I Love the '80s Strikes Back

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I Love the '80s Strikes Back
GenreDocumentary
Written byMike Goudreau
Narrated byDoug Jeffers
Country of originUS
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Running time60 minutes
Release
Original networkVH1
Original releaseOctober 20 (2003-10-20) –
October 24, 2003 (2003-10-24)
Chronology
Preceded byI Love the '70s
Followed byI Love the '90s

I Love the '80s Strikes Back is a miniseries and the third installment of the I Love the... series on VH1 in which various music and TV personalities reminisce about 1980s popular culture in a mostly humorous manner. The series premiered on October 20, 2003, and is a sequel to I Love the '80s.

The sequel designation is in the reference to The Empire Strikes Back.

Recurring segments[]

  • Unfinished Thoughts: Donal Logue gives an unfinished thought on a pop culture event from each year.
  • Break Up Songs: Boy George (Culture Club) presents the breakup songs for each year.
  • Hip-Hop Jams: Doug E. Fresh presents the hip-hop jam for each year.
  • Public Service Announcements: A public service announcement from each year is presented.
  • Nerds: Gedde Watanabe (Sixteen Candles) presents the nerds for each year.
  • What the F@#$! Moments: Gilbert Gottfried presents the "What the F@#$!" moment (i.e., blunder) for each year.
  • During the credits of every episode, a clip from a popular music video was played without any type of commentary. These were usually replaced with a show promo by VH1.

Topics covered by year[]

1980[]

Break Up Songs of 1980: The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry"; KC and the Sunshine Band's "Please Don't Go"; and Hall & Oates's "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin"

Unfinished Thoughts of 1980: Superman

Hip-Hop Jam of 1980: "Rapper's Delight" by Sugar Hill Gang

PSA of 1980: The Bod Squad's "Don't Drown Your Food" PSA (healthy eating)

Nerds of 1980: Steve Jobs, Elvis Costello, and C-3PO (The Empire Strikes Back)

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1980: Alvin and the Chipmunks Release Chipmunk Punk

Ending Music Video: "I Will Follow" by U2

1981[]

Unfinished Thoughts of 1981: Journey

Break Up Songs of 1981: The Cars' "Since You're Gone"; The Human League's "Don't You Want Me"; and The Greg Kihn Band's "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)"

Hip-Hop Jam of 1981: "The Breaks" by Kurtis Blow

PSA of 1981: Think Before You Drink (Anti-Drinking Ad starring Brooke Shields)

Nerds of 1981: Prince Charles, Ric Ocasek (The Cars), and Bill Gates

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1981: the USDA attempted to cut school lunch programs by 1 billion dollars by classifying Ketchup as a vegetable.

Ending Music Video: "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes

1982[]

Break Up Songs of 1982: Culture Club's "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me"; Asia's "Only Time Will Tell"; and Quarterflash's "Harden My Heart"

PSA of 1982: Alternate Escape Routes in case of a fire ("Learn not to burn") Starring Dick Van Dyke

Hip-Hop Jam of 1982: "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force

Unfinished Thoughts of 1982: The Beastmaster

Nerds of 1982: Thomas Dolby ("She Blinded Me with Science"), Skippy (Family Ties), and Sarah Jessica Parker (Square Pegs)

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1982: Yale offering a 14-week course on mastering the Rubik's Cube.

Ending Music Video: "Heat of the Moment" by Asia

1983[]

Break Up Songs of 1983: Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart"; Journey's "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)"; and Naked Eyes' "Always Something There to Remind Me"

PSA of 1983: "We're not candy!" (about kids finding pills out of the bottle and accidentally eating them) by The Poison Control Center

Hip-Hop Jam of 1983: "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" by Grandmaster Melle Mel

Unfinished Thoughts of 1983: The Day After and Snausages

Nerds of 1983: Nerds Candy, LeVar Burton (Reading Rainbow), and Simon (Alvin and the Chipmunks)

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1983: The Beach Boys were banned from playing the July 4th Celebration.

