September 18: School Ties, Dream Team, Emoticons
Plus the best day for album releases & 3 cult classics on one day
The Retro
by 11 Points
Modern perspectives on ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia
September 18, 2020 • Issue 13
This week in nostalgic history
September 18th
28 years ago, on September 18th, 1992 - School Ties hit theaters.
I first saw School Ties in a movie theater on a school field trip. Ostensibly they took us there to show us the insidiousness and persistence of the systemic antisemitism we might face in our lives (along with a master class in how not to write the third act of a movie — really, the entire thing came down to a lamer than lame “who cheated on a test” debate?).
But the biggest thing I remember about that day was how all of the girls in my class were just beyond smitten with a young, not-yet-famous Matt Damon. He was the bad guy in the movie, if you don’t remember. I’m pretty sure the lesson our teachers were going for wasn’t “you can overlook a person’s deep-seated and ignorant hate of your religion as long as they’re, like, super good looking” — but 28 years later, that’s my enduring takeaway from the day.
Side note: Happy Rosh Hashanah to all!
Also on September 18th: Fatal Attraction hit theaters (1987)… Duck Tails and Full House both premiered (1987)… Ken Burns’s Baseball premiered (1994)… WebTV launched (1996)… Rush Hour hit theaters (1998)
September 19th
38 years ago, on September 19th, 1982 - A programmer named Scott Fahlman created the first emoticons.
Scott Fahlman got a Masters in electrical engineering, another Masters in computer science, and a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence all from MIT — and all before the age of 30. That was the very first Ph.D. awarded in artificial intelligence in history. He has, no doubt, had a stellar career ever since and has personally driven the advancement of several computing fields. And yet, when you look him up, all anyone wants to talk about is one message board post he made on September 19th, 1982.
On that day, he wrote: I propose that the following character sequence for joke markers: : - ) Read it sideways. Actually, it is probably more economical to mark things that are NOT jokes, given current trends. For this, use : - (
From there, emoticons were born and, over time, they evolved into emojis which, again over time, were the final puzzle piece needed for the transition from primarily call-based casual communication to primarily message-based. And that ability to give emotional context to written communication started on this day 38 years ago by a guy who certainly still can’t believe he’s best known for this.
Also on September 19th: Greg Louganis hit his head during a dive at the Olympics (1988)… Doogie Howser M.D. premiered (1989)… E.R. premiered (1994)… In & Out and L.A. Confidential hit theaters (1997)
September 20th
29 years ago, on September 20th, 1991 - Tom Cochrane’s single Life Is a Highway was released.
Tom Cochrane was a Canadian singer who became a one-hit wonder (in the U.S., at least) with Life Is a Highway in 1991. It reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 — a spot higher than Rascal Flatts would attain when they perhaps more prominently covered Life Is a Highway for the Cars soundtrack a decade later.
Life Is a Highway was not initially written as a pop song. In fact, Cochrane released his original recording of the song a few years ago, when he reissued a 25th anniversary version of his album Mad, Mad World. The original song was called Love Is a Highway and while it still has the underlying poppy chord progression, the vocals do not match at all — Cochrane goes full Bob Dylan mumblecore to the point of being basically unintelligible. The eventual rewrite and transformation of that track into the international hit it became was, clearly, the right call — not just commercially, but, much as it may pain mumble aficionados to hear this, artistically as well.
Also on September 20th: Who’s the Boss? premiered (1984)… Step by Step premiered (1991)… Cal Ripken Jr.’s consecutive games streak ended (1998)… Law & Order: SVU premiered (1999)
September 21st
29 years ago, on September 21st, 1991 - The roster of the U.S.A. basketball Dream Team was announced.
Until the 1992 Olympics, NBA players were banned from competing in the Olympics in spirit of amateur athletics. But… the NBA wasn’t the only professional basketball league in the world. And after the U.S. won a bronze medal in men’s basketball at the 1988 Olympics using a team of college players — competing against other countries’ professionals — the rules were changed. NBA players could now compete in the Olympics.
And the result was a jaw-dropping collection of talent, quite possibly the best basketball roster of any time — and maybe the best roster ever put together for any sport. Most of the players on the team were legendary basketball superstars in their primes, which is why they more or less steamrolled every team they ever faced. Famously, they never had to call a single time-out throughout the entire Olympics. Although, as a weird side effect, the games were less exciting to watch than expected because the Dream Team was so thoroughly dominant.
All 10 of the players announced for the team on this day in 1991 went on to be voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Later, Clyde Drexler (also a Hall of Famer) was added to the Dream Team, as was Christian Laettner (um, hey look over there!)
The real legacy of the Dream Team, however, transcended just the Barcelona Olympics. Global popularity of basketball (and the NBA) skyrocketed as a result of the Dream Team. Its existence would directly lead to an influx of international basketball players in the NBA a few years later — an influx that continues to this day.
Also on September 21st: Goodfellas hit theaters (1990)… Salt N Pepa’s single Shoop was 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)… King of Queens, Will & Grace, and Felicity all premiered (1998)
September 22nd
25 years ago, on September 22nd, 1995 - Se7en, Showgirls, and Empire Records all hit theaters.
