3/1 - Melissa Joan Hart Almost Got What Famed '90s Sitcom Role?
Plus trivia on Milli Vanilli, Spinal Tap, Savage Garden, Lethal Weapon, and more
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
March 1st, 2024 • Issue 193
This week in the ‘80s and ‘90s
March 1st
1983 - Swatch watches hit the market.
1986 - Baltimora’s one hit, Tarzan Boy, peaked at number 13.
1986 - Mr. Mister’s single Kyrie hit number one.
1987 - Pro Wrestling for the Nintendo Entertainment System was released.
1988 - Ice Hockey was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
1991 - Clarissa Explains It All premiered on Nickelodeon.
Melissa Joan Hart chose starring in her own show over the role of Six on Blossom.
Melissa Joan Hart auditioned for the role of Six (the best friend) on Blossom. But she says she chose starring as Clarissa in Clarissa Explains It All instead. Jenna von Oy got the role on Blossom.
1991 - The Doors movie hit theaters.
1993 - The Cranberries’ album Everybody Else Is Doing It was released.
1995 - Yahoo was incorporated.
1996 - The 888 toll free area code debuted.
1997 - Notorious BIG’s single Hypnotize was released.
1997 - The Cardigans’ one hit, Lovefool, peaked at number two.
1998 - Titanic became the first movie to gross $1 billion worldwide.
2000 - Rick Pitino said in press conference Larry Bird is not walking through that door.
2001 - Monster’s Ball hit theaters.
2002 - 40 Days and 40 Nights hit theaters.
March 2nd
1983 - The first CD players and CDs were released in the U.S.
1984 - This Is Spinal Tap hit theaters.
This Is Spinal Tap’s title in Norway was similar to Airplane!’s title — which made some people think it was a sequel.
When Spinal Tap was released in Norway, it got the title that translates to Help! We Are in the Pop Business. And that made some people in Norway think it was related to another satire from a few years later, Airplane!, which was released in Norway under the title Help! We Are Flying.
1984 - Repo Man hit theaters.
1987 - The Apple Macintosh II was released.
1989 - Pepsi’s controversial ad featuring Madonna premiered.
1989 - The New York Mets’ Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry almost got into a fistfight in front of reporters at spring training.
1990 - The Hunt for Red October hit theaters.
1991 - Color Me Badd’s single I Wanna Sex You Up was released.
1994 - Miami began its Latin Walk of Fame.
1996 - Seven Mary Three’s one hit, Cumbersome, peaked at number 39.
March 3rd
1984 - Nena’s one hit, 99 Luftballons, peaked at number two.
1985 - Moonlighting premiered on ABC.
The last thing Orson Welles ever filmed was Moonlighting.
Orson Welles filmed an introduction to a Moonlighting episode called “The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice”. He filmed it on October 3rd, 1985 and passed away one week later.
1986 - Metallica’s album Master of Puppets was released.
1989 - Lean on Me hit theaters.
1990 - Janet Jackson’s single Escapade hit number one.
1991 - Rodney King was attacked by the LAPD.
1995 - La Bouche’s single Be My Lover was released.
1997 - Daria premiered on MTV.
1997 - Savage Garden’s single Truly Madly Deeply was released.
1998 - Faith Hill’s single This Kiss was released.
1998 - Madonna’s album Ray of Light was released.
March 4th
1982 - Police Squad! premiered on ABC and didn’t work as a TV show — but eventually evolved into the Naked Gun films.
1987 - The series finale aired of Silver Spoons.
1989 - Debbie Gibson’s single Lost in Your Eyes hit number one.
1989 - Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers premiered on The Disney Channel.
1993 - The first ESPY Awards were held.
1994 - John Candy passed away.
1994 - NBA Jam was released for Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo.
1994 - Michael Jordan grounded out in his first at-bat in spring training.
1996 - Dish Network went live.
1997 - Just Shoot Me premiered.
1997 - Savage Garden’s self-titled album was released.
Savage Garden started as a pop-rock cover band.
The two members of Savage Garden (Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones) originally got together in a cover band called Red Edge. Their signature covers included John Cougar Mellencamp’s Hurts So Good and INXS’s Don’t Change.
Eventually Hayes and Jones wrote enough original material that they decided to split from Red Edge and give it a shot on their own.
