1/26 - What Was the 1st Online "Don't Cancel This Show" Campaign?
Plus the trailer for the Road House reboot has arrived — whose throat will be ripped?
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
January 26th, 2024 • Issue 188
This week in the ‘80s and ‘90s
January 26th
1979 - The Dukes of Hazzard premiered on CBS.
1986 - The Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
1988 - Phantom of the Opera opened on Broadway.
1991 - Surface’s one hit, The First Time, hit number one.
1992 - The Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl.
1994 - The Critic premiered on ABC.
1995 - My So-Called Life aired its series finale.
My So-Called Life was the first TV show to have an online fan campaign to try to save it from cancellation.
A small but hardcore group of fans on America Online wrote ABC en masse to try to save My So-Called Life. They called the mission “Operation Life Support” and sent 5,000 physical letters, made 2,798 posts on America Online, and even raised money to buy ads in Hollywood trade magazines.
But it wasn’t enough; the network wasn’t swayed and killed the show.
1997 - The Green Bay Packers defeated the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
1998 - Edwin McCain’s single I’ll Be was released.
1998 - Bill Clinton said “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”
2001 - The Wedding Planner hit theaters.
January 27th
1984 - Michael Jackson’s hair caught on fire on the day that was the exact midpoint of his life.
1984 - Cyndi Lauper’s single Time After Time was released.
Cyndi Lauper got the idea for calling her song Time After Time when she saw a movie with that same title in TV Guide.
There was a 1979 sci-fi movie called Time After Time, where H.G. Wells’s time machine is stolen by Jack the Ripper. (Naturally.)
Lauper saw it mentioned in TV Guide and told her so-writer, “I think I have a title.”
1991 - Whitney Houston famously sang the National Anthem and the New York Giants defeated the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl.
1993 - Andre the Giant passed away.
1995 - The Golf Channel debuted.
1997 - The Verve Pipe’s single The Freshmen was released.
1998 - Will Smith’s single Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It was released.
1998 - Shania Twain’s single You’re Still the One was released.
January 28th
1985 - We Are the World was recorded.
Prince skipped out on We Are the World… and wound up having to bail his bodyguards out of jail when they got in a fight instead.
We Are the World was recorded after the 1985 American Music Awards — an awards show where Prince dominated.
But he skipped out on the We Are the World recording sessions afterwards for unknown reasons. Theories are maybe he wanted more creative control, maybe he just didn’t like the song, or maybe it was his unspoken rivalry with Michael Jackson.
Whatever the reason, after the AMAs he went out to a club in Hollywood instead of going to the studio. And around 2:00 A.M., his bodyguards got into a fight with some photographers who were trying to take pictures of Prince.
So instead of participating in We Are the World, Prince spent the night bailing his bodyguards out of jail.
1990 - The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl.
1994 - The Beastie Boys single Sabotage was released.
1994 - A judge declared a mistrial in the Menendez case.
1995 - Memphis received a Canadian Football League team.
1995 - Corona’s one hit, Rhythm of the Night, peaked at number 11.
1995 - TLC’s single Creep hit number one.
1996 - The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl.
1999 - 112’s single Anywhere was released.
1999 - Yahoo acquired GeoCities.
2001 - The Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.
January 29th
1987 - Physicians Weekly announced that Mona Lisa’s smile was evidence of facial paralysis.
1989 - MLB decided to retire its game-winning RBI stat after nine years.
The all-time leader in game-winning RBIs is Keith Hernandez — and since the stat is gone, it’s an unbreakable record.
There’s always talk of unbreakable records in baseball (Ripken, DiMaggio, you know the drill)… but Keith Hernandez’s 129 game-winning RBIs between 1980 and 1988 are truly unbreakable since the stat is formally retired.
1993 - Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell went into effect.
1994 - Queen Latifah’s only top 40 hit, U.N.I.T.Y., peaked at number 23.
1995 - The San Francisco 49ers became the first team to win five Super Bowls, defeating the San Diego Chargers.
1996 - Garth Brooks refused an American Music Award, saying Hootie and the Blowfish deserved it more.
1999 - She’s All That hit theaters.
2000 - Eiffel 65’s one hit, Blue (Da Ba Dee), peaked at number six.
2000 - Savage Garden’s single I Knew I Loved You hit number one.
2002 - President W. Bush first used the phrase “Axis of Evil”.
January 30th
1982 - Hall & Oates’ I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) hit number one.
1983 - The Washington Redskins defeated the Miami Dolphins in the Super Bowl.
1988 - INXS’ single Need You Tonight hit number one.
