Retro Spins: Nu Shooz - Told You So

I have this problem. When I see 80's albums from artists I know in a dollar bin, I pick it up. Even if I don't know any of the songs on it. Even if the artist was considered a one hit wonder. Something in my head says, "You can't leave this here."

Such is the case of today's Retro Spins, Nu Shooz...Shooz's? Yeah, their follow up album, I Told You So. I had zero expectations for this record.

I was honestly surprised to see the song, Should I Say Yes?, had hit the charts in 1988. Though it only made its way to forty-one, I would have thought I would have at least heard it before. It was an okay tune, but by no means was it anything really memorable.

As I listened more and more to the tracks, something bad happened, quickly followed by something I found rather amusing. First, I started to feel like every song was sounding too familiar from the last (the bad). There was really nothing distinguishing each track. They had the same pace, the same sound, and the same dull lyrics. Then the funny happened. Track four, Wonder, started, and I busted out laughing. The music sounded straight out of a Leisure Suit Larry game. I'm sure you'd have had to been there and be thinking what I was thinking for it to be funny, but to me, it was. That kind of derailed the whole listening session a bit.

From there, I found myself getting bored with the album. To the point where I was actually sitting back in my chair with my eyes closed, fighting the urge to fall asleep. The songs weren't poorly written. They weren't annoying sounding. They were just boring.

Overall, the album has too much of an "easy listening" vibe to it. All the songs are slow paced, and don't evoke any form of excitement in them. This is the kind of album you'd have thrown on in the 80's if you had a woman over for dinner, and were on your couch with a glasses of wine. It's by no means top 40 material, and it's also no surprise it was Nu Shooz last album for a very long time.

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Hasbro G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Breaker

 

Communications Officer
Code Name: Breaker

File Name: Kibbey, Alvin R.     SN:RA757793518
Primary Military Specialty: Infantry
Birthplace: Gatlinburg, Tennessee     Grade: E-4

Breaker is familiar with all NATO and Warsaw Pact communication gear as well as most world export devices. Specialized Education: Signal School; Cover Electronics; Project Gamma. Qualified Expert: M-16; M-1911A; MAC-10 (Ingram). (CLASSIFIED: Speaks Seven Languages).

"He's efficient and self-assured and has an uncanny ability to turn adverse situations to his favor."

 *Above text from the original 1982 / 1983 file card.

He's Breaker. Communications Officer of G.I. Joe. A straight arm figure released in 1982 as one of the original ten carded figures, and again in 1983 as wave 1.5, featuring the all new swivel action arms. He's a character often featured in the original series of cartoons, throughout the Marvel comic book series, and a figure I didn't have as a kid.

I've said this time and time again here at The Toy Box, and I'm sure I'll say it numerous more times moving forward, but I didn't start getting G.I. Joe toys until around 1987. At that point, it was too late to get a lot of the figures that made up the original 1982 through 1986 waves, unless they by chance were warming pegs at a random store - Which they weren't.

Breaker was also one of the many figures who didn't see any form of re-release beyond 1983. With exception of the straight arm and swivel arm variants, he was never a character added to any of the numerous sub-series, such as Tiger Force or Night Force. So basically, if you didn't get this one in 1983, chances are high you didn't own him as a kid.

I didn't get my hands on Breaker until March 2, 2019, and looking back on that purchase, it was a rather difficult one to come by. I always knew I wasn't going to grab any of the straight arm figures, because I didn't see the point of buying both the 1982 and 1983 versions. However, even then, I continued to put off the "green uniform" classic figures of '83 for the flashier colored wave two and beyond.

While this didn't stop me from periodically looking into the figure, I remember always walking away saying, "If I have to spend $60.00 on a figure, I'd rather by (insert figure name)." As my collecting days dwindled to a close, and my collection of 1983 - 1987 was wrapping up, time eventually came around to getting the wave 1.5 figures I had passed on so many times before. This, however, proved difficult. Suddenly, the figures I was focusing on were unavailable. I checked on ebay day after day, inputting the multiple search parameter combinations to locate one; "Breaker 1983 Complete Figure," "Breaker Swivel Arm Complete," Etc.

