# I Love the '80s Strikes Back

I Love the '80s Strikes Back is a 1980s nostalgia miniseries and the third installment of the I Love the... series on VH1 in which various music and television personalities reminisce about 1980s popular culture in a mostly humorous manner. The series premiered on October 20, 2003, and is a sequel to I Love the '80s.
The sequel designation is in the reference to The Empire Strikes Back.

## Commentators

* Carol Alt
* John Amos*
* Cedric the Entertainer
* Curtis Armstrong
* Rosanna Arquette
* apl.de.ap & will.i.am
* Ashanti
* Sebastian Bach
* Barenaked Ladies (Ed Robertson, Tyler Stewart and Steven Page)
* Anna Belknap*
* Greg Behrendt
* D.C. Benny
* Frank Black
* Michael Ian Black
* Lesley Boone
* Bozo the Clown
* Brooke Burke
* Bill Burr
* Timothy Busfield
* Bryan Callen
* Candace Cameron
* Mariah Carey
* Ellen Cleghorne
* George Clinton
* Stewart Copeland
* David Coverdale
* Jon Cryer
* Molly Culver
* Dido
* Rocco DiSpirito*
* The Donnas (Brett Anderson & Torry Castellano and Maya Ford & Allison Robertson)
* Simon Doonan
* Howie Dorough
* Bil Dwyer
* Sheila E.
* Rich Eisen
* Perry Farrell & Chris Chaney
* Corey Feldman
* Colin Ferguson
* Craig Ferguson
* Mark Feuerstein & Ashley Williams
* Flavor Flav
* Lita Ford
* Samantha Fox
* Doug E. Fresh
* John Fugelsang
* Zach Galligan
* Boy George
* Deborah Gibson
* Godfrey
* Tracey Gold
* Gilbert Gottfried
* Kathy Griffin*
* Luis Guzman
* Hall & Oates
* Hanson
* Rachael Harris
* Steve Harwell
* Colin Hay
* Jason Hervey
* Susanna Hoffs & Vicki Peterson
* Leslie Hope
* Finola Hughes
* Scott Ian
* Stephan Jenkins
* Chris Jericho
* Cherie Johnson
* Cris Judd
* Nick Lachey
* Queen Latifah*
* Cyndi Lauper
* Juliette Lewis
* Adam Levine & James Valentine
* Beth Littleford
* Donal Logue
* Loni Love
* Rob Lowe*
* Carl Lumbly
* Stephen Lynch
* Virginia Madsen
* Joe Mantegna
* John Mayer
* MC Lyte
* Tim McGraw
* Darryl McDaniels
* Mark McGrath
* Breckin Meyer*
* Penelope Ann Miller
* Monica
* Mandy Moore
* Tom Morello
* Vince Neil
* John Ondrasik
* Patton Oswalt
* Paula Jai Parker
* Steve Perkins & Dave Navarro
* Liz Phair
* Kate Pierson
* Bronson Pinchot
* Pink
* Stefanie Powers
* Lindsay Price*
* Danny Provenzano
* Rachel Quaintance
* Donnell Rawlings
* Mary Lou Retton
* Mo Rocca
* Henry Rollins
* David Lee Roth
* Darius Rucker
* Richie Sambora
* Emma Samms
* Fred Schneider & Cindy Wilson
* Rick Schroder
* Dennis Seaton*
* Charlie Sheen
* Pauly Shore
* Rena Sofer & Jay Harrington*
* Hal Sparks
* Frank Stallone
* Joel Stein
* Taboo & Fergie
* Rob Thomas
* Lea Thompson
* Triumph the Insult Comic Dog
* Brian Unger
* Usher
* Frank Vincent & Vincent Pastore
* Jenna Von Oy
* Gedde Watanabe
* Jody Watley
* Chuck Woolery
* Adrian Young
* Young MC
* Adrian Zmed
* Rob Zombie
(*) = archival footage

## Recurring segments

* Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts: Donal Logue gives an unfinished thought on a pop culture event from each year.
* Break Up Songs: Boy George presents the breakup songs for each year.
* Hip-Hop Jam: Doug E. Fresh presents the hip-hop jam for each year.
* Public Service Announcement: A public service announcement from each year is presented.
* Nerds: Gedde Watanabe presents the nerds for each year.
* What the F#?%!!! Moment: Gilbert Gottfried presents the biggest blunders of the year.
* During the credits of every episode, a clip from a popular music video was played without any type of commentary. These were usually replaced with a show promo by VH1.

