Feb 3: Pixar's origins , NBA Slam Dunk Contest gimmicks
Plus scratch and sniff stickers, The Legend of Zelda cartoon, and more
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
February 3rd, 2023 • Issue 137
This week in the ‘80s and ‘90s
February 3rd
37 years ago, on February 3rd, 1986, Pixar spun off from Lucasfilm to become an independent company.
Before Pixar was cranking out endless billion-dollar franchises for Disney, they crossed paths with a different mouse mascot.
In the early ‘80s, Pixar — then a division of Lucasfilm known as the Graphics Group — weren’t the only folks aiming to be the pioneers of computerized animation.
Nolan Bushnell, the founder of both Atari and Chuck E. Cheese, was going after the same goal.
In 1981, Bushnell founded a computer-driven animation studio called Kadabrascope. They produced one cartoon: Chuck E. Cheese: The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t. It aired as a special on NBC and is undeniable awful. The technology wasn’t ready. Not at all.
Still, it was a sign Kadabrascope was making some progress — but Bushnell couldn’t see it through. Because the video game crash of 1983 put his entire business empire in jeopardy, so he sold off Kadabrascope for quick cash — to Lucasfilm.
There’s no definitive answer on just how much Bushnell contributed to computer animation’s technology and growth. He’s been credited anywhere from a “founder” of Pixar to a footnote.
But regardless of his contribution, Lucasfilm’s Graphics Group was now the top computer animation game in town.
And a few years later, Steve Jobs invested heavily in group and it spun off as an independent company — renamed Pixar.
1979 - Y.M.C.A. by the Village People peaked at number two.
1990 - Darryl Strawberry entered rehab.
1993 - Reds owner Marge Schott was suspended by Major League Baseball for racist comments.
1993 - Homeward Bound hit theaters.
1993 - The trial of the LAPD officers who beat Rodney King began.
1995 - Boys on the Side and the Jerky Boys movie hit theaters.
1996 - Joan Osbourne’s only hit, One of Us, peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
1997 - Az Yet’s cover of Hard to Say I’m Sorry was released.
1998 - Usher’s single Nice and Slow was released.
2001 - The XFL debuted.
2001 - Shaggy’s single It Wasn’t Me hit number one.
February 4th
1980 - Studio 54 held its grand closing party on its final night in business.
1983 - Karen Carpenter died as a result of anorexia.
1984 - Culture Club’s single Karma Chameleon hit number one.
1989 - Sheriff’s single When I’m With You hit number one.
1991 - Pete Rose was banned for life from the Baseball Hall of Fame for gambling on games.
1994 - Alex Trebek became the first game show host with three simultaneous shows on TV in Jeopardy!, Classic Concentration, and To Tell the Truth.
1997 - A jury found O.J. Simpson liable in the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
2000 - The Sims was released on PC.
2000 - Scream 3 hit theaters.
February 5th
1983 - Africa by Toto hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
1986 - Prince’s single Kiss was released.
1988 - Andre the Giant defeated Hulk Hogan on a WWF special on NBC.
1993 - Larry Bird retired and Magic Johnson surprised him by wearing a Celtics t-shirt.
1994 - The cartoon Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego premiered on FOX.
2001 - Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman announced their separation.
2001 - Kelly Ripa was announced as Regis Philbin’s new co-host.
February 6th
1982 - Centerfold by the J. Geils Band hit number one.
1985 - Perrier released its first new product in 123 years, water with a twist of fruit.
1988 - Michael Jordan defeated Dominique Wilkens in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
1991 - Street Fighter II hit arcades.
1991 - Black Box’s single Strike It Up was released.
1993 - Arthur Ashe passed away.
1995 - Tupac was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison.
1995 - Montell Jordan’s single This Is How We Do It was released.
1998 - The ill-advised movie Blues Brothers 2000 was released.
1998 - Mary Kay LeTourneau was sentenced to seven years in prison.
1998 - Washington National Airport was renamed Ronald Reagan National Airport.
February 7th
1981 - Kool & the Gang’s Celebration hit number one.
1984 - Astronaut Bruce McCandless made the first untethered space walk.
1987 - Michael Jordan won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest jumping from the free throw line.
1987 - Madonna’s Open Your Heart hit number one and Ron & DC Crew’s Ronnie’s Rap peaked at number 93.
1988 - Mike Tyson and Robin Givens got married.
1988 - America’s Most Wanted premiered.
1989 - 2 Live Crew’s album As Nasty As They Wanna Be was released.
1993 - Carmen Electra’s self-titled debut album was released.
1993 - Shaquille O’Neal broke a basket on a dunk during an NBA game.
1994 - Michael Jordan signed with the Chicago White Sox.
1994 - Howard Stern talked a caller out of committing suicide.
1995 - Shania Twain’s album The Woman in Me was released.
1995 - Sophie B. Hawkins’s single As I Lay Me Down was released.
1997 - Surge soda went on sale.
1998 - Steve Jobs’ NeXT merged with Apple.
1998 - Beautician and the Beast hit theaters.
2000 - Rapper Big Pun passed away.
February 8th
1984 - The Winter Olympics kicked off in Sarajevo.
1985 - The Dukes of Hazzard aired its series finale.
1985 - Witness hit theaters.
1986 - 5-foot-7 Spud Webb won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
1991 - L.A. Story and The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter hit theaters.
1992 - Cedric Ceballos won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest by dunking with a (maybe see through) blindfold.