Even when finally finding one, I had to go a roundabout way of putting mine together for completeness. I grabbed the figure, and then had to buy the accessories separately. I of course only did this because I was able to find everything in separate listings before clicking the various, "Buy It Now" buttons.

Overall, I was able to put together a nice looking "set" for my collection of Joes, and I was totally thrilled to finally have one in my collection. The days leading up to finally getting one was killing my OCD. The thought that I had to have one was in my head, and it was driving me mad not being able to scratch that itch.

One of the issues I was having in finding this, well, beyond not being able to find the swivel arm version, was that when I did stumble across one, the paint was all kinds of torn up on the silver pouches, brown beard and hair or black vest straps. The one I ended up with isn't in as nice a condition as I would have ultimately wanted, but I had to get this figure off my want list. The search was killing me.

Breaker isn't my favorite G.I. Joe figure, but that doesn't make having it any less important to me. He's a crucial character not only to the series, but to the 1982 / 1983 line-up. Falling in that sweet spot of 1983 to 1987 made owning this one integral to the overall "completion" of my collection.

These days, my G.I. Joe collecting is pretty much done. I didn't collect everything from the 1982 to 1994 vintage series, nor did I intend on doing so. Though with that said, I did end up buying more than I initially intended to, expanding well beyond 1987.

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Stuff For Sale

 

***UPDATE*** ALL SOLD!

2022 is the year of slimming down "stuff". It's time to start shedding myself of the items that are taking up space, but have run their course in my "need" for having them.

This is a long shot, but if any of you are interested in these items, please let me know. Local pick-up is ideal, but I know not feasible for some of you. I also am one of those difficult people who don't take PayPal. All sales through cash, cashier's check or money order.

Complete Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future Figure Set
$100.00 for all 10
Some of the weapons are brittle and broken, but all are included

Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future carded figures
Captain Power and Lord Dread
$30.00 for the set
Includes Zoloworld protector cases

Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future
Power On Station with complete Captain Power figure
$15.00

Buy all three "sets" of Captain power for $125.00

G.I. Joe
Defiant Space Vehicle Launch Complex
Complete, but hose is a replacement, and some parts are glued. Launch crank works - No figures
$900.00

Terror Drome
Complete with Firebat, and figure
$600.00

G.I. Joe
USS Flagg with two (2) Skystriker Planes (no parachutes)
Complete with Keel Haul (no gun) and Ace figures, and original instructions for the Flagg
Original tabs, but one is broken
$3,000.00
All other figures and vehicles in the photo are not included

Buy all three playsets for $4,000.00. I will not ship these playsets. Pickup only.

Star Wars Movie Viewer (MovieViewer) with Cassettes
Complete in boxes
$100.00 for the set

COPS
Carded Bullet-Proof and Big Boss
Includes Zoloworld cases
$250.00 for the set

The Real Ghostbusters Firehouse and Ecto-1 (Ecto-1 missing orange ghost)
Includes all four original Ghostbusters (100% complete with unbroken proton packs and ghosts)
Also includes various ghosts and additional figures
All original Kenner line, no re-releases
$600.00 for all of it

I will not ship this playset / figures. Pickup only.

LJN Michael Jackson Dolls
Complete clothing set with dolls, some with microphones and glasses
$125.00 for all seven

Various boxed Nintendo Entertainment System games (NES games)
All are complete with game, instructions, black sleeve, foam block,
and in some cases, additional paperwork
Prices vary, and a deal can be made for bulk purchases

I will also be reaching out to local toy stores to see if they have any interest, so if you do, reach out sooner than later. The idea is to downsize quickly.

To get in contact with me, simply leave a comment in the comment section with your e-mail address and item(s) you are interested in. This won't be published. As a reminder, I don't accept PayPal. I only take cash, cashier's checks or money orders.

I won't ship the playsets. They are too large, and too fragile. Pickup only. All other items an be shipped, but buyer pays shipping costs, which will be flat rate USPS priority boxes. This keeps all shipping exact and fair.

