Whatever Turns You On
Season 1
The success of a local Saturday-morning TV show titled "You Can't Do That On Television"--which only aired in Ottawa on CJOH-TV in early 1979 and had a cast of kids acting in comedy skits and adult actor Les Lye playing the adult roles--prompted creators Roger Price and Geoffrey Darby to air a prime-time TV series shown all across Canada. First a pilot episode aired on Saturday morning, May 12, 1979 with Ruth Buzzi as the female adult roles and Vancouver rock band Trooper as the musical guest. The pilot was successful, so in the fall starting on September 18, 1979 the series aired every Tuesday night at 7:30 on CTV as 16 episodes were purchased. The skits had certain topics like Union Fees, Fan Letters/Summer Camp, Superstitions, and Educational Programming, and like its sister show it was about kids being kids. There were also musical guests like Ian Thomas, Max Webster, Cooper Brothers, and Alma Faye. Because the series appealed to kids 11 and under, it was an odd combination, as kids couldn't related to rock bands and didn't know who Ruth Buzzi was. Also, a prime-time slot wasn't right for such a series. After the 12th episode in December 1979, the series was canceled, but its sister show You Can't Do That On Television re-aired in early 1981 on Saturday mornings nationwide, using some of the characters fresh off the other series. "Whatever Turns You On- reruns aired when Canadian station YTV was created in 1988, but it only aired for one season.
Where to Watch Whatever Turns You On • Season 1
15 Episodes
- PilotE1
PilotIn this re-boot of "You Can't Do That on Television", Christine, to prove Ross wrong when he insists kids can't make a prime-time TV show, keeps attempting to tape the intro, but gets interrupted each time. Meanwhile, auditions are held to find additional kids to be on the show. Jono and Kevin fight over it, as the show only needs one fourteen-year-old boy. A mother (Ruth Buzzi) pushes her reluctant, spoiled son, Kevin Schenk III, into auditioning over and over again. Marc tries to get a date with Moose (Christine). - SuperstitionsE6
SuperstitionsRoss, in a scam to make money, sells a "lucky" rabbits foot to Kevin, who tricks Rodney into buying it for one dollar. Rodney and Jono then sell it back to Kevin, after making him believe it is lucky. Meanwhile, Lisa keeps trying to get Rodney slimed. This always results in her getting it instead. - Kevin Somers, Rock StarE13
Kevin Somers, Rock StarChristine gives Lisa advice on how to woo Rodney. Meanwhile, Kevin is hired by Mr. Dime to be a rock star and wants to play a song on the show. Due to Whatever Turns You On's budget, they can't afford to pay him extra money for this, so he has to sing for free.