HAPPY HALLOWEEN! MJ style!

  It just isn't Halloween without it!



   What 80s kid would I be if I forgot to post Thriller!  I was so afraid of this movie when I was little. I thought the warewolf had hurt MJ and I was scared of it!  I didn't like how evil Vincent Price sounded. However, the song was fine. The video is what scared me half to death. I'd go over friends' houses and it would come on HBO late at night. I'd get so scared. I'd cry and say " I wanna go home". I thought the monsters were coming to get me..  I never said i was a normal kid. I was a nerd. I am okay with being a nerd though. Thanks Mike, you really got me!
  I was at family picnic when I was brave enough to watch it. It was on a 12 inch black and white TV and in the daytime, but after I saw it all together, I loved it! We had a Beta vcr and that's all we would play. LOVE YOU MJ FOREVER!

   I also wanna say if you  haven't seen " Michael Jackson's This Is It" please do! It was wonderful and beautiful and I hope that fans, the curious, the old fans, and the new fans will enjoy it as much as I did. MJ was ready for this. He wanted to show his fans a good time. He was particular and intenional about what he wanted. He wanted the sound just right. He needed things to look the way he wanted, so that he could convey the message he was so clearly here to put out to those who would listen. He was a genius and if you just listen, you can hear that. I dont know how people cannot understand.  MJ was funny, he was genrous and he was in a word: love.  Michael Jackson was the embodiment of Love.  I had so many different emotions during the film but the one I felt throughout was LOVE.  I love you MJ, and I love you more today than I ever thought I could love you before. 
I plan to see it one more time before it leaves theatres. It is only out for 2 weeks so please go see it!



You will want to dance in the aisles!  "It's all for love - L-O-V-E"- MJ

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

I'd like to say "Happy Halloween" to those who celebrate it! There are only a few things I actually do for Halloween.  I always watch Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and watch the MJ Concert from 1992 .  The other thing I must do every year is watch " It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" I love Charlie Brown. Poor kid, he just cannot catch a break! Everybody loves Snoopy!  My favorite character was Marcy because she always called Peppermint Patty, " Sir".
  I love Linus in this particular cartoon the best. "Every Halloween the Great Pumpkin rises out of the Pumpkin Patch..."  Right! 
  I love the ABC network for running all the Charlie Brown specials. It's just not a holiday time without them.

  I am on my way to seeing Michael Jackson in "This Is It!"  today. I am going to keep this short.  Happy Halloween to all. I hope you trick- o treat safely.



 The Great Pumpkin On DVD

Somewhere Over Reading Rainbow...

Hiya Everybody!  I am sorry I have not written in a few days. Mr. Belvedere was away for a few days at the Butler Convention. He just got back yesterday, so WELCOME to the 80s Mansion again. Have a seat, get some cereal. I recomend the Corn Pops.
    As promised, I have a treat for you today.  Do you all remember Reading Rainbow? I sure do. I think i was 8 or 9 when It came on. I loved it! That show had everything. The theme song was amazing, (the original not the new one they tried to put on in the 90s). The host, Lavar Burton, was friendly, personable, and he knew a lot about books. The show encouraged kids to get a library card, check out a book, and explore with your imagination.  According to Wikipedia; Reading Rainbow ran from June 6,1983 to November 10,2006. They showed reruns up until the last time on air August 28,2009. Sniff Sniff.


 I think I just woke up the neighbors. I love singing this song. I get goosebumps every time i hear the beginning of the song come on. 

  I will never forget the first episode of Reading Rainbow. I was at my grandmother's in Detroit. As soon as the theme song came on- I was hooked!  They read us "Miss Nelson is Back" by Harry G. Allard Jr. and James Marshall. They even had a great musical number called " Check It Out" to encourage kids to go to the library.
 AND ITS ON YOUTUBE! SHUT UP!!!! -"Check it out.. don't shout!"

   When I was in school, we had a library in the building. I think you had to be in the 1st or 2nd grade to get a library card. It was free. I loved having my name printed on my little card. If you were in grade 2-4 you could check out one book. If you were in the 5th grade you could check out 2!  I was an avid reader. I love to read. I love to go on adventures and meet new friends.  I think children should be read to at an early age.
  I am sad that earlier this year, Reading Rainbow was taken off air. It was a great run!  A child never forgets their childhood friends. PBS has always done a great job helping grade school children learn to read.
  The other good part about Reading Rainbow that I remember was when they let real kids tell you their reviews on books they read.  The kid would review the book and at the end they'd say " but you dont have to take my word for it. " I remember they talked about "Where the Wild Things Are" , by Maurice Sendak. I went and got the book the next time we were able to check out books at the school library. You can get it too at Amazon.com Where the Wild Things Are .  Maurice Sendak also created "Little Bear " and "Really Rosie", among other things.
 