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Retro Spins: Phil Collins - ...But Seriously

Wow, it's 2022 already!

This year's theme for Retro Spins is Sequels and Prequels. What that means is I'll be listening to an album from someone I've already heard and reviewed something from. The album will fall either before or after said album, thus the theme.

Before I start, let me explain the pictures for the album I'll be posting. The "solid" photo is of the album I'm reviewing, while the "reflection" image is the one in which I reviewed already. It's probably self explanatory, and most of you would have caught on to that, but I thought I'd go ahead and point it out anyway.

Alright, off we go!

...But Seriously is Phil Collins last entry into the 1980's (1989). It was released just shy of one year apart from the film Buster, which was Collins' big screen debut. I mention this, because in 1989, the number one hit single from the film, Two Hearts, was still eating up the charts.

By November, Collins' new hit, Another Day In Paradise entered the charts, and quickly shot up the charts to number one by December 23rd. As the world swung into a new decade, the hits kept coming. Wish It Would Rain entered the charts in February at number seventy-one, but would only go to number three before beginning its drop.

However, Collins was far from down and out. Do You Remember? (4), Something Happened On The Way To Heaven (4) and Hang In Long Enough (27) all hit the charts. The number in parentheses is where the highest charting position for the song by the end of the year. Hang In Long Enough even stuck around for part of 1991, continuing its climb from number twenty-seven to twenty-three before falling back off the charts.

Interesting enough, in February 1991, Collins' 1985 single, Who Said I Would entered the charts at number eighty-three. Though it would disappear the following week. Then grunge happened, and music was over. The end.

When I fired up, ...But Seriously, I immediately noticed it didn't sound as pop oriented as the singer's prior albums. With its opening horn segment, the album set the tone for a more mature kind of album. Though they were present, synthesizers didn't feel like a main focal point on the record. This certainly wasn't a bad move, as 80's music was drastically changed from that of its original synthpop roots from 82 - 85. It was good to hear Collins was progressing appropriately with the times.

I ended up pulling six of the twelve songs from the album for my 80's shuffles. Those were; Hang In Long Enough, Do You Remember, Something Happened On The Way To Heaven, I Wish It Would Rain, Another Day In Paradise and Find A Way To My Heart. Honestly, I was surprised by that amount as I really didn't expect to find as many tracks as I did that I liked.

Overall, it was a good listening session. I won't say this often, but it actually makes me a little curious to see what Collins went on to do in the 90's and beyond. Considering I have a fair amount of albums from him from latter eras, I may just have to find out sooner than later.

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Kenner Star Wars R2-D2

 

Welcome to my thirteenth year hear at The Toy Box. This year, things are going to be a bit different. While posts will continue to come at you every Monday, they won't always be ones focused on cataloging toy lines. In fact, for the most part, they won't be. Rather, I'll be looking at the items in my personal collection, focusing on one particular item at a time.

The format will stray from that of a straight up review, instead focusing on my own personal perspective on item. If it was something I had as a child, I'll share some personal fond memories. Or if it's something I acquired as an adult, I speak to what drew me to it.

I'd like to incorporate some of my own personal artwork, such as the piece you see to the left of this paragraph. The purpose is for nothing more than the fun of it, and the designs of each piece will be in a way that's a homage of sorts to the actual toy.

Everything launches today with a look at R2-D2 from the vintage Star Wars Kenner line.

I was four years old when I got my first Star Wars figures, and R2-D2 was not among them. Sadly, I don't know when I got my original R2 unit, but I know I had one. In fact, looking back on the entire vintage collection, I actually had all but three figures from the entire 1979 - 1985 line. The only ones I was missing were Luke Skywalker (in Stromtrooper Disguise), R2-D2 with Pop-Up Lightsaber and Yak Face. The latter of which I would have never even known about, since it was never released in the USA. Whenever it came to be in my assortyment of toys, I know that from that point on I played with it a lot.

While I don't have any memories directly about this figure, I will say that one of the things that meant a lot to me then, and still means a lot to me know, is how my mother knew all of the figure's names. 

