8 From the 80s: Pop Music

Each installment Mike will look back to the decade of decadence and provide a list of eight things – from movies to music to memorable moments and everything in-between.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a TOP 8 list and any numerical notations are included to merely designate one item from another. Because, frankly, how can rate one thing over another when it came from a decade as totally tubular as the 80s?

80's Pop Music

We all know pop music when we hear it. From early hits by The Beatles to the girl bands of the 50s and the lighter, non-folksy music of the 60s. The seventies saw an uptick in the number of acts and songs that could be categorized as pop music, but it was in the 80s that it really became a powerhouse genre in the music industry. From one hit wonders to perennial stars, there were hundreds of songs and acts that charted through the Top 40. Here are eight memorable acts that should never be forgotten.

(Those that know me or that have listened to the podcast know of my love of all things Prince, so know now he is not on this list.  He transcends "pop music".)


8 - Michael Jackson
The King of Pop. ‘Nuff said.

8 From the 80s: Romantic Movies

Each installment Mike will look back to the decade of decadence and provide a list of eight things – from movies to music to memorable moments and everything in-between.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a TOP 8 list and any numerical notations are included to merely designate one item from another. Because, frankly, how can rate one thing over another when it came from a decade as totally tubular as the 80s?

80s Romance Movies – A Special Post-Valentine’s Day Installment

While the 80s were chock full’o teen sex comedies and coming of age rom-coms, there were plenty of standard romantic movies. Depending on how loosely you define a “romantic” movie, almost anything can fit, so I’m trying to keep this trip down memory lane to movies where the romance/relationship aspect is central, or at least very important, to the plot. 

8. Somewhere in Time (1980)

Maybe it was the actor’s strike at the time, or the fact that The Blues Brothers came out the same week or maybe it’s because it got bad word of mouth – for whatever reason(s) it didn’t perform well despite having Superman (Christopher Reeve) starring opposite Jane Seymour.  In the film, a playwright falls in love with a woman from nearly 70 years earlier and travels through time to find her. Somewhere in Time is one of those movies that people either like or hate, although chances are good that people from both camps will feel a tug at the heartstrings at the end of the film.

8 From the 80s: Hunks

Each installment Mike will look back to the decade of decadence and provide a list of eight things – from movies to music to memorable moments and everything in-between.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a TOP 8 list and any numerical notations are included to merely designate one item from another. Because, frankly, how can rate one thing over another when it came from a decade as totally tubular as the 80s?

80s Hunks

A few weeks ago I did a list of eight of the hottest babes from the 80s, so it's only fair that I do up a list of hunks. Like the gals, there were a lot of guys who could have been included on this list and probably would make it if I made this list a year ago or a year from now.  Anyway... let's hop to it!

8. Andrew McCarthy

He had sex with a Mannequin, spent a Weekend at Bernie’s and looked Pretty in Pink (well, okay, Molly Ringwald looked pretty in that last one, but you get the drift).  McCarthy, who had an innocent look with a wry smile, had a career that includes television as well as the stage and, while he peaked in the 80s, he’s still active as both an actor and director.

7. Michael Schoeffling

Mike was Jake Ryan in Sixteen Candles.  His career didn’t last too long, however, ending seven years after his most memorable role and included films like Vision Quest and Mermaids (which was a 90s movie and so we shouldn’t really count it here).  I suspect Molly Ringwald’s Samantha wasn’t the only writing "I ♥ Jake Ryan" on her notebook.

8 From the 80s: Babes

Each installment Mike will look back to the decade of decadence and provide a list of eight things – from movies to music to memorable moments and everything in-between.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a TOP 8 list and any numerical notations are included to merely designate one item from another. Because, frankly, how can rate one thing over another when it came from a decade as totally tubular as the 80s?

80s Babes

This was an incredibly hard list to come up with.  Not because filling eight spots was difficult... filling ONLY eight spots was nearly impossible. Olivia Newton-John, Erin Gray, Madonna, and Cindy Crawford are just a few that immediately come to mind.  But this is called "EIGHT" from the 80s, so eight it must be. Let's go!

8. Sean Young

Sean helped start the 80s off right with turns in the comedy classic Stripes and sci-fi favorite Blade Runner.

7. Brooke Shields

Nothing came between her and her Calvins while The Blue Lagoon and Endless Love cemented her as one of the early 80s hottest babes.

