RF Generation Message Board

I created this thread to discuss things that time has forgotten and perhaps to show the young ones what they have missed.  Do you remember when:

- Blockbuster Video was all the rage
- Saturday morning cartoons didn't suck
- After school cartoons didn't suck
- Where's the beef?
- New Coke and Crystal Pepsi debacle
- Max Headroom

How about He-man, Thundercats, Widget, She-Ra, Silverhawks, Bravestar, Ducktales, Goof Troop?

Feeling nostalgic eh?

Listening to Tom Petty's album Full Moon Fever makes me think of my childhood. It was a smash hit in 1989 and it played constantly in the Gray house.

Crystal Pepsi's coming back!

http://fortune.com/2015/12/09/crystal-pepsi/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB4V860YojE

Yup, figured I could get some discussion going.  Remember when Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire for the Pepsi commercial?

Only a contest sadly.  Honestly, I know I had it but I don't recall the taste.

I remember this tasted like Blue Kool-Aid, but was somehow sweeter:
[img width=300 height=400]http://images.complex.com/complex/image/upload/t_article_image/aqv3xmkkbvkvflq5spm1.jpg[/img]

I somewhat remember that.  What year was that?

Sega does what Nintendon't.  Remember that?

⠀

Remember the Snorks on Saturday mornings?  Man, we had it good back than.  Nowadays cartoons suck on Saturday Mornings.

That's a PDA, sir. This is a PSA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogEtfIdgjpY

Damn, I guess I should have watched it first.  That video is someone spoofing the PSA's!

Indeed. Love the G.I. Joe PSA spoofs too. I was going to post the real ones, but screw it.

PORKCHOP SANDWICHES

For some reason, my fave childhood things tended to be different from that of others. It wasn't because I was willfully trying to be different or "ironic" like some proto-hipster; my different tastes were quite earnest and sincere. For example, I might be the only person in existence who liked 15-piece Vehicle Voltron more than 5-piece Lion Voltron. My favorite show in the Disney Afternoon lineup was TaleSpin. And what self-respecting child-of-the-80s would make Night Court his favorite sitcom? On the flip side, I never found The Cosby Show even remotely funny whatsoever.

BTW anybody remember Burger King's disastrous "Where's Herb?" ad campaign? For some reason, that pops up in my mind every time someone brings up "Where's the beef?"

Dang, how could I forget about Talespin?  I loved that show!  Along with Duck Tales and Darkwing Duck.  Night Court was a favorite along with Married With Children.  Cosby show I never really liked.  Sounds like we have the same tastes...  Don't recall "Where's Herb?", though.

He-Man PSA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQGk7mKBlfU

He-Man Montage PSA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Y-e13EqK0

TaleSpin... and, later, Gargoyles, were the only two Disney Afternoon shows I ever really cared for. 'Course, it didn't hurt that I was into Star Trek The Next Generation at the time, and half the cast was doing voice-over work on Gargoyles.


The "Where's Herb?" campaign was one of those things I'd completely forgotten about until I was reminded of it in a cracked.com list article some time back. Which goes to show how much of a flop the campaign was.

A little background on the debacle can be read here: http://www.goretro.com/2010/09/anatomy-of-advertising-fail-burger.html

Hey, I just realized something: the 1980s was probably the only time saxophonists were full members of pop & rock bands, and not just temp hires for recording sessions. You had Clarence Clemons with Bruce Springsteen's E-Street band, along with "Johnny!" Colla from Huey Lewis & the News...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7JVlpm0eRs


..."ALL RIGHT RICO!" letting Billy Joel know what rock-and-roll still is to him...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eAQa4MOGkE


...that lady who helped Glenn Frey out in "The Heat is On" and "You Belong to the City"...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU8L0-RkDYU


...and what's-his-face in Men at Work.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SECVGN4Bsgg


Of course, the pop-rock-sax-guy was forever ruined when this unholy abomination was unleashed on the unsuspecting masses:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlLn2O5oH0E
Molesting Mr. Garrison was the least of his crimes against humanity.


All right, it's time for me to stop geezing, and let someone else pick up the slack for a little while.

NEXT!

Good picks, Zag.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65E53rNC1io

Speaking of "picks:"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zoc7UYVVyXY


BTW did anyone here watch The Great Space Coaster? I caught a few episodes from time to time. Sadly, I admitted this to someone in middle school, and when the word spread, a good portion of the student body thought I was a "fag" for watching it. Bad enough I was already one of the biggest losers in the place, and now this. It's one of an endless string of reasons why I have complete and utter contempt for humanity. Yeah, that's right: F*CK PEOPLE! But figuratively, not literally, 'cuz that just leads to even more people. And Eon knows we don't need any more of that bullsh*t.

Man, I need a little pick-me-up to counter all this misanthropy. It's time to take in an episode of nothing less than the second-greatest sketch comedy show to come from the Great White North: You Can't Do That on Television!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDejBc2h9f8
Where Nickelodeon's trademark green slime originated from.


And when the latest episode was over, it was off to the back room to play a little Gridrunner on the family computer:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnyq0MvQ1mM


Human interaction? Feh, who needs it.

Remember Zayres sp? stores and when people could actually smoke inside buildings, even hospitals?

'Fraid not; there were none of those to be found out west. What could be found out west, particularly in southern and central California back in the mid-to-late 80s, were commercials for Federated electronics stores. Noted Hollywood b-lister Shadoe Stevens made the big time writing and starring in just about every silly Federated TV spot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofONvwndVdg

If you've seen Lethal Weapon, you might recognize the commercial that starts at 1:18.



Ma was a smoker, so I do recall smoking in restaurants at least. I don't miss those days.

Agreed!  Great Coaster, heard the name but that is it.  You can't do that on television was awesome!  I forgot about that!  And Mr. Wizard!  What's the first best Canadian show?

It was a live-action-with-puppets type deal. Edjamacashunal stuff, like Sesame Street... only on independent commercial TV. IIRC, the show's creator worked on the Muppet Show and Sesame Street before striking out on his own. ANYway, The three human characters who get picked up by the coaster in the opening credits sequence co-hosted the show, and would also sing a few tunes per episode, some of them covers of popular songs of the time. They also sang the show theme:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dddm5bQeKvg


I recall them singing "Up, Up and Away in My Beautiful Balloon" and Queen's "Bicycle Race". Sadly, it's the cover tunes that have kept Great Space Coaster from being rebroadcast or released for home video or on-demand streaming; the rights have expired, and it's probably not worth it to renew them.


I know Degrassi High hailed from the Great White North, but I only watched a few episodes. One of those episodes dealt with abortion, however, which was pretty heavy subject matter to throw at the show's target audience. Well, the U.S. target audience, anyway; apparently Canada gave their youth more credit for being able to handle more mature topics without the 'rents freaking the hell out.

ANYway, there were only two shows from the Great White North I ever watched with interest. Both of them were sketch-comedy shows, and one of them was You Can't Do That on Television! Sadly, like Great Space Coaster, rights issues have kept YCDTOTV from being released on home video and streaming-on-demand. 

Speaking of opening credits sequences: today's shows don't really have those anymore, do they? Or even an opening theme for that matter. It's all just cold opens nowadays. So, in celebration of the lost art of opening credits sequences and/or theme music, here are a few of my all-time faves:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R7ZGK7QuYQ
I dug the hell outta the A-Team's final-season theme.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTb_5oPqCys
I wonder how many kids got into playing synthesizers after hearing the original version?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mKvFsif2fI
An underrated classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc-Ccs9WNBM
I just can't decide if this one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFDElJimWFk
...or this one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyy701skFsE
...or this one is my fave Hunter theme.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBIgXhiOpeQ
I know what you're thinking...