Even now, I sometimes get into conversations with her, and sit back with smile as she starts prattling off the various names of what she calls, "The Star Wars People." I don't know what it is that makes me so happy about this. I guess it just really means a lot to me that my mom cared enough about what I was interest in as a kid to make sure she knew what I was talking about.

Even my sister, who is seven years older than I am, loves to remind me of what I would do as a kid. I would sit across from her with my Star Wars Darth Vader carrying case, pull out a figure and hold it up, waiting for her to tell me who it was. Though I don't think she necessarily remember who any of them are at this point. Maybe I should load up a case and go over to her place and test her.

As time went by, my original R2-D2 eventually got up sized to the sensor scope version released in The Empire Strikes Back waves. However, by the time I got one, it was well past the time to have a replacement. The dome on my original was chipping, and the sticker all but gone from around its body. Overall, it was in pretty bad shape.

I kept all of my original toys until around 1990 / 1991, when we moved from Oregon to Virginia. It was at this point that I was starting high school, and decided it was time for me to be done with them. Yes, it was one of the stupidest decisions I have ever made in life. But, I suppose many of us did.

It wouldn't be until September of 2016 that I would start collecting toys again. At first, I only wanted to collect a couple of the main characters from various toy lines to display on a shelf above my computer. This started with the vintage Masters of the Universe line, which quickly spiraled out of control. One figure turned into two, turned into six turned into all of them.

However, it wouldn't be until December of 2017 that I would turn my attention back to the original toy line I played with as a kid. R2-D2, as seen in these photos, would become this sixth figure in the original wave of Kenner's Star Wars toys that I would add to my collection. I spent hours pouring over ebay listings, looking for just the right one. Star Wars figures were expensive, and if I was going to do this, I was going to do it right. 100% complete, 100% no repro, and while note necessarily mint, in an affordable condition meeting the first two requirements that I could be happy with. Overall, I did alright for myself.

Despite being the sixth figure in the series that I bought, R2-D2 is displayed as the first Star Wars figure on my shelf, leading off into the entire vintage line in all its displayed glory. I can, and have, lost a lot of time just sitting or standing in front of the various shelves of figures, drifting off into memories, smiling at great times from the past, while yearning for the hear and now to just slow down a bit so that I can enjoy being a kid for one more moment.

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Book Of Boba Fett

 

So I haven't gotten a chance to actually sit down and watching the first episode yet, but I must admit that the poster released recently intrigues me.

I don't know who's idea at Disney it was to team up everyone's favorite bounty hunter with DEVO, but man am I pumped for that! I dig the futuristic helmet they gave the band. It feels like Star Wars, but it's also clearly a throwback to their patented style hats.

Great job, Disney! Maybe there's hope for you after all.

Are we not hunters? We are DEVO! D-E-V-O!!!!!!

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Retro Spins: Culture Club - Colour By Numbers

Culture Club's impact in 80's pop culture was massive. Their first two albums, Kissing To Be Clever (1982) and Colour By Numbers (1983) featured multiple chart toppers, a handful of which went to number one. As such, it's a shame it was so brief.

For a band which had so much going for them, it was disappointing to see them fall apart between 1984 and 1986. Their third album, Waking Up With The House On Fire (1984) was poorly received, and failed to provide much commercial success. It didn't help that Boy George had been struggling with an addiction to heroin. From there, album sales continued to plummet with their last entry in the 80's, From Luxury To Heartache (1986). This album did even worse than the prior.

So let's forget about those last two albums, for now anyway. Instead, I want to focus on what I think is probably their most successful album of all time, 1983's Colour By Numbers. It features hits such as; Karma Chameleon, It's A Miracle, Church Of The Poison Mind and Miss Me Blind.

Unfortunately, with the exception of Stormkeeper, I didn't personally find much more here. The rest of the album is a little boring. Further, the remaining tracks simply can't hold a candle to the powerhouse of the singles. It makes them almost feel like throw away songs.

As a whole, it was okay, but it didn't wow me. I was actually really surprised by that. I honestly expected to be blown away.