2000 - The PlayStation 2 went on sale for the first time, in Japan.
2000 - Lonestar’s single Amazed hit number one.
March 5th
1981 - The Sinclair ZX81 hit the market.
1982 - John Belushi passed away at age 33.
1983 - Michael Jackson’s single Billie Jean hit number one.
1993 - Swing Kids hit theaters.
1993 - Ben Johnson was banned for racing for life.
1994 - The Weird Science TV show premiered.
1994 - US3’s one hit Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) peaked at number nine.
Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) heavily samples Herbie Hancock’s Cantaloupe Island — and both songs were released by the same record label.
Both Herbie Hancock’s Cantaloupe Island in 1964 and US3’s Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) were released by the jazz label Blue Note Records.
1995 - Yahoo.com went live.
1997 - The Jenny McCarthy Show premiered.
1999 - Cruel Intentions hit theaters.
1999 - Analyze This and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels hit theaters.
2002 - The Osbournes premiered on MTV.
March 6th
1981 - Walter Cronkite had his final broadcast as the anchor of CBS Evening News.
1983 - The Sponge was approved as a contraceptive device.
1983 - The CMT cable network debuted.
1983 - The USFL debuted.
1985 - Mike Tyson won by knockout in his first professional fight.
1987 - Lethal Weapon hit theaters.
Lethal Weapon’s script did not specify the race of either cop.
Lethal Weapon wasn’t necessarily written to follow in the budding tradition of the “one white cop, one Black cop” movies, a la 48 Hrs. Director Richard Donner says Mel Gibson was cast first, then they cast Danny Glover on the suggestion of the casting director, based on Glover’s performance in The Color Purple.
1992 - The movie Gladiator — the boxing one — premiered.
1992 - The Michelangelo virus hit computers.
1993 - Digable Planet’s one hit, Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat), peaked at number 15.
1993 - A Whole New World hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
1994 - MTV’s Liquid Television came to an end.
1998 - The Big Lebowski hit theaters.
2000 - Eric Clapton became the first three-time inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
March 7th
1982 - The NCAA’s Selection Sunday was broadcast live on TV for the first time.
1983 - The TNN cable network launched.
1985 - We Are the World was released.
1986 - Highlander hit theaters.
1987 - Mike Tyson became the youngest boxing world heavyweight champion.
1987 - Bruce Willis’s only hit single, Respect Yourself, peaked at number five.
1989 - Milli Vanilli’s debut album Girl You Know It’s True was released.
Milli Vanilli’s Girl You Know It’s True album came out internationally first, under a different name.
The album was called All or Nothing when it debuted in November 1988 in several European countries and New Zealand.
The album was renamed for its U.S. released. In addition, several songs were remixed.
1994 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that parody falls under fair use.
1995 - Dr. Dre’s single Keep Their Heads Ringin’ was released.
1997 - Howard Stern’s movie Private Parts hit theaters.
1999 - Stanley Kubrick passed away.
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
A teaser trailer is out for the Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead remake. The movie comes to theaters on April 12th.
The Naked Gun remake starring Liam Neeson will come to theaters on July 28th, 2025. And the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie will come to theaters on October 9th, 2026.
There’s internet speculation that Beyonce’s country song Texas Hold ‘Em rips off the theme song to the ‘90s cartoon Franklin.
The screenwriter of the original Road House is suing Amazon and MGM over the remake for copyright infringement. He’s also accusing them of using AI to clone actors’ voices to finish the new movie.
The cast of A Different World is doing a 10-city tour. They’re holding panels and other events at HBCUs.
Richard Lewis passed away from a heart attack this week at age 76.
WWF and then wrestling convention circuit legend Virgil (real name Mike Jones) passed away this week at age 61.
Recommendations of the week
Articles and more about ‘80s and ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, and never knew existed
Here’s a brief history of (unintentionally) unbeatable video games. Hello, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Francis Ford Coppola shared never-before-seen casting footage from The Outsiders.
Why are millennials still attached to American Girl? Here’s the New Yorker’s examination.
Movieweb put together a list of 15 remakes/reboots that missed the point of the original. There’s a lot of nodding along with this list as you go through it.
Have a great week!
-Sam