The mid ’80s saw a rush on dolls that “come to live with you.” Television ad space was filled with toys literally asking to be a part of your home. If Pound Puppies, Cabbage Patch Kids, or My Buddy were too cute for your taste, you could always adopt a Boglin. These grotesque rubber hand…
Hey Willy! ALF (Sega Master System) (1989)
The quirky, furry, wisecracking ALF had a bit of a cultural moment there in the late 1980s, enjoying a licensing spree spun out of the decently popular NBC sitcom. He got a cartoon, some toys on shelf, and a Pizza Hut hand puppet. He also had a handful of educational video games and toward the…
I’ve Got Pals Over Here – Popeye & Pals (1970s-80s)
I don’t know about you but from my end nothing enhances the enjoyment of a good block of cartoons like a bunch of kids crammed into a bleacher and loaded up with fried chicken and soda. Popeye’s Fried Chicken did this for, like, a really long time with “Popeye and Pals”, a kid’s block on…
The Secret’s Out- Storyphone (1990s)
I know that the 900-number industry isn’t exactly known for their respectability, but this one seems particularly shady. Who doesn’t like to have fun, am I right? And what better way than to spend three dollars for the first minute and thirty-five cents for each additional minute to call a phone number to hear someone…
Thinkabout (1979)
The Agency for Instructional Technology may sound like some actually-nefarious organization in the Fallout universe, but here in the real world they had a big role in creating and distributing educational programs and other tools to broadcast outlets and schools in the US and Canada. The ’70s saw a nation still rich with optimism about…
Popeye Sells Out – Popeye Commercials (1980s)
I get it, nothing in entertainment is sacred, cartoon characters least of all. If there’s a buck to be made by putting a character on a product, that buck will likely be made. That’s just the way it is. I’m not even a big Popeye guy. Are there big Popeye guys? If there are, I’m…
Push Witch – King’s Quest (Sega Master System) (1989)
While it was probably an easy decision to make – take Sierra’s insanely popular King’s Quest game and port it to your console to make $$$$ – it couldn’t have been easy to execute. Microsmiths and Parker Brothers were up to the task, and the end product is surprisingly better than I expected it to…
Radical Tunes – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1-900 Number (1990s)
I can picture the board room where this idea was pitched. It’s the ’90s, you’ve got a hot property that just released a movie that has a soundtrack and you want to make as much money as you can, right? Also happening at the same time is this saturation of near-scam 1-900 phone numbers with…
Gone Hollywood – 7-Eleven Movie Rentals (1986)
Not quite Blockbuster and not quite Redbox, 7-Eleven’s brief flirtation with a movie and VCR rental service in 1986 and 1987 was a weird sort of future vision that was a little too ahead of its time. MovieQuik (later RentaMovie) broke new ground by offering 24-hour rentals and no membership fees. The catch was that…
A Full Fledged Football Contest – Siskel & Ebert NES Reviews (1980s)
You’d assume that Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, the legendary film reviewers, would have a couple of really old man takes on video games and video game movies. And you’d be right! Thanks to this compilation on Youtube we’ve got a roundup of two Siskel & Ebert holiday gift guides along with their review of…