Remember Arsenio Hall? In the wake of the closing of the DNC last night, let me take you back to one of the moments remembered as the "lauching" of President Bill Clinton during his first campaign for office...jamming on the sax.
"If this music thing doesn't work out, you can always run for President."
Remember Dan and Dave (for us Americans)?
Reebok blitzed us with Dan O'Brien and Dave Johnson up to the Barcelona Summer Games. These two were supposed to go head to head and duke it out for the decatholan.
One snag. Dan failed to qualify. He didn't even go. Dave ended up with the bronze medal.
Poor choice of horses to hitch your wagons too, Reebok.
I remember really loving this when I was a wee little Bartman, my grandmom had one which was kinda mine in a way, since I was the youngest in the actual area. But looking back on it, this had to be one of the creepiest toys of the 80s. Right behind My Buddy, which basically started the Child's Play horror movie series (look at a My Buddy and tell me that's not Chucky). But basically with Teddy Ruxpin's you got a miniature version of the animatronic characters at the Country Bear Jamboree or Chuck E Cheese. And those were pretty creepy when you think about it. Anyway, enjoy some original commercial goodness of the creepy talking bear...
Oh yeah, I also remember how creepy the thing was when the batteries would start to die. Remember in 2001 when Dave starts removing HAL's chips and he starts toooo slooooooow dooooooooown? Yeah, now imagine a creepy talking bear doing that.
I got the jibblies.
Who is driving, oh my god Bear is driving how can that be?
Thanks for not giving this show even an INKLING of a chance, ABC. You dumbasses.
Alan Thicke.
Nuff said?
Okay, maybe not. But let's not forget this little gem of a made for TV movie about a robotics engineer who basically makes himself a son. And names him Chip. That cheeky monkey. Then the android has to learn to live amongst humans without giving himself away. Zany antics ensue! Of course, in the 80s, lots of movies hinged on ensuing antics of the zany variety.
The greatest part is that Star Trek would basically take the basic premise to create the character of Data. I can't prove that though.
Pogo balls are what you call 'em...
Wow. In hindsight, what a craptacular jingle that was. Didn't stop me from bouncing endlessly on that piece of crap. I remember taking that thing to school. Hell, I lived (well, live, since this is my childhood home, but at the same time they tore down the old school after building a new one behind it) so close to the school that I probably Pogo Ball'ed to school on occasion.
Also, apparantely nobody has the original commercials YouTubed so you'll have to make do with this bunch of jokers going all x-treme (though I will admit to having done the thing as a kid where you would spin the pogo ball then jump on it).
So, when I was growing up, Sesame Street was only really coming in to its own, and while I watched it, I watched Nickelodeon programming so much more...and I do believe that channel was even younger.
Tangential thought: Why does MTV get so much ground breaking recognition while Nickelodeon is barely talked about? At least Nickelodeon is still a children's network, and any and all tweaking still kept the same basic idea of it being a children's network (the only exception being Nick-at-Nite which was old TV shows for older people...because children were supposed to be in bed by then, and now has spawned its own channel of TV Land). MTV has to have separate channels just to play the music videos the channel was invented to do. Ugh, Nick needs more recognition.
Anyway, I grew up on a show that I know a lot of people remember, because I mention it and they say "hey, I remember that." Pinwheel. Blatant Sesame Street knockoff (two guys living in the same room named Plus and Minus who bickered a lot? NOOOO, that's not a knock off!) but for some reason I liked it more, even though it was more classic puppetry than the innovative Muppet technology (well, technically it was technology for puppetry). Here's the intro, which I think manages to get every character in to the intro in a short amount of time, too:
I also watched what might have been the most disturbing childrens show in history: Today's Special. Not so much like, scar you for life disturbing, but simply odd...I mean, it was about a mannequin that came to life when the store closed to help out the night dresser, and the night wtachmen, and such, and in doing so taught lessons on a specific theme for the show (which was billed as todays special...get it?)...though I guess it might have led some stoner guy to turn it in to the cinematic gem Mannequin, so you could say it was disturbing there...here's Today's Special's opening, with a neat little jazz song for the first 10 seconds...which degrades in to like, every 80s TV show theme ever.
And of course, if you watched Nick...you saw Picture Pages! Ah, Cosby.
So, back in the mid 80s we were blessed with one of the cheesiest movies of all time...but yet, it was actually sort of ahead of it's time with the prevalence of Extreme Sports today: Rad. Finally, a movie about a paperboy who becomes a BMX champion.
I once railed for The Monster Squad to get a DVD release, I now focus my attention for Rad. Thank god for YouTube, though, because you can see some cheese-tastic clips including the opening sequence:
The climactic final race on the "Hell Track:"
The cheesiest scene in film history (though if you get through it, you get to my favorite part of the movie..."You over-rotated..." "...no...shit.")
Yes, that's the girl that would eventually grow up to marry Uncle Jessie on Full House.
Also, it was casting genius to get Olympic gymnast Bart Connor to play a blonde egotistical pretty boy hotshot all-star bike rider...I guess William Zabka was busy.
And to finish off, a silly little tribute video, which kinda repeats some thing I already put, but I laugh at the little fake quotes at the beginning:
Let's see if I can keep this feature running longer than a few weeks, eh?
I give you all Spacehog's In The Meantime, my vote for one of the most underrated songs of the 90s (and not simply because my band used to cover it and it was fun to play). I never did get around to getting this album, but I've always heard good things.
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