These scenes were often cut short or removed altogether, especially for airings on Nickelodeon. The first version was created for the half-hour, American syndicated versions of the 1981 episodes. Opening animation: The Children's Television Sausage Factory. It aired at 5:30p.m. on weekdays until August 1987 when the initial run ended. Of course, she also appeared on. Yes, R1, the slime originated with this show. I can't remember. This type of prank was known as being "slimed," and it became one of the show's most notable elements. 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. Different colors of slime - including red, blue, yellow, orange (described as orange paint), and even black and white - were used in various other episodes, as were other slime-like substances including "mud" and "whitewash.". It was an instant hit, scoring an over 30% rating in its target demographic within a few months. The show was placed in the 7:00p.m. timeslot on Tuesday nights, and some CTV affiliates opted not to carry the show, possibly because of concerns about its content. She returned for Project 131 along with Vanessa Lindores and Brodie Osome. 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 (and sometimes before) a watering or sliming is due to this tarpaulin. Unlike the slime and water, pies were not triggered by any certain word or phrase. He and his brother had just moved back to Ottawa after four years living in. These included Brodie Osome, Marjorie Silcoff, and Vanessa Lindores (pregnant at the time), with cameos by Justin Cammy and Alasdair Gillis. This was similar to the "joke wall" segment on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Each 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. Christine: First they take some liquid and then they add some jello powder and some flour. The series was also seen in some European countries and reportedly in the Middle East (with Arabic dubbing), although no French-dubbed version for distribution in either France or francophone Canada is known to exist, nor were any local adaptations based on the YCDTOTV format known to have been made. A lot of 1980s cultural references were used at the time (The A-Team, General Hospital, Rambo, Mister Rogers Neighborhood etc). 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. The kids would usually find a way to trick the Executionist 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. 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. 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. In one of the show's crueler pranks, Ross (Les Lye) tricks Christine into getting dumped with a thicker, chunkier blue slime. Reportedly, this was because Nickelodeon's six-year contract to air the 1981 season expired in 1987, and since Nickelodeon was beginning to aim for a younger demographic and many of the 1981 episodes dealt with topics more relevant to adolescents (such as smoking, drugs, sexual equality, and peer pressure); the network opted not to renew the contract. Occasionally, the older children in the cast (such as Christine McGlade, Sarah West or Cyndi Kennedy) played adult characters. Each episode had a specific theme normally relating to pop culture of the time. Wil Wheaton is also slimed during the opening credits. In the meantime, Price and Darby tried to syndicate YCDTOTV, and they edited each 1981 episode into a half-hour format similar to that of Whatever Turns You On. 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. Viewers in the American-made slime and water sounds with their mouths and sent 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 Canadian network YTV, with their version being called the Slime Light Sweepstakes). Also, after a music video aired, Johnson would tell the viewers interesting facts about the artist featured in the video. The recipe for green slime originally consisted of rotten food. Longtime hostess Christine McGlade ("Moose") had departed the previous year, as had Alasdair Gillis (who had been promoted to co-host with Moose in 1985 before leaving towards the end of the 1986 season); Lisa Ruddy ("Motormouth"), Moose's longtime sidekick on the show, was also gone, having left at the end of the 1985 season. 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. It is also still used in ads showing the network's current stars getting slimed from all sides in slow motion, and was used to slime the winner at the end of the Nickelodeon game show BrainSurge. Occasionally the older children in the cast (such as Christine McGlade, Sarah West, or Cyndi Kennedy) played adult characters. The only exception is, in Episode 032: "Vacations," in addition to playing "Zilch," he also played an umpire. Step 2. 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. 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. In August 2017, it was announced that You Can't Do That on Television would be getting a reboot. 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"). While trying to stay healthy and exercise, the kids' efforts are halted by the adults. While trying to stay healthy and exercise, the kids' efforts are halted by the adults. 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; the unnamed "Dad" who tried to raise his kids but was utterly clueless about what his kids were doing; and other characters. Worst of You Can't Do That On Television (B) 1979 Whatever Turns You On (1) Pilot (A) (2) Union Fees (A) (3) Fan Letters (A+) (4) Drama Lessions (A) (5) Boss Helal (A) (6) Superstitions (A) (7) Repeats (A) (8) Christmas (A) (9) . The mother put a little blond boy in a dress and Mary Jane strap shoes for teasing the girls. You Can't Do That on Television debuted in 1979 on CJOH-TV in Ottawa as a low-budget variety program with some segments performed live. 