''Do Something Different'' is a show produced and broadcast by

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

. It was hosted by music duo

Sam and Mark Sam Nixon and Mark Rhodes, known collectively as Sam & Mark, or simply Smark, are an English popular music and television presenting duo. They previously competed on the second series of ''Pop Idol'' in 2003, where they finished third and s ...

. The show aims to get one million children to try out new things; literally to "do something different", also referred in the programme as 'DSD-ing'. A child who completes a DSD is referred to as a 'DSDer'.

Premise

The idea of the show is to get one million children to do something that they haven't previously tried, by the end of summer 2007. It doesn't matter what activity the viewer chooses to do, as long as it is something 'different' from their normal pastimes and activities. Ideas suggested by the presenters have been incredibly diverse and have included cooking a

Spanish Omelette Spanish omelette or Spanish tortilla is a traditional dish from Spain. Celebrated as a national dish by Spaniards, it is an essential part of the Spanish cuisine. It is an omelette made with eggs and potatoes, optionally including onion. It is o ...

, learning to DJ, taking up a new

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

, learning the

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

, and (somewhat tongue-in cheek) the suggestion to "cross breed some

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

s and

puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...

s" to make ' luffins'.

Channel and timeslot

The 'first run' of the series was transmitted during the UK schools' Easter holidays on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

, as well as on the

CBBC Channel CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 7– ...

. This initial run comprised ten 45 minute episodes. Each episode was first shown at 8 a.m. on BBC Two, with a different episode being shown for each of the ten weekdays of the Easter holidays. The 'second run' of the show began transmission during the UK schools' summer holidays, in the same timeslot. Although it started one week earlier in the time slot 7:15am–8:00am on BBC TWO

Format

Each of the Easter and Summer shows contained different 'strands' - *DSD Challenge *My DSD – A different person every time telling you about the hobby they do and how to do it and where you can do it and when you can do it. *Sam Challenge / Mark Challenge *Boys vs Girls *Links Each episode was recorded in a different location within the UK. In the links presenters Sam and Mark would try out a DSD, such as swimming with

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimo ...

s, trying out the infamous '

cola Cola is a carbonated soft drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, citrus oils and other flavorings. Cola became popular worldwide after the American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, a trademarked brand, in 1886, which was imita ...

and

mentos Mentos are a brand of packaged scotch mints or mint flavored candies sold in stores and vending machines. First produced in 1932, they are currently sold in more than 130 countries worldwide by the Italian-Dutch corporation Perfetti Van Melle. T ...

' experiment,

pigeon racing Pigeon racing is the sport of releasing specially trained homing pigeons, which then return to their homes over a carefully measured distance. The time it takes the animal to cover the specified distance is measured and the bird's rate of travel ...

or racing cars at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

. The DSD Challenges were 18 minute films, divided into three sections. All three parts to a challenge were shown within one episode of the programme. The films followed the journey of a different viewer each episode, who had been challenged to do a specific DSD activity – for example, one child who was a hip-hop street dancer learned to be a ballroom dancer, and took part in a national competition. Some of the children used in the Easter shows were previously 'gamers' on the shows predecessor, Level Up. The Sam and Mark Challenge films were similar to the DSD challenges, but they followed the progress of the two presenters being challenged to DSD. These had five parts, with one part from one of the challenges being shown in each episode of the programme. Sam's challenge was to train to become a

stuntman A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

in the US, and take part in a stunt-show. Mark's challenge was to learn hip-hop dancing, and take part in a one on one battle at th
UK Hip Hop Dance Championships
The Boys vs Girls segments of the show were presented by Ayesha. In these segments, a group of three boys and a group of three girls would learn a new activity. They would receive training in this activity from a child mentor who had excelled in that field. The activities included

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

, indoor

skydiving Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

and playing the

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in the ...

. Once they had received training, the boys and girls would compete against each other. After each team had a go at the activity, the mentor judged which group performed better. A different group of children was featured for each episode. Overall, the girls won during the Easter run, beating the boys 6–4.

Website

The show is heavily dependent upon the website which accompanies the series. The website is divided into a number of sections, including 'How you can DSD', 'Pledge a DSD', and 'Ayesha's Stats'. In the 'Plegde a DSD' section, viewers can suggest 'DSDs' for users to try out, and pledge to do the suggestions. Once a DSD has been pledged, the user can then mark it as completed, once they have tried the activity. Each child who registers on the website adds to the growing total, with the ultimate goal of reaching one million DSDs. The 'Ayesha's Stats' area contains statistics such as the number of DSDs that have been completed, the regions of the UK that have the most DSDers, the most pledged and most popular DSDs.

External links

* {{BBC programme
Do Something Different website – BBC – Web ArchiveDo Something Different website – CBBC – Web ArchiveDo Something Different episode guide – BBC
BBC children's television shows 2007 British television series debuts 2007 British television series endings