Good lord, did Mike Post and/or Pete Carpenter compose the opening theme to every single 1980s action TV show?


...'Late

Silverhawks was awesome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdtcK1Qs2K4

Hmm, I can't seem to embed this.

Spiral Zone was awesome and had a great intro song.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO2Cd9tyUvY

Saturday morning for me consisted of me watching cartoons until 11am, leaving the house to hunt for bottles to play arcade games at the 7-11, then making it home in time to watch Thriller Double Feature on channel 20 until 5pm.  Sadly disgusting, bloody, and scary movies were too hardcore for the '90s, but it was fun while it lasted.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qJOR6hhAYY

Embedding link was fine. Not sure what's up with the embed right now, but it goes in and out sometimes.

Commodore 64 was awesome!  I loved that computer.  Tons of awesome games.

When we had those, sure.  There hasn't been any for years.  The closest thing to those are CGI shows now.

F*CKING-A THE C64 WAS AWESOME, B*TCH! AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!


A few of the 'toon "also-rans" I enjoyed back in the day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkwYX572ZNw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaSJL18lJmw



And, of course, any excuse to bring this one up... AGAIN:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMLr1Ch7sgo

Damn, I forgot about Danger Mouse!  Never heard of the other two.  Damn, the memories.

You guys want 80's cartoons?  Check this out:

http://www.80scartoons.net/

If I remember correctly they used to sell VHS tapes back when finding some of the cartoons was impossible.  Now it is a massive shrine reminding us just how awesome and how many cartoons there were.

Remember when King Size candy bars could be purchased with a $1 bill?

I go there every once in awhile.  The site hasn't been updated in awhile, though.

 :speechless:  And regular candy bars were $.50, while 2 liters were $.99.

Fifty cents?! *SCOFF* I remember when I could get a candy bar at 7-11 for 35 cents! You kids just don't know how good you have it...

In other 1980s nostalgia news: as some of you may have guessed by looking at my latest posts on the Small Toy Scores thread, I'm on a bit of a Transformers jag right now. I ended up making matters worse by checking out some cutscenes from Transformers Devastation...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6sBNiqzxLU

...and now I'm debating whether to get it for PS3... or 360. Pretty cool that they got the main voice actors reprising their roles, particularly Optimus and Megatron. It doesn't hurt that the game is sort-of named after the most badass combiner of them all. Oh, and Blitzwing-- can't forget Blitzwing.

How could we forget this?!?!?!  :speechless:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b1i0cPgH60

Quite easily, thank you very much. And I was trying so hard to keep those memories suppressed, too. Now I gotta go back on the meds, no thanks to you...  >:(

So going to get this when it goes back on sale or when money permits otherwise.


Is it wrong of me to be disappointed that Pac-Man didn't have a second costume in Smash Bros to make him look like this?

Shame you don't live stateside; it's currently on special at Target for $29.99 US (plus sales tax where applicable) for the 360, X-Bone, and PS4.

http://www.target.com/p/transformers-devastation-xbox-360/-/A-21544694#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=transformers+devastation

I grabbed my own sealed copy off eBay a few weeks back...


[img width=550 height=654]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/score%2012-30-15b_zpstrdouy8s.jpg?t=1451461906[/img]


...which immediately lead to a knock-down drag-out over who'd be the first to play it.


[img width=550 height=700]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/score%2012-30-15c_zpst60z0j3t.jpg?t=1451461892[/img]


Needless to say, Megs and Devastator were not pleased when they found out you could only play as an Autobot.

Remember this?

Paper plane tickets!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoQmnNDnWMk

This one makes me sad.  I remember back in the day renting Sega CD games from them.   :'(

I would get a gift card from my mom every year on Christmas and we would stop there after going to my aunts so I could spend the gift card right away on video games


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I rented those, along with Genesis and *trying* to rent a 32X/Doom, but they didn't have the adapter to get it to work on my Model 1 Genny. 

I got my copy of Gods there.  Still play it occasionally :)

It IS kind of sad.  I take it Blockbuster Online isn't working out so well?

Not me; I mourned the passing of the local independent video rental places far more than I did the chain ones. There was one that had a coin-op setup where you could play Genesis and SNES games. A quarter would get you ten minutes of play time. Soon as the TV clicked off, I'd put another quarter in the slot to turn it back on and play for another ten minutes.

There's one local video rental place still around, but it's a small operation that mostly caters to the local east-Asian and central-Asian populations. Well, it looks small in the front, but just take a right turn and straight on through the beaded curtains, and you're staring at the south bay's most extensive stock of pornos.

https://youtu.be/J3xuy5YALl0

How relevant

Just stumbled upon this thread, so my 2 cents.

(1) Grayghost81 - Full Moon Fever is incredible!  Been trying to find a copy on vinyl and hear that it's a bit pricey being that it was released right after vinyl had pretty much gone out.

(2) Zag - my wife and I were just talking about Night Court last night. No idea how it came up, but we both agreed that the show was incredible and needed to start searching for seasons of it.

Also, dude.....I went probably 20+ years wondering if anyone else in the world had ever seen The Great Space Coaster. I figured my parents probably did hard drugs prior to conception and while in was in utero and it was just some sort of acid dream. Good to know that there are more of us out there. Should we form a support group?

(3) shaggy - I relentlessly push my old cartoons on my kids including Thundercats, BraveStarr (yes, with 2 R's), Dungeons & Dragons, Johnny Quest, He-Man, Visionaries, Jaycee & the Wheeled Warriors, Inhumanoids, etc. and they love them. I have a video of my son when he was two singing the BraveStarr intro.

I hear you, Banana.  I have my kids hooked on the oldies.  Cartoons nowadays suck.  We had it good.  We have Ducktales and Darkwing Duck on DVD and have been watching Thundercats on Amazon Prime.  Night Court was a great show.  It's still shown to this day and I'll pop it on every once in awhile.

Hey now...


Night Court was the first sit-com that ever made me laugh, and my all-time favorite until I started watching Taxi reruns on Nick at Nite. I became such a fan of the show, my parents eventually allowed me to stay up past my 9 PM bedtime curfew so I could catch the latest episode. And, thanks to reruns playing on two local independent networks five days a week, I must have seen every episode from seasons 1 to 7 at least three times each, and found it just as funny as when I saw it the first time. Thanks to all the repeated viewings, I could often tell when a scene in a syndicated rerun had been cut down to fit in more commercial breaks.

I've re-watched several episodes of Night Court in recent years, and found that the show hasn't held up too well. It's still oddly enjoyable for the most part, though... especially the following segments from the show's most notable guest star:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0NmaBtpnBE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd7by2m1VDs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE6brM24yIA


Hey, speaking of future Star Trek actors:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPRp0VT9PxA


Needless to say, I was big into the show...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAUIOCGftNU





Why not just talk it out now? In fact, I think I know when I was first called a "fag" for watching The Great Space Coaster: my middle school held an assembly featuring a tennis pro born with just one finger on one hand, and two on the other. Sorta the Jim Abbott of the tennis world, you know? Actually, he didn't even really have hands; the fingers were directly connected to his wrists without any carpal bones to speak of in between. Dude probably was a thalidomide baby...

ANYway, when we found out who was going to speak at the assembly, I casually stated that I'd seen him in action on a segment of The Great Space Coaster, and that he was actually quite good, despite his handicap. As you already know, nothing good came of this admission for me. I also recall the guy being booed at the assembly when he mentioned he was on the show. Aren't middle-schoolers the most charming and decent human beings ever? No wonder I preferred the company of adults to people my own age back then...

All right, time for me to stop boring you with my pathetic childhood sob stories; it's your turn to bore me with yours. Aaaand... ACTION!

Like singlebanana, I also just stumbled across this.

