Do Not Adjust Your Set facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Do Not Adjust Your Set |
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| Starring |
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| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 29 |
| Production | |
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| Producer(s) | Rediffusion London (Series 1) Thames Television (Series 2) |
| Running time | c. 25 minutes (excluding commercials) |
| Distributor | Archbuild Limited (Series 1) Fremantle (Series 2) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 26 December 1967 – 14 May 1969 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | At Last the 1948 Show (1967) |
Do Not Adjust Your Set (DNAYS) was a British television series produced originally by Rediffusion, London, then, by the fledgling Thames Television for British commercial television channel ITV from 26 December 1967 to 14 May 1969. The show took its name from the message (frequently seen on the TV screen in those days) which was displayed when there was a problem with transmission.
It included early appearances of Denise Coffey, David Jason, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin; the last three became members of the Monty Python comedy troupe soon afterwards. Although originally conceived as a children's programme, it quickly acquired a following amongst many adults, including future Pythons John Cleese and Graham Chapman (as mentioned by Cleese himself in the stage performance tour "Paying My Ex-Wife", in October 2010).
Satirical comedy/art/pop group The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band also performed a song or two in each programme and frequently appeared as extras in sketches. The programme itself comprised a series of frequently satirical sketches, often presented in a bizarre, surreal and disjointed style which anticipates Monty Python's Flying Circus, which followed five months after the last episode of DNAYS. Strange animations between sketches were crafted for the final episodes by the then-unknown Terry Gilliam, who soon graduated to Python with Palin, Jones and Idle – part of Gilliam's "Christmas cards" animation reappeared there in the "Joy to the World" segment.
One long-running feature of the show was Captain Fantastic, a superhero parody featuring David Jason in improbable and even macabre adventures against villainess Mrs. Black (Coffey). These segments were shot entirely on film, on location in London. The feature was so popular with the young audience that after DNAYS itself ended Captain Fantastic briefly continued in its own right.
In 1968, DNAYS won an international award, the Prix Jeunesse, in Munich.
Episodes
- Episodes produced by Rediffusion:
- The very first episode, an introductory special meant for Boxing Day 1967, was accidentally switched with the first regular episode in all regions except for London.
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- Thirteen regular c.25 minute episodes (in a 30 minutes slot) broadcast between 26 December 1967 to 28 March 1968, Thursdays at 17:25.
- Untitled special c.25 minutes broadcast 29 July 1968, Monday at 19:00.
- Episodes produced by Thames Television:
- "Do Not Adjust Your Stocking", 40 minutes broadcast 25 December 1968, Wednesday 16:10. For a 1986 repeat, David Jason demanded to be removed from the show, thus creating an abridged version of 25 minutes.
- Series two: 13 episodes of c.25 minutes broadcast between 19 February 1969 to 14 May 1969, Wednesdays at 17:20.
- In common with another important Monty Python predecessor, At Last the 1948 Show, many episodes were wiped. Unlike that programme, a large number of DNAYS episodes remain missing (as of April 2021).