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    Coincidently,  "Where the WIld Things Are"  has been turned into 2009 live action Motion Picture.  It comes out in theatres  October 16,2009. Take your kids and have a great time. I think this may be a little scary for your kids under age 7. But you know what your kid can and cannot handle. Otherwise, go celebrate it! The preview looks cool doesn't it?


  Another fantastic set of books that became a PBS staple is "Arthur". I loved "Arthur". The first book I ever heard about the cute little aardvark and his friends, was " Arthur's Eyes". I liked the book because I wore glasses. back then. any kid, or cartoon with glasses, I loved.  We seemed to connect somehow. I read all the Arthur books and I love the cartoon. I have a favorite episode called " It's Only Rock N Roll". The Backstreet Boys actually took time out to come and do voices of themselves in the cartoon in 2001.  I still think it is AWESOME!

 

Here is the backstreet Boys Version :


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   Since PBS was such a great platform for Childrens' Television, we cannot forget Sesame Street, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood ( RIP Fred Rogers), The Electric Company, Square One and 3-2-1 Contact!
    Every kid I know, grew up with Sesame Street as a babysitter. Sesame Street was a  melting pot for everyone of all races and ages to interact. I loved it. I mean, I was kinda mad when people didn't ever see Snuffy for the longest time, but I loved it. I learned a lot of songs and letters and numbers because of Sesame Street. I am going to share a few favorites with you as well as the theme song.  My personal favorite Sesame Street Puppets ( not to be confused with the Muppet Show Muppets ) are Big Bird, Grover, Oscar, Guy Smiley, Forgetful Jones, Cookie Monster. and Snuffy. I also loved Ernie.  As the years went by, I saw and fell in love with Elmo too,(until he became too much of the focus of the show). I love that they also let my favorite Muppet of all, Kermit the Frog, have his little News Flash.  And who could forget that welcoming song. This is the one I grew up hearing. They keep changing it every so offten or messing it up as i like to call it)








I LOVE KERMIT!

   Mr. Rodger's Neighborhood is going to be reviewed on another day because I really have to give Mr. Fred Rogers his props. He was an amazing man who really wanted children to use their imaginations. Sometimes he creeped me out, but He was still Mr. Rodgers.  I was really scared of that Lady Elane Puppet. Was that even a lady?

  I know that the Electric Company started in the 70s, but I  remember it. I will never forget  the beginning to the theme " HEY YOU GUYYYYYS"  Come on. You know you remember it too!


 
  I have to include these two clips because If I don't I'd kick myself.  One of my favorite charters on Electic Company was "Easy Reader". He just happens to be one of my most favorite actors, Morgan Freeman.   Sorry Mr. Freeman, i have to do it to ya. Much love.. Much groovey love.  You know it was the 70s. And thats his excuse. Ha ha!



This will make you laugh. It has to. Everybody does.

 
As Fozzy Bear would say" Waka Waka Waka".

  Square One was for older kids. It helped with multiplication and Division. I loved the little segments called Mathnet and Mathman the little pac-man like game. Ha ha.


 Last but never least is 3-2-1 Contact. The Theme Song was catchy. I can't really remember if this was a science show or what. I just remember the sketch " the Bloodhound Gang" and that theme and how much fun it was.



The bloodhound Gang was cool!



    I hope you all got a fresh blast from the past right now. I am gonna get going. Lots to do and see. Please come back soon.  Today's blog has been brought to you today by the numbers 3 and 9 and the letter 'H' . Like Lavar Burton said at the end of Reading Rainbow .  " See ya next time".

* Some of the TV shows that we discussed today are available on Amazon.com in selected editions on DVD or Audio CD. You may enjoy these with the kids. " But you don't have to take my word for it".

