The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
November 24th, 2023 • Issue 179
This week in the ‘80s and ‘90s
November 24th
1988 - Mystery Science Theater 3000 premiered on a local TV channel in Minneapolis.
1990 - The ill-advised “Running Zack” episode of Saved by the Bell aired.
1991 - Freddie Mercury passed away at age 45.
Freddie Mercury approved the use of Bohemian Rhapsody in Wayne’s World after he saw a cut of the scene before passing away.
Mike Myers reached out to Queen about the famous Wayne’s World scene featuring Bohemian Rhapsody. Queen’s guitarist Brian May took the tape to Freddie Mercury, who was in bed in the late stages of his battle with AIDS.
Freddie loved the scene and gave the Wayne’s World team his approval.
1993 - Mrs. Doubtfire hit theaters.
1994 - Dan Marino became the first quarterback to fake a spike and throw a pass instead.
1996 - The Tick aired its series finale.
1998 - Sarah McLachlan’s single Angel was released.
1998 - America Online purchased Netscape for $4.2 billion.
November 25th
1979 - The John Madden-Pat Summerall broadcast duo called their first football game.
1980 - Roberto Duran said “No mas”.
1984 - The Band-Aid supergroup recorded Do They Know It’s Christmas?
1986 - Bobby Brown quit New Edition.
1987 - Three Men and a Baby hit theaters.
There was an urban legend about a ghost appearing in Three Men and a Baby — it turned out to be a cardboard cutout of Ted Danson.
There was a long-standing urban legend around Three Men and a Baby that a ghost appears in the background of the scene. As the legend goes, the ghost was a boy who died in the home where the movie was filmed.
Tom Selleck says the rumor even helped video sales of the movie.
But he also debunked the myth in 2017. The “ghost” was actually a cardboard cutout of Ted Danson in a tuxedo. That cardboard cutout was part of a subplot that was ultimately cut from the movie.
1987 - Planes, Trains, and Automobiles hit theaters.
1989 - Milli Vanilli’s single Blame It on the Rain hit number one.
1992 - The Bodyguard hit theaters.
1995 - Whitney Houston’s single Exhale (Shoop Shoop) hit number one.
1997 - 2pac’s album R U Still Down? (Remember Me) was released after his death.
1998 - Babe: Pig in the City hit theaters.
1999 - Elian Gonzalez was rescued at sea.
2001 - NFL coach Jim Mora went on his famous “Playoffs?!” rant.
November 26th
1977 - NBC’s TV movie of The Hobbit aired.
1986 - MASK aired its series finale.
1987 - The first-ever WWF Survivor Series was held in Richfield, Ohio.
1990 - MTV Unplugged debuted, featuring Squeeze.
1992 - The Heights aired its series finale.
1996 - R. Kelly’s single I Believe I Can Fly was released.
R. Kelly, despite writing I Believe I Can Fly, had a real-life fear of flying.
It’s almost like he’s not credible.
1996 - MLB owners overwhelmingly voted to approve interleague play.
November 27th
1980 - Bosom Buddies premiered on ABC.
1982 - Lionel Richie’s single Truly hit number one.
1985 - Rocky IV hit theaters.
1991 - My Girl hit theaters.
1991 - The Undertaker defeated Hulk Hogan at Survivor Series to become WWF Champion.
1992 - Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style aired.
1992 - The Crying Game hit theaters.
1994 - The Simpsons episode “Homer Badman” premiered.
1996 - The live-action 101 Dalmatians movie hit theaters.
Glenn Close insisted that all of Cruella de Vil’s outfits be made of fake fur for 101 Dalmatians.
So Glenn Close wasn’t exactly doing method acting in the movie.
1998 - Very Bad Things hit theaters.
November 28th
1987 - Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes’s single (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life hit number one.
(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life was originally offered to Hall & Oates and Kim Carnes.
Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers and Jennifer Warnes were not the first artists who had the chance to record (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life for the Dirty Dancing soundtrack.
The song initially went to Donna Summer and Joe Esposito; they both turned it down, Summer doing so because she didn’t like the movie’s title.
Then Hall & Oates and Bette Davis Eyes singer Kim Carnes got the offer. They both turned it down as well.
