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!
I wasn't the best student. I studied and always did my homework, however school was forever a struggle for me. In first grade, my teacher instructed my mom to have me tune into The Electric Company. The teacher believed it would help improve my grades.
Although I did enjoy watching The Electric Company on PBS throughout my younger years, I'm not sure if it had any positive impact on my grades. I loved the music, the interesting characters and the lessons behind it all. It's crazy to look back now and realize what an incredible cast made up The Electric Company! The talent ranged from Gene Wilder to Bill Cosby to Morgan Freeman. WOW! At age 6, I had no idea.
The Electric Company, produced by the Children's Television Workshop (they did Sesame Street) ran for only six seasons from 1971-1977, but aired in repeats until about 1985. Gothamist reported that new episodes were in the works for kids of the '70s to share with their kids. Everything old is always new again :)
Check out these video clips to get a better idea of what the show was like back in the day.
Peter comes home for Folger's Christmas commercial from 1986.
A few weeks ago, my coworker confessed that there's a particular Christmas commercial from 1986 that actually makes her shed a tear. She said whenever she saw this Folger's Coffee commercial, she always knew Christmas was near.
The commercial features a handsome son named Peter who comes home from college for the holiday break. He's greeted by his little sister who calls out the famous line, "Peeeeeter!" He quietly whisks her into the kitchen and begins to brew a delicious pot of Folger's Coffee to surprise his sleeping family.
The home is beautifully decorated. The snow is falling, and it's just picture perfect. Peter is shown walking in with a stack of wrapped Christmas gifts for his family. They are all reunited and destined for a lovely holiday together. Folger's tried to recreate the Peter magic a few years back and modernized it, but it just wasn't as good as the original.
Although I remember the Folger's commercial, one of my very first favorite holiday commercials is for McDonald's gift certificates and features Corey Feldman as a toddler. He's so adorable, you just have to see this. It is from 1977.
Smartfood White Cheddar popcorn famous since the late '80s.
Smartfood brand white cheddar popcorn was born in 1985. Frito Lay didn't buy the brand and make it famous until about 1989.
Lately, I've been packing small 100 calorie bags of the delicious cheddar popcorn with my lunches. It's not too high in fat and is under 10 grams of carbs. Sure, it's not the healthiest snack, but it could be worse.
Smartfood always brings me back to my high school and college years. I loved the combination of salty, cheesy Smartfood and a chilled Snapple iced tea. There's something nostalgic to me about munching on the stuff today and it's just a good as I remember.
I wish they'd bring back reruns of WKRP In Cincinnati.
WKRP in Cincinnati was a CBS sitcom featuring an ensemble cast of characters working at a Top 40 radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. About 88 episodes aired between 1978-1982 and although I was just a little kid during the show's heyday, I remember loving the theme song and the silly story lines. Who could resist the hilarious antics of Dr. Johnny Fever (Howard Hesseman) or Jennifer's (Loni Anderson) beauty or the soulful charm of Venus Flytrap (Tim Reid)?
Remember WKRP in Cincinnati? Here's an episode for ya.
I've been working on a freelance project involving cable television installation. The entire topic is completely foreign to me as I've only written copy for ad agencies, teen magazines, kid's books, city guides and pharmaceutical websites. The other day, I came across the word, "max headroom" and of course my mind began to wander back to the '80s. You know me, it only takes a word to bring me back to the good ole days ... Sadly the other freelancers are much younger than me and can't really share my love of the '80s.
My question to you dear readers is, remember Max Headroom? We first met Max Headroom, voiced by Canadian actor Matt Frewer, in about 1986. Max was a sarcastic, futuristic, yet retro looking animated handsome character. Max Headroom's voice was sometimes distorted and he often stuttered. He was featured in the Art of Noise video for "Paranoimia" and was the spokesperson for New Coke during their "Catch the Wave" commercials.
There was a short-lived Max Headroom TV series and he appeared on MTV, the 1988 Winter Olympics and more. Max truly became an icon between 1986-1988, landing on the cover of magazines such as Mad, Newsweek and People.
I was a true mall girl throughout my grammar and junior high school years. What else would a girl growing up on Long Island do when not at the beach?
Way before we were brand conscience with our Esprit, Benetton and E.G. Smith brand slouch socks, we hit the Deb Shop every weekend. We girls loved shopping at Deb's and spending our allowance on long, baggy bright "jam" style shorts and accessories such as plastic pearls, Madonna gloves, neon gummy bracelets and more.
I was surprised to see that Deb Shops started way back in 1932 and are still thriving, check out their website at Deb Shop.
When I was in grammar school, I loved jumping rope at lunch time. We girls would gather together and work off our lunch jumping rope together. Back then it was awesome, today I'd die if I had to jump rope after lunch.
I remember loving Double Dutch. Double Dutch was a game we loved to play in the school yard with two jump ropes going in different directions, which seemed very confusing. One or more girls would skip over the ropes. It was so much fun.
