1/3 - 77% of What '90s Sitcom's Titles Have a "Dick" Pun?
Plus trivia on the Konami code, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Andy Richter, and more
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
January 3rd, 2025 • Issue 237
Be Kind, Rewind
What happened on this day in the ‘80s and ‘90s — plus lots of bonus trivia
January 3rd
1977 - Apple was incorporated.
1979 - The USA cable network was founded.
1985 - Mitch McConnell was sworn in as a senator from Kentucky for the first time, and has remained a senator even now that they’re doing the whole Weekend at Bernie’s thing with him.
1987 - Aretha Franklin became the first female artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
1987 - Unsolved Mysteries premiered on NBC.
1989 - The Arsenio Hall Show premiered.
1991 - Blossom premiered on NBC.
1993 - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine premiered.
1993 - The Buffalo Bills pulled off the greatest comeback in NFL history, coming back from 32 points down to defeat the Houston Oilers in a wild card playoff game.
1996 - The Motorola StarTAC, the first flip phone, was released.
The Motorola StarTAC was marketed as the first “wearable” phone.
Though now the idea of wearing a phone in a belt holster is universally seen as a fashion faux pas — in 1996, it was a marketing hook.
In Motorola’s press release for the StarTAC, they proclaimed it “creates a new category of cellular phones — the wearable category… when placed into its holster, the StarTAC phone may be worn easily and unobtrusively by both men and women on the go.”
1998 - The series finale aired of Animaniacs.
2000 - The final daily edition of the Peanuts comic strip ran.
January 4th
1981 - The musical Frankenstein premiered on Broadway and closed on the same night.
1983 - The USFL held its first draft.
1983 - The Eurythmics released their album Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).
The Eurythmics began when two members of a trio decided to split off on their own.
Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart were part of a three-person group called The Tourists. The third person was the group’s lead singer, Peet Coombes.
During a tour stop in the town of Wagga Wagga, Australia, Lennox and Stewart decided Coombes was too unpredictable with his substance abuse — so they split off and started the Eurythmics.
1984 - Night Court premiered on NBC.
1988 - Nick Jr. began on Nickelodeon.
1995 - Newt Gingrich became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
1996 - The marble rye episode of Seinfeld aired.
1999 - Jesse “The Body” Ventura was sworn in as governor of Minnesota.
1999 - WCW’s infamous “butts in seats” night featured the Fingerpoke of Doom.
1999 - Tennessee defeated Florida State in the first BCS Championship game.
2000 - Mark Cuban purchased the Dallas Mavericks.
January 5th
1971 - The Washington Generals accidentally beat the Harlem Globetrotters for the last time.
1980 - KC and the Sunshine Band’s single Please Don’t Go hit number one.
Please Don’t Go was KC and the Sunshine Band’s first ballad — and last top hit.
KC and the Sunshine Band were mega hit makers through the latter half of the ‘70s.
By the ‘80s, they were running low on momentum so they pivoted and tried a ballad.
Please Don’t Go was their final number one hit.
1993 - Price Is Right model Janice Pennington sued over an on-set accident.
1994 - Sister Act won best picture at the 26th annual NAACP Image Awards.
1996 - Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula announced his retirement.
January 6th
1973 - Schoolhouse Rock premiered.
1975 - Wheel of Fortune premiered on NBC’s daytime schedule with Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford as the hosts.
1983 - The Red Hot Chili Peppers were formed.
Red Hot Chili Peppers were (originally) four high school friends — performing under quite a different name.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers were formed by eventual permanent members Anthony Kiedis and Flea, along with on-and-off member Hillel Slovak and future Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons.
Their original name was Town Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem.
They changed it to Red Hot Chili Peppers within a few months.
1992 - The FDA called for a moratorium on the use of silicone breast implant.
1995 - Houseguest hit theaters.
2000 - Mac OS X was released.
2003 - Joe Millionaire premiered on FOX.
January 7th
1980 - The U.S. government gave Chrysler a bailout.
1993 - AT&T introduced the first video telephone.
1994 - Cabin Boy hit theaters.
Cabin Boy was Andy Richter’s first acting role.
Richter was just getting started as the sidekick on the new Late Night with Conan O’Brien when he was brought in to play Kenny, the original cabin boy, in Cabin Boy.
He wasn’t the only late night TV personality in the movie; David Letterman also had an uncredited cameo.
1994 - Tonya Harding won the U.S. figure skating championships one day after her goons took out Nancy Kerrigan.
1995 - One-hit dick day on the Billboard charts: 20 Fingers’ Short Dick Man peaked at #14 and Deadeye Dick’s New Age Girl peaked at #27.
1997 - Puff Daddy’s single Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down was released.
1997 - The Spice Girls’ debut single Wannabe was released in the U.S.
1999 - President Clinton went on trial before the Senate.
2002 - The Apple iBook was released.
2004 - The Apprentice premiered on NBC, starting a nuclear launch sequence that may still take down the entire country and/or planet.
January 8th
1984 - The NCAA announced its postseason tournament would feature 64 teams.
1988 - Super C, the sequel to Contra, was released for the NES.
Super C did not use the “Konami code” that the original Contra made famous.
The first Contra game is now, and was in its time, legendary for the “Konami code.” That is: Pressing up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start would give a player 30 lives.
Somehow, Konami didn’t think they should ride that momentum and include it in the Contra sequel.
Instead, they tried another code: Right, left, down, up, A, B, start. That earned you 10 lives. It did not catch on like the original code.
1988 - Metal Gear was released for NES.
1990 - Sinead O’Connor’s single Nothing Compares 2 U was released.
1992 - Eric Clapton’s single Tears in Heaven was released.
1992 - President H.W. Bush threw up on the prime minister of Japan during a dinner in Tokyo.
1998 - WCW Thunder premiered.
2000 - The Music City Miracle occurred in the NFL as the Tennessee Titans defeated the Buffalo Bills.
January 9th
1984 - TV’s Bloopers & Practical Jokes premiered.
1984 - Wendy’s “Where’s the beef?” commercial aired for the first time.
1984 - Van Halen’s album 1984 was released.
1988 - Whitney Houston’s single So Emotional hit number one.
1989 - The Pat Sajak Show premiered.
1989 - Inside Edition premiered.
1991 - Pete Rose was officially banned from the Baseball Hall of Fame for gambling… and remains so to this day, even after he’s passed away and as every baseball broadcast is now sponsored by a sports gambling app and includes discussions about gambling.
1994 - Richard Marx’s single Now and Forever was released.
1996 - 3rd Rock from the Sun premiered.
108 of the 139 3rd Rock from the Sun episodes have a “Dick” pun in their title.
The main character of 3rd Rock from the Sun was named Dick Solomon — and the show sure milked that decision.
More than three-quarters of the episodes have titles that include the word “Dick” — everything from the second episode “Post-Nasal Dick” to the fifth-from-last episode “Dick Soup for the Soul.”
1997 - Antiques Roadshow premiered.
1999 - Ghetto Cowboy, the one hit by Mo Thugs, peaked at number 15.
2000 - Malcolm in the Middle premiered.
2001 - Apple introduced iTunes as a music player and audio file organizer.
What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
Mike Myers says he had an “anxiety attack” when he started on SNL because of how good his cast members were. He specifically cited Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, Kevin Nealon, and Jan Hooks.
The new He-Man reboot movie is rumored to be completely reworking He-Man’s origin story — making him a regular guy in the real world to start the movie.
Sports broadcaster Greg Gumbel passed away this week at age 78.
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Have a great week!
-Sam