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 (originally recorded live in 1978) 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 of the Chipmunks
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 Vaults 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