Coding a blog vs. just using what is there
After much feeling guilty about never finding the time to code my own blog (what was I thinking??) I have decided to just use what's available, and get going. This, therefore, is a welcoming post, a hello, a first of many. What will this blog be about? For me, it will be about memory: I will be writing down what I recall, and posting the photos that I took, and that I have and don't remember who took, of the behind the scenes that went into the making of You Can't Do That on Television. It's important to know that I'm Canadian, and we don't generally like to draw attention to ourselves (the ones of us that do usually move somewhere else where that's okay, like the U.S.) so it has indeed taken a while for me to decide that there may well be some people out there who may well find this interesting, and fun, and they might actually kind of like to see some of these pictures, and read about (to the best of my recall) what it was like to make this YCDTOTV.
I will likely then ramble on a little about where I see the media going today: TV, internet, and all the other myriad ways that things have changed into this new thing where we don't just sit around and watch TV anymore like we used to, which is good.
And, I am hoping that there will be questions and comment, and that those out there who are interested in chatting a little about their own recall of YCDTOTV, will talk to me.
More to come.
I will likely then ramble on a little about where I see the media going today: TV, internet, and all the other myriad ways that things have changed into this new thing where we don't just sit around and watch TV anymore like we used to, which is good.
And, I am hoping that there will be questions and comment, and that those out there who are interested in chatting a little about their own recall of YCDTOTV, will talk to me.
More to come.
Hi Christine. I received your invite and would like to thank you for extending the invite to me to your website. I guess to tell you a little of myself, I am going to be 35 years old in a few months i live in New york now by Buffalo for the past 4 years and prior to that i resided in Pennsylvania. I grew up living on the show obviously it was a huge part of my childhood.I often dreamed of what it would be liek to be on the set and get slimed, this was every kids dream at the time, well mine at least.so many episodes stick out to me, i remember you and another getting into a battle in front of adam and you rubbed jello all over his shirt and then she rubbed ice cream all ove rhim and then you gusy made up it was hillarious and poor adam was left a mess. then same episode you were introducing the beginnign to the oppsites sketch and lisa knew it and she put ice cream down your shirt and rubbed it in, the look on your face was priceless.i also remember alot of barths place, and the one that coems to mind is when he was asked to warm up the burgers cause they were cold and he stuck them under his armpits, truly hillarious. i will post more but dont want to hog all the space rigth now. im so glad to share memories with someone who was a huge part of my past.
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Good to see a new blog in the works. I look forward to see what you've been up to lately.
One thing I'm very interested in the whole issue of censorship. I've spoken a many who feel censorship on TV is much more lax today than in the past, yet I can't imagine the antics you got away with on YCDTOTV would ever slide on a network like Nickelodeon today.
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I strongly agree Clifton, todays censorship would not knwo what to do with this show now adays, especially the one episode when ross had one cast member and i forget who it was but he was dressed in all white and ross said you cant wear white on television and made him take his shirt off then his pants and he had his tighty whiteys on under that and he said c oem on they got to go too and he ran off stage saying oh no way ross. truly funny but do that show episode today and youd have a meltdown on oh how lude an act on a child and such. im so glad we lived in a time and grew up when restrictions were not so tight. glad we got to enjoy the comedy behind it and not the political correctness of today.perhaops we shoudl put america back into a time capsule and go back to a time when it wasnt so bad on the airwaves.
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Funny story that you may or may not know about: when we first produced the show as a local Ottawa, largely live, program, Dad was always drunk. When we sold the show to Nick, we had to have him surrounded by piles of pop cans. Am I saying it's okay to show alcoholic fathers as some kind of role model? Of course not-the point was, that ALL the adults in the show were complete idiots in some way, unsympathetic, gross, or just plain mean. I think this made the kids watching the show really feel like it was made for them, not for adults.
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Christine i have a question actually two. how did they approach you to do the show and how hard was it being a kid trying to do the show get your schooling and just enjoy being a kid at the time? did you hang out with the other cast members away from the set?
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The antics would never pass.
Political Correctness has run amok.
You know we can lose Political Correctness and have the "correct respect" too.
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You also worked on Turkey TV too, right?
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I did. Turkey TV was fun because I was also the assistant producer, and I learned alot about directing other kids (although-I wasn't really *ahem* a kid anymore by the time I did Turkey TV). I also got to do more characters...will try to dig up some pix.
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I've been trying to find episodes of Turkey TV online. It seems so few people remember that show.
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I really liked Turkey TV!! I hope that if they ever reach a deal and release YCDTOTV on DVD, that they would also release Turkey TV as well. You were great on both shows Christine!!
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Glad to see the blog! As for build vs. use, I am guilty of the same thing. I was going to build my own photo viewing page on my web site (that I have since taken down so that I can revamp it...that was over a year ago), and after lines and lines of code and a couple of different designs...I'm just gonna use Flickr.
Yours in laziness,
Slappy
P.S. Can't wait to see more of what you're doing in the field now in addition to the YCDTOTV memories.
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YCDTOTV will always be a great childhood memory for me, and it's a pleasure to have input into the evolution of ycdtotv.com over the last 10+ years with the site's creators. They call me the "old school info guru" since I was very much an authority on the earlier seasons.