1) Night Court is fantastic! There are reruns still being show on Laff if you have that network (OTA) near you. Also, one of my favorite intro songs ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUltrX-ICew

2) Was I the only one who watched C.O.P.S.? The cartoon, not the live action series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-0T6QKc0yg

Uh, no.................. I have the C.O.P.S. series on DVD. :P

I loved that cartoon. The theme song on that one is also fantastic!

Both of them shows are awesome and I watched them when i was younger.  And here is the best thing to come out of Canada (Sorry, Crabby).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDejBc2h9f8

I had the biggest crush on Moose from YCDTOT

WOW! I thought I was the only one.

I can't believe Alanis Morrisette was on there!  I loved this show.  i wish I could get the whole series on DVD.  Another favorite was Mr. Wizard.

Remember beating your couch and pillows when you watched some kung fu and fighting movies?

Hey now,


Weird thing was, when I first heard about Alanis Morrisette, my first thought that came to me was that girl from YCDTOTV who shared the same first name with her. However, I didn't suspect they were one and the same until I discovered that Morrisette also hailed from the Great White North. I found her really interesting when she was rumored to have been romantically involved with Dave Coulier, AKA the "uncle" on Full House who nobody wants to talk about... and rightfully so.

I think that is only you.  :laugh:

I never made the connection with the name as I was too young to remember (around 8-10 years old).  I didn't know they were one and the same until I was an adult.  Supposedly, the song "You Oughta Know" is about Uncle Joey.

Another Nickelodeon show I watched when I was a kid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLCg1kb1sA0

Anyone remember these old things?

I remember Murtaugh talking on something similar following the suicide-jump scene in Lethal Weapon:

[img width=640 height=640]http://65.media.tumblr.com/6b2f52919c4ec2928849d43fdec15f91/tumblr_nl2kkdnNNK1qzt2hno1_1280.jpg[/img]
If you remember this, you're definitely too old for this--


ANYway, on to another late-80s/early-90s fave of mine. Does anyone here remember Super Dave Osborne and his wide array of stunts-gone-horribly-wrong? Not to mention the loud wardrobe of announcer Mike Walden, and the most gratuitous racial/cultural stereotype in recent memory: Fuji Hakayito!

Here's a sampling of my personal faves:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VtPgxPxiK0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhS_yNy-4Vg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LMuk4gAkqc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjjhgp9E5W0


You can see more at the official Super Dave YouTube channel here:

https://www.youtube.com/user/superdavebobeinstein

Thanks for the memory, Zag.  I totally forgot about that show.  It was a show on Showtime and I would watch this every Friday night.  Very funny show.

Being that Super Dave was a American/Canadian made show, we also got to watch it, in the Great White North. The was my first exposure to Bob Einstein, who I would appreciate much more in, Curb Your Enthusiasm

I first saw Super Dave do one of his stunts-gone-wrong on a little show from the Great White North called Bizarre, hosted by John Byner. It played late nights on a local independent station back in the mid-80s, and aside from Super Dave, the only thing I remember about the show was the occasional topless chick. IIRC, I saw The Super One do his ill-fated jump off Toronto's CN Tower on Bizarre:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGos7T0RKn8

Also, I never caught the Super Dave show when it first ran on Showtime; I saw 'em in reruns on USA Network in the early- to mid-90s. Aside from the bleeping of the occasional profanity, I don't think anything was edited out...

BTW Bob Einstein is the brother of noted comedic writer-actor-director Albert Brooks... who changed his last name for obvious reasons. Hey, if it worked for Mel...  ;)

Thanks to a recent Micro machines score, I hit YouTube and watched a ton of Micro Machines commercials from the late 80s & early 90s featuring the frenetic rapid-fire pitches of "Micro Machine Man" John Moschitta:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMEhrWgCvjk


Sadly, the commercials featuring Triple-M end at about the 13-minute mark; looks like they dumped him as their pitchman around 1993 or so. What's worse, it didn't even include my all-time favorite Micro Machines ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWh_MUTXGKU  ;D


Fortunately, he managed to get back on his feet several years later with a few amusing JetBlue commercials


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNg2ODGQzvA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO5NVHT5ivQ


He did a few other commercials in the 80s:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeK5ZjtpO-M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1ycIDhQoho


Aaaand of course his most geekin' voice-over work:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8GV-CCqsHo


Speaking of TransFormers in the late '80s & early '90s: this is when Hasbro/takara unveiled the Headmasters / PowerMasters / TargetMasters lines in an effort to keep things fresh and innovative after a half-decade of dominance. While somewhat gimmicky, the Head-Power-Targetmasters concept apparently was solid enough to be resurrected and repurposed in the new TransFormers Titans Return series. And it was a lot more inspired and far less lazy than the subsequent Pretenders & Action Masters. And don't get me started on the MicroMasters...




Speaking of revived early-90s products, check out what I found at the local safeway this morning:



...'Late

Dang, I forgot about the fast talking Micro machine guy.

I've always marveled at his talent for tongue twisters while speaking that quickly.

It helps that his lines tend to be heavy with alliterations and rhyming words. Also helping from time to time is repetition, which is showcased in Blurr's dialogue. None the less, you could say he has an... incredible talent:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBSA-9GTffg


And there's no one better to break down the greatest moments of the 1980s year-by-year than Mr. Non-Stop himself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq9bBPCaDF4


Here's his rapid-fire recap of another 1980s phenomenon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jYL3i9sX0Q



A few of his early-career highlights from Sesame Street:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgkVeBWeYSM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxqICSJRvjA


Then there's his inspiring story about overcoming substance abuse (no, not meth, you sillies):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQv6NFgy2xk


Oh, the irony:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_KASwTfTNQ


And in case he needs a second job to make ends meet, it's obvious which one he's cut out for:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbIBn5ujukY




...'Late

Now it's time for me to geeze back to my high school days in the early '90s, when the innuendo-drenched Big Johnson t-shirts were all the rage:





In retrospect, these are rather corny, aren't they. But my high school's admins thought nothing of banning 'em my senior year. The regular wearers responded with a mild "protest" by wearing them inside-out the rest of the school year.

Remember when games actually had manuals.  *sigh*  I miss them days.  It sucks nowadays.  A few night ago I was playing Dragon Quest Heroes on the PS4 with only a digital manual.  So I had to figure out how to access the digital manual and find out where I had to go for what I needed but I can't have the manual open while playing like I could with a real, physical manual.  Annoyed me to no end because now I can't look at said manual and play at the same time.  Now I have to remember what I read and try to do what the digital manual says to do.  Grrrrr.

Perhaps part of it is a ploy to get you to purchase the strategy guide?

Could be.... I also loved reading the manual from front to back before starting the game for the first time.  It got me excited and wanting to play the game even more especially the older games.  I guess that isn't happening any more.

And now, a personal fave of mine of a fairly recent vintage. This show was pure comedy gold: naughty double-entendre, salacious innuendo, and some of the most groan-worthy puns ever seen on basic cable. Of course, I am referring to Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, AKA MXC! You know, kinda like Wipeout, except not lame! ANYway,the back-and-forth commentary of co-hosts Kenny Blankenship and Vic Romano chock-full of gags that some would pass right on by! Which is why I'm glad they're now available on YouTube, where I can rewind back to the parts I missed!

Here are a couple episodes I'm sure y'all will appreciate:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVJFhM-ue6U

"And here's Carl Sega, creator of the new Triple-XBox game, Porn Star Wars!"
"Yeah, Choda trains Luke Streetwalker to kill Jabba the Slut!"



Aaaand...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkYepSH9JAI

"Here's Christine Connelly. She's the model for Crash Bandicooze..."
"Yeah, I could play with that for hours!"
"Probably need a lot of lotion for that cheat code."


