Everything 80s

Take more than a hundred lions, tigers, and other unpredictable jungle cats, mix them in with an inexperienced movie crew, and you've got the makings for a disaster. Today, we look back on the movie Roar from 1981, a film that began with good intentions but, because of all these dangerous animals, became one of the most infamous movie productions of all time.  It's the movie where no animals were...

Was 1986 one of the biggest years for music ever? If it wasn't, it sure was close, as it's the year that gave us a defining heavy metal album, two defining hip-hop albums, a pop standout, and one of the last albums from a jazz legend. But there was so much more: two breakaway solo artists, two huge soundtracks, and the era-defining album that gave us two of the biggest songs of all time. 1986 had...

Before "Zelda" became a household name, it began as "Adventure Mario," a game that started out as giant sketches on long pieces of draft paper. But things quickly changed... This new video game would be nothing like Super Mario Bros. It would be a vast and seemingly limitless world. A world based around a legend, and a world filled with fantasy and adventure -- a world based on the childhood of it...

VHS and Beta weren't the only ones trying to capture our loyalty in the 1980s; the same thing was happening in the world of... bubblegum. Heading into the 80s, bubblegum -- an industry that didn't even really exist five years earlier -- turned into a full-on battleground. The target? Kids everywhere... But now, led by the Big Three bubblegum brands, variety stores everywhere were about to get fill...

Before the first ball was even kicked, World Cup '86 had faced a massive uphill battle. A change of venue, a struggling economy, and then a massive earthquake set to derail what was one of the most anticipated World Cups of all time. But World Cup 1986 eventually kicked off, and now, all eyes were on the greatest football in the world -- and specifically, Argentina and their phenom, Diego Maradona...

In this episode, we look at some notable Canadian events and people from the 1980s, but this show is all about the world of pop culture. And when it comes to 1980s pop culture, Canada contributed a lot more than you may realize. From the music, movies, TV shows, kids' shows, and massive celebrities, Canada was at the forefront of 1980s pop culture. From Saturday morning cartoons, chart topping son...

Not every kids' show from the 1980s could be an era-defining and long-lasting one. Some, for various reasons, just couldn't break through. But that doesn't mean they weren't any good. Today, we look back at ten live-action 1980s kids' shows that just weren't able to reach the heights of shows like Fraggle Rock or You Can't Do That on Television. Some of these shows may ring a bell, some may be bra...

From an experiment in the 1970s to a global phenomenon, the story of Nickelodeon is one that includes Walter Cronkite, satellites, and some simple hand puppets. But it was in the 1980s when the kids-only network really took off. With a new leader and a new direction, Nickelodeon would soon reach more homes than ever, all because of a low-budget sketch comedy show from Canada. A show that would mak...

In part one, we looked at the origins of stand-up comedy and its evolution through the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Then, as we head into the 1980s, some big things happen. A strike, mainstream exposure, and the rise of comedy clubs everywhere took the industry from smoky clubs to a major part of mainstream entertainment. Today, we look at several of the breakout comedians -- including a few controversial o...

From small, smoky nightclubs to prime time TV and Hollywood, stand-up comedy has gone through many iterations over more than a century. But it was in the 1980s when a true comedy boom took place. In part one of this two-part episode, we look back at the origins of stand-up comedy, going back to the days of Vaudeville, and then into the 50s and 60s when people like Jackie Gleason and Lucille Ball b...

Pac-Man was a solution to a major problem. That problem? The video game industry mainly attracted teenage males; no one else was really setting foot in arcades. Game designer Toru Iwatani believed he had created the right idea to change all that. Not only did he change the world of video games, but his creation ended up creating an absolute pop culture phenomenon. Pac-Man was such a hit when it fi...

Before he was Hulk Hogan, he was Terry Gene Bollea. And before Hulkamania ran wild in the 1980s, he was carefully crafting the character that would not only change the world of professional wrestling but also break through into mainstream pop culture. His later years would not be without their controversy, but in the 80s, he was like a real-life superhero for a new generation of kids. Today, we lo...

