80sRetroBlast

#OnThisDay 1989: NBC aired “A Very Brady Episode” on Day By Day—a full-on Brady Bunch dream parody with original cast members, recreated credits, and tons of inside jokes. Peak late-’80s nostalgia and a preview of the Brady revival to come. 📺

On this day in 1986, the Challenger disaster became one of the most sobering moments of the 1980s. A decade of optimism paused as millions watched live. It shattered the illusion that spaceflight was routine and left a lasting mark on culture, media, and a generation that never forgot.

Laverne & Shirley premiered 50 years ago today! Airing from January 27, 1976 – May 10, 1983. The show starred Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams in the title roles.

And then came The Master: Lee Van Cleef as an aging ninja roaming America in a van with his young student, tossing shuriken and Zen wisdom while hunted by Sho Kosugi. Totally ridiculous, totally ’80s, and undeniably cool—even if Dallas killed it.

NBC’s Friday nights kicked off with Legmen; college roommates paying rent by doing bail-bond legwork in sunny SoCal. Rock theme, stolen cars, and beautiful distractions. It only lasted 8 eps, but it set the tone: don’t take this night too seriously.

#OnThisDay in 1987: OHARA debuted on ABC.
For a moment, it was Mr. Miyagi as a cop: Yes, Pat Morita playing a meditative, martial-arts-using LAPD detective. Then came the dreaded NETWORK RETOOLING, stripping away everything cool because reasons. Classic ’80s TV whiplash.

Pure late-’80s first-run syndication excess: T & T.
🎶 mmmmm I put my faith in himmmmmmmmm 🎵
Weekends glued to syndicated action hour after action hour...pure 80s energy!

Rest in peace to T.K. Carter (69), who was found Friday at his home in Duarte, CA. An 80s screen icon, he is best remembered for his roles in The Thing, Punky Brewster, and Doctor Detroit. From Runaway Train to voicing The Transformers, he left an indelible mark on the decade.

The man...the machine...Street Hawwwwkkkkk.
A jet-powered motorcycle, neon visuals, and a Tangerine Dream theme that screamed 80s excess...

B.A.D. Cats mashed together muscle cars, loose-cannon policing, and pure early-’80s excess...right down to a real production car accidentally pulling people over on LA streets.

More Roboz because reasons

A Stephen J. Cannell fever dream that mashed Magnum, P.I., Simon & Simon, and early hacker culture into one sun-drenched package! Riptide is a perfect time capsule of the decade’s optimism about tech, adventure, and living on a boat in SoCal. Also: Roboz!!!

Backed by a Lee Greenwood theme that sounded more like a national anthem than a TV intro, this was peak 80s TV. Mountain rescues, call signs, and real-life Conrad family members on screen on location in the wild.

#OnThisDay 1982: E.T. and Friends aired on CBS. Hosted by Robin Williams, it’s a clip-heavy sci-fi riff-fest—made by the SAME team as It Came From Hollywood and feels like proto-MST3K years before 1988. Pure 80s pop culture.

#OnThisDay 1981: 🎄🐿️ A Chipmunk Christmas debuted on NBC.
The holiday special that cemented the modern voices of Alvin, Simon, Theodore & Dave (Ross Bagdasarian Jr. & Janice Karman) and turned Alvin’s selfless gift into a Christmas classic.

#OnThisDay in 1984: The Cabbage Patch Kids’ First Christmas hit ABC! 🎄🧸 At the peak of Cabbage Patch mania, the Kids got their own animated holiday adventure. Voices by Peter Cullen & music by Joe Raposo. Peak 80s toy-craze energy. #Retroblast #80sKids #Nostalgia

#OnThisDay in 1981: You Can’t Do That on Television hit Nickelodeon & the 80s were never the same. 💚
Real kids, sketch comedy, Barth’s Burgers, locker jokes = early Nick in a nutshell.
And SLIME? This show INVENTED it.
Whatever you do… don’t say “I don’t know.” 😆💚

1980s Jazzercise Print Ad #80sRetroBlast #80s #1980s #Jazzercise #BigHair #RadGear

1980s Jazzercise Print Ad

#80sRetroBlast #80s #1980s #Jazzercise #BigHair #RadGear

1987 Ray Ban Sun Glasses Print Ad

#80sRetroBlast #80s #1980s #RayBan #Sunglasses #Fashion

🎄 80s Retroblast: Remember Pinocchio’s Christmas (ABC, 1980)? Rankin/Bass gave us a non-Disney Pinocchio in full Animagic glory. AND it was Todd Porter’s national TV debut before he became Ham on Whiz Kids. A weird, wonderful holiday deep cut! 🪵✨🎁

#OnThisDay in 1980: 𝘽𝙊𝙎𝙊𝙈 𝘽𝙐𝘿𝘿𝙄𝙀𝙎 hits ABC! 👠📺
Tom Hanks & Peter Scolari disguise themselves as “Buffy & Hildegarde” to live in a women-only hotel.

Strike-delayed debut, messy S2 revamp, canceled ’82… then resurrected in reruns once Hanks blew up in Splash.

Pure, glorious, early-80s weirdness. 💄📺

#OnThisDay in 1989, AFV debuted...arriving right as camcorders + VCRs took over American living rooms. 📼🔥
A blizzard boosted the “one-shot” special to 32.8M viewers, launching a phenomenon of dads being hit in the nads.
Bob Saget. Ernie Anderson. VHS chaos.
America, this was YOU.

#OnThisDay in 1985, EWOKS: THE BATTLE FOR ENDOR dropped on ABC...and traumatized an entire generation of 80s kids.

Instead of just cute Ewoks, this sequel goes FULL DARK: Marauder raids, sorcery, monsters, Wilford Brimley grumping through Endor. Pure chaotic Lucasfilm energy.

📺⚡ #OnThisDay in 1987, Chicago TV got hacked by a Max Headroom knockoff.

WGN’s signal cut out → creepy Max mask bobbing in front of spinning metal.
Later on PBS → he returned, ranting nonsense… then got swatted on the bare butt with a flyswatter.

FCC + FBI = NO clues.
Pure 80s chaos.

🎶 80s Retroblast: On this week in 1985, Starship’s “We Built This City” hit #1 in America! 🏙️✨

Love it or love to poke fun at it, this glossy, high-energy anthem became one of the decade’s most iconic (and most debated!) hits. Pure 80s. 💥

#Starship #WeBuiltThisCity #80sMusic

☄️ 1984: Night of the Comet blazed into theaters!
Two Valley Girls, a comet apocalypse, and one of the coolest cult films of the 80s. 💄🔫
#80sRetroblast #NightOfTheComet #CultClassic

🎬 1981: 𝙋𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙮'𝙨 hit theaters!
The outrageous teen comedy that launched a decade of raunchy laughs and box-office gold.
“You’ll be glad you came!” 😉
#80sRetroblast #Porkys #80sMovies #TeenComedy

Rewatching Murphy Brown reminds you just how razor-sharp ‘80s TV could be. Candice Bergen was unstoppable, the FYI crew was iconic, and the show literally sparked a national debate! This was peak retro TV energy! Bold, smart, and way ahead of its time. 📺⚡️

🎬 1984: A Nightmare on Elm Street premiered in theaters!
Wes Craven’s dream demon Freddy Krueger made horror history...and haunted every sleepover after. 🔪💤
#80sRetroblast #NightmareOnElmStreet #FreddyKrueger #80sHorror

🎶 #OnThisDay in 1985: Jan Hammer’s Miami Vice Theme hit #1!
The neon pulse of the 80s. 🌴🎹
#MiamiVice #80sMusic #JanHammer #Retroblast