements. Furthermore, when the sketch was filmed, Alasdair still had a high-pitched voice. However, by the time the sketch had to be redubbed, his voice had deepened, causing the overdub to sound weird.


The '']'' ] episode hosted by ] features a humorous account of how green slime came to be introduced to ''YCDTOTV'' and ultimately Nickelodeon.<ref>{{Cite web |title='Saturday Night Live' Review: The Best and Worst of John Mulaney's Hosting Return |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2022/02/saturday-night-live-review-john-mulaney-1234702655/ |website=IndieWire|date=February 27, 2022 }}</ref>
=== "Technology" ===


=== Reunion ===
"Technology" (1984) was a unique "interactive" episode. As Christine McGlade explained during the show's introduction, this episode would provide an opportunity for the show to test some new technology that would allow viewers to influence the outcome of a scene. During the course of the show, whenever the characters disagreed on something, they would "let the viewers decide". Red and green squares would appear on the screen, and viewers would be asked to touch green for a "yes" vote, and red for a "no" vote. Afterwards, the "correct" action would be taken.
In July 2004, to celebrate the program's 25th anniversary, a reunion special called ''Project 131'' with the theme ''Changes'' was produced at CJOH-TV starring five members of the original cast. These included Brodie Osome, Marjorie Silcoff, and Vanessa Lindores (visibly pregnant at the time), Justin Cammy and Alasdair Gillis. It was directed by ].


=== Proposed reboot ===
Some examples from this episode include whether or not to execute Luke McKeehan (yes), slime Vanessa Lindores in a dungeon scene (yes), and let Lisa Ruddy lose her voice and be unable to talk (yes). The viewers did "vote" to restore Lisa's voice, but only to introduce the opposite sketches, and the viewers "voted" for Lisa to lose her voice again once the opposites were over.
In August 2017, it was announced that ''You Can't Do That on Television'' would be getting a reboot. Original creator Roger Price would serve as executive producer, while Jimmy Fox of Main Event Media would develop the project.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Exclusive: You Can't Do That On Television is getting a reboot |url=https://www.avclub.com/exclusive-you-cant-do-that-on-television-is-getting-a-1798539646 |website=AV Club|date=August 29, 2017 }}</ref> However, Fox stated on their ] account on September 14, 2019, that the reboot had been called off.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fox |first=Jimmy |date=September 14, 2019 |title=Jimmy Fox on Twitter |url=https://twitter.com/iamjimmyfox/status/1172991613854871552 |access-date=March 11, 2021 |website=Twitter |language=en |quote=Sadly it is not. Nickelodeon was ready to develop a new version with us, but once it came time to make a deal between the rights holder and Nick it fell apart. Apparently, much of the original ownership contracts/files were lost in an Ottawa fire decades ago... no joke.}}</ref>


== Trademarks ==
The next example involved going to a commercial. Lisa was to introduce the commercials, but could not because she was still unable to speak, and Lisa informed Christine (via writing notes, which was the only way she was able to communicate) that if there were no commercials, no one would get paid. This was all the prompting Christine needed to initiate the vote, but the vote failed to pass twice, thus forcing Christine to resort to a sort of bribery, including promising that Vanessa would get watered (of course, Christine got watered herself while explaining this) and Eugene Contreras would have "something really bad" happen to him if the vote went through. It worked: Vanessa was drenched, and the "really bad" thing turned out to be a pie in the face for Eugene. And of course, Lisa was able to talk again, and she chirped, "And now it's time for a commercial."
{{multiple issues|section=yes|
{{overly detailed|section=yes|date=August 2012}}
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2012}}
}}


The show's comedy centered around how kids are treated by adults and the rest of the world. The show's skits gave satirical and exaggerated views of grown-ups as clueless, out of touch, and often using their status as adults to take advantage of kids. Les Lye portrayed several characters in the recurring skits, including "Ross", the technical producer and director of the show who constantly cheated and swindled money from everyone, especially the kid actors; "Barth", a cook at the fast-food burger place who cooked terrible food for the kids; and the father Lance Prevert, who tried to raise his kids but was utterly clueless about what his kids were doing. The younger characters, meanwhile, differed from other kids' TV shows in the way they often bickered and insulted one another (in their character roles), rather than getting along and enjoying their time together as seen on most other shows for children. Hosts Christine and Alanis frequently insulted each other and each tried to outdo the other in their roles, reflecting the real-life rivalries and competition taking place among kids in everyday life.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Remembering Alanis Morissette's tween years on 'You Can't Do That On Television' |url=https://ontheaside.com/uncategorized/remembering-alanis-morissettes-tween-years-on-you-cant-do-that-on-television/ |access-date=2022-05-15 |website=ontheaside.com|date=September 14, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmvouORzqAA | title=Christine's Water Collection | website=] | date=August 17, 2016 }}</ref>
Another example allowed the viewers to "vote" on whether or not the locker jokes scene would go on. The viewers voted NOT to go through with them, which made Christine say, "Boy, the viewers of this show have a brain after all." Then she turned towards the camera and said, "Then again, if you really did have a brain, would you even be watching this show?"

One final vote at the end of the episode involved letting the viewers vote on whether the show would be allowed to end. Surprisingly, the viewers "voted" for the show ''not'' to end - which convinced Ross that the technological gizmo was broken. He and Christine were further convinced when they held another vote on whether to take Lisa's voice from her again, and vote came back in favor of Lisa keeping her voice.

=== Anniversary airings ===

During Nickelodeon's 20th Anniversary, CJOH-TV allowed the network to rerun three episodes of ''YCDTOTV''. On June 26, 1999, the ''Music'' and ''Enemies and Paranoia'' episodes from 1986 aired, and on June 27, 1999, the ''Parties'' episode aired. Nickelodeon chose to feature only episodes that featured now-famous ] because of their "Nickelodeon Knew Them When" theme.

In 2004 for Nickelodeon's Old School Pick, the ''Enemies and Paranoia'' episode was picked; however, after the commercial break, Nickelodeon switched to an episode of '']''. The reason behind the sudden substitution was never given; however, the anniversary fell shortly after the death of former president ], and the episode chosen featured some content that made light of President Reagan and his policies, for example, one episode shows a pre-teen taking masks off a wrestler's face with a made up ] mask (the star trek character by ]) leading to a confidential ] mask then taking it off to reveal it was his mom's face all along. YCDTOTV has not been seen on Nickelodeon since that airing.

== Trademarks ==


Episodes of ''YCDTOTV'' included recurring gimmicks and gags. The following is a partial list. Episodes of ''YCDTOTV'' included recurring gimmicks and gags. The following is a partial list.


=== Opening animation: the Children's Television Sausage Factory ===
=== Pre-empted shows ===
Originally created by Rand MacIvor (under art director John C. Galt), who was inspired by ]'s "gilliamations," the opening animation sequence was a sequence of surreal images set to ]'s "]" performed in a ] jazz arrangement by the National Press Club and Allied Workers Jazz Band. Though the arrangement of the theme music stayed the same throughout the entire series run (although there are subtle differences between the themes in various seasons – especially the closing themes – and ''Whatever Turns You On'' used a completely different theme song), the opening animation itself changed in different ways.

* The ] of the ] complex was used in the first season and in the original hour-long versions of the 1981 season episodes. In this animation sequence, a person pulls the roof off one side of the building, releasing three balloons bearing the likenesses of the three party leaders at the time: ] (]), ] (]) and ] (]). A hand from off-screen then ignites the bottom of the ] with a match and it launches like a rocket. The start of the animation features a likeness of 1979 cast member David Helpin.
At the beginning of each show aired after the 1981 season, a ] would appear featuring a parody title of a TV show, with a silly (often macabre) picture and the announcer making the following announcement: "(TV show) will not be seen today in order for us to bring you this (adjective in character with the picture) production." The pre-empted shows were parodies of current TV shows (i.e. ''] Makes One Cup of Coffee Last Five Hours'', "Hanging Out" or "Malls", 1984), movies (i.e. ''] Gets Put on Latrine-Cleaning Duty'', "Discipline", 1986), or other pop culture icons (i.e. ''] Without Make-up'', "Halloween", 1984), and were often relevant to the theme of the current episode (i.e. the pre-empted show for "Safety" (1981) was "Hit and Run on ]"). The pre-empted show announcement concept was borrowed from '']'', which introduced their shows with similar announcements in the late 1970s. You Can't Do That On Television has preempted itself on three occasions (Television, Media, and Priorities). The Generation Gap episode did not begin with a preempted episode; instead, a disclaimer read "The following program contains certain scenes which may not be suitable for mature audiences. Juvenile discretion is advised". There was no preempted episode for the Success and Failure episode (1989) because the producers failed to come up with a preempt.
* There are two versions of the "Children's Television Sausage Factory" animation. In this sequence, children are "processed" in the "sausage factory" and deposited onto a ] at the bottom of the ] that transports them to the ] (a likeness of the CJOH studios on Merivale Road in ]). The first version was created for the half-hour, internationally syndicated versions of the 1981 episodes. The second version, which featured larger images and cleaner (albeit less fluid) scene animation than the first version, was introduced in the 1982 season and was used for both the U.S. and Canadian broadcasts of ''You Can't Do That on Television'' until the end of the show in 1990.

* Both versions of the "Children's Television Sausage Factory" animation feature likenesses of Jonothan Gebert, Kevin Somers, Marc Baillon and Christine McGlade exiting the school bus, as well as a likeness of Les Lye as the security guard at the door of the TV studio. This footage was reused from the opening sequence of 1979's short-lived ''Whatever Turns You On''.
=== Opening animation: The Children's Television Sausage Factory ===
* The ending of the introduction shows Lye's face with his mouth opening, and his face is stamped "You Can't Do That on Television." The screen is then cracked and splits, and the show begins.

Originally created by ] (]), who was inspired by ]'s "gilliamations", the opening animation sequence was a sequence of surreal images set to ]'s ], performed in a ] arrangement by ]. Though the theme music stayed the same throughout the entire series run (1979-1990), the opening animation itself changed in different ways.


=== Preempted show Intro ===
* The ] of the ] complex was used in the first season and in the original hour-long versions of the 1981 season episodes. In this animation sequence, a person pulls the roof off one side of the building, releasing three balloons bearing the likenesses of the three party leaders at the time: ], ], and ]. Then, a hand from off-screen ignites the bottom of the ] with a match and it takes off like a rocket. The start of the animation features a likeness of 1979 cast member David Halpin.
Starting in season two before the intro, there was usually a title card with a gag show that was "preempted" with the announcer Les Lye introducing it (ex: "Mr. T Thinks He's A Girl will not be seen today, so that we may present a show still trying to find itself."—Episode: "Identity Crisis"). A lot of 1980s cultural references were used at the time (The A-Team, General Hospital, Rambo, Mister Rogers Neighborhood etc.). Sometimes, the show ''itself'' was preempted (which happened three times). On the episode "Failure", they ''failed'' to come up with an intro. Another episode, titled "Inequalities," began with a disclaimer that read, "The following program contains certain scenes which may not be suitable for mature audiences, Juvenile discretion is advised" in lieu of a "pre-empted" show.
* There are two versions of the "Children's Television Sausage Factory" animation. In this sequence, children are "processed" in the "sausage factory" and deposited onto a ] at the bottom of the ] that transports them to the ] (a likeness of the CJOH studios on Merivale Road in ]). The first version was created for the half-hour, internationally syndicated versions of the 1981 episodes. The second version, which featured larger images and cleaner (albeit less fluid) scene animation than the first version, was introduced in the beginning 1982 season and used for both the U.S. and Canadian broadcasts of ''You Can't Do That on Television'' until the end of the show in 1990.
* Both versions of the "Children's Television Sausage Factory" animation feature likenesses of Jonothan Gebert, Kevin Somers, Marc Baillon and Christine McGlade exiting the school bus, as well as a likeness of Les Lye as the security guard at the door of the TV studio. This footage was re-used from the opening sequence of 1979's short-lived ''Whatever Turns You On''.
* The ending of the introduction saw Lye's face in a sketch with his mouth opening up, leading to a stamp put on his face reading ''You Can't Do That on Television'', followed by the screen cracking and finally splitting in 2 pieces which the cast are seen.


=== Opposites === === Opposites ===
Each episode had an "opposites" segment ("Opposite Skits, where the opposite of real life really happens"), introduced by a visual effect of the screen flipping upside down, shifting left to fade to the next sketch, and then righting itself. Typically, right before this happened, one or more cast members would be interrupted by another cast member saying the opposite of what the monologue (or dialogue) was about, at which the cast would say, "It must be the introduction to the opposites", and then the inversion fade would happen. The sketches that followed were a tongue-in-cheek reversal of the show's subject and of daily life, often featuring children having authority over adults or adults encouraging children to behave badly (for example, eating sweets instead of vegetables or wasting money on something frivolous rather than putting the money in the bank).


Some "opposites" features were reversals of the roles and gags related to the show's recurring characters (usually played by Les Lye or Abby Hagyard), such as the cast getting to execute El Captaino at the firing squad or torturing Nasti the dungeon keeper. Inverse tropes related to Mr. Schitdler in the classroom and the principal in detention were also frequent; however, very rarely would an opposite feature the kids getting their revenge on Barth.
Each episode had an "opposites" segment, introduced by a visual effect of the screen flipping upside down, shifting left to fade to the next sketch, and then righting itself. Right before this happened, one of the cast would generally be giving a monologue (or several would be having a group conversation) that was interrupted by another cast member with something that would (generally) be opposite what the monologue (or dialogue) was about, all present cast would say, "It must be the introduction to the opposites", and then the inversion fade would happen; several sketches would follow that were a tongue-in-cheek reversal of the show's subject of the day, and also in which the normal principles of daily life were reversed, often with children having authority over adults or with adults encouraging children to behave badly (for example, eating sweets instead of vegetables, or wasting money on something frivolous rather than putting the money in the bank). A show on marketing, for instance, would also have a sketch or four of how ''not'' to market something.