It was billed as the biggest event and the biggest matchup in the history of professional wrestling. Held at the Pontiac Silverdome, WrestleMania 3 not only became historic from a wrestling perspective, but also set a new world indoor attendance record. And it was all built on the back of Andre the Giant vs Hulk Hogan. A match that, even up to the day of the event, was still up in the air as to wh...

Steven Spielberg was extremely nervous... this was the most personal project he had ever created, and he wondered if he had made a huge mistake. That project was E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, a movie that, at its core, is about a child dealing with divorce and loneliness.  The movie had come together well, but was anyone going to see it, especially since it featured unknown actors, and no one had a...

Before the internet could fact-check anything, the 1980s were a golden age for famous hoaxes, pranks, and April Fool's jokes. And a lot of people fell for them. Today, we look back at 10 notable 1980s pranks and hoaxes that range from very amusing all the way to ones that created sheer panic.  They include April Fool's day pranks involving three different iconic landmarks, one of the biggest sport...

It should have been just another regular journey... but in the early morning hours of March 24th, 1989, the Exxon Valdez was about to embark on a fateful voyage  This is a look back on the accident that not only decimated the Alaskan coastline and its wildlife but also led to a two-decade-long court battle -- a battle that led to sweeping changes, and historic fines... Terminator movie review: Pat...

It had been an agonizing four long years... but finally came one of the most highly anticipated sequels of all time. After Back to the Future became a massive hit in the summer of 1985, everyone wanted to see what would happen next. In November 1989, we finally found out. It was the movie that not only gave us a glimpse into the future, but, in a rare move, actually took us back into the original...

Before Amazon, before Best Buy, there was Radio Shack--and in the 1980s, it was your one-stop shop for all things electronics. Today, we look at the origins of the company--which go back to the early 19th century--then witness its rise through the 60s and into the 70s, culminating in its presence in every mall in North America in the 80s.  But despite being such a prominent part of the retail land...

Cassette tapes defined 1980s music. Not only did they give rise to the Walkman and Boombox, but also the art of making a mix tape. Today, we look back on the creation that not only changed music and tech but also pop culture itself. From recording music off the radio and copying tapes--to the panic that faced the industry--analog audio quickly became the most important music format of the 80s.  Wi...

We live in an era where talent competition shows are a dime a dozen on TV. But in the early 80s, that wasn't exactly the case. Star Search was going to change all that, and in the process, it would change TV forever... Today, we go back to 1983 to revisit the launch and success of the talent show that has origins going back to the early days of radio. Not only did it feature one of the most famous...

With his bright pink goggles and trademark thick glasses, Eddie the Eagle was hard to miss when he hit the ski jump at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.  But it was a miracle he even got there. After sleeping in his car and scrounging garbage cans for food, the journey of Eddie the Eagle was the opposite of his ski jumps: it was a massive uphill battle.  But his perseverance and determination c...

Death, taxes, and the Soviets defeating everyone in international hockey games. Heading into the 1980s, those were the three guarantees in life. A "miracle on ice" seemed like something that only existed in a fairytale.  For the 1980 Winter Olympics, the American hockey team didn't have a big pool to draw from, and the team would be made up of young, amateur hockey players. There were no expectati...

In the 1980s, the world of entertainment seemed smaller; it was all about movies, network TV, and music. Today, pop culture is much more fragmented, and there are a ton of ways for brands and celebrities to get more exposure.  That really wasn't an option in the 80s, and for those who may have conquered the big and small screens, the next way to get more fame was in the world of music--and that ga...

How had things got so boring...? This was the question NASA was trying to answer after interest in the space program had dwindled.  But they did find a solution: the 25th Space Shuttle launch would feature the first civilian in space,  a teacher, set to board the Space Shuttle Challenger. On January 28th, 1986, millions of people watched in shock as the Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after li...

If you grew up in the 80s, you remember how big television events felt. You knew that everyone was watching the same thing as you, and at the same time. But which shows and events were the biggest of the 1980s? Today, we look back at some of the highest-rated and most-watched TV shows of the decade. We take a quick look at some major sporting events before moving on to the sitcoms, dramas, miniser...