View Full Version : Why Don't You
I remember watching Why Don't You during the school holidays.
The thing I couldn't understand then was (and still can't understand now is) that it was a tv programme made to encourage kids like me to quote:
"Just switch off your television set and go out and do something less boring instead."
A tv programme telling you to stop watching tv hmmmm :confused:
Anyone else???
dondons69
08-08-2006, 16:06
I remember watching why don't you i loved it
never heard of it, I must have switched off ;)
I loved it... I always wanted to make stuff. And the recipes were brilliant....I LOVED IT!
I thought it was boring. The only bit I liked was the opening title sequence.
dondons69
09-08-2006, 09:07
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/titles/whydontyou.shtml
Kids today could do with something like it - there seems to be nowt ( over here anyway ) for the under-18s other than tv/video games.
I know I sound 90 yrs old but hey...
dondons69
09-08-2006, 16:33
me and hubby had this discussion when talking about bringing lily up we said we don't want her stuck at a computer or in front of tv we want her doing stuff, entertaining herself like we did as kids
Good for you Dons, I made sure that John jnr got up to all the pranks I did, taught him to play conkers and make catapults, things like that (as well as playing football and cricket) When we moved from London to Suffolk it was like going back in time, all of a sudden it was safe to let Amelia out on her bike, she never came in during the summer. Just like me!!
i remembr why dont you80s summer holidays :D
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/titles/whydontyou.shtml
Thanks, but that's not the original title sequence. I'm talking about the one that had the song that went "Why don't you just switch off your television set and go out and do something less boring instead?"
Which I usually did when "Why Don't You?" came on.
dondons69
10-08-2006, 16:49
yes it is didn't you listen to the song? it said just switch off your tv set and do something less boring instead - dunno what you heard it say??!!
That version goes "Why don't you switch off your TV set and do something less boring instead?", but the original was slightly longer because it went "Why don't you just switch off your television set and go and do something less boring instead?". The tune was different and so was the animation, (the telly character looked different). I think it also involved someone in an armchair kicking their foot through a television screen. That might partly explain why they changed it.
Actually, I didn't really see much of the episodes after the theme tune altered, so the programme might have been better at that time, compared to when I was watching it a few years previously.
I've just found some pictures from it here :
http://www.tvradiobits.co.uk/eightieszone/eighties8.htm
Original theme tune :
http://tv.cream.org/specialassignments/themes/whydontyou.mp3
Would I be correct in thinking, that the later version of Why Don't You, turned into a Drama series? Involving aliens and monsters?
harlequinn
16-08-2006, 00:23
I loved 'Why don't you' and we also used to query why they asked us to turn off the tv set and go do something less boring instead of watching them.
It was a great programme. I wish they would bring it back :(
(just listened to the theme tune LOL!! great stuff!)
moonvisage
22-05-2011, 22:24
Does anybody remmeber watching: Why Don't You Just Switch Off Your Television Set and Go Out And Do Something Less Boring Instead?
The odd clip has managed to find it's way on to youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcGCGS2Ow30
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7Bb1ORnr9k
Here's an adult version of Why Don't You...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae-NlJVCIjM
Ironically when this came on I used to switch the TV off and go out and play. I have no idea what it's about because it bored me rigid.
FLYING SAUCER
23-05-2011, 01:37
OK - Why Dont You........ I have mentioned something on here before about this, but, I remember the Why Dont You series starting with a dalmation dog running in front of a load of kids accompanied by some sort of pop song? rather scottish in influence?
I loved the parts 1 and 2 from 1973, but my memory may be from 1974 - the one with the Pastry and boiled sweet Stained Glass Window? It was made on a baking sheet and I thought it was pure magic (teeth rotting) but summer holiday entertainment!
Marine Boy
23-05-2011, 03:01
I was quite a fan of this show :)
There is a thread about it here: Moderators note..now merged
it had 42 series.
it ran from 20 August 1973 to 21 April 1995.
episodes where 25 mins long.
it was first shown on bbc 1.
a great show it was.
i watched it till it was finished very sad indeed.
i watched from around 78 till it ended.
Richard1978
24-05-2011, 12:49
someone I sort of knew at school was in one of the last gangs.
I didn't realise it lasted until 1995, I can last remember seeing it in 1993.
Trickyvee
24-05-2011, 17:41
I watched WDY and liked it but I can't really remember what was on it. All I remember is kids with their own name tags and it having a set like a gloomy old warehouse. I think I was preoccupied with wanting to be on it rather than its content, although I never looked into how to apply.
moonvisage
24-05-2011, 20:55
I remember it mostly from about 1977,when it had a great fun catchy '' Why Don't You '' theme song.That is the series i want to see posted on youtube.
moonvisage
24-05-2011, 21:17
I've just found the theme song i was looking for,from a link posted by Claudine Jones in the Likely Lads Thread.
http://www.televisiontunes.com/Why_Dont_You.html
I too remember the opening title sequence more than the actual show. I remember the sun beaming in the window, the beginning of this show and the feeling of having no school for weeks and weeks.
