Nov 19: Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang, SNL's turning point, Who Shot J.R.?
Plus the most ill-advised episode in Saved by the Bell's entire run
The Retro
by 11 Points
Modern perspectives on ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia
November 19th, 2021 • Issue 74
This week in nostalgic history
November 19th
29 years ago, on November 19th, 1992 - Dr. Dre’s single Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang was released.
Popular history says Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang was Dr. Dre’s debut solo single as well as the debut of Snoop Doggy Dogg. It would probably be better if that were true — because the truth is far less poetic.
Dr. Dre’s actual first solo single, which came out six months earlier in 1992, was called Deep Cover. It was the main track on the soundtrack for a movie called Deep Cover. (Laurence Fishburne is a cop who goes undercover to infiltrate a drug cartel; it was part of the not-so-successful ‘90s wave of gritty crime movies.)
The single featured a debuting Snoop Doggy Dogg and was intended to be the catalyst to launch Dre’s upcoming solo career and debut album, The Chronic.
Only Deep Cover the movie wasn’t a hit, nor was Deep Cover the single. It’s not that the track is bad. It’s just that, at the time, the masses were still buying the Vanilla Ice / M.C. Hammer / Do the Bartman version of rap. For more authentic hip-hop to finally break through to the mainstream, it was going to take an epic track.
Deep Cover wasn’t it. Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang was. Which is why revisionist history has been deployed.
Also on November 19th: CBS banned the infamous Brooke Shields Calvin Klein jeans ad (1980)… Bon Jovi’s single Bad Medicine hit number one (1988)… the U.S. secured its first World Cup berth since 1950 (1989)… the Divinyls single I Touch Myself was released (1990)… Milli Vanilli’s Grammy Award was stripped in the wake of their lip syncing revelation (1990)… the Simpsons episode Mr. Plow premiered (1992)… Addams Family Values hit theaters (1993)… No Doubt’s single Spiderwebs was released (1995)… the Baltimore Stallions became the first and only U.S. team to win the Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup (1995)… Prince’s three-CD album Emancipation was released (1996)… Toy Story 2 and The World Is Not Enough hit theaters (1999)… the first person won the full $1 million on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (1999)
November 20th
39 years ago, on November 20th, 1982 - Drew Barrymore hosted Saturday Night Live at age seven.
For an episode relatively early in SNL’s run, this particular night made a significant impact on the overall direction of the show for, well… for good.
Drew Barrymore, then starring in E.T., was the youngest host ever (and remains the youngest to this day). Bringing a child into the world of SNL, at the time an environment better known for its drugs and fringe eccentricity than its family friendliness, was a statement in itself about what the show might want to become: More mainstream.
Then, on this same episode, SNL ran a live phone poll for the entire 90 minutes about whether the show should keep bringing on Andy Kaufman for comedy segments or if he, as then-SNL head Dick Ebersol said the week prior, just wasn’t funny.
The sketches in the episode were nothing of note. And during the end of the night goodbyes, a tired seven-year-old Drew Barrymore gamely stood front-and-center as the voting results were revealed: Kaufman’s alt-alt-comedy was no longer welcome on SNL.
The show was now symbolically a place more accommodating to cute seven-year-old comedy than avant-garde weirdness.
Over the years to come, the sharp, counter-cultural edges would continue to be sanded off the show. Sure, they’d still hit on satire pieces here and there (especially political) or nail a biting one liner during Weekend Update.
But the grand mission statement was illuminated in this episode and SNL has continued down that path for the almost 40 years since.
Also on November 20th: “The Play” — one of the most memorable moments in college football history — took place (1982)… the apocalyptic TV movie The Day After aired on ABC and was watched by 100 million people (1983)… SETI was founded (1984)… Windows 1.0 shipped (1985)… the one billionth Little Golden Book was printed (it was a copy of The Poky Little Puppy) (1986)… Teen Wolf Two hit theaters (1987)… LL Cool J’s single Around the Way Girl (1990)… Home Alone 2 hit theaters (1992)… Enemy of the State and A Bug’s Life hit theaters (1998)… Josh Groban’s self-titled debut album was released (2001)
November 21st
41 years ago, on November 21st, 1980 - Dallas answered, “Who shot J.R.?”
“Who shot J.R.?” was a pop culture catchphrase that transcended its source material; I’ve never watched a single sentence of Dallas but I’ve known that hook for decades.
Season three of Dallas ended with the show’s villain, J.R. Ewing, shot in an attempted murder. To find out whodunit, fans would have to wait until season four. The mystery became a pop culture phenomenon and a true bonanza for Dallas.
In fact, the hook was so successful Dallas didn’t pay it off in season four’s season premiere — they wanted to squeeze as much juice out of it as they possibly could. They waited until the heart of November sweeps to reveal the shooter (it was his mistress who was also his wife’s sister, spoiler alert on something that happened four decades ago).
That episode was one of the highest rated episodes of TV in history. Today, it’s still number two behind 1983’s M*A*S*H series finale (not counting Super Bowls and special events, just episodic television.) And with TV viewership patterns formally changed, it’s essentially impossible to image any episode of a TV series coming anywhere close.
