1984

**1984** was the year when Walt Disney Home Video introduced its first special brand, "The Classics". first debut on Thomas and Friends and Ghostbusters, which were both released on VHS in New Zealand by CEL Home Video.

## Movies released in theaters this year

### North America

* Splash (March 9, 1984)
* Pete's Dragon (1977) (November 3, 1977/March 9, 1984)
* Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (May 23, 1984)
* Ghostbusters (June 8, 1984)
* Gremlins (June 8, 1984)
* The Karate Kid (June 22, 1984)
* The Neverending Story (July 20, 1984)
* The Jungle Book (1969) (October 18, 1969/July 27, 1984)
* Country (September 29, 1984)
* The Terminator (October 26, 1984)
* Mary Poppins (1967) (October 21, 1967/October 26, 1984)
* Gary Penguinwood (November 30, 1984)
* Beverly Hills Cop (December 5, 1984)
* Pinocchio (1940) (February 7, 1940/December 21, 1984)

### Japan

* Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (March 11, 1984)
* Jaws 3-D (March 31, 1984)
* Scarface (April 28, 1984)
* Never Cry Wolf (June 9, 1984)
* Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (July 7, 1984)
* Mary Poppins (1967) (August 27, 1984)
* Splash (September 8, 1984)
* Ghostbusters (December 2, 1984)
* Gremlins (December 8, 1984)

### UK

* Never Cry Wolf (March 16, 1984)
* Scarface (March 30, 1984)
* Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (June 15, 1984)
* Splash (June 29, 1984)
* The Karate Kid (August 31, 1984)
* Ghostbusters (December 7, 1984)
* Gremlins (December 7, 1984)
* The Terminator (December 21, 1984)

### France

* Something Wicked This Way Comes (January 25, 1984)
* Scarface (March 7, 1984)
* Never Cry Wolf (April 4, 1984)
* Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (September 12, 1984)
* The Karate Kid (September 26, 1984)
* Splash (October 24, 1984)
* The Neverending Story (November 21, 1984)
* Gremlins (December 5, 1984)
* Ghostbusters (December 12, 1984)

### Australia

* Scarface (March 22, 1984)
* Never Cry Wolf (June 7, 1984)
* Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (July 19, 1984)
* Splash (August 16, 1984)
* Tex (September 6, 1984)
* The Karate Kid (September 27, 1984)
* Ghostbusters (November 15, 1984)
* The Secret of NIMH (November 22, 1984)
* Gremlins (December 13, 1984)
* The Terminator (December 20, 1984)
* The Neverending Story (December 26, 1984)

### Latin America

* Scarface (February 9, 1984)
* Splash (June 7, 1984)
* Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (July 5, 1984)
* The Karate Kid (July 5, 1984)
* Gremlins (August 23, 1984)
* Ghostbusters (December 21, 1984)
* The Secret of NIMH (December 28, 1984)

### Brazil

* Scarface (May 17, 1984)
* Gremlins (August 10, 1984)
* Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (August 24, 1984)
* The Karate Kid (September 28, 1984)
* The Neverending Story (October 5, 1984)
* Ghostbusters (December 21, 1984)
* Gary Penguinwood (December 28, 1984)

### South Korea

* E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (June 23, 1984)
* Scarface (December 8, 1984)
* Ghostbusters (December 22, 1984)
* The Terminator (December 22, 1984)

### Hong Kong

* Scarface (March 8, 1984)
* Never Cry Wolf (May 3, 1984)
* Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (June 28, 1984)
* The Karate Kid (October 4, 1984)
* Gremlins (October 25, 1984)
* Ghostbusters (December 6, 1984)

## Movies re-issued in theaters this year

### North America

* 2001: A Space Odyssey (January 1, 1984)

### Japan

* Peter Pan (July 21, 1984)
* Sleeping Beauty (July 21, 1984)

### France

* The Sword in the Stone (March 21, 1984)
* Robin Hood (December 5, 1984)

### Australia

* Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (May 3, 1984)
* 2001: A Space Odyssey (August 23, 1984)

## Movies aired on television this year

### CBS

* The Muppet Movie (May 22 and 29, 1984)\*
* Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (February 26, 1984)
* The Wiz (May 5, 1984)
* The Wizard of Oz (March 30, 1984)

(\*) This film was re-edited for viewing in two parts.

### NBC

* Mickey's Christmas Carol (December 10, 1984)

## Programs debuted on television this year

### CBS

* The Get Along Gang (September 15, 1984)
* Muppet Babies (September 15, 1984)

### Syndication

* Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats (September 5, 1984)
* Jeopardy! (September 10, 1984)\*

(\*) Merv Griffin Productions and KingWorld produced two pilot episodes of this show during the 1983-1984 season. Respectively, the dollar values were $25-$125 and $50-$250 in the first round and $50-$250 and $100-$500 in Double Jeopardy!. Other than that, the game rules remained the same as they are today.

## Programs airing new seasons this year

### ABC

* Family Feud (1976-1985)
* The Littles (Season 2) (September 15, 1984)

### CBS

* Press Your Luck\*
* The Price is Right (Season 13) (September 10, 1984)

(\*) On June 11, 1984, Michael Larson's winnings added up to $110,237 in cash and prizes from this game show. The Michael Larson episodes were banned from airing on the USA Network and GSN (until 2003).

