9/15: Blind Date's Host Married What '90s Pro Wrestling Star?
Plus trivia on Muppet Babies, WebTV, Miami Vice, Janet Jackson, and more
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
September 15th, 2023 • Issue 169
This week in the ‘80s and ‘90s
September 15th
1982 - The first issue of USA Today was published.
1984 - Muppet Babies premiered on CBS.
The writer of the entire first season of Muppet Babies was the grandson of one of the Three Stooges.
The entire 13-episode first season of Muppet Babies was written by Jeffrey Scott. His grandfather was Moe Howard of the Three Stooges.
1986 - The final Apple II computer, the IIGS, was released.
1986 - L.A. Law premiered on NBC.
1990 - Captain Planet and the Planeteers premiered.
1990 - Wilson Phillips’ single Release Me hit number one.
1993 - Meat Loaf’s single I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That) was released.
1998 - TQ’s single Westside was released.
1999 - American Beauty hit theaters.
2000 - Almost Famous and Duets hit theaters.
2000 - The summer Olympics began in Sydney, Australia.
September 16th
1979 - Rapper’s Delight by Sugarhill Gang went on sale, becoming the first rap song on vinyl.
1983 - Webster premiered.
1984 - Punky Brewster premiered.
1984 - Miami Vice premiered on NBC.
Don Johnson turned down the lead role in Die Hard after Miami Vice more than doubled his pay.
After the second season of Miami Vice, Don Johnson was on the rise and started getting movie offers — including the lead in Die Hard.
In order to keep him on Miami Vice, the studio increased his pay from between $30,000 and $35,000 per episode to between $65,000 and $100,000 per episode.
1989 - Gloria Estefan’s single Don’t Wanna Lose You hit number one.
1993 - Frasier premiered.
1994 - Timecop and Quiz Show both hit theaters.
1996 - The Jackpot wedge debuted on Wheel of Fortune.
1996 - Judge Judy premiered in syndication.
1997 - Twelve years to the day he resigned from Apple, Steve Jobs was rehired and named CEO.
1999 - Big Brother aired for the first time, in the Netherlands.
2000 - Madonna’s single Music hit number one.
September 17th
1982 - George Thorogood and the Destroyers’ single Bad to the Bone was released.
1983 - Vanessa Williams became the first Black woman crowned Miss America.
1984 - Transformers premiered.
1986 - Head of the Class premiered.
1990 - The kids game show Video Power premiered.
1991 - Home Improvement premiered on ABC.
1991 - Guns N’ Roses’ albums Use Your Illusion I & II were released.
Use Your Illusion II outsold Use Your Illusion I by 12% on release.
Though you’d think most people would’ve bought both, some people picked one of the GNR albums and not the other.
Use Your Illusion II — featuring Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door and lead single You Could Be Mine — debuted at number one on the Billboard album charts with 770,000 sales in its first week.
Use Your Illusion I — featuring Live and Let Die, November Rain, and Don’t Cry — debuted at number two, with 685,000 sales.
Both albums wound up going 7x platinum, but II maintains a slight lead over I to this day — even though the singles from I turned out to be more popular.
1993 - The Age of Innocence hit theaters.
1995 - The Simpsons revealed Who Shot Mr. Burns? in their season premiere.
1996 - Spin City premiered.
1996 - The OJ Simpson civil trial began.
1998 - The Goo Goo Dolls single Slide was released.
1998 - Ol’ Dirty Bastard was arrested for making terrorist threats after getting kicked out of the House of Blues in Los Angeles.
1999 - Blue Streak and For Love of the Game both hit theaters.
1999 - Eminem’s mother sued him for $10 million for defamation.
2002 - Kelly Clarkson’s single A Moment Like This was released.
September 18th
1983 - KISS appeared with no makeup for the first time, on MTV.
1983 - Hardcastle and McCormick premiered on ABC.
1985 - David Letterman debuted his top 10 list bit with the Top 10 Words That Almost Rhyme with Pea.
1987 - Fatal Attraction hit theaters.
1987 - Duck Tails and Full House both premiered.
1989 - Alien Nation premiered on FOX.
1990 - Atlanta was chosen as the host city for the 1996 centennial Olympics.
1992 - School Ties hit theaters as did Captain Ron.
1994 - Ken Burns’s Baseball premiered.
1996 - WebTV launched.
WebTV was the first device to bring the internet to TVs.
Before every TV was a smart TV…
When WebTV launched in 1996, it as the first TV-based device to connect to the internet (and also the first consumer device to access the web without a computer).
It wasn’t cheap — $329 to $349, plus a $20/month fee for its internet plan — but it still managed to get 150,000 subscribers in its first year.
1998 - Rush Hour hit theaters.
1999 - TLC’s single Unpretty hit number one.
2001 - The first letters containing anthrax were found.
September 19th
1980 - Ordinary People hit theaters.
1982 - A programmer named Scott Fahlman created the first emoticons.
