Everything 80s

Unbeknownst to us at the time, the three-year stretch from 1983 to 1986 may have been among the most dangerous years in human history.

Cold War tension looked to be at its peak, but how close did the world actually come to nuclear war? It may have been a lot closer than we realized...

With the Cold War reaching a fever pitch, along came a TV movie that terrified millions -- including President Ronald Reagan.

All of this was going to set up a famous showdown in October 1986: a face-to-face summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.

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If you grew up watching TV in the 80s, you only knew the 'Big Three' networks: ABC, NBC, and CBS. But in 1986 came something we hadn't seen in thirty years: a legitimate fourth network.

Welcome to the final episode of a three-part mini-series that looks back on the rapidly changing world of television in the 1980s.

In part three, we look at the creation and launch of Fox, a network that started from scratch, but, in just a few short years, gave the big networks a run for their money.

We'll look back at Fox's similarities with another fourth network from the 1950s -- The Dumont -- and how, thanks to shows like Married...With Children and The Simpsons, Fox managed to break through in a big way.

People in the industry said it wouldn't even last six months... but somehow, CNN, a station devoted to the unorthodox concept of 24-hour news, not only survived, but changed the face of cable TV in the 80s.

This is part 2 of a three-part mini-series looking back at the rapidly changing world of television in the 1980s. In this episode, we look at another huge risk by Ted Turner, and the technical mountain that needed to be climbed to make CNN happen.

The improbable rise of CNN in the 80s not only changed the way we consumed media and news, but it also laid the groundwork for many of the other speciality cable channels that dominated TV viewing in the 80s.

Welcome to Part 1 of a three-part miniseries that looks back on the rapidly changing world of television in the 1980s.

In part one, we look back on the groundbreaking moment when Ted Turner -- via satellite -- took his local Atlanta TV station to a nationwide audience.

The rise and success of WTBS in the 80s would forever change the way we consumed television. By combining Atlanta Braves baseball games, MGM movies, and classic reruns, Turner created a scheduling template that became the identity of a specialty cable station.

And the success of TBS in the 1980s paved the way for ESPN, MTV, The Disney Channel, and all the other cable stations that helped transform our viewing habits in the 80s and beyond...

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In 1986, Halley's Comet made its famous once-in-a-lifetime return -- and revealed just how much progress had come since its last appearance in 1910.

In this episode, we look back at Halley's Comet over the previous centuries, our new world of 1986, and how its return was bookended by two of the worst disasters of the 20th Century.

But, depending on your age back in 1986, Halley's Comet could actually be a twice-in-a-lifetime event...

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

To many, the summer of 1986 may have been peak 1980s. Because of the music, neon fashion, and a rapidly changing culture, this is when the 80s may have felt the most '80s.'

Today, we look back on the era-defining movies, decade-defining music, fashion, and the peak of mall culture -- all of which were a huge part of the summer of '86.

But this was also the time of some huge technological innovations that were about to change our lives forever. And, summers would also never be the same, as the rise of the VCR and video rental stores would forever change the way we consumed media...

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Take more than a hundred lions, tigers, and other unpredictable jungle cats, mix them in with an inexperienced movie crew, and you've got the makings for a disaster.

Today, we look back on the movie Roar from 1981, a film that began with good intentions but, because of all these dangerous animals, became one of the most infamous movie productions of all time.

It's the movie where no animals were hurt during filming -- only people...

• Aliens movie review: Patreon.com/80s

Was 1986 one of the biggest years for music ever? If it wasn't, it sure was close, as it's the year that gave us a defining heavy metal album, two defining hip-hop albums, a pop standout, and one of the last albums from a jazz legend.

But there was so much more: two breakaway solo artists, two huge soundtracks, and the era-defining album that gave us two of the biggest songs of all time. 1986 had a bit of everything, and all of these albums are now officially 40 years old...

Spotify Playlist: 1986 Albums

• Aliens Movie Review: Patreon.com/80s

Before "Zelda" became a household name, it began as "Adventure Mario," a game that started out as giant sketches on long pieces of draft paper. But things quickly changed...

This new video game would be nothing like Super Mario Bros. It would be a vast and seemingly limitless world. A world based around a legend, and a world filled with fantasy and adventure -- a world based on the childhood of its creator.

Today, we go back to 1986 to witness the origins of The Legend of Zelda, a game originally developed for the Nintendo Famicom in Japan. But the Famicom eventually became the NES, and the Legend of Zelda became the creation that changed the history of video games forever...

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VHS and Beta weren't the only ones trying to capture our loyalty in the 1980s; the same thing was happening in the world of... bubblegum.

Heading into the 80s, bubblegum -- an industry that didn't even really exist five years earlier -- turned into a full-on battleground. The target? Kids everywhere...

But now, led by the Big Three bubblegum brands, variety stores everywhere were about to get filled with many competitors -- all looking for their piece of the market.

From companies that went back more than a hundred years, to new players with origins in baseball dugouts, the 1980s Bubblegum Wars came about at the perfect time, as bold flavors, ads, and Saturday morning cartoons made simple bubblegum a billion-dollar industry.

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