8 From the 80s: Forgotten Dramas

Each installment Mike will look back to the decade of decadence and provide a list of eight things – from movies to music to memorable moments and everything in-between.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a TOP 8 list and any numerical notations are included to merely designate one item from another. Because, frankly, how can you rate one thing over another when it comes from a decade as totally tubular as the 80s?

Forgotten Dramas

“Drama” might not be the most appropriate way to describe most of the shows on this list - fantasy or sci-fi might be a more apt category - but we’re going to keep things simple and just lump all of the non-sitcom shows into this category.  Mostly because it’s the easiest way to do it, but also because this is my column.

Anyway, on with the show!

8. T. and T. (syndicated, 1987-1990)

When The A-Team was canceled, Mr. T needed some work.  So off to Canada he went where he starred in this first run syndicated crime show from 1987-1990.  All but forgotten beyond hardcore Mr. T fans, T. and T. told the story of T.S. Turner, a boxer who was framed for a crime he didn’t commit, but instead of hanging out with George Peppard, T was “rescued” by lawyer Amy Taler and the two of them solved crime together.

8 From the 80s: Unforgettable Sports Moments

Each installment Mike will look back to the decade of decadence and provide a list of eight things – from movies to music to memorable moments and everything in-between.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a TOP 8 list and any numerical notations are included to merely designate one item from another. Because, frankly, how can you rate one thing over another when it comes from a decade as totally tubular as the 80s?

Unforgettable Sports Moments

Now I know, you’re thinking that sports moments aren't exactly "pop culture" but, if you stop and think about it, there are a number of athletes and teams that eclipse the sport that made them famous. They become more than just a sports figure – picture Michael Jordan in Space Jam – or, at worst, footnotes in pop culture history.  In some instances there are moments that become touchstones for an entire generation (see #1 on this list) that even the most hardened non-sports fan is aware of. So, while sports may not be pop culture, per se, they can, and often do, cross over.  Here’s eight moments that did.

8 - Pete Rose Banned from Baseball

It was 1989 and Rose, known as “Charlie Hustle” during his playing days, was banned from baseball. Three years removed from being an active player, Rose had become the manager of the Cincinnati Reds and had agreed to permanent ineligibility from baseball after accusations began to fly that he’d bet on games involving himself both as a player and as a manager. He remains banned from the game as well as the Hall of Fame to this day.

7 - The “Super Bowl Shuffle”

in 1985, American football team, The Chicago Bears, dominated not only their opponents during a 15-1 season, but the airwaves as well.  Recorded three months prior to beating the New England Patriots in Superbowl XX, players from The Bears, “The Superbowl Shuffle” sold over half a million copies and peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.  They remain the only professional sports team to have a Top 50 hit song.

8 From the 80s: Slasher Movie Final Girls

Each installment Mike will look back to the decade of decadence and provide a list of eight things – from movies to music to memorable moments and everything in-between.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a TOP 8 list and any numerical notations are included to merely designate one item from another. Because, frankly, how can rate one thing over another when it came from a decade as totally tubular as the 80s?

8 From the 80s: Slasher Movie Final Girls

Last time out we looked at memorable slasher movie killers - this time we give the 'Final Girls' the credit where credit is due.  In no particular order (except for one), we have:

Jennifer Ross – Intruder (Elizabeth Cox, 1989)

Jennifer is capable enough but doesn’t quite measure up to some of the other girls on the list. She’s far more reactive than proactive and she doesn’t do much but act paranoid and afraid of her ex-boyfriend. But she’s likable and you want her to figure out who’s killing all of her night shift coworkers even though she never really does so (until the actual killer outright confesses). The ending of Intruder is atypical in that Jennifer doesn’t go bananas and she doesn’t die – instead we get a “realistic” ending.

8 From the 80s: Slasher Movies With Memorable Killers

Each installment Mike will look back to the decade of decadence and provide a list of eight things – from movies to music to memorable moments and everything in-between.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a TOP 8 list and any numerical notations are included to merely designate one item from another. Because, frankly, how can rate one thing over another when it came from a decade as totally tubular as the 80s?

