Hey Hey It's Saturday: The board game!

Hey, hey! With this board game, released in the 1990s and based on the hit variety show, every day could be Saturday. It allowed viewers to re-create the manic energy, comedy sketches and musical performances of popular TV segments like ‘Red Faces’, ‘Spot the Talent’ and ‘Phunny Foto’ at home. Without the benefit of hosts Daryl Somers and the flamboyantly pink puppet Ossie Ostrich, this traditional roll-and-move dice game relied on players' willingness to bring the zaniness and laughs. The straightforward game mechanics were no match for the chaotic charm of the original show. It was part of a trend in the 1980s and '90s for commercial TV networks to cash in on their highest-rating shows by releasing board game adaptations. While this game is a marker of Hey Hey's long-running appeal, it came towards the end of the show's reign. 

Hey Hey It’s Saturday first aired in October 1971 as a children’s show with skits and cartoons. By 1984, it had transformed into a two-hour variety show in the prime Saturday evening spot. The show's high-profile guests and wild segments entertained audiences for 28 years before its cancellation in 1999. A brief revival in 2010 saw the airing of 20 episodes, marking the end of an era as it was the final show filmed at GTV9's historic Studio 9 before its closure.