Ending Music Video: "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats

1984[]

Break Up Songs of 1984: Night Ranger's "Sister Christian"; Chicago's "Hard Habit to Break"; and Steve Perry's "Oh Sherrie"

Unfinished Thoughts of 1984: Scratch and sniff

Hip-Hop Jam of 1984: "Roxanne, Roxanne" by UTFO

PSA of 1984: McGruff the Crime Dog's "Take A Bite Out of Crime" (subject: getting into cars with strangers)

Nerds of 1984: Ed Grimley (SCTV and Saturday Night Live), Alex Trebek (Jeopardy!), and Long Duk Dong (Sixteen Candles)

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1984: Ronald Reagan jokes that he has just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever: The bombing begins in 5 minutes.

Ending Music Video: "Relax" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood

1985[]

Unfinished Thoughts of 1985: Crack cocaine

Break Up Songs of 1985: Mr. Mister's "Broken Wings"; Klymaxx's "I Miss You"; and Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)"

Hip-Hop Jam of 1985: "The Show" by Doug E. Fresh

PSA of 1985: Bob Barker about AIDS (debunking the misconception of getting AIDS from cats)

Nerds of 1985: Crispin Glover (Back to the Future), Lukas Haas (Witness), and Larry King (Larry King Live)

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1985: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus attract crowds with their mystical "Unicorn". Turns out it was goats with their horns surgically fused together.

Ending Music Video: "Take On Me" by a-ha

1986[]

Unfinished Thoughts of 1986: Bon Jovi

Break Up Songs of 1986: Howard Jones' "No One Is to Blame"; Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over"; and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's "If You Leave"

Hip-Hop Jam of 1986: "Walk This Way" by Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith

PSA of 1986: Rock Against Drugs (Aimee Mann of 'Til Tuesday)

Nerds of 1986: Willie Tanner (ALF), Rick Moranis (Little Shop of Horrors), and Cliff Clavin (Cheers)

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1986: Fred Grandy (Gopher from The Love Boat) runs for Congress and wins.

Ending Music Video: "Dancing on the Ceiling" by Lionel Richie

1987[]

Unfinished Thoughts of 1987: Scruples

Break Up Songs of 1987: U2's "With or Without You"; Whitney Houston's "Didn't We Almost Have It All"; and Poison's "I Won't Forget You"

Hip-Hop Jam of 1987: "Push It" by Salt-n-Pepa & Spinderella

PSA of 1987: Rock Against Drugs (Anti-Drug)

Nerds of 1987: Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise, Bud Bundy (Married... with Children), and Gilbert Gottfried

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1987: Vanna White's Autobiography: Vanna Speaks

Ending Music Video: "Respect Yourself" by Bruce Willis

1988[]

Break Up Songs of 1988: Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"; Cinderella's "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)"; and Chicago's "Look Away"

Unfinished Thoughts of 1988: Garfield

Hip-Hop Jam of 1988: "Mary, Mary" by Run-D.M.C.

PSA of 1988: Sylvester Stallone for Give The Gift Of Literacy

Nerds of 1988: Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Paul Pfeiffer (The Wonder Years), and Miles Silverberg (Murphy Brown)

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1988: The final episode of St. Elsewhere

Ending Music Video: "Loco-Motion" by Kylie Minogue

1989[]

Break Up Songs of 1989: Michael Bolton's "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You"; Janet Jackson's "Miss You Much"; and Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'"

Unfinished Thoughts of 1989: Pete Rose

Hip-Hop Jam of 1989: "Don't Believe the Hype" by Public Enemy

PSA of 1989: Magic Johnson on Designated Drivers

Nerds of 1989: Screech Powers (Saved by the Bell), Woody Allen (New York Stories), and Steve Urkel (Family Matters)

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1989: 87-year-old Carrie Stringfellow nearly gets embalmed at a funeral home.

Ending Music Video: "Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry

External links[]

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