80s Show Podcast

This week, we dance dangerously close to confusion as Bill experiences Footloose and Flashdance for the very first time. One is about small-town oppression fueled by rage, rhythm, and questionable choreography; the other is… honestly, we’re still not sure. Welding? Water buckets? Polack jokes? Plot not included.

Then we gobble some nostalgia with a look back at Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man, the original power couple of the arcade world. From high scores to haunted lunchboxes, we revisit the games that trained an entire generation to fear ghosts and chase cherries.

Strap on your leg warmers, cut loose (Kevin Bacon-style), and insert coin to join us for another totally tubular trip back to the '80s.

This week, we hit peak 80s: Spielberg masterpieces, fashion statements that doubled as safety hazards, and cartoons that raised a generation on slapstick and explosions.

First up, we swing into action with Spielberg’s finest from the decade, where aliens phoned home and archaeologists somehow outran boulders in leather jackets. History class was never this sweaty.

Next, we take a walk down the runway of retro glory. Leg warmers, parachute pants, and shoulder pads wide enough to block a punch from Mike Tyson.

And finally, we fire up the VCR for a cartoon binge. From G.I. Joe to Smurfs and Inspector Gadget, we’re talking peak animation, peak toy marketing, and peak childhood sugar highs.

This week, we open the detention file on The Breakfast Club to find out what happened after the iconic fist pump. Then we hit rewind on 1987’s biggest songs, back when mixtapes were love letters and choruses lived rent-free in our brains forever. Finally, we wrap things up with our “1980 Something” trivia segment, where pop culture meets memory gaps and dignity takes a coffee break.

This week, we buzz the tower of 80s nostalgia with a dogfight between Top Gun and its off-brand cousin, Iron Eagle. As kids, we thought Iron Eagle was badass. As adults… well, let’s just say it’s less “fighter pilot” and more “after-school special with a soundtrack.”

Then we jump to Top Gun: Maverick, a sequel that somehow didn’t suck. In fact, we kind of loved it. Tom Cruise may be 60, but the man still flies like he’s trying to outrun his own aging process.

Finally, in our Ask a Millennial segment, co-host Bill Lassiter roams the streets armed with 80s trivia and a dream to find just one person under 35 who knows anything about our favorite decade. What he uncovers is part game show, part therapy session, and full-blown generational crisis.

Strap in. It’s fast, funny, and totally classified.

Show Notes:

Danger Zone: The Making of Top Gun

Part 1: https://archive.org/details/youtube-C0bTDfi_vjA

Part 2: https://archive.org/details/youtube-ppNmOhBKynM

This episode is pure 80s - fast cars, pastel suits, and enough powder to shut down Studio 54.

We kick things off with John DeLorean’s desperate attempt to fund his stainless steel dream car by allegedly jumping into the cocaine trade. Was it savvy, stupid, or a midlife crisis on gullwing doors?

Then we dive into the coke-dusted chaos of 80s action movies, spotlighting Scarface and Lethal Weapon—two films that define the era’s cinematic obsession with excess, explosions, and unhinged behavior.

Finally, we talk Miami Vice - the stylish, synth-soaked cop show that turned every drug bust into a music video and made stubble and sockless loafers a lifestyle.

Neon, narcotics, and nonstop nostalgia. Buckle up.

This week, we hop into a phone booth and dial straight into the heart of 80s absurdity with a deep dive into the Bill & Ted trilogy. From the surprisingly charming Excellent Adventure to the full-blown fever dream that is Bogus Journey, and finally to the recent reunion in Face the Music - we unpack the time-traveling, air-guitaring legacy of two dudes who somehow saved the universe.

Then it’s time to give the moms their moment. We count down our Top 5 Sitcom Moms of the 1980s - from wise and warm to sarcastic and savage. Some offered life advice. Others offered zingers. All were unforgettable.

And to wrap things up? We revisit the 80s toy that taught kids how to spell and adults how to lose their minds: the Speak & Spell. It's retro tech at its glitchiest - and most haunting.

Totally excellent? Most definitely. Just don’t ask us to explain the plot of Bogus Journey again.

This week, we’re crane-kicking our way through 80s pop culture like it’s a Cobra Kai training montage.

First up: The Karate Kid. We settle (or escalate) the age-old debate - was Daniel the real hero… or just an aggressive new kid with a bonsai complex? You be the judge.

Next, we count down our Top 5 Sitcom Dads of the 1980s - from sweater-wearing wisdom to dads who may or may not be from outer space.

And in our final segment, Bill pitches his totally unnecessary, definitely unhinged idea for a sequel to E.T.

It’s another episode of The 80s Show Podcast, where nostalgia meets nonsense in all the best ways.

The 80s Show Podcast kicks off Season 2 with undercover teens, outrageous wealth, and a surprise call from an old friend.

We dig into 21 Jump Street (TV vs. movie - fight!), take a bubbly stroll through the excess of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and then things get... awkward. Tony Villicana, one of Mr. H’s students from The Greatest American Hero, calls in - angry about how we portrayed him in episode 11 of season 1. Let’s just say, he sets the record straight. Sort of.

We’re back with another freshly unearthed lost episode from the 80s Show vault!

First up: we take flight (barely) with a deep dive into The Greatest American Hero - the only superhero who needed instructions and still managed to lose them. Capes, perms, and slow-motion crashes abound.

Then we ask the burning question absolutely no one else is asking: What happened to William Katt? From cult fame to career mystery, we try to track the journey of TV’s most aerodynamic klutz.

Finally, we wrap things up with a breakdown of Madonna’s iconic Like a Virgin video, because nothing screams 80s like wedding dresses, gondolas, and controversial pop queens redefining MTV... one pelvic thrust at a time.

It’s weird. It’s wonderful. It’s another lost slice of the '80s you didn’t know you missed.

SHOW NOTES:

In this lost episode from Season 1, we sink our claws into the 1985 cult classic Teen Wolf - including the infamous urban legend that someone in the bleachers flashes the camera during the big game. Is it real? Is it just fuzzy VHS myth? We investigate… poorly.

Then, it’s time to test Bill’s memory (or what’s left of it) with a round of totally radical 80s trivia. Finally, we wrap things up by honoring the legends of 1980s Saturday Night Live.

It’s the 80s Show Podcast: neon, nostalgia, and just enough full moon energy to get us banned from your local Blockbuster.

SHOW NOTES:

• • Teen Wolf urban legend, flasher: https://youtu.be/-1yWYZg6QtI 

  • SNL Skits

  • SNL Hans & Franz: https://youtu.be/7Mk1nykjnYA 

  • SNL Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood: https://youtu.be/K_MDCH-W2WU 

    SNL Velvet Jones: https://youtu.be/HKTmLd5PTyc