### PBS

* 3-2-1 Contact (Season 3) (October 22, 1984)
* Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood
* Reading Rainbow (September 3, 1984)
* Sesame Street (Season 16) (November 19, 1984)

### Syndication

* Inspector Gadget (Season 1, continued)
* Wheel of Fortune (Season 2) (September 10, 1984)

## Programs broadcasted in reruns this year

### HBO

* The Cat in the Hat
* The Lorax
* Dr. Seuss on the Loose
* The Hoober-Bloob Highway

### PBS

* The Electric Company (1975-1977)
* Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood (1969-1975)

## Programs ended this year

### HBO

* The Lorax (last aired in August 1984)
* The Hoober-Bloob Highway (last aired in August 1984)
* Dr. Seuss on the Loose (last aired in August 1984)
* The Cat in the Hat (last aired in August 1984)

## Anime released in this year

* Adventures of the Little Koala (October 3rd, 1984; last aired on March 28th, 1985)

## VHS releases this year

* The Incredible Journey (Q4 1984)
* Jaws 3-D (Q1 1984)
* Splash (Q4 1984)
* Never Cry Wolf (Q4 1984)
* Scarface (Q2 1984)
* Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (November 14, 1984)
* Tiger Town (Q2 1984)
* Animal Quiz #1
* Animal Quiz #2
* Animal Quiz #3
* Animal Quiz #4
* Animal Quiz #5
* Animal Quiz #6
* Son of Flubber
* The Castaway Cowboy
* The Boatniks
* Big Red
* Walt Disney Cartoon Classics Vol. 7: More of Disney's Best - 1932-1946
* Walt Disney Cartoon Classics Vol. 8: Sport Goofy's Vacation
* Walt Disney Cartoon Classics Vol. 9: Donald Duck's First 50 Years
* Walt Disney Cartoon Classics Vol. 10: Mickey's Crazy Careers
* Walt Disney Cartoon Classics - Limited Gold Edition: Mickey
* Walt Disney Cartoon Classics - Limited Gold Edition: Minnie
* Walt Disney Cartoon Classics - Limited Gold Edition: Donald
* Walt Disney Cartoon Classics - Limited Gold Edition: Daisy
* Walt Disney Cartoon Classics - Limited Gold Edition: Pluto
* Walt Disney Cartoon Classics - Limited Gold Edition: Disney's Best - The Fabulous '50s
* Walt Disney Cartoon Classics - Limited Gold Edition: Silly Symphonies
* Stories And Fables Volumes 1-8 (1984)
* Winnie the Pooh and Friends (Q4 1984)
* A Disney Christmas Gift (December 5, 1984)
* Mickey's Christmas Carol (December 5, 1984)
* Robin Hood (December 5, 1984)

## VHS re-releases this year

* 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Q4 1984)
* The Muppet Movie (from CBS/Fox Video) (Q4 1984)
* Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (November 13, 1984)\*

(\*) Re-released with Hi-Fi Stereo sound.

## VHS Tapes discontinued this year

* Alice in Wonderland (1981 VHS)
* Dumbo (1981 VHS)
* Fun and Fancy Free (1982 VHS)
* The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1981 VHS)
* The Three Caballeros (1982 VHS)
* All other early 1980s Disney videos

## Toys

### Japan

* Care Bears (May 15, 1984)
* My Little Pony (June 19, 1984)
* Transformers (July 10, 1984)
* Strawberry Shortcake (August 2, 1984)

## Logos introduced this year

* The Classics: Walt Disney Home Video - "Cheesy Diamond" (December 3, 1984)
* CBS/Fox Video Logo #3 (December 1984)
* DiC Entertainment - "The Green Vortex" (September 1984)
* KingWorld - "Stars and Stripes" (November 1984)
* PBS - "Split Profile" (October 1, 1984)
* Tristar Pictures - "Early Pegasus" (May 11, 1984)
* Touchstone Films - Early "Thunderball" logos (March 9, 1984)
* Touchstone Home Video- Still Thunderball (Q4 1984)
* Warner Bros. Pictures - "WB Shield" (June 8, 1984)\*
* Warner Bros. Television - "WB Shield" (Q3 1984)\*

(\*) Warner Bros. was still a Warner Communications company back then.

## Logos updated this year

* Merv Griffin Enterprises (September 10, 1984) (formerly Merv Griffin Productions)

## Logos ended this year

* 20th Television Fox - "The Early Searchlights"
* Buena Vista Distribution (1979) (December 14, 1984)
* CBS/Fox Video - "Cutting Lines" (November 13, 1984)
* Public Broadcasting Service - "Tri-Colored P-Heads" (September 30, 1984)\*
* Walt Disney Home Entertainment - "Neon Mickey A" (June 1984)
* Warner Bros. - "The Big \\" (May 18, 1984)

(\*) The 1971 PBS logo still appeared occasionally on reruns of older programs until 1990.

## Video games released this year

### Japan

* Duck Hunt (April 21, 1984)
* Donkey Kong 3 (July 4, 1984)
* Pac-Man (November 2, 1984)

## Books released this year

* The Butter Battle Book (January 12, 1984)

## Software released this year

* MS-DOS 3.0 (August 14, 1984)\*
* MS-DOS 3.1 (November 1984)

(\*) Also introduced is support for the FAT16 file system, hard drive partitions with up to 32 megabytes, and 5.25" floppy disks carrying up to 1.2 megabytes.

## Vehicles introduced this year

* 1984 Buick Century (as a 4-door station wagon)
* 1984 Chevrolet Corvette (2-door coupe only)
* 1984 Dodge Daytona
* 1984 Jeep Cherokee/Wagoneer
* 1985 Nissan Maxima (Q4 1984)
* 1984 Oldsmobile Calais
* 1985 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight
* 1984 Toyota 4Runner (as a 1984.5 model) (Q1 1984)
* 1984 Toyota MR2
* 1984 Volkswagen Cabriolet
* 1985 Volvo 740 (Q1 1984)