Viewership of that magnitude couldn’t be ignored and led to a change in TV that persists to this day. The success of the “Who Shot J.R.?” was immutable proof of the power of a season-ending cliffhanger. Before this episode of Dallas, season-ending cliffhangers weren’t all that common; after this episode, they became pretty much a universal go-to move.
Also on November 21st: Olivia Newton-John’s single Physical hit number one (1981)… the NFL returned after a 57-day strike (1982)… the Thriller video premiered in movie theaters (1983)… An American Tail hit theaters (1986)… the finale of She-Ra aired (1987)… Billy Idol’s single Mony Mony hit number one (1987)… smoking was banned on U.S. domestic flights (1989)… Three Men and a Little Lady hit theaters (1990)… the Flamin’ Moe’s episode of The Simpsons premiered (1991)… Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was released, changing video game release cycles permanently (1992)… Coolio’s album Gangsta’s Paradise was released (1995)… The Beatles Anthology 1, featuring the new single Free As a Bird, was released (1995)… Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong was arrested for dropping his pants at a concert (1995)
November 22nd
34 years ago, on November 22nd, 1987 - Someone in a Max Headroom mask hijacked the broadcast signals of two channels in Chicago and was never caught.
In an analog, pre-digital, world, it was possible — not easy, but possible — to mess with broadcast transmissions and telecommunications signals. Phone lines could be crossed or “phreaked” by simulating dial tones. Paid cable could be unscrambled with an illegal but relatively inexpensive device. And, as was proven on this day in 1987, TV broadcasts could be hijacked. One just needed to air a more powerful signal than that of the TV station and boom, you’re on air and they’re not.
During the WGN Evening News in Chicago on November 22nd, 1987, as Chicago Bears highlights were rolling, a hacker wearing a mask of Max Headroom (not a beloved ‘80s TV character, but a pretty ubiquitous one) suddenly appeared on screen. After a few moments of staring at the camera, the hackers cut their transmission and the news resumed.
Then, a few hours later, the hackers struck again. This time they busted into a broadcast of Doctor Who on Chicago’s PBS station. And this time, the Max Headroom person spoke through a distorted voice box, spouting random commercial catchphrases and other nonsense, ultimately culminating in him with his pants down being spanked by a woman with a flyswatter.
The station couldn’t stop the transmission — doing so would require manual intervention and their towers were atop the Sears Tower, where no engineer was on duty late on a Sunday night. The only thing that ended the hack was the hackers themselves cutting their stream.
A police investigation into the hijacking came up empty in the following months. To this day, no one knows who Max Headroom was; they would’ve been looking at jail time and a six-figure fine but the statue of limitations has long since run out.
The hack remains a popular unsolved mystery. There was even a person on Reddit a decade ago who was part of the Chicago hacker scene in the ‘80s and claimed he knew the perpetrators — but he was proven wrong and they were eventually cleared.
Also on November 22nd: Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight boxing champ ever (1986)… Human League’s single Human hit number one (1986)… Back to the Future: Part II hit theaters (1989)… Freddie Mercury issued a statement confirming he had AIDS (1990)… The Addams Family and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West both hit theaters (1991)… TLC’s single Ain’t Too Proud to Beg was released (1991)… Toy Story and Casino both hit theaters (1995)… Jingle All the Way hit theaters (1996)… INXS’s Michael Hutchence died of suicide (1997)… Unbreakable hit theaters (2000)
November 23rd
28 years ago, on November 23rd, 1993 - The Atari Jaguar was released.
Atari was the first big name in the U.S. home video games market, so as other manufacturers passed them by — and it became clear to everyone in the country that video games were here to stay and wouldn’t suffer a market crash like they did in the early ‘80s — Atari wanted to get their (perhaps deserved) piece of the action.
They started with their Lynx handheld, but it failed to make any sort of dent in Game Boy’s sales (lack of games, price, and battery life were main culprits); so they decided to go after the console market with the Jaguar.
They touted it as being more technically advanced than their competitors on the market, and it was. The Jaguar had two 32-bit processors, which Atari added up (although it wasn’t really technically correct to do so) to say they had the first 64-bit system.
Again, though, Atari struggled in the area Nintendo and Sega thrived: the library games. Only 50 games ever came out for the Jaguar, so even as Atari slashed prices on the system down to $150 to compete with the emerging Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation, the Jaguar never took off.
It was, essentially, the last gasp for Atari as a stand-alone company. They wouldn’t release any other products and sold to Hasbro in 1998.
The brand has continued to always be a few awkward steps behind everyone else to this day, on the outside looking in and trying to ride their brand equity to nail something; in recent years they’ve tried a throwback console, a cryptocurrency, and coming soon, themed hotels.
Also on November 23rd: Terms of Endearment hit theaters (1983)… Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie threw a famous Hail Mary to beat Miami (1984)… Scrooged hit theaters (1988)… MTV banned Madonna’s video for Justify My Love (1990)… Michigan’s Desmond Howard struck a Heisman pose when scoring a touchdown (1991)… Michael Bolton’s single When a Man Loves a Woman hit number one (1991)… the Food Network debuted (1993)… Snoop Doggy Dogg’s debut album Doggystyle was released (1993)… Merril Bainbridge’s one hit Mouth peaked at number four and Cake’s The Distance peaked at 35 (1996)… Matchbox 20’s single 3 AM was released (1997)… Will Smith’s single Miami was released (1998)… Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman announced they were annulling their marriage after just over a week (1998)
November 24th
31 years ago, on November 24th, 1990 - The ill-advised “Running Zack” episode of Saved by the Bell aired.
