List of You Can't Do That on Television episodes

This is a list of episodes of the Canadian television series You Can't Do That on Television. The show was in production from 1979 to 1990. No episodes were produced in 1980 and 1988.

Episode list

Season 1 (1979)

These were hour-long episodes aired locally on Saturday mornings on CJOH-TV in Ottawa, and were a mixture of prerecorded comedy sketches and some live link scenes, along with phone-in contests, music videos, disco dancing contests, and interviews. Until March 2013, only three episodes from this season were known to exist in their entirety. In March 2013, information and photos from the "missing" episodes were provided to www.ycdtotv.com, and in June 2013, the episodes themselves were uploaded to YouTube.

Season 2 (1981 (Canada); 1982 (United States))

This season originally had the same format as the 1979 episodes (except that the disco-dancing segments were replaced with video-game contests). However, beginning with this season, each episode had a specific theme. In addition, half-hour versions were made for national and international syndication. The "international" versions of these episodes comprised the first season of the series to air on Nickelodeon, although slightly different versions were made to be shown in Canada. This seasons' first seven episodes were released on iTunes on December 17, 2012.^[1]

Season 3 (1982)

This is the first season in which each episode was made in the half-hour format and produced specifically for Nickelodeon. With many of the regulars from the 1981 season having grown too old for the show, this season saw the additions of several new cast members, including Alasdair Gillis, Vanessa Lindores, Elizabeth Richardson and Doug Ptolemy, and Abby Hagyard as the series' token adult female to play opposite Les Lye. Also, host Christine McGlade wore wigs throughout the season in order to hide her natural hair, which had been cut short and dyed with pink highlights. In the fall of 1983, the original 28 minute episodes were cut by 3 minutes when Nickelodeon started allowing outside advertising.

Season 4 (1983-1984)

1983 marked the last season for regulars Brodie Osome and Martin Kerr, but the show welcomed newcomer Justin Cammy. With video-game arcades rising in popularity, Blip's Arkaid was added to the roster of skits this season.

Season 5 (1984-1985)

Because the show had become Nickelodeon's highest-rated television series and provided extra funding to CJOH, the 1984 season saw double the number of episodes produced, with 26 instead of the usual 13 seen in the seasons prior. New regulars Stephanie Chow, Adam Kalbfleisch, Ben Schreiner, Pauline Kerr (sister of former cast member Martin Kerr) and Marjorie Silcoff, were introduced this season, while future regular Adam Reid appeared for the first time in a brief, non-speaking role, and Angie Coddett, Kevin Kubusheskie, Luke McKeehan, and Klea Scott gave their final performances. One of Les Lye's most popular characters, the school bus driver Snake Eyes, made his debut this season.

Season 6 (1985)

To prepare for the departure of long-time host Christine McGlade, Alasdair Gillis became a co-host alongside her. Adam Reid became a new regular cast member, while Lisa Ruddy began her last season on the show. This was also the final season with Blip's Arkaid, as home video game systems had begun to eclipse video arcades in popularity.

Season 7 (1986-1987)

Long-time host Christine McGlade appeared in the first five episodes of this season. Alasdair Gillis succeeded her as host until he too left at the end of the season. Matthew Godfrey, Amyas Godfrey, Andrea Byrne, and Alanis Morissette joined the regular cast.

Season 8 (1987)

By this time, all but four of the second generation cast had already ended their time on the show, and it was supposed to be the final season. Only five episodes were filmed and aired, one of which ("Adoption") was banned for making light of child abuse (in Canada, the "Adoption" episode was edited to remove the "damn" in Senator Prevert's line "You get over here right away, ya damn bureaucrat!", but the episode was eventually pulled because the producers felt the episode's jokes about adoption were in bad taste). This makes this season the shortest season of the show, tied with the season in 1990. An hour-long special was also prepared for home video, but not released. It was known as "The Worst of You Can't Do That on Television" and included new footage with Adam Reid, Vanessa Lindores, and Doug Plotemy as hosts, as well as footage from 1979-1987.

Season 9 (1989-1990)

After a hiatus, filming on what would become the 1989 season of the show commenced in the fall of 1988 with an almost entirely new cast of kids. Only Amyas Godfrey was a regular both before and after the 1988 hiatus, although three other members of the 1987 cast (Andrea Byrne, Rekha Shah, and James Tung) returned for one or two episodes. In addition, Vanessa Lindores also returned to guest-host the "Age" episode (which also featured cameos by several other former cast members). Chris Bickford was made as the official host. Adam Reid and Kevin Kubusheskie became a writer and a producer, respectively, and had occasional cameos. This season was almost filmed at Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Florida, but at the last minute the decision was made to stay at CJOH, although a replica of the link set had been recreated in Florida. The Worst of You Can't Do That on Television was remade (albeit shortened to a half hour) with Chris Bickford, Jennifer Brackenbury, and Christian Tessier as hosts, and released on video in time for the 1989 holiday season. Les Lye's "doctor" character was also changed to a dentist this season.

Season 10 (1990)

After 11 years in production, You Can't Do That on Television is cancelled. Only five episodes were produced.

References