What do you miss the most about the '80s and '90s?

@Sturgis,

Steve Harvey, Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern still host radio shows.
Don't podcasts have something to do with radio?

0 Replies

@JGoldman10,

JGoldman10 wrote:

If people weren't listening to the radio anymore then why would these guys post audio clips of their radio show online, like this one?:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WD0q_F8aNc[/youtube]

FIXED.

0 Replies

I miss going to video rental stores in the '80s and '90s and renting video tapes. I miss going to video arcades, or going to places that still had arcade machines in them.

I remember going to video stores with my brother and dad. I remember joining certain local video stores, like Blockbuster Video and Palmer Video. Those were fun, simpler times.

I miss seeing arcade machines in places like a local 7-11 store, or in a local laundromat.

If you don't know what I am talking about you had to be there. I miss these experiences.

0 Replies

I also miss the days when traditionally-animated films were still being made and showcased in theatres. The days when you'd see and hear about said films on TV and in magazines. They even had TV specials on the making of some said films. The days when you could go and buy the movies on video after seeing ads on TV announcing they were released on VHS.

Sometimes you were hyped to see these movies. They weren't overhyped in the media, and people were not obsessed with them and constantly talking about them.

I think overhype ruins movies.

1 Reply

I kind of miss the days when information wasn't constantly thrown in your face, so to speak.

I miss the days when you didn't have to constantly have to figure out things for yourself, and more people didn't mind helping you if you didn't know how to do something. Being able to reach certain people to help you seemed a lot easier also.

Seems like a lot of people these days get annoyed if you ask them to help you. If I don't know something I am not ashamed to ask for help.

Sometimes it's a drag trying to figure out how to reach people who can help you.

0 Replies

I kind of miss the novelty and popularity of game shows back in the '80s and '90s, especially daytime game shows. Game shows pretty much dominated CBS' and NBC's daytime programming back in the 1980's and 1990's. ABC aired a few daytime game shows back in the '80s and '90s, which I wasn't aware of until I did some quick research on this.

Even some of the the primetime game shows were very popular. Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune were far more popular back in the '80s and '90s than they are now, if I am not mistaken.

We have Game Show Network, which showcases lots of gameshows 24/7, but I don't know how many game shows on there have mainstream appeal.

The only mainstream game show I know of that currently has any mainstream appeal is Family Feud but that is probably in part to Steve Harvey being the current host.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Greed, and Weakest Link are recent game shows that were at one time widely popular but these shows faded away into obscurity.

[/I]Jeopardy[/i] and Wheel of Fortune are still on, but it seems like no one really cares or even talks about them anymore.

I also miss the novelty and popularity of film review shows. Back in the '80s and '90s you had At the Movies with Siskel and Ebert, Leonard Maltin doing film reviews on CBS' Entertainment Tonight and Gene Shalit doing film reviews on NBC's The Today Show.

Film reviews on TV was something many Americans looked forward to. These days, if people want film reviews they can check them out online on sites like Rottentomatoes.com.

2 Replies

@JGoldman10,

Weakest Link stopped because it was awful. Ann Robinson is a terrible person, using a scriptwriter and prompter to insult others.

It was replaced by Pointless, a game show that is the exact opposite. The hosts are really nice and pleasant, and witty in their own right.

It's like the opposite of family fortunes, it's not popular answers that are required by obscure correct answers.

Peter Sissons speaks for all of us re Robinson.

3 Replies

@izzythepush,

I think this clip shows why they replaced Ann Robinson permanently.

0 Replies

@izzythepush,

I recall watching Weakest Link on American TV when the British hostess was on. They took her off and replaced her with an American. If I remember right the American host was just as obnoxious and off-putting.

Is/was Pointless a British game show? I have never heard of it.

1 Reply

@izzythepush,

izzythepush wrote:

Peter Sissons speaks for all of us re Robinson.

Is there a typo here? I don't understand your post Izzy.

0 Replies

@JGoldman10,

JGoldman10 wrote:

Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are still on, but it seems like no one really cares or even talks about them anymore.

FIXED.

They are still on American primetime TV, but I don't know how popular they are now. Just because something has been on TV a long time that doesn't mean it's popular.

Same could be said about daytime game shows like The Price Is Right and Let's Make A Deal, which are still on daytime TV.

I know Wheel of Fortune made history when it aired its 7000th episode not that long ago.

1 Reply

@JGoldman10,

JGoldman10 wrote:

I also miss the days when traditionally-animated films were still being made and showcased in theatres. The days when you'd see and hear about said films on TV and in magazines. They even had TV specials on the making of some said films. The days when you could go and buy the movies on video after seeing ads on TV announcing they were released on VHS.

Sometimes you were hyped to see these movies. They weren't overhyped in the media, and people were not obsessed with them and constantly talking about them.

I think overhype ruins movies.

Traditionally-animated theatrical films are still being made for American audiences but they are rare now. The last major American traditionally-animated theatrical film I can think of that was produced this century was Teen Titans Go! To The Movies. The last live-action/animated film I can think of that was produced this century that incorporated traditional animation into it was the new Mary Poppins movie that was released not that long ago.

Most American animated films being made now are 3D CGI-animated, and most American live-action/animated films made now incorporate 3D CGI-animation into them.

