It's a Party in a Can!

Commercials could be pretty good in the 90s :)

Unreal Moments in Capeside, #5

In episode #5, "Hurricane", there's a hurricane. One that symbolizes the turmoil in the characters' lives. How fitting! Basically what goes down is that Gail's affair is out in the open, Pacey makes a lot of adamant gay accusations of his brother (why was this so acceptable back then??), Dawson realizes Jen isn't such a slut after all, and he also mends things with Joey. Pretty standard fare, I'd say. So what was unreal about it? Dawson's choice dialogue:

Never heard that one before.. kind of hoping it's a one-time thing.

TGIF!!

Full House, as you probably never imagined it..

Hot or Not #3

Name: Jimmy the Cab Driver

Occupation: Cab driver; music video interpreter

I Heart the Nineties Rating: Gonna have to go with Barney on this one, due to his constant dirty and assumingly smelly appearance

Before "Grounded for Life", I only knew Donal Logue as this character. This was back when MTV was a big part of my life. Between Beavis & Butthead, Daria, Real World, Road Rules and MTV Beach House, the channel was on all the time. And now, I can't even remember the last time I watched it. C'est la vie. I'm getting old, stuck in my ways, and saying things like "c'est la vie" to explain why I don't like modern stuff. Oh lordy...

But anyways, Jimmy the Cab Driver; if you're not familiar, check him out on the youtubes.

Beverly Hills, 90210 Trading Cards #17: Main Dudes

I wonder what the "main dudes" were discussing in this shot.. how much they truly appreciate their fans and all the attention they receive?

Fun & Games with the Teletubbies

Rediscovered a Teletubbies coloring book stashed away in a closet and naturally had to share a couple pages. According to the back, the format is to have every other page already colored so that children can add their own special touches. And then randomly they pre-colored a few items on the otherwise blank pages. Interesting concept.

At this point I find it's better not to think too deeply about why the Teletubbies are the way they are. It's much better to take them at face value than to ponder why Tinky Winky is described as "a sweet, technological baby with a magic bag."

Rescue 911: Silent Intruder

Since April Fools Day is coming up, here's a great idea for a prank: set up a creepy mannequin in your hallway for one of your family members to find when they come home from work. If they're anything like this chick, they'll flip out, run to the neighbor's house and said neighbor will call 911 reporting a break in. April Fools!

See, it pays off to spend time watching Rescue 911. This show gives great tips!

Beverly Hills, 90210 Trading Cards #15: The Dynamic Duo

1990 Grammys

Last summer I dug out a bunch of random VHS tapes from my mom's house to watch while I worked on my PEZ display board (which is awesome by the way). Aside from a bootleg copy of The Little Mermaid and episodes of Dinosaurs recorded from the tv, the absolute best was a tape of the 1990 Grammy awards. The commercials: so good! The music: even better!

I'm not technologically advanced enough to make a digital copy of a VHS tape, but I can share a couple highlights from that magical evening.

1. Who can forget the time when Milli Vanilli won Best New Artist, only to have it revoked when it was revealed they were phonies? Oh yeah, and Garry Shandling was there. But don't let that deter you from watching some sweet Milli Vanilli dance moves:

2. Billy Joel performed "We Didn't Start the Fire". I loooooved that song (still do) and that performance is the only memory I have of watching this awards show live.

3. Michael Bolton and Kenny G appeared together on stage and made awkward jokes about their noses.

4. This Pepsi commercial:

5. The local news for Detroit teased us with a medical breakthrough story coming up after the awards. Apparently doctors had fancy new cameras to use during gynecological exams.. and I will say the video clip shown was far from appealing. 

I'm so happy this tape didn't get recorded over!

Beverly Hills, 90210 Trading Cards #12: Expect the Unexpected

A lovely shot of Brandon getting friendly with his boss at the Beverly Hills Beach Club.

Someone remind me later that I have a ton of 90210 memorabilia to share!

Happy New Year!!