In the mid to late 1980s, weight loss guru Richard Simmons began touting a new diet program called Deal-A-Meal. Deal-A-Meal was only available through TV infomercials and commercials and consisted of various cards to help dieters track the types of food they ate throughout the day.
Similar to Weight Watchers, Deal-A-Meal didn't seem gimmicky and didn't promote pills or shakes. Richard Simmons always seems so genuine. I know he's comical, but there's something endearing about his upbeat and warm personality.
Does anyone remember this commercial for Deal-A-Meal?
For years, Rosie (Nancy Walker) advertised Bounty as the Quicker Picker Upper!
There are a handful of commercials and slogans I loved growing up from "Calgon, take me away" to the Better Cheddars jingle. Oh, and who could forget, "A pizza, with nuttin?" Well, last night I joked that my husband spent the big bucks on Bounty, the Quicker Picker Upperpaper towels instead of the cheap store brand I typically buy.
Of course, the first thing I thought of when I realized he bought Bounty, was Rosie. Back in the '70s and '80s the redheaded character actress, Nancy Walker (from Rhoda) perfectly portrayed a sassy diner waitress. Constantly cleaning up her clumsy customer's mishaps with Bounty, the Quicker Picker Upper, Rosie truly convinced America that Bounty got the job done right.
Tang Instant Breakfast Drink was invented in 1957.
Back in the days, Tang was known as the orange breakfast drink of choice for the astronauts. NASA served the space travelers Tang Instant Breakfast Drinkbecause the space shuttle water was so nasty, Tang helped camouflage the taste.
Tang was another one of those drinks you never found in our home -- it was on that list of banned foods such as fun sugar cereal, Shake 'n Bake and Kool-Aid. My mom had a thing about certain packaged foods.
I suddenly have an urge to pick up a canister of this amazing citrus sweetness, yet feel as if I haven't seen it lately. I remember trying it once at a friend's house way back in kindergarten. I loved it. It was way better than ordinary orange juice. Even Mrs. Brady thinks so. Check out one of many Tang commercials featuring Florence Henderson.
I loved the Play-Doh Mop Top Shop barber shop in the late 1970s
Like most kids, I loved Play-Doh and all of the fun Play-Doh sets such as this one, my personal favorite, the Mop Top Barber Shop. As you cranked the chair, the hair would grow on the Play-Doh characters. How cool is that? I think they still make this.
Check out this vintage commercial for the Play-Doh Mop Top Barber Shop.
Bosom Buddies sitcom with Tom Hanks & Peter Scolari
Does anyone remember the 1980s sitcom Bosom Buddies? I loved this show and I loved that Billy Joel's"My Life" (though performed by someone else) was used as the theme song.
Bosom Buddies starred Tom Hanks (before he was really famous) and the adorable Peter Scolari in drag. The boys had to dress up as women in order to live in a cheap affordable apartment in New York City. The concept was zany and unbelievable and the ABC show only survived for two years. Sadly I haven't seen it in recent reruns, but wish The Hub would bring it back.
Trick or Treating was truly the highlight of Halloween for this chubby kid. I've wanted to blog about these Halloween Trick or Treat goody bags every October and thanks to RetroJunk.com I finally have an image! The best house you could ever visit while trick or treating in the 1970s or 1980s, was the house that gave out goody bags.
If you were a kid in the 1980s you may recall these white paper bags featured scary black and orange Halloween themed graphics. Generous neighbors would fill the bags with different fun sized chocolate bars and other treats. The only thing that topped these awesome goody bags were the rare homeowners who doled out FULL SIZED chocolate bars.
I haven't gone trick-or-treating in more than 25 years, but I wonder if anyone gives out goody bags or full sized chocolate bars today? My other personal favorite were snack cakes such as Hostess Twinkies or Drakes Devil Dogs. Sadly, Mom typically confiscated any snack cakes or apples (who the heck wants an apple on Halloween anyway unless it's covered in caramel!) She felt these were easy targets for hiding razor blades.
I liked when folks gave Devil Dogs as
Trick or Treat snacks, but mom
always thought they
had razor blades in them.
Every prep between 1986-1987 owned a pair of Eastland boat shoes
I am always honest here so it's only fair that I admit that, well, I wasn't always cool. I didn't own my first pair of Doc Martens until tenth grade. I believe it was in ninth grade when I indulged in the famous 1980s Eastland brand boat shoes.
If you were seriously preppy, you always paired your slouch socks (preferably E.G. Smith brand) with your Eastland shoes along with the Eastland Knot. We all wore Eastlands, they were a must back then, especially as a Catholic high school student, what else was a kid to wear?
One of my favorite commercials and slogans back in the '80s, was for Calgon brand bubble bath. The famous slogan, "Calgon, take me away" was uttered by busy and exhausted 1980s mothers and housewives all across America. It must have really caught on, because to this day, people still joke about it.
