Everything 80s Patreon Feed

I couldn't believe how many significant pop culture moments came out of the year 1982.In this look back, I cover the movies, TV shows, music, sports, and technology that make 1982 stand out. This year features some of the biggest movies of all time, arguably the biggest album in history, a groundbreaking technological advancement, and the debut of several gigantic TV shows. I hope you enjoy this l...

The 1980s were an interesting time for air travel. New regulations had been put in place and American Airlines was losing a fortune. The company panicked, and in 1981, created one of the worst promotions of all time: The AAIrpass—and no, that's not a typo. The AAirpass promised its users unlimited first-class flights, anywhere in the world, for life. This became a nightmare for the company, as jus...

This is one of my favorite shows ever. It's also one of my favorite topics from the 1980s. This is about the mythical Polybius arcade game from 1981. If this is new to you, I'm not going to give any details here and let you go into the episode fresh. If you're a fan of this topic, I hope I covered it well in one episode. There's a ton of info out there and this could have been a ten-part show. Als...

Welcome to my annual Halloween Special! This show goes out tomorrow, but you as a patron get first shot at it. In this special, I look at a few topics that came out of the 1970s but became more significant in the 80s. The first is the urban legend, or myth, of poisoned Halloween candy. We were always told to look out for razor blades in our candy, but was this a gigantic hoax? Did this ever even h...

Welcome to the Patreon-only, Everything 80s Movie Club! This is for members of the Boba Fett level and above, and today, we're looking at 1984's A Nightmare on Elm Street. Since we're in the Halloween season, I wanted to look back on a movie that helped define the horror genre. This extremely influential movie was also one of the most low-budget films ever and only cost $1 million to make. In this...

For this week's podcast, I'm doing a rewind to an early episode, and one of my favorite things of the 1980s: The Choose Your Own Adventure Books. I really feel that these books represent the decade as well as anything else. When I think back to the memories that stand out, reading these books always stands out. This episode covers the history of these books, how they were started by a father and h...

Here's the first look at my newest podcast, where I go back and rank the best video game consoles of the decade. This is also a look at the video game industry and how the technology was changing at a rapid pace. We look at what I think are the top five consoles, along with a look at some forgotten consoles that you may have never even heard of. I also countdown the top ten best-selling video game...

This is the first look at my newest podcast where I address the issue that has been bugging people for decades: How do George and Lorraine McFly not realize that their son is the same Marty from 1955?Many say that too much time has passed that they just would have forgotten. But I say poppycock to that. Sorry for cursing...In this episode, I cover several key points that show that it's impossible...

If 1980 established the start of the decade; 1981 is when we really got right into it. This is a look back at the significant pop culture moments from that year. This is being released here on Patreon a day before I release it everywhere else. In these yearly reviews, I want to look back on the movies, TV shows, music, sports, and other significant pop-culture moments that define the year. And we...

I explain this more in the episode, but this is an actual lost episode. I recorded this show all about the Tomy Omnibot more than a year ago, but never released it. It then got lost in the depths of my hard drive until I recently found it. It's a look back on the incredibly popular toy robots of the mid-80s. The focus is on the Tomy Omnibot 5402, which was like having a robot butler in your own ho...

I don't remember the very first music video I ever saw—but I remember thinking how amazing this was. Not only did we get to hear a new song by our favorite bands and artists: we got to see them, too. This is my countdown of what I believe are the ten best music videos of the 80s, and you—as a patron—get first shot at it before the episode is released everywhere tomorrow. There will be a bunch of s...

I love the world of 1980s fast food. They rolled new products out with incredible launches, and even a simple burger needed an identity. Burger King was dominating the burger market with the Whopper, and McDonald's needed something to compete with them. They needed to create their own version, but also solve a problem at the same time: how do you keep the vegetables and lettuce fresh and crispy in...

Welcome to the Patreon-only Everything 80s Movie Club. Today: 1986's Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The Everything 80s Movie Club is just for members of the Boba Fett level and above. In this review, we will do a recap of the plot of the movie, look at some behind-the-scenes things, the critical reaction and box office results, and also discuss one of the most popular movie fan theories of all time. He...