I'm still very interested in hearing more from the band. Mostly the latter 80's albums, which I don't think I've ever heard before. More so because of Freddie Mercury praising Boy George as a singer to watch. In that regard, I want to really believe there is much more to the band than just the hits.

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Christmas 2021: Part II

 

With the kids gone, it was time for my girl and I to have a little quite time, and enjoy our own Christmas.

We started our day by ordering some breakfast from Panera. Well, sort of. While my girl got a bagel with cream cheese, I ordered a turkey bacon bravo sandwich. We had so many eggs from the pizzas the past couple days that I was sick of all breakfast related foods.

After eating, we let the dog do his thing with some Christmas treats and new toys.

He still has several more treats, but the toys did not survive the day.

With the dog fully content, we proceeded with opening the gifts from each other.

The Christmas elves must have been talking with each other because my girl filled in the two blanks of Amazing Spider-Man comics my brother didn't get. She also got me this awesome Archie: 80 Years of Christmas digest.

I'm not sure where she found this cool G.I. Joe beer can, but its pretty awesome. This is a legit can from the 1980's by Schell's Brewery. I'd never heard of it until today, and have no clue if it was intended to be related to the Hasbro license.

I also got this amazing Probe Droid from the 1980's Turret & Probot Playset from Kenner's The Empire Strikes Back line. I toyed (no pun intended) around with adding this one to my vintage collection, but never did. Now I don't have to worry about it anymore.

You can't have Christmas without great snacks that you wouldn't normally buy year round. This year I got some Pocky, S'more Moose Munch, caramel apple coffee, and a Walker's rich fruit pudding. I can never finish the latter, it's simply too big. But, man, do I love trying.

One of the things I have been kicking around in my head is that when I redo my kitchen, I'm going to do it in an homage to the Fallout series. This will include red plates and utensils, as well as appliances. To help me in starting with that, I got all of these great Fallout themed items.

Above is the re-released Jones Soda Nuka-Cola Quantum and two drinking glasses. Below is the official cookbook, a new coffee mug, and some hand towels.

I also got these awesome metal signs to hang up.

This is a great start in implementing my plan!

Last up, I got two more cartoon series on DVD, and a couple CD's!

Beetlejuice and Heathcliff will fit in nicely among my collection, and are ones I have been eager to revisit. I'm so incredibly backlogged though, so I don't know when I'm going to get to these. I may have to bump them up on the watch list.

These two CD's in the "Now" collection are awesome on so many levels. First and foremost, I have to correct myself. While it may look like two CD's, each one is actually five discs. What makes these so great is that the title, "Forgotten 80's" is no joke. There are so many obscure and great tracks from artists that never saw an official CD release, or if they did are stupid expensive. This is a great way to fill in so many of those gaps. Each set contains a whopping one hundred songs!

We finished the day by ordering some Indian food, and settling in with Don't Look Up. This movie may boast a star studded cast, and even has some funny moments. However, quite frankly it's a very depressing movie. Overall, I didn't enjoy this one.

My goal is to finish the night off on a more positive note, and for that, I'm turning to the Netflix film, Klaus. I'm also going to flip through my new cookbook while watching it.

Though we had some up and down moments with the kids, overall it was a great visit, and an enjoyable Christmas. It's sad that it's over, but also relieving at the same time.

I hope that all of you had an equally great holiday. Here's to you, your family, and to a new year on the horizon. Merry Christmas!

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Cartoons Of The 80's: 1989

 

I hope everyone had a good Christmas, if you celebrate it, or week, if you don't. Today, I'm wrapping up my series based on a decade long era of cartoons. So with little to no delay, let's jump into the cartoons of 1989. 

Title: Beetlejuice
Air Date: September 1989 0 December 1991
Seasons: Four
Episodes: Ninety-Four
DVD Release: Yes

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!

Yes, the one and only, and based on the highly popular Tim Burton film, it's...Well...duh, Beetlejuice.