A return to the show's daily subject was indicated by another inversion fade, sometimes accompanied by one of the cast members saying, "back to reality." These would occasionally occur in the middle of a sketch, resulting in the characters inverting whatever they were doing prior to the conclusion of the sketch.
Sometimes opposite sketches involved cast members ''not'' being hit with slime or water after saying the "trigger phrase" (see below section), as in ''City Life'' (1987) or ''Excess'' (1989). The slime or water would not fall until after the opposites were over, or sometimes not fall at all. Also, an opposite sketch in ''Heroes'' (1982) had Lisa Ruddy slimed for saying "I know," rather than "I don't know" (while other cast members said "I don't know" in that same sketch without anything happening to them).


Opposite sketches were used in the inaugural season of the show (the first one, in Episode 2, was submitted by a viewer), but it was not until ''Whatever Turns You On'' that they became an integral part of the show.
A return to the show's daily subject was hallmarked by another of these inversion fades, and usually accompanied by one of the cast members saying, "Back to reality." These would sometimes occur in the middle of a sketch, resulting in the characters inverting whatever they were doing just prior to the conclusion of the sketch.

Opposite sketches were used in the inaugural season of the show on CJOH in 1979, but it was not until ''Whatever Turns You On'' that they became an integral part of the show.


=== Firing squad === === Firing squad ===
Most episodes, starting in 1981, included one or more ] sketches in which Lye played El Capitano, a Latin American military officer preparing to order a firing squad (whom he addressed as "the amigos") to execute one of the child actors tied up standing in front of a firing post. The kid would often trick El Capitano into being shot by the firing squad himself, and, as he keeled over, El Capitano would groan "That is one sneaky keed."


===Barth's Burgers===
Most episodes included one or more firing squad sketches, where Les would play the part of a Latin American military officer with a sword in hand preparing to order a firing squad to execute one of the children actors, who were standing in front of a post. The kids would usually find a way to trick ] into walking in front of the post and saying the word "fire", thus getting shot by the firing squad himself, which was a trademark, and happened almost every time.
Starting with the 1981 season, most episodes featured sketches with the kids eating at Barth's Burgery, a fast-food burger restaurant run by Barth (Lye), a chain-smoking, unpleasant, disgusting cook who uses unsanitary and questionable methods of cooking burgers. Most of the sketches involve Barth revealing the contents of the burgers to the kids' disgust and them remarking "Who(or What) do you think is in the burgers". Barth's trademark is "Duh, I heard that!" or on one episode "Duh, I heard thee.".


In the 1981 and 1982 seasons, Barth had a worker, Zilch (played by Darryll Lucas), whom he frequently insulted and abused, often by hitting him with a pan and knocking him out cold.
Every scene had the same basic format.


=== Locker jokes ===
Captain- "Ready, aim..."
During the "locker jokes" segment of each episode, cast members, standing inside school lockers with the words "You Can't Do That on Television" painted on them, told jokes to each other. The person telling the joke would open his or her locker and call another cast member, to whom he or she would tell the joke. For the duration of the joke, those cast members would be the only ones seen with open lockers. After each joke, the actors would close their lockers, allowing the process to start again with different people and a new joke. This was similar to the "joke wall" segment on ''].'' The "locker jokes" feature was introduced in the first season and continued until the end of the series. The lockers underwent minor makeovers during the show's early years, but mostly remained the same for the entire run of the show. In 2004, when fans and cast reunited for the show's 25th anniversary, the original lockers were auctioned.


=== Production bumper ===
Cast Member- "Wait a minute, stop the execution!"
Used in a few episodes in the first two seasons and by almost every episode in later seasons, the closing credits of ''You Can't Do That on Television'' are followed by an announcement of the "company" that produced the program, with the name generally tying in with the episode's main subject. These announcements are given in the form of "'You Can't Do That on Television' is a ______ production." Examples of the fictional production company include "Black Eye" ("Bullying"), "Can't Give It Away" ("Marketing"), "Split Down the Middle" ("Divorce"), "Hang Out to Dry" ("Malls") and "Blood Is Thicker Than Water" ("Families"). The production company's name was announced by Lye, who often included a joke about the show or its producers only to realize that the cameras were still rolling.


=== Post-credit scene ===
Captain- "What is it this time?"
The post-credit production bumper was generally followed by one final sketch, also borrowing a concept from ''Laugh-In'', in which the jokes continued for a time after the credits finished rolling. The bumper frequently took place "backstage" and broke the ] with remarks about the episode, usually featuring one final humiliation or comeuppance for that episode's main cast member. These scenes were often cut short or removed altogether, especially for airings on Nickelodeon.


=== Other ===
The cast member would then make some attempt to stall or stop the execution. Most of the time, the cast member would be successful; however, occasionally, Lye's character would "successfully" complete the scene. On these occasions, the scene would end with "Ready, Aimm..." and the cast member flinching, which is when the squad would fire, but it wasn't shown.
Other signature recurring bits on the show include:
There is also one episode in which the cast member cries out to the commander:
* Fake commercials: Parodies of television commercials were part of the series as early as the first season and were the subject of one full episode in 1986, but the 1982 episodes contained commercial parodies that aired between the commercial bumpers where real commercials ordinarily fit. The products featured ranged from parodies of actual products (such as the Lotachi Lugman, a parody of the ]) to completely fictional products (such as a fragrance called "]"). These fake commercials were cut when Nickelodeon became advertiser-supported in 1983, although some were preserved for later ''Worst of YCDTOTV'' compilations.
"Hurry up, hurry up, start the execution!" This, of course, draws the executioner's attention, and they commence fire.
* Blip's Arcade: Blip, owner of the local video arcade, would find inventive and devious ways to cheat his customers, such as rigging unwinnable video games or running "specials" in which, he would exchange only three quarters for a dollar.
* Nasti's Dungeon: A kid (most often either Kevin Kubusheskie, Alasdair Gillis, Adam Reid or Doug Ptolemy; occasionally Lisa Ruddy, Eugene Contreras, Vanessa Lindores or Adam Klabfleisch) shackled in a dungeon for unknown reasons would be approached by prison warden Nasti, who would make the prisoner falsely believe that he was to be set free. Rarely, a prisoner could convince Nasti to free him or trick Nasti into exchanging places.
* ] School: Strict Mr. Schidtler wages an eternal war with his unruly, ill-prepared students. The school sketches include those in which Mr. Schidtler prevails by embarrassing or punishing students and those in which the students trick him into looking foolish or dismissing class early.
* Detention: Kids are sent to detention by the principal about what they did and one kid is hanging in shackles like he was in a dungeon. The detention is like a part dungeon and part classroom run by the principal.
* Various interiors of the Prevert home, including the front steps as Mom prepares to send the kids off to school.
* A bunk bed at summer camp where the kids discuss how uncomfortable and sadistic the camp activities are.
* A doctor's office, dentist's office and principal's office, all similarly evil or mischievous.
* There were also in-person interviews, during which Christine McGlade interviewed ordinary children about the show's topic and asked them about their opinions. The segment ran from 1981 until McGlade left the show in 1986.


=== Locker room === == Water, slime and pies ==
Affectionately called "stage pollution" by the cast and crew, certain ] resulted in cast members having unpleasant substances poured onto them from above, or thrown at them from off camera.


]

During the famous "locker room" segment of ''You Can't Do That on Television'', cast members, residing in gym lockers with ''You Can't Do That on Television'' painted on them, would tell jokes to each other. The person telling the joke would open their locker, sticking their head out to call another cast member to tell the joke to. For the duration of the joke, those cast members would be the only ones seen with open lockers. When the punchline was delivered, there would be a laugh track and the actors would close their lockers, allowing the process to start again with different people and a different joke. This was almost certainly an homage to the well-known "joke wall" segment on ''].'' This feature of the show was also introduced during its first season in 1979 and continued until the end of the series in 1990, with the lockers themselves undergoing a few minor physical makeovers during the show's early years.

=== Production company ===

Used in a few episodes in the first two seasons and almost every episode in later seasons, the closing credits of ''You Can't Do That on Television'' are followed by an announcement of the "company" that produced the program, with the name generally tying in with the episode's main subject. These announcements are given in the form of ''"'You Can't Do That on Television' is a ______ production."'' For example, the 1982 "Bullying" episode was a "''Black Eye''" Production; the 1984 "''Marketing''" show was a "''Can't Give It Away''" Production; the "''Divorce"'' episode was a "''Split Down The Middle''" Production;''"Project 131"'' was a "''Changing Day''" Production; The ''"Malls"'' episode was a "Hang Out to Dry" production. The announcement of the production company generally followed by one final sketch, usually taking place on the link set.

== Water, slime and pies ==
=== Water === === Water ===
When someone said the word "]", "]" or "]", a large amount of cold ] would fall onto them from above. In the earlier years of the show, cast members (especially Christine) were doused pails of water, but starting in 1981, the water would fall from above. By the 1984 season, only the word "water" led to a dousing, whereas in earlier seasons, the words "wet" and "H2O" also did. On occasion, cast members tried to dodge the water by saying "''agua''" (Spanish), ''"Wasser"'' (German) or "''eau''" (French) instead, only to be soaked anyway.


While the show's green slime changed ingredients and even consistencies, frequently, the water was almost always the same. Occasionally, cast members were doused with variations such as soapy, hot, brown, toilet, or yellow polluted water.
Certain key words would have the major result in cast members having substances poured on them from off-camera. This skit came on throughout every episode (along with the Slime, too). When someone said "water" or "wet", a large amount of water would mysteriously cascade onto him from above. In the early years of the show, cast members (especially Christine) were frequently nailed with pails of water physically thrown on them, but starting in 1981, this began to change to the much more mysterious motif of water falling down on the victim from above. By the 1984 season, the word "wet" had then no longer triggered the water to spray down, thus leaving the job to just the word "water" itself. This, too, was an homage to ''Laugh-In''. Often at times, cast members would try to "dodge" getting hit with water by saying it in Spanish or French, only to still get hit with water.


=== Slime === === Slime ===
When someone said, "I don't know," green ] would pour down on them from above. This type of prank was known as being "slimed," and it became one of the show's most notable elements. As with waterings, the sliming gag was used in almost every episode, especially from 1982 onward. According to writer-director Geoffrey Darby, the slime gave the kids a "comeuppance", so that they wouldn't appear arrogant.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=April 05 |first1=Amy Wilkinson |last2=EDT |first2=2017 at 02:09 PM |title=What They Really Couldn't Do on Nickelodeon's 'You Can't Do That on Television' |url=https://ew.com/tv/2017/04/05/you-cant-do-that-on-television-nickelodeon/ |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=EW.com |language=en}}</ref>


Green slime was a fixture of the series from the very beginning, appearing in the show's first episode. In the book ''Slimed! An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age'', Darby stated that the original slime developed "by accident"; Darby had originally planned for a bucket of food leftovers from the CJOH ], with water added, to be dumped on Tim, but the production of that first episode was delayed by a week. When the time came to shoot the scene, the contents of the bucket had turned green with mold. Darby authorized the mixture to be dumped on Tim anyway. Roger Price was furious, but the response from the viewing audience was positive, so Darby and Price wrote an entire 1979 show about the slime<ref>Klickstein, Mathew. ''Slimed! An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age''. Plume, 2013, pp. 55–56.</ref> ("The Green Slime Show") in which Lisa Ruddy is the victim of six slimings (a ''YCDTOTV'' record). With that episode, the use of "I don't know" as the slime's trigger phrase was introduced, and it quickly became the show's trademark gag.
Likewise, when someone said "I don't know", green ], a gooey substance, would pour on him from above. This prank was known as being "slimed." The first episode in which "I don't know" was used as a trigger phrase for the green slime was one of the local episodes seen only on CJOH, broadcast on March 17, 1979—fittingly, St. Patrick's Day. In some early episodes an actor might say "I don't know" as part of the scripted dialogue with no repercussion. In this episode, Lisa Ruddy was the victim of six slimings (a YCDTOTV record). This was a result of continually being asked "What is the largest lake in Canada?", which was the Great Bear Lake. She is then asked how many fish are in it, to which she says "I don't know."<ref></ref>


Most of the cast did not like getting slimed (Christine McGlade said it was "gross and challenging"<ref>Klickstein, Mathew. ''Slimed! An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age''. Plume, 2013, pp. 56.</ref>), and on occasion, they tried to avoid saying "I don't know." This usually backfired, as in the "Computers" episode when McGlade said "insufficient data" instead of "I don't know" and got green slime dumped on her anyway, since, as it was explained by Lisa Ruddy who was with McGlade at the time, the slime for that episode was computer-controlled. Some variations of the magic words also triggered the slime, such as in the "Blame" episode when the entire cast got slimed together after one of them said, "we don't know."
Conversely, the first episode ever to use the slime gag was Episode 6, dated March 10, 1979. In the Detention/Dungeon scene, Tim Douglas is told NOT to pull on his chains by the principal. After he leaves, Tim does just that. A "toilet flushing" sound is heard, and the first YCDTOTV sliming occurs.<ref></ref><ref>http://ycdtotv.com/cast/douglas.html</ref> On the link set in Episode 9 (the "Executive Washrooms" episode), Iain Fingler was slimed after saying "I don't know" after being asked how many goldfish the current Members of Parliament in Ottawa have. After he is slimed, Iain went so far as to say "Ouch!".<ref></ref>


Although the slime was usually green, other colors, such as red, blue, yellow and even black and white, were occasionally used. 1981's "Safety First" episode, which featured white slime as part of a recurring joke in about "wearing white at night," was the first episode known to have used a slime color other than green. Lisa got slimed with white slime after saying "I really don't know". In the 1982 episode "Television," Christine is slimed in green, red, blue, yellow and "stripes" (green, red, blue and yellow at once) while trying to explain about green slime to newcomer Vanessa Lindores. (McGlade had the slime washed out by mentioning to Vanessa that it usually comes out with water, and then got dumped on with water.) This sketch was later seen in the opening to the 1987 thriller film '']''. In one of the show's crueler pranks, Ross (Les Lye) tricks Christine into getting dumped with a thicker, chunkier blue slime. The 1986 "Enemies and Paranoia" episode used the word "freedom" as a trigger phrase for red slime after the studio was taken over by ] ]. Other instances of slime colors other than green include orange slime in the "Myths" episode, brown slime in the "Cosmetics" episode and black slime in the "Time" episode.
<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: ] -->
Nickelodeon quickly adopted "slime" as a feature in several shows it produced, and used it heavily in its marketing. Other colours of slime were occasionally used on the show, as in the following instances:


