Some of the all-time great TV Christmas specials go all the way back to the 1960s. But it's easy to forget how many memorable ones came from the 80s.

Today we look back at ten of the best specials the 80s had to offer. Some of those shows include:

• Two separate specials based on a few of the hottest fads of the decade
• A sadsack comic strip character (not the one you're thinking of...)
• A powerful brother/sister duo teaming up for a holiday special
• The return of a beloved icon after 30 years
• A Christmas special with one of the most bizarre collection of guest stars you'll ever see

Get access to new episodes early and ad-free: Patreon.com/80s

If you grew up in the 80s, you grew up in the era of physical media. Our videotape collections allowed us to watch our favorite movies and TV shows over and over, allowing us to develop a deep appreciation for the things we loved.

But how did we get here, and how did it all end up changing so drastically? Today we not only revisit the origins of the VCR itself but look at the VHS/Betamax format wars of the 80s and the worthy third competitor: Laserdisc.

We also look at the growth of home video, the time when the VCR was under attack by Hollywood, and the progression of the VCR to DVD, Blu-Ray, and then streaming.

This episode is also a look at how physical media has become a bit of an endangered species, but why it still has an important place in our modern world.

• Planes, Trains & Automobiles movie review: Patreon.com/80s

It seems funny to think, but in the early 80s, a gigantic industry almost came to a grinding halt...

Video games--and arcades--had grown so quickly,  and on such a wide scale,  that many began to ask if it was ok for our kids to be playing them so much. 

This is when video games and arcades became under attack as parents, watch groups, and entire cities started to crack down on them. From the U.K. to Canada, to America, regulations began to be put in place to limit young people from even stepping foot into an arcade.

The attack on video games even went all the way to the Supreme Court, and a generation of kids didn't realize how close they got to losing something they loved--forever...

• Movie Review: Planes, Trains & Automobiles 

In late 1985, Disney had just set the record for the most helium balloons ever released. As a way to kick off their 1986 United Way campaign, the city of Cleveland thought breaking this record would be a great way to draw attention to the fundraising event.

But the balloon release didn't exactly go as planned... This is a look back at Balloonfest '86 when an impending storm caused 1.5 million balloons to play havoc with traffic, waterways, and an airport. 

Besides spreading all the way to Canada, the balloons also caused issues during a search for two missing boaters on Lake Erie. Balloonfest '86 became pretty infamous, but was it really the "deadly disaster" that various outlets have reported it to be...?

• The Everything 80s Movie Review Podcast: Patreon.com/80s

On September 22, 1982, a new show debuted on NBC. It felt like a throwback to the family sitcoms of yesteryear, but, at the same time, felt like a big risk...

The early 1980s seemed to be a time when the family sitcom had disappeared. Primetime TV at the time was all about dramas, and the popular sitcoms were shows like M.A.S.H and Three's Company.

The new NBC show came out to little fanfare and barely had an audience in its first season. It was the same thing for the second season. But in the third season, things were about to explode...

Thanks to a renewed interest in family sitcoms--not to mention its young breakout star from Canada--primetime network TV was about to change forever.

Full House, Growing Pains, Who's the Boss, Perfect Strangers, Family Matters, Home Improvement--they might not have ever happened if it wasn't for this show...

Get early and ad-free access to new episodes: Patreon.com/80s

It's a year that, thanks to George Orwell, had been in the public consciousness for decades. But when it finally came around, 1984 ended up being memorable for many different reasons...

Today, we look back on the movies, TV shows, cartoons, music, tech, and sports that made up a pretty remarkable year.

It's a year that featured some of the biggest movies of the decade, an era-defning album, a few beloved cartoon shows, and one of the biggest sports spectacles of the 20th Century. 

But Orwell's dystopian vision did make an appearnace--it just happened to be in one of the most important commercials in the history of advertising. Let's go back four decades and revisit 1984...

The Everything 80s Movie Review Podcast: Patreon.com/80s

Welcome to the Everything 80s Halloween Spooktacular! Today, we travel back to revisit Halloween in the 80s and take a look at three things:

The first is one of the goriest and most violent video games ever made up to that point. Then we look at five forgotten horror movies from the 80s and finish with the history of a certain Mistress of the Dark...

So grab some candy corn, light the pumpkin (or cultivated winter squash of your choosing), and enjoy the Everything 80s Halloween Special.

Early and ad-free episodes plus the Everything 80s Movie Review Podcast: Patreon.com/80s

It's just not the Halloween season without them... Today, we go back to witness the creation and release of everyone's favorite breakfast monsters. 

it's a story that goes back to the early days of cereal, the silent film era, the monsters of the 60s, and their release in the '70s. But it was during the 1980s that Monster Cereals continued to grow in popularity. 

It was also during the '80s that the Monster Cereals experienced some of their biggest changes--both physically and to the Monster lineup. 

This is the story of Frankenberry, Count Chocula, and Boo Berry--plus two others that you may or may not remember... 

The Everything 80s Movie Review Podcast: Patreon.com/80s

The Brits had taken over music and pop culture in the 1960s, and then--to a lesser extent--they did it again in the early 80s. But now, it was time for the Aussies to take over...

This is a look back on the 1980s Aussie invasion, a time when the Land Down Under heavily influenced radio, record stores, TVs, and movie theatres in North America, and around the world...

Whether you played knifey-spoony before or not, it was hard not to be aware of the Australian influence. From Kylie Minogue to Midnight Oil, and Paul Hogan to Yahoo Serious, the Aussies made a big impact on 1980s pop culture. 

Book: Beyond the Film: The Making of VHS Favorites From the Video Store Era

The Everything 80s Movie Review Podcast: Patreon.com/80s

It's the decade that gave us some of the most beloved cartoon shows of all time. Some of those cartoons became huge franchises that continue to be a part of our modern entertainment. But not everything could be a hit.

Today we look back on 10 of those forgotten cartoons (plus a few bonus ones). Hopefully there are a bunch here you remember, but there are also some great deep cuts and some true blasts from the past. 

These are cartoons that could have been huge, but whether it was bad time slots--or all the competition--just weren't able to break through.

Some of them include a Voltron alternative, NBC's Saturday morning answer to MTV, characters that also started out as greeting cards, and a big swing by the company best known for bringing us beloved Christmas specials.

Field of Dreams movie review: Patreon.com/80s