1994 - The Dallas Cowboys beat the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl.
1995 - Kevin Eubanks became band leader of The Tonight Show.
Branford Marsalis quit as The Tonight Show band leader because he didn’t like having to laugh at Jay Leno’s jokes.
Kevin Eubanks, who was a member of the band under Marsalis, took over as leader when Marsalis grew disgruntled and quit his role.
Marsalis said he “despised” Leno and “the job of musical director … was just to kiss the ass of the host, and I ain’t no ass kisser.”
1996 - Magic Johnson came out of retirement to once again play for the Los Angeles Lakers.
1999 - The New Radicals had their only top 40 hit, as You Get What You Give peaked at number 36.
1999 - Britney Spears’ ...Baby One More Time hit number one.
2000 - The St. Louis Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans to win the Super Bowl.
January 31st
1981 - Blondie’s single The Tide Is High hit number one.
1986 - Down and Out in Beverly Hills hit theaters.
1988 - The Wonder Years premiered on ABC.
Fred Savage was the youngest nominee ever for the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor.
Savage was nominated in 1989, when he was 13, for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for The Wonder Years. He lost to Richard Mulligan from Empty Nest.
1988 - The Washington Redskins defeated the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl.
1989 - LaToya Jackson appeared in Playboy.
1990 - McDonald’s opened its first location in the Soviet Union.
1990 - The National daily sports newspaper began publishing.
1993 - The Spin Doctors’ single Two Princes was released.
1993 - The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl.
1993 - Michael Jackson performed the first solo Super Bowl halftime show.
1997 - Waiting for Guffman hit (a few) theaters and the special edition re-release of Star Wars hit (a lot of) theaters.
1998 - Janet Jackson’s single Together Again hit number one.
1999 - Family Guy premiered.
1999 - The Denver Broncos defeated the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl.
2000 - Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens was in a group fight where, let’s just say, someone stabbed someone.
February 1st
1980 - Blondie’s single Call Me was released.
1982 - Late Night with David Letterman premiered on NBC.
1986 - Inspector Gadget aired its series finale.
Inspector Gadget had a mustache in the series pilot, but it was removed due to a copyright claim.
MGM filed a complaint to say that the mustached Inspector Gadget looked too much like Inspector Clouseau from The Pink Panther.
So by the second episode of Inspector Gadget, he was mustache-free.
1988 - Contra was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
1989 - Tecmo Bowl was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
1991 - John Grisham’s book The Firm was released and became the bestselling novel of the year.
1992 - The Cold War came to an end.
1992 - The Super Nintendo Super Scope was released.
1994 - Jeff Gillooly pleaded guilty for his role in the Nancy Kerrigan attack.
1994 - Green Day’s album Dookie was released.
1995 - Better Than Ezra’s single Good was released.
1995 - Classic Sports Network, now called ESPN Classic, went live.
1996 - Bone Thugs ‘n Harmony’s single Tha Crossroads was released.
1996 - Visa and Mastercard announced new security features to allow for safe online shopping.
1997 - Gina G’s one hit, Ooh Ahh (Just a Little Bit), peaked at number 12.
1999 - The Lycos search engine launched an mp3 search feature.
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
The official trailer is out for the Road House reboot, which comes out on Amazon Prime on March 21st. Though the characters aren’t a 1:1 match to those from the 1989 classic, I believe Conor McGregor’s character is a comp to the guy who got his throat ripped out in the original.
A “complete reboot” of Jurassic Park is coming, and the original screenwriter is writing the scripts. No one from either of the current Jurassic Park movies is “expected to return.”
Mattel and Jennifer Lopez are rebooting Bob the Builder as an animated feature film.
Dolly Parton (yes, Dolly Parton) has an update on a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot. Parton was a producer on the original series, and she says regarding a reboot: “They’re still working on that. They’re thinking about bringing it back and revamping it.”
Kevin James says there won’t be a King of Queens revival since Jerry Stiller died. “How do you do that without Jerry?”
Calista Flockhart says she’s “game” to do an Ally McBeal reboot.
Recommendations of the week
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved
Parents.com put together a list of ‘90s movies to watch with your kids. They break it down by age group and make a concerted effort not to merely spew out Disney’s entire catalog.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you forgot
Here’s an ode to the modem sounds that defined everyone’s first forays onto the internet in the ‘90s.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you never knew existed
For 1998’s Godzilla soundtrack, Green Day created a remix of their song Brain Stew. Which is primarily just the song with Godzilla periodically roaring in the background (though there is some soundtrack-y epic music mixed in throughout as well).
Have a great week!
-Sam