## Topics covered by year
### 1980

* American Gigolo
* Too Close for Comfort
* "Whip It" by Devo
* Richie Rich
* Grey Poupon
* Superman II
* The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show
* Flash Gordon
* "Rock with You" by Michael Jackson
* Real People
* The Blues Brothers
* Eight Is Enough
* Solid Gold
* Satin jackets
* Stir Crazy
* Private Benjamin
* Alice
* Friendship bracelets and ribbon barrettes
* "I Want You To Want Me" by Cheap Trick
* Hungry Hungry Hippos
* Friday the 13th
Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on Superman
Break Up Songs of 1980: "Boys Don't Cry" by The Cure, "Please Don't Go" by KC and the Sunshine Band and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin" by Hall & Oates
Hip-Hop Jam of 1980: "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang
PSA of 1980: The Bod Squad's "Don't Drown Your Food" PSA (healthy eating)
Nerds of 1980: Steve Jobs, Elvis Costello and C-3PO
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1980: The Chipmunks released a novelty rock album called "Chipmunk Punk"

### 1981

* Dynasty
* The Smurfs
* Journey's Escape album
* On Golden Pond
* "The Stroke" by Billy Squier
* Endless Love
* Magnum, P.I.
* "Super Freak" by Rick James
* Iron-on decals
* The Fall Guy
* The Rolling Stones' Tattoo You Tour
* Fernando Valenzuela
* Hart to Hart
* Benetton
* Benson
* Ronald Reagan likes Jelly Belly
* Jelly shoes
* Clash of the Titans
* Simon and Garfunkel's concert in Central Park
* Mommie Dearest
Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on Journey
Break Up Songs of 1981: "Since You're Gone" by The Cars, "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League and "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" by The Greg Kihn Band
Hip-Hop Jam of 1981: "The Breaks" by Kurtis Blow
PSA of 1981: Think Before You Drink (Anti-Drinking Ad starring Brooke Shields)
Nerds of 1981: Prince Charles, Ric Ocasek and Bill Gates
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1981: The USDA proposes to cut school lunch programs by classifying ketchup as a vegetable

### 1982

* Fame
* Annie
* "Abracadabra" by Steve Miller Band
* Tootsie
* ColecoVision
* John Mellencamp
* Wayne Gretzky
* "Gloria" by Laura Branigan
* The Toy
* Conan the Barbarian and The Beastmaster
* Men at Work
* KangaRoos
* Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (originally released in 1981)
* T. J. Hooker
* "I'm So Excited" by The Pointer Sisters
* An Officer and a Gentleman
* G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
* "Pass the Dutchie" by Musical Youth
* Pink Floyd – The Wall
* Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on The Beastmaster
Break Up Songs of 1982: "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" by Culture Club, "Only Time Will Tell" by Asia and "Harden My Heart" by Quarterflash
Hip-Hop Jam of 1982: "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force
PSA of 1982: Alternate Escape Routes in case of a fire ("Learn not to burn") Starring Dick Van Dyke
Nerds of 1982: Thomas Dolby, Irwin "Skippy" Handelman and Sarah Jessica Parker
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1982: Yale University offers a 14-week course on mastering the Rubik's Cube

### 1983

* Richard Simmons
* "All Night Long (All Night)" by Lionel Richie
* Staying Alive
* Klondike bar
* The Thorn Birds
* Risky Business
* Sunglasses
* The Day After
* The Outsiders
* Cujo and Christine
* Snausages (dog treats)
* Chicken McNuggets
* "Rock This Town" by Stray Cats
* Donkey Kong
* Culture Club
* Yentl
* KISS takes off their makeup
* Martina Navratilova
* Fraggle Rock
* V
Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on The Day After and Snausages
Break Up Songs of 1983: "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler, "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" by Journey and "Always Something There to Remind Me" by Naked Eyes
Hip-Hop Jam of 1983: "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) by Grandmaster Melle Mel
PSA of 1983: "We're not candy!" (about kids finding pills out of the bottle and accidentally eating them) by The Poison Control Center
Nerds of 1983: Nerds Candy, LeVar Burton and Simon Seville
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1983: The Beach Boys were banned from playing a concert at the National Mall

### 1984

* The Karate Kid
* Van Halen's 1984 album
* The wave
* "Drive" by The Cars
* Beverly Hills Cop
* Cagney & Lacey
* Menudo
* Scratch and sniff and Trapper Keeper
* A Nightmare on Elm Street
* Thompson Twins
* My Little Pony and Glo Worm
* "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell
* Tom Hanks in Splash and Bachelor Party
* Gremlins
* The Burning Bed
* Tina Turner
* Stirrup pants
* Billy Idol
* Revenge of the Nerds
Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on Scratch and Sniff
Break Up Songs of 1984: "Sister Christian" by Night Ranger, "Hard Habit to Break" by Chicago and "Oh Sherrie" by Steve Perry
Hip-Hop Jam of 1984: "Roxanne, Roxanne" by UTFO
PSA of 1984: McGruff the Crime Dog's "Take A Bite Out of Crime" (subject: getting into cars with strangers)
Nerds of 1984: Ed Grimley, Alex Trebek and Long Duk Dong
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1984: Ronald Reagan makes an off-the-record joke about outlawing and bombing Russia

