Do Not Adjust Your Set

'Do Not Adjust Your Set' (subtitled 'The Fairly Pointless Show') is a vitally important series in the evolution of British comedy. Very funny in its own right, 'DNAYS' directly led to the teaming of the writer/performers who would go on to create 'Monty Python'. There were 28 half-hour editions of 'Do Not Adjust Your Set', plus a 50-minute special airing on Christmas Day 1968, titled 'Do Not Adjust Your Stocking'.

Produced by Humphrey Barclay and Ian Davidson for Rediffusion TV, 'DNAYS' teamed future Pythons Palin, Idle and Jones ... plus Idle's musical discovery the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, who performed bizarre comedy songs and surrealistic cover versions of old standards.

The running feature on 'DNAYS' was a mock adventure serial starring David Jason as Captain Fantastic, in pursuit of his archnemesis the evil Mrs Black (played by the attractive Denise Coffey). These segments were splendidly directed by Daphne Shadwell, in a separate production unit from the rest of the series. The weekly Captain Fantastic segment became so popular, it was eventually spun off into a regular segment on the Thames TV series 'Magpie'. Although David Jason is unknown in the USA, he has starred in several long-running and extremely popular comedy series in England. More than any of the Pythons-to-be, David Jason was the most popular cast member in 'DNAYS'.

The last four programmes in this series featured the distinctive cut-out animation of Terry Gilliam. Five months after 'DNAYS' aired its last episode, "Monty Python's Flying Circus" premiered ... and the rest is history.