Oh, to be in my late 20s to early 30s again...

All the episodes for this are on YouTube, of course, but I think they were on Hulu for a bit. Not sure if they still are. Series is based off Takeshi's Castle. LOVE MXC, and they filmed the college episode here at UCF.

Yep, I recognized Mr. Violent Cop right away when MXC first aired. As I understand it, "Beat" is a multifaceted entertainment phenomenon in Japan. He even put out the trollin'est video game ever, which was the centerpiece of the very first episode of Game Center CX. But hey, you're the last person I gotta tell that to.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rOxtA--WKA


BTW the college episode was the Almost Live show, wasn't it? With Tony Hawk and what's-her-face, right?

Man, I totally forgot about this show.  One of my favorites!

Remember Mr. Wizard?  Another great show when I was a kid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wJAG7GcQEI

I dunno... that show seemed to have some really pervy moments...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFRZ0gex2n8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrNI-gGSvu8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZbz6t47Oqg

Yeah, that sounds right on the MXC episode.

You guys are sick.

We're not the ones saying all those skeevy pervy things to those kids. The truth hurts some times, you know?

While I'm at it, I may as well ruin your fond memories of the nicest nice guy to ever grace the public TV airwaves as he reveals his true feelings about his audience:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt1yTEt414Y

:laugh: I never saw that one before, let alone a B&W Mr. Rogers.  Thanks for sharing.

If you wanna experience Mr. Rogers at his trippiest, take a listen to this auto-tune music-video tribute:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFzXaFbxDcM


Wow, I'm actually digging this... which is weird, 'cuz I never trusted Mr. Rogers, even back when I was a kid. There was just no way in hell anyone could be that nice and friendly, on TV or in real life...

Ooh, here's another one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdAZ79AhcfY


Holy crap... READING RAINBOW?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FD1K8OvVCs



W00T! BOB F*CKING ROSS, B1TCH3Z!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLO7tCdBVrA

I'll just leave this here, and see what happens...


[img width=700 height=380]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/t-game_zps5gmkaku5.jpg[/img]

Here's a notable thing that went away with the 1980s: generic boxed or canned groceries. No brand name or artwork on the label, just plain white or yellow with black block letters. Then the supermarkets got the bright idea to put their own brand on the products, and that was all she wrote for generics.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_BZVHjce_Q

Walmart has started going back to that branding.

I pity the foo who buys my game!

Remember when Toys 'R Us had pieces of paper with a bar code on them, you would pay, and than pick up the game at there pick up place.  The game wasn't on the shelf, just a "copy" of the front and back of the box.  I tried to find a pic but I couldn't. :(  Fond memories.

Cue the very start of this documentary on the Commodore 64 from the late 1980s:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx2xb_lD92g


BTW the Redwood City Toys "R" Us is still there, and my favorite out of the ones in the Bay Area that I've visited. Even more than the haunted one in Sunnyvale, which was profiled on In Search Of, hosted by the late, great Mr. Spock himself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN5vEX3sYGU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABB9B_O2SXM


It also got a segment on That's Incredible!:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJkYMThboTc


The Redwood City store is a bit out of sight, however, and it's across the street from the Bay Area's only K-Mart. Hey, remember K-Mart and their blue light specials? And how you'd be goofed on by your fellow students for shopping there?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqhG2MycT34


Huh, looks like they were still doing the blue light specials until recently.

Some Public Information films that scared me a kid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNPMYRlvySY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KryOYburlFI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT_wwkCoBL8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGcpcm8QId4

I remember the kites-and-power-lines film from a segment on Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe. Or was it Screenwipe? ANYway, he was goofing on public safety films in his trademark acerbic & misanthropic style.

Hey, that reminds me: I'm off to YouTube to watch Charlie Brooker's 2016 Wipe...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XanyPq5BcoA

A wonderful memory of mine from the '90s: PBS airing episodes of what would become my favorite Brit-com, Are You Being Served?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkQf3VX6ZHw&list=PLUOxCrDh0oVdzF9o9Pf66QqehEMtR1qlb


Are you free, Mr. Humphries?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b6c8JuWzWI

Remember the card catalog in libraries?  I miss them things.  With the advances in technology, I wonder how many things the younger members of this forum don't remember that we do.

I actually asked where the card catalog was the other day without thinking it wouldn't exist any more. Luckily I was asking an older staff so she knew was I was talking about and was fairly nice in directing me to the computer.

Man, we are old.  And this sucks.

Howzabout looking up old magazine articles on microfilm and microfiche? I was doing that from grade school all the way through junior college...

I didn't have that in school but I do remember the public library having microfiche.

By the time I was in school (1996) and I started learning the library system it was the computer way ran with Windows 95-98 systems. We did learn the Dewy Decimal System which is still used at least, which is what the cataloging programs also use.

I actually do remember that! I got Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 in this manner. :D

I went into Target today and was in shock when I saw one endcap for CD's, nothing else.  No more CD's.  One endcap.  What the heck?!  After that I went to Best Buy and was shocked to see not even half a row of CD's.  I remember seeing rows and rows and rows of CD's at both places.  At times I wish the Internet didn't take place.  A sad, sad day for me.

Don't worry. In 10 years, those stores will be replaced by kiosks where you can order the items instead. In 20 years, they'll all be 3d printed in front of you.

As long as there are still thrift stores, I have no problem with this.

More and more automation coming soon. I don't think its a bad thing, really. We just need to figure out what to do with the people whos jobs are becoming automated.  I think jobs like Doctors and Lawyers will most likely not be automated anytime soon. Although, eventually down the line, those jobs could be automated as well.



Shopgoodwill.com will always be there for your thrift store needs. :)

Remember when this thread wasn't buried on page 2?

ANYway, I just experienced a moment of nostalgia, and figured this was the best place to share it with y'all. Oh, and I figured it'd make a good excuse to dredeg this thread back up from the depths.

So I'm doing a marathon of the YouTube video series called "One-Hit Wonderland," hosted by a mysterious chap named Todd in the Shadows. I rather enjoyed his takes on Right Said Fred's "Too Sexy," Everything But the Girl's "Miss You," and Scatman John's...ummm... thingy. But now it was on to Mr. Todd's breakdown of "I Ran (So Far Away)" by A Flock of Seagulls, where I caught a snippet from a song I hadn't heard in thirty years (starts at the 8:25 mark):


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNF3CbLczaQ&feature=youtu.be&list=PLLznZMqdhi_T5X0XrVX16lTN0um7Onpkf&t=505


My curiosity got the best of me, and just had to track down the full song:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWbDykX47uU


It's an extremely unapologetic early-80s tune, and a Grammy winner to boot. I wasn't particularly nostalgic about it, but I figured it was worth at least one listen before I completely forgot about it again for another three decades...

Man, I totally forgot about this song!  And it won a Grammy?!

Hey now...




I discovered that it's actually a cover of a more low-key performance released a year earlier:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVAyG6_7yRI


I kept digging into the YouTube archives on this song-- 'cuz I have nothing better to do with my time, obviously-- and discovered this horrific abomination: young'uns singing and dancing to the tune in Australia's version of KIDS Incorporated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3dSHltaJkM

I wonder how many of those kids are in therapy now...

Oh...my...gosh! I hadn't thought about Kids Incorporated in forever. I used to love that show, when I was a kid. The US Disney Channel version, of course, not the Australian version. But man, I watched that all the time as a kid.

Kids Incorporated.  Weird.  I never actually remember watching that show, but I somehow remember the chorus for the theme song.  Very strange.  Thanks?

KAY! AYE! DEE! ESS, YEAH!

