July 30: Buffy, A Game of Thrones, Tandy, Batdance
Plus the time my (now) wife thought I was going to propose at Casa Bonita
The Retro
by 11 Points
Modern perspectives on ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia
July 30, 2021 • Issue 58
This week in nostalgic history
July 30th
39 years ago, on July 30th, 1982 - An Officer and a Gentleman hit theaters.
An Officer and a Gentleman is a classic example of “movies you’ve never seen but know because a scene has been parodied billions of times in pop culture.” (Other such movies might include The Godfather, Carrie, The Seven Year Itch, Scarface, Say Anything, On the Waterfront, Dirty Harry, When Harry Met Sally, and no doubt dozens more that didn’t pop into my head immediately.)
The carrying the lady out of the factory scene at the end of An Officer and a Gentleman has been a go-to reference for near four decades now — it may not quite be as romantic or oft-referenced as stopping someone at the airport, but it’s damn close. With bonus points if the person being carried grabs the carrier’s hat or receives a standing ovation from tearful coworkers. And more bonus points if Up Where We Belong is playing.
Also on July 30th: Apple began working on Lisa, the first computer with a graphical user interface (1979)… Flight of the Navigator hit theaters (1986)… Steve Winwood’s single Roll with It hit number one (1988)… George Steinbrenner was forced to resign by MLB (1990)… the first Saturn automobiles were produced (1990)… the MovieTime cable network rebranded as E! (1990)… Robin Hood: Men in Tights and So I Married an Axe Murderer both hit theaters (1993)… Runaway Bride hit theaters (1999)
July 31st
29 years ago, on July 31st, 1992 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer hit theaters.
Movies become TV shows all the time. But it’s rare that a TV show is created as a mulligan for a movie that more or less creatively failed.
That’s the case of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, written by a young Joss Whedon. However, the movie that came out 29 years ago on this day, it wasn’t at all in line with Whedon’s original vision. The movie was darker in the wrong ways, the jokes were lighter in the wrong ways, the casting wasn’t quite right — basically, it was a case of a screenwriter having their movie made but being wholly disappointed with the end result. Normally, that’s the end of things.
But as Whedon amassed clout over the coming years, eventually he cashed it in to redo Buffy — this time aligning with his original vision. The result was a beloved, charmingly low-budget, perfectly cast comedy-horror TV series, although, sadly, the good work of so many in relation to it has been tarnished by what we’ve since learned about Whedon behind the scenes.
Also on July 31st: Harry Potter was born (canonically) (1980)… the U.S. men’s gymnastics team won gold at the Olympics (1984)… The Lost Boys hit theaters (1987)… the last Playboy Club closed (1988)… Nintendo’s Game Boy was released in the U.S. (1989)… Hot Shots! hit theaters (1991)… Whoomp! There It Is by Tag Team peaked at #2 (1993)… Disney announced it would be acquiring ABC and ESPN (1995)… Selena’s album Dreaming of You debuted at number one (1995)… Baseketball hit theaters, as did Ever After (1998)… Christina Aguilera’s single Genie in a Bottle hit number one (1999)
August 1st
25 years ago, on August 1st, 1996 - The first Game of Thrones book was published.
Before A Game of Thrones, the first in the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire and, of course, the namesake of the eventual HBO TV juggernaut, George R. R. Martin’s main notoriety as an author came from science fiction short stories he’d written more than two decades earlier. And then in his mid 40s, after a winding and random career path, he made the career-defining jump from short stories to very, very, very long stories. A Game of Thrones checked in at a tight 694 pages — and it was a runaway hit.
Although the first novel in the series was published a quarter century ago, and the TV series has already come and gone, Martin is still at work on the penultimate sixth book in the series — a book he started writing more than 11 years ago.
Also on August 1st: Cinemax debuted (1980)… MTV debuted (1981)… Rich Springfield’s single Jessie’s Girl hit number one (1981)… Diana Ross and Lionel Richie’s single Endless Love was released (1981)… Howard the Duck hit theaters (1986)… Mike Tyson became undisputed heavyweight boxing champion for the first time (1987)… Bob Seger’s single Shakedown hit number one (1987)… Denver defeated Pittsburgh in the first-ever ArenaBowl (1987)… The Last Temptation of Christ hit theaters (1988)… Altered Beast was released by Sega (1988)… Deee-Lite’s single Groove Is in the Heart was released (1990)… MTV2 launched (1996)… the first Air Bud movie was released (1997)… the Petronas Towers opened in Malaysia to become the world’s tallest building (1999)
August 2nd
35 years ago, on August 2nd, 1986 - Peter Cetera’s single Glory of Love hit number one.
