Sunday, June 4, 2023

When MTV meant something: MTV Top 20 Video Countdown (1984)

In 1984, MTV began to gradually reformat its schedule, adding a weekly countdown program as their answer to the syndicated America's Top 10 (and its radio parent, American Top 40).

The MTV Top 20 Video Countdown would premiere on Fridays at 8 pm (ET), with replays on Saturday afternoons & Sunday mornings. Mark Goodman served as the series host, though the other VJ's would fill in periodically when Goodman took some vacation time.

Unfortunately, as MTV's format changed for the worse, the countdown was discontinued, and the less said about that, the better. After Goodman departed in 1987, Adam Curry took over as host, with Daisy Fuentes and John Norris following. I think Norris might've been the last host when the series ended.

Anyway, we have a shell video from the opener, reportedly from March 1984, 2 1/2 years after MTV's launch. Network bumpers, and Goodman's intros, are included, but certain videos are not due to YouTube rules and copyright policies.


Rating: A-.

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