Sept 17: Friends, Wheel of Fortune, SVU
Plus Shawshank, Letterman's top 10, and an obsessed Hootie fan
The Retro
by 11 Points
Modern perspectives on ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia
September 17th, 2021 • Issue 65
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This week in nostalgic history
September 17th
23 years ago, on September 17th, 1998 - An American Airlines flight had to make an emergency stop when a passenger became violent after meeting his idols, Hootie & the Blowfish.
Before we judge someone for committing a federal crime due to an untethered love of Hootie & the Blowfish, just remember: They were a huge deal in the ‘90s. Can any of us definitively say we would’ve kept our cool in the face of Hootie?
On this day in 1998, Hootie et. al. were on an American Airlines flight, heading from New York to Los Angeles. They were sitting in first class — no coach for the ‘Fish, obvi — and a 19-year-old superfan in coach spotted them. He got super drunk, then attempted to infiltrate first class to meet the band, telling the flight attendants he was a member of the band as his cover story.
He got close enough to ask the group for autographs and also kept asking for advice before he was kicked out. At which point he tried to attack their bodyguard and threatened to kill the pilots and flight attendants. The plane made an emergency stop in Denver, where he was escorted off by the police and taken to a hospital for an evaluation.
The saddest part of this man’s ill-fated odyssey? Hootie slept through the whole thing. He said he briefly woke up during the emergency stop, quote, “They were taking somebody out. I went back to sleep.”
Also on September 17th: George Thorogood and the Destroyers’ single Bad to the Bone was released (1982)… Vanessa Williams became the first Black woman crowned Miss America (1983)… Transformers premiered (1984)… Head of the Class premiered (1986)… the Summer Olympics began in Seoul, South Korea (1988)… the kids game show Video Power premiered (1990)… Guns N Roses’ albums Use Your Illusion I & II were released (1991)… Home Improvement premiered (1991)… The Age of Innocence hit theaters (1993)… The Simpsons revealed Who Shot Mr. Burns? in their season premiere (1995)… Spin City premiered (1996)… the OJ Simpson civil trial began (1996)… 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 (1998)… Blue Streak and For Love of the Game both hit theaters (1999)… Eminem’s mother sued him for $10 million for defamation (1999)… Kelly Clarkson’s single A Moment Like This was released (2002)
September 18th
36 years ago, on September 18th, 1985 - David Letterman debuted his top 10 list bit with the Top 10 Words That Almost Rhyme with Peas.
David Letterman’s top 10 list, which started on this day in 1985 and became a permanent bit on his shows for the rest of their run, always carried the same unspoken conceit: The items in the top 10 probably weren’t going to be funny — at least not in a traditional sense. The humor virtually always came from the meta joke of a top 10 list about the randomest of topics, populated with jokes or even non-jokes, most of which wouldn’t land. It was a pure Letterman bit, one that only worked in the arsenal a comedian who thrived better (and craved) when his jokes bombed than when they landed.
Today’s inaugural top 10 list set the tone for the entire bit. The maiden top 10 list was “Top 10 Words That Almost Rhyme with Peas” and included words like “ties,” “ice,” “nurse,” and the number one answer, “meats.”
Letterman followed in the coming weeks with top 10 lists like the “top 10 heaviest Kennedys,” “top 10 liquids,” and “top 10 Pharaohs or tile caulkings.”
Also on September 18th: Kiss appeared with no makeup for the first time, on MTV (1983)… Hardcastle and McCormick premiered on ABC (1983)… Fatal Attraction hit theaters (1987)… Duck Tails and Full House both premiered (1987)… Alien Nation premiered on FOX (1989)… Atlanta was chosen as the host city for the 1996 centennial Olympics (1990)… School Ties hit theaters as did Captain Ron (1992)… Ken Burns’s Baseball premiered (1994)… WebTV launched (1996)… Rush Hour hit theaters (1998)… TLC’s single Unpretty hit number one (1999)… the first letters containing anthrax were found (2001)
September 19th
38 years ago, on September 19th, 1983 - The (nighttime) version of Wheel of Fortune premiered.