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.". The network's desire to produce more of its own shows at its new studios at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, coupled with the low ratings, causing production of You Can't Do That on Television to officially end in early 1990. Most of the time, the cast member would be successful; however, occasionally, Lye's character would "successfully" complete the scene. Longtime host Christine McGlade ("Moose") had departed the previous year, as had Alasdair Gillis (who had been promoted to cohost with McGlade in 1985 before leaving toward the end of the 1986 season). Elizabeth is one of the very few cast members never to be watered, pied or slimed during her time on the show. Kids TV, Sketch Comedy, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s Near complete collection of the classic Canadian kids sketch comedy show that ran from 1979 to 1990 Addeddate 2022-03-01 06:13:58 Identifier ycdtotv Scanner Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1.6.4 Add Review Reviews Although Nickelodeon always treated the slime recipe as though it were a closely guarded secret (and a number of episodes involved plots or subplots of kids trying to figure out what slime was made of), the composition of the slime changed several times over the years. The format was similar to You Must Be Joking! Episode list Season 1 (1979) These were hour-long episodes aired locally on Saturday mornings on CJOH-TV in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and were a mixture of prerecorded comedy sketches and mostly live link scenes, along with phone-in contests, music videos, disco dancing contests, and interviews.These early episodes also sported great prize giveaways like a portable television set, a Panasonic . The screen is then cracked and splits, and the show begins. 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. 1979. Darby authorized the mixture to be dumped on Tim anyway. Reportedly, this was because Nickelodeon's six-year contract to air the 1981 season expired in 1987, and as Nickelodeon was beginning to aim for a younger demographic and many of the 1981 episodes dealt with topics more relevant to adolescents (such as smoking, drugs, sexual equality and peer pressure), the network opted not to renew the contract. The slime or water would not hit until after the opposites were over, or sometimes not fall at all. Although the pilot aired on Nickelodeon, the series was not picked up. On occasion, cast members tried to dodge the water by saying "agua" (Spanish), "Wasser" (German) or "eau" (French) instead, only to be soaked anyway. Ruth Buzzi joined the cast playing many of the adult female characters, which included a strict schoolteacher named Miss Fidt and the studio secretary Miss Take. 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). Every scene had the same basic format. Along with Jami Burning, one of only two Native American cast members. Christine: Well, yeah it usually is, but I guess it could be red. Vanessa: How do they make that slime they're always dumping on you? Tony was one of only three cast members that never appeared on the link set, but was watered at Barth's. Some scenes were reshot to remove any local or specifically Canadian content, and the half-hour syndicated edits became entirely sketch comedy. The show was similar to those 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"). 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, Joe Clark, and Ed Broadbent. Nickelodeon allegedly removed the "Cosmetics" episode from rotation for the latter reason (although the "Addictions" episode from that same season was not dropped). 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. It featured pre-teen and teenage actors in a sketch comedy format similar to that of American sketch comedy Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and Canadian sketch comedy Second City Television. 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. Here are 12 fun facts you might not have known about You Can't Do That on Television. Factory released You Can't Do That on Film, a documentary about the history of the show. You Can't Do That on Television (1979-1990) Trivia Showing all 21 items The kids on the show got paid extra for episodes in which they were doused with water or green slime - $75 for water and $150 for slime. Alasdair Gillis was born on 6 April 1971 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He also participated in. The kids exercise on a stationary bike and use the TV station's special effects to create change of scenery. Is it always green like this? Featuring slapstick sketch comedy, You Can't Do That on Television introduced audiences to Barth's Burgers, locker jokes, and the messy consequences of saying "water," "wet," or "I don't know." Comedy 1979 10+ TV-Y7 The show consisted of comedy skits, music videos (usually three per episode) and live phone-in contests in which viewer could win a variety of prizes (transistor radios, record albums, model kits, etc.). So You Think You Can't Do That on Television? Silcoff was watered in three episodes plus Project 131, but never slimed. By this time, McGlade, now well into her twenties and eager to move on with her life, had moved to Toronto and was flying back to Ottawa for YCDTOTV taping sessions. Alasdair Gillis. You Can't Do That on Television is a Canadian sketch comedy television series that first aired locally in 1979 before airing in the United States in 1981. In January of 1981, production on YCDTOTV resumed, and a new set of episodes aired locally on CJOH through May of that year. When Nickelodeon started airing the episodes, none of the 1979 episodes remained, however all of the 1981 episodes did. As of 2021, the second season is available to watch on Paramount+.[2]. 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. Veteran comedy actor Les Lye played several recurring characters and was initially the only adult to perform in the show's sketches, although actress Abby Hagyard later joined the show to become "the other grown-up" in the cast roster, and frequently played "Mom" opposite Lye's role as "Dad." You Can't Do That on Television TV Series 1979-1990 TV-PG 30m IMDb RATING 8.1 /10 2.4K YOUR RATING Rate POPULARITY 4,100 141 Family Comedy Sketch TV by young amateur actors in true classic Nick-style. As in the United States, the series was rerun into the early 1990s. By the time of the aforementioned St. Patrick's Day episode a month and a half later, slime consisted of a mixture of lime green gelatin powder and flour; eventually, oatmeal was added to the ingredient, as was baby shampoo so that it would wash out of the actors' hair more easily. The idea was conceived when SlimeCon 2004 co-coordinator Byron Smith and I were trying to figure out how . 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-based or Canadian content). But whatever you do, never admit that you don't know or ask for water.Sketch TV by young amateur actors in true classic Nick-style. 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