It was a great programe though1 A real good watch!
it had 42 series.
it ran from 20 August 1973 to 21 April 1995.
episodes where 25 mins long.
it was first shown on bbc 1.
a great show it was.
i watched it till it was finished very sad indeed.
i watched from around 78 till it ended.
Gosh, I never knew it ran for so long! Amazing!
Gosh, I never knew it ran for so long! Amazing!
yes weven i was shocked it ran for this long when i did a bit of research on it.
it shows just how popular it was to haVE RAN SO Long.
battyrat
21-03-2012, 19:03
I remember some of the earlier ones,but mostly the programs with the more up beat catchy tune from the 70's.There was a lad that used to like castles,and another kid used to dig for antique bottles on one of the programs.I loved the show and used to watch it regularly.It must seem funny now but the show really did in part inspire many children when I was growing up to try new things out.After all tv was limited back then and without computer games there was more time to mess around on the streets with the lads.
I thought the show finished way back in the late 70's or early 80's.I am very surprised to see it ran into the 90's.
This always seemed to be on during school holidays when there seemed to be an endless stream of kids showing off their collections of shells or pencil erasers. I used to like the little skits with puppets made from flip flops or rubber balls. Also I remember one series (maybe it was more) when saying the word 'Doris' was bad and the kids would all faint or run screaming at the mention of the 'D' word. Our next door neightbour was actually called Doris so we got a lot of mileage out of that. =)
battyrat
28-03-2012, 08:43
Thats where it came from.I remarked about my neices socks the other week by saying they were Doris proof socks.I got a strange look from my much younger sister.
The Doris or something to that effect was a long furry critter that used to shoot around the studio.The only defence was the Doris proof socks which if I remember rightly were very bright and colourful stripey things.
Strange memory,isolated from where it came from until now.I think it was part of the mid 70's programs maybe a little later.
moonvisage
28-03-2012, 14:51
At last! I managed to find somebody who has uploaded the 1970's theme tune with the cartoons.:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRUhjFF5a6Y
I can still remember those hand puppets from the box and the cartoon telly getting pushed off.I'm sure i remember watching this episode,because of the wobbly nose drawings.
Don't Forget ...
Why Don't You ...
BBC TV
Bristol BS8 2LR
great to see and hear this.
thanks M.V.
THIS MUST HAVE BEE AROUND 81 to 82 as its season ten.
who is the girl in this pic.
i assume she was a presenter on it.
At last! I managed to find somebody who has uploaded the 1970's theme tune with the cartoons.:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRUhjFF5a6Y
I can still remember those hand puppets from the box and the cartoon telly getting pushed off.I'm sure i remember watching this episode,because of the wobbly nose drawings.
Don't Forget ...
Why Don't You ...
BBC TV
Bristol BS8 2LR
xxneilxx
28-03-2012, 22:58
when i used to watch it in the 70s/80s, i remember each week it was a different group of kids in a different city. I rememeber Bristol and the London kids as that was my region :). Happy days ...
Marine Boy
28-03-2012, 23:19
My biggest surprise, looking at the clips, was the running time of the show. Are the YT clips edited? I always thought that WDY was about 20 or 25 minutes long...
id be shocked if hey where edited mate as its a kids show.
yeah i cecked the show lasted 25 mins er episode.[
My biggest surprise, looking at the clips, was the running time of the show. Are the YT clips edited? I always thought that WDY was about 20 or 25 minutes long...
Whatever happened to that loon who played 'Ben' in it - the weird scientist kid who'd end up making something like a computer that becomes so advanced it became threatening to humanity...etc, etc, they used to have those small side stories that would run with the show...
Richard1978
29-03-2012, 12:55
I remember Ben, he was part of the Cardiff gang but seemed to turn up with other gangs in Newcastle & Liverpool.
The music that I remember was played on a yazoo or comb & tracing paper.
The postcode sticks in my mind aswell BS8 2LR.
moonvisage
29-03-2012, 19:09
great to see and hear this.
thanks M.V.
THIS MUST HAVE BEE AROUND 81 to 82 as its season ten.
who is the girl in this pic.
i assume she was a presenter on it.
Far from it.This episode is from 1979.
Far from it.This episode is from 1979.
cheers mate.
from what i can see there where more series than yrs
in other words it seems thee more than one season per year.
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