I stumbled across this little gem when my mom shouted up the stairs to me to come downstairs and check out what was on TV. She (along with everyone else who knows me well) knows that I'm a huge fan of '80s culture and insisted that I would love it. Right she was. I'm quickly approaching my 25th birthday this year (in a little over a month); therefore, I lived through my childhood years and two of my preteen years during the '80s. I believe that the first episode that I saw of this series was the 1986 episode; I found myself fixated on the witty commentary and reflections of the good and the not-so-good trends and happenings of that year. I knew that I wanted more. Luckily, there was another episode following that one, and I was so excited. I've taped every episode since and I still catch them if they're on when I'm hanging out at home.
The series is divided into ten hour-long episodes for 1980 - 1989. There is a wonderful cross-section of interviewees that range from '80s icons to some of today's stars. My one teensy-weensy gripe about the show is that a few of the interviewees are, in my opinion, too young to wax nostalgia on the '80s (Raven-Symone & LeAnn Rimes, for example). However, Raven-Symone was on the most popular sitcom of the '80s (The Cosby Show), so maybe that's the reason that she was interviewed. VH1 also may have decided that they wanted some young stars integrated into the mix to reach a younger viewer demographic as well. Anyway, it's too small of a turn-off to be bothered with, I suppose.
I found myself laughing and gasping at some of the things that I could relate to owning, remembering, wearing, and admiring from those years. It's how I sum up childhood and beginning to come of age; those years remind me of what my life was like before the onset of my teenage years and being stressed out over silly things. It was truly a happy time and this series captures the cultural aspects of that time.
9/10
