#80's tv

[thegroovyarchives]

The cast of M*A*S*H, 1979-1980. From The Complete Book of M*A*S*H, Suzy Kalter, 1988.

(via: archive.org)

[grandmastv]

Murder She Wrote (2.01 Widow, Weep for Me, 1985).

[histonics]

[xx8199xx]

ｓｗｉｎｇ　ｏｎ　ａ　ｓｔａｒ

[arconinternet]

Lady Lovely Locks - The Complete Series (Videos, 1987)

You can watch it all here.

You can read a couple of tie-in children's books here and here.

You can watch a two-episode VHS tape, with a live-action intro not shown in the linked playlist below:

[tamara-kama]

I've been watching Knight Rider remastered in HD and while I like it I kinda wish it and the 80's in general was as colorful and neony as Outrun aesthetic, vaporwave and modern retro 80's stuff likes to have us believe. The only thing close to Outrun aesthetic in it is the intro..

[the-nosy-neighbor]

TV from the Period, Continued

TV shows didn't really try to appeal to children, as far as I can remember, so it was nights of watching whatever was on, because you had two choices:  either this or the other channel.  Plus, at the time, it was expected that the adults would pick the show.   I remember watching lots of crime dramas. Magnum PI, CHiPs, The Fall Guy, etc. When I was older, The Cosby Show was the best thing on TV. 

But, the most amazing thing as a kid were the Special Presentations.

Edit: my photos didn't make it, so it appears that I was talking about Tom Selleck, I was not. Sorry Magnum. I will fix the photos tonight or tomorrow.

If you saw this guy, you were in for a nice time. Not to be confused with "A Very Special Episode," which meant some lame thing where they had your favorite TV characters talking about something really depressing or scary, also known as an “After School Special,” though a lot of times those were not filmed with known characters, just really lame low budget deals.  The most famous example of this is where a character on Saved by the Bell was taking diet pills (so excited and so scared).  Definitely worth a watch. 

I actually didn’t see this at the time, and only learned about it as an adult.  Two TV stations.  If Clown does “A Very Special Episode,” I will die.

So, Special Presentations were your really good things. It meant either you were getting something you didn't see a lot (Miss America), a once-a-year treat (Wizard of Oz), or cartoons (Holiday Specials!) I remember how excited we were to have the Wizard of Oz every year.  It seemed random when it happened, but I’m sure there was a schedule that I wasn’t aware of as a kid.  I don’t think we even got the TV guide.  However, there were TV listings in the newspaper. 

Once a year treats included things like "Circus of the Stars." I had forgotten about it until I googled Special Presentation to get that graphic. Actual TV stars would learn to do circus stuff, like trapeze. I am going to drown in nostalgia. Here's a later one in 1992, (Downtown Julie Brown!) with Weird Al, because Weird Al is synonymous with TV. Apparently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8CTEEOMLgE

It's a massively different experience to have such limited access to shows. I do think that having such limitied access created a shared lexicon for Gen X, as we largely relate to each through pop culture--movies, tv, introduction of VCRs and home video. We even get oddly nostalgic about commercials, since I guess a lot of us were kind of raised by tv and the characters that existed within.

It is a very particular feeling, these rituals providing a window to a moment in time. It is almost tangible, but indescribable. I think Clown is very close to capturing that here, and may do it before the end.

All this to say that the shared culture of tv during this period created a very specific way of thinking about it and excitement to these references. Holiday specials, very special episodes, feature presentations and annual tv events were such a big deal and it is neat to see it replicated, but i think it can also give us some hints as to what we can expect.

[eightiesfan]

[mitochondriaandbunnies]

Booker is kind of great, actually

[kevinbolk]

What started as an intense desire to draw Shanelle from Beverly Hills Teens exploded into a full-on celebration of some of my favorite black 80’s cartoon gals including Netossa from She-Ra Princess of Power, Shana from Jem & the Holograms, Diana from Dungeons & Dragons, and Orange Blossom from Strawberry Shortcake.

[thegroovyarchives]

80′s KTZO-TV/KOFY-TV San Francisco, California Dog Commercials Part 4

[grandmastv]

MacGyver (2.01 The Human Factor, 1986)

[cannibal-nightmares]

"You can't be strong all the time. Nobody is. Not even me."

