I Love the '80s Strikes Back

I Love the '80s Strikes Back is a miniseries and the third installment of the I Love the... series on VH1 in which various music and TV 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.

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
 * 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: Alvin and the Chipmunks's Chipmunk Punk album becomes their very first record to go gold

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 school lunch 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 special course on how to solve 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

The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1983: Interior Secretary James Watt bans The Beach Boys from playing on 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 "mythical unicorns" from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus are 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 Vault
 * 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 runs for Congress from the state of Iowa and wins

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, recalls that she once smoked some pot, then she ate an entire meatloaf

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 reveals that the entire series has taken place inside the mind of an autistic child

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