So Alyssa asked me to write all about the things that happened in 1983. Well, I had so much fun talking about 1984 I thought I'd take up the challenge and talk about the awesomeness of 1983. So let's brek it down.
Movies:
Return of the Jedi, A Christmas Story, War Games, Strange Brew, Mr. Mom, Eddie and the Cruisers, Cracking Up, Flashdance, Koyaanisqatsi, Lone Wolf McQuade, The Right Stuff, Terms of Endearment, Superman III, and if you're a gangster or rapper or even if you're both Scarface was also released in 1983.
TV Shows:
Fraggle Rock, Mama's Family (that show drove me nuts. I could never get into it), The A-Team, Black Adder, Webster, and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. I loved Webster back in the day, but the only show that has really stood the test of time is Black Adder. So hooray for Rowan Atkinson.
Songs:
Africa by Toto, All Night Long by Lionel Richie, Bark at the Moon by Ozzy Osbourne, Beat It by Michael Jackson, Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, Blister in the Sun by Violent Femmes, Blue Monday by New Order, Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley and the Wailers, Burning Down the House by Talking Heads, China Girl by David Bowie, Cum on Feel the Noize by Quiet Riot, Do You Really Want to Hurt Me by Culture Club, Don't You Want Me by Human League, Der Kommissar by After the Fire, Down Under by Men At Work, Every Breath You Take by The Police, Every Day I Write the Book by Elvis Costello, Far From Over by Frank Stallone, Faithfully by Journey, Gold by Spandau Ballet (one of the greatest songs of all-time, by the way), Holy Diver by Dio (Ronnie James Dio is the greatest metal singer of all-time if you didn't know), Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran, Let's Dance by David Bowie, Little Red Corvette by Prince, Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benetar, Nobody's Diary by Yaz, Our House by Madness, Photograph by Def Leppard, Rio by Duran Duran, Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top, Steppin' Out by Joe Jackson, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by Eurythmics, Love Cats by The Cure, Safety Dance by Men Without Hats, This is the Day by The The, Thriller by Michael Jackson, Too Shy by Kajagoogoo, Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler, True by Spandau Ballet, Uptown Girl by Billy Joel, White Lines by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, You Are by Lionel Richie.
Now that's what I call a fantastic bunch of hits for 1983. As I look at it, I think some of them might have actually been released in 1982 or 1984. The master list I cut this from may or may not have been put together in a haphazard manner. At any rate, that's a bunch of awesome songs to be released in one time period.
Video Games:
Spy Hunter, Dragon's Lair, Star Wars, Gyruss, Congo Bong, Mario Bros., Battlezone, Burger Time, Dig Dug, Galaxian, Gauntlet, Joust, Jungle Hunt, Keystone Kapers, Miner 2049er, Pitfall II, Pole Position, Popeye, Q*Bert, Vanguard, and possibly others. Some of these games were enjoying their initial release in the arcade while others were being released on the best system of the day: the Atari 2600.
It should also be noted that the bubble burst on the video game market in 1983. Atari, Coleco, Intellivision, and a few others were seeing the rise of personal home computers which could play games as well as do word processing and other stuff. So video game consoles were quickly phased out and home computers were ushered in. A lot of people lost a lot of money in the transition, and several companies folded. This is known as the video game crash of 1983. Of course it didn't stay crashed for long. Nintendo picked up where Atari and the others left off and took games to a whole new level.
Sports:
The Baltimore Orioles win the World Series, the Miami Dolphins lost the Super Bowl, The Michigan Panthers won the USFL Championship (does anybody else think the USFL was awesome? I know I did), the New York Islanders won the Stanley Cup, and the 76ers won the NBA championship. I can't say as I care for most of those teams. I like that the Dolphins lost the Super Bowl because I can't stand the Dolphins. The USFL was still around, which was great. I'd still like to get me some Arizona Wranglers or Arizona Outlaws gear.
Miscellaneous Whatnots:
The musical "Annie" closes on broadway. Giovanni Vigliotto is convicted of fraud in a Phoenix courtroom. He had married several women under false pretence and stole all their worldly belongings. He had pulled the scam 105 times before being caught. President Reagan first announces his widely-panned "star wars" defense plan. Sally Ride (funny name. It reminds me of the song "Mustang Sally") becomes the first woman in space. Guion S. Buford becomes the first black man in space. Saint Kitts and Nevis becomes an independent country. I challenge anyone to tell me where it is without consulting a map, globe, or atlas. Robert, you're on the clock. The first Hooters restaraunt opens. The United States invades Grenada, a country that could really could have been taken over by only two people provided one of them is carrying a pocketknife. Martin Luther King Day becomes an official federal holiday. The Turkish half of Cyprus declares independence from the Greek half. This leads to even more fighting than there had been previously. Brunei gains its independence from the UK, making it the last Southeast Asian country with an absolute monarchy. The D.A.R.E. anti-drug program is launched in American schools. And finally, McDonalds unleashes the McNugget(tm) on an unsuspecting public.