Do Not Adjust Your Set

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Image:DoNotAdjustYourSet-dvd.jpg Image:DoNotAdjustYourSetCast.jpg Image:Denise coffey.jpg

Do Not Adjust Your Set (DNAYS) was a children's 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. Although originally conceived as a children's programme, it quickly acquired a cult crossover following amongst many adults. Indeed quite a lot of material could be considered adultish. In aiming at a family audience it is similar to The Goodies.

This was an early appearance of many actors and comedians who later became famous, such as Denise Coffey and David Jason. Michael Palin, Terry Jones, and Eric Idle soon found themselves in superstardom after the three became members of the hugely successful Monty Python. The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band performed a song in each programme and Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band also appeared. The musicians frequently appeared as extras in sketches.

The programme comprised a series of sketches, often bizarre and surreal, frequently satirical with a disjointed style which was to become more famous in the subsequent and more daring Monty Python's Flying Circus which followed five months later. At least one DNAYS sketch was re-used in Monty Python. Strange animations between sketches were crafted by the then unknown Terry Gilliam in the final episodes, who also graduated to Python — part of his "Christmas cards" animation reappeared there, in the "Joy to the World" segment.

One long running feature of the show was Captain Fantastic, featuring a parody superhero (Jason) in improbable, even macabre adventures against villainess Mrs. Black (Coffey). The rather eerie foes bear comparison with those in The Avengers. These segments were shot entirely on film, on location in London.

In 1968 it won an international award, the Prix Jeunesse, in Munich.

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Episodes

Series
- Series one: 14 episodes of 30 minutes broadcast between 26 December 1967 to 28 March 1968, Thursdays at 5.25pm.
- Series two: 13 episodes of 30 minutes broadcast between 19 February 1969 to 14 May 1969, Wednesdays at 5.20pm.
Specials
- Untitled special of 30 minutes broadcast 29 July 1968, Monday at 7pm.
- "Do Not Adjust Your Stocking", 50 minutes broadcast 25 December 1968, Wednesday 4.10pm.

In common with another important Monty Python predecessor, At Last the 1948 Show, many episodes were wiped despite their importance to the history of British television comedy, and the surviving episodes are seldom repeated.

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DVD release

Nine of the fourteen episodes from the first (Rediffusion) series (presumably all that survive) were released on DVD in the UK and USA in August 2005. Both releases use the same NTSC Region 0 discs made from telerecordings of the original videotapes. The packaging claims that Gilliam's animations appear in these episodes, but they do not. The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band is seen playing its song "Death Cab for Cutie" (also performed in The Beatles' film Magical Mystery Tour) in the DVD, Episode 7. The indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie took its name from the song.