I, unfortunately, did not have the ability to attend either of the Slimecon conventions in 2002 and 2004, but did get a chance to attend a private function in 2000 at Carole Hay's home in Ottawa and Les, Abby, Kevin Kubusheskie, Brodie, Lisa and Rodney were all there and it was actually quite surreal having a barbecue with the grown up versions of these kids I'd seen on TV for so many years. To say "Lisa, could you please pass the ketchup" felt strange to say the least. But everyone was very welcoming, if not a little concerned that these three people were able to quote scenes nearly 20 years old that they, themselves, had long forgotten. I even remember Lisa asking "Why are you doing this??" :-) Needless to say, it was one of the highlights of my life thusfar (is that bad?) :-)
Thank you for being able to share your memories with us. In a way, you were a Nickelodeon icon for a good part of the early 80's, as well as an icon for a log of 80's grade school kids. If it weren't for the success of the shows in the early years (Pinwheel, YCDTOTV, Mr. Wizard and Double Dare would be the most influential in my opinion), Nick would have never evolved into what it is today. They have you to thank for that!
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I remember watching ycdtotv as a great time, and moose as being my favorite character, am hoping that there is some address that I may write to with a SASE to get an autographed picture. Either way keep up the great work, have fun and stay cool, always..
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The thing about YCDTOT is that it's pretty much a kid show done from the kids' perspective.Very cartoonish things always seemed to happen.
The "Ready,Aim,Fire" sequences were hilarious.A High School Teacher pointed out to me that no one ever really got shot...well except for the Comandant.But that is the kids' point of view.Tricking the adults.
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YCDTOTV was a huge influence to me as a child growing up. It made me want to go into media and TV as a career and made me appreciate subtle, tongue-in-cheek type humor, which is why today I feel I would rather watch "The Office" or "Arrested Development" than "According To Jim". YCDTOTV was alot smarter and more clever than any critic would ever give it credit for. And it didn't pander to its core audience, which cannot be said for alot of today's children's programming. Christine you and the rest of the cast should be proud of the fact that not only did you give millions of kids happiness throughout their childhoods (I know you did mine) but that you did it in an intelligent, thought provoking way. Oh, and by the way, I do work in TV today, in local public access.
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Hey Cristine, thank you for writing me back.
Here's a question,..." How did you get the nick name "Moose"?
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>It's important to know that I'm
>Canadian, and we don't generally like
>to draw attention to ourselves
My sweetie is from British Columbia. I'm from Texas. Night and Day. ::laugh::
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Christine, it's great to see the blog finally up and running! Looking forward to hearing about your memories of working on the show.
What I can remember about the show was that my parents never had cable TV, so I was always going to a friend's house to watch the show. I'll also admit that, when I did housesitting for the neighbors and went over to water the lawn, I'd sit down in their living room and watch the show while the lawn was being watered. :D
I think the best part of being a YCDTOTV fan was I got the privilege to be on the writing team for the "You Still Can't" DVD project. It was a lot of fun and I got a little insight into what it's like to write a TV show script.
Thanks again for your willingness to share your memories of your time on the show.
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You said 'water' ... (splash)
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Bob-was this DVD project the same as Project 131 that was shot during Slimecon 2004?
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Actually, You Still Can't was a fan-created tribute to the show, and I was part of the writing staff as well. The coolest aspect of this project that it was animated, done in anime-style (big eyes, anyone?). Here's the link: www.1111productions.net/ysc
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Oops, I see the DVD's no longer available. Tell you what though--I'd be willing to part with my copy for you! Email me back if need be :)
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wow! I didn't even know this existed and the artwork is incredible! The credits read like a who's who of slimecon, I think Patte Rosebank even lives in Toronto and emailed me lots of pix of my daughter she took at the con!
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I do indeed live in Toronto, Christine!
Slimecon feels like it was a million years ago. Looking at the video of it, I look like a different person---one who's about 60 lbs. bigger than I am now. Gotta love those big salads and 2-mile walks!
I just did a show called "Diva Oz Vegas" (this year's fundraiser for Casey House), & there are clips on YouTube (search for "DQ07"). I'm in one of the thumbnails that pops up---look for the red hair and the shiny green metallic tailcoat (which I designed and made myself)!
And if your little ones watch "Mighty Machines", you can hear me in all but one of the new (2004-ish) episodes. It's so sweet and strangely mesmerizing, even for adults to watch. But you wouldn't believe some of the outtakes! Let's hope they never, ever escape!
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Way cool! Kenny Lynn is kawaii! And the teacher dude actually looks a lot like I'd imagine Ross would look like in anime style. And the updated version of the theme music is also very cool.
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Christine, it's so hard to believe it's been over 28years since YCDTOTV was first shown.
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OUCH!!! 28 years ago....This coming from a guy that's going to his 25th class reunion in '08....LOL I don't feel 42....
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Hi Christine,
Just wanted to drop a line and say that I too had a bit of a crush on you when I watched the show in the 80's. As a guy who really had no friends & also suffered from being picked on, I kind of felt like, when I saw you on the screen, you were talking just to me. I hope you can do more podcasts and look forward to hearing about your career during and after the show.
Shawn Dow,
Moncton, NB
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yo! I loved your show as a kid and had the BIGGEST crush on you, (so did my wife) what r u upto now days? Pics?
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T.V. ain't what it used to be.
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Good to see you online lately--I've been lurking around your site and blog (and the ycdtotv.com site) for several months now and thought I'd drop in. I grew up on "You Can't" and "Turkey TV" from about '83-'84 (maybe earlier), and it's good to see you and your colleagues are doing well.
Anyway, not sure if I was exactly the first to tell the ycdtotv.com webmaster about your website, but I *did* remove the "antlers" thing on Wikipedia for you. ;)
Sorry about the blogging problems; hope you get them straightened out soon. :)
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I remember you when I was a young boy and I know them quite well.
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Christine,
I loved the show when I was a kid and still think it was great...Les Lye; what a great actor. And you, Lisa, Kevin, Alasdair...you guys were the best! When can I expect a DVD of The Best of YCDTOTV?
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I loved watching the show all those years ago on Nickelodeon! The show was hilarious! Christine, you were really cute! :)
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your article is so informative and interesting. nice shared.
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