Quigley's Village

Quigley's Village was a long-running collection of Christian children's videos designed to teach children "sound Biblical values" in a fun and exciting way. A combination of live action and puppets, it was very similar in style to Sesame Street but with a biblically-based rather than humanistic approach to communicating values.

Executive Producer Ed Carlstone first conceived of the idea of Quigley's Village when his three-year-old child told a lie. With many episodes translated into Spanish, and a spin-off series (The Simply Grand Quigley Band), Quigley's Village has been seen by millions of children worldwide.

Main characters

• Mr. Quigley (played by pastor Richard Carlson, also a writer, composer, producer) - The host of Quigley's Village and the person all the puppets look up to and try to emulate. He appears to represent what God wants humans to be. Although no human is realistically perfect, Quigley seems to be. When the other villagers make mistakes, he leads them to a solution, quoting scripture and using common sense to deal with the puppets' problems. He is a gentle man, with a smile on his face at all times.
• Dexter (Robert Auger) - The village's resident handy-man. He is one of the few humans to be featured on the program. Dexter is very helpful, but a little more naive than Mr. Quigley. He is also younger.
• Bubba (puppeteer Paul Lessard) - An orangutan and the main puppet character. He has a very nasal, high-pitched voice. Although Bubba struggles with fear and lying, he tries to come to terms with his sins in a Christlike way. Bubba is arguably the most popular character during the series nearly 12-year run, probably because he comes across as the most human. His struggles with realistic problems that children and even adults can identify with, push him front and centre as the star. His fun loving personality and constant good cheer, earn him a place in the village as a constant good friend.
• Danny (puppeteer Jim Black) - A young African lion who is, of all the villagers, the biggest joker. He is also Lemon's older brother. Danny's playful personality is balanced with his love of doing what's right. His and Lemon's differing personalities offered several advantages in plot formation throughout the series long run.
• Lemon (puppeteer Debra Auger) - A bright, yellow lioness. She is the youngest member of the village (besides possibly Trundle). Danny is her older brother. Lemon embodies the innocence of Quigley's Village. Her constant companion is Mrs. Toddy, a doll.
• Spike (puppeteer Robert Auger) - A porcupine with purple hair and a grey body. She is kind of rough on the outside with a tough New York accent, and spikes, but in the end the other villagers love her dearly. It is argued in some circles that Spike embodies the tough outcast, who has been judged by others as being tough or mean. The villagers on the other hand accept Spike despite her different background. In one episode, she enters the town talent show, claiming she is going to be a star. She is entering to do tap dancing and is basing her act on seeing it on television before. When she finally gets on stage, never having practiced, she bombs.
• Trundle (puppeteer Jim Black) - A toucan, who loves to eat and sleep, sometimes to his own disadvantage. He lives on Mr. Quigley's porch in a cage covered by a blanket, but despite this, Quigley treats him very well. Quigley generally snatches the blanket off in the morning, to which Trundle gives a friendly, albeit tired, "Oh, hello Mr. Quigley."
• Molly (Debra Auger) - The village mailman. She has a nonthreatening personality and delivers the mail every morning. Generally, in the first scene, Molly delivers the mail to Mr. Quigley who comments on what the audience will be learning that day. Molly always wears a safari hat, which to some implies that, due to the many different animals in the village, every episode is like a safari.

Minor characters

• Alex (puppeteer Paul Lessard, named after the character Michael J Fox played on Family Ties) - A brown fox who speaks with a Southern accent. Very few episodes feature him.
• Milty (puppeteer Richard Carlson and named after a former president of the Evangelical Covenant Church, Reverend Milton B. Engebretson) - A moose who has a very small role throughout the series run. Although he appears in the opening credits, he appears in a limited number of episodes. One plausible explanation for his limited role, was that he was voiced by Rick Carlson, who also plays Mr. Quigley. Logically, any scene Mr. Quigley is in, would make it nearly impossibly for him to voice Milty at the same time. Although, it would take the ventriloquist skills of a puppeteering giant and years of hard work and dedication and some spectacular feats of vocal acrobats, It would be possible for Rick Carlson to do both at once.
• Doctor Caremore - A young, black woman, who takes care of the villagers when they are hurt. She is very gentle and always knows how to help the villagers when they are hurt. However, she is seen in few episodes. She introduces Spike at the village talent show.
• Doc 2 (Paul Lessard) - An old man who is sometimes seen outside of his office helping solve problems for the villagers. He is the doctor for the first 7 episodes.
• Schnaz - Although never directly spoken to, the elephant trunk is seen many times, and even during the theme song. In a phenomenon like Wilson (Home Improvement), he/she is never seen completely. The trunk, while very animated is limited in its movement and possibilities, is the only part seen during the series run, similar to Fluffy the elephant owned by Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street. A hand can sometimes be seen operating Schnaz, mainly in the opening intro.

VHS Series

Distributed by Strand V.C.I Entertainment from 1987 to 1992

Other episodes

• Thankfulness

Lemon learns the importance of thankfulness when her doll is swept away during a windy day of kite flying. The gang tries to find Mrs. Toddy without success until she is found on top of a flag pole and only Bubba can save the day! Lemon learns how to be thankful to others, and Bubba learns to be thankful to God for making him just the way he is.

• Contentment

It's a rainy day in the Village and everyone is staying inside. Mr. Quigley and Trundle visit the children with their Rainy Day box full of fun activities to chase away the boredom. Molly and Dexter also come up with a way of staying dry and having fun as they wait for the storm to pass.

• Aerobics

Designed by nationally certified aerobics instructor, Cheryl Merrill, this video lets you and your child have fun together while shaping you up with a light aerobic workout. Your child will love exercising to the joyful music of the popular children's video series, Quigley's Village. And by using imaginative movements, like "building the treehouse" and "marching in the band," your child will get the exercise he needs, while having fun to wholesome music.

Creators

• Executive Producer - Ed Carlstone
• Director - Jim Maguire
• Writers - music and scripts all created. performed and recorded by Robert Auger, Deb Auger, Jim Black, Rick Carlson, Paul Lessard

External links

• Quigley's Village Online Store