Glory of Love is a perfect ‘80s power ballad: over-the-top earnestness paired with an addictive melody. And synthesizers — lots of synthesizers. It was Peter Cetera’s first single after leaving Chicago to go solo and, well, he definitely stuck with what he knew. Glory of Love sounded like a Chicago song (in a good way) and eased the public into this new, independent Peter Cetera. (His next song, The Next Time I Fall, was also a major hit. Things got a little shakier from there — but people to this day still adore Glory of Love.)
But perhaps the most famous aspect of Glory of Love was its prominent inclusion in The Karate Kid Part II. That connection earned Cetera (and, I suppose, the song) nominations for a Golden Globe, Oscar, and Grammy. Sadly, and perhaps even incorrectly, it lost to Take My Breath Away from Top Gun at both movie awards and to Steve Winwood’s Higher Love at the Grammys.
Also on August 2nd: Weird Science hit theaters (1985)… Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was re-released in theaters (1987)… Parenthood hit theaters (1989)… a revised version of Punch-Out!!, with the titular Mike Tyson replaced by Mr. Dream, was released for NES (1990)… Matilda hit theaters (1996)… the Dream Team III won the gold medal at the Olympics in Atlanta (1996)… Lamb Chop’s Shari Lewis died (1998)
August 3rd
44 years ago, on August 3rd, 1977 - Tandy and RadioShack announced their first personal computer.
Tandy Computers are, at this point, mostly a delightful punchline when talking about the personal computer revolution of the ‘80s. As all the players began emerging in the space, there was something fun yet doomed about RadioShack trying to roll out its own proprietary line of computers. (And truly proprietary; they wouldn’t allow third parties to make accessories, which gets some of the blame for the failure of the brand.)
While researching this, I learned all sorts of things I never knew about Tandy. Like (1) Tandy started as a leather company (2) the Tandy Corporation created RadioShack when the owner saw an opportunity for a chain of electronics stores (3) in the early ‘80s, Tandy managed to grab a 60% market share in personal computers before other manufacturers took over the market and (4) there were still Tandy Electronics stores in Australia as late as 2012 — only five years before the final demise of the RadioShack retail chain.
Also on August 3rd: Mary Lou Retton became the first American woman to win the all-around gymnastics gold medal (1984)… Tears for Fears’ single Shout hit number one (1985)… Def Leppard’s album Hysteria was released (1987)… Young Guns II, Mo Better Blues, and Duck Tales hit theaters (1990)… Apple’s Newton handheld was released (1993)… Los Del Rio’s Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) hit number one (1996)… Iron Giant hit theaters (1999)
August 4th
35 years ago, on August 4th, 1986 - The USFL canceled its upcoming 1986 season, killing off the league after a series of terrible business decisions.
Spring football leagues have always been a tough sell in the U.S. (though it hasn’t stopped people from trying them over and over to this day; see you for XFL 3.0 come spring 2022). But if any spring football league ever had a shot to “make it,” it was the USFL. Unlike a lot of spring football leagues, the quality of talent and play in the USFL was actually quite good and the league was sufficiently popular to have a long, fruitful run.
But, unfortunately, that wasn’t good enough for their owners. In 1984, the owners — led, naturally, by New Jersey Generals owner and business genius Donald Trump who’s never had a business fail except all of them — decided spring wasn’t good enough. They wanted to go head to head against the NFL in the fall. Why? They believed that would lead to one of two potential cash grab outcomes: the NFL would have to merge with the league, making several franchises extremely valuable; or two, the USFL owners could sue the NFL for an antitrust violation and make big money that way.
Option B came true, the USFL sued the league, and on this day in 1986, they won… one American dollar. The jury rejected basically all of the USFL’s claims as they easily saw through the USFL’s plan to become a fall league as a catalyst for a lawsuit, so they awarded the “winning” USFL the smallest settlement possible.
Even more Alanis ironic for those brilliant businessmen who owned the USFL teams? Back when the owners declared they were moving to the fall, ABC and ESPN offered them nearly $70 million per season in TV rights… for spring football. The owners turned it down because they were already committed to going for the “sue the NFL” gambit instead.
