That '80s Show

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That '80s Show is an American sitcom that aired in half-hour long episodes from January through May 2002. Despite having a similar name, show structure, and many of the same writers and production staff, it is not considered a direct spin-off of the more successful That '70s Show, as the characters and storylines from both shows never crossed paths. It was a separate decade-based show created because of That '70s Show's popularity at the time.^[1] That ’80s Show failed to gain a wide audience and was cancelled by Fox after 13 episodes, due to low ratings.

The show was set in 1984 and revolved around the lives of a group of friends living in San Diego, California. It debuted January 23, 2002, and the final episode aired May 29, 2002. Its regular timeslot was on Wednesday nights at 8:00/7:00 Central on the Fox Network, although a few shows were aired on different nights (see below). Its main timeslot competitors were ABC’s My Wife and Kids, CBS's 60 Minutes II, and NBC's Ed. All 13 episodes, which were filmed in at CBS Studio Center, aired at least once.

The theme song was a 15 second snippet of the song “Eighties” by Killing Joke:

The opening credit sequence (and screens used to transition from scene to scene) consisted of a hand flipping through a row of vinyl records, each with artwork of a cast member’s face and name.

Synopsis

The show follows the lives of struggling musician Corey Howard and his associates, friends, and family. His working (and eventual romantic) relationship with Tuesday is also a focal point, and becomes the main anchor of the show after a few episodes. Later episodes focused on the culture clash between Corey and Tuesday’s lifestyles. Various tidbits of '80s culture and music are sprinkled in throughout each episode. As with That '70s Show, many celebrities from the decade guest starred in several episodes (see below).

Episodes took place at different locations throughout the day. Scenes would take place at Club Berlin, a dance club; Permanent Record, the record store where Corey and Tuesday worked; Videx, an office owned by R.T.; and the family home, along with the occasional car trip.

Cast

DVD release information

The show has not been released on DVD, and neither Fox nor Carsey-Werner Productions have revealed any information on a future release. It is generally considered a long shot to ever get a DVD release due to the low ratings that it received when it originally aired, in addition to the potentially costly purchasing rights to the ’80s music that was frequently used in the show.

Music

Each episode used several vintage 1980s hit songs, either playing in the background of a scene or sung by one or more of the cast members. They are listed below, by episode.:

• “Eighties (Pilot)”: “Let Me Go” by Heaven 17; “Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads; “What Difference Does It Make?” by The Smiths; “Love is a Battlefield” by Pat Benatar, “Slip It In” by Black Flag; “Add It Up” by Violent Femmes; “Close to You”, by The Carpenters

• “Corey’s Remix”: “Heartbeat” by The Psychedelic Furs; “Come on Eileen” by Dexys Midnight Runners, “Rock the Casbah” by The Clash; “Strip” by Adam Ant

• “Tuesday Comes Over”: “Who’s Behind the Door?” by Zebra; “No Rest for the Wicked” by Helix

• “Valentine’s Day”: “In the Name of Love” by Thompson Twins; “Modern Love” by David Bowie; “I Want Candy” by Bow Wow Wow

• “My Dead Friend”: 99 Luftballons by Nena, “The Great Unknown” by Elvis Costello and the Attractions; “People Who Died” by the Jim Carroll Band

• “Spring Break ’84”: “As Far as I Know” by Paul Westerberg; “I Ran” by A Flock of Seagulls; “Whatever Happened to You?” by Stan Ridgway; “Cruel Summer”, by Bananarama

• “Katie’s Birthday”: “Guitar, Talk, Love & Drums” by Gary Myrick; “Up Where We Belong” by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, “If I Didn’t Love You” by Squeeze

• “After The Kiss”: “This Is Radio Clash” by The Clash; “Goo Goo Muck” by The Cramps; “Steppin’ Out” by Joe Jackson

• “Double Date”: “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” by Culture Club; “Meeting in the Ladies Room” by Klymaxx; “She Talks in Stereo” by Gary Myrick and the Figures

• “Punk Club”: “Karma Chameleon" by Culture Club; “People Are People” by Depeche Mode; “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins

• “Road Trip”: “I’m So Excited” by The Pointer Sisters; “Balls to the Wall” by Accept; “Heartbreaker” by Pat Benatar; “I Love LA” by Randy Newman

• “Sophia’s Depressed”: “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister; “The Reflex” by Duran Duran

• “Beach Party”: “We Got the Beat” by The Go-Go's; “Time the Avenger” by The Pretenders

Noted Guest Stars/Recurring characters

• Ed McMahon, Pat Benatar, and Neil Giraldo all appeared as themselves in the episode entitled “Road Trip”.
• Tiffany appeared in the episode “Punk Club” as “Candy”, an employee of the “Chaos” punk club.
• Debbie Gibson appeared as an annoying show tunes-loving customer named “Janice”, and Morgan Fairchild appeared as R.T.’s rival competitor “Cossima Blair”, in the episode “Beach Party”.
• John Taylor appeared in the episode “Sophia’s Depressed” as Margaret’s personal decorator.
• Nathan West appeared in the episode “Spring Break ’84, as “Wray Thorn”, a former classmate of Corey’s turned successful musician.
• Tammy Lynn Michaels and Josh Braaten appeared in several episodes as “Patty” and “Owen”, Roger’s and Katie’s significant others, respectively.

References

External links

• That '80s Show at the Internet Movie Database
• That '80s Show at TV.com