The recipe for green slime originally consisted of rotten food. However, after continued complaints from the cast about the hazardous ingredients, the recipe was changed to a mixture of lime-green ] powder, ] and water.<ref>Klickstein, Mathew. ''Slimed! An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age''. Plume, 2013, pp. 57.</ref> Eventually ] was added so that it the slime would wash out of the actors' hair more easily after several of the female cast members complained. In the "Television" episode, Christine reveals the ingredients as water, gelatin powder, flour and soap. In later years, the recipe consisted simply of green food coloring and cottage cheese, though it spoiled if left too long under hot studio lights.<ref>Klickstein, Mathew. ''Slimed! An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age''. Plume, 2013, p. 53.</ref>
* Christine McGlade is slimed in blue in the ending link to the 1982 "Justice and Injustice" episode, because, as Ross (Les Lye) tells her, they ran out of green slime.
* Christine is slimed in green, red, blue, yellow and "stripes" (red, blue, and yellow at once) in rapid succession in the 1982 "Television" episode, while trying to explain about green slime to then-newcomer Vanessa Lindores. This sketch was later seen in the opening to the hit 1987 film '']''.
* In the 1982 episode "Cosmetics", Lisa Ruddy is slimed with "mud" (like brown slime) for saying "I don't know."
* Kevin Schenk and Kevin Somers were both hit with white slime in the 1981 "Safety" episode, as part of a recurring series of gags in this episode about "wearing white at night." In this same episode, Christine McGlade was drenched with ].
* In the 1983 "Media" episode, Lisa Ruddy is slimed with the "new and improved, whiter-than-white" white slime.
* In the "Enemies and Paranoia" episode from the 1986 season, the studio is taken over by Russian ]s. Uttering the word "free" (as in "freedom") would send a cascade of red slime pouring over whoever said it.
* The 1989 "Time" episode, which was filmed largely in black and white, featured Chris Bickford doused in white slime and Christian Tessier slimed with black slime.
* In the 1989 episode "Losing Things", Ted Wilson and Amyas Godfrey are dumped with black slime because they lost the formula for green slime.
* Les Lye said the famous line when ] asks him what happens if he takes the wrong cave backstage at the start of the inaugural ].


Especially in the later years of the show, cast members who were slimed frequently looked upward into the slime as it was falling so that it covered their faces (the same was also true of the waterings). To avoid damage to the set from water or slime, a clear tarpaulin was laid on the floor, which can occasionally be seen and/or heard underneath the actors, and the loud splatter sound usually heard during a watering or sliming is that of the liquid hitting the tarpaulin. Actors to be slimed or soaked usually appeared barefoot in the scene, and several cast members who were slimed were reportedly paid extra. Scenes involving slimings were the final ones taped during a recording, allowing the actors to immediately rinse after the scene without causing delays.
Several different recipes of slime were used during the series' decade-long run, some resulting in thin, watery slime and others in thick, chunky slime. In an interview with YCDTOTV.com, longtime ''YCDTOTV'' crew member Bill Buchanan explained the origin of the slime in 1979:


Green slime grew to become a trademark image for Nickelodeon, and the network demanded more slimings on the show as the years went on, resulting in episodes such as 1985's "Movies" in which the entire cast (save for Abby Hagyard) is slimed. Nickelodeon later introduced green slime shampoo, which was a frequent parting gift on its game show '']'', on which slime was heavily used. ] sold Nickelodeon slime and the Gak brand in the 1990s. Slime was also frequently used in the network's advertisements featuring ''YCDTOTV'' cast members as victims of an impromptu sliming. Nickelodeon's former studios in ] had a green slime geyser. The network continues to use green slime during its annual ] and ] of the ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Slime Zone is awesome |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bears/nickelodeons-slime-zone-bears-saints-broadcast-amazing |access-date=July 30, 2021 |website=]|date=January 10, 2021 }}</ref>
{{cquote|"...one script called for this kinda disgusting slimy green stuff - but with no real indication of what it was going to be used for. ... The description was that it was just something green and slimy and disgusting ... Anyhow, mixed up a whole green garbage can ... with slime. I know he'd colored it with green latex paint. God knows what else was in it, but it was disgusting. And it was parked inside the studio door, and everyone was kinda avoiding it because it was really foul looking. I mean, he had like sausages floating in it. ... Then, all of a sudden, we get to the point of the day where it turns out that it's going to be used. It turns out that it's going to get dumped on some kid! ... It was like, "Jeeze, this stuff is probably toxic! You can't dump that on somebody!" So I guess the whole green slime thing was deferred to such time when we had something that wouldn't kill somebody if it were to fall on them. That first stuff never got used. ... Then, I remember being kind of involved in the first attempt to make a green slimy material that would be actually ... not too offensive. When you dumped it on a person's head, you were liable to get it in their eyes, in their mouths and anywhere else. So we concocted some stuff made out of green Jell-o, or gelatin. We made it by the bucket. We bought hundreds of packages of lime Jell-o or gelatin over the years."|||Bill Buchanan|}}

For several years afterwards, the slime consisted of this mixture of lime green ] powder and ]; eventually, ] was added to the recipe, as was ] so that it would wash out of the actors' hair more easily. Especially in the later years of the show, cast members who were slimed frequently looked upward into the slime as it was falling so that it covered their faces (the same was also true of the waterings).

To avoid damage to the set from water or slime, a clear tarpaulin was placed over the main portion of the set for scenes in which an actor was to be hit with either. The tarpaulin can occasionally be seen and/or heard underneath the actors in these scenes, and in fact the loud splatter sound usually heard during a watering or sliming is due to this tarpaulin. Actors who were scripted to be slimed or have water doused on them would usually appear barefoot in the scene.

Green Slime grew to become a trademark image for Nickelodeon. They later introduced Green Slime shampoo, which was a frequent parting gift for contestants on Nick's popular game show '']'', where slime was heavily used, along with several variations such as 'gak' or 'gooze'. Mattel even sold Nickelodeon slime and gak in the 1990s. Nickelodeon's former studios in ] had a green slime geyser and green slime is still dumped on the host of the annual ] at the end of the ceremony, and on at least one celebrity during the ceremony. It is also still used in ads showing the network's current stars getting slimed from all sides in slow motion, and is used to slime the winner at the end of the Nick game show '']'', which debuted in 2009.


=== Pies === === Pies ===
The original slapstick ] gag was also frequently used on ''YCDTOTV'', although pie scenes were most common during the early years of the show. One whole episode, 1981's ''Drugs'', was constructed completely around the pie-in-the-face gag. To avoid the wrath of the censors, the episode showed the cast getting "high" by pieing themselves continuously, comparing the stupidity of hitting oneself with a pie to that of taking drugs. Unlike the slime and water, pies were not usually triggered by any certain word or trigger phrase, although in the earlier years, saying "let me have it" or "give it to me" would frequently result in a pieing.

The classic slapstick pie-in-the-face gag was also frequently used on ''YCDTOTV'', although pie scenes were most common during the early years of the show. One whole episode, 1981's ''Drugs'', was constructed completely around the pie-in-the-face gag: to avoid the wrath of the censors, the episode showed the cast getting "high" by pieing themselves continuously over and over, comparing the stupidity of hitting oneself with a pie to the stupidity of taking drugs. Unlike the slime and water, pies were not triggered by any certain word or phrase.


== Cast == == Cast ==
]

Apart from the central cast as ] and ], who played the adult character roles, over 100 pre-teen and teenage actors appeared on ''YCDTOTV'' between 1979 and 1990. Some of the most notable cast members included:
<!-- Unsourced image removed: ] -->
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center"

<!-- Deleted image removed: ] -->

=== Les Lye ===
]'s career as an actor and broadcaster on television and radio spanned half a century. He served briefly in the armed forces before enrolling at the University of Toronto. Lye earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and went on to study at Lorne Greene's Academy of Radio Arts.

In 1948, Lye moved to Ottawa to join CFRA, a talk radio station founded by Frank Ryan. It was there that he became a popular radio announcer and emcee. After briefly returning to Toronto to work at radio station CKEY, Lye went back to CFRA with a new on-air personality he created named Abercrombie and became one of the station's most popular voices. In 1958, Lye decided to venture into television. His first job was co-hosting a talk show program called ''Contact''.

In 1961, Lye began creating comic characters for Bill Luxton's TV morning show in Ottawa. The two later teamed up and created the hit TV show Uncle Willy and Floyd. The half-hour program featured slapstick humour, puppets and gags and was eventually syndicated across Canada. The show featured many guest stars, including Margaret Trudeau, Alanis Morissette and Rich Little. It ran for 22 years. In 2003, Lye and Luxton were honoured with a lifetime achievement award from the Alliance of Canadian Cinema for their work on Uncle Willy and Floyd.

Lye continued to work for several TV networks, including the CBC, CTV and Global until his passing in July 2009.

===Lye's characters===
Lye was initially the only adult cast member on the show and he appeared on every episode of every season. His role was twofold. He played adult roles in skits. According to Christine McGlade: "Without ], there would be no ''You Can't Do That on Television''". Lye played literally dozens of adult male (and some adult female) characters during the shows tenure, including:

* Ross Ewich, the CJOH-TV studio director (his name is a send-up of the phrase, "raw sewage")
* Senator Lance Prevert, the drunken, ne'er-do-well husband and father, whose character was conceived based on the stereotypical view of a Canadian Senator
* Barth Bagge, owner and chef of the local hamburger diner, whose burgers included just about everything ''but'' fresh beef
* Mr. Schidtler, the tyrannical schoolteacher who bore a physical resemblance to ]
* Nasti, the German dungeon master
* El Capitano, captain of the South American firing squad hired to shoot kids for various trivial offenses (such as not getting their homework done), but who usually succeeded only in getting shot himself
* A school principal who would make kids copy thousands of pages out of a dictionary
* A football coach
* Blip, the money-grubbing owner of the local video arcade
* Snake Eyes, the reckless school bus driver who actually ''enjoyed'' causing accidents
* A money-grubbing doctor, a parody of ] (the character of the doctor was replaced in the 1989 and 1990 seasons by a dentist, who enjoyed inflicting pain on his patients)
* A camp counselor

Ross, Senator Prevert, Mr. Schidtler, the principal and the coach are Lye's only characters to appear in every season of ''You Can't Do That on Television''. Barth debuted on ''Whatever Turns You On'', the doctor, Nasti and El Capitano first appeared in 1981, Blip in 1983, and Snake Eyes in 1984. Some characters were dropped or changed over time; for example, Blip disappeared from the show after 1985 because of a decline in the popularity of video arcades due to the advent of home video game consoles. Two of Lye's early characters who frequently appeared on the show during the first two seasons, Mr. Nickelson Dime (president of CJOH-TV in the local episodes, and of ''T.H.E. Television Network'' in ''Whatever Turns You On'') and Seth Pool (a well-meaning but dimwitted elderly janitor whose name was a play on the word ]), never appeared on the show again after 1981.

While most of Lye's characters were adult males, he sometimes also played adult female roles, such as Barth's Mother in the "Relatives" episode (1985) and the Blue Fairy in a ] sketch in the episode "Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends" (1986).

=== Ruth Buzzi ===

'']'' veteran ] played the adult female roles on the short-lived 1979 ''YCDTOTV'' spinoff on CTV, ''Whatever Turns You On''. Among Buzzi's many roles were Mrs. Prevert (Mom); the old lady in the movie theatre; Miss Fit, the strict schoolteacher; Miss Take (Mr. Nickelson Dime's secretary, who spoke with a Southern accent); Miss Time (Ross's assistant, the script girl); and Lois (chef at the studio canteen, a predecessor of Les Lye's Barth character).

After ''WTYO'' was canceled, there was no adult female actress on ''YCDTOTV'' until 1982 when Abby Hagyard joined the cast. Adult female roles during the 1981 season (such as the old lady at the theatre and Mr. Dime's secretary) were played by Christine McGlade.

=== Abby Hagyard ===

] joined the cast of ''You Can't Do That on Television'' beginning in the 1982 season, and from then until the end of the show 1990 Haygard played most of the show's adult female roles. Her two most common roles were as housewife and mother Valerie Prevert (wife of Senator Lance Prevert), and as the Librarian, a curmudgeonly old lady who spoke in a high-pitched British-type accent. Most of Abby's other characters were one-shot roles, such as Grandma (Senator Prevert's mother) in the "Relatives" episode (1985).

A common trait of many of Hagyard's characters was that they always wore gloves; Abby Hagyard related in her interview with YCDTOTV.com that Nickelodeon insisted she cover her hands with gloves when playing Mrs. Prevert because her hands were too "elegant" to belong to a housewife.