Aw g0dd@mmit, now it's stuck in my head! Thanks for nothing, ya big jerkface neenerhead!  >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(

A few years back I took a couple '80s faves and slapped them together into a gif:


[img width=595 height=373]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/output_auGLcw_zpssrfce0mt.gif[/img]


So... whattaya think?

It took a minute for me to see and get it all.

Its pretty clever alright.

As for me I have some burning questions for you:

Have you ever seen a grown man naked?

Do you like movies about gladiators?

Surely, you can't be serious.

I speak Jive.

Here's a blast from the past that... well, considering recent events, is now the scariest album title ever:

[img width=550 height=564]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4834/45396492974_506d206949_z.jpg[/img]

Still love that GIF, Zag. Good stuff. Also, the 3rd iteration of the KIDS Incorporated song is the one I remember, with that set of actors. That was the one I watched when my parents first paid for the Disney channel. Those were the days, when Disney was a premium channel.

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of ol' Super Dave himself, Bob Einstein. I wish you well on your trip to the Super Dave Compound in the sky, my good man.  :'(


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSrVsyOdtJQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCimuL6tGTM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKh6ALOHKe4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCFl7AhduiA


UPDATE: Looks like former WWF backstage interviewer "Mean Gene" Okerlund has shuffled off the mortal coil as well.

I was just watching the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm with him yesterday and used to catch the odd Super Dave back in the day. Funny dude!

Hey now...



Haven't watched a single second of Curb Your Enthusiasm myself, but I did enjoy his role as Officer Judy on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour reruns I caught on Nick at Nite way back when.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biPiMrgHMpo


Not only did he perform on the show, he also did a lot of the writing... along with a certain wild and crazy guy.


[img width=461 height=441]http://i.pinimg.com/originals/53/a7/40/53a7403b97cd346243eff16d1a42c5b7.png[/img]


Kinda makes me wonder how much longer Steve Martin will be around...

How dare you....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52jSB5s33aA

 The answer is forever,


Obviously.

I hope you're right, big guy. I hope you're right...

BTW go check out my latest Small Scores post-- you'll really dig the last item.

Here's a little clip on him on Curb your Enthusiasm Zag. It's definitely NSFW so beware.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o5m_mXadoU

Man, I loved Super Dave!  I remember when I first saw him on his Showtime show.  It always cracked me up when his stunts went horribly wrong.  That was a great show.

Hey now,


Wow, that was... kinda boring. Probably didn't help that I heard a variation of that joke back in my middle school days. Now I get why the show is called Curb Your Enthusiasm. But hey, at least the guy was still working, so there's that I guess.

Is never heard the joke before that so it got me. Don't let that be an indicator of the shows quality for you. It's quite good

I concur

Seeing as how this is a video game site, I was wondering if anybody remembers a short-lived UPN series called Deadly Games? If you don’t remember it, I don’t blame you; it ran for just a single season as one of the network’s launch shows, and was quite silly as I recall. It's premise was sort of a reverse-Tron deal where one of a video game programmer’s boss characters—“The Jackal,” played by Christopher Lloyd doing a light Judge Doom with a sprinkling of Commander Kruge-- enters the real world, and each week would pull a boss from one of the programmer’s games into meatspace in an effort to destroy him. Basically, each episode was an hour-long (with commercials) boss battle.

While I recall watching several episodes of the show, I’d be damned if I could give you any details about what I saw. I only recall a few of the show’s bosses of the week, which included NextGen regulars Brent Spiner & LeVar Burton, and former 49ers fullback Tom Rathman as the murderous quarterback Killshot.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGgSPW7A6UY


Now whenever I see NFL Films highlights featuring Rathman, I say to myself, “Hey look, it’s Killshot! Man, I remember him grabbing that pass behind him one-handed in the Super Bowl®! That was a pretty sweet catch.” Check it out at the 8:58 mark in the video below:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-KYHlT9-8s&t=538s


Speaking of NFL Films highlight shows: I miss the use of silly cartoon sound effects to censor the curse words. I loved hearing those duck calls, slide-whistles, and digital bleeps over the profanities. A great showcase of this is Broncos NT Greg Kragen in that same Super Bowl® in response to the 49ers’ halftime lead at the 10:05 mark in the video above.

Nowadays they just silence the words while keeping the crowd noise in. Just another reason why they call it the “No Fun League,” I guess.

I had me some flashbacks to toddlerdom yesterday when I walked into a local 7-11, and heard this playing over the sound system:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91BQqdNOUxs

The Silent E song from The Electric Company was one tune I hadn't heard for decades. It was playing courtesy of the store's manager, who is about my age. We always banter back and forth about pop, rock, R&B and soul tunes whenever I pay a visit to the place, often to the annoyance of the customers in line behind me. ANYway, after Silent E played out, he fired this up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC7l3V1nhWc

Sesame Street's series of Pinball Number Count songs? I hadn't heard any of these for a couple decades, either.

Methinks I'll ask the manager dude to crank up the School House Rock next time I come 'round...


...'Late

Anybody grow up watching Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends narrated by George Carlin? Whether or not you did, you're sure to enjoy these amazing outtakes:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Iwvu-j7BuY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KInxYm8EE1s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4R9LqdGGac

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOts_ZImY14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62APHDGlJyY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDxMHjkntvo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDxMHjkntvo



Speaking of nostalgia and steam locomotives: has anybody here been following the return of Union Pacific "Big Boy" No. 4014 to operational condition after over five years of restoration work? My YouTube recs page is chock-full of videos of it and UP "Living Legend" N0. 844 heading to Utah from Wyoming for the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrqzaSDiM-A&list=RDpadOmEyiqn4&index=2

Man, Saturday Morning Cartoons.  :'(

I recalled yet another amazing bit of 1980s nostalgia when I heard this used in Good Bad Flicks's YouTube review of Krull:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic3CV051-AQ


A part of me is bummed that they never teased out this jingle into a full song; it woulda made the Billboard Top 10 for sure.

Of course, Krull is a bit of 1980s nostalgia in its own right, featuring the coolest melee weapon this side of a lightsaber:

[img width=338 height=200]http://media2.giphy.com/media/MxLpiRJFLUqAg/giphy.gif[/img]


Oh, and here's the Good Bad Flicks YouTube review (the absolutely awesome Nestle commercial reference starts at 5:12):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf5bVu_cMH0


And speaking of lightsabers, I just can't get enough of these two musical numbers from the Bad Lip Reading edition of The Empire Strikes Back:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRAOdRq-1lw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9t-slLl30E


The 1980s just won't quit, lemme tell ya...


...'Late

Oh man, I totally forgot about that Nestle commercial!!  Remember the big "Where's the beef" run that Wendy's had??

I honestly don't recall the Wendy's "Where's the Beef" commercials too clearly. Either my area's TV stations didn't have much interest in running the ads, or I was watching shows where the spots didn't play all that much.

That having been said, does anybody here remember the Army Ants toys Hasbro put out around 1987ish? I managed to collect them all... which wasn't hard to do, as they made only one series of 40 figurines.

[img width=700 height=782]http://i.pinimg.com/originals/fc/26/f6/fc26f65124b32f74f8f384d8c53b467f.jpg[/img]


This short-lived toy line would be overshadowed by the slightly-more-memorable Food Fighters, featuring one of my all-time fave goofy cartoon names, Dave Grohl Mean Weener!


BTW when I went searching for pics of Mean Weener-- heh, Mean Weener-- I came across pics from an eating establishment called the Mean Wiener:


[img width=700 height=525]http://fastly.4sqi.net/img/general/width960/16700580_hAzUFRBCJ3jLIdb71u49CYILw-9yTJRLXqVpc6CgbKk.jpg[/img]


[img width=405 height=540]http://fastly.4sqi.net/img/general/width960/3Px1UoZjmnh8-L30RiE_mVZnI-wZcgH8xD0E5tFpF8w.jpg[/img]


Methinks I just found my next vacation destination. It's located in a place called Highwood Park in Illinois, halfway between Chicago and the Wisconsin state line, right off of Lake Michigan. I wonder if ol' Norv would be willing to travel a bit for a meet-up there some time...