### 1985

* Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
* Rambo: First Blood Part II
* Crack epidemic
* "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive
* Teen Wolf
* Inspector Gadget
* Remington Steele
* "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco
* Jenga
* Tears for Fears
* Bobby Knight's explosive temper and getting ejected from the game vs. Purdue
* The People's Court
* "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder
* 227
* North and South
* "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner
* Mr. Belvedere
* New Coke
* Jem
* Weird Science
Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on crack cocaine
Break Up Songs of 1985: "Broken Wings" by Mr. Mister, "I Miss You" by Klymaxx and "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds
Hip-Hop Jam of 1985: "The Show" by Doug E. Fresh
PSA of 1985: Bob Barker about AIDS (debunking the misconception of getting AIDS from cats)
Nerds of 1985: Crispin Glover, Lukas Haas and Larry King
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1985: The "mystical unicorns" from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus were actually goats with surgically-fused horns

### 1986

* Pee-wee's Playhouse
* Jolt Cola
* Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet album
* LA Gear
* "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon
* Soul Man
* Rainbow Brite
* "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles
* Dallas episode "Bobby Ewing Comes Back to Life" (aka "Blast from the Past")
* Howard the Duck
* About Last Night...
* The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault
* Ocean Pacific
* "Conga" by Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
* L.A. Law
* The Golden Child
* Double Dare
* Garbage Pail Kids
* Michael Jordan
* "Heartbeat" by Don Johnson
* Joe Isuzu
* The Fly
Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on Bon Jovi
Break Up Songs of 1986: "No One Is to Blame" by Howard Jones, "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House and "If You Leave" by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Hip-Hop Jam of 1986: "Walk This Way" by Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith
PSA of 1986: Rock Against Drugs (Aimee Mann of 'Til Tuesday)
Nerds of 1986: Willie Tanner, Rick Moranis and Cliff Clavin
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1986: Fred Grandy decided to run for Congress in Iowa, and he won

### 1987

* Beauty and the Beast
* "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake
* Scruples
* The Fat Boys
* Flowers in the Attic
* LL Cool J
* Macho Movies (specifically Predator, RoboCop, and Over the Top)
* Doc Martens
* "Bad" by Michael Jackson
* Full House
* Less than Zero
* Jody Watley
* Remote Control
* Biker shorts (Lycra)
* Thundercats
* Raising Arizona
* "Luka" by Suzanne Vega
* A Different World
* "Land of Confusion" by Genesis
* Steve Guttenberg
* The Princess Bride
Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on Scruples
Break Up Songs of 1987: "With or Without You" by U2, "Didn't We Almost Have It All" by Whitney Houston and "I Won't Forget You" by Poison
Hip-Hop Jam of 1987: "Push It" by Salt-n-Pepa & Spinderella
PSA of 1987: Rock Against Drugs (Anti-Drug)
Nerds of 1987: Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise, Bud Bundy and Gilbert Gottfried
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1987: Vanna White's autobiography, "Vanna Speaks" became a bestseller.

### 1988

* Big
* Growing Pains
* MTV's Headbangers Ball
* Ripped jeans
* Beetlejuice
* Who Framed Roger Rabbit
* "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car" by Billy Ocean
* Jamaica national bobsled team
* My Two Dads
* Garfield stuffed animals
* Beaches
* Charles in Charge
* A Fish Called Wanda
* Ickey Woods (The "Ickey Shuffle") and the Bash Brothers (Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire)
* Hypercolor T-shirts
* "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard
* Young Guns
* Alternative rock (specifically R.E.M., Jane's Addiction, and Sonic Youth)
* Vice President George H. W. Bush elected President of the United States
* Chia Pet
* Tracy Chapman
* Coming to America
Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on Garfield
Break Up Songs of 1988: "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison, "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" by Cinderella and "Look Away" by Chicago
Hip-Hop Jam of 1988: "Mary, Mary" by Run-D.M.C.
PSA of 1988: Sylvester Stallone for Give The Gift Of Literacy
Nerds of 1988: Mike Mills, Paul Pfeiffer and Miles Silverberg
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1988: The final episode of St. Elsewhere revealed that the series was a figment of the little boy's imagination

### 1989

* Weekend at Bernie's
* Doogie Howser, M.D.
* "I Wanna Have Some Fun" by Samantha Fox
* The Clapper
* Field of Dreams
* Pete Rose
* "Just a Friend" by Biz Markie
* Thirtysomething
* Yuppie
* Richard Marx
* Driving Miss Daisy
* Zsa Zsa Gabor slaps a cop
* "Patience" by Guns N' Roses
* Rock N Roll Flowers (sound detection dancing flowers)
* Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique album
* Bo Jackson
* Designing Women
* York Peppermint Pattie
* House of Style
* Choose Your Own Adventure books
* When Harry Met Sally...
Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on Pete Rose
Break Up Songs of 1989: "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" by Michael Bolton, "Miss You Much" by Janet Jackson and "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty
Hip-Hop Jam of 1989: "Don't Believe the Hype" by Public Enemy
PSA of 1989: Magic Johnson on Designated Drivers
Nerds of 1989: Samuel "Screech" Powers, Woody Allen and Steve Urkel
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1989: 87-year-old Carrie Stringfellow nearly gets embalmed after being mistaken for dead at a Springfield, Ohio funeral home