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.
Recurring segments
- Unfinished Thoughts: Donal Logue gives an unfinished thought on a pop culture event from each year.
- Break Up Songs: Boy George presents the love songs for each year.
- Hip-Hop Jams: Doug E. Fresh presents the hip-hop jam for each year.
- Public Service Announcements: A public service announcement from each year is presented.
- Nerds: Gedde Watanabe presents the nerds for each year.
- What the F@#$! Moments: Gilbert Gottfried presents the "What the F@#$!" moment for each 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
- Devo's "Whip It"
- Richie Rich
- Grey Poupon
- Superman II
- The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show
- Flash Gordon
- Michael Jackson's "Rock with You"
- Real People
- The Blues Brothers
- Eight Is Enough
- Solid Gold
- Satin jackets
- Stir Crazy
- Private Benjamin
- Alice
- Friendship bracelets and ribbon barrettes
- Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me"
- Hungry Hungry Hippos
- Friday the 13th
Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on: Superman
Hip-Hop Jam of 1980: "Rapper's Delight" by Sugar Hill Gang
PSA of 1980: Don't drown your food
Nerds of 1980: Steve Jobs, Elvis Costello, and C-3PO
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1980: Alvin and the Chipmunks Release Chipmunk Punk
Ending Music Video: "I Will Follow" by U2
1981
- Dynasty
- Smurfs
- Journey's Escape
- On Golden Pond
- Billy Squier's "The Stroke"
- Endless Love
- Magnum, P.I.
- Rick James' "Super Freak"
- 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
Break Up Songs of 1981: The Cars' "Since You're Gone"; The Human League's "Don't You Want Me"; and The Greg Kihn Band's "The Breakup Song "
Hip-Hop Jam of 1981: "The Breaks" by Kurtis Blow
PSA of 1981: Think Before You Drink
Nerds of 1981: Prince Charles, Ric Ocasek, and Bill Gates
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1981: the USDA attempted to cut school lunch programs by 1 billion dollars by classifying Ketchup as a vegetable.
Ending Music Video: "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes
1982
- Fame
- Annie
- Steve Miller Band's "Abracadabra"
- Tootsie
- ColecoVision
- John Mellencamp
- Wayne Gretzky
- Laura Branigan's "Gloria"
- The Toy
- Conan the Barbarian and The Beastmaster
- Men at Work
- KangaROOS
- Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
- T. J. Hooker
- The Pointer Sisters' "I'm So Excited"
- An Officer and a Gentleman
- '
- Musical Youth's "Pass the Dutchie"
- Pink Floyd – The Wall
- '
PSA of 1982: Alternate Escape Routes in case of a fire Starring Dick Van Dyke
Hip-Hop Jam of 1982: "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force
Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on: The Beastmaster
Nerds of 1982: Thomas Dolby, Skippy, and Sarah Jessica Parker
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1982: Yale offering a 14-week course on mastering the Rubik's Cube.
Ending Music Video: "Heat of the Moment" by Asia
1983
- Richard Simmons
- Lionel Richie's "All Night Long "
- Staying Alive
- Klondike bar
- The Thorn Birds
- Risky Business
- Sunglasses
- The Day After
- The Outsiders
- Cujo and Christine
- Snausages
- Chicken McNuggets
- Stray Cats' "Rock This Town"
- Donkey Kong
- Culture Club
- Yentl
- KISS takes off their makeup
- Martina Navratilova
- Fraggle Rock
- V
PSA of 1983: "We're not candy!" by The Poison Control Center
Hip-Hop Jam of 1983: "White Lines " by Grandmaster Melle Mel
Donal Logue's Unfinished Thoughts on: The Day After and Snausages
Nerds of 1983: Nerds Candy, LeVar Burton, and Simon
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1983: The Beach Boys were banned from playing the July 4th Celebration.
Ending Music Video: "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats
1984
- The Karate Kid
- Van Halen's 1984
- The wave
- The Cars' "Drive"
- 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
- Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me"
- 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
Hip-Hop Jam of 1984: "Roxanne, Roxanne" by UTFO
PSA of 1984: McGruff: Take A Bite Out of Crime
Nerds of 1984: Ed Grimley, Alex Trebek, and Long Duk Dong
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1984: Ronald Reagan jokes that he has just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever: The bombing begins in 5 minutes.
Ending Music Video: "Relax" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood
1985
- Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
- Crack epidemic
- Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round "
- Teen Wolf
- Inspector Gadget
- Remington Steele
- Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus"
- Jenga
- Tears for Fears
- Bobby Knight's explosive temper and getting ejected from the game vs. Purdue
- The People's Court
- Dionne Warwick's "That's What Friends Are For"
- 227
- North and South
- Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is"
- Mr. Belvedere
- New Coke
- Jem
- Weird Science
Break Up Songs of 1985: Mr. Mister's "Broken Wings"; Klymaxx's "I Miss You"; and Simple Minds' "Don't You "
Hip-Hop Jam of 1985: "The Show" by Doug E. Fresh
PSA of 1985: Bob Barker about AIDS
Nerds of 1985: Crispin Glover, Lukas Haas, and Larry King
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1985: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus attract crowds with their mystical "Unicorn". Turns out it was goats with their horns surgically fused together.
Ending Music Video: "Take On Me" by a-ha
1986
- Pee-wee's Playhouse
- Jolt Cola
- Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet
- L.A. Gear
- Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al"
- Soul Man
- Rainbow Brite
- The Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian"
- Dallas episode "Bobby Ewing Comes Back to Life"
- Howard the Duck
- About Last Night...
- The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault
- Ocean Pacific
- Gloria Estefan's "Conga"
- L.A. Law
- The Golden Child
- Double Dare
- Garbage Pail Kids
- Michael Jordan
- Don Johnson's "Heartbeat"
- Joe Isuzu
- The Fly
Break Up Songs of 1986: Howard Jones' "No One Is to Blame"; Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over"; and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's "If You Leave"
Hip-Hop Jam of 1986: "Walk This Way" by Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith
PSA of 1986: Rock Against Drugs
Nerds of 1986: Willie Tanner, Rick Moranis, and Cliff Clavin
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1986: Fred Grandy runs for Congress and wins.
Ending Music Video: "Dancing on the Ceiling" by Lionel Richie
1987
- Beauty and the Beast
- Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again"
- Scruples
- The Fat Boys
- Flowers in the Attic
- LL Cool J
- Macho Movies
- Doc Martens
- Michael Jackson's "Bad"
- Full House
- Less Than Zero
- Jody Watley
- Remote Control
- Biker shorts
- Thundercats
- Raising Arizona
- Suzanne Vega's "Luka"
- A Different World
- Genesis' "Land of Confusion"
- Steve Guttenberg
- The Princess Bride
Break Up Songs of 1987: U2's "With or Without You"; Whitney Houston's "Didn't We Almost Have It All"; and Poison's "I Won't Forget You"
Hip-Hop Jam of 1987: "Push It" by Salt-n-Pepa & Spinderella
PSA of 1987: Rock Against Drugs
Nerds of 1987: , Bud Bundy, and Gilbert Gottfried
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1987: Vanna White's Autobiography: Vanna Speaks
Ending Music Video: "Respect Yourself" by Bruce Willis
1988
- Big
- Growing Pains
- MTV's Headbangers Ball
- Ripped jeans
- Beetlejuice
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit
- Billy Ocean's "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car"
- Jamaica national bobsled team
- My Two Dads
- Garfield stuffed animals