...'Late

That just may work.  Give me some leeway time and I may be able to make it work.

Here's a "where's the beef?" commerical
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug75diEyiA0

I totally forgot about, and now remember, both the Army Ants and the Food Fighters.  I never bought any but I remember them.

Anybody remember these?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yD7SBXXSVM

Hey, you know what? I remember Army Ants and Food Fighters, but I'd completely forgotten Barnyard Commandos!


[img width=700 height=525]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cLZheM8ueBc/UDhFOsN4e3I/AAAAAAAAEJY/KrMkHdkpRxw/s1600/Slide1.JPG[/img]



ANYway, I went back to YouTube and found another Nestle "sweet dreams" spot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnRPL0Y1FHQ


...'Late



And then I discovered that Faith No More performed a cover of the freakin' thing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfIuST1f6HA



BTW my search for more '80s commercials led to my discovery of this little gem, featuring "man-sized wads" :o :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCawfG0CFvo



And in case you're curious, here are a couple network TV featurettes about how BLC came into existence, and how it's manufactured:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARbsE2ns2T0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzGbqOo1P_U

I remember them Barnyard animal thingies.  And Big League Chew!

Buckle up, ya whippersnappers, 'cuz we're headed back to the 1980s yet again!

I'd almost forgotten about this show, but thanks to YouTube's recommendations, I've rediscovered yet another childhood fave: Fight Back!, hosted by consumer journalist David Horowitz, who was part of the KNBC 4 news team down in L.A. throughout the 80s and early 90s. Sadly, he passed earlier this year at the age of 81.  :'(


My fave segments were his commercial challenges, which tested the credibility of the claims made in TV spots for such products as Palmolive liquid detergent...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-YvKTD356k



...Spic-&-Span's no-scratch guarantee...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0wfpvtY-MU



...Orville Redenbacher popcorn...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok3H70DWB9U



...the "two scoops" claim by Kellogg's Raisin Bran...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoA44zqhT-I



...and the iconic Krazy Glue "hardhat glued to an I-beam" stunt:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFL6-IueggM



There's plenty more Fight Back! video segments that can be viewed on the show's official YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH2RsGnhmA0wXa1WERgZGaA/videos



Ironically, with at least three video reviews each for just about every product ever made, YouTube has made TV consumer-advocacy shows like Fight Back! all but obsolete.

But probably the most interesting thing Mr. Horowitz was involved in had to be in 1987, when a crazed gunman barged into the KNBC studio during a news broadcast, and "requested"  Horowitz to read his written statement on the air. Horowitz' calm and collected demeanor during the incident was downright unreal.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG8sn8o-vFc


So... anybody else remember Fight Back! with David Horowitz?

I remember Food Fight!

Ever since I picked up the BanDai Soul of Chogokin release, I've been geezin' on Voltron. And when I say "Voltron," I mean the REAL DEAL, and not that pathetic pentagon of leonine losers:




Even better, Bandai Spirits' YouTube channel now has all the episodes of Armored Fleet Dairugger XV-- the show that was eventually adapted into the Vehicle Force series-- available to watch for free:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5VLAlbLVlM


Check it out if you're curious...

I remember when I had all the Voltron toys from the mid 80's.  There was a recall on them because they had lead paint so my mom left the choice up to me to return them for the money or keep them.  Man, I wish I didn't return them.

Remember when we didn't have to worry about global pandemics?

It seems like it was only a month ago.

Too soon, man. Too soon.

[img width=400 height=408]https://images.cgrbd.net/e6fd37834d54a89b197ece4c956b8080.jpeg[/img]

Man, I love to think back to the good ol' days of circa February 2020 A.D. Life was so simple. Those were the days...

[img width=298 height=240]https://i.imgur.com/p2HKS6I.jpg[/img]

Hey now,




No, no, no! You're supposed to respond with, "That's no good!"


[img width=420 height=236]http://thumbs.gfycat.com/PotableNextGreatdane-max-1mb.gif[/img]



How can you call yourself a gamerbro when you can't even meme correctly?!

Right, Raze?




Sigh.


Needless to say:


[img width=489 height=610]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/259428fb-39f5-404d-a7a5-725ec9460e68/d3d4cyi-a70d1417-f3e4-4882-8664-66353e3cc174.jpg/v1/fill/w_489,h_610,q_75,strp/eggman_is_disappoint_by_sweecrue_d3d4cyi-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NjEwIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvMjU5NDI4ZmItMzlmNS00MDRkLWE3YTUtNzI1ZWM5NDYwZTY4XC9kM2Q0Y3lpLWE3MGQxNDE3LWYzZTQtNDg4Mi04NjY0LTY2MzUzZTNjYzE3NC5qcGciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9NDg5In1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.SNE0sGK5vg1L00up8R0jIDTjRyRgU7dKqaxxKQvurp4[/img]



Remember when gamerbros knew how to meme? Yeah, me neither.

Remember this guy?





I actually went on a bit of an Inspector Gadget jag a few months back. I got started when the YouTube algorithm recommended this to me...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D8y_jKYVeM



...which then led me to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIc13VjeAw8



Goddamn, I love YouTube.

Methinks I'm starting to get stir crazy; I'm using my TransFormers toys to re-enact notable moments from the G1 show:






FUN FACT: I stopped maturing emotionally around the age of ten.

Remember when you could put a bumper sticker on your car supporting a presidential candidate(any candidate) without suffering tire vandalism?

Here's an interesting twist to the whole "remember when" deal: was there something that was really super-mega-popular during your childhood that you just didn't care for, and/or didn't really understand why it was so popular? And in some cases, it would have been considered heretical of you to state your disdain for the super-popular thing out loud?

In my case, it was... Pee-Wee Herman.

THAT'S RIGHT! I SAID IT! WHATTAYA GONNA DO ABOUT IT, HUH?! EAT ME!!!

*AHEM*

I never understood his appeal, I just found him obnoxious and highly annoying, with a very off-putting demeanor. It came as no surprise to me when Paul Reubens, the man behind the insufferable dork, got busted for wrestling with his "little Pee-Wee" in a porn theater in the early 1990s.

Meanwhile, Ernest P. Worrell was the freaking man! Why did he hafta be the one to die of lung cancer while Pee-Wee lives on to get a successful revival tour?! There really is no justice in this world...  >:(

I enjoy them both.

You're a sick, sick man...

... but I like ya anyway for some reason.

Remember when there were these things called CD's?  I remember getting my first CD.  Changed my life.

Are those anything like cassettes, the latest relics from the 1980s to see a revival in recent days?

What?!  Cassette tapes are making a comeback?

At least in my area. I've recently checked out a few of my fave local new-&-used media stores, and they are selling certain albums on cassette for upwards of $10 each.

I'm almost certain the next vein of 1980s nostalgia they'll be mining are movies & shows on VHS tape...

$10 for a cassette tape?  Highway robbery!

That's the highest price I've encountered; they're usually in the $3-$5 range.

Thanks to an episode of RedLetterMedia's Best of the Worst series, I may have discovered the most unapologetically 80's opening theme ever composed for an otherwise completely forgettable kidvid edutainment show!

But don't take my word for it; look... listen... learn... and enjoy for yourself:





And in case you care, here's the RLM Best of the Worst episode where I found this amazing little gem (the hack-frauds' breakdown of Dr. Misterio's Patented Video Almanac of Fun starts right at the 30-minute mark, BTW):

That was... entertaining.