1992 - Right Said Fred’s I’m Too Sexy hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
1992 - The Winter Olympics opened in France.
1994 - The series finale aired of Saved by the Bell: The College Years after just one short season.
1997 - Kobe Bryant won the NBA Slam Dunk contest.
1998 - The first Olympic women’s hockey game was played between Finland and Sweden.
2002 - The Winter Olympics began in Salt Lake City.
February 9th
32 years ago, on February 9th, 1991, Dee Brown won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest by dunking while covering his eyes (after pumping up his shoes).
Dee Brown’s winning slam dunk was ahead of its time. We just didn’t know it yet.
In 1991, the Slam Dunk Contest was still fresh and exciting — a bona fide main event for the NBA’s burgeoning All-Star Saturday Night. A main event that had become even more anticipated than the All-Star Game itself.
Sure, the days of Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkens (and sometimes Spud Webb) having legendary dunk contest battles were behind us. But a new generation of dunkers had arrived. And they would show us things we had never seen before.
Which Dee Brown did, sort of.
For Brown’s famous/infamous winning dunk, he stood near midcourt. He dribbled toward the basket, leapt, put his left arm over his eyes, then dunked with his right hand.
Oh… but first, he pumped up his shoes. Brown was wearing Reebok Pumps, which were battling with Jordans to be the hottest basketball shoes on the market.
Brown won the contest, though there was some ridicule around the dunk. (He covers his eyes after jumping and while he’s approaching the basket.) The following year, Cedric Ceballos won the contest dunking while blindfolded. There was an unofficial moratorium on no-look dunks after that.
Though it wasn’t evident at the time, Dee Brown’s formula would become one that players would repeat over and over — and one that, sadly, caused critical damage to the Slam Dunk Contest brand.
Brown…
Was not a famous player. He had no star power, especially compared to the contest participants in the ‘80s.
Used props. The shoe pumping and, in a way, his arm covering his eyes were both prop assists to the dunk.
(Might have) had product placement involved.
Relied on a gimmick rather than a spectacular “pure” dunk.
As the Slam Dunk Contest aged, more players performed dunks that checked off some or all of those criteria.
A few bucked the trend — Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter in particular — and provided some of the scant memorable dunk contests of the post-Jordan era.
But mostly, the stars began avoiding the contest (LeBron James has famously never done it). These days, only the most hardcore NBA fans will recognize the names of the players involved.
Props became a standard, whether that meant Superman capes, dunking over a celebrity, or blowing out a candle on a cupcake on the rim.
Product placement became a plague, bottoming out in 2011 when Blake Griffin won the contest by dunking over a Kia — the title sponsor.
And gimmicks became the entirety of the contest, not just rare occurrences. In fact, in 2007, Gerald Green of the Boston Celtics won the contest by donning a Dee Brown jersey, covering his eyes… then dunking over 5’9” former contest winner Nate Robinson.
1979 - The Warriors hit theaters.
1983 - Prince’s single Little Red Corvette was released.
1985 - Dominique Wilkens defeated Michael Jordan in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
1986 - Halley’s Comet appeared, with the next appearance coming in 2061.
1991 - C+C Music Factory’s single Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) hit number one.
1991 - 2nu’s single This Is Ponderous peaked at number 46.
1992 - Magic Johnson, having retired earlier in the season, dominated the NBA All-Star Game.
1997 - The Simpsons aired its famous Poochie episode (and passed The Flintstones as the longest-running animated prime-time show).
1999 - NSYNC’s single God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You was released.
2001 - Saving Silverman hit theaters.
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
A King of the Hill revival is happening at Hulu featuring virtually all of the original cast (though without, sadly, Brittany Murphy).
CBS is filming a pilot of a Matlock reboot starring Kathy Bates.
Bad Boys 4 is happening, with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence both back in their roles. It’s possible it could come out a full 30 years after the original movie.
NBC has already renewed the Night Court revival for a second season.
The Frasier reboot takes place in Boston (home of Cheers) not Seattle (home of the original Frasier). And the first episode is filming today.
Dr. Dre’s album The Chronic is finally available on streaming services. It debuted Wednesday.
Rakuten is doing a Clueless-themed Super Bowl commercial (teaser). Michelob Ultra is doing a Caddyshack one (full ad). It’s going to be hard to keep up with all the commercials that go the ‘80s and ‘90s route.
Cary Elwes says when fans approach him, the movies they bring up are either Saw or Robin Hood: Men in Tights. So NOT Princess Bride.
Nick Offerman says he swore off video games after losing two weeks of his life to the Nintendo 64 game Banjo-Kazooie.
There’s an AI-generated, endless Seinfeld episode that’s been streaming on Twitch since mid-December.
Lanny Poffo, who was The Genius in the WWF and the brother of “Macho Man” Randy Savage, passed away at age 68.
Recommendations of the week
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved
Ever wonder how scratch and sniff stickers are made? No? Here’s the answer anyway.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you forgot
Here’s an oral history of the Legend of Zelda cartoon series from 1989. It only ran 13 episodes (compared to the Super Mario Bros. cartoon that got 52), but launched at least one cultural catchphrase.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you never knew existed
Tom Persky is the “last man standing in the floppy disk business.” Today, he runs a small but profitable company selling and recycling floppy disks. Here’s an interview with Tom about the medium we all stopped using two decades ago. It includes who’s still buying floppies and why.
Have a great week!
-Sam
As someone who loves weird and forgotten cartoon Christmas specials, I can’t believe I never heard of this Chuck E. Cheese one. Thank you!