=== Kid Actors ===

Over 100 child actors appeared on ''YCDTOTV'' between 1979 and 1990. Some of the most notable cast members included:

{| class="wikitable"
|- |-
! Name !! Year(s) !!style="width:20%"| First Appearance !!style="width:20%"| Last Appearance !! Notes
! Name
! Dates
! Character Traits
! Notes
|- |-
|] |Stephanie Bauder
|style="white-space:nowrap;"|1989–90
|1989-1990
|Episode 114: Choices
|
|Episode 142: Privileges
|
|style="text-align:left;"|Went on to star in '']'' alongside fellow castmate Christian Tessier.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Night of the Demons III (1997) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116073/ |publisher=IMDb}}</ref>
|- |-
|] |Nick Belcourt
|1989 |1989
|Episode 114: Choices
|Thinks he is co-star ]
|Episode 134: Effort
|
|style="text-align:left;"|Known for a recurring gag of being unable to remember whether his name was Nick or Ted, stemming from a real-life incident during a read-through in which he read Ted Wilson's lines by mistake.
|- |-
|] |Chris Bickford
|1989–90
|1989-1990
|Episode 114: Choices
|Always wore leather jacket
|Episode 143: Inventions
|3rd and final host
|style="text-align:left;"|Fourth and final host. Known for his trademark leather jacket.
|- |-
|] |style="white-space:nowrap;"|Jennifer Brackenbury
|1989–90
|1989-1990
|Episode 114: Choices
|Target of ]'s fat jokes
|Episode 143: Inventions
|
|style="text-align:left;"|Referred to by some fans as "The New Vanessa." Jen co-hosted the ''Worst of YCDTOTV'' videocassette along with Chris Bickford and Christian Tessier.
|- |-
|] |Carlos Braithwaite
|1989–90
|1989-1990
|Episode 114: Choices
|
|Episode 141: Learning
|
|style="text-align:left;"|The only African-American cast member during the show's 1990 season.
|- |-
|Jami Burning
|]
|1981
|1983-1985
|Episode 017: Strike Now
|
|Episode 022: Smoking
|
|style="text-align:left;"|Native American performer who appeared in traditional clothing; only appeared twice during the 1981 season.
|- |-
|] |]
|1979
|1984-1987
|Episode 001: Live!
|
|Episode 014: End Of The Line
|
|style="text-align:left;"|Played many of the adult female characters, and was only slimed twice.
|- |-
|Andrea Byrne
|]
|1987–89
|1981-1984
|Episode 111: Adoption
|
|Episode 122: Pollution
|
|style="text-align:left;"|Famous for her "]" persona<ref>{{Citation|title=YCDTOTV adoption episode|url=https://www.bitchute.com/video/V5FvuKZ6JFMS/|language=en|access-date=2022-01-26}}</ref> in the Adoption episode.
|- |-
|Justin Cammy
|]
|1983–86
|1982-1985
|Episode 049: Classical Music
|
|Episode 084: Revenge
|
|style="text-align:left;"|Did not appear in any 1986 episodes although he is in the official cast photo. Appeared in his first episode clad in a diaper playing a sitar, as Roger Price's revenge for having to deal with Justin's difficult mother.
|- |-
|Stephanie Chow
|]
|1984–87
|1979-1981
|Episode 074: Families
|Often called "Jono"
|Episode 112: Anniversaries
|
|style="text-align:left;"|Offered the chance to return for the 1989 season, but declined.
|- |-
|Angie Coddett
|]
|1981–84
|1983-1985
|Episode 017: Dating
|The show's teen heartthrob
|Episode 060: Foreign Countries
|2nd official host
|style="text-align:left;"|Known for her character "Angie the Talking Doll" during the 1981 season. She appeared in only one episode each in 1982 and '84.
|- |-
|Eugene Contreras
|]
|1982–85
|1986-1989
|Episode 029: Popularity
|One of three actors to carry-over into 1989
|Episode 088: Movies
|Younger brother of co-star ]
|style="text-align:left;"|He and his brother Roddy were chosen after Roger Price, who had been looking for Hispanic kids for the show, overheard them speaking Spanish, although they had arrived at the studio too late to audition.
|- |-
|Roddy Contreras
|]
|1982
|1986-1987
|Episode 035: Television
|The show's "nerdy know-it-all"
|Episode 035: Television
|Older brother of co-star ]
|style="text-align:left;"|Roddy's appearances in his only episode were edited out of the Nickelodeon airings of the show post-1983, once the network became advertiser-supported.
|- |-
|Tim Douglas
|]
|1979
|1984-1986
|Episode 001
|
|Episode 010
|
|style="text-align:left;"|Tim was the first cast member to be slimed, and one of only two cast members to have the "real" green slime dumped on him made from moldy food leftovers.

|-
|Ian Fingler
|1979
|Episode 009
|Episode 009
|style="text-align:left;"|Only appeared in one episode.
|-
|Jonothan Gebert
|1979–81
|Episode 001
|Episode 026: Peer Pressure
|style="text-align:left;"|Jono was also a cast member on ''Whatever Turns You On'' and ''Something Else''. By the 1981 season he was too tall to appear on the link set and was seen mainly in execution and dungeon skits.
|- |-
|Alasdair Gillis
|Martin Kerr
|1982–86
|1981-1983
|Episode 031: Vacations
|
|Episode 108: Mysteries and Crimes
|Older brother to co-star ]
|style="text-align:left;"|Second official host. Cameo in 1989's Fantasies and Age episodes.
|- |-
|Amyas Godfrey
|]
|1986–89
|
|Episode 089: Fairy Tales, Myths, & Legends
|
|Episode 139: Embarrassment
|Younger sister of co-star Martin Kerr
|style="text-align:left;"|Along with Andrea Byrne, Rekha Shah and James Tung, Amyas was one of only three kid cast members to transition from 1986–87 to 1989, and the only one to appear regularly in '89.
|- |-
|Matthew Godfrey
|]
|1986–87
|1981-1984
|Episode 091: Know-It-Alls
|
|Episode 112: Anniversaries
|Became writer and producer for show in 1989
|style="text-align:left;"|Older brother of Amyas Godfrey. He and his brother had just moved back to Ottawa after four years living in ] when they were cast; their time in Texas was occasionally used as an in-joke on the show.
|- |-
|] |]
|1982–90
|1982-1987
|Episode 027: Cosmetics
|
|Episode 143: Inventions
|Constantly fought with co-star ]
|style="text-align:left;"|Adult cast member. Her most frequent roles were Mom (Valerie Prevert) and the British-accented Librarian, but she played most adult female roles during her time on the show. She was not slimed until the 1989 season.
|- |-
|David Helpin
|]
|1979
|1989-1986
|Episode 001: Live
|Referred by nickname "Moose"
|Episode 014: End Of The Line
|First official host
|style="text-align:left;"|David was one of the original cast members, and hosted many of the "call in" segments. He was slimed, along with the rest of the cast, in the St. Patrick's Day episode.
|- |-
|Brad Hampson
|]
|1979
|1981-1983
|Episode 002: CJOH Shoestring
|
|Episode 010: Bored
|
|style="text-align:left;"|Brad was one of the only cast members of the inaugural season to not get slimed.
|- |-
|Rodney Helal
|]
|1979–81
|1982-1987
|Episode 001: Live
|Show's resident troublemaker
|Episode 026: Peer Pressure
|Constantly fought with ]
|style="text-align:left;"|Rodney was one of a few cast members to be featured on both ''YCDTOTV'', as well as its sister show, ''Whatever Turns You On''. Although he was never slimed, Rodney was frequently on the receiving end of pies.
|- |-
|Ramona Helal
|]
|1979
|1984-1987
|Episode 003: Nickel and Dime
|Occasional fill-in host
|Episode 003: Nickel and Dime
|Became show's writer in 1989
|style="text-align:left;"|Ramona was the older sister of Rodney Helal, and was only in one episode. She was however featured in several episodes of ''Whatever Turns You On''.
|- |-
|Michael Hora
|]
|1983–84
|1979-1985
|Episode 044: Future World
|]'s chatty sidekick
|Episode 051: Fame
|Nicknamed "Motormouth"
|style="text-align:left;"|Never Slimed.
|- |-
|Jim Johnson
|]
|1979-1981 |1979
|Episode 001: Live!
|
|Episode 014: End of the Line
|
|style="text-align:left;"|Adult cast member. Only on the show for first season as a ] for music segments (common in the first season, but never aired in subsequent years).
|- |-
|Adam Kalbfleisch
|]
|1984–86
|1989-1990
|Episode 062: Moving
|
|Episode 095: Country
|Mother would forbid her getting ears pierced
|style="text-align:left;"|Watered twice during his run on the show, but never slimed.
|- |-
|Cyndi Kennedy
|]
|1979
|1984-1985
|Episode 001: Live!
|
|Episode 014: End Of The Line
|
|style="text-align:left;"|Cyndi hosted several of the 1979 episodes, and famously went home sick after being slimed for the first time.
|- |-
|Martin Kerr
|]
|1981–83
|1979-1981
|Episode 025: Nutrition
|
|Episode 040: Pets
|
|style="text-align:left;"|Kerr joined the cast after Roger Price saw him in one of the local "Roving Camera" segments when the show aired on CJOH and decided he liked him. He also participated in ''Something Else''.
|- |-
|Pauline Kerr
|]
|1984-85
|1989-1990
|Episode 060: Foreign Countries
|
|Episode 078: Wealth
|Younger sister of co-star ]
|style="text-align:left;"|Martin Kerr's younger sister.
|- |-
|Tanya King
|]
|1981
|1989-1990
|Episode 018: Fitness
|Constantly forgot lines
|Episode 018: Fitness
|Older sister of ]
|style="text-align:left;"|Tanya only appeared in one episode, and is one of the few cast to avoid being pied, slimed, or watered.
|- |-
|Kevin Kubusheskie
|]
|1981–84
|1989-1990
|Episode 016: Strike Now
|
|Episode 068: Halloween
|
|style="text-align:left;"|Kubusheskie became a writer and producer on the series during the 1989 and 1990 seasons, and on occasion made cameos.
|- |-
|Vanessa Lindores
|]
|1982–87
|1989-1990
|Episode 035: Television
|Show's resident pest
|Episode 112: Anniversaries
|
|style="text-align:left;"|Lindores was the show's third host, and returned to host 1989's Age episode. She also appeared (then pregnant) in 2004's reunion "Project 131". The only other cast member to have the "real" green slime dumped on her made from rotten food leftovers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Roger Price Interview |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUDFVcLr1gY | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/kUDFVcLr1gY| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|website=Youtube | date=February 25, 2015 |publisher=Geoffrey Darby}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
|-|}
|-

|Tony Lefebvre
=== Alanis Morissette & Klea Scott ===
|1982

|Episode 036: Sports
], a cast member in five episodes of the 1986 season of ''You Can't Do That on Television'', later became a highly successful ] and ]. ], a cast member from 1982 to 1984, later starred in the prime-time television dramas '']'', '']'', and '']''.
|Episode 036: Sports

|style="text-align:left;"|Tony was one of only three cast members that never appeared on the link set, but was watered at Barth's.
=== Cast comments ===
|-

|Darryll Lucas
Cast member ], now a professor at ], described the show like this:
|1981-82

|Episode 015: Work
{{cquote|''You Can't Do That on Television'' was the first post-modern children's program of my generation. It subverted all recognizable forms and deconstructed the pre-teen's understanding of such important institutions as the family, the school and the video arcade. When the schoolteacher did not know any better than to call ]'s ] "Pair of Dice Lost", the program functioned as an ideological clarion call to future college students like you who would go on to demand the displacement of an ossified ] with more relevant investigations of ].}}
|Episode 040: Growing Up

|style="text-align:left;"|Darryll was the only actor on the series to play an exclusive role in one recurring sketch; He played "Zilch," Barth's often-abused burgery assistant. The only exception is, in Episode 032: "Vacations," in addition to playing "Zilch," he also played an umpire.
== Something Else and Don't Look Now! ==
|-

|Simone Lumsden
Between the 1981 and 1982 seasons of ''YCDTOTV'', several of the show's cast members, including Christine McGlade, Lisa Ruddy, Jonothan Gebert, and Kevin Somers, served as hosts on a short-lived Saturday-morning live game show on CJOH titled ''Something Else''. ''Something Else'' was developed and directed by the Price/Darby team, and Christine McGlade was credited as a producer. Like the early episodes of ''YCDTOTV'', ''Something Else'' incorporated elements of musical variety, with a female DJ from radio station ] as a guest host and performances by local bands; the chief difference was that comedy sketches took a back seat to the games and competitions. According to Geoffrey Darby, the chief purpose of the show was to keep the hosts' acting skills in shape while he and Price got to work writing the 1982 season of ''YCDTOTV''; thus, the series lasted only about ten episodes.
|1982

|Episode 036: Sports
Some time later, after ''YCDTOTV'' had established itself on Nickelodeon, Price and Darby made a ''YCDTOTV''-like series called ''Don't Look Now!'' for ] in the U.S. in 1983. ''Don't Look Now!'', made at ] in ], featured a format very similar to the local 1979 and 1981 seasons of ''YCDTOTV'', with taped comedy sketches interspersed with live call-in competitions (though, due to PBS regulations on prizing, the only prize that could be given away was a T-shirt with the show's logo on it) and music videos. The show also had its own version of ''YCDTOTV'''s green slime, called "Yellow Yuck," which was triggered by the phrase "Don't Blame Me!"
|Episode 036: Sports

|style="text-align:left;"|Simone also never appeared on the link set. She was properly "initiated" into the cast, getting slimed in the dungeon.
As Geoffrey Darby told YCDTOTV.com, ''Don't Look Now!'' was made after production on the 1982 season of ''YCDTOTV'' had wrapped up, when they were unsure whether Nickelodeon would renew the series for another season. Although the show was highly rated, it did not fit in with PBS' largely educational program roster and was condemned by parents and critics alike, thus leading to the cancellation of the show after only about ten episodes.
|-

|]
== International Emissions (1985 - 1999) ==
|1979–90

|Episode 001
* {{flagicon|United States}} ] (co - original production) and ]
|Episode 143: Inventions
* {{flagicon|Colombia}} ] (RCN Television and Producciones JES/JES Productions) (1989 - 1994), ] (RTI Television and Caracol) (1994 - 1997).
|style="text-align:left;"|One of only two adult cast members, and the only one to appear in the show from its very first to its very last episode. Also starred in ''Whatever Turns You On.''
* {{flagicon|Venezuela}} ] (1983 - 1988), ] (1988 - 1997), ] (1997 - 2001).
|-
* {{flagicon|Spain}} ] (1991), ] (1993 - 1997).
|Mike Lyon
* {{flagicon|Chile}} ] (1987 - 1992).
|1981
* {{flagicon|Brazil}} ] (1981 - 1991).
|Episode 018: Fitness
* {{flagicon|Mexico}} ] (Televisa) (issued at 02:00 hrs).
|Episode 024: Drugs
* ] ] (1997 - 2004).
|style="text-align:left;"|Appeared in only two episodes.

