Do Not Adjust Your Set

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Do Not Adjust Your Set
Starring	Denise Coffey Eric Idle David Jason Terry Jones Michael Palin Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	29
Production
Executive producers	Humphrey Barclay (series 1) Ian Davidson (series 2)
Producers	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 (1967-12-26) – 14 May 1969 (1969-05-14)
Chronology
Related shows	At Last the 1948 Show (1967)

Do Not Adjust Your Set (DNAYS) is 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 helped launch the careers of Denise Coffey, David Jason, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin; the last three became members of the Monty Python comedy troupe soon afterward. Although originally conceived as a children's programme, it quickly acquired a fandom amongst adults,^[1] including future Python members John Cleese and Graham Chapman.

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, a satirical comedy/art/pop group, also performed songs in each programme and frequently appeared as extras in sketches. The programme itself comprised a series of satirical sketches, often presented in a surreal, absurd and discontinuous style – anticipating Monty Python's Flying Circus, which began five months after the last episode of DNAYS. Strange animations between sketches were crafted for the final episodes by 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 recurring feature of the show was Captain Fantastic, a superhero parody featuring David Jason in farcical and morbid adventures against villainess Mrs. Black (Coffey). These segments were shot entirely 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 capacity.

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.
  • Thirteen regular c. 25-minute episodes (in a 30-minute 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 December 2021).

DVD release[]

Nine of the 14 episodes from the first (Rediffusion) series were released on DVD in the UK and the US in August 2005. Both releases use the same NTSC Region 0 discs made from telerecordings of the original videotapes. In this DVD release, the episodes are numbered 1 to 9, although, in fact, they are episodes 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 from series 1 (a similar fault was made on the release of At Last the 1948 Show). The sole surviving episode from series 2 and Do Not Adjust Your Stocking were not included.^[2] Contrary to claims on the packaging, Terry Gilliam's animations also do not appear on this release, although Gilliam does appear as one of the additional writers in the credits for episodes 3 and 4. The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band are seen playing their song "Death Cab for Cutie" (also performed in the Beatles' film Magical Mystery Tour) on the DVD in episode 7.

On 16 September 2019, the British Film Institute released a comprehensive DVD set of the surviving videos and animations from both series.^[3] It includes the previously missing fourth episode of the first series, which was rediscovered (but only after the earlier DVD release) when it was noticed that a copy had been sent to the jury of the Prix de Jeunesse award.^[4] The video of this surviving episode was a semi-professional videotape copy made in the Thames era, and is thus the only series 1 episode with magnetic rather than optical sound quality. The BFI release features episodes with their original numbering. They include the Christmas special and some Terry Gilliam animations (restored from his own masters) that appeared in otherwise lost episodes.

References[]

• Currie, Tony (2004). A Concise History of British Television 1930–2000. Kelly Publications. p. 64. ISBN 1-903053-17-X.
• Wilmut, Roger (1980). From Fringe to Flying Circus: Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy, 1960–1980. Eyre Methuen. p. 183.

External links[]

• British Film Institute Screen Online
• A Review of DNAYS!
• Do Not Adjust Your Set at IMDb