Three movies, all campy in their own ways (perhaps all unintentionally so?), all three of which endure as cult classics today. Se7en, which I choose to write using the ridiculous number-letter swap stylization, was basically a precursor to Saw-style torture porn but with a higher-budget prestige sheen. It took itself the most seriously of the three movies at the time, but today is perhaps the most mocked — as “what’s in the baaaaaaaaax?” has become a ubiquitously mocked and repurposed meme catchphrase.
Also on September 22nd: Scandal’s one hit, The Warrior, peaked at number 7 (1984)… the first Farm Aid benefit was held (1985)… ALF premiered (1986)… TGIF debuted on ABC along with the new show Family Matters (1989)… Baywatch premiered (1989)… Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper premiered (1992)… Friends premiered (1994)… Barenaked Ladies’ biggest hit, One Week, was released (1998)… The West Wing premiered (1999)
September 23rd
28 years ago, on September 23, 1992 - Manon Rheaume became the first female athlete to compete in one of the major U.S. sports leagues.
The more years that past without another woman playing in one of the “big four” U.S. men’s sports leagues, the more Manon Rheaume’s achievement stands out. On this day, she played in an exhibition game for the Tampa Bay Lightning, allowing two goals in a period. She would play in another exhibition game the following year, again allowing two goals.
She went on to play hockey at many other levels for the next several years and won a silver medal with the Canadian team at the 1998 Winter Olympics. She primarily went into coaching after that, which she continues to do to this day. (Had her breakthrough happened 10 to 15 years later, she probably would’ve lived off the reality TV circuit forever. Her story has Dancing with the Stars but voted out week three after doing a hockey-themed samba to Ice, Ice Baby written all over it.)
Also on September 23rd: CeCe Peniston’s single Finally was released (1991)… Mad About You premiered (1992)… The Shawshank Redemption hit theaters (1994)… the Notorious BIG made a guest starring appearance on Martin (1995)… Boyz II Men’s album Evolution was released (1997)… Netflix launched its mail-in subscription model (1999)
September 24th
29 years ago, on September 24th, 1991 - Nirvana’s album Nevermind and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ album Blood Sugar Sex Magik were both released.
With both of these iconic albums coming out on the same day, I wondered: Has there ever been day with two bigger album releases?
There’s an argument for September 29th, 1998, which saw Jay Z’s Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life and Outkast’s Aquemini. March 9th, 1994 had Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral and Soundgarden’s Superunknown. Oasis’s (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? and Mariah Carey’s Daydream were both on October 3rd, 1995. On February 13th, 1996, we got Tupac’s All Eyez on Me and The Fugees’ The Score. All contenders, but I still think September 24th, 1991 takes it.
Also on September 24th: Compuserve launched a commercial online service (1979)… Growing Pains premiered (1985)… A Different World premiered (1987)… Bobby McFerrin’s one hit, Don’t Worry Be Happy, hit number one (1988)… The Program and Dazed and Confused both hit theaters (1993)… Boy Meets World premiered (1993)
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news.
The Princess Bride live table read this past Sunday raised a large amount of money for the Democrats in Wisconsin and featured most of the original cast. Josh Gad filled in for the late Andre the Giant, and Fred Savage wasn’t there because apparently he was at Ben Savage’s 40th birthday party.
And the live table read of Fast Times at Ridgemont High happened last night, but with very famous people and not many members of the original cast.
The mansion from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air will be available on Airbnb starting on September 29th. Only five dates are available, and to L.A. County residents only.
Vinyl has outsold CDs for the first time since the 1980s. Of the physical music sales so far in 2020, 62 percent is vinyl.
They’re remaking She’s All That. But they’re flipping the genders and they cast a TikTok star as the lead soooo…
Netflix has ordered a reboot of Good Times from the very likely team of Norman Lear, Seth MacFarlane, and Steph Curry. What could those three guys possibly talk about at lunch? It’s like the time many years ago I was at a Chipotle in Beverly Hills and saw Henry Winkler, David Beckham, and Lil’ Romeo all bump into each other and have to have the “we’re all famous” conversation.
Acer and Walmart are resuscitating the Gateway computer brand.
Nintendo says a Super Mario CG-animated movie will come out in 2022.
CBS All Access, which is being renamed Paramount+ because sigh, is developing a Godfather TV series.
The house from Edward Scissorhands in suburban Tampa sold for $6,000 over asking.
The crown Notorious B.I.G. wore in his famous last photo shoot sold for just under $600,000 at auction.
There’s a new Go-Go’s-themed American Girl “‘80s girl” doll.
The kid who played a young Emilio Estevez in a devastating flashback in The Mighty Ducks is now a crypto billionaire.
Throwbacks and recommendations
Check out a long interview with Rob Paulsen, the voice of many famous cartoon characters — some of the Animaniacs most notably.
Here’s a long article breaking down the permutations of how each member of The Golden Girls cast got along with every other member of the cast.
There’s a new portable CD player on Kickstarter that works with Bluetooth headphones.
You can now buy “Commodore 64” spray paint that’s the drab ‘80s beige computer color.
Thanks for reading!
-Sam