New Year's Rockin Eve: something to depend on. Twenty years later and still going strong! My fave part of this video is near the end where the couple who just got married are shown. How much more 1993/94 could they be??

Beverly Hills, 90210 Trading Cards #11: Cute Couple

Okay so I don't have much to say about this card, it's pretty typical and run of the mill. 

I do, however, have a related story. This evening I was watching an episode of Dinosaurs (more on that later) in which Earl is getting paid to give his opinion on new tv shows. One is titled "Pangaea Hills, Dino210". Dylan Damian is talking with Brenda Beth about how she might be "in trouble". What makes her think that? Well, she turns to the side and picks up an egg she had sitting near her. Ha!

Beverly Hills, 90210 Trading Cards #10: Terrific Trio

Fashion Aspiration

Nose job evidence aside, Quinn's fashion club rocked some pretty sweet outfits. Babydoll tees & dresses, shortalls, bare midriffs, striped shoulder athletic shirts, chunky heeled shoes, and those ponytail holders with big, plastic balls on them. Total betties.

Rescue 911: "Potty Peril"

This video is a full segment titled "Potty Peril" from the show Rescue 911. Hosted by William Shatner and featuring glorious amounts of re-enactments, it's definitely a gem of the 90s.

We begin by finding out a two year old has gotten her foot stuck in a toilet and no amount of dish soap is gonna make a difference. The mother calls 911, only to deal with a skeptical operator. Paramedics eventually show up but they're in need of an expert: a toilet expert, that is. While they wait for the fire captain to show up (the only toilet expert they can think of), they decide to unbolt and carry out the toilet and little girl in a huge crew to the driveway. This is deemed more professional than breaking the toilet inside the house. At this point I'm imagining what a scene it is for the neighbors, and then to do it all again for the re-enactment filming!

The father then shows up on a whim, with Bill Shatner saying: "The last thing he expected was to find his daughter stuck in the toilet." Once the captain shows up, he instructs his men how to approach and enter the toilet. What a line. Eventually the toilet is cracked open, little girl's foot is freed, and we're left with this timeless quote: 

"One thing that can be learned from this is never stand up in a toilet."

That is some sage advice, my friend. You are a toilet expert indeed.

Beverly Hills, 90210 Trading Cards #9: Head of the Clique

90s Problems: No Change for a Phone Call

As awesome as it is to basically have instant access to any tv show or movie I feel like watching, I still think back and sigh about the "good old days of tv". You know, when you actually watched commercials, or looked in the TV Guide to see what Saturday night movies would be on. I could still do those things, but puh-lease! I'm a Netflix and Hulu junkie now. Plus I don't have cable tv and dealing with poor digital channel reception is totally annoying. Instead I waste time watching old commercials on the YouTubes.

1-800-Collect has conveniently wrangled up a collection of their own gems. Oooh David Spade, tell me more about saving money on collect calls! I also enjoy that the 1-800-Collect site is like an homage to the internet of yore.

Don't forget that 1-800-Call ATT gave us their version, starring Carrot Top:

Can't remember the last time I made a collect call, but I do remember abusing the system like many others have done. Mostly this was to save the 25 or 35 cents which I was probably feeding into the vending machine instead. And then there were the times we used it for prank calling, when we'd see if anyone accepted the charges to speak with God or perhaps the Wyld Stallyns. Sometimes they did, and we'd hang up in terror and confusion.

Beverly Hills, 90210 Trading Cards #8: California Girl

A Note on Why the BSC Costume Designer Rules

Why does the costume designer for the Baby-Sitters Club tv show deserve an award? Mostly because of all the turtlenecks topped with baggy v-neck sweaters, highly-saturated colors galore, scrunchies, neon sunglasses and a smattering of acid-wash denim. But then there's this:

That's right, Kristy is wearing a shirt with a giant truck on it.

Beverly Hills, 90210 Trading Cards #7: Silver's Gold

I wish my job was to write the copy for collectible trading cards. Obviously it doesn't take much skill or time to slap these things together!