Eighties Blog - 1980s Retro Movies Fashion Music

I remember seeing preview ads for Knight Rider when I was a kid in the 1982 and couldn’t wait for this show to air. The series featured a computerized car with artificial intelligence, an arsenal of gadgetry and a dry wit plus some likeable human characters such as Michael Knight played by David Hasselhoff. The premier episode and those that followed featured a mix of humor and action, lots of car stunts, explosions, sexy eighties ladies with big hair and lots of makeup and bad guys getting what they deserve.

Watch or Download Knight Rider Episode 1

Knight Rider inspired several other “crimefighter plus high-tech vehicle” series, such as Airwolf, Viper, Street Hawk, Blue Thunder and The Highwayman. There were also a few animated cartoon series partially inspired by the series; one was Turbo Teen, which featured a teenager who could morph into a talking car. Glen A. Larson also produced a short-lived show called Automan that featured a hero with a virtual computer sidekick called “Cursor” that could become whatever was needed at the moment.

There were also Knight Rider video games released in 1988 and 2003, try to guess which screen shot is which…

A new Knight Rider Movie is planned for 2008, check out the cool car in this poster!

Tags: knight rider 80s eighties david hasselhoff tv movies video games retro

Fans of the the popular TV series Knight Rider will recognize this license plate from the famous Trans Am known as KITT. Knight Rider ran from 1982-1986 and Starred David Hasselhoff and his computerized car that boasted artificial intelligence as well as a number of James Bond type features such as oil slick, smoke screen and ejector seats.

The Decline of Western Civilization Part 1 is a behind the scenes look at the west coast punk rock/new wave scene in it’s early days at the beginning of the eighties. Many classic Los Angeles punk rock bands are featured including Black Flag, The Circle Jerks, Fear, X and Germs with interviews with punks such as Darby Crash, Lorna Doom, John Doe and Exene Cervenka. Attitudes range from political to funny to just plain rowdy and nihilistic from these punk rock pioneers building their scene long before it became just another look that you can buy at the mall!

Watch or Download The Decline of Western Civilization Part 1

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Tags: punk documentary movies 80s eighties the decline of western civilization black flag circle jerks

You can still see lots of the 70s in this 1980 Xanadu movie clip featuring an extended remix of the theme song by ELO sung by sexy aussie Olivia “Neutron Bomb” John. Probably safe to say this is the top roller-skating musical of the decade. It’s hard to tell if they were camping it up on purpose or not but it’s wildly over the top with its roller skating circus performers, tap dancers and cowboys. Looks like Paris Hilton has been taking some fashion tips from Olivia but is far from being as hot.

Tags: xanadu elo olivia newton john roller skating music video 1980

Join the Dark Side and join the exciting ranks of Death Star Tech Support, although the casualty rate is high the chance for advancement is excellent. Funny gift for star wars fans, tech support or proud sci-fi geeks.

Tags: star wars movie death star retro t-shirt

This new track from the “Best Damn Sports Show 80s Special” features old school rappers KRS1 (From Boogie Down Productions), Young MC (Bust A Move!) and Kool Moe Dee (Wild Wild West) rhyming about great moments in eighties sports. From Andre the Giant to Wayne Gretzky to Michael Jordan.

Tags:1980s 80s eighties sports rap hip hop krs1 kool moe dee young mc

Star Wars ruled the eighties and this stylish shirt takes us back to the sequel, my personal favorite of the series, The Empire Strikes back and it’s amazing Hoth snow planet battle. I like this orange design on a brown or navy shirt and other colors are also available for men, women and kids.

Tags: star wars movies empire strikes back retro t-shirts

Fast Times at Ridgemont High is one of the best teen movies of the 1980s balancing humor with serious issues facing young people then and still today. The 1982 film starred Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Robert Romanus, Brian Backer, Phoebe Cates and Sean Penn and also featured the debuts of future stars Eric Stoltz, and Nicolas Cage.

Tags:eighties movies 1980s fast times at ridgemont high retro t-shirts

Today is “National Tell an Old Joke but Keep It Clean Day” so here are a few groaners from the 1980s.

Back in the eighties there was scattered resistance to the new Japanese cars gaining popularity over the American autos that had enjoyed market domination. US manufacturers responded with cheaply built, over-priced, butt ugly gas guzzlers and wondered what happened!

They told jokes like this to compensate:
Q: What do you call 10,000 Honda Civics at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean?
A: A good start.

Yugoslavia was also making a play for the lucrative US car market with less then stellar results but fared well in the foreign auto joke market.
Q: Why is a Yugo like a Bic lighter?
A: You use it until it runs out of gas, then throw it away.

And what could be more 80s then a Michael Jackson and Nintendo joke.
Q: How are the NES and Michael Jackson the same?
A: Little boys turn them both on.

Q: How many letters are in the alphabet?
A: 22, cuz E.T. went home and somebody shot J.R.

Q: How are Madonna’s knees like the Beatles?
A: They’ll never get back together.

Q: What is Ronald Reagan’s favorite pick-up line at a bar?
A: Do I come here often?

Tags:80s eighties jokes tuesdays topic jokes