Yes, much of pop culture from the past is jarring through today’s lens. There are diminishing returns on re-litigating them, though it’s nearly impossible not to if you watch, listen, or read them today.
Saved by the Bell certainly had its share of storylines that don’t hold up in the 2020s, but maybe none is more “what were they thinking?!” than the episode that came out on this day in 1990 called “Running Zack”.
In this episode, Zack Morris learns he’s part Native American — despite being the most Scandinavian-looking character on television since He-Man. Zack gives a presentation to the class where he dresses up Screech in war paint and talks in a stereotypical Native American voice. His teacher calls him out and introduces him to a Native American man who, as per the era, is wise but speaks in somewhat cryptic metaphors.
Zack then goes to his class to redo his presentation to make right by… dressing in a full caricature outfit including a huge headdress. This is considered redemption and him doing right by his ancestors. Then he goes to tell the Native American man about the presentation — but finds out the man died. The man did, however, make Zack a headband with a message: “Beat Valley” at the upcoming track meet.
Of course, the Native American stereotyping was bad at the time as it is now, but the aspect of this episode that makes it even more embarrassing today is they actually thought they were giving Zack a real character arc. Him dressed in the headdress at the end is supposed to be a good thing. Nothing has aged worse than that.
Also on November 24th: Mystery Science Theater 3000 premiered on a local TV channel in Minneapolis (1988)… Freddie Mercury passed away at age 45 (1991)… Mrs. Doubtfire hit theaters (1993)… Dan Marino became the first quarterback to fake a spike and throw a pass instead (1994)… The Tick aired its series finale (1996)… Sarah McLachlan’s single Angel was released (1998)… America Online purchased Netscape for $4.2 billion (1998)
November 25th
41 years ago, on November 25th, 1980 - Roberto Duran said “No mas”.
The “no mas” incident is part of boxing lore; something most sports fans have heard even if they weren’t alive and/or watching boxing in 1980. (Many may also know it from when Jay-Z mentions it during his verse in Missy Elliott’s One Minute Man. Which, believe it or not, is not a song about colonial soldiers.)
In brief: Roberto Duran was a championship-winning boxer who was facing Sugar Ray Leonard and, in the middle of the eighth round, while getting pummeled, allegedly told the referee “no mas,” quitting on the spot.
He denied saying “no mas” afterward and said he was actually complaining about stomach cramps. That very much feels like today’s “I didn’t post that, I was hacked” defense.
Whether or not there was veracity around the stomach cramps, however, the narrative was set. Duran’s stock plummeted and his career became defined around “no mas.”
The fallout was severe — Duran even became reviled in his native Panama, where he was previously a legend. It was so severe that it contributed to a popular ‘80s life lesson about the stigma of quitting — not just in combat sports but really in life. Only in very recent times has quitting lost some stigma, a stigma not entirely forged in the wake of this boxing match, but a stigma that was at least reinforced by this match.
Also on November 25th: The John Madden-Pat Summerall broadcast duo called their first football game (1979)… the Band-Aid supergroup recorded Do They Know It’s Christmas? (1984)… Bobby Brown quit New Edition (1986)… Three Men and a Baby and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles were released (1987)… Milli Vanilli’s single Blame It on the Rain hit number one (1989)… The Bodyguard hit theaters (1992)… Whitney Houston’s single Exhale (Shoop Shoop) hit number one (1995)… Will Smith’s album Big Willie Style was released (1997)… 2pac’s album R U Still Down? (Remember Me) was released after his death (1997)… Babe: Ping in the City hit theaters (1998)… Elian Gonzalez was rescued at sea (1999)… NFL coach Jim Mora went on his famous “Playoffs?!” rant (2001)
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news.
Sega is now selling Sonic the Hedgehog cologne.
A sitcom set in the last Blockbuster starring Randall Park has been picked up by Netflix.
Miramax has sued Quentin Tarantino over his plan to release Pulp Fiction NFTs featuring never-before-seen footage.
A docuseries about Barney the Dinosaur will air on Peacock next year.
The ‘90s X-Men: The Animated Series is getting rebooted for Disney+ and will premiere in 2023.
Hoop Dreams is being rebooted as a TV series by Warner Bros.
The Sex and the City prequel revival will premiere December 9th on HBO Max.
Genesis just kicked off their reunion tour and performed Misunderstanding for the first time in 37 years.
Throwbacks and recommendations
A study found The Police’s Every Breath You Take is the only song that feels natural to listen to at any time of the day.
Steve from Blue’s Clues has posted his first two TikTok videos.
Check out eight of the weirdest TV series finales.
Here’s the trailer for Apple TV+’s Fraggle Rock reboot, which premieres in January.
Thanks for reading!
-Sam