From 80s Soaps to the Big Screen and Beyond
By Julie Anderson Daytime soap operas in the 1980s were nothing but awesome. Vicious catfights, bouts of amnesia, surprise twins, alien abductions, murder plots, fainting spells, and, of course, those rad 80s fashions TOTALLY rocked our worlds. I was an All My Children fan (Cliff and Nina, Erica and Jeremy, and Greg and Jenny, you’re forever in my heart) but my best friend was into Days of Our Lives, and we both liked General...
The Facts of Life
By Julie Anderson “The Facts of Life” aired on NBC from 1979-1988, and oh, how I loved it! How could you watch it and NOT want to move in with those girls at Eastland School? I mean, with Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Ray) to take care of you and with friends like Jo (Nancy McKeon), Blair (Lisa Whelchel), Natalie (Mindy Cohn), and Tootie (Kim Fields), boarding school would be nothing but awesome. And sure, Blair was a spoiled brat, but she...
Streaming the 80s with Netflix
March 27, 2014 For fellow subscribers to Netflix’s streaming service, awesome 80s movie and TV entertainment is just a click away. So make it an old school movie night at home. Pop some popcorn, grab a Tab (or a wine cooler), and escape back to the 80s. Here are our top picks of available 80s streaming, including comedy, romance, documentary, horror, and TV. Keep in mind that Netflix changes out their instant catalog regularly so if...
Time for Timer!
By Julie Anderson Saturday mornings – ahhhhh! Back in the 80s, we didn’t have, like, entire television channels devoted to cartoons, much less Netflix and Hulu to give us cartoons on demand. Puh-leeze. We had a few precious hours of cartoon time once a week on network TV, and, man, did we love them. With a captive audience of roughly a bazillion-and-a-half American kids, health minded network execs decided to impart some useful...
Slim Goodbody
By Julie Anderson Recognize the guy in the flesh-colored, internal-organ-decorated unitard? Yup, that’s Slim Goodbody, all right. Confession: He totally creeped me out. I think it was all about the visible intestines, to tell you the truth. He reminded me of my brother’s Pulsar, which ALSO creeped me out. Organs, blood flow, view-beneath-the-skin? Totally grody. A little background info about Slim: The “Superhero of Health” was...
80s Games Shows
Ah, game shows. What better way is there to while away a sick day at home than with a marathon of “The Price is Right” or “Family Feud”? We were crazy about TPIR’s Bob Barker and “Family Feud’s” Richard Dawson in the 80s, fer sure, but let’s focus on those shows we loved back then that are no longer in production today. Thanks to YouTube and Game Show Network, these eighties game show gems are neither gone nor forgotten. Here’s a...
Partnering up to Fight Crime, 80s Style
By Julie Anderson Like Jell-o pudding and Cool Whip. Hairspray and perms. Rainbows and ponies. Some things were MADE to go together. Check out these fabulous crime fighting TV duos from the 80s. Some were all business, some were romantic, some kept us guessing, but they were ALL awesome teams. What’s that? Punks making trouble in Malibu? Shoplifting gang on Sunset Strip? Quick, send Ponch and Jon! CHiPs chronicled the adventures that...
Thirtysomething
Before there was How I Met Your Mother, before there was Friends, there was Thirtysomething. The hour-long show ran on ABC from 1987 until 1991. It centered around Hope and Michael Steadman (Mel Harris and Ken Olin, respectively) and their circle of friends. If you’re a TV buff, all you really need to know about the quality of this show is that its creators, Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, went on to executive-produce My...
The Wonder Years’ Winnie Cooper Grows Up
If you thought Winnie Cooper was cool in The Wonder Years (1988-1993), just look at her now. Danica McKellar is a bona fide math whiz, and she’s written best-selling math books for girls. After her run as Kevin Arnold’s love-interest/buddy on the classic 80s sitcom The Wonder Years, McKellar went to UCLA. She explains on her website (www.danicamckellar.com) that she was afraid of math, but took some classes to challenge herself. It’s...
Miami Vice (1984 – 1990)
Have you seen an episode of Miami Vice lately? Watch out—it will probably make you groan and, if you grew up in the 80s, definitely make you squirm a little. Why? Because it is sooo 80s. There’s no other way to say it. And by sooo 80s I mean, of course, the light-weight sport coat with a T underneath; the pastel colors; the Patrick-Nagel-inspired lettering of the title (he’s the artist who did Duran Duran’s Rio cover); the early...
MTV’s Origins in the 80s
On August 1, 1981, something happened to cable television – something that would define pop culture, change generations, and shape an industry. That something had a name. The name was MTV. It launched at 12:01 in the morning, ushered in by John Lack (then the Executive Vice President of Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment) saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.” And so it began. Prior to 1981, MTV didn’t...
Top 5 Cartoon Characters You Shouldn’t Loan Money To
By Ryan Zimmerman Ryan, back again. . . . Today’s Top 5 are cartoon characters you don’t want to lend money to. I know they aren’t all strictly 80s, but hey, I remember them being on in the 80s, so that counts! 5. He-Man I have the POWER! While the guy may be cool, have a sword and ride a huge cat around, there are still a few things that worry me. For one, the guy has to talk himself into being strong. He can’t just be “Adam,” he has...
Square Pegs, 1982-1983
It lasted only one season, but what a season it was for CBS’s woefully underrated sitcom Square Pegs. Sarah Jessica Parker and Amy Linker are completely believable as vulnerable, sweet Patty Greene and Lauren Hutchinson, freshmen at Weemawee High School. Tracy Nelson, who later played a nun on Father Dowling Mysteries, pulls out all the stops as Valley Girl Jennifer DiNuccio. Jami Gertz (later on Still Standing) perfectly nails...
Top 5 Things that Never Should Have Existed in the 80s
By Ryan Zimmerman Ryan here. Back with my weekly top 5. This week’s top 5 is “Top 5 Things that Never Should Have Existed in the 80s.” 5. I Want Your Sex (sung by George Michael) Seemingly, in trying to sex up his image and forget the more delicate Wham days of “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” George Michael penned this crap-sterpiece, probably in about 4 minutes. George! You are so much better than this!...
Top 5 80s Game Shows
By Ryan Zimmerman Hi all! Ryan here with my top 5. This week’s top 5 is Top 5 80s Game Shows. Now, I know that Wheel of Fortune, Price is Right, etc were big in the 80s, but in my countdown, I am trying to stick with those that aren’t still thriving and really took off back in the 80s. Enjoy! 5. Remote Control Back when MTV showed actual music Videos, Remote Control rocked the MTV world. Ken Ober hosted and Kari...