Slasher Movies With Memorable Killers*

* That aren’t Jason, Mike or Freddy 

The Prowler

Look at this guy – as if being attacked by a guy in combat fatigues and a helmet isn’t enough, he’s got a damn bag on his head so you can’t see his tears of embarrassment over looking like such a schlub.  

8 From the 80s - Comedians

Each installment Mike will look back to the decade of decadence and provide a list of eight things – from movies to music to memorable moments and everything in-between.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a TOP 8 list and any numerical notations are included to merely designate one item from another. Because, frankly, how can rate one thing over another when it came from a decade as totally tubular as the 80s?

Comedians

While the stand-up comedian as we know it today was hardly anything new by the 80s (George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Lenny Bruce are just a few who found fame in the 70s), it was the “decade of decadence” that really saw the art form shoot through the roof.  As comedy clubs appeared in nearly every major city from New York to California, it became easier to get your act in front of an audience and, if you were lucky, you’d land a sitcom or  a cable special. Many were influenced by those who had come before and many inspired those who would come later, but one thing that they ALL did was make us laugh.

Jerry Seinfeld

Seinfeld’s career took off in the early 80s as he frequently appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman doling out his observational humor about life, relationships and the minutia surrounding them.  The now-classic sitcom “about nothing”, Seinfeld, (which was loosely based on Jerry himself), debuted in 1989 and ran for nine years.  

8 From the 80s - Underappreciated Sitcoms

 

Each installment Mike will look back to the decade of decadence and provide a list of eight things – from movies to music to memorable moments and everything in-between.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a TOP 8 list and any numerical notations are included to merely designate one item from another. Because, frankly, how can you rate one thing over another when it comes from a decade as totally tubular as the 80s?

While it could be argued that the seventies had a better class of sitcoms, the eighties were no slouch in the “filmed before a live studio audience” department either.  From The Cosby Show, to Cheers, Diff’rent Strokes and Family Ties, there were numerous sitcoms that ran for a number of years and had millions of viewers.  But for every Growing Pains, there was a Charles in Charge. But not every “bad” sitcom was bad, some just never caught on.  Here are eight of them.

8. Head of the Class (ABC, 1986-1991)

This Howard Hesseman vehicle is one of the two more well-known of these eight.  In it, Hesseman played Charlie Moore, a substitute teacher who oversaw the kids in the school’s Individualized Honors Program (IHP).  The kids covered a wide spectrum of high school archetypes and a lot of what was “learned” was that people aren’t all that different from one another.

8 From the 80s - Saturday Morning Cartoons

Each installment Mike will look back to the decade of decadence and provide a list of eight things – from movies to music to memorable moments and everything in-between.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a TOP 8 list and any numerical notations are included to merely designate one item from another. Because, frankly, how can you rate one thing over another when it comes from a decade as totally tubular as the 80s?

Saturday Morning Cartoons

While it was no 1970s, the 80s had its fair share of memorable cartoons.  And, unlike today when you can just turn to a specific channel dedicated to cartoons, we had to wait until Saturday mornings.  Sure, there was syndicated stuff during the week like old Bugs Bunny, The Flintstones and what not – but if you wanted the good stuff, it was once a week.  Here’s eight cartoons that were worth waiting seven days for.

8- Mr. T

I never liked Mr. T much.  He was the bad guy in Rocky III and he was Roddy Piper’s opponent and friend to Hulk Hogan around the time of the original Wrestlemania.  But he had a cartoon for a few years and a lot of fans, so he was a part of the pop culture zeitgeist in the 80s and gets a spot here.

8 From the 80s - Catchphrases

Each installment Mike will look back to the decade of decadence and provide a list of eight things – from movies to music to memorable moments and everything in-between.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a TOP 8 list and any numerical notations are included to merely designate one item from another. Because, frankly, how can rate one thing over another when it came from a decade as totally tubular as the 80s?

Catchphrases That Everyone Repeated

No real introduction is needed for this opening installment - we’ve all quoted lines from movies, TV and even commercials before.  Keep in mind that we’re talking about sayings, or catchphrases and not just slang or lingo.  

8. "And Now you Know, And Knowing Is Half The Battle"

In an effort to skate around newly enacted laws aimed at cartoons that were accused of being nothing more than 30 minute advertisements for toys, G.I. Joe ended each episode with a PSA in which one or more of the Joes would impart a lesson upon a civilian, ending it with this phrase.