By 1989, my cartoon watching was pretty much done and over with. I was full on hooked to the Nintendo Entertainment System, and that got the majority of my television attention. In hindsight, I'm pretty bummed out that I missed such an iconic cartoon, so thank goodness it's available on DVD. This one was actually on my Christmas list for my girl, and though I'm writing this post in advance to the holiday, fingers are crossed it will be under the tree.

Title: The California Raisin Show
Air Date: September - December 1989
Seasons: One
Episodes: Thirteen
DVD Release: Yes

Man, The California Raisins were a massive success in the 80's and early 90's. Who know then a series of singing claymation raisins could take the world by such a storm?

Their success led to a short lived animated series in 1989. However, this was a traditionally animated series, featuring the Raisins, and of course, music.

This series has indeed been released on DVD, and it's quite a collection to get. The California Raisins Collection not only features all thirteen episodes of the series, but commercials and two additional claymation shorts.

Title: Camp Candy
Air Date: September 1989 - September 1992
Seasons: Three
Episodes: Forty
DVD Release: No

John Candy as a camp counselor at his own surname camp, starring John Candy himself? Yes please! Think Earnest Goes To Camp, and then extended over forty animated episodes. It was formulaic at its best, but in a good way.

Well, at least I think it was a good way. I mean, it did last for three seasons, all of which I missed completely. Sadly, I don't have the opportunity to catch up on this series, as it's never been released on DVD. Darn.

Title: Captain N: The Game Master
Air Date: September 1989 - October 1991
Seasons: Three
Episodes: Thirty-Four
DVD Release: Yes

For someone as big into Nintendo as I was, you would think this was a series I tuned into every week to get my fill of iconic NES characters in cartoon form. Whereas the truth of the matter is that this wasn't on my radar in the slightest. I don't think I even knew it existed until about a decade ago, if even.

The entire series has been released across a couple DVD sets. However, both are out of print, and very expensive. Fortunately for me, my girlfriend got me the first set a few years ago, and I was graced with the opportunity to place a very low starting bid on a listing about a year ago for the second series, that nobody else bid on, and I won. SCORE!

Title: Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers
Air Date: March 1989 - November 1990
Seasons: Three
Episodes: Sixty-Five
DVD Release: Sort Of

Though I may not have watched many cartoons in 1989, The Disney Afternoon was a block I rarely missed. Among the classics of DuckTales, Tale Spin, and The Adventures Of The Gummi Bears was Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers.

Unfortunately for people like me, who would love to have this entire series on DVD, Disney has only released two volumes which contain fifty-one of the sixty-five episodes. Why so few episodes were given the shaft is beyond me. While I would say that since the episodes that have been released came out too long ago for Disney to release the remaining episodes, they did eventually do this with DuckTales. So, fingers are still crossed.

Update: Disney finally released the entire series, but not on DVD. To grab this, you're going to have to get the Blu-Ray.

Title: Dink, The Little Dinosaur
Air Date: September 1989 - November 1990
Seasons: Two
Episodes: Twenty-One
DVD Release: Yes

Full of positivity and friendship, Dink, The Little Dinosaur was a family friendly dinosaur series which rode the coattails of The Land Before Time. When it wasn't spreading a message of positivity, it was teaching children through educational segments.

Dink was released on DVD in full in 2017 through Warner Archive, and remains available now. If you're looking for a lighthearted series to add to your 80's collection, this one may very well be for you!

Title: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (Series 2)
Air Date: January - September 1989 - January 1992
Seasons: Two
Episodes: Forty-Four
DVD Release: Yes

Technically a continuation of the original G.I. Joe series, the 1989 DIC Enterprises show is often considered its own iteration. While the show started out on a high note, it soon started to falter under corny dialog and over the top scenarios that simply couldn't sustain the weight that was G.I. Joe.

The entire second series was released across two volumes on DVD, and remains in print to this day. Because it's the least popular of the two series, these particular DVD"s don't tent to cost too much. Then again, neither do the first series discs.

Title: The Karate Kid
Air Date: September - December 1989
Seasons: One
Episodes: Thirteen
DVD Release: No

The Karate Kid is one of my favorite franchises of the 80's. I dig the second film just as much as the first, and enjoy the closure that part three provides.

