You Can't Do That on Television (1979)
You Can't Do That on Television is a Canadian television program that first aired locally in 1979 before airing internationally in 1981. It featured pre-teen and teenaged actors in a sketch comedy format. Each episode had a theme. The show was notable for launching the careers of many performers, including Alanis Morissette, and writer Bill Prady, who would write and produce shows like The Big Bang Theory, Gilmore Girls and Dharma and Greg. The show was produced by and aired on Ottawa's CTV station CJOH-TV. After production ended in 1990, the show continued in reruns on Nickelodeon through 1994, when it was replaced with the similar All That. The show is synonymous with Nick, and was at that time extremely popular, with the highest ratings overall on the channel. The show is also well known for introducing the network's iconic slime. The program is the subject of the 2004 feature-length documentary, You Can't Do That on Film, directed by David Dillehunt.
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Episode 1 - Choice
Release Date:Where No Man Has Gone Before will not be seen at this time so that we may present... Ted decides whether or not to tell Chris about his being turned down for a part in a Hollywood movie.
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Episode 2 - Chores
Release Date:Hulk Hogan Tidies His Room will not be seen at this time so that we may present... In order to get the cast to clean the set, Ross makes the cleaning part of the sketches.
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Episode 3 - Communication
Release Date:E.T. Phones Home and Gets a $1,000,000 Phone Bill will not be seen at this time so that we may present... An alien ship is approaching Earth and causes the show's transmission satellites to malfunction. The Aliens have come in search of Green Slime.
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Episode 4 - Fitness
Release Date:Jane Fonda Overworked will not be seen at this time so that we may present... Kevin is having trouble writing this episode as it is being filmed. In the sketches, the cast makes fun of exercise programs. Ted, as the Fitness Genie, makes Rekha's fitness program impossible.
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Episode 5 - Malfunctions
Release Date:Batman's Hairdryer Fries Robin will not be seen at this time so that we may present... The studio's cameras keep breaking because of Ted's ugliness.
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Episode 6 - Cleanliness
Release Date:Mr. Clean Falls Into a Tar Pit will not be seen at this time so that we may present... Ross makes the cast wear sailor suits to prepare for a visit from the Senate's Committee to Clean Television. In the end, the inspector only wants to be sure the camera lenses are clean.
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Episode 7 - Security
Release Date:Teenage Mutant Ninja Turkeys will not be seen at this time so that we may present... The cast wants to take martial arts lessons, but have to teach themselves because the show's budget can't afford an instructor.
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Episode 8 - Pollution
Release Date:The Love Boat Becomes a Garbage Barge will not be seen at this time so that we may present... The cast talks about the major dangers to the environment.
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Episode 9 - Fantasy
Release Date:Fantasy Island Becomes a Volcano will not be seen at this time so that we may present... Ross has a box that can grant anyone's wishes. He plans to give it to the producer's daughter. The rest of the cast has all their dreams come true.
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Episode 10 - Time
Release Date:The Days of Our Lives will not be seen at this time so that we may present... The budget for the show has been cut so it must be filmed in black and white. All the kids go into a decolorization machine. When the producers realize that color shows are more profitable the kids can't switch back. In their attempts to overcome the glitch, they turn the show into a silent movie at the end.
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Episode 11 - Mistakes
Release Date:George Bush Shoots the Wrong Quail will not be seen at this time so that we may present... The cast looks at their mistakes, and Ross has to confront some of his errors.
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Episode 12 - Punishments
Release Date:Mothers of the World Paddle Rambo will not be seen at this time so that we may present... To improve the ratings, and to punish the cast for bad acting, Ross sees to it that at least one cast member is slimed between each sketch.
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Episode 13 - Beliefs
Release Date:Elvis Presley Is Alive and Working In a Supermarket will not be seen at this time so that we may present... The cast debates the fantasy and reality of people's beliefs.
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Episode 14 - Age
Release Date:Michael Jackson Gets Old and Wrinkled will not be seen at this time so that we may present... Ross drags Vanessa back onto the show 3 years after she left because she still has an episode under her contract (because the Adoption episode was banned). Meanwhile, Chris is nervous about being fired because of his upcoming birthday and fear that he has reached ""the age"".
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Episode 15 - Excess
Release Date:The Fat Boys Eat New York will not be seen at this time so that we may present... The show deals with the problems of excess: too much slime, too many cast members, too much wardrobe, etc...
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Episode 16 - Cool
Release Date:Pee-Wee Herman Wins the Mr. Macho America Contest will not be seen at this time so that we may present... The cast is willing to do anything to become cool.
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Episode 17 - Lost
Release Date:Superman Loses His Tights will not be seen at this time so that we may present... Nick enlists the help of the Genie of the Lost Sock to find Chris' jacket and a camera the Nick borrowed from Ross. In the search, he finds everything that every cast member of the show since it first went on the air had lost.
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Episode 18 - Failure
Release Date:Ross doesn't show up for work, leaving the kids to run this week's show.
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Episode 19 - First Times
Release Date:The Wright Brothers Lost Their Luggage will not be seen at this time so that we may present... Ross tries to improve the show's ratings by having this episode be the first to be shot in several different locations.
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Episode 20 - Celebrations
Release Date:Parents and Teachers Celebrate the Cancellation of You Can't Do That On Television will not be seen at this time so that we may present... Ross decides to show how all of the countries around the world celebrate special events.
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Episode 21 - Effort
Release Date:Rambo Thinks will not be seen at this time so that we may present... Some of the cast members try to do certain things, all unsuccessfully. Nick tries to remember his name, Sariya tries to keep her new hairstyle from getting slimed, Christian tries to nice to Jennifer, and Jennifer tries to wear a dress.
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Episode 22 - Sports
Release Date:Roseanne Barr Goes Synchronized Swimming will not be seen at this time so that we may present... Ross goes sports crazy. He makes Chris use the eternal flame to light the gas grill, causing him to blow up, he uses special effects to give Carlos athletes foot, and he uses a ""Test Your Strength"" machine to scam the cast out of money.
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Episode 23 - Smoking
Release Date:Green Slime is Scraped from Smokers Lungs will not be seen at this time so that we may present... The cast really begins to think that green slime is made from the mucus from the lungs of smokers.
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Episode 24 - Generosity
Release Date:Batman Gives Away His Batmobile will not be seen at this time so that we may present... In order to get him slimed, Chris lets Patrick do the introduction. The make-up lady makes Stephanie look like a senior citizen. When the boom mike breaks, Ross makes Christian hang from the ceiling to operate the mike.
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Episode 25 - Embarrassment
Release Date:Rambo Takes Ballet Lessons will not be seen at this time so that we may present... Ross, in an effort to embarrass the cast, has their parents come to the studio.