|-
You Can not Do That on Television, will start the dubbing in Mexico by MAX90 Productions and was later came to Chile by International Dubbing DINT and finally Venezuela by M & M Productions in Valencia and Caracas.
|]

|1979–86
== See also ==
|Episode 001

|Episode 093: Garbage
* ]
|style="text-align:left;"|Christine was the first official host. She featured also in many skits and also had a brief cameo in the "Age" episode in 1989. Her younger sister Lisa was used in some skits as an uncredited extra. She also appeared on ''Whatever Turns You On'' and ''Something Else'', and went on to develop the short-lived '']'' with Roger Price.
|-
|]
|1989–90
|Episode 121: Security
|Episode 143: Privileges
|style="text-align:left;"|Mills became a film director and screenwriter, post YCDTOTV.
|-
|Forest Wolf Mohawk
|1982
|Episode 039: The Not-So-Fair-Show
|Episode 039: The Not-So-Fair-Show
|style="text-align:left;"|Along with Jami Burning, one of only two Native American cast members. Only appeared in one episode.
|-
|]
|1986
|Episode 090: Pop Music
|Episode 100: Contests
|style="text-align:left;"|Appeared in a total of five episodes. Was slimed three times, but only one of her slime scenes aired (Pop Music).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Long Lost Pictures From YCDTOTV Vaults |url=https://twitter.com/YCDTLive/status/859657040834310144 |website=Twitter |publisher=Roger Price}}</ref>
|-
|Brodie Osome
|1981–83
|Episode 015: Transportation
|Episode 049: Classical Music
|style="text-align:left;"|Osome appeared in Project 131 with Vanessa Lindores and Marjorie Silcoff.
|-
|Doug Ptolemy
|1982–87
|Episode 030: Fads and Fashion
|Episode 112: Anniversaries
|style="text-align:left;"|Ptolemy made a cameo appearance in the 1989 Age episode, after leaving and also had a battle with drug addiction after the show ended.
|-
|Natalie Radmore
|1982
|Episode 039: The Not-So-Fair-Show
|Episode 039: The Not-So-Fair-Show
|style="text-align:left;"|Natalie was slimed, watered, and pied in her only appearance.
|-
|]
|1984–87
|Episode 078: Wealth
|Episode 112: Anniversaries
|style="text-align:left;"|Reid made a cameo in the 1989 Punishment episode. He also co-wrote several episodes that season with Roger Price.
|-
|Elizabeth Richardson<ref name="IMDb_full_credits">{{Cite web |title=You Can't Do That on Television (TV Series 1979–1990) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078714/fullcredits |access-date=2019-09-04 |website=]}}</ref>
|1982-83
|Episode 28: Cosmetics
|Episode 48: Inequality: Kids vs. Adults
|style="text-align:left;"|Elizabeth is one of the very few cast members never to be watered, pied or slimed during her time on the show.
|-
|Lisa Ruddy
|1979–85
|Episode 001
|Episode 088: Movies
|style="text-align:left;"|Ruddy was a cast member on ''Whatever Turns You On'' as well. At the end of her tenure on the show, she, Christine McGlade and Les Lye were the only remaining original cast members. Ruddy was sometimes called "Motormouth" Lisa Ruddy, because of her tendency to talk a lot. She took the longest sliming of the show during the "Cooking" episode, having two extra large buckets dumped on her during the sliming at the dinner table.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Facebook Live Q & A |url=https://www.facebook.com/events/905224869628693 |website=Facebook |publisher=Slime Studios}}</ref>
|-
|Scott Sandeman
|1981
|Episode 019: Safety First
|Episode 025: Nutrition
|style="text-align:left;"|Scott appeared in only two episodes and is one of only a few cast members to be featured in multiple episodes without getting slimed, pied, or watered.
|-
|Sidharth Sahay
|1989-90
|Episode 116: Communication
|Episode 135: Sports
|style="text-align:left;"|Brother of Vik Sahay.
|-
|]
|1986–87
|Episode 105: Sleep
|Episode 112: Anniversaries
|style="text-align:left;"|Canadian actor of Indian descent, whose brother Sidharth Sahay, also appeared on show.
|-
|Kevin Schenk
|1979–81
|Episode 008
|Episode 026: Peer Pressure
|style="text-align:left;"|Schenk was also a cast member on ''Whatever Turns You On.''
|-
|]
|1982–84
|Episode 031: Vacations
|Episode 054: ESP – Magic Astrology
|style="text-align:left;"|Scott was born in ]. After ''You Can't'', she played significant roles in the movies '']'' and '']'', as well as a leading role in the television series '']''. She also was featured in other Roger Price productions, such as UFO Kidnapped.
|-
|]
|1986–89
|Episode 094: Garbage
|Episode 122: Pollution
|style="text-align:left;"|Shah went on to star in another successful Nickelodeon show '']''. Was only green slimed once because she hated it so much.
|-
|Sariya Sharp
|1989–90
|Episode 122: Fantasy
|Episode 143: Inventions
|style="text-align:left;"|Sariya's trademark became complaining about her "totally Neanderthal mother" who never let her have her ears pierced, and her nice hair frequently getting ruined by green slime.
|-
|Marjorie Silcoff
|1984–85
|Episode 056: History
|Episode 084: Revenge
|style="text-align:left;"|Silcoff was watered in three episodes plus Project 131, but never slimed. She returned for Project 131 along with Vanessa Lindores and Brodie Osome.
|-
|Kevin Somers
|1979–81
|Episode 001: Live!
|Episode 019: Safety First
|style="text-align:left;"|Somers was also a cast member on ''Whatever Turns You On''. Like Gebert, he appeared chiefly in execution and dungeon skits by 1981 due to his height and age, although he did also participate in ''Something Else''.
|-
|Amy Stanley
|1989–90
|Episode 133: Celebrations
|Episode 141: Learning
|style="text-align:left;"|Amy, the younger sister of Jill Stanley, was the only cast member not yet born when the series premiered in February 1979.
|-
|Jill Stanley
|1989–90
|Episode 115: Chores
|Episode 141: Learning
|style="text-align:left;"|Jill had previously starred in the movie '']'' as "Nancy." She had a problem with remembering her lines, which became a running gag on ''YCDTOTV''. Was offered the hosting gig but turned it down.
|-
|]
|1989–90
|Episode 116: Communication
|Episode 143: Inventions
|style="text-align:left;"|Tessier is an actor and singer, whose first appearance on television was this program.
|-
|Sarah West
|1979
|Episode 007: The famous green slime show (St. Patrick's Day)
|Episode 009: Executive Washrooms
|style="text-align:left;"|Was the first female cast member to be slimed in the dungeon.<!-- <ref>{{Cite web |title=Where Are They Now? Interview With Sarah West |url=--><!-- blacklisted http://ycdtotv.com/cast/interviews.php?p=west blacklisted --><!-- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204143406/http://ycdtotv.com/cast/interviews.php?p=west |archive-date=December 4, 2010 |website=You Can't Do That on Television |department=The Slime Society}}</ref> -->
<!-- ycdtotv.com is a blacklisted url, but the archived copy isn't -->
|-
|]
|1989–90
|Episode 114: Choices
|Episode 143: Inventions
|style="text-align:left;"|Billed here as Ted Wilson, he later shared hosting duties on '']'' and '']''.
|-
|Bradfield Wiltse
|1979
|Episode 007: The famous green slime show (St. Patrick's Day)
|Episode 007: The famous green slime show (St. Patrick's Day)
|style="text-align:left;"|Only appeared in one episode.
|}


== References == == References ==
{{Reflist}} {{Reflist}}


== External links == == Further reading ==
* {{Cite journal |last=Conway |first=Kyle |date=Spring 2005 |title=Heading South to Make It Big: The American Success of Canada's ''You Can't Do That on Television'' |journal=American Review of Canadian Studies |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=45–65 |doi=10.1080/02722010509481249|s2cid=143524591 }} {{subscription required}}
* Hagyard, Abby (Winter 2016). "FAME: The Collectors' Edition". Features behind-the-scenes photos and interviews with the cast of "You Can't Do That on Television". {{ISBN|978-1541023345}}

{{wikiquote}} {{wikiquote}}
* *
* * {{IMDb title|id=0078714|title=You Can't Do That on Television}}
*
*
* {{imdb title|id=0078714|title=You Can't Do That on Television}}
* {{Tv.com show|id=5725|title=You Can't Do That on Television}}
*


{{Former Nickelodeon original series}}
{{Sketch comedies}}
{{You Can't Do That On Television}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:You Can't Do That On Television}} {{DEFAULTSORT:You Can't Do That On Television}}
] ]
] ]
] ]
]
]
] ]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
] ]
] ]
]
]
]
]
]
] ]
] ]
]

]
]

Latest revision as of 18:22, 31 December 2024

Canadian sketch comedy television series

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "You Can't Do That on Television" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Some of this article's listed sources may not be reliable. Please help improve this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed. (May 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
(Learn how and when to remove this message)
You Can't Do That on Television
GenreSketch comedy
Created byRoger Price
Directed by
Starring
Opening themeWilliam Tell Overture (Dixieland arrangement)
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons10
No. of episodes144 (plus 2 compilations) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Roger Price
  • Geoffrey Darby
  • Brenda Mason
Production locations
Running time
  • 60 minutes (1979–80)
  • 30 minutes (1981–90)
Original release
Network
ReleaseFebruary 3, 1979 (1979-02-03) –
May 25, 1990 (1990-05-25)

You Can't Do That on Television is a Canadian sketch comedy television series that aired locally in 1979 before airing in the United States in 1981. It featured adolescent and teenage actors performing in a sketch comedy format similar to America's Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and Canada's Second City Television. Each episode had a specific theme, typically relating to the popular culture of the time.

During its original U.S. run, the show was associated closely with the early years of the cable network Nickelodeon. It achieved high ratings, and is most famous for introducing the network's iconic green slime. The show was also notable for launching the careers of many performers, including alternative rock musician Alanis Morissette, filmmaker Patrick Mills, and television producer and screenwriter Bill Prady.

The show was produced by and aired on Ottawa's CTV station CJOH-TV. Initially a local program, it was marketed specifically for a North American-wide audience from its third season on. After production ended in 1990, Nickelodeon aired reruns in the United States through 1994, when they were replaced with the similarly-themed domestic sketch comedy variety program All That.

The show is the subject of the 2004 indie documentary You Can't Do That on Film, directed by David Dillehunt. Filmed in August 2004, the documentary was released in North America by Shout! Factory in 2012 and reissued in 2022 by MVD Entertainment. The film's tour of Studio D at CJOH was the final production made in the original studio, as the space had been sealed for tax purposes by station management. The building was demolished in 2011 following a fire in February 2010.

The first 21 half-hour episodes were released on iTunes and Amazon in three volumes, beginning in December 2012, but these volumes are no longer available. In 2021, the first 14 half-hour episodes were made available on Paramount+. Outside of the 1989 Worst of You Can't Do That on Television VHS from Elektra Video, the series has never been formally released on home media.

Abby Hagyard played numerous characters on the show.

History

This section has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (August 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
This section's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Misplaced Pages. See Misplaced Pages's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (August 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
(Learn how and when to remove this message)

Local television

You Can't Do That on Television premiered on February 3, 1979, on CJOH-TV in Ottawa. It was a locally produced, one-hour, low-budget variety program with some segments performed live. The show consisted of comedy sketches, music videos, and live phone-in contests in which the viewer could win prizes such as transistor radios, record albums, model kits, etc. The format also included performances by local disco dancers and special guests such as Ottawa-based cartoonist Jim Unger. Each week, the show took its "roving camera" to hangouts around town, recording kids' jokes or complaints about life, which were played on the following week's broadcast. The show also benefited from links with popular Top 40 Ottawa radio station CFGO. For example, station personality Jim Johnson emceed the disco-dance segments and shared tidbits about the artists featured in music videos.

Veteran comedy actor Les Lye played numerous recurring characters and was initially the only adult to perform in the show's sketches. He was the only actor to appear for the entire series' run. Actress Abby Hagyard, who played the maternal character "Valerie" opposite Lye's paternal role "Lance," joined the series in 1982. Occasionally, the older children in the cast (including Christine McGlade, Sarah West or Cyndi Kennedy) played adult characters.

The show offered programming for children on Saturday mornings that made no attempt to be an educational program. The idea was successful, as (according to one episode) the show scored a 32 share of the ratings for CJOH in its 10:30 a.m. Saturday time slot. The studio masters for the first-season episodes no longer exist, and all but three of the episodes from the first season were believed lost until early 2013, when copies of the missing episodes from off-air recordings were contributed by Roger Price and posted on YouTube.

The format was similar to You Must Be Joking! and You Can't Be Serious, children's sketch variety shows that Price created and produced for Thames Television in Britain from 1974 to 1978.

National television in Canada

After a successful first season, a national network version of You Can't Do That on Television entitled Whatever Turns You On was produced for CTV and debuted in September 1979 (its hour-long pilot episode had aired in May). The show's creators shortened it to 30 minutes, removed local content, and added a laugh track. They replaced music videos with live performances from popular Canadian artists including Trooper, Max Webster, Ian Thomas, Ottawa's own Cooper Brothers (one of whose members, Dick Cooper, later became a writer for YCDTOTV) and disco singer Alma Faye Brooks. Ruth Buzzi joined the cast playing many of the adult female characters, including a strict schoolteacher named Miss Fidt and the studio secretary Miss Take. In addition, the 22 children from the first season were trimmed down to seven: Christine McGlade, Lisa Ruddy, Jonothan Gebert, Kevin Somers, Kevin Schenk, Rodney Helal and Marc Baillon. Another first-season cast member, Elizabeth Mitchell, only appeared in the pilot episode. The show was placed in the 7:00 p.m. timeslot on Tuesday nights, and some CTV affiliates opted not to carry the show, possibly because of concerns about its content. As a result, CTV cancelled the show in December 1979 following poor ratings after only 13 episodes.

In January 1981, production on YCDTOTV resumed, and a new set of episodes aired locally on CJOH through May 1981. The format of the 1981 episodes was similar to that of the inaugural 1979 season, but each episode featured sketches that revolved around a certain topic (something that carried over from Whatever Turns You On). As disco's popularity had waned, the dancers were replaced by video-game competitions.

