Posted April 18, 2019

What was happening when T95 turned 10?

POP CULTURE:

Nintendo releases the Game Boy handheld gaming system in North America on July 31st, 1989. The Game Boy was the first 8-bit handheld system that used different cartridges that could be interchanged to play different games. It had already been released in Japan in April of 1989.

Yugo Cars go bankrupt
The first of 24 satellites of the Global Positioning System is placed into orbit
Voyager II passes the planet Neptune and its moon Triton and sends pictures back to earth.
First release of Microsoft Office. which was a bundle of Microsoft’s office applications, such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel , Dependent on the Version you purchased would depend on which applications were included
Sega Genesis released

Sony CD Player
Ghostbusters Toy Set
Electronic Handheld Games (besides the Game Boy)

SPORTS:

Finutes into ABC’s broadcast of Game 3 of the World Series, the Lome Prieta earthquake occurred, forcing a ten-day delay of the series. The Oakland A’s would eventually win in 4 games over the San Francisco Giants.

The NBA on TNT debuts.
The San Francisco 49ers won 20-16 over the Cincinnati Bengals
Notre Dame beats West Virginia 34-21 in the Fiesta Bowl to win the NCAA National Championship
Jim Abbott (one-handed pitcher) makes his major-league debut with the Angels without spending a single day in the Minors. He finished the season with a 12-12 record
Pete Rose is banned from baseball for life after an investigation found he gambled on baseball
Michigan beats Seton Hall in overtime80-79, to win the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship
Steve Tuttle of the St. Louis Blues accidentally slashes the throat of Buffalo Sabre goaltender Clint Malarchuk with his skate, cutting the jugular vein. Malarchuk would live, and required 300 stitches to close the wound thanks to trainer Jim Pizzutelli
Wayne Gretzky wins Hart Memorial Trophy in the NHL
The Calgary Flames win 4 game sot 2 over the Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup. Marks the ONLY time the visiting team won the cup at the Montreal Forum against the Canadiens

MUSIC NEWS/ENTERTAINMENT:

Paul McCartney releases “Back in the USSR” exclusively in the USSR. Copies sell for as much as $1000 in the U.S.
James Brown sentenced to six years in jail for a police chase
Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” music video, taped in late December 1988, attracts criticism for its use of Catholic Church iconography and for the use of cross burning imagery, but also garners praise for its interpretation of discrimination, rape, and faith. Pepsi drops Madonna as a spokesperson out of fear the video will cause religious groups to boycott the company.

Jon Bon Jovie marries his high school sweetheart, Dorothea Hurley, at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas.
California jewelry store employees called the police reporting a suspicious person hanging around their store. The person turns out to be Michael Jackson shopping in disguise.
All four original members of The Monkees reunite in Los Angeles, USA, for a concert performance at the Universal Amphitheatre. The following day the quartet attend an induction ceremony at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where they receive a star.
Former Beatle Ringo Starr forms his own band named Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.
The Bee Gees perform in the U.S. for the first time in 10 years as part of their One for All world tour.
The Moscow Music Peace Festival is held in the Soviet Union. The event is put together by Doc McGhee and the Make-A-Wish Foundationand headline acts include Bon Jovi, Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, Cinderella, and the Scorpions.

Madonna gives a risqué performance at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards. Clad in baggy black sweatpants and a black bustier, she shocks the audience by simulating masturbation. The version of the song used in the show would later serve as the opening number of 1990’s “Blond Ambition World Tour”.
Ice Cube leaves N.W.A after financial problems and several conflicts with their manager Jerry Heller and the group’s founder Eazy-E. By this time, Cube has been recording his solo debut album, which will be released next year.
Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith leaves the band and is replaced by ex-Gillan guitarist Janick Gers who had most recently worked with Bruce Dickinson on his solo project.

https://open.spotify.com/user/v2tenxqxlp0xx9pxi3zha37c6/playlist/0YsMhUOEr3CmiWXrwbO6cW?si=tg-CHFzpSd-X8tvbFyme-A