Because of the $1 settlement (ultimately bumped up to $3.76), the USFL had to cancel the 1986 season. They planned to regroup and play again in 1987, but that never came to fruition.
Also on August 4th: In a move that would contribute perhaps even more than anyone realized to destabilizing American society, the FCC rescinded the Fairness Doctrine (1987)… the Dirty Dancing soundtrack was released (1987)… Mariah Carey’s single Vision of Love hit number one (1990)… Gin Blossoms’ album New Miserable Experience was released (1992)… in a famous baseball fight, Nolan Ryan put Robin Ventura in a headlock (1993)… Howard Stern dropped his bid for governor of New York (1994)… Babe hit theaters (1995)… INOJ’s single Time After Time was released (1998)… Coyote Ugly hit theaters (2000)
August 5th
32 years ago, on August 5th, 1989 - Prince’s single Batdance hit number one.
A surprising aspect of Prince’s career is despite so, so many iconic songs, there was a real lack of number one hits in there. Prince only had five number 1s in his career, and while, yes, five number one hits is a lot, it’s certainly not a lot for an artist at Prince’s level.
Songs like Little Red Corvette (peaked at 6), Purple Rain (2), I Would Die 4 U (8), 1999 (12), Raspberry Beret (2), Pop Life (7), Sign o’ the Times (3), U Got the Look (2), The Most Beautiful Girl in the World (3), and many others never quite managed to make it to the top.
But somehow, Batdance did. Maybe the boost from the ultra popular Batman movie helped — the single was literally just the giant Batman logo with the words “Prince” and “Batdance” in a much smaller font. (I mean, Prince didn’t even manage to replace a “to” with a “2” or a “you” with a “U” in there, so you know he was taking second billing to the logo.)
Batdance was as close to a novelty song as Prince ever made. The first half was a dance song that sampled the ‘60s Batman TV theme and let Prince channel his inner Joker (they both did always have a penchant for purple). The second half was more of a traditional Prince song. The result was strange, and not necessarily in a good way — but in the summer of ‘89, it was just what the people wanted. Somehow.
Batdance would be the penultimate number one hit of Prince’s career; Cream would be his final number one two years later.
Also on August 5th: Risky Business premiered in theaters nationwide (1983)… Lionel Richie’s album Dancing on the Ceiling was released (1986)… Clear and Present Danger, Airheads, and The Little Rascals all hit theaters (1994)… Whose Line Is It Anyway? premiered (1998)… Halloween H20 hit theaters (1998)
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news.
Trey Parker and Matt Store are trying to buy Casa Bonita, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April. Casa Bonita was the focus of a classic South Park episode in 2003. Personal Casa Bonita story: I first went to Casa Bonita on a family trip to Colorado in the late ‘80s, and went there again with my girlfriend (now wife) and a few friends after a wedding in Denver in the early 2010s. I later learned while we were there, my now wife for some reason got the idea I was going to propose and was freaked out the whole time so she couldn’t even enjoy the cliff divers or Blackbeard’s Cave. A proposal was not in the works at that time and we’re still not sure what hint mislead her into thinking it was, although now in retrospect, that was a failure on my part not to think to propose at Casa Bonita. I even could’ve carried her out of there Officer and a Gentleman style.
Every ‘90s movie is fair game for reboots today — even infamous bombs. A Waterworld reboot is in the works as a TV series.
Powered largely by Rickrolling, Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up passed one billion YouTube views on Wednesday.
After 25 seasons, Arthur is coming to an end on PBS. The final season will air next year.
Matt Damon says he almost played Robin in two of the Batman movies: Batman in 1989 and Batman Forever in 1995.
The new Predator prequel will be called Skull and will focus on the Predator’s first trip to Earth.
The Die Hard prequel called McClane, first announced in 2015, was canceled after Disney acquired Fox.
A new interview revealed Robin Williams was originally supposed to voice Howard the Duck but quit the movie after one week.
A Jaws-themed musical called Bruce will premiere in Seattle next spring.
Linda Blair tweeted there have “not been any discussions” about her appearing in The Exorcist reboot.
Throwbacks and recommendations
double u double u double u dot random covers dot com: BTS covered Puff Daddy and Faith Evans’ I’ll Be Missing You for BBC Radio 1.
Chocolate Dunkaroos are now in stores. Vanilla Dunkaroos returned last year.
Thanks for reading!
-Sam