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

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1988: The final episode of St. Elsewhere revealed that the series was a figment of the little boy's imagination

1989

  • Weekend at Bernie's
  • Doogie Howser, M.D.
  • "I Wanna Have Some Fun" by Samantha Fox
  • The Clapper
  • Field of Dreams
  • Pete Rose
  • "Just a Friend" by Biz Markie
  • Thirtysomething
  • Yuppie
  • Richard Marx
  • Driving Miss Daisy
  • Zsa Zsa Gabor slaps a cop
  • "Patience" by Guns N' Roses
  • Rock N Roll Flowers (sound detection dancing flowers)
  • Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique album
  • Bo Jackson
  • Designing Women
  • York Peppermint Pattie
  • House of Style
  • Choose Your Own Adventure books
  • When Harry Met Sally...

Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on Pete Rose

Break Up Songs of 1989: "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" by Michael Bolton, "Miss You Much" by Janet Jackson and "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty

Hip-Hop Jam of 1989: "Don't Believe the Hype" by Public Enemy

PSA of 1989: Magic Johnson on Designated Drivers

Nerds of 1989: Samuel "Screech" Powers, Woody Allen and Steve Urkel

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1989: 87-year-old Carrie Stringfellow nearly gets embalmed after being mistaken for dead at a Springfield, Ohio funeral home

References

  • I Love the '80s Strikes Back on VH1