I think those commercials and the concept of being, "taken away" by a bubble bath influenced me growing up. I loved taking bubble baths with Calgon. I would fill the tub with way too many bubbles and just relax reading my teen magazines as bubbles spilled over onto our bathroom floor.
Here's an example of one of the famous Calgon TV commercials. Remember this?
Inflatable, blue up Gumby hung out
in my room until about 1988.
At twelve, I became obsessed with these inflatable, blowup palm trees. I can't find the exact palm tree online to share them with you, but they were the coolest. I had a small one and one that was huge, like five feet tall.
I especially loved the blowup, inflatable Gumby. I would put hats on him or dress him in a cool band t-shirt. I think I held onto Gumby for a while and then I outgrew him in about tenth grade. Does anyone remember the blowup Gumby or inflatable palm trees from back then?
Remember Over Our Heads? The cool gift shop on Facts of Life? Click here to view the huge, green inflatable palm tree I had in my bedroom and loved almost as much as Gumby.
Back in the days, I thought I was so cool with my electric blue mascara. Colored mascara was popular with teens and preteens in 1987 and yes, just like everything else, it has made a comeback. Did you wear colored mascara?
The Love Boat rocked my Friday nights between 1978-1982.
Like most TV-lovers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I spent my Saturday nights glued to the TV waiting to "set a course for adventure, my mind on a new romance." I'd sit about two feet away from the screen (even though Dad warned me that I would ruin my eyes) and anxiously wait for The Love Boat.
I loved the theme song. I loved the special guests like Charo and Adam Rich. I loved the warm and welcoming crew and yeah, I had a small crush on Gopher. I thought Vicki Stubing was the luckiest girl. The Love Boat made cruising on the Pacific Princess look heavenly, and to this day if all of my vacations were cruises, I'd be fine with that.
This classic Aaron Spelling show ran from 1977-1986, however I'm quite sure that by the mid 1980s I was no longer tuning in. I had other shows to watch with cute boys like Jason Bateman or Kirk Cameron, but I will forever remember loving The Love Boat and wishing I could be a special guest. How about you?
Combos, cheesing your hunger
away since the 1970s.
Throughout the 1980s I was all about Combos. Yes, I realize these cheese-filled pretzel snacks are still popular today, but it was the 1980s when I had my very first taste of Combos. I remember I was about ten and my family was on some sort of endless road trip. Maybe we went upstate, I don't recall exactly.
What I do remember was walking into a gas station rest stop with two dollars. I was ready to try something new and there they were in all their glory, Combos. I remember I wanted to make that taste last a very long time so I sucked on each Combo until it literally disintegrated in my mouth. I washed down each soggy cheesy pretzel with a mouthful of Diet Coke. It was heaven. To this day I still find Combos irresistible.
When it comes to 1980s styles, I'm embarrassed to admit that I actually liked parachute pants. A few years later, acid washed jeans became super popular. Acid wash was an effect created by washing denim jeans with pumice stones and bleach.
Usually a fan of whatever was in style at the time, I honestly don't think I owned one pair of acid washed jeans. I just wasn't a big fan. Acid wash was one style I was happy to say goodbye to.
I am so very sad this weekend with the remake of Footloose. You know how upset I was about my other childhood favorite remake, Karate Kid. I loved everything about the original Footloose, but of course Kevin Bacon had a lot to do with my Footloose obsession.
At age 12, I loved the music. I knew the words to every single song on the soundtrack. I loved the style of the clothing everyone wore -- I wasn't even into cowboy boots, but it worked in Footloose. As a preteen, I wanted to someday attend a prom. I wanted to drive an old VW Bug. I wanted to live in the country and hang out at a cool burger joint.
I wanted a boyfriend with messy, spiked hair. In fact, Footloose pretty much started the spiked hair trend for the average kid. I remember wanting my hair to stick up like Ren's. I read in Seventeen that I needed something called mousse to do it. Back in 1984 mousse was almost impossible to find.
Why remake one of my childhood favorites? Why mess with a good thing? Why not just touch it up and re-release the originals?
The 1980s Barbie Star Traveler motor home was so cool
In addition to the Barbie Dream House, the Barbie Star Traveler Motor Home was yet another awesome toy I never owned. I believe my friend Robin may have had one in grammar school. I know someone had it and I loved it.
Click below to watch the annoying happy-as-hell girls playing with their Barbie Star Traveler Motor Home.
I think the worst part of those 1980s Barbie commercials were those damn little girls. They were always perfect-looking and adorable. It's as if they were rubbing it in and having the time of their damn lives playing with a toy you'd never own.
I would loved to have played with a Barbie Motor Home in our yard. My Smurfs would have really enjoyed dining in that kitchen on wheels. I could take the Barbie Motor Home to the beach in the summer or maybe even be daring and bring it into my snow forts. But no, no Barbie Star Traveler Motor Home for me. My parents made it up to me by purchasing cars for me in college, so I can't even try to make them feel guilty.