BOX OFFICE:

Batman

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Lethal Weapon 2
Twins
Back to the Future Part II
Ghostbusters II
The Little Mermaid
Driving Miss Daisy
Parenthood
Dead Poets Society
Licence to Kill
Honey, I Shrunk The Kids
My Left Foot
When Harry Met Sally

TELEVISION:

Fox broadcasts the series premiere of The Simpsons, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”, which also acts as a Christmas special. The new series is a spin-off of a series of animated sketches that had previously aired on The Tracey Ullman Show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BxK2iVt5tg

Pat Sajak quits the daytime version of the series Wheel of Fortune for a CBS late night talk show while remaining host of the nighttime version. His daytime hosting role will be assumed by Rolf Benirschke, then by Bob Goen when Wheel switches networks from NBC to CBS that July.
Shining Time Station, a children’s sitcom debuts on PBS. Starring Didi Conn, Brian O’Connor and Ringo Starr, the series introduces British children’s television series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends to America.
On the NBC sitcom Day by Day, six cast members from The Brady Bunch (Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, Ann B. Davis, Maureen McCormick, Christopher Knight, and Mike Lookinland) reunite.
The series finale of Webster has the eponymous character being transported to the USS Enterprise from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Michael Dorn guest stars as Lt. Worf.
For the first time since 1973, NBC reruns the 1960 telecast of Peter Pan, with Mary Martin in the title role. Earlier that day, two of the network’s game shows, Sale of the Centuryand Super Password, aired their final episodes. The following Monday, NBC will return the noon time slot to its affiliates.
Mike Myers joins the cast of the NBC series Saturday Night Live.

After a ten-month hiatus, American Bandstand reemerges on the USA Network. David Hirsch took over hosting duties from Dick Clark (who remained on as executive producer) and Bandstand moved outdoors to Universal Studios Hollywood. After 26 weeks on USA, Bandstand signed off for good on October 7, 1989 with The Cover Girls as the final musical guests.
CNBC, NBC’s answer to the Financial News Network, launched (CNBC and FNN would merge two years later).
NBC broadcasts the series finale of Family Ties followed by the network television premiere of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Former President of the United States Ronald Reagan joins NBC’s Vin Scully on commentary for the 1st inning of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
A pilot for a proposed X-Men animated series is first broadcast in syndication. It take another three years before an X-Men series would be fully realized.
ABC debuts TGIF from 8:00pm to 10:00pm, a new programming block for Friday nights with four shows (Full House, Family Matters, Perfect Strangers, and Just the Ten of Us), it also includes interstitial hosts. This block would become a rating hit throughout the 1990s, lasting until 2000.
The Comedy Channel debuts (it will become Comedy Central two years later).
Mystery Science Theatre 3000 moves from local programming (KTMA) to The Comedy Channel
Shows that debuted: The Arsenio Hall Show; Inside Edition; Coach; Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers; COPS; Quantum Leap; The Jim Henson Hour; Rescue 911; McGee and Me!; Tales from the Crypt; Seinfeld; Hey Dude; Saved By The Bell; G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero; Eureeka’s Castle; The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!; The Joan Rivers Show; American Gladiators; Beetlejuice (animated); The California Raisin Show; Doogie Howser, M.D.; Baywatch; Family Matters; America’s Funniest Home Videos; The Simpsons
Shows that ended or were cancelled: ALF: The Animated Series; Snorks; Webster; Dynasty; Family Ties; The Gong Show; Miami Vice; Hollywood Squares; The Jim Henson Hour; Police Academy; The Dating Game; ThunderCats; American Bandstand; The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!; The Smurfs; The California Raisin Show

HISTORICAL EVENTS:

The USSR pulls out of Afghanistan
Tokyo Stock Market Crash
The “Velvet Revolution” of Czechoslovakia
On October 18th, 1989 NASA launched the Galileo spacecraft. The Galileo spacecraft’s mission was to probe Jupiter’s atmosphere and study the largest planet and its moons for two years. The spacecraft was purposefully plunged into Jupiter’s atmosphere on September 21st, 2003 to take some final measurements and be destroyed. The Galileo Spacecraft was hugely successful in its missions and made several new and exciting discoveries.
After 30 years the Cold War between East and West ends following the Malta conference and the Berlin Wall comes down

Thousands of Students occupy Tiananmen Square in Beijing China protesting for democracy , Chinese Government Declares martial law and Hundreds of Demonstrators are killed
George H.W. Bush becomes president of the United States
Toyota launches it’s luxury brand the Lexus
Serial killer Ted Bundy is executed in Florida’s electric chair
The Mirage Hotel and Casino opens in Las Vegas as the first huge resort hotel
In Egypt, a 4,400-year-old mummy is found in the Great Pyramid of Giza
The Exxon Valdez oil tanker becomes grounded in Alaska’s Prince William Sound on March 24th, 1989. The tanker’s hull ruptures and around eleven million gallons of crude oil begins spilling into the ocean. Over 1,000 miles of coastline was damaged by the spill and 25 years later some areas and wildlife are still being negatively impacted.
British police arrest 250 for celebrating the summer solstice at Stonehenge
The Loma Prieta earthquake, measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale, strikes San Francisco Bay Area in California, killing 63
On August 23rd, the “Baltic Way” peaceful protest was held. During this protest an estimated two million people joined hands to form a human chain that spanned over three-hundred and seventy miles across the Baltic region.
The chain went through Soviet-controlled Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. All three countries were independent from the Soviet Union by 1991.

NOTABLE DEATHS:

Emporer Hirohito of Japan (world leader)
Trey Wilson (actor – “Bull Durham” “Twins” “Raising Arizona”
Salvador Dali (Spanish Surrealist Artist)
Ted Bundy (serial killer)
Dan Kelly (NHL sportscaster, coined the phrase “He Shoots, He Scores!”)
Lefty Gomez (MLB player, pitcher for the Yankees)
Lloyd “Tiny” Grimes (Jazz and R&B Guitarist)
Doc Green (Singer for The Drifters)
Maurice Evans (actor – “Planet of the Apes” “Bewitched”)
Sugar Ray Robinson (boxer, American middle/welterweight champion 1946-52, ’55, ’58)
Gerald Flood (actor – “Dr. Who” “Patton”)
Lucille Ball (actress – “I Love Lucy”)
Guy Williams (actor – “Zorro” “Lost in Space”)
Gilda Radner (comedian – “SNL” “Haunted Honeymoon”)
Ayatollah Khomeini (Supreme Leader of Iran)
Dik Browne (cartoonist – “Hi & Lois” “Hagar the Horrible”)
Pete de Freitas (drummer for Echo & The Bunnymen)
John Matuszak (NFL player – Houston Oilers, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders; Actor – “North Dallas Forty” “The Ice Pirates” “One Crazy Summer” “The Goonies”)
Stanley David Griggs (astronaut)
James “Jim” Backus (actor – “Mr. Magoo” “Rebel WIthout a Cause” “Gilligan’s Island”)
Mel Blanc (voice actor – Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig)
Laurence Olivier (English Stage Actor)
Donnie Moore (MLB pitcher for the Angels)
Kazimierz Sabbat (Polish President)
Lane Frost (bull rider)
Irving Berlin (composer, lyricist – “God Bless America” “White Christmas”)
Ferdinand Marcos (President of Philippines)
August A. “Gussie” Busch (American Brewing magnate, owner of the St. Louis Cardinals)
Graham Chapman (English Actor – Monty Python)
Bette Davis (actress)
Jay Ward (cartoonist – Rocky & Bullwinkle)
Michael Carmine (actor – Batteries Not Included)
William “Billy” Lyall (musician – Bay City Rollers)
Haystacks Calhoun (professional wrestler)
Billy Martin (MLB player and Manager of the Yankees)
Doug Harvey (Canadian hockey player in the “100 Greatest NHL Players”)