Reading Rainbow Selections
Sesame Street Audio & Video
Mr. Roger's Neighboorhood
The Electric Company DVDs

New Feature*Theme Song of the Day!*

Shy Violet from Rainbow Land is visiting the 80's Mansion today!  ( she is my favorite of the Color Kids) *Courtesey of http://www.rainbowbrite.net/

Good Morning 80s Kiddos!
  I am sorry for not making this blog more exciting. I have tons of TV things to chat about.  I won't be silent so long anymore. Thank you for accepting my apology.
   Whenever I am not writing something huge, I will be posting a new feature. THEME SONG OF THE DAY!!!! YAY!!!!   Everyday, you will see a new video of a TV Theme song. You may know it, and you may say  "What in the world is that?" But it's all good. You'll get some knowledge along the way.
   Today's Theme Song is one you all should know and love. Let's do some dancing and singing along with Alvin & The Chipmunks!  *applause applause*

 


  I loved this cartoon! My sister and I loved the way they talked and sang. They were our friends. I love the fact that they used current music (current as in, the 80s ha ha). They all had different personalities. And let's be real, being a girl, I loved the Chippettes. My favorite Chipmunk is Simon (he had glasses and when I was little, so did I). I love them all, though. I also loved Janette :-) for the same reason I loved Simon. But I loved how Alvin and Brittney were competing all the time, and Theodore was so adorable and sweet. I love when him and Elenore would cook together.  I loved  the voice of Dave. I love the way he would exclaim, "My boys!" Hilarious. I also loved the sweet and bumbling Ms. Miller, who took care of the Chippettes.
   I have a few favorite Chipmunk episodes.There are probably more but these stick out.
 1. The one where they tell you how Dave got the Chipmunks ( which features my favorite song "Witchdoctor." I love how they jazz it up in the 2007 movie, which if you love Chipmunks you GOTTA see it. I loved it and wasn't sure i would. It's now a Christmas Favorite".  You can check it out here on Amazon.com  Alvin & the Chipmunks the Movie (2007)
 2. The one where Alvin and Dave switch places, so that Alvin can learn responsibility. So funny!
3. The one where they meet Michael Jackson (I'd pick this higher, except he wasn't even on there but they drew his clothes and glove! ha ha).
4. "Dreamlighting" Where they parody "Moonlighting" and did it so well. I actually found it on YouTube and had a fit!
5. The one where the Berlin Wall comes down. It really did air right after the wall fell. My sister and I didn't understand how they did it. It aired like the week after the wall came down. It was freaky and COOL! It's a historical event that I was able to remember.

 The Chipmunks are popular with boys and girls and adults. This cartoon was wonderful. If you have kids and don't know what to let them watch, I recommend checking out these other awesome  Alvin and the Chipmunk videos/DVDs  Chipmunks at Amazon.com
    I also would like to say that for me the TV theme song was Everything to a TV show.  If I missed the theme song, I was so mad. I had to be ready before the show started. There are so many shows I watched because I liked the theme song and got hooked in. One of the shows that hooked me in because of the song is called "The Courtship of Eddie's Father." I don't remember the show very much, but I know I watched it and loved the theme song. I will add it here because my Mom said as a toddler I would go around singing the song. I sang at an early age. Love it. I remember every theme song to every show I have ever watched. I really do. You shall soon see.


  I still tear up over this one.  Okay now you guys have 2 themes for today!  ( this is more 70s but i was still a kid)

  Enjoy the little TV Gems for today, boys and girls. Tomorrow I will be talking about Reading Rainbow, the importance of learning to read with your kids; and the importance of Childrens' Television and how its gone completely down hill. "No Child Left Behind" my foot!
  Okay pals, bring a friend to the 80s Mansion sometime. We have plenty of room and lots of cereal.  Shy Violet has to get back to Rainbow Land. So, I am gonna go with her to help make some coloring books!  See ya soon! And keep spreading the Rainbow Brite Love.

Watching Good Morning Miss Bliss

Hello 80s kids!
  I am so sorry that I haven't written in a while. I promise that I am just having a lil witter stumble and I will have something up by the end of the week.  I am watching "Good Morning Miss Bliss" right now on Netflix!  It's really fun. I haven't seen these in a long time.  Good Morning Miss Bliss is Saved By The Bell, but Hayle Mills is thier teacher and Zack, Lisa, and Screech  are best friends and really little. So cute!
   I remember when "Saved By The Bell" premiered on NBC in 1989 ( the weekend before my first day of 8th grade), I thought for SURE I had seen those kids before and I felt like I knew them. I loved it right away.  Then when tney showed the first "flashback" episode I KNEW I wasn't crazy.  It happend to have been on Disney Channel back then.  Well, when we were kids, Disney wasn't cable friendly, you had to pay for it. My parents were NOT paying for it, but i got my fill during the preview weekends they'd have.
    Well I am going to go on and enjoy this. I will not be going into much Details about GMMB because thats gonna be when i feature SBTB. I PROMISE!

