How awesome were the 80s!

[Trent]

I was thinking about this this arvo. While there are a lot of things about the 80s that we wish we could permanently erase from history, there were some absolutely fantastic bits of history that people still love today (hence the existence of this board).

The purpose of this thread is to discuss/bath in the nostalgia of those awesome things, share some gems that others might have missed and educate/laugh at those younger than us because they missed all this.

My first entry:

I was thinking today about all those awesome movies the 80s spat out. "They just don't make them like they used to!" is a phrase that is no truer than when applied to 80s movies. From comedies to martial arts, the 80s covered it all with a flair and style that today's movies lack.

The particular movie that triggered all this today was Gleaming The Cube. A skateboarding movie starring Christian Slater as a young rebel skateboarder whose adopted brother is murdered. So young Christian sets out to solve the crime with nothing but his smart arse attitude, frosted tips and his single kick skateboard! What could be better?!




This movie actually features some pretty awesome skateboarding as the stunt guy was the world champion skateboarder at the time.






And that leads me into my next item: 80s style single kick skateboards. They were boats! They were large, heavy and ungainly. And not in the style of today's longboards. These things were the pinnacle of the sport in the day, but the only comparison was those penny boards that were really tiny. Kmart sold them by the thousands and it seemed every kid in Australia got one as standard issue. And for the REALLY cool kid, who was so lofty as to desire a skateboard that actually turned, there was even a version with wings!!! (Although you had to sit down on it).





Those were the days. I could go on but that's enough for now. Feel free to add your own items of awesome

[Starscream77]

Gleaming the Cube!!! I remember that movie, it was brilliant and as an 80's skate kid I loved it
I watched the Goonies with my daughter the other day, another staple of 80's brilliance

[gamblor916]

The 80's were indeed awesome because they gave us these two classics.

[TAAUBlaster]

I miss the 80's so much! Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Beverly Hills Cop. Movies just don't get made like that anymore. Not to mention the cartoons! Transformers, TMNT, Dino Riders, Alias the Jester, The Trapdoor... Man, I wish I was a kid again!

There's a TV show at the moment called "The Goldbergs" which set in the 80's. It just puts a smile on my face every ep with its 80's filled goodness

And the quality of life just seemed better. Kids could actually go outside to play without parents wrapping them in bubblewrap. Kids were allowed to get dirty in the mud! Sure, Mum would chew us out when we came home with muddy clothes, but deep down she knew kids will be kids

The world today needs more of the 80's!

[Megatran]

SAMANTHA FOX. You know what I'm talking about......

Thanks for the wonderful memories.

[Trent]

The 80's were indeed awesome because they gave us these two classics.

Indeed. We don't have a movie star like Van Damme in this day and age. That guy pumped out some quality fighting movies and inspired dozens more that weren't so good

[Trent]

Another bit of childhood nostalgia was this little toy:



Called a Glo Worm, is was a cuddly little thing that took 3x C cell batteries to power one tiny little incandescent bulb in its head that made it glow when you squeezed it. You could have it in any colour as long as it was green and they tended to get a bit warm. I loved mine. It went everywhere with me until it fell apart

My wife had one as well when she was a kid and my mother-in-law remembered my wife's many fond memories of it and recently tracked one down for my newborn son. The only example she could find was a MISB one in Argentina I might try to replace the bulb with an LED cluster for safety reasons before he can have it

EDIT: I'm not quite sure how but I noticed that the Glo Worm in that photo is managing, quite unintentionally I'm sure, to pull off a rather seductive pose

[VERT]

I miss the 80's so much! Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Beverly Hills Cop. Movies just don't get made like that anymore. Not to mention the cartoons! Transformers, TMNT, Dino Riders, Alias the Jester, The Trapdoor... Man, I wish I was a kid again!

There's a TV show at the moment called "The Goldbergs" which set in the 80's. It just puts a smile on my face every ep with its 80's filled goodness

And the quality of life just seemed better. Kids could actually go outside to play without parents wrapping them in bubblewrap. Kids were allowed to get dirty in the mud! Sure, Mum would chew us out when we came home with muddy clothes, but deep down she knew kids will be kids

The world today needs more of the 80's!

Everything you just said Blaster. Love the Goldbergs. Sure its time line is messed up but just watching it makes me happy. Though I get in trouble from the wife cause I always play spot the 80s toy....TFs. MOTU you name it. Its in this show.

[lancalot]

going down to the local milkbar and buy redskins and milko for 1 and 2c !!! robotech , transformers ,and voltron on saturday morning cartoons and astroboy and danger mouse at 5 in the afternoons... And videohits on sundays... A-team and knightrider ... for movies it robocop , big trouble in little china , topgun ....

[VERT]

Movies Starwars. Indiana Jones. The Explorers. Goonies. The Adventures of Baron Muchhousen....spelling. Time Bandits. Back to the Future. Ghostbusters. The list goes on and on.

And who can remember going to an actual toy shop and they had toys you actually wanted and they even got new stock too. You could laybuy anything and it was okay. Even if it was just $10

You could play outside or ride a bike. You just had to be home by the time the street lights came on.