1983 - The (nighttime) version of Wheel of Fortune premiered.
1984 - Highway to Heaven premiered on NBC.
1988 - Greg Louganis hit his head during a dive at the Olympics.
1988 - Bon Jovi’s album New Jersey and Erasure’s single A Little Respect were released.
1989 - Doogie Howser M.D. premiered.
1989 - Janet Jackson’s album Rhythm Nation 1814 was released.
Rhythm Nation 1814 is the first album with number one hits in three different years.
Miss You Much was a number one single in 1989… Escapade and Black Cat were number one singles in 1990… and Love Will Never Do (Without You) was number one in 1991.
1990 - Goodfellas hit theaters.
1994 - E.R. premiered.
1995 - The Washington Post and New York Times published the Unabomber’s manifesto.
1997 - In & Out and L.A. Confidential hit theaters.
1997 - Family Matters and Step by Step switched networks and premiered on CBS.
1998 - John Stamos and Rebecca Romijn were married.
2000 - Best in Show hit theaters.
September 20th
1977 - The episode of Happy Days where the Fonz literally jumped a shark premiered.
1980 - Ozzy Osbourne’s debut solo album was released.
1984 - Who’s the Boss? premiered on ABC and The Cosby Show premiered on NBC.
1986 - Huey Lewis and the News’ single Stuck with You hit number one.
1990 - The Flash premiered on CBS.
1991 - Step by Step premiered.
1991 - Tom Cochrane’s single Life Is a Highway was released.
1996 - Sheryl Crow’s single If It Makes You Happy was released.
1996 - The First Wives Club hit theaters.
1998 - Cal Ripken Jr.’s consecutive games streak ended.
1999 - Blind Date premiered.
Blind Date host Roger Lodge is married to an early 2000s World Championship Wrestling star.
Roger Lodge is married to Pamela Paulshock, a bikini model and TV personality who was an on-camera interviewer and occasional wrestler during the final era of World Championship Wrestling.
They’ve been married since 2007.
1999 - Law & Order: SVU premiered.
2001 - President George W. Bush declared a “war on terror”.
September 21st
1982 - The first-ever NFL players’ strike began.
1985 - Dire Straits’ single Money for Nothing hit number one.
1991 - Color Me Badd’s single I Adore Mi Amor hit number one.
1991 - The roster of the U.S.A. basketball Dream Team was announced.
1993 - Nirvana’s album In Utero and Melissa Etheridge’s album Yes I Am were released.
1993 - Salt-n-Pepa’s single Shoop was released.
1993 - NYPD Blue premiered.
The right wing Parents Television Council formed as a reaction to the language and nudity in NYPD Blue.
The Parents Television Council, which is one of those groups that writes letters and believes itself to be Very Important, started because of NYPD Blue pushing the limits on language and nudity to places no network TV show had gone before.
They filed tons of complaints with the FCC against ABC for the content of NYPD Blue. Ultimately, the FCC issued a $1.4 million fine… and an appeals court wound up striking it down.
1995 - No Doubt’s single Just a Girl was released.
1995 - Caroline in the City and The Single Guy premiered.
1996 - JFK Jr. married Carolyn Bessette.
1998 - King of Queens, Will & Grace, and Felicity all premiered.
1998 - Florence Griffith-Joyner passed away.
2001 - Ghost World and Mariah Carey’s movie Glitter hit theaters.
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
The National Toy Hall of Fame named its 12 finalists for its 2023 class. Usually somewhere between one and four of the finalists make it in. The finalists include baseball cards, Bop It, Cabbage Patch Kids, Choose Your Own Adventure, and — thanks to his momentum — Ken.
As expected, NSYNC did reunite to make a song (called Better Place) for the new Trolls movie. But according to TMZ, they don’t have any plans to tour, create a new album, or do anything more.
Tim Burton says Beetlejuice 2 is 99% done and they have “a day and a half” left to shoot once the strike ends.
A Murder, She Wrote movie reboot is in the works.
Here’s the trailer for the upcoming Milli Vanilli documentary, which premieres on Paramount+ on October 24th.
And here’s the trailer for the Frasier reboot, which premieres on Paramoount+ on October 12th.
MovieWeb.com named The Thing the best horror movie of the ‘80s and Scream the best horror movie of the ‘90s.
Recommendations of the week
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved
Entertainment Weekly just ranked the 25 best football movies of all time. Half of the top 10 are from the ‘90s, including their #1 pick. Which wasn’t Varsity Blues. Though it did make the top 10.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you forgot
The A.V. Club put together a list of the 50 greatest music videos of all time. Though it might as well be called the best music videos of the ‘80s and ‘90s, since 40! of the 50 on the list are from that era.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you never knew existed
Ashley Crow, who played the mom in 1994’s Little Big League, is the real-life mother of the Chicago Cubs’ prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong — who made his Major League debut this week. Who knew she had a baseball playing (not managing) son?
Have a great week!
-Sam