:)  ... ooh thats the bell.. gotta get back to class! :)

P.S. In a week or so, i am getting Punky Brewster season 1 on DVD  and I will be dong a very SPECIAL report about it. It's one of the shows closest to my heart! :) 

The Great Space Coaster & Mr. Magoo

Hello again Friends.

Great news!! We're on Twitter!!!  80sSaturdays Twitter Page  Follow along! :)

   I've been sitting here with Steve Urkel working on the question asked by a reader, Missing London. The comment was left today and asked if I could please explain the Great Space Coaster and Mr. Magoo.
   I really didn't watch Mr. Magoo like other kids did. However, Urkel over here, he knows Mr. Magoo from what I can tell.

      I found a video of Mr. Magoo for you and our other friends. You will find that I love TV theme songs so if you don't mind..



Thank goodness for www.youtube.com . I don't know what we'd do without it. A way to video reference most anything. Its great because I don't have to describe so many things.  I can just point you to it and you click and go. I often find lots of information ( or entertainment) in reading the comments of other people. :)

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   The Great Space Coaster ! How does one try to even begin to describe it?  The show from my memory was very wacky and fun and fast. I used to watch it in the mornings before school. ( and i mean like 1st grade ) I  think it's more of a 70s show but most kids watched it on reruns in the 80s.  As a kid it looked like a lot of fun. The theme song got me hooked on it. I had to watch it all before the school buss came to get me.  It's about 3 friends (Fran, Danny and Roy)  who are in a band. They go on a trip on a Space Coaster driven by this round little clown puppet called Baxter!  They would all get picked up in their part of the world and join the crazy puppet gang for fun and adventures, and I *think* education.
 
 


   The character I loved best was Garry Gnu ( that's Gah-New to you) Oh boy was he funny! He had his little news brief show and he'd say " It's the No Ganews is Good Ganews Show!" I  still say that.  He also would say " remember No Ganews is Good Ganews with Gary Gnu!" My favorite guest he would have on is this fast reading guy named "Speed Reader". Weather he was skipping parts of the book or not, he sure did talk fast! See Gary in Action :

 

  Other clever named Characters were friends Gariddle Gorilla and Knock- Knock ( some bird i have no idea what she was supposed to be.), Edison the Elephant and M. T. Promises ( like Empty Promises get it!!  he was EVIL). and There were smaller charters like the adorable Huggles who came later . They lived with Baxter and always asked,  " What's Snappenin?! " like " What's Happenin" get it? They had a cute theme song too!

  Here's Baxter with the Huggles  

   Anyways the best parts of the show for me was when the band sang songs. They had all kids of songs. The one I remember most is " Windel Worry Wart" and " Yellow Orange Day"   Very 70s Sesame Street style songs that you can't get out of your head even if you wanted to.

 


   Before I go, I just want to say as an adult this show looks a little well.. frightening! I don't know if its the reddish tent on the video or what.  The puppets look scary and I do not think I'd get this on DVD for my kids to watch.  I don't know how i didn't get nightmares. HOWEVER In my childhood memory, these puppets were my friends. This show introduced me through Roy's portable movie box: Simon and the Land of Chalk Drawings, Really Rosie( featuring Carole King), and La Linea. Mind gems I tell you! I am referencing the other cartoons below so you can see if they jog your memory.

    Okay, Urkel claims he has a date with Laura, so I have to let him go.That means I have to go to so as Levar Burtan used to say on my dearly beloved Reading Rainbow... " See ya next time!"



*Photo of Baxter with the Huggles courtesey of  http://www.cfhf.net/lyrics/great.htm

Click the videos  for the above mentioned Cartoons :
Simon and the Land of Chalk Drawings  - love him!!
 

Really Rosie featuring Carole King  :-)


La Linea  he's loud! OMG I remember this one!!  I didn't know he had a theme song! ha ha!

Thank you Steve Urkel for appearing here courtesy of my vivid imagination for our friends. :)

Also if you need anymore  information on cast list ect. please do like I did and visit Internet Movie Data Base www.imdb.com

