Don't Look Now (1983 TV show)

Don't Look Now was an American national children's sketch comedy show produced for PBS by WGBH-TV in Boston, Massachusetts, and created by Geoffrey Darby and Roger Price. It is a clone of their program for CTV and Nickelodeon, You Can't Do That on Television. The first episode aired on October 2, 1983, and showed its final episode on October 30, 1983. It was originally slated to be called Don't Tell Your Mother, but was later changed to its current title, Don't Look Now, due to the PBS executives concern that the title may encourage children to keep secrets from their parents.^[1] It was created out of uncertainty that You Can't Do That on Television would continue, and had it not been cancelled may have spelled the end of You Can't Do That on Television^[2]

Episodes

Format, and similarities and differences between "You Can't Do that on Television" and "Don't Look Now"

The format of Don't Look Now is along the same lines as the first season of YCDTOTV, when it was a local program produced at originating station CJOH-TV in Ottawa, Ontario, in which it also included contests for viewers, as well as music videos. Some of the sketches presented on Don't Look Now were recycled from that season of YCDTOTV. The show shared many similarities with YCDTOTV, however there are some differences that set the two shows apart:

• Each show did not have a particular topic, and there were no opposite skits or pie scenes.
• Water was not dumped from above after saying "water", though two characters had buckets of water dumped on them.
• "Green slime" was replaced by "yellow yuck" (which is actually yellow slime, but never referred to as "slime"). The trigger phrase, "I don't know!", became "Don't blame me!"
• The kids told jokes to each other, but rather than the setting of a locker room, they sat in a row of chairs. At the end of the jokes, a kid was always called to the principal's office.
• All the kids of the cast of Don't Look Now seemed to be very young, preteens perhaps, unlike some of the cast of YCDTOTV, some of which were teenagers, and sometimes even adults.
• The adult male character David Perrigo from Don't Look Now seemed to be a lot younger than the elderly Les Lye who was the adult male character on YCDTOTV.
• The dad from Don't Look Now who would often have a pipe in his mouth which he would sometimes smoke was very clean cut and thin, and wore a navy blue dress suit, which a white shirt and tie, unlike the dad on YCDTOTV who was very slovenly, overweight, and wore a white shirt with stains.
• Joceyln Leary from Don't Look Now claimed to be a rich kid just like Naida Gosselin from the 1986 104th episode of YCDTOTV poverty and unemployment, but was unlike Naida as she was somewhat friendly, helpful, and not dictative.
• Don't Look Now's "Walk the plank" sketches were the equivalent of "the firing squad" on YCDTOTV. Unlike YCDTOTV, the exasperated question asked of the executioner, "What is it this time?", was said only once on Don't Look Now by the pirate, while it was asked in almost every scene by El Capitano on YCDTOTV.
• There was also a link set on Don't Look Now, but it was much different from the link set on YCDTOTV.
• Don't Look Now also includes educational segments, in which the cast would visit places like farms, stores, factories, banks, boats, childcare, and laboratories. This was due to PBS's mandate that the show included some educational content, unlike YCDTOTV, which strived to be as uneducational as possible.

Comparison list

Comparing Don't Look Now (left) with You Can't Do That on Television (right):

Cast

• Dylan Jones = Doug Ptolemy
• Lisa Rosman = Libby Livingston
• Bajah Freeman = Angie Coddett
• Jocelyn Leary = Jennifer Brackenbury
• David Perrigo = Les Lye
• Ronda Berkman = Abby Hagyard

Characters

• Violet = Barth
• Miss Pell = Mr Shider
• The pirate = El Capitano

Elements

• Yellow yuck = Green slime
• "Don't blame me!" = "I don't know!"
• Walk the plank = The firing squad
• "Shut up and eat!" = "Duh IIIIIIII heard that!"
• "Avast me hearties and you walk the plank!" = "Ready... Aim..."

Role of Adult Characters

Ronda Berkman played the makeup lady, the house mom, Miss Pell a very strict school teacher, and Violet the nasty camp instructor; when the kids would complain about how nasty the food was, Violet would tell the kids to "Shut up and eat!" (an analogue to Barth's "Duh IIIIIIII heard that!" on YCDTOTV). David Perrigo played a pirate, a cameraman, and the house dad. He was also the narrator for the educational sequences. The pirate would tell the kids, before they walked the plank, "Avast me hearties and you walk the plank!" (similar to El Capitano's "Ready... Aim...").

Music videos

Every episode had three music videos. Videos featured on Don't Look Now included:

• UB40 - "I've Got Mine" - episode one
• The Police - "Every Breath You Take" - episode one
• Split Enz - "Never Ceases to Amaze Me" - episode one
• Billy Joel - "Tell Her About It" - episode two
• Men at Work - "Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive" - episode two
• Elvis Costello - "Everyday I Write the Book" - episode two
• The Manhattans - "Crazy" - episode three
• Toto - "Waiting for Your Love" - episode three
• Loverboy - "Queen of the Broken Hearts" - episode three
• Oxo - "Whirly Girl" - episode four
• Donna Summer - "Unconditional Love - episode four
• Lionel Richie - "All Night Long (All Night)" - episode four
• Bananarama - "Shy Boy" - episode five
• Rick Springfield - "Human Touch" - episode five
• Stevie Wonder - "Do I Do" - episode five^[3]

Cast

Controversy, cancellation, and ratings

The voice of David Perrigo would announce the disclaimer at the start of each program: "The following show is not intended for pre-school aged children. Viewer discretion is advised."

It was very highly rated (the second highest rated kids show that PBS had ever broadcast even beating out Sesame Street in viewership)^[4] and was shown on for six Sundays including all of October. It also made Nickelodeon very angry, so PBS decided not to pick up additional episodes.^[5][6][7]

The Don't Look Now series was believed to be lost forever until all five episodes surfaced in early 2013, and have been posted on YouTube as well, but with the music videos edited out. To the best of public knowledge, there aren't any plans for a DVD release.

Major funding for Don't Look Now was provided by the Mable Louise Riley Foundation, a Boston based foundation with interest in children and youth. Additional funding was provided by public television stations and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

References