At that time, Price and Darby tried to syndicate YCDTOTV. They edited each 1981 episode into a half-hour format similar to that of Whatever Turns You On. Some scenes were reshot to remove any specifically Canadian content, and the half-hour syndicated edits became entirely sketch comedy. The 1981 season was rerun on CJOH in early 1982 in the half-hour syndicated format. To compensate for the removal of local content, Price and Darby created a new local show for CJOH titled Something Else, which featured many of the YCDTOTV cast in a game show/variety format similar to that of The Price Is Right. The YCDTOTV team also made a pilot television film for Disney in 1981 titled Bear Rapids that was never picked up.

Four of the hour-long CJOH episodes from the 1981 season ("Strike Now", "Sexual Equality", "Crime and Vandalism", and "Peer Pressure") are available for public viewing on YouTube. The rest are only currently available in the half-hour edits.

The show featured live music performances, including the band Trooper.

Nickelodeon

Peak years

In 1981, the new American youth-oriented cable network Nickelodeon took an interest in YCDTOTV. Nickelodeon originally aired several episodes in the edited half-hour syndicated format as a test run. The response was positive, and in January 1982, Nickelodeon began airing the entire edited season. By 1983, YCDTOTV was the network's highest-rated show.

Production on new episodes of YCDTOTV resumed full-time in 1982 in the half-hour all-comedy format, with Nickelodeon and CJOH as production partners. Over the next few years, the series was screened nationally in Canada. CTV, the network CJOH-TV was affiliated with, broadcast the show on Saturday mornings between 1982 and 1990, with little publicity. However, YCDTOTV continued to expand its audience in the United States on Nickelodeon, where it initially aired five times a week and eventually every day. The series gained broader exposure in its native Canada in 1988 when it was added by the newly established youth-oriented YTV cable channel. It was heavily promoted and aired daily during peak viewing hours.

Viewers in the United States were given the opportunity to enter the Slime-In, a contest hosted by Nickelodeon that flew the winner to the set of You Can't Do That on Television to be slimed. The contest was later replicated by Canada's YTV as the Slime Light Sweepstakes.

In 1983 at WGBH-TV in Boston, Massachusetts, Roger Price created a version of YCDTOTV for American public television network PBS titled Don't Look Now (originally to be titled Don't Tell Your Mother!). The show was similar to episodes from the 1979 season of YCDTOTV, including music videos and several earlier YCDTOTV sketches and motifs (including a variation on the show's trademark green slime gag called "Yellow Yuck"). Despite high ratings, the series ended after its five-episode trial run in October 1983, possibly because of complaints from parents about its content. Nickelodeon was also concerned that if Don't Look Now was successful, it could mean the end of YCDTOTV. The series was believed lost until all five episodes surfaced in early 2013. They have been posted on YouTube, excluding the copyrighted music videos.

Price created another show for Nickelodeon in 1985, the less successful Turkey Television. It featured several main cast members of YCDTOTV including Les Lye, Christine McGlade, Kevin Kubusheskie and Adam Reid. By this time, McGlade, now in her twenties and eager to move on with her life, had moved to Toronto and was flying back to Ottawa for YCDTOTV taping sessions. Turkey Television also marked McGlade's debut as a producer, a career that she continued after leaving YCDTOTV in 1986. Another Price production using YCDTOTV cast members, UFO Kidnapped, was made in 1983. Although the pilot aired on Nickelodeon, the series was not picked up.

Changing of the guard and controversies

By 1987, many of the veteran cast members such as Matthew Godfrey, Douglas Ptolemy, Vanessa Lindores and Adam Reid had grown too old for the show. Longtime host Christine McGlade ("Moose") had departed the previous year, as had Alasdair Gillis (who had been promoted to co-host with McGlade in 1985 before leaving toward the end of the 1986 season). Lisa Ruddy ("Motor Mouth"), McGlade's longtime sidekick on the show, left at the end of the 1985 season. Only five episodes were filmed for the 1987 season, tying with the 1990 season as the shortest during the show's 15-year run.

The episode "Adoption," was so controversial that it was banned after being shown twice. A "DO NOT AIR" sticker was placed on the master tape at CJOH. "Adoption" is the only episode that was banned in the United States. Co-creator Geoffrey Darby has stated that he felt the episode went too far, and that the writers were unaware of the sensitive nature of the material. In Canada, the "Divorce" episode was banned. However, the "Adoption" episode was shown with edits. In the sketch in which Senator Prevert calls the adoption agency to send his son back after using him to do chores all day, the line in which he calls the adoption agency officer a "damn bureaucrat" was excised.

In addition, Nickelodeon had removed the half-hour edits of the 1981 episodes of You Can't Do That on Television from its daily rotation, along with the 1982 "Cosmetics" episode. The 1981 episodes were set to air for the last time during a 1985-week-long promotion called "Oldies but Moldies," with contests in which viewers could win prizes such as "tasty, fresh chocolate syrup". Instead, the episodes continued to air until the end of 1987, but not often. Reportedly, this was because Nickelodeon's six-year contract to air the 1981 season expired in 1987. As Nickelodeon was beginning to aim for a younger demographic, and many of the 1981 episodes dealt with topics more relevant to teenagers (such as smoking, drugs, sexual equality and peer pressure), the network opted not to renew the contract. Nickelodeon allegedly removed the "Cosmetics" episode from rotation for the latter reason (although the "Addictions" episode from that same season was not dropped). By contrast, when Canada's YTV began airing the series in 1989, they continued airing the 1981 season as part of the package, as well as Whatever Turns You On, which was never shown in the United States.

Final years

Roger Price moved to France following production of the 1987 season after being informed that Nickelodeon was not planning to order more episodes. Production was suspended for 1988. When Price eventually returned to Canada, he wanted to resume production of You Can't Do That on Television from Toronto, but was convinced by the cast and crew to return to Ottawa and CJOH. Nickelodeon ordered more YCDTOTV episodes for the 1989 season. Auditions were held at CJOH in the spring of 1988, and taping began that fall. Amyas Godfrey and Andrea Byrne were the only child cast members to transition from 1987 to 1989. However, a few minor 1986 cast members returned for episodes, including Rekha Shah and James Tung.

Opinions regarding the 1989 and 1990 episodes of YCDTOTV are mixed among longtime fans of the show, particularly regarding the new episodes' increasing reliance on bathroom humor and more slime and water gags (which was supposedly at the request of Nickelodeon executives). The show did not completely sever ties to its past, as many former cast members reappeared during the 1989 season in cameo roles, most notably in the "Age" episode, which was hosted by Vanessa Lindores (who was slimed twice during it) and also featured cameos by Doug Ptolemy, Alasdair Gillis, Christine McGlade and Kevin Kubusheskie (who by that time had become a stage producer on the show). Gillis also appeared briefly in the "locker jokes" segment during the "Fantasies" episode, and Adam Reid, who by this time had become an official writer for YCDTOTV, also appeared (and was slimed) at the very end of the episode "Punishment."

The show's ratings declined throughout 1989 and 1990. The network's desire to produce more of its own shows at its new studios at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, coupled with low ratings, caused production of You Can't Do That on Television to officially end in 1990 after only five episodes (tying 1990 with 1987 as the shortest season of the series). Though ratings declined, Nickelodeon continued to air reruns until January 1994, at which point it was only aired on weekends.

On October 5, 2015, Nickelodeon's sister network TeenNick brought the show back in reruns as the first program on The Splat, its expanded classic-themed block. The airings began with the first two 1981 episodes, "Work" and "Transportation," marking the first time that those episodes had aired on American television in 30 years. However, only two additional episodes ("Christmas" and "Holidays" from the 1984 season) have been aired since. As of March 23, 2021, the 1981 season has been made available to stream on Paramount+.

International airings

YCDTOTV was aired in Australia with great success on ABC Television in the mid-1980s, beginning with 1981's "Work, Work, Work." It aired at 5:30 PM on weekdays until August 1987 when the initial run ended. After its first two runs, it was moved to a 7:00 AM weekday morning timeslot in 1989. It continued to run periodically on ABC Television for the next few years, mainly as a filler during the school holidays until the rights expired in the early 1990s. The show was aired in its entirety, including the final two seasons of 1989–90.

The series was also seen in European countries and reportedly in countries in the Middle East (with Arabic dubbing), although no French-dubbed version for distribution in either France or countries in the Francophone world is known to exist. Nor were any local adaptations based on the YCDTOTV format known to have been made.

YCDTOTV was also broadcast in several other countries, such as the United Kingdom (on the former satellite and cable children's network The Children's Channel), New Zealand (on TV3), Germany (on Armed Forces Network with the original English audio), Saudi Arabia (on the country's former English-language channel Saudi 2) and the Philippines (on RPN-9).

Parody

This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. Please relocate any relevant information into other sections or articles. (March 2024)

YCDTOTV has been occasionally referenced during episodes of Robot Chicken, including some of the show's trademark gags, such as locker jokes, Barth's Burgery and green slime.

In the Family Guy episode "Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High", Peter Griffin is slimed after saying "I don't know'". It was followed immediately by a still shot that is a direct reference to YCDTOTV's opening sequence, with the words "You Can't Do That on Television" written in red over a man's face. A later episode of the series was titled "You Can't Do That on Television, Peter", but contained no overt references to YCDTOTV.

In the NewsRadio episode "The Song Remains the Same", Mr. James celebrates April Fools' Day (in February) by having Joe install the "trigger machines" from YCDTOTV, and then tricks the cast into getting slimed and doused with water.

The "1981" episode of VH1's I Love the '80s 3-D features a segment on YCDTOTV that features Hal Sparks, Alyson Hannigan and "Weird Al" Yankovic all getting slimed after being tricked into saying "I don't know." Wil Wheaton is also slimed during the opening credits.

YCDTOTV is also loosely parodied in the 2010 How I Met Your Mother episode "Glitter", with Cobie Smulders' character on the Canadian television show "Space Teens" making several references to the show. In reality, Smulders grew up a fan of the show.

The Saturday Night Live season 47 episode hosted by John Mulaney features a humorous account of how green slime came to be introduced to YCDTOTV and ultimately Nickelodeon.

Reunion

In July 2004, to celebrate the program's 25th anniversary, a reunion special called Project 131 with the theme Changes was produced at CJOH-TV starring five members of the original cast. These included Brodie Osome, Marjorie Silcoff, and Vanessa Lindores (visibly pregnant at the time), Justin Cammy and Alasdair Gillis. It was directed by David Dillehunt.

Proposed reboot

In August 2017, it was announced that You Can't Do That on Television would be getting a reboot. Original creator Roger Price would serve as executive producer, while Jimmy Fox of Main Event Media would develop the project. However, Fox stated on their Twitter account on September 14, 2019, that the reboot had been called off.

Trademarks

This section has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience. Please help by spinning off or relocating any relevant information, and removing excessive detail that may be against Misplaced Pages's inclusion policy. (August 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
(Learn how and when to remove this message)

The show's comedy centered around how kids are treated by adults and the rest of the world. The show's skits gave satirical and exaggerated views of grown-ups as clueless, out of touch, and often using their status as adults to take advantage of kids. Les Lye portrayed several characters in the recurring skits, including "Ross", the technical producer and director of the show who constantly cheated and swindled money from everyone, especially the kid actors; "Barth", a cook at the fast-food burger place who cooked terrible food for the kids; and the father Lance Prevert, who tried to raise his kids but was utterly clueless about what his kids were doing. The younger characters, meanwhile, differed from other kids' TV shows in the way they often bickered and insulted one another (in their character roles), rather than getting along and enjoying their time together as seen on most other shows for children. Hosts Christine and Alanis frequently insulted each other and each tried to outdo the other in their roles, reflecting the real-life rivalries and competition taking place among kids in everyday life.

Episodes of YCDTOTV included recurring gimmicks and gags. The following is a partial list.

Opening animation: the Children's Television Sausage Factory

Originally created by Rand MacIvor (under art director John C. Galt), who was inspired by Terry Gilliam's "gilliamations," the opening animation sequence was a sequence of surreal images set to Rossini's "William Tell Overture" performed in a Dixieland jazz arrangement by the National Press Club and Allied Workers Jazz Band. Though the arrangement of the theme music stayed the same throughout the entire series run (although there are subtle differences between the themes in various seasons – especially the closing themes – and Whatever Turns You On used a completely different theme song), the opening animation itself changed in different ways.

  • The Centre Block of the Canadian Parliament complex was used in the first season and in the original hour-long versions of the 1981 season episodes. In this animation sequence, a person pulls the roof off one side of the building, releasing three balloons bearing the likenesses of the three party leaders at the time: Pierre Trudeau (Liberal), Joe Clark (Progressive Conservative) and Ed Broadbent (NDP). A hand from off-screen then ignites the bottom of the Peace Tower with a match and it launches like a rocket. The start of the animation features a likeness of 1979 cast member David Helpin.
  • There are two versions of the "Children's Television Sausage Factory" animation. In this sequence, children are "processed" in the "sausage factory" and deposited onto a school bus at the bottom of the factory that transports them to the TV studio (a likeness of the CJOH studios on Merivale Road in Nepean, Ontario). The first version was created for the half-hour, internationally syndicated versions of the 1981 episodes. The second version, which featured larger images and cleaner (albeit less fluid) scene animation than the first version, was introduced in the 1982 season and was used for both the U.S. and Canadian broadcasts of You Can't Do That on Television until the end of the show in 1990.
  • Both versions of the "Children's Television Sausage Factory" animation feature likenesses of Jonothan Gebert, Kevin Somers, Marc Baillon and Christine McGlade exiting the school bus, as well as a likeness of Les Lye as the security guard at the door of the TV studio. This footage was reused from the opening sequence of 1979's short-lived Whatever Turns You On.
  • The ending of the introduction shows Lye's face with his mouth opening, and his face is stamped "You Can't Do That on Television." The screen is then cracked and splits, and the show begins.

Preempted show Intro

Starting in season two before the intro, there was usually a title card with a gag show that was "preempted" with the announcer Les Lye introducing it (ex: "Mr. T Thinks He's A Girl will not be seen today, so that we may present a show still trying to find itself."—Episode: "Identity Crisis"). A lot of 1980s cultural references were used at the time (The A-Team, General Hospital, Rambo, Mister Rogers Neighborhood etc.). Sometimes, the show itself was preempted (which happened three times). On the episode "Failure", they failed to come up with an intro. Another episode, titled "Inequalities," began with a disclaimer that read, "The following program contains certain scenes which may not be suitable for mature audiences, Juvenile discretion is advised" in lieu of a "pre-empted" show.