This is the first look at my newest podcast episode all about the Nintendo Game and Watch. It may seem like a simple hand-held device, but it helped changed the trajectory of video games forever. If it wasn't for the success of the Game and Watch, Nintendo wouldn't have had been taken on the path to create the NES and change the future of video games forever. This is a look at the creation of this...

This was not easy. Today, I count down—from my perspective—the 15 best songs of the decade. This obviously comes from my own perspective, but I took other factors into account such as the success of the single, billboard charting, and overall pop culture influence. The show gets released tomorrow, but you get first shot at it for being here on Patron. I think I put together a good sampling of musi...

This is a look back on some of the significant moments that happened in the year 1980. We'll look at the big movies, music, TV shows, sporting moments, Atari, and other pop culture-related things that happened in this year. I plan to cover each year of the entire decade, but not all in one straight series. I will sprinkle these episodes in here and there. My plan is to give a good snapshot of what...

This one has it all: corruption, passion, government involvement, and drug trafficking. It sounds like a movie but this is the very real story of the Delorean. But the focus of this entire story is on its creator: John DeLorean. In case you didn't know that Delorean was a man, and not just a car, he was like taking Tony Stark, Elon Musk, and Steve Jobs and putting them all together. This is the sn...

I can't believe I did this. I realize it's impossible to please everyone when you make a list like this, but I hope I did it some justice. Instead of just the movies, I'm also ranking the live-action TV shows—including the old made-for-TV Ewoks movies. You, as a Patron, get first shot at it before it goes live tomorrow. There are 16 entries in this list, and I think I'm exhausted from putting it t...

I've wandered down to my local video store and have rented a pretty beat-up copy of The Princess Bride. It's pretty beat up because this is a movie that was probably rented and re-watched more than any other movie in history. This is a Patreon-only episode for members of the Boba Fett level and above, and today, we look back on the 1987 classic. Despite being a gigantic hit now, The Princess Bride...

This week, I'm looking back on a movie that I like—but I just don't love. I explain more of that in the show, but we're checking out a movie that had a culturally significant impact: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. In this episode, I look back at how this movie started as a comedy sketch, how it was almost a trio instead of a duo, and the issues it faced being another time travel movie durin...

Oh, what could have been. It's not that the Popeye movie was terrible—it just wasn't close to what was expected. Paramount—and everyone involved in this film—was banking on this thing being a MONSTER hit. And it wasn't even close. This is a look back on the Popeye movie, and how this never would have happened if it wasn't for Annie. We'll look at the origins of the Popeye character, how this was R...

It's pretty easy to dismiss Jaws. We've all seen it, it seems cliche and a little commonplace. But it's much more influential than most people realize. If it wasn't for Jaws, the future of Hollywood would have been much different. Jaws was the first true blockbuster. It redefined what a movie could be and completely transformed how studios approached movies. It also changed how movies would be mar...

This week, I'm doing a legit rewind, as I'm not only revisiting a past episode; but it's about a device that did a whole lot of rewinding. This is a look back at arguably the most iconic device of the 1980s: The Walkman. This was an early episode that I wanted to share again as it's important to look back at how influential the Walkman was. It was the first true personal music device. It changed t...

You think you know a movie; then a fan theory comes along that can completely transform the way you view and interpret it. In my newest episode, I'm looking at 10 different fan theories for movies in the 80s. You--as a patron--get first shot at it before it gets released tomorrow. I tried to cover some popular ones; then some pretty out-there theories, too. A few movies we look at include: Who Fra...

This is one of the toughest--and most fun--episodes I've ever put together. I'm ranking each summer for movies during the 80s to see which is the best. And you--for being on Patreon--get first shot at it before it's released tomorrow. I went back and forth on this list a bunch of times, but I think I finally got it narrowed down. I'll be interested to hear what others think as there's really no wr...