I Love the '80s Strikes Back

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.^[1] The series premiered on October 20, 2003, and is a sequel to I Love the '80s.

I Love the '80s Strikes Back
Genre	Documentary
Written by	Mike Goudreau
Narrated by	Doug Jeffers
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Original release
Network	VH1
Release	October 20 (2003-10-20) – October 24, 2003 (2003-10-24)
Related
I Love the '80s I Love the '70s I Love the '90s I Love the '90s: Part Deux I Love the '80s 3-D I Love the Holidays I Love Toys I Love the '70s: Volume 2 I Love the New Millennium Best of I Love the... I Love the 2000s

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

Commentators

• Carol Alt
• John Amos*
• Cedric the Entertainer
• Curtis Armstrong
• Rosanna Arquette
• apl.de.ap & will.i.am
• Ashanti
• Sebastian Bach
• Barenaked Ladies (Ed Robertson, Tyler Stewart and Steven Page)
• Anna Belknap*
• Greg Behrendt
• D.C. Benny
• Frank Black
• Michael Ian Black
• Lesley Boone
• Bozo the Clown
• Brooke Burke
• Bill Burr
• Timothy Busfield
• Bryan Callen
• Candace Cameron
• Mariah Carey
• Ellen Cleghorne
• George Clinton
• Stewart Copeland
• David Coverdale
• Jon Cryer
• Molly Culver
• Dido
• Rocco DiSpirito*
• The Donnas (Brett Anderson & Torry Castellano and Maya Ford & Allison Robertson)
• Simon Doonan
• Howie Dorough
• Bil Dwyer
• Sheila E.
• Rich Eisen
• Perry Farrell & Chris Chaney
• Corey Feldman
• Colin Ferguson
• Craig Ferguson
• Mark Feuerstein & Ashley Williams
• Flavor Flav
• Lita Ford
• Samantha Fox
• Doug E. Fresh
• John Fugelsang
• Zach Galligan
• Boy George
• Deborah Gibson
• Godfrey
• Tracey Gold
• Gilbert Gottfried
• Kathy Griffin*
• Luis Guzman
• Hall & Oates
• Hanson
• Rachael Harris
• Steve Harwell
• Colin Hay
• Jason Hervey
• Susanna Hoffs & Vicki Peterson
• Leslie Hope
• Finola Hughes
• Scott Ian
• Stephan Jenkins
• Chris Jericho
• Cherie Johnson
• Cris Judd
• Nick Lachey
• Queen Latifah*
• Cyndi Lauper
• Juliette Lewis
• Adam Levine & James Valentine
• Beth Littleford
• Donal Logue
• Loni Love
• Rob Lowe*
• Carl Lumbly
• Stephen Lynch
• MC Lyte
• Virginia Madsen
• Joe Mantegna
• John Mayer
• Young M.C.
• Tim McGraw
• Darryl McDaniels
• Mark McGrath
• Breckin Meyer*
• Penelope Ann Miller
• Monica
• Mandy Moore
• Tom Morello
• Vince Neil
• John Ondrasik
• Patton Oswalt
• Paula Jai Parker
• Steve Perkins & Dave Navarro
• Liz Phair
• Kate Pierson
• Bronson Pinchot
• Pink
• Stefanie Powers
• Lindsay Price*
• Danny Provenzano
• Rachel Quaintance
• Donnell Rawlings
• Mary Lou Retton
• Mo Rocca
• Henry Rollins
• David Lee Roth
• Darius Rucker
• Richie Sambora
• Emma Samms
• Fred Schneider & Cindy Wilson
• Rick Schroder
• Dennis Seaton*
• Charlie Sheen
• Pauly Shore
• Rena Sofer & Jay Harrington*
• Hal Sparks
• Frank Stallone
• Joel Stein
• Taboo & Fergie
• Rob Thomas
• Lea Thompson
• Triumph the Insult Comic Dog
• Brian Unger
• Usher
• Frank Vincent & Vincent Pastore
• Jenna Von Oy
• Gedde Watanabe
• Jody Watley
• Chuck Woolery
• Adrian Young
• Adrian Zmed
• Rob Zombie