Wheel of Fortune, the Pinky to Jeopardy!’s Brain, started off as a daytime game show during the daytime game show explosion of the ‘70s. And, by law, it was hosted by Chuck Woolery.
Woolery left the show in 1981, I won’t look up why but I’ll assume it’s because hosting nine separate game shows was one too many, and was replaced by Los Angeles weatherman Pat Sajak. In 1982, Sajak was joined by Vanna White. And one year after that, Merv Griffin decided to try out Wheel of Fortune as a syndicated nightly game show with a higher budget and larger prizes. Within one year, it was the top-rated syndicated TV show, inspiring Griffin to launch a nighttime syndicated version of Jeopardy! to accompany Wheel.
Wheel of Fortune remained the top syndicated TV show until a decade ago, when it was dethroned by reruns of Two and a Half Men.
Today, Wheel is still going strong — like many legacy shows with loyal audiences and name value in an overcrowded media landscape, perhaps stronger than ever — with primetime spinoffs, international versions, and, believe it or not, the most successful slot machine brand of all time.
Also on September 19th: Ordinary People hit theaters (1980)… a programmer named Scott Fahlman created the first emoticons (1982)… Highway to Heaven premiered on NBC (1984)… 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 was released (1988)… Doogie Howser M.D. premiered (1989)… Janet Jackson’s album Rhythm Nation 1814 was released (1989)… Goodfellas hit theaters (1990)… E.R. premiered (1994)… the Washington Post and New York Times published the Unabomber’s manifesto (1995)… In & Out and L.A. Confidential hit theaters (1997)… Family Matters and Step by Step switched networks and premiered on CBS (1997)… John Stamos and Rebecca Romijn were married (1998)… Best in Show hit theaters (2000)
September 20th
22 years ago, on September 20th, 1999 - Law & Order: SVU premiered.
Much like the mysteries on Law & Order: SVU are generally pretty easy to solve (the most famous guest star is the bad guy every time), the mystery of why SVU has long outlasted the original Law & Order and every other spinoff also seems quite clear.
SVU nailed one key ingredient better than any other show in the Law & Order cinematic universe: The ratio. The problem with the original Law & Order? It was too heavy on the “law,” which, despite being a dramatized, unrealistic pastiche of actual courtroom procedure, is not as exciting as the crime solving “order.” Third spinoff Law & Order: Criminal Intent swung too far in the other direction, giving too much “order,” with Vincent D’Onofrio spending roughly 43 of each episode’s 44 minutes doing a Sherlock Holmes brain/Gumby body impression.
SVU got it right. The ratio is roughly three-quarters order, one-quarter law: enough detective work to keep the show engaging and entertaining, but also showing justice doled out to its endless parade of unthinkably horrifying criminals.
So SVU marches on, its 23rd season starting in a few days, during which it will hit its 500th episode. Now it has its own spinoff and is a TV institution in the realm of The Simpsons and Gunsmoke. I personally can’t watch it anymore since having children because it becomes too disturbing, but clearly plenty of other people are still tuned in. It’s quite possible SVU outlives us all.
Also on September 20th: The episode of Happy Days where the Fonz literally jumped a shark premiered (1977)… Ozzy Osbourne’s debut solo album was released (1980)… Who’s the Boss? premiered on ABC and The Cosby Show premiered on NBC (1984)… Huey Lewis and the News’ single Stuck with You hit number one (1986)… The Flash premiered on CBS (1990)… Step by Step premiered (1991)… Tom Cochrane’s single Life Is a Highway was released (1991)… Sheryl Crow’s single If It Makes You Happy was released (1996)… The First Wives Club hit theaters (1996)… Cal Ripken Jr.’s consecutive games streak ended (1998)… Blind Date premiered (1999)… President George W. Bush declared a “war on terror” (2001)
September 21st
28 years ago, on September 21st, 1993 - Salt-n-Pepa’s single Shoop was released.
There have been three prominent Shoop songs in music history:
- The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss) by Betty Everett, a huge hit in 1964 that became an even bigger hit when covered by Cher.
- Exhale (Shoop Shoop) by Whitney Houston, a number one song in 1995 and Whitney’s final number one hit.
- And today’s featured song, Shoop by Salt-n-Pepa, a massive success for the group during the height of their red-hot run in 1993.
Each of these songs uses the word “shoop” in a different way.
The wholesome '60s version uses “shoop” as a stand-in for the endless conversations about “is this person into me or not” — “shoop” being the nonsense word proffered by the Greek chorus weighing in on the circuitous relationship conversation.
Whitney used “shoop” as a mantra, a “serenity now”-esque word to repeat to calm down in a frantic world.
And Salt-n-Pepa used it as a term for female relationship empowerment, a random onomatopoeia standing in for every aspect of the flirting/dating/sexual journey.
Their Shoop remains as fun to listen to now as it was in its time, its nebulous “shoop” as versatile and relevant as ever.
Also on September 21st: The first-ever NFL players’ strike began (1982)… Dire Straits’ single Money for Nothing hit number one (1985)… 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 (1991)… Nirvana’s album In Utero and Melissa Etheridge’s album Yes I Am were released (1993)… NYPD Blue premiered (1993)… No Doubt’s single Just a Girl was released (1995)… Caroline in the City and The Single Guy premiered (1995)… JFK Jr. married Carolyn Bessette (1996)… King of Queens, Will & Grace, and Felicity all premiered (1998)… Florence Griffith-Joyner passed away (1998)… Ghost World and Mariah Carey’s movie Glitter hit theaters (2001)
September 22nd
27 years ago, on September 22nd, 1994 - Friends premiered on NBC.
There were tons of “New Yorkers in an apartment” sitcoms in the wake of Seinfeld’s success. Friends is the only one of the entire lot that actually worked. And the reason it worked right out of the gate is the reason it’s still working now and is (arguably) as popular as it’s ever been: It wasn’t ‘90s humor. (Other than some of Chandler’s early-in-the-series one liners, like “the fifth dentist switched and now they all recommend Trident.”)
Friends featured well-written, character-driven humor, set against a backdrop that felt sort of relatable but also sort of aspirational. A group of impossibly attractive friends, living in unaffordable New York City apartments, experiencing an endless series of dating, career, and life adventures — it was relatable in an idealized way, and legitimately funny along the way.
It was also an antidote to Seinfeld’s more acerbic and underlying dark humor. Friends was willing to have serious moments and actual romance; it was Seinfeld’s policy never to do any of that. That difference is one of the primary reasons why Friends has a stronger appeal with younger generations discovering ‘90s TV on streaming services today.
Also on September 22nd: Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court (1981)… Family Ties premiered on NBC (1982)… Scandal’s one hit, The Warrior, peaked at number 7 and Twisted Sister’s one hit, We’re Not Gonna Take It, peaked at number 21 (1984)… John Waite’s single Missing You hit number one (1984)… the first Farm Aid benefit was held (1985)… ALF premiered on NBC (1986)… TGIF debuted on ABC along with the new show Family Matters (1989)… Baywatch premiered (1989)… Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper premiered (1992)… Bruce Springsteen played an electric guitar on MTV Unplugged (1992)… Nolan Ryan pitched his final game (1993)… Se7en, Showgirls, and Empire Records all hit theaters (1995)… Elton John’s Candle in the Wind 1997, a tribute to Princess Diana, was released (1997)… Barenaked Ladies’ biggest hit, One Week, was released as was the Goo Goo Dolls’ album Dizzy Up the Girl, Dru Hill’s single How Deep Is Your Love, and Shawn Mullins’s single Lullaby (1998)… The West Wing premiered (1999)
September 23rd
27 years ago, on September 23rd, 1994 - The Shawshank Redemption hit theaters.
The nominees for the Best Picture Oscar in 1995 were: Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Quiz Show, and The Shawshank Redemption. Looking at that list today, it seems like one of the most loaded, competitive, and commercially-and-critically-successful Best Picture fields in history.
But that wasn’t really true at the time. Because before this Oscar nomination, The Shawshank Redemption wasn’t considered the widely-revered and -beloved masterpiece it’s considered today.
Mid-September is not usually the time when studios release a movie in which there’s a lot of faith or hope. Audiences know it too. So neither the studio nor the audience seemed all that excited about The Shawshank Redemption when it was released.
Prison movies were somewhat out of fashion at the time. On the production end, there was concern that a movie adapted from a Stephen King short story would be considered fluff and not a prestige piece. All of this added up to a movie that was largely a critical success but not much else — it was considered a box office bomb with a total gross of $16 million.
But… the movie received an Oscar nomination, probably squeaking in as the fifth of the five movies. It wasn’t really a contender to win.
Then around the time of the Oscars… The Shawshank Redemption started to catch on. It became a rental hit (one of the most rented movies of the year). And then, the big moment: TNT started airing it.
TNT secured the rights to The Shawshank Redemption before it even premiered in theaters, and got them cheap (remember: there were no studio expectations this movie would be successful). In 1997, TNT started airing the movie over and over — ostensibly because the audience loved it, but more realistically because their deal made it so cheap for them to do so. High ad rates and a low cost to run the movie? Shawshank marathons all day, every day.
Today, The Shawshank Redemption is one of the most valuable films in the Warner Bros. library. And while TNT no longer has the exclusive rights — it airs on more than 15 networks — the movie is now the commercial and critical success it was not in its initial theatrical run.
The Shawshank Redemption was added to the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” in 2015.
Also on September 23rd: Congress voted the rose as the official flower of the U.S. (1986)… the original My Little Pony aired its series finale (1987)… Milli Vanilli’s single Girl I’m Gonna Miss You hit number one (1989)… CeCe Peniston’s single Finally was released (1991)… Mad About You premiered (1992)… Manon Rheaume became the first female athlete to compete in one of the major U.S. sports league (1992)… Gloria Estefan’s single Turn the Beat Around was released (1994)… the Notorious BIG made a guest starring appearance on Martin (1995)… Luniz’s one hit, I Got 5 on It, peaked at number eight (1995)… Boyz II Men’s album Evolution was released (1997)… Netflix launched its mail-in subscription model (1999)
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 announced the 12 finalists for its 2021 class. They include Cabbage Patch Kids and Masters of the Universe action figures.
Portland, Ore., is the inspiration for the names of many Simpsons characters. The city just honored one of those characters by naming a new bridge Ned Flanders Crossing.
A reboot of The Bodyguard is in the works.
Alanis Morissette has distanced herself from an HBO documentary about her ascent called Jagged. Quote, “This was not the story I agreed to tell.”
The Little Mermaid live-action reboot will come out Memorial Day weekend of 2023.
Disney+ is working on a reboot of Flight of the Navigator, with Bryce Dallas Howard directing.
Amazon is developing a live-action She-Ra series.
The Notorious B.I.G.’s home in Brooklyn where he lived during the Ready to Die era is up for sale at $1.7 million. (Keep in mind this is not the building he was hustling in front of where people called the police on him.)
Norm Macdonald passed away at age 61 on Tuesday after a decade-long, private battle with cancer. (Back in May, I wrote about his Conan appearance in the ‘90s that is, quite possibly, the most subversive talk show appearance of all time.)
Throwbacks and recommendations
Lifehacker made a slideshow of 33 movie sequels (or reboots) that “exemplify the best and worst of nostalgia.”
Here are Buzzfeed’s 11 movies that scrapped their original ending, including Speed, The Lion King, Titanic, Pretty in Pink, and more.
Build-A-Bear Workshop is now selling a Beetlejuice bear.
Here’s the first teaser for Amazon Prime’s new series reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer.
Rolling Stone updated its list of the 500 greatest songs of all-time. It was last released 17 years ago.
Omaze is raffling off a DeLorean DMC-12 — aka the Back to the Future car. To enter, you need to make a donation to the Petersen Auto Museum.
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Thanks for reading!
-Sam