Robble robble robble robble robble:

How about the Fry guys?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kyia2t5GxY

Separated at Birth?

Er, I mean, ROBBLE ROBBLE ROBBLE?

[img width=340 height=223]https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/ronaldmcdonald/images/5/54/Hamburglar.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/340?cb=20150107042606[/img][img width=285 height=350]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4b/b8/59/4bb859a3a4edaabe28220d5375dc3fd2.jpg[/img]

Remember when superhero movies weren't these ridiculously complex chapters of an overall cinematic universe, and were able to stand on their own... more or less?

I bring up this "remember when" due to the recent passing of Richard Donner, director of the first modern superhero movie, Superman. Oh, he also directed parts of Superman II, but was fired before completing it.

On a personal note: Superman was the first movie I ever saw in theaters. What I remember most about the experience was that it was rather loud. And let's not forget the legendary opening credits sequence, where I first experienced not only the greatest Superman theme ever, or the greatest super-hero theme ever, but the greatest movie theme ever, period. And don't try to argue otherwise, 'cuz you're just plain wrong. And you know you are wrong, stop lying to yourself. This theme, along with the scores for the original Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies, made me a fan of John Williams for life. KNEEL BEFORE JOHN!

ANYway, that's it for now... thank you for your attention, and have a nice day.


...'Late

Just finished reading this Cracked.com Pictofacts feature about an unsung hero of the 1980s & 90s kidvid scene:


https://www.cracked.com/image-pictofact-7017-who-was-david-wise-16-facts-about-the-patron-saint-of-saturday-mornings


Enjoy...

Some recent postings on the Word Association thread got me geezin' back to the mid-1990s, when the WWE (the WWF back then) and Ted WCW fought tooth and nail to come out on top during the Monday night ratings wars. During this period, I remember the WWF putting out these ad spot parodies that threw shade at Hulk Hogan and "Macho Man" Randy Savage having jumped ship for bigger bucks to the WCW. These spots featured Billionaire Ted-- a parody of WCW owner Ted Turner-- hyping up his company's next big event featuring... The Hucketer and the Nacho Man, as well as "Scheme" Gene, a shot at then-former WWF pre-match interviewer "Mean Gene" Okerlund.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhZmf1pCihw



Here's a YouTube mini-doc about the Billionaire Ted skits:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NDgkwl8wz4



ANYway, these memories were stirred up by the mentioning of a commercial from around this same period that featured a parody of the Village People's "Macho Man" called "Nacho Man." Turns out the spot was for various Old El Paso salsas, dips, and other products:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKW-VVgkJdc



I also recalled Old El Paso reworking a classic KC and the Sunshine Band song into another oddly entertaining ad spot:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PMlH_G1xw4



Aaand here's one that I wasn't even aware of before:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHVKG6s_dmk



Wow, even in the '90s, they were using my nostalgia for the '80s to try and sell me stuff. Who Knew?

Thanks to the YouTube algorithm, I was taken back to the days of chewing gum with liquid centers. Or "cum gum" as one indelicate friend of mine called them. Basically, they were the Gushers of chewing gum.

Freshen-Up was probably the most famous product in this category, followed by Tidal Wave. There were also ones flavored like Dr. Pepper, A&W root beer, Orange Crush, and other notable sody pops. However, the brand that stuck with me the most was Chewels, thanks to the surprisingly catchy jingle in their commercials from the mid-1980s:


https://youtu.be/hhLdHy5JVMs

https://youtu.be/dZAlvzjHOrs

https://youtu.be/6eQAP6U-roY

https://youtu.be/LYrp8PGCvXE

https://youtu.be/IA8LtZfbkew


A synthy new-wave style jingle teamed up with a narrator with a baritone tone of seriousness which is more than this commercial deserves? More of that, please!

Remember when Pepperidge Farm remembered?


https://youtu.be/gXUxLqqmhNs

https://youtu.be/q919zNaT9Kk

https://youtu.be/d4M-6X9iUjw


Ironically, I don't really remember these ads at all. I guess they didn't play much in my neck of the woods at the time...


https://youtu.be/Ya7eXI5VybA

Remember when I wasn't the only schmuck posting on this thread?





Um... hello?






Anyone?







I rest my case.

I do remember that.  What's with people not posting nowadays?!

You sound like you're either setting up a Seinfeld stand-up routine...

...or a cutaway scene in Family Guy.



Hey, why can't it be both?

https://youtu.be/Smr6XanFNYg

https://youtu.be/3f1L716ClDM


Eh, close enough.

My question in general. I remember this place was always active even when I didn't visit often. I've been checking back in recently and am surprised to see the low amount of daily posts.

You and me both, sadly.

I just hope nothing happens to RFGen. Even if the forums are less active for whatever reason. It's always been my #1 collection tool and it was really the first video game forum I joined all those years ago. Actually I just checked and my join date is October 7, 2007. I've been an RFGen member for over 15 years! Can't say that about many other places.

Remember when... people visited and posted on this website?

Those were good times. ;)

;)

When did it slow down this bad? I feel like even a year or two ago this was a really active site.

I'd say 2-4 years ago.

Remember when Jerry Springer's (RIP) trashy daytime show was at its height?

I kinda sorta remember. I watched an occasional episode, but even for all its trashiness, it didn't really hold my interest all that much.

Still, ya gotta appreciate the moxie of a guy who got busted paying a prostitute-- errr, an uncertified sex worker with a check when he was the mayor of Cincinnati.

And now a member of the sub-35 crowd reading this post and asking themselves, "what the hell is a check?"

So there's something else for us geezers to have yet another a "remember when..." moment.

Which will help keep this thread from slipping off the front page of the Idle Chatter board for at least another six months, which is when the next reply will be posted.

Most likely by me.

Probably due to a 1980s commercial recommended to me by the YouTube algorithm for some product I'd all but forgotten about, but after I watch it I'll get hit with a tsunami of nostalgia so intense, that I'll head right on over this very thread to write a four-paragraph essay about how the commercial really brings me back to my days of misspent youth during the Reagan administation...

...which will then may or may not be read and replied to by Shaggy... and maybe one other guy... and no one else.

Then Shaggy will text me to complain that I don't respond quickly enough to his posts on the 3-Word Story and Word Association threads, and then I retaliate by texting him five dozen pics of my latest TransFormers pickups, along with some bit of highly esoteric TransFormers lore that no one cares about, not even me. Wash, rinse, repeat. It never freaking ends, you know?

Goddamn, I love talking about the good old days.

Wow!  that is so true, except the Transformers are in different sexual positions...  On another note, I saw a few episodes of Springer, Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!  Who remembers his security guard, Steve Wilkos, who somehow got his own talk show  spun off of this.  What about Montell Williams, Donahue, Sallie Jesse Raphael, Ricki lake, among other talk show hosts I don't recall at the moment?  Does anyone remember them?  What are up to now?  Are they dead?  Are they alive?

Sheesh... you texted me in confidence about sending you something a little "different" for your spank-bank, but after I do so, you do nothing but gripe, gripe, gripe.

See if I ever cater to your bizarrely specific fetishes ever again, you ingrate.

And buy your own damn motion-lotion and Kleenex(R), cheapskate.

But your motion-lotion and Kleenex(R) are better.

Remember times where life was so much easier, no responsibility.  Boy, those sure were the days....

Welcome to the world of adulting.

I don't want that.  Take me back to before adulting.

Can I join you? It’s been a hectic year so far and I could really use a break lol.

Absolutely,  how far back are we going?

There is no going back, I'm sorry to say.

That's what this thread is all about.

Remember when the Unabomber terrorized old-school techbros from coast to coast for two decades?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOOF7Sh__tE




But he had his lighter moments, too:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCr-lLVHPw0

I don't remember much from that.