Medley then turned it down. Warnes reluctantly accepted — but only under the condition that Medley would sing with her. So the producers approached Medley again, and since he liked Warnes’s singing, this time he accepted.
1989 - Technotronic’s album Pump Up the Jam: The Album was released.
1989 - Queen Latifah’s debut album, All Hail the Queen, was released.
1990 - The series finale of DuckTales aired.
1992 - Whitney Houston’s single I Will Always Love You hit number one.
1994 - Jeffrey Dahmer was killed in prison.
1995 - The nationwide 55 mile-per-hour highway speed limit was removed.
1997 - The series finale of Beavis and Butt-Head aired.
1997 - Tenacious D premiered on HBO.
1998 - Divine’s single Lately hit number one.
2001 - Enron, more or less, went completely out of business.
November 29th
1980 - The Vapors’ one hit, Turning Japanese, peaked at number 36.
1981 - Natalie Wood drowned in a boating accident.
1986 - Bon Jovi’s single You Give Love a Bad Name hit number one.
1991 - The sitcom Roc featured a gay wedding.
1994 - Mary J. Blige’s second album, My Life, was released.
1995 - The CNNfn financial network debuted.
CNNfn was the first TV program to stream online as well.
CNNfn was not a success, but it did achieve one notable milestone.
In 1996, CNNfn.com started streaming one to two hours of the broadcast program on just a few minutes’ delay. That was the first time any network broadcast their TV programming on the internet.
1997 - Chumbawumba’s Tubthumping peaked at number six and Fiona Apple’s Criminal peaked at 21.
November 30th
1982 - Michael Jackson’s album Thriller was released worldwide.
1983 - Radio Shack announced the Tandy 2000 personal computer.
1985 - Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin’s single Separate Lives hit number one.
1987 - Bo Jackson had his legendary Monday Night Football debut.
1988 - Good Morning, Miss Bliss premiered.
1988 - LL Cool J performed the first rap concert in Africa.
1989 - The series finale aired of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show.
1990 - Misery hit theaters.
1991 - Elton John and George Michael’s Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me was released.
1991 - What a morning for Saved by the Bell: the “No Hope With Dope” episode aired and was followed by the episode where Zack dreams the gang is a successful music group.
1991 - The U.S. won the women’s World Cup for the first time.
The 1991 women’s World Cup was the first to include female officials.
There were six female officials for the women’s World Cup. Five were lineswomen, one was the lead referee for the third place match. That made her the first woman ever to referee a FIFA match in history.
1992 - P.M. Dawn’s single Set Adrift on Memory Bliss hit number one.
1993 - The NFL announced it would be expanding to Jacksonville.
1993 - The Brady Bill became a law.
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
Daryl Hall just got a restraining order against John Oates and is suing him for breach of contract.
There’s a new Karate Kid movie coming, and I guess it unites the Karate Kid multiverse. The movie will star Ralph Macchio of the original films and Cobra Kai, and also Jackie Chan who was in the 2010 movie reboot.
Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese are executive producing a Cape Fear TV reboot.
Mrs. Doubtfire director Chris Columbus says he has “over 900 boxes” of additional movie footage, most of which is Robin Williams improvising. And he wants to make a documentary about Williams’s creative process using that footage.
Tim Burton says he’s “done sequels… done reboots” and doesn’t want anything like that to happen to Nightmare Before Christmas.
Nominees for the 2024 class of the Songwriters Hall of Fame include Bryan Adams, Blondie, Tracy Chapman, George Clinton, Heart, Kenny Loggins, Public Enemy, R.E.M., Timbaland, and Maurice Starr (the guy who wrote most of New Kids on the Block’s hits).
Recommendations of the week
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved
Adam Sandler says when he originally pitched The Chanukah Song at Saturday Night Live, Roseanne Barr was hosting that week — and the original plan was for her to perform the song. She said Sandler should perform it instead.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you forgot
Here’s a roundup of 15 forgotten video game consoles. Bonus points to them for not putting in Virtual Boy.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you never knew existed
In 1989, Sony introduced a tiny modular TV that was both ahead of its time and yet feels like such a relic of its time. It was made of four detachable pieces including a 2.7 inch screen, a TV tuner, a speaker, and a battery case.
Have a great week!
-Sam