Author | Lightnews

Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 5h

And now I'm missing "Double Rush," the short-lived "Robert Pastorelli should have his own show!" series that had all the things I wanted out of a sitcom in the 1990s:

1. Regular appearances by Corinne Bohrer
2. End of list

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 18h

"Never did anything called 'Ozzymandias'"? Ozzy's not a Republic serial villain. Do you seriously think he'd explain his masterstroke if there remained the slightest chance of anyone affecting its outcome?

He did it thirty-five minutes ago.

(but no, that would have been cool if he'd done that)

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 18h

I'd forgotten that "Just Tell Me What You Want" was a movie, and I briefly hoped it was literally just that.

"Here's $7; I want 'The Godfather,' along with a 1939 newsreel and the Cinemascope Tom & Jerry cartoon of your choice."

"...theater 7. Gimme 20 minutes to get you set up."

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 2d

For a time after the GOP took Congress in 1994, the opening changed to the same voice saying "America: The way it ought to be." But that was probably less "Take heart, listeners: 'Mr. Newt' has the gavel!" and more "I need people feeling upbeat enough to spend money on my newsletter and ties."

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 2d

I have nothing to add to this discussion except I had a friend who was SUPER into Digimon in the 2000s, and I used to aggravate him by asking, "Is there some kind of song that explains what 'Digimon' is short for, and specifies whether or not they're champions?"

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 3d

Thank you -- I came here looking for exactly this!

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 4d

Sam Eagle had an unrequited crush on Janice in ABC's "The Muppets." I don't know if that was a thing before that show or not, but it was absolutely perfect for him.

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 4d

Getting flashbacks to the woman I dated, once, circa 2010. I didn't MEAN to visibly recoil and upset her during dinner, but I was genuinely caught off-guard by "Obama's nuts. He'd turn us all Muslim if he could."

Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 4d

Guy who has only played Ultima IV, playing Dante's Inferno: Getting a lot of 'Ultima IV' vibes from this...

Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 5d

Aww, no, I thought you were doing a bit and I was playing along! And then the next person would reply to me like "You're thinking of Roy Scheider. Rob Schneider was the host of Tomorrow and The Late Late Show." And then it would keep going! My apologies!

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 5d

You're thinking of John Schneider. Rob Schneider is the actor who was in Jaws and SeaQuest DSV.

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 6d

That's a better punchline than Dennis Miller's from (sigh) 1988: "After getting 0 percent of the Iowa caucus vote -- that's 0 percent -- Al Haig pulled out of the race yesterday and said he was throwing ALL of his support to Bob Dole." (extra-smarmy voice) "Well, THANK you, AL!"

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 6d

"The Ark fell to Earth with a mighty impact -- an impact that would not be matched for more than 4 million years, until the release of the unrelated Belgian techno anthem 'Pump Up the Jam.'"

Philomena Cunk, from "Cunk on Earth," a series which frequently segues into the unrelated 1989 Belgian techno anthem, "Pump Up the Jam."

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 7d

Any chance it's this one?

Zoolander - That's what I'm talking about!

YouTube video by DECAF1980

www.youtube.com

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 7d

I feel like if I heard "1+1=2" more often, I'd never shut up about Sela Ward dancing around and selling long distance calls.

Sela Ward Sprint commercial: "1+1=2"

YouTube video by Brian Smith

www.youtube.com

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 8d

Reporter I know, some years back, speaking sincerely: "I talked to Jessie Misskelley of the West Memphis Three last night, and he was hanging out in Aspen with EDDIE VEDDER! Do you ever think, 'I could spend 18 years in prison for that kind of life'?"

Me: "....NO"

Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 8d

I knew that the VHS version of 1989's "Batman" was revolutionary because it was priced at $25 max, but I'd forgotten that 1. it skipped the old theater/airline/premium cable/video rental model by going straight to "video sale," and 2. there were NOT a lot of other hit movies to buy that Christmas!