This is probably because current filmmakers think most modern audiences would rather watch "realistic" 3D animation as opposed to 2D traditional animation.

I could be wrong but I think another reason 2D traditional animation has fallen out of common use as far as making theatrical animated films are concerned is the studios who produce film animation now don't really consider it practical for the most part.

1 Reply

@JGoldman10,

Jeopardy is still popular. It recently got high ratings when the show's top champions returned for the "Greatest of All Time" special. The show in general may have received a boost in ratings when it was announced that Alex Trebek is battling cancer and he may have to leave the show.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/jeopardy-zoeys-extraordinary-playlist-tv-ratings-jan-7-2020-1268031

1 Reply

@JGoldman10,

Pointless, like Weakest Link and Who wants to be a Millionaire, is British.

Americans are very good at taking our ideas, in the case of Weakest Link they wanted Ann Robinson too.

I didn't make a typo. The newsreader's name is Peter Sissons and what he's saying about Ann Robinson could be said by most of the population of the UK.

0 Replies

@JGoldman10,

Quote:

This is probably because current filmmakers think most modern audiences would rather watch "realistic" 3D animation as opposed to 2D traditional animation.

The current computer animated films are not exactly realistic. They still have stylized art and exaggerated facial expressions. Disney recently uploaded a video for Frozen 2, comparing one scene's original storyboards and the completed animated scene.

The only major exception is the Lion King remake, but despite being financially successful, it was criticized for the animals' lack of facial emotion.

From what I have seen, realistic animation is usually reserved for video games, like the recent Batman games.

1 Reply

@Rebelofnj,

Hi Rebel. What about Wheel of Fortune?

How popular are the game shows they air on GSN? How many people, outside of watching GSN, which is a cable/satellite TV network, know what they are?

For example, how many people outside of GSN know what Catch 22, Chain Reaction, and Idiotest are?

1 Reply

@Rebelofnj,

I know most 3D CGI film animation being made now isn't realistic that's why I put "realistic" in quotes. By "realistic" I mean they give the characters and such in these films realistic-looking renderings, lighting and shading elements, reflections, etc.

Look at the handful of live-action/CGI-animated films based on classic and popular cartoon characters and video game characters that have come out recently.

Yogi Bear, Woody Woodpecker, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Sonic the Hedgehog, for example, have all been designed to look naturalistic.

I think filmmakers assume most moviegoers want to see this.

I would not be surprised if Disney and Warner Bros. decided to make any live-action/CGI-animated movies in which their major cartoon stars were rendered naturalistically. However a naturalistic looking Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny for example might look creepy.

I read somewhere WB was making a live-action/CGI-animated Marvin the Martian movie and a Hong Kong Phooey one like this but I guess these projects were scrapped.

I saw screenshots from both film projects. Marvin and Hong Kong looked weird.

1 Reply

@JGoldman10,

The live action Yogi Bear and Woody Woodpecker were financial flops, meaning audiences didn't care for them. I keep forgetting they even exist. Alvin and the Chipmunks was successful primary because of the soundtrack.

Sonic the Hedgehog originally had a more naturalistic look before backlash forced a more cartoonish design. Whether it will be a box office success is too early to say.

Audiences clearly favor computer animation over traditional animation, as Disney's last attempts The Princess & The Frog and Winnie the Pooh were not as successful as their computer animated films Tangled and Frozen. This was explained to you many times before.

1 Reply

@JGoldman10,

I'm guessing Wheel of Fortune is still popular, seeing as it is still on the air.

I'm also guessing the viewership of those game shows are poor. I haven't even heard of them. I'm aware of GSN, though I haven't watched it in years.

Maybe it's because I'm still young (well, young in relative to most people here), but this question thread seems to be about complaining how many aspects of today's world are terrible and that the past is better, under rose tinted glasses.

1 Reply

@Rebelofnj,

Rebelofnj wrote:

The live action Yogi Bear and Woody Woodpecker were financial flops, meaning audiences didn't care for them. I keep forgetting they even exist. Alvin and the Chipmunks was successful primary because of the soundtrack.

Sonic the Hedgehog originally had a more naturalistic look before backlash forced a more cartoonish design. Whether it will be a box office success is too early to say.

Audiences clearly favor computer animation over traditional animation, as Disney's last attempts The Princess & The Frog and Winnie the Pooh were not as successful as their computer animated films Tangled and Frozen. This was explained to you many times before.

I thought the naturalistic-looking Chipmunks looked creepy.

I am well aware of the backlash concerning Sonic's original movie design. I mentioned it in another thread and I saw and read stuff about it online.

Why do audiences favor 3D CGI animation over 2D traditional animation? Most 2D traditionally-animated films made now are produced using digital ink and paint.

Is it because current audiences find 2D stuff boring?

How successful were the new Mary Poppins and Teen Titans Go! theatrical films?

It's been said WB is planning on producing a new live-action/CGI-animated Speedy Gonzales film. The man who is supposed to be supplying the titular character's voice talked about it when he was being interviewed on Steve Harvey's talk show.

Are they planning to make Speedy look naturalistic?

1 Reply

What do you miss the most about the '80s and '90s?

Related Topics

Quick Links

My Account

able2know