I put a lot of love into this soundtrack + fan playlist! Shuffle it!!

(if anyone knows who made the meme cover image so I can credit them and/or change it, please lmk!)

[episodicnostalgia]

Star Trek: The Next Generation, 112 (Jan. 16, 1988) - “Datalore”

Written by: Robert Lewin & Gene Roddenberry Directed by: Rob Bowman

Episode Breakdown

Data gets an origin story!

The episode begins with the Enterprise’s arrival at the colony where Data was discovered. We’re told that colonists all died under mysterious circumstances before Data was activated; as such he’s unable to shed any light on the matter (Presumably the ship that found Data never had time to investigate). Picard figures they might as well take a look around since they’re in the neighbourhood, because what’s the worst that could happen? While on the planet’s surface, the away team discover that Data is the creation of Noonien Soong, a brilliant scientist who disappeared after a failed-first-attempt at creating a positronic brain; since that is precisely the type of brain Data possesses, the team rightly concludes that Noonien finally succeeded in achieving his goal. The team also discover a second android that looks exactly like Data, albeit disassembled.  Since Data is understandably curious, Riker agrees to take Data’s twin back to the Enterprise to rebuild him.

In a twist that may shock you, Data’s long-lost twin (named Lore) turns out to be evil; he’s also capable of greater emotional expression, including the ability to lie convincingly.  It turns out Lore was Noonien’s first android who, prior to being disassembled, summoned a giant crystalline entity from space to consume the colonists.  Somewhere along the way, Noonien figured out that his new creation might be a raging psychopath and took Lore apart before building Data (and also before getting eaten).  Now free to roam the ship, Lore inevitably betrays and deactivates Data, with the intention of signalling his old Crystaline pal to come eat the Enterprise crew.  However, since Wesley is (annoyingly) the most amazing boy in the universe, he’s able to see through Lore’s pretense. With the help of Dr. Crusher, Wesley gets Data back online just in time for the two Androids to duke it out until he can beam Lore into space, (where Picard presumably decides to leave him without any further discussion).

Thoughts

So far ‘Datalore’ has been the best episode of the season. We get some decent world building, a good intro to Data’s evil twin, and nice dose of tension and atmosphere. What’s not to love? Even the moments that feel dated (and there are many) all add to the episode’s charm. There are still a handful of times I had to roll my eyes at specific bits of dialogue, but if the ending had been a little stronger I almost would have considered giving this an extra half-star.

3.5 stars (out of 5)

Stray observations:

Picard’s (mostly) not an asshole: That traumatizing holodeck adventure from last episode must have been more relaxing than expected. For the most part he seems to be in an uncharacteristically encouraging mood towards his crew.

Except Wesley. Picard really lets the kid have it this week. He must still be mad about that time Wesley got impaled and then didn’t die a couple episodes back.

There are some rather pointed scenes where Picard and Co. go out of their way to be exceptionally reasonable and mature about a variety of potentially difficult or awkward subjects (mostly regarding the nature Data and Lore’s sentiency/creation); it would be fine except that they keep commenting on it. My guess is that it’s an example of Gene Roddenberry’s influence, who was known for wanting to avoid depictions of interpersonal conflict between the crew. But personally, I like to think this is a result of HR calling out Picard for his less-than-cordial behaviour from previous episodes, and so now the captain is on his best behaviour, and everyone is acting like it “never even bothered me that much anyway, I heard other people were complaining, but not me.”

Okay I hate to say it but… ugh, Wesley was right. After deactivating Data, Lore masquerades as his brother.  The crew test Lore with questions he wouldn’t know the answer to, but they do it in the most easy-to-evade way.  It’s pretty unintentionally funny, but means the adults were missing what any child should have been able to (and evidently DID) see.  

HAHA! Wesley saves the ship and Picard is like “fine, you can go back to the bridge, now beat it!” Zero apologies of any kind. Excellent. It’s as if even the writers were pissed that Wesley saved the day, and honestly I get that.

[arconinternet]

Dinosaucers (Videos, 1987)

You can watch the entire extremely 80's animated series here.

[tamara-kama]

My new classic Doctor Who Blu-ray of season 2 of Peter Davison's run just arrived.. One of the serials on this is upgraded to Dolby Atmos audio! (The Five Doctors)