When I was a little kid, repeats of the 1960s TV series Batman aired after school. Not only did I hate the show, which was clearly for boys, but I hated the theme song. It actually freaked me out.
Fast forward to today. I am much older (MUCH) and every night we watch The Hub and the final show of the night is Batman and the song STILL creeps me out. The sound of the instruments and the women chanting "Batman" over and over again. I just cannot take it.
I can't listen, but go ahead, brave the song and click play to hear it for yourself.
In 1990, Will Smith and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a TV fave.
It's the morning after Christmas and I'm sipping a delicious cup of Sumatra in bed, playing Words with Friends and watching The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. What better way to spend a day off? Don't be jealous, I have plenty of chores planned for the day. I'd never let a day off go to waste without vacuuming, mopping and laundry.
Remember Fresh Prince of Bel-Air? Remember Will Smith before he became a mega star? Before he had babies? Before divorce announcements? The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air came just in time for Will Smith. He had been in trouble with the IRS for underpaying his taxes. The show financially saved him and helped his career big time!
Here are some fun facts about The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air first aired in September of 1990. I was a freshman in college. Life was one big party back then.
Twenty-two years later, I can sing along to the theme song. In the late 1990s, I interviewed Tatyani Ali who played Will's little sister, Ashley. Like me, Ashley was from Long Island.
Who could forget first lovin' Alfonso Ribeiro from Silver Spoons?
If you were a kid back in 1977, you most likely owned a pair of Underoos. I, however, did not.
Underoos were marketed by Fruit of the Loom after Hanes turned down the idea. Wow, whoever made that executive decision must feel like the ass from Mars who refused to use M & M in E.T.
Underoos were super popular back in the days. They're an integral part of 1970s pop culture. Underoos let kids have fun in their undies. The early characters were all super hero themed and I was never big into DC Comics or Marvel Comics. I wasn't really into comics so maybe that's why it wasn't a big deal to me at the time. I think that the cooler Underoos characters such as E.T. and Pac Man were only available for boys. Otherwise, I totally would have sported them!
I especially loved the commercial and jingle for Underoos. Remember it? I do recall feeling a bit awkward during the boys' Underoos commercial -- like cover up! Ya know?
Between 1990-1991, New Kids on the Block had their own animated ABC TV show featuring the band in teen sitcom style situations. The group appeared in live bits before each cartoon began, but due to legalities, actors voiced the different members of the group.
I was too old and too cool for NKOTB, however I remember the younger kids lovin' on them big time. By the time this cartoon aired, I was off to college. Does anyone remember watching Donnie, Jordan, Joe, Jonathan and Danny in cartoon form?
Though the cartoon was only on for about a year, Disney Channel picked the series up and aired the repeats.
Here's a clip of the New Kids on the Block cartoon for you.
I wasn't super into game shows, however Press Your Luck stands out in my mind as being loads of fun. The CBS game show ran from 1983 to 1986 and kept viewers on the edge of their seats. Folks would exclaim, "No Whammy!' and "Big bucks" or "Big Money!" as contestants prayed they wouldn't hit upon those ugly whammies and lose all of their winnings.
When contestants would hit upon a Whammy, there would be this "Wah Wah" musical sound and an animated ugly Whammy would creep onto the screen and make an insulting joke and giggle in a voice similar to a gremlin.
Check out this YouTube video of Press Your Luck contestants who hit upon some creepy Whammies.
Back in the 1980s, my mom would take my little brother and me to our local shopping mall every Friday night. We'd enjoy dinner at the food court and spend our allowance on mall treats. I'd usually purchase some cheap makeup at a drug store or '80s accessories at The Deb Shop.
Before we'd head out, we'd always hit this kiosk that specialized in popcorn and my most favorite was rainbow flavored. It was sweet and pretty and just so delicious. I'm craving rainbow popcorn right now. It's something you don't see often. Anyone remember it?
I adored The Magic Garden with Carole and Paula. This children's show aired from 1972-1984 on WPIX, channel 11 in New York. If you're a parent of older kids, you may remember Nick Jr. aired reruns in the early 1990s.
I recall, as a little girl, thinking my mom looked so much like one of the hosts Carole Demas -- she has the lighter, longer hair. This may have contributed to my deep love for the show. I adored the songs and the stories. I was in awe of the Chuckle Patch that grew silly jokes and the flowers actually giggled. Characters such as goofy Sherlock, the wacky pink squirrel and his buddy Flapper the bird were perfect additions to the cast.
I loved the Story Box, a great, big colorful chest that provided Carole and Paula with magical felt props and simplistic costumes. The only thing about The Magic Garden that I didn't like was that Carole and Paula would say a personal hello to viewers. Much like The Magic Mirror on Romper Room, my name was never mentioned.
Such a wonderful show for kids. Here are some videos to jog your memory.
The Magic Garden is available on DVD and if I had a kid, I'd totally share it with them. I think it's way better than any of that newfangled Gabba Gabba garbage kids love today.
"Baby Talk" and "All Night Passion" were my fave songs.
In seventh grade, my BFF Danny loved teen queen singers such as Tiffany and Alisha. As his friend, I had to share a love of these pop stars. In fact I even took him to see Tiffany live with NKOTB at The Westbury Music Fair on Long Island. My folks had a special membership which got us second row. WOO HOO!
For a very brief moment around 1985, I couldn't stop listening to Brooklyn-born Alisha's dance tunes. She was a total teen version of Madonna. Her self-titled 1985 album was locked into my Sharp brand pink retro little boom box radio for weeks at a time as I quickly learned the lyrics to every song from "Baby Talk" to "All Night Passion." She was edgy and her lyrics were dirty, although I had no idea what she was talking about at an innocent age 12.
Here are her big hits from back in the day. If you're under 35, trust me you will not remember her.
Making my holiday wish list, I thought about how much I'd love to celebrate the holidays with some sweet and crunchy Christmas cereals. I don't think there are any this year, though I do recall some fun Christmas cereals from back in the day.
From 1988 - 1989, I loved this sitcom, Day By Day. Now at the time, nobody knew that Courtney Thorne-Smith would be a big hit on Melrose Place or that Julia Louis-Dreyfus would star on Seinfeld and frankly, they weren't the reason I watched. I was in love with C.B. Barnes also known as Christopher Daniel Barnes.
C.B. Barnes portrayed the role of Greg Brady in the Brady Bunch movies in the 1990s and did voices for Spider-Man and Disney movie characters. By then, I had moved on. The funny thing is, I stole his last name and used it as a pen name early in my writing career. I'm not sure why, I guess because he was one of my first favorite celebrities and we were born only three days apart.
So back to Day By Day ... Many of you will not remember this show. It was about two parents who quit their busy, successful jobs to start a day care center in their home. Day By Day was a short-lived NBC comedy - only 33 episodes aired, but I watched every single one!
