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YCDTOTV.com - The Official You Can't Do That On Television Source

"Whatever Turns You On"
(1979)

On March 18, 1979, halfway through the premiere season of You Can't Do That On Television, a network version of the series commenced production. This was a taped series titled Whatever Turns You On (WTYO) and it aired in a primetime slot in 1979 on CTV, a national Canadian television network of which CJOH was an affiliate.

WTYO was a fast-paced sketch comedy for youth hosted by Christine McGlade and linked together from the familiar YCDTOTV link set. Usually, one or two storylines would run throughout each episode, most often unfolding on the link set. WTYO had topics, opposite sketches and of course green slime, water, pies, etc. The program was done before a live studio audience, however, canned laughter later replaced the live audience. The series was shot at CJOH. Roger Price and Geoffrey Darby were the writers. Darby directed the series, while Price produced it.

WTYO featured the acting expertise of Ruth Buzzi, a player in early-1960s variety shows, and a prominent member of the Laugh-In cast. In WTYO, Buzzi played all of the adult female characters. These include Mom, Miss Fit (a teacher), Miss Take (Mr. Dime's southern talking secretary), Miss Inform (a very funny nurse), Lois (a female version of Barth) and the old lady at the theater (Christine McGlade recreated some of these characters for the 1981 season of YCDTOTV)..

Opposite Buzzi was Les Lye, from the YCDTOTV cast. A lot of Les's familiar adult male characters appeared in WTYO. These include Ross, Senator Prevert, Mr. Schidtler, the Principal, Nasti, Seth Pool, along with Mr. Dime (the president of the T.H.E. Television Network) and R. Sole (the producer).

All of the original, classic YCDTOTV kid cast members appeared in WTYO. These are Christine McGlade, Kevin Somers, Jono Gebert, Kevin Schenk, Lisa Ruddy and Rodney Helal. In fact, one can view the main cast of WTYO by playing the 1981-90 YCDTOTV opening animation in slow-motion. A portion of the animation comes from WTYO. During the segment in which the kids get off the school bus, the kids (in order) are WTYO-age: Kevin Somers, Kevin Schenk, Christine McGlade, Jono Gebert, and Marc Baillon. Most people do not realize that 1981-90 YCDTOTV used the format of WTYO and not the 1979 YCDTOTV format.

INFORMATION
CAST
Pilot
Christine attempts to do a take of her introduction when Kevin Somers and Jono burst through the picture.
Union Fees
It is announced that gang has been hired to work at the T.H.E. Television Network so the company can save money.
Fan Letters
Kevin Somers goes on the Make A Million game show ("The show that gives away a million dollars every week!"), and almost wins the money, but in a desperate act, Mr. Dime cancels the show before Kevin gets the chance to answer the question.
Drama Lessons
Just as Mr. Dime introduces the show, Seth Pool comes in, and announces that since he has pulled the studio plug, the "show (that Mr. Dime) hate(s) so much" can't go on the air.
Boss Helal
Just as Mr. Dime is about to cancel the show, he learns that Rodney Helal's uncle, the Chairman of the Board, has demoted Mr. Dime to the cleaning man (at Miss Take's suggestion), and makes Rodney the president of the network.
Superstitions
In a recurring dungeon scene, Nasti keeps tricking Jono into getting slimed.
Repeats
The gang confuses each other about whether or not this episode is a repeat.
Christmas
When the gang is banned from the network's Christmas party (due to the serving of liquor), the kids have their own reasons for wanting to get in, except Christine, who doesn't really care.
Lottery
Ross tricks Kevin Somers into buying two tickets for the network lottery -- the second of which was borrowed by Seth Pool to insulate the engineering room.
There is no information available about this episode.
Kevin Somers, Rock Star
When Mr. Dime looks for a rock star he can manipulate to make money, dumb and unsuspecting Kevin Somers gets the job, believing it is his ticket to fame, fortune and a solid gold Trans Am.