From the last week of December 1989, it's the top videocassette sales (mostly older films and music specials priced to own), as compared to the top videocassette rentals (mostly VHS tapes that cost $99.95). All ranked by Billboard magazine:

VIDEOCASSETTE SALES:
1. Batman (Warner)
2. Bambi (Disney)
3. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Touchstone)
4. The Land Before Time (MCA)
5. The Wizard of Oz: The 50th Anniversary Edition (MGM-UA)
6. New Kids on the Block: Hangin' Tough Live (CBS)
7. New Kids on the Block: Hangin' Tough (CBS)
8. Lawrence of Arabia (RCA-Columbia)
9. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Family)
10. Gone With The Wind: The 50th Anniversary Edition (MGM-UA)
11. White Christmas (Paramount)
12. Frosty the Snowman (Family)
13. The Best of Eddie Murphy: Saturday Night Live (Paramount)
14. Paula Abdul: Straight Up (Virgin)
15. It's a Wonderful Life (Roach)

VIDEOCASSETTE RENTALS
1. Batman (Warner)
2. Ghostbusters II (RCA-Columbia)
3. Scrooged (Paramount)
4. K-9 (MCA)
5. Say Anything (CBS-Fox)
6. Three Fugitives (Touchstone)
7. Working Girl (CBS-Fox)
8. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Touchstone)
9. Rain Man (MGM-UA)
10. Major League (Paramount)

Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 10d

I finally had the free time today to track down one of my single favorite installments of any comic strip ever. It's from the largely forgotten "Tommy," by Jay Martin, which was running in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch when I saw this 29 years ago:

Jay Martin's "Tommy," a short-lived comic strip that debuted less than a year after "Calvin & Hobbes" ended, and which clearly tried to pick up Bill Watterson's baton and run with it. Here, in a dream, we see young Tommy, dressed smartly in a shirt, tie and suspenders, sitting behind a desk in an office. He's talking to Gus, his dream companion, a black humanoid blob with giant white eyes. He is ALSO dressed smartly and wearing suspenders.

Tommy, pointing accusingly at Gus: "Let me put it this way, Gus. Even if I DO get this proposal out, and even if it IS accepted, and even if I DO get the Barkeley account...I STILL won't think this is a very good dream!"

Gus, confused: "Even with the promotion?"

Image saved from the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Dec. 24, 1996, courtesy Newspapers.com

Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 11d

"Superman III" gave us a plot point for "Office Space," the Superman/Clark Kent fight, and the line "I ask you to kill Superman, and you're telling me you couldn't do that one, simple thing," and yet, somehow, it's still not a good movie!

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 12d

I think I have to turn in some kind of MST3K badge, because the Spring Sprite was not the first Coily who popped into my head

An image from the early 1980s "Q*bert" cartoon, set in the vaguely 1950s town of Q*berg, featuring (from left) archnemesis Coily, his henchman Wrong-Way, his best girl Viper and his other henchman Ugg.

(If you know the Q*bert video game, but you don't know about this cartoon, and you're trying to reconcile the color-change game with this image...please stop. It can't be done.)

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 13d

Liked because, for reasons known only to God, I tried to read this like “How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in…”

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 13d

In the '90s, there was a day when both MTV and VH1 were playing Sting's "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You", but not quite at the same time. I flipped back and forth, and that's my favorite version of the song:

If I / If I / LOSE my / LOSE my / you,
There'd be nothing LEFT for / LEFT for / do.

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 13d

And immediately I'm wanting to rewatch Tom Cruise's "Edge of Tomorrow."

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 14d

The observation during the Bush presidency was something like, "He gave up drinking in 1986. Within 5 years, he was a co-owner of the Texas Rangers. Within 10 years, he was governor of Texas. Within 15 years, he was the president. Is it any wonder that he thinks he can succeed at anything?"

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Brian Smith @onemorebrian.bsky.social · 15d

I think there are multiple ways to interpret the song. For instance, when I was a 14-year-old boy staying up late on a Friday night in July 1987, my interpretation was "I would die for this woman."

Sheena Easton - Strut (Tonight Show '87)

YouTube video by Sheenaeaston Vids1

www.youtube.com

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