Back In The Day Show

This is where we will list all of the 80s Culture Shocks we’ve mentioned on the podcast. How about you? Got any 80s fads or pop culture suggestions you think we should discuss on the show? Go ahead, leave a comment today.

Halloween in the 80s - episode #7
If you think about it, not much has changed about Halloween since the 80s. Sure, the costumes will always evolve and usually represent the pop-culture of the time period, and cell phones definitely simplify making plans on Halloween, but the essentials are still the same. Halloween parties, trick-or-treating, fall festivals, and, most importantly, candy. So there’s not a lot to say about Halloween in the 80s except to recount some of the fond memories we’ve made. To hear about those, be sure to check out the Halloween Edition podcast (episode #7) and the Halloween Memories blog post. Also, why not share some of your Halloween memories with us. We may even mention them in future podcasts or blog posts. You can send them to feedback@backinthedayshow.com.

Arcade Games - episode #5
There’s no telling how many quarters we’ve dropped into arcade games over the years, but properly invested, the money could have easily provided for all our retirement fundage. In the 80s, the arcade was the place to play all the coolest video games. These days, you can enjoy all the best games in your own living room as the technology of the consoles have since caught up. But back in the day, the cabinets were king. We would throw tantrums and hyperventilate until our parents would have no choice but to take us to the local skating rink or putt-putt or mall, give us $5, and release us to be occupied for hours… or at least until the tokens ran out. This is in no way a complete list, but here are just some of our favorite arcade games: Double Dragon, Shinobi, Outrun, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Area 51, Street Fighter 2, and Mortal Kombat.

Nickelodeon - episode #3 and episode #4
Technically founded as Pinwheel in 1979, the TV channel became known as Nickelodeon nationwide in 1981. It features some of the best entertainment ever for us 80s kids. Some of our favorite shows include You Can’t Do That on Television, a Canadian sketch comedy show for kids, starring kids; Double Dare, an awesome game show that was less about the questions and more about kids getting messy in the “physical challenges”; Doug, a “Funnie” cartoon about a kid named Doug and his friends; Clarissa Explains It All, a show with Melissa Joan Hawt! about something and some other people; The Ren and Stimpy Show, a wonderfully disgusting, irreverent cartoon about a dog and cat. A few others include Rocco’s Modern Life, Finders Keepers, Pete and Pete, Salute Your Shorts, Wild & Crazy Kids, and so many more. Sure this entry may be just a list, but we invite you to think back on some of your favorite Nickelodeon shows and let your memory fill in the blanks. Sponge Bob ain’t got nothin’ on the Nickelodeon shows in our day.

VCRs and Video Rental - episode #2
The VCR was quite an invention in its day. It offered folks a revolutionary way to view movies in their homes, and by 1981, one million units had been sold. As the technology improved and prices continued to fall, they become even more popular. The ability to program the VCR was one of our favorite features, despite the fact that you had to be a genius to set it up. Home video also spawned one of the most lucrative entertainment businesses: movie and video game rental. Today we have Netflix and Gamefly; back in the day, we had to pester our parents to cart us off to one of the local mom-and-pop video rental shops. Some owners could be pretty shrewd by charging more for the newest titles. Most of our allowance money went toward paying these exorbitant prices. But renting a game and finding out it was crap was better than wasting a lot more money by buying it. So here’s to VCRs and the video renting business–an essential milestone in supporting our otherwise lazy lifestyles.

Trapper Keeper - episode #1
Ah, the Trapper Keeper–the very essence of organization. When we were growing up, this is what defined you in school in the 80s. Every year days before school started, kids all across the country would migrate to the local department store with parents en tow to search for a new version of this trusty tool. Picking out your new Trapper Keeper and all the folders to compliment it was serious business. Getting to the store too late meant slim pickings. I can’t think of a more humiliating experience in school than ending up with a lame design on the cover. Still, when everything went according to plan, you would spend a few heart-pounding moments searching the stock until finally you saw it glowing beneath the stack of about a dozen unicorn folders–the perfect Trapper Keeper with the most awesome design. And all was good in the world.