Opposites

Each episode had an "opposites" segment ("Opposite Skits, where the opposite of real life really happens"), introduced by a visual effect of the screen flipping upside down, shifting left to fade to the next sketch, and then righting itself. Typically, right before this happened, one or more cast members would be interrupted by another cast member saying the opposite of what the monologue (or dialogue) was about, at which the cast would say, "It must be the introduction to the opposites", and then the inversion fade would happen. The sketches that followed were a tongue-in-cheek reversal of the show's subject and of daily life, often featuring children having authority over adults or adults encouraging children to behave badly (for example, eating sweets instead of vegetables or wasting money on something frivolous rather than putting the money in the bank).

Some "opposites" features were reversals of the roles and gags related to the show's recurring characters (usually played by Les Lye or Abby Hagyard), such as the cast getting to execute El Captaino at the firing squad or torturing Nasti the dungeon keeper. Inverse tropes related to Mr. Schitdler in the classroom and the principal in detention were also frequent; however, very rarely would an opposite feature the kids getting their revenge on Barth.

A return to the show's daily subject was indicated by another inversion fade, sometimes accompanied by one of the cast members saying, "back to reality." These would occasionally occur in the middle of a sketch, resulting in the characters inverting whatever they were doing prior to the conclusion of the sketch.

Opposite sketches were used in the inaugural season of the show (the first one, in Episode 2, was submitted by a viewer), but it was not until Whatever Turns You On that they became an integral part of the show.

Firing squad

Most episodes, starting in 1981, included one or more firing-squad sketches in which Lye played El Capitano, a Latin American military officer preparing to order a firing squad (whom he addressed as "the amigos") to execute one of the child actors tied up standing in front of a firing post. The kid would often trick El Capitano into being shot by the firing squad himself, and, as he keeled over, El Capitano would groan "That is one sneaky keed."

Barth's Burgers

Starting with the 1981 season, most episodes featured sketches with the kids eating at Barth's Burgery, a fast-food burger restaurant run by Barth (Lye), a chain-smoking, unpleasant, disgusting cook who uses unsanitary and questionable methods of cooking burgers. Most of the sketches involve Barth revealing the contents of the burgers to the kids' disgust and them remarking "Who(or What) do you think is in the burgers". Barth's trademark is "Duh, I heard that!" or on one episode "Duh, I heard thee.".

In the 1981 and 1982 seasons, Barth had a worker, Zilch (played by Darryll Lucas), whom he frequently insulted and abused, often by hitting him with a pan and knocking him out cold.

Locker jokes

During the "locker jokes" segment of each episode, cast members, standing inside school lockers with the words "You Can't Do That on Television" painted on them, told jokes to each other. The person telling the joke would open his or her locker and call another cast member, to whom he or she would tell the joke. For the duration of the joke, those cast members would be the only ones seen with open lockers. After each joke, the actors would close their lockers, allowing the process to start again with different people and a new joke. This was similar to the "joke wall" segment on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. The "locker jokes" feature was introduced in the first season and continued until the end of the series. The lockers underwent minor makeovers during the show's early years, but mostly remained the same for the entire run of the show. In 2004, when fans and cast reunited for the show's 25th anniversary, the original lockers were auctioned.

Production bumper

Used in a few episodes in the first two seasons and by almost every episode in later seasons, the closing credits of You Can't Do That on Television are followed by an announcement of the "company" that produced the program, with the name generally tying in with the episode's main subject. These announcements are given in the form of "'You Can't Do That on Television' is a ______ production." Examples of the fictional production company include "Black Eye" ("Bullying"), "Can't Give It Away" ("Marketing"), "Split Down the Middle" ("Divorce"), "Hang Out to Dry" ("Malls") and "Blood Is Thicker Than Water" ("Families"). The production company's name was announced by Lye, who often included a joke about the show or its producers only to realize that the cameras were still rolling.

Post-credit scene

The post-credit production bumper was generally followed by one final sketch, also borrowing a concept from Laugh-In, in which the jokes continued for a time after the credits finished rolling. The bumper frequently took place "backstage" and broke the fourth wall with remarks about the episode, usually featuring one final humiliation or comeuppance for that episode's main cast member. These scenes were often cut short or removed altogether, especially for airings on Nickelodeon.

Other

Other signature recurring bits on the show include:

  • Fake commercials: Parodies of television commercials were part of the series as early as the first season and were the subject of one full episode in 1986, but the 1982 episodes contained commercial parodies that aired between the commercial bumpers where real commercials ordinarily fit. The products featured ranged from parodies of actual products (such as the Lotachi Lugman, a parody of the Sony Walkman) to completely fictional products (such as a fragrance called "Crème de Peanut"). These fake commercials were cut when Nickelodeon became advertiser-supported in 1983, although some were preserved for later Worst of YCDTOTV compilations.
  • Blip's Arcade: Blip, owner of the local video arcade, would find inventive and devious ways to cheat his customers, such as rigging unwinnable video games or running "specials" in which, he would exchange only three quarters for a dollar.
  • Nasti's Dungeon: A kid (most often either Kevin Kubusheskie, Alasdair Gillis, Adam Reid or Doug Ptolemy; occasionally Lisa Ruddy, Eugene Contreras, Vanessa Lindores or Adam Klabfleisch) shackled in a dungeon for unknown reasons would be approached by prison warden Nasti, who would make the prisoner falsely believe that he was to be set free. Rarely, a prisoner could convince Nasti to free him or trick Nasti into exchanging places.
  • Benedict Arnold School: Strict Mr. Schidtler wages an eternal war with his unruly, ill-prepared students. The school sketches include those in which Mr. Schidtler prevails by embarrassing or punishing students and those in which the students trick him into looking foolish or dismissing class early.
  • Detention: Kids are sent to detention by the principal about what they did and one kid is hanging in shackles like he was in a dungeon. The detention is like a part dungeon and part classroom run by the principal.
  • Various interiors of the Prevert home, including the front steps as Mom prepares to send the kids off to school.
  • A bunk bed at summer camp where the kids discuss how uncomfortable and sadistic the camp activities are.
  • A doctor's office, dentist's office and principal's office, all similarly evil or mischievous.
  • There were also in-person interviews, during which Christine McGlade interviewed ordinary children about the show's topic and asked them about their opinions. The segment ran from 1981 until McGlade left the show in 1986.

Water, slime and pies

Affectionately called "stage pollution" by the cast and crew, certain keywords resulted in cast members having unpleasant substances poured onto them from above, or thrown at them from off camera.

Water

When someone said the word "water", "wash" or "wet", a large amount of cold water would fall onto them from above. In the earlier years of the show, cast members (especially Christine) were doused pails of water, but starting in 1981, the water would fall from above. By the 1984 season, only the word "water" led to a dousing, whereas in earlier seasons, the words "wet" and "H2O" also did. On occasion, cast members tried to dodge the water by saying "agua" (Spanish), "Wasser" (German) or "eau" (French) instead, only to be soaked anyway.

While the show's green slime changed ingredients and even consistencies, frequently, the water was almost always the same. Occasionally, cast members were doused with variations such as soapy, hot, brown, toilet, or yellow polluted water.

Slime

When someone said, "I don't know," green slime would pour down on them from above. This type of prank was known as being "slimed," and it became one of the show's most notable elements. As with waterings, the sliming gag was used in almost every episode, especially from 1982 onward. According to writer-director Geoffrey Darby, the slime gave the kids a "comeuppance", so that they wouldn't appear arrogant.

Green slime was a fixture of the series from the very beginning, appearing in the show's first episode. In the book Slimed! An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age, Darby stated that the original slime developed "by accident"; Darby had originally planned for a bucket of food leftovers from the CJOH cafeteria, with water added, to be dumped on Tim, but the production of that first episode was delayed by a week. When the time came to shoot the scene, the contents of the bucket had turned green with mold. Darby authorized the mixture to be dumped on Tim anyway. Roger Price was furious, but the response from the viewing audience was positive, so Darby and Price wrote an entire 1979 show about the slime ("The Green Slime Show") in which Lisa Ruddy is the victim of six slimings (a YCDTOTV record). With that episode, the use of "I don't know" as the slime's trigger phrase was introduced, and it quickly became the show's trademark gag.

Most of the cast did not like getting slimed (Christine McGlade said it was "gross and challenging"), and on occasion, they tried to avoid saying "I don't know." This usually backfired, as in the "Computers" episode when McGlade said "insufficient data" instead of "I don't know" and got green slime dumped on her anyway, since, as it was explained by Lisa Ruddy who was with McGlade at the time, the slime for that episode was computer-controlled. Some variations of the magic words also triggered the slime, such as in the "Blame" episode when the entire cast got slimed together after one of them said, "we don't know."

Although the slime was usually green, other colors, such as red, blue, yellow and even black and white, were occasionally used. 1981's "Safety First" episode, which featured white slime as part of a recurring joke in about "wearing white at night," was the first episode known to have used a slime color other than green. Lisa got slimed with white slime after saying "I really don't know". In the 1982 episode "Television," Christine is slimed in green, red, blue, yellow and "stripes" (green, red, blue and yellow at once) while trying to explain about green slime to newcomer Vanessa Lindores. (McGlade had the slime washed out by mentioning to Vanessa that it usually comes out with water, and then got dumped on with water.) This sketch was later seen in the opening to the 1987 thriller film Fatal Attraction. In one of the show's crueler pranks, Ross (Les Lye) tricks Christine into getting dumped with a thicker, chunkier blue slime. The 1986 "Enemies and Paranoia" episode used the word "freedom" as a trigger phrase for red slime after the studio was taken over by Russian communists. Other instances of slime colors other than green include orange slime in the "Myths" episode, brown slime in the "Cosmetics" episode and black slime in the "Time" episode.

The recipe for green slime originally consisted of rotten food. However, after continued complaints from the cast about the hazardous ingredients, the recipe was changed to a mixture of lime-green gelatin powder, oatmeal and water. Eventually baby shampoo was added so that it the slime would wash out of the actors' hair more easily after several of the female cast members complained. In the "Television" episode, Christine reveals the ingredients as water, gelatin powder, flour and soap. In later years, the recipe consisted simply of green food coloring and cottage cheese, though it spoiled if left too long under hot studio lights.

Especially in the later years of the show, cast members who were slimed frequently looked upward into the slime as it was falling so that it covered their faces (the same was also true of the waterings). To avoid damage to the set from water or slime, a clear tarpaulin was laid on the floor, which can occasionally be seen and/or heard underneath the actors, and the loud splatter sound usually heard during a watering or sliming is that of the liquid hitting the tarpaulin. Actors to be slimed or soaked usually appeared barefoot in the scene, and several cast members who were slimed were reportedly paid extra. Scenes involving slimings were the final ones taped during a recording, allowing the actors to immediately rinse after the scene without causing delays.

Green slime grew to become a trademark image for Nickelodeon, and the network demanded more slimings on the show as the years went on, resulting in episodes such as 1985's "Movies" in which the entire cast (save for Abby Hagyard) is slimed. Nickelodeon later introduced green slime shampoo, which was a frequent parting gift on its game show Double Dare, on which slime was heavily used. Mattel sold Nickelodeon slime and the Gak brand in the 1990s. Slime was also frequently used in the network's advertisements featuring YCDTOTV cast members as victims of an impromptu sliming. Nickelodeon's former studios in Orlando had a green slime geyser. The network continues to use green slime during its annual Kids' Choice Awards and coverage of the National Football League.

Pies

The original slapstick pie-in-the-face gag was also frequently used on YCDTOTV, although pie scenes were most common during the early years of the show. One whole episode, 1981's Drugs, was constructed completely around the pie-in-the-face gag. To avoid the wrath of the censors, the episode showed the cast getting "high" by pieing themselves continuously, comparing the stupidity of hitting oneself with a pie to that of taking drugs. Unlike the slime and water, pies were not usually triggered by any certain word or trigger phrase, although in the earlier years, saying "let me have it" or "give it to me" would frequently result in a pieing.