I sort of remember talking about him to others back in the mid 90s when he got back to his antics after a long hiatus.

It was a welcome change of pace from the whole Branch Davidian standoff & burndown that happened just a few months earlier.

That was the Waco, Texas Kool-Aid suicide thing, right?

The Waco part, yes. The Kool-Aid part was the Jonestown cult mass suicide in Guyana in the late 1970s.

BTW they actually used Flavor-Aid... and I resent all the defamation of the good name of Kool-Aid in all the years since!

Don't you agree, Kool-Aid Man?!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fjEViOF4JE

OH YEAH!  Remember that? He would bust through the wall and say that.  EDIT: I guess I should have watched the Youtube video before replying. :laugh:

Remember when Pee-Wee Herman (RIP) was all the rage? I know I sure do, and... well, to be honest, I never really understood it, myself. The whole obnoxious-man-child persona held no appeal to me at all. Easily his funniest moment was when he was caught apparently, um, "getting happy" with his peewee in a theater known for screening, shall we say, special-interest movies.

A favorite joke that came from the bust involved Pee Wee and Jeffrey Dahmer sharing a jail cell. Pee Wee tells Dahmer what he's in for, and Dahmer replies, "well you know it isn't polite to play with your food."

Speaking of obnoxious man-children: I feel pretty much the same way about Adam Sandler, another guy whose characters' pernchant for insufferable obnoxiousness gained him an inexplicable degree of fame and fortune in the 90s and aughts. Maybe I just wasn't intellectual enough to grasp his high-concept humor? I gotta admit I liked Happy Gilmore and parts of The Wedding Singer, though.

I really enjoyed watching Pee-Wee's Playhouse on Saturday mornings when I was a kid.  As far as Adam Sandler goes, I like him but you are right, the stupid obnoxious voice he would do in every movie was annoying.

Remember when X was called Twitter?

I remember when your mom was called twitter. OH!!!

No, she was called twatter.

Now that was just rude.

I'm so proud of ya.

Anybody here watch the game shows Tic-Tac-Dough or The Joker's Wild back in the early to mid-1980s? I used to catch them with my ma back in the day. And you couldn't come up with a name that's more game-show-host-y than Wink Martindale if you tried.

Loved the somewhat silly synthy Tic-Tac-Dough theme, lemme tell ya.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FZ78X6xB6Q

Both great shows.  I think he was also on Card Sharks and another show whose name is escaping me.

Remember when this guy-- rest his soul-- was the funniest part of the original Night Court?



Zagnorch Farms remembers.

Actually, he didn't really die; he just headed to Jupiter with his new friends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auWQcfJ_7DI




Which reminds me: I only recently discovered that he did Bubble Yum commercials just before he landed his most famous role:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIqAslWWEV8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP8or1-4mlg



You know who else did a Bubble Yum commercial before he got famous? You guessed it: Frank Stallone the Karate Kid himself, Ralph Macchio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zLmILtq0-4



Then there's George Costanza doing a McDonald's commercial, back when he still had a full head of hair:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh1kmVwS4Hw


Ah yes, the McDLT... IIRC there was a gag on an episode of Night Court that referenced its tag line of "keeps the hot side hot and the cool side cool." Which means my little rabbit-hole dive of 1980s nostalgia has come full circle.

Speaking of cast members of inexplicably successful '90s sitcoms: some nobody named Matthew Perry also kicked the bucket... whoever the hell that loser was.


ANYway, stay safe out there.

I somewhat remember those Bubble Yum commercials with Richard Moll but not Ralph. Richard was great on Night Court, now there are only two....

Remember when out parents always told us to have some quarters with us in case we need to call home at the pay phone or phonebooth?  I can't remember the last time I've seen either.  *SIGH*

What is this "pay phone" you speak of?

That thing you put money in to make phone calls.

You mean a cell phone bill?

Ugh, why do I even try?

Try to remember?

Remember the mid-80s-to-early-90s marketing effort to label certain foods as "gourmet" to make them seem more high-end than they actually were? Talk about pretentious.

And it wasn't just people food that fell victim to this marketing strategy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjM9bqSx9Wc


On a related note: do any of my fellow Vespuccian children of the 80s recall commercials for Johann Jacobs coffee? I only remember because they pronounced the brand name in its original German (Yo-hahn Yah-cubs).

I never heard of that coffee but how about Meow Mix?  I sure remember that jingle.

As does Dr. Evil:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmN2CxgLfH0


Hey, remember when Austin Powers was all the rage? I actually liked those silly movies...

I liked them movies, too.  I want number 4.

I'm not sure if I want to see a 4th one, seeing as how it's been over 20 years since the last one came out.

But it's not like my concerns are gonna stop the effort. I mean, they've already done long-awaited sequels in recent years, like Top Gun, The Matrix, Bill & Ted, and Good Burger; it's highly doubtful they'll be stopping the trend any time soon.

Apparently Good Burger 2 was awful, which makes me sad. I haven't checked it out but I heard bad things.

It's on Paramount+, I believe...

Or a certain +0rr3n+ site...

...but you didn't hear it from me.

Did someone say porn?

There are plenty of non-+0rr3n+ sites for that kinda stuff.

Er, not that I'm speaking from personal experience or anything.  :paranoid:

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to clear my browser history.

BRB

How about this blast from the past:
(https://i.imgur.com/NrcvvMf.jpg)

The college I work at still has phone books but the phone is gone.

And they haven't even updated the phone book since you last attended it.

Ok.....

NO, IT'S NOT OK!!!   :grrr:

Ok.....

ANYway...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dcYnyZm974

So many memories from watching that video and most of them I relate with.

Remember the days when there were a lot of craft-ish toys and playthings like...


...Presto Magix making the action come alive?




...Spirograph showing you what you could do when a surprise spins out for you?




... Lite-Brite making things with light?

I loved my Lite-Brite, my brother had the Spirograph, I had totally forgot about Presto Magix, although, I never played with it or owned it.

What about Colorforms...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGDeSkAqKMs


...and Shrinky Dinks?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXW2vT0W7ZI

Oh yes, I had them both!

Oh man, I was just reminded of Jeffrey Osborne's "Woo-Woo-Woo" song, which I hadn't heard in decades:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4q3ARD3O78



Ah, Jeffrey Osborne... the go-to guy when Billy Ocean wasn't available.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgpcEYkj0hQ



Ah, Billy Ocean... the go-to guy when Lionel Richie wasn't available.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovo6zwv6DX4



Ah, Rodney Dangerfield cameos...

So, how about those "Cliff at IHOP" commercials that played back in the day? They were just so adorably corny, especially the Rooty-Tooty-Fresh-&-Fruity breakfast promo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trSo2YrWI2o


BTW I recall these radio ads that played around the 80s or early 90s for either a regional ski shop or a ski resort somewhere, most likely the California/ Nevada area, i think around Lake Tahoe. The spots featured a guy whose whole thing was that he "liked to fall down in the snow," and that he was "a snow kind of guy." If anybody out there has any idea what those ads were for, please let me know, thanks.

Anybody here...

Oh, who am I kidding, OF COURSE nobody's here.

Ah, screw it, I'll just go on anyway.

Anybody here remember Pizza Hut's "Pizza Head" commercials from the 90s?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agok_TVaDms


Now I know what you're thinking: these look a lot like those "Mr. Bill" shorts from early SNL:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRJE2n3qjrY


That's 'cuz the ad firm that made the commercials hired the creator of the "Mr. Bill" shorts to work on the Pizza Head spots.


BTW here's a YouTube documentary about the whole deal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEHS5cr_D_o

I don't remember Pizza Head but I remember Mr. Bill.

Mr Bill yes

Pizza Head no