The cartoon abandons the stories and world established in the live action film in lieu of an action / adventure motif. While it sometimes falters to silliness, it manages to capture the characters well, which ultimately keeps it afloat.

Of all the 80's cartoons out there, this is one of my top five which has never been released on DVD, and it really stinks that it hasn't. This would be a day one purchase if it ever came to fruition. 

Title: McGee And Me!
Air Date: June 1989 - June 1995
Seasons: One
Episodes: Twelve
DVD Release: Possibly

Part live action, part animation, all Christian programming. There weren't many religious shows that hit the airways in syndication, but McGee And Me stood toe to toe with them.

If you were a fan of this show, you'd probably be happy to find out that there are a ton of DVD releases for it. It's because of this that I can't figure out if the series has been released, or if this is a different iteration of the series. I'm still digging into this one for confirmation.

Title: Ring Raiders
Air Date: September - October 1989
Seasons: One
Episodes: Five
DVD Release: No

Based on the toy line created by Matchbox, Ring Raiders first started out as a two hour special, and developed into a short live five episode series. Tons of action, swarming aircraft, unique characters, all set to the background of a world on the brink of war in 1998, Ring Raiders definitely delivered on the excitement factor.

Sadly, the series has never been released on DVD, and there have been no announcements to do so. This one may end up being a forgotten treasure.

Title: Rude Dog And The Dweebs
Air Date: September - December 1989
Seasons: Thirteen
Episodes: One
DVD Release: No

Rude Dog and the Dweebs was a series I never watched. I knew about it, and vaguely remembered it leading up to this post, but overall, it wasn't for me. The character was initially used as the logo for a line of surf and skateboard related items by Sun Sportswear before they marketed the character into his own cartoon. It was a cat versus dog kind of show, all set across the backdrop of Beverly Hills, the perfect place to surf the beach or skate the boardwalks.

The show has never been released on DVD, but there is hope for those needing a home video fix. Select episodes have been released on VHS throughout the late 80's and 90's.

Title: The Simpsons
Air Date: December 1989 - Ongoing
Seasons: Thirty-Three and Counting
Episodes: Seven Hundred Twenty-Eight and Counting
DVD Release: Sort Of

The Simpsons was revolutionary when it hit airways in 1989. It was raw, edgy, and funny. It was how family's really acted, but television was afraid to portray it. The series broke the mold of traditional sitcoms, not only in its style, but also substance.

While it's long since run its course for me, it remains one of the most popular shows of all time, with no end seemingly in sight.

Only the first twenty seasons have been released on DVD, and with things going full on digital these days, there's no reason to believe that any further individual seasons will come out. However, I have no doubts that when the series finally comes to an end that some form of last hooray full release will hit shelves. Probably for about a thousand dollars when it's all said and done. But again, who knows when that will be.

Title: The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Air Date: September - December 1989
Seasons: One
Episodes: Fifty-Two
DVD Release: Yes

In 1989, Nintendo was king of the home consoles, and it only seemed natural to transfer this popularity from eight bit pixels to cartoon series. Featuring WWF superstar Captain Lou Albano as Mario, and Danny Wells as Luigi, the show offered a hybrid of live action segments intercut with cartoon shorts. This not only made the characters feel all the more real, but gave DIC Entertainment the opportunity to use popular actors, actresses, sports players, and pop music artists as guest stars.

If that wasn't enough to appeal, the show also incorporated segments of The Legend Of Zelda. Though these were strictly animated shorts.

Sadly, while you can get the cartoons on DVD, the most sought after Shout Factory releases are out of print. NCircle obtained the rights to release the show in 2012, but in doing so removed the the live action segments. Further, you have to buy the Super Mario Bros. and The Legend Of Zelda cartoons separately.

And on that note, we wrap up our look at cartoons of the 80's. I hope you've enjoyed this trip down memory lane. There's one more Retro Spin post coming tomorrow, but that will wrap up 2021 at The Toy Box.

This series of posts encompasses the following:

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

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