Cast

Original cast member Ruth Buzzi

Apart from the central cast as Les Lye and Abby Hagyard, who played the adult character roles, over 100 pre-teen and teenage actors appeared on YCDTOTV between 1979 and 1990. Some of the most notable cast members included:

Name Year(s) First Appearance Last Appearance Notes
Stephanie Bauder 1989–90 Episode 114: Choices Episode 142: Privileges Went on to star in Night of the Demons 3 alongside fellow castmate Christian Tessier.
Nick Belcourt 1989 Episode 114: Choices Episode 134: Effort Known for a recurring gag of being unable to remember whether his name was Nick or Ted, stemming from a real-life incident during a read-through in which he read Ted Wilson's lines by mistake.
Chris Bickford 1989–90 Episode 114: Choices Episode 143: Inventions Fourth and final host. Known for his trademark leather jacket.
Jennifer Brackenbury 1989–90 Episode 114: Choices Episode 143: Inventions Referred to by some fans as "The New Vanessa." Jen co-hosted the Worst of YCDTOTV videocassette along with Chris Bickford and Christian Tessier.
Carlos Braithwaite 1989–90 Episode 114: Choices Episode 141: Learning The only African-American cast member during the show's 1990 season.
Jami Burning 1981 Episode 017: Strike Now Episode 022: Smoking Native American performer who appeared in traditional clothing; only appeared twice during the 1981 season.
Ruth Buzzi 1979 Episode 001: Live! Episode 014: End Of The Line Played many of the adult female characters, and was only slimed twice.
Andrea Byrne 1987–89 Episode 111: Adoption Episode 122: Pollution Famous for her "Little Orphan Andrea" persona in the Adoption episode.
Justin Cammy 1983–86 Episode 049: Classical Music Episode 084: Revenge Did not appear in any 1986 episodes although he is in the official cast photo. Appeared in his first episode clad in a diaper playing a sitar, as Roger Price's revenge for having to deal with Justin's difficult mother.
Stephanie Chow 1984–87 Episode 074: Families Episode 112: Anniversaries Offered the chance to return for the 1989 season, but declined.
Angie Coddett 1981–84 Episode 017: Dating Episode 060: Foreign Countries Known for her character "Angie the Talking Doll" during the 1981 season. She appeared in only one episode each in 1982 and '84.
Eugene Contreras 1982–85 Episode 029: Popularity Episode 088: Movies He and his brother Roddy were chosen after Roger Price, who had been looking for Hispanic kids for the show, overheard them speaking Spanish, although they had arrived at the studio too late to audition.
Roddy Contreras 1982 Episode 035: Television Episode 035: Television Roddy's appearances in his only episode were edited out of the Nickelodeon airings of the show post-1983, once the network became advertiser-supported.
Tim Douglas 1979 Episode 001 Episode 010 Tim was the first cast member to be slimed, and one of only two cast members to have the "real" green slime dumped on him made from moldy food leftovers.
Ian Fingler 1979 Episode 009 Episode 009 Only appeared in one episode.
Jonothan Gebert 1979–81 Episode 001 Episode 026: Peer Pressure Jono was also a cast member on Whatever Turns You On and Something Else. By the 1981 season he was too tall to appear on the link set and was seen mainly in execution and dungeon skits.
Alasdair Gillis 1982–86 Episode 031: Vacations Episode 108: Mysteries and Crimes Second official host. Cameo in 1989's Fantasies and Age episodes.
Amyas Godfrey 1986–89 Episode 089: Fairy Tales, Myths, & Legends Episode 139: Embarrassment Along with Andrea Byrne, Rekha Shah and James Tung, Amyas was one of only three kid cast members to transition from 1986–87 to 1989, and the only one to appear regularly in '89.
Matthew Godfrey 1986–87 Episode 091: Know-It-Alls Episode 112: Anniversaries Older brother of Amyas Godfrey. He and his brother had just moved back to Ottawa after four years living in Dallas when they were cast; their time in Texas was occasionally used as an in-joke on the show.
Abby Hagyard 1982–90 Episode 027: Cosmetics Episode 143: Inventions Adult cast member. Her most frequent roles were Mom (Valerie Prevert) and the British-accented Librarian, but she played most adult female roles during her time on the show. She was not slimed until the 1989 season.
David Helpin 1979 Episode 001: Live Episode 014: End Of The Line David was one of the original cast members, and hosted many of the "call in" segments. He was slimed, along with the rest of the cast, in the St. Patrick's Day episode.
Brad Hampson 1979 Episode 002: CJOH Shoestring Episode 010: Bored Brad was one of the only cast members of the inaugural season to not get slimed.
Rodney Helal 1979–81 Episode 001: Live Episode 026: Peer Pressure Rodney was one of a few cast members to be featured on both YCDTOTV, as well as its sister show, Whatever Turns You On. Although he was never slimed, Rodney was frequently on the receiving end of pies.
Ramona Helal 1979 Episode 003: Nickel and Dime Episode 003: Nickel and Dime Ramona was the older sister of Rodney Helal, and was only in one episode. She was however featured in several episodes of Whatever Turns You On.
Michael Hora 1983–84 Episode 044: Future World Episode 051: Fame Never Slimed.
Jim Johnson 1979 Episode 001: Live! Episode 014: End of the Line Adult cast member. Only on the show for first season as a disc jockey for music segments (common in the first season, but never aired in subsequent years).
Adam Kalbfleisch 1984–86 Episode 062: Moving Episode 095: Country Watered twice during his run on the show, but never slimed.
Cyndi Kennedy 1979 Episode 001: Live! Episode 014: End Of The Line Cyndi hosted several of the 1979 episodes, and famously went home sick after being slimed for the first time.
Martin Kerr 1981–83 Episode 025: Nutrition Episode 040: Pets Kerr joined the cast after Roger Price saw him in one of the local "Roving Camera" segments when the show aired on CJOH and decided he liked him. He also participated in Something Else.
Pauline Kerr 1984-85 Episode 060: Foreign Countries Episode 078: Wealth Martin Kerr's younger sister.
Tanya King 1981 Episode 018: Fitness Episode 018: Fitness Tanya only appeared in one episode, and is one of the few cast to avoid being pied, slimed, or watered.
Kevin Kubusheskie 1981–84 Episode 016: Strike Now Episode 068: Halloween Kubusheskie became a writer and producer on the series during the 1989 and 1990 seasons, and on occasion made cameos.
Vanessa Lindores 1982–87 Episode 035: Television Episode 112: Anniversaries Lindores was the show's third host, and returned to host 1989's Age episode. She also appeared (then pregnant) in 2004's reunion "Project 131". The only other cast member to have the "real" green slime dumped on her made from rotten food leftovers.
Tony Lefebvre 1982 Episode 036: Sports Episode 036: Sports Tony was one of only three cast members that never appeared on the link set, but was watered at Barth's.
Darryll Lucas 1981-82 Episode 015: Work Episode 040: Growing Up Darryll was the only actor on the series to play an exclusive role in one recurring sketch; He played "Zilch," Barth's often-abused burgery assistant. The only exception is, in Episode 032: "Vacations," in addition to playing "Zilch," he also played an umpire.
Simone Lumsden 1982 Episode 036: Sports Episode 036: Sports Simone also never appeared on the link set. She was properly "initiated" into the cast, getting slimed in the dungeon.
Les Lye 1979–90 Episode 001 Episode 143: Inventions One of only two adult cast members, and the only one to appear in the show from its very first to its very last episode. Also starred in Whatever Turns You On.
Mike Lyon 1981 Episode 018: Fitness Episode 024: Drugs Appeared in only two episodes.
Christine "Moose" McGlade 1979–86 Episode 001 Episode 093: Garbage Christine was the first official host. She featured also in many skits and also had a brief cameo in the "Age" episode in 1989. Her younger sister Lisa was used in some skits as an uncredited extra. She also appeared on Whatever Turns You On and Something Else, and went on to develop the short-lived Turkey Television with Roger Price.
Patrick Mills 1989–90 Episode 121: Security Episode 143: Privileges Mills became a film director and screenwriter, post YCDTOTV.
Forest Wolf Mohawk 1982 Episode 039: The Not-So-Fair-Show Episode 039: The Not-So-Fair-Show Along with Jami Burning, one of only two Native American cast members. Only appeared in one episode.
Alanis Morissette 1986 Episode 090: Pop Music Episode 100: Contests Appeared in a total of five episodes. Was slimed three times, but only one of her slime scenes aired (Pop Music).
Brodie Osome 1981–83 Episode 015: Transportation Episode 049: Classical Music Osome appeared in Project 131 with Vanessa Lindores and Marjorie Silcoff.
Doug Ptolemy 1982–87 Episode 030: Fads and Fashion Episode 112: Anniversaries Ptolemy made a cameo appearance in the 1989 Age episode, after leaving and also had a battle with drug addiction after the show ended.
Natalie Radmore 1982 Episode 039: The Not-So-Fair-Show Episode 039: The Not-So-Fair-Show Natalie was slimed, watered, and pied in her only appearance.
Adam Reid 1984–87 Episode 078: Wealth Episode 112: Anniversaries Reid made a cameo in the 1989 Punishment episode. He also co-wrote several episodes that season with Roger Price.
Elizabeth Richardson 1982-83 Episode 28: Cosmetics Episode 48: Inequality: Kids vs. Adults Elizabeth is one of the very few cast members never to be watered, pied or slimed during her time on the show.
Lisa Ruddy 1979–85 Episode 001 Episode 088: Movies Ruddy was a cast member on Whatever Turns You On as well. At the end of her tenure on the show, she, Christine McGlade and Les Lye were the only remaining original cast members. Ruddy was sometimes called "Motormouth" Lisa Ruddy, because of her tendency to talk a lot. She took the longest sliming of the show during the "Cooking" episode, having two extra large buckets dumped on her during the sliming at the dinner table.
Scott Sandeman 1981 Episode 019: Safety First Episode 025: Nutrition Scott appeared in only two episodes and is one of only a few cast members to be featured in multiple episodes without getting slimed, pied, or watered.
Sidharth Sahay 1989-90 Episode 116: Communication Episode 135: Sports Brother of Vik Sahay.
Vik Sahay 1986–87 Episode 105: Sleep Episode 112: Anniversaries Canadian actor of Indian descent, whose brother Sidharth Sahay, also appeared on show.
Kevin Schenk 1979–81 Episode 008 Episode 026: Peer Pressure Schenk was also a cast member on Whatever Turns You On.
Klea Scott 1982–84 Episode 031: Vacations Episode 054: ESP – Magic Astrology Scott was born in Panama. After You Can't, she played significant roles in the movies Minority Report and Collateral, as well as a leading role in the television series Intelligence. She also was featured in other Roger Price productions, such as UFO Kidnapped.
Rekha Shah 1986–89 Episode 094: Garbage Episode 122: Pollution Shah went on to star in another successful Nickelodeon show Fifteen. Was only green slimed once because she hated it so much.
Sariya Sharp 1989–90 Episode 122: Fantasy Episode 143: Inventions Sariya's trademark became complaining about her "totally Neanderthal mother" who never let her have her ears pierced, and her nice hair frequently getting ruined by green slime.
Marjorie Silcoff 1984–85 Episode 056: History Episode 084: Revenge Silcoff was watered in three episodes plus Project 131, but never slimed. She returned for Project 131 along with Vanessa Lindores and Brodie Osome.
Kevin Somers 1979–81 Episode 001: Live! Episode 019: Safety First Somers was also a cast member on Whatever Turns You On. Like Gebert, he appeared chiefly in execution and dungeon skits by 1981 due to his height and age, although he did also participate in Something Else.
Amy Stanley 1989–90 Episode 133: Celebrations Episode 141: Learning Amy, the younger sister of Jill Stanley, was the only cast member not yet born when the series premiered in February 1979.
Jill Stanley 1989–90 Episode 115: Chores Episode 141: Learning Jill had previously starred in the movie Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller as "Nancy." She had a problem with remembering her lines, which became a running gag on YCDTOTV. Was offered the hosting gig but turned it down.
Christian Tessier 1989–90 Episode 116: Communication Episode 143: Inventions Tessier is an actor and singer, whose first appearance on television was this program.
Sarah West 1979 Episode 007: The famous green slime show (St. Patrick's Day) Episode 009: Executive Washrooms Was the first female cast member to be slimed in the dungeon.
Teddy Wilson 1989–90 Episode 114: Choices Episode 143: Inventions Billed here as Ted Wilson, he later shared hosting duties on Never Ever Do This At Home and Innerspace.
Bradfield Wiltse 1979 Episode 007: The famous green slime show (St. Patrick's Day) Episode 007: The famous green slime show (St. Patrick's Day) Only appeared in one episode.

References

  1. Monkey See: Pop-Culture News and Analysis from NPR
  2. https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ctv-ottawa-newsroom-destroyed-by-fire-1.481652/ CTV Ottawa newsroom destroyed by fire]
  3. "You Can't Do That on Television". Paramount+. January 5, 1982. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  4. "You Can't Do that On Television". members.shaw.ca. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  5. YCDTOTV adoption episode, retrieved January 26, 2022
  6. You Can't Do That on Television, February 3, 1979, retrieved February 29, 2016
  7. You Can't Do That on Television, February 3, 1979, retrieved February 29, 2016
  8. "OLD SCHOOL NICK". oldschoolnick.tumblr.com. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  9. Klickstein, Mathew (March 26, 2012). "So You Think You Can't Do That on Television?". Vulture. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  10. "Movie References". IMDB.
  11. "'Saturday Night Live' Review: The Best and Worst of John Mulaney's Hosting Return". IndieWire. February 27, 2022.
  12. "Exclusive: You Can't Do That On Television is getting a reboot". AV Club. August 29, 2017.
  13. Fox, Jimmy (September 14, 2019). "Jimmy Fox on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved March 11, 2021. Sadly it is not. Nickelodeon was ready to develop a new version with us, but once it came time to make a deal between the rights holder and Nick it fell apart. Apparently, much of the original ownership contracts/files were lost in an Ottawa fire decades ago... no joke.
  14. "Remembering Alanis Morissette's tween years on 'You Can't Do That On Television'". ontheaside.com. September 14, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  15. "Christine's Water Collection". YouTube. August 17, 2016.
  16. April 05, Amy Wilkinson; EDT, 2017 at 02:09 PM. "What They Really Couldn't Do on Nickelodeon's 'You Can't Do That on Television'". EW.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. Klickstein, Mathew. Slimed! An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age. Plume, 2013, pp. 55–56.
  18. Klickstein, Mathew. Slimed! An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age. Plume, 2013, pp. 56.
  19. Klickstein, Mathew. Slimed! An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age. Plume, 2013, pp. 57.
  20. Klickstein, Mathew. Slimed! An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age. Plume, 2013, p. 53.
  21. "The Slime Zone is awesome". NBC Sports Chicago. January 10, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  22. "Night of the Demons III (1997)". IMDb.
  23. YCDTOTV adoption episode, retrieved January 26, 2022
  24. "Roger Price Interview". Youtube. Geoffrey Darby. February 25, 2015. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.
  25. "Long Lost Pictures From YCDTOTV Vaults". Twitter. Roger Price.
  26. "You Can't Do That on Television (TV Series 1979–1990) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  27. "Facebook Live Q & A". Facebook. Slime Studios.

Further reading

  • Conway, Kyle (Spring 2005). "Heading South to Make It Big: The American Success of Canada's You Can't Do That on Television". American Review of Canadian Studies. 35 (1): 45–65. doi:10.1080/02722010509481249. S2CID 143524591. (subscription required)
  • Hagyard, Abby (Winter 2016). "FAME: The Collectors' Edition". Features behind-the-scenes photos and interviews with the cast of "You Can't Do That on Television". ISBN 978-1541023345
Former Nickelodeon original programming
1970s debuts
1980s debuts
1990s debuts
2000s debuts
2010s debuts
2020s debuts
You Can't Do That on Television
Related
programs
Related
articles
Categories: