Sept 24: Boy Meets World, Insane in the Brain, Miami Vice
Plus the infamous Cop Rock experiment, the NFL's yellow line, and more
The Retro
by 11 Points
Modern perspectives on ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia
September 24th, 2021 • Issue 66
Thanks to everyone who took the survey about The Retro! I’ll share some results next week for those interested.
This week in nostalgic history
September 24th
28 years ago, on September 24th, 1993 - Boy Meets World premiered.
Boy Meets World arrived on ABC’s TGIF lineup after the TGIF lineup concept was starting to decrease in popularity — but don’t tell Boy Meets World fans that. Scores of ‘90s kids love this show to the point where, quite possibly, it has the biggest cult following of any of the TGIF shows.
That cult popularity drove the creation of Girl Meets World, officially called a “sequel series” to the show. Girl Meets World, which followed the life of the daughter of original series characters Cory and Topanga, aired for three seasons on the Disney Channel, from 2014 to 2017.
It’s not clear why Disney Channel canceled the show — but the prevailing theory is it’s because the teenage characters got too old.
Also on September 24th: Compuserve launched a commercial online service (1979)… Prince’s single 1999 was released (1982)… Billy Joel’s single Tell Her About It hit number one (1983)… Growing Pains premiered (1985)… A Different World premiered (1987)… Ben Johnson of Canada won the 100m event at the Olympics, only to get disqualified three days later (1988)… East Germany’s Christa Luding-Rothenburger became the first athlete to win Summer and Winter Olympic medals in the same year (1988)… James Brown got into a high speed chase (1988)… Bobby McFerrin’s one hit, Don’t Worry Be Happy, hit number one (1988)… Tevin Campbell’s single Round and Round was released (1990)… Nirvana’s album Nevermind and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ album Blood Sugar Sex Magik were both released as was A Tribe Called Quest’s album The Low End Theory (1991)… Dr. Seuss passed away (1991)… the Sci-Fi Channel debuted (1992)… The Program, Dazed and Confused, and The Good Son all hit theaters (1993)… Myst was released (1993)… the Norm MacDonald era of SNL’s Weekend Update began (1994)… the Colin Firth TV movie of Pride and Prejudice debuted on BBC (1995)… eBay went public (1998)
September 25th
28 years ago, on September 25th, 1993 - Cypress Hill’s Insane in the Brain peaked at number 19.
In February 2019, The Guardian interviewed two of the members of Cypress Hill about Insane in the Brain, the group’s breakthrough and, ultimately, biggest hit. The two both dropped major — and very, very different — revelations about the song.
Sen Dog, who did the vocals on the song, revealed it was not intended to be a fun stoner party song — rather, it was Cypress Hill’s serious dis track against their enemies. In fact, the catchy hooks were all centered around early ‘90s gang lingo; “insane in the brain” referred to what you’d say before getting ready to start a fight, possibly to the death.
DJ Muggs, the producer of the song, revealed his own secret, albeit a secret 180 degrees away from the other revelation in tone. He was the producer on House of Pain’s Jump Around, a track he’d originally written for his crew with Cypress Hill but the other guys in the group rejected. So when it came time for the Cypress Hill’s next song, he took a shortcut — he kept essentially the same exact structural format as Jump Around, just with a different beat behind it.
And if you sing a little Jump Around then a little Insane in the Brain, you’ll notice that, yeah, they’re first cousins if not closer.
Also on September 25th: Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham died (1980)… Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in as the first-ever female Supreme Court justice in the U.S. (1981)… Silver Spoons premiered (1982)… The Princess Bride hit theaters (1987)… Ace of Base’s album The Sign was released in the U.S. (1993)… Office Space shorts debuted on SNL (1993)… Marv Albert plead guilty to biting a woman (1997)… Freaks and Geeks premiered (1999)… Vince Carter performed one of the greatest dunks of all time, jumping over 7’2 Frederic Weis of France at the Olympics (2000)… Undeclared premiered on FOX (2001)… Michael Jordan announced his (second) return to the NBA (2001)
September 26th
31 years ago, on September 26th, 1990 - Cop Rock premiered on ABC.
If you ever stumble onto a list of the “worst TV shows ever,” you’re essentially guaranteed to see Cop Rock. (It’s usually listed a few spots before the GEICO Cavemen sitcom and a few spots after the UPN sitcom about slavery.)
Cop Rock was a musical police procedural show. (Example: In the first episode, for example, during a courtroom scene, the jury sang a New Orleans gospel-style song called He’s Guilty. It’s both absurd and oddly catchy.) The premise meant the show was inherently comedic — but it was designed to also be serious and not purely comedy. The genre blend just never worked. The series was canceled after just 11 episodes and didn’t even make it to 1991.
Was it actually that bad? Watching some of it, it sure doesn’t hold up — only because it doesn’t fully embrace its ridiculousness. If it had leaned harder into being a surreal parody of cop shows, rather than actually trying to be a musical cop show, it might’ve worked better — although probably not on ABC prime time in the ‘90s. Adult Swim from 11:45 P.M. to 11:55 P.M. in 2008? Definitely.
Also on September 26th: The Rocky Horror Picture Show hit theaters in the U.S. for the first time, and it’s never left (1975)… Knight Rider premiered on NBC (1982)… At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert premiered in syndication (1982)… Prince’s single Purple Rain was released (1984)… Run-DMC became the first rap group to have a top 10 hit, with Raisin’ Hell (1986)… Crocodile Dundee hit theaters (1986)… the episode of Dallas where Bobby Ewing returned from the dead because his death was all just a bad dream premiered (1986)… Whitney Houston’s single Didn’t We Almost Have It All hit number one (1987)… Biz Markie’s Just a Friend was released (1989)… the NC-17 movie rating was established (1990)… eight people entered Biosphere 2 (1991)… the eight people emerged from Biosphere 2 (1993)… the Goo Goo Dolls single Name was released (1995)… JFK Jr.’s magazine George debuted (1995)… the series finale aired of Lamb Chop’s Play Along (1997)… Star Trek Enterprise premiered on UPN (2001)
September 27th
23 years ago, on September 27th, 1998 - The superimposed yellow first down line appeared on televised football games for the first time.
I struggle to remember a time when we watched football without the yellow first down line on the screen. While it’s not impossible to tell what spot on the field a team needs to reach to attain a first down, the yellow line is a welcome (and surprisingly unobtrusive) shortcut. It’s like how I could lift up my head to look at a clock but instead I yell, “Hey Google, what time is it?” The shortcut is there, so we take it.
While the yellow line took a little getting used to in 1998, it’s such a part of a TV broadcast today that little to no thought is given to its unnatural superimposition on the field.
The downside, however, is the yellow line has spawned a lot of descendants, and none of them have enhanced the presentation quite so organically. Today’s football broadcasts feature a red line on fourth down, a line to show the spot where a kicker could reasonably make a field goal, and sometimes things like the entire red zone. Baseball superimposes a graphic for the strike zone. And beyond that… all sorts of broadcasts can now superimpose ads all over the screen. That hasn’t really hit the major U.S. sports yet, but it feels like it’s only a matter of time.
Also on September 27th: Technotronic’s single Pump Up the Jam was released (1989)… two guys went over Niagara Falls in a barrel and were the first to survive (1989)… Necessary Roughness hit theaters (1991)… Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start the Fire was released (1991)… The Ben Stiller Show premiered (1992)… Brandy’s self-titled debut album was released (1994)… O.J. Simpson tried on the glove and it didn’t fit (1995)… Sabrina the Teenage Witch premiered (1996)… Mark McGwire hit his record-setting 69th and 70th home runs of the season in the final game (1998)… Google was canonically born; this is the day Google now celebrates as its anniversary even though it launched earlier in the month (1998)
September 28th
37 years ago, on September 28th, 1984 - Miami Vice premiered on NBC.
Miami Vice is an interesting contrast to Cop Rock, discussed earlier in this newsletter, because Miami Vice was also a police show that tried to stand out by doing something totally different than the other cop shows on air.
Only for Miami Vice, it worked.
Rather than joining in the endless parade of gritty cop shows on TV, Miami Vice was colorful (in Miami pastels); the producers even banned earth tones from the color palette. It was highly stylized in its appearance and high energy in its tone. It used trendy music and featured sexier crimes. It looked and felt different than any other cop show on TV at that time — or, really, ever.
And boy, did that resonate. Miami Vice was an instant hit, it ran for five seasons and more than 100 episodes. Its theme song became a number one hit. The men’s fashion on the show influenced ‘80s style and the sports cars defined ‘80s cocaine car culture. It even led to a tourism boom (and Art Deco revival) in Miami and South Beach that’s remained consistent to this day.
Also on September 28th: Carl Sagan’s Cosmos premiered on PBS (1980)… Olivia Newton-John’s single Physical was released (1981)… The Big Chill hit theaters (1983)… Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered in syndication (1987)… Orel Hershiser set a record for pitching consecutive scoreless inning (1988)… Game Boy was released in Europe (1990)… Michael Jordan made his one and only hosting appearance on Saturday Night Live as Chris Farley, Chris Rock, and Julia Sweeney joined the cast (1991)… Garth Brooks’s album Ropin’ the Wind became the first country album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 (1991)… Shai’s single If I Ever Fall in Love was released (1992)… Ed Wood hit theaters (1994)… Apple launched its Think Different ad campaign (1997)… Internet Explorer passed Netscape for browser market share (1998)… Zoolander hit theaters (2001)
September 29th
37 years ago, on September 29th, 1984 - Prince’s single Let’s Go Crazy hit number one, giving him a simultaneous number one single, album, and film.
There are occasional times when one person is so dominant in pop culture they are seemingly ubiquitous — and that was Prince in 1984. On this day, Let’s Go Crazy became the number one song in the U.S. It was off the Purple Rain soundtrack, which was the number one album. And Purple Rain was also the number one film.
Prince was the first to pull off that trifecta since The Beatles in 1964 (with all three A Hard Day’s Nights at the top of their respective charts).
No one has done it since, although two have come close. Whitney Houston had the top single and album in 1992, but The Bodyguard movie was number three; Eminem’s soundtrack to 8 Mile and single Lose Yourself both hit number one just days after 8 Mile the movie dropped to number two in 2002.
The most recent close-ish call was Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s duet Shallow and A Star Is Born soundtrack both hitting number one — but that happened around the Oscars in 2019, and A Star Is Born the movie was number one in the previous fall around its release.
(In a different trifecta in 1994, Michael Crichton had the number one book, Disclosure; number one movie, Jurassic Park; and number one TV show, ER.)
Also on September 29th: Microsoft Word launched (1983)… the first of seven victims of Tylenol laced with cyanide died (1985)… MacGyver premiered on ABC (1985)… Designing Women premiered on CBS (1986)… thirtysomething premiered on ABC (1987)… the space shuttle Discovery was launched, the first since the Challenger explosion (1988)… the U.S. men’s basketball team won bronze at the Olympics (1988)… Zsa Zsa Gabor was convicted of slapping a police officer (1989)… Thundercats had its series finale (1989)… Nelson’s single (Can’t Live Without Your) Love and affection hit number one (1990)… My Own Private Idaho hit theaters (1991)… Stone Temple Pilots’ album Core was released (1992)… Magic Johnson announced his comeback to the NBA (1992)… Grace under Fire premiered on ABC (1993)… A Bronx Tale hit theaters (1993)… the Nintendo 64 was released in North America (1996)… Robbie Williams’s first solo album, Life Thru a Lens, was released (1997)… Jay Z’s album Vol. 2 Hard Knock Life was released (1998)… Felicity premiered (1998)… Remember the Titans hit theaters (2000)
September 30th
24 years ago, on September 30th, 1997 - Hooters settled its gender discrimination lawsuits for $3.75 million but got to continue only hiring female servers.
From when Michael Scott’s favorite restaurant was established in 1983, its wait staff was female — after all, that was the restaurant chain’s entire bit. A decade and a half later, three men looked at Hooters and saw potential for something even more all-American than corporate-approved sexism — they saw potential for a lawsuit.
The three men applied to be servers at a Hooters in the Chicago area. When they were inevitably rejected, they filed a gender discrimination lawsuit. It turned into a class action lawsuit.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission briefly got involved and told Hooters they should hire male servers — which the chain shrugged off and mocked (see the billboard pictured above). Then the EEOC decided they were too busy to trifle with Hooters and moved on. The lawsuit continued.
Ultimately, the cash grab worked as intended. On this day in 1997, the three men each took settlements of around $19,000 and Hooters paid out $3.75 million to others affected by their gender-based server hiring policy. (Quite a bit of that was lawyer fees.) But the big part of the settlement for Hooters was… they could keep on only hiring female servers as long as they hired people for other jobs around the restaurant with no gender bias.
Hooters was able to get away with their hiring practices under the Civil Rights Act because of a clause that says businesses can’t discriminate in hiring unless “religion, sex, or national origin is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the particular business.” So much like hiring an actress to take a female role in a play, Hooters successfully argued female servers were a foundational element of their enterprise.
That hasn’t stopped people from continuing to go after them. They’ve been sued at least a few other times over gender discrimination, as recently as 2009, where they once again settled.
Ultimately, it’s not the lawsuits that are taking down Hooters, though — it’s generational and cultural changes. Sales have been down for a decade as younger customers really aren’t interested in what feels like a behind-the-times relic, the number of locations has decreased by at least 7% — and that was before the pandemic.
In 2020, Hooters saw some of the worst sales of any restaurant chain — it turned out not that many people wanted Hooters food to-go. Because much like the lawsuit settlement portended, the appeal of Hooters was very specifically tied to its hiring.
Also on September 30th: Cheers premiered (1982)… Murder She Wrote premiered on CBS (1984)… the cartoon M.A.S.K. premiered (1985)… The Jerry Springer Show premiered (1991)… Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? premiered (1991)… Snow’s single Informer was released (1992)… Tevin Campbell’s single Can We Talk was released (1993)… Silverchair’s one hit, Tomorrow, peaked at number 28 (1995)… Mariah Carey’s single Fantasy hit number one (1995)… Blackstreet’s single No Diggity was released (1996)… Microsoft released the Internet Explorer 4 web browser (1997)… Next’s single Too Close was released (1997)… Alias premiered on ABC (2001)
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news.
The voice cast has been announced for the upcoming animated Super Mario Bros. movie and people have #feelings. Chris Pratt will voice Mario, Charlie Day is Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy is Peach, Jack Black is Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key is Toad, Seth Rogen is Donkey Kong, and I’m feeling very overwhelmed. The movie is set to come out on December 21st of next year.
DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince’s song Summertime is now being turned into a hip-hop musical.
Vans is releasing a special line of horror movie shoes in October, including tributes to Friday the 13th, The Shining, It, and more.
Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin ride at Disneyland is going to be remodeled to focus on Jessica Rabbit. And it’s trading in her dress for a private eye trench coat — much to some fans’ dismay.
Nintendo Switch is adding Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games to its online game library and will sell special Switch versions of both systems’ controllers.
Hallmark is going for some nostalgia hooks with some of its Christmas movies this year, including movies featuring cast members from The Wonder Years and Back to the Future. That BTTF one will have Lea Thompson and Christopher Lloyd traveling through time.
‘80s horror movie TV icon Elvira revealed this week she’s been in a 19-year relationship with a woman.
Metallica’s self-titled 1991 “black” album made the Billboard top 10 after it was reissued for the 30th anniversary.
Throwbacks and recommendations
Here’s an 11-minute supercut of almost all of the movie scene references in Seinfeld (e.g., a parody of JFK for the Keith Hernandez spitting conspiracy).
The Fugees reunited for the first time in 15 years in New York on Wednesday. They’re going to a tour in honor of the 25th anniversary of their album The Score. Here’s a video of Wednesday’s performance of Killing Me Softly. The sound quality is iffy at best.
The two-minute pencil-animated teaser Mike Judge used to pitch King of the Hill is making the rounds.
Here’s an article from Kotaku about the disastrous and doomed reboot of the Intellivision game console.
Thanks for reading!
-Sam
We didn't start the fire was 1989, not 1991.