(*) = archival footage

Recurring segments

• Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts: Donal Logue gives an unfinished thought on a pop culture event from each year.
• Break Up Songs: Boy George presents the breakup songs for each year.
• Hip-Hop Jam: Doug E. Fresh presents the hip-hop jam for each year.
• Public Service Announcement: A public service announcement from each year is presented.
• Nerds: Gedde Watanabe presents the nerds for each year.
• What the F#?%!!! Moment: Gilbert Gottfried presents the biggest blunders of the 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

• American Gigolo
• Too Close for Comfort
• "Whip It" by Devo
• Richie Rich
• Grey Poupon
• Superman II
• The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show
• Flash Gordon
• "Rock with You" by Michael Jackson
• Real People
• The Blues Brothers
• Eight Is Enough
• Solid Gold
• Satin jackets
• Stir Crazy
• Private Benjamin
• Alice
• Friendship bracelets and ribbon barrettes
• "I Want You To Want Me" by Cheap Trick
• Hungry Hungry Hippos
• Friday the 13th

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

Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on Superman

Hip-Hop Jam of 1980: "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill 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 What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1980: Alvin and the Chipmunks's Chipmunk Punk album becomes their very first record to go gold

1981

• Dynasty
• Smurfs
• Journey's Escape album
• On Golden Pond
• "The Stroke" by Billy Squier
• Endless Love
• Magnum, P.I.
• "Super Freak" by Rick James
• Iron-on decals
• The Fall Guy
• The Rolling Stones' Tattoo You Tour
• Fernando Valenzuela
• Hart to Hart
• Benetton
• Benson
• Ronald Reagan likes Jelly Belly
• Jelly shoes
• Clash of the Titans
• Simon and Garfunkel's concert in Central Park
• Mommie Dearest

Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on Journey

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

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 and Bill Gates

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1981: The USDA proposes to cut school lunch programs by classifying ketchup as a school lunch vegetable

1982

• Fame
• Annie
• "Abracadabra" by Steve Miller Band
• Tootsie
• ColecoVision
• John Mellencamp
• Wayne Gretzky
• "Gloria" by Laura Branigan
• The Toy
• Conan the Barbarian and The Beastmaster
• Men at Work
• KangaROOS
• Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
• T. J. Hooker
• "I'm So Excited" by The Pointer Sisters
• An Officer and a Gentleman
• G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
• "Pass the Dutchie" by Musical Youth
• Pink Floyd – The Wall
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

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

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

Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on The Beastmaster

Nerds of 1982: Thomas Dolby, Irwin "Skippy" Handelman and Sarah Jessica Parker

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1982: Yale University offered a 14-week special course on how to solve the Rubik's Cube

1983

• Richard Simmons
• "All Night Long (All Night)" by Lionel Richie
• Staying Alive
• Klondike bar
• The Thorn Birds
• Risky Business
• Sunglasses
• The Day After
• The Outsiders
• Cujo and Christine
• Snausages (dog treats)
• Chicken McNuggets
• "Rock This Town" by Stray Cats
• Donkey Kong
• Culture Club
• Yentl
• KISS takes off their makeup
• Martina Navratilova
• Fraggle Rock
• V

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

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

Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on The Day After and Snausages

Nerds of 1983: Nerds Candy, LeVar Burton and Simon Seville

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1983: Interior Secretary James Watt banned The Beach Boys from playing on the National Mall

1984

• The Karate Kid
• Van Halen's 1984 album
• The wave
• "Drive" by The Cars
• Beverly Hills Cop
• Cagney & Lacey
• Menudo
• Scratch and sniff and Trapper Keeper
• A Nightmare on Elm Street
• Thompson Twins
• My Little Pony and Glo Worm
• "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell
• Tom Hanks in Splash and Bachelor Party
• Gremlins
• The Burning Bed
• Tina Turner
• Stirrup pants
• Billy Idol
• Revenge of the Nerds

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

Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on 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, Alex Trebek and Long Duk Dong

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1984:Ronald Reagan makes an off-the-record joke about outlawing and bombing Russia

