Video Village

Personnel

Jack Narz hosted as the Mayor from the premiere until September 9, 1960, leaving for personal reasons. Red Rowe filled in for the week of September 16, including the final nighttime episode.

Monty Hall then hosted for the remainder of the run. Kenny Williams served as the town crier announcer throughout. Joanne Copeland was the original hostess in New York City; after the move to Hollywood, Eileen Barton replaced her.

Rules

Two contestants acted as tokens on a board with three streets: Money Street, Bridge Street, and Magic Mile. A partner rolled a large six-sided die in a chuck-a-luck, with the result called by announcer Williams; after the move to California, an electric randomizer replaced the die. Landing on an opponent's space allowed either an extra turn or sending the opponent back to the start of that street. Notable squares included Money squares awarding $5 to $20; Bus Stop, Do It Yourself, and Take a Chance spaces requiring card draws; Jail, where contestants predicted even or odd rolls to escape; Ask the Council, where the audience judged answers; Finders Keepers, awarding a prize linked to a joke item; five themed Shops on Magic Mile; a Safety Zone protecting from penalties; 1-2-3 Go, where players stayed until rolling 1, 2, or 3; and Exchange Places, forcing a trade of positions. The first to land exactly on a Finish space won the game and returned for the next game, keeping all cash and prizes.

Spin-offs

A spin-off, Video Village Junior (also called Kideo Village), aired Saturday mornings from September 30, 1961, to June 16, 1962, with children as contestants and a parent as their partner. Two years after Village ended, the Saturday-morning show Shenanigans aired on ABC in 1964 and 1965, also produced by Heatter-Quigley, with Stubby Kaye hosting and Kenny Williams as Kenny the Cop. A board game based on the show was made by Milton-Bradley.

Foreign versions

An Australian version based on Video Village Junior ran from 1962 to 1966, produced by Crawford Productions for HSV-7, hosted by Danny Webb with Elizabeth Harris and Chris Christensen (later Vic Gordon). Each episode ended with children singing. A similar concept appeared in the Canadian show The Mad Dash on CTV from 1978 to 1985. Italian and Spanish game shows imitating the game of the goose also used similar ideas.

Did You Know?

• Jack Narz was introduced on-air as "the Mayor" and Kenny Williams as the "town crier."
• Four episodes are known to survive: the second nighttime episode, an episode guest-hosted by Rowe (also the final nighttime show), the 500th daytime episode, and the third-to-last episode of Video Village Junior.
• When Monty Hall became host, a golf cart-like vehicle called the "Village Bus" was added, and hostess Eileen Barton and Hall would sing "The Village Bus Song."