Brandon Tartikoff & Jackson5

Hello again, fellow 80s Children!  I am sitting here thinking of things to make my blog fantastic for readers.  I sat and pondered. I have wanted to speak on this person for a while.  Today is the day.
   Brandon Tartikoff was an amazing television executive for NBC!  Have you heard of a show called The Cosby Show? Oh no.. Okay what about Family Ties?  or what about Alf, Highway to Heaven or the Golden Girls?  I thought so!   You have heard me mention Punky Brewster,( and you will continue to hear about it because that is a big part of my TV life he he). Well he thought up the show based on a girl named Punky Brewster at his school!  ( I bet she never shut up about that one ha ha!)
    These shows are classic, and some iconic. Lots of them are my favorites. He even came up with the "old folks shows" as I liked to call them: Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Cheers (i watched it) and St. Elsewhere(guilty).
    He passed away in 1997.. If you notice, that is when lots of tv shows kinda went, well downhill in some ways. NOT ALL I still watch tv and I mean seriously, but it just feels like those shows of yesteryear just will never have the same pizazz!  God Bless You, Brandon Tartikoff
  Oh yeah and if you like Knight Rider, 227, Empty Nest and Different Strokes,  bow down.. :)

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 I would also like to take a moment to say how saddened I am by the early death of Michael Jackson. I know people are tired of hearing about it, but I wanna put in my two cents quickly where it's relevant. It's personal for me so I wont bore you with a lot of the high drama.
   I would like to say that my whole life I have known of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. My mother was a huge J5 fan. SO there was no escaping the love. I am proud for having him in my life and I will always have his music in my home and the love for him I will carry in my heart. I just want to quickly say that my little sister and I came upon the Jackson 5 cartoon in the early 80s when it was run on our local tv station. We thought it was so much fun.  I love anything with music in it and this was it for me. We didn't know they were old or anything. We just enjoyed the music and the fun wit of the cartoon. It goes to show that the material just has to be good to last over time. The Jackson 5 cartoon was something we did not miss. Heck i even had taped a few episodes on my tape recorder.  We learned the songs (even though we knew a lot of them and wonderd why. I guess we didn't match the cartoon with the group like that.) IT WAS THE BEST TIME EVER! My sister and I never agree on much and this cartoon stoped the shouting and fighting long enough for us to enjoy it!  MJ you are very much missed and thank you so much for being a HUGE part of my childhood and then some! much much love to you and your family!

 Until Next time my lovelies! I am gonna jump on the Great Space Coaster right after the Chipmunks finish performing their MJ Tribute!

:)  LOTS OF RAINBOW BRITE LOVE!
 Shala

 * Information on Brandon Tartikoff  courtesy of Wikipedia.com

Welcome 80s Children to the new nostalgic place called 80s Saturday Mornings!  Please please, come in.  Do you have on Footie Pajamas? Do you love sweet breakfast cereals? Do you remember the wonderment of waking up early on Saturday mornings in the 80s just to watch your favorite cartoon friends on TV?  Do you still miss the way the characters came to life, became  part of your fun world and how the shows seemed to  last all day? Do you miss 80s-90s television when the shows were more about friends and families? Do you wish that you had someplace to talk about it and hear about it? Do you still think about being one of the Eastlland girls on Facts of life? Do you wish you could have dated one of the girls at Eastland on Facts of Life ?  HA HA! THEN come on in!!! What are you waiting for?  This is the place.  

    My favorite memories as a child were these and many more. I love television and especially 80-90s television. Right before everything became a show with people getting kicked off.  Saturday morning for me was more than just watching some cartoons. It was my safe place to go. My ritual was easy. Wake up at 8am for Smurfs and end at 1pm just after the ABC Saturday Morning Weekend Special ended. Then i went outside to play (we will talk about what that meant too ) or I went rollerskating at the rink with my friends.

  These are things we did as children. this was fun and I hope you will join me in remembering, discussing and having a great time to reflect and get away form the craziness of today for just a moment.

   Soon i will be making a podcast. But for now, let's reflect. Let Rainbow Brite lead us to the land where the Transformers kicked robot butt, Pound Puppies needed adopting, Heathcliff and Denis The Menace were tearing up the neighborhood and Punky Brewster , the kids from the Wonder Years, The Cosby Kids and the gang from Saved By The bell were all our friends no matter how cool we were or weren't in school!  So, let Mr. Belvedere take your coat and hat. Let Vicki from Small Wonder take your cereal orders from the magic never-ending cereal box. Come on everyone Let's all get nostalgic!!

  Please tell me about your two most  favorite Saturday Morning Cartoons or 1 Cartoon and 1 TV show that you just had to watch. I will fill in later this week with mine. You can visit my Youtube channel where most of my best TV friends ( like Kidd Video and Punky Brewster ) Live 80s Saturday Mornings

* this is a place for EVERYONE no matter who you are. This is a pg rated zone. this is a place for people from all over the world. I was an 80s American kid but i would love to hear about kid shows from everywhere so please chime in. Mostly this is a place to have LOTS and LOTS of fun!!