1985

• Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
• Rambo: First Blood Part II
• Crack epidemic
• "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive
• Teen Wolf
• Inspector Gadget
• Remington Steele
• "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco
• Jenga
• Tears for Fears
• Bobby Knight's explosive temper and getting ejected from the game vs. Purdue
• The People's Court
• "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder
• 227
• North and South
• "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner
• Mr. Belvedere
• New Coke
• Jem
• Weird Science

Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on Crack Cocaine

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

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, Lukas Haas and Larry King

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1985: The "mythical unicorns" from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus are actually goats with surgically-fused horns

1986

• Pee-wee's Playhouse
• Jolt Cola
• Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet album
• LA Gear
• "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon
• Soul Man
• Rainbow Brite
• "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles
• Dallas episode "Bobby Ewing Comes Back to Life" (aka "Blast from the Past")
• Howard the Duck
• About Last Night...
• The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault
• Ocean Pacific
• "Conga" by Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
• L.A. Law
• The Golden Child
• Double Dare
• Garbage Pail Kids
• Michael Jordan
• "Heartbeat" by Don Johnson
• Joe Isuzu
• The Fly

Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on Bon Jovi

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

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, Rick Moranis and Cliff Clavin

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1986: Fred Grandy runs for Congress from the state of Iowa and wins

1987

• Beauty and the Beast
• "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake
• Scruples
• The Fat Boys
• Flowers in the Attic
• LL Cool J
• Macho Movies (specifically Predator, RoboCop, and Over the Top)
• Doc Martens
• "Bad" by Michael Jackson
• Full House
• Less than Zero
• Jody Watley
• Remote Control
• Biker shorts (Lycra)
• Thundercats
• Raising Arizona
• "Luka" by Suzanne Vega
• A Different World
• "Land of Confusion" by Genesis
• Steve Guttenberg
• The Princess Bride

Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on Scruples

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

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 and Gilbert Gottfried

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1987: Vanna White's autobiography, Vanna Speaks, recalls that she once smoked some pot, then she ate an entire meatloaf

1988

• Big
• Growing Pains
• MTV's Headbangers Ball
• Ripped jeans
• Beetlejuice
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit
• "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car" by Billy Ocean
• Jamaica national bobsled team
• My Two Dads
• Garfield stuffed animals
• Beaches
• Charles in Charge
• A Fish Called Wanda
• Ickey Woods (The "Ickey Shuffle") and the Bash Brothers (Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire)
• Hypercolor T-shirts
• "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard
• Young Guns
• Alternative rock (specifically R.E.M., Jane's Addiction, and Sonic Youth)
• Vice President George H. W. Bush elected President of the United States
• Chia Pet
• Tracy Chapman
• Coming to America

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

Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on 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, Paul Pfeiffer and Miles Silverberg

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1988: The final episode of St. Elsewhere reveals that the entire series has taken place inside the mind of an autistic child

1989

• Weekend at Bernie's
• Doogie Howser M.D.
• "I Wanna Have Some Fun" by Samantha Fox
• The Clapper
• Field of Dreams
• Pete Rose
• "Just a Friend" by Biz Markie
• Thirtysomething
• Yuppie
• Richard Marx
• Driving Miss Daisy
• Zsa Zsa Gabor slaps a cop
• "Patience" by Guns N' Roses
• Rock N Roll Flowers (sound detection dancing flowers)
• Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique album
• Bo Jackson
• Designing Women
• York Peppermint Pattie
• House of Style
• Choose Your Own Adventure books
• When Harry Met Sally...

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

Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on 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: Samuel "Screech" Powers, Woody Allen and Steve Urkel

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1989: 87-year-old Carrie Stringfellow nearly gets embalmed after being mistaken for dead at a Springfield, Ohio funeral home

References

1. "I Love the '80s Strikes Back". The A.V. Club.

External links

• I Love the '80s Strikes Back at IMDb
• I Love the 80's Strikes Back on Internet Archive

Preceded by I Love the '70s

I Love the '80s Strikes Back

Next: I Love the '90s