The Canadian kids sketch comedy show brought green goop — and a hit — to a fledging Nickelodeon in 1982.
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| The kids’ sketch comedy show 'You Can’t Do That on Television' slimed anyone who said “I don’t know” — and its ratings success played a big part in Nickelodeon investing more in original programming. Courtesy of Nickelodeon |
The team behind the low-budget Canadian kids’ sketch show You Can’t Do That on Television didn’t know it would help define the Nickelodeon brand when it premiered 45 years ago.
British TV producer Roger Price had created several children’s programs in the U.K. before moving to Canada, where he aimed to launch a show that respected kids’ perspectives and didn’t condescend to them. Price wasn’t one to glamorize childhood, having endured a tough upbringing that included boarding school in Switzerland.
Inspired by adult-focused programs like Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, YCDTOT featured mostly amateur child actors playing kids who were putting on their own TV show while dealing with incompetent adults. Premiering on CJOH-TV in Ottawa on Feb. 3, 1979, it earned the stateside attention of fledgling network Nickelodeon, which began airing episodes in early 1982 to big ratings.
“With 30-second sketches, there’s no room for filler,” Abby Hagyard, an adult castmember who played the show’s “Mom,” recalled to The Hollywood Reporter.
Now a Nickelodeon signature, getting slimed originated on YCDTOT. Green goop would fall on anyone who said “I don’t know” — Price chose that trigger because his own kids used the phrase to avoid taking responsibility. Price initially assumed the cast would hate getting slimed, but he was quickly proven wrong.
“It was an honor to be slimed,” says Adam Greydon Reid, who joined YCDTOT as a castmember at age 11 after sending a letter to Price, and would later write episodes with him as a teen. (Plus, each castmember earning a $50 inconvenience fee per sliming was a nice perk.)
Among the show’s discoveries were writer Bill Prady, who would later co-create The Big Bang Theory, and a young Alanis Morissette, who appeared in five episodes and impressed castmates by playing her demo tape. The show’s 10-season run continues to live on in pop culture; SNL spoofed it in a 2022 episode, and Ryan Reynolds (who was once engaged to Morissette) immediately cited YCDTOT when asked in a recent interview to name an important Canadian show.
An attempted reboot fell apart several years ago, but Reid has been hearing of renewed interest in bringing it back. Price is open to its return, but only if the tone doesn’t change: “It has to really make kids feel like it’s their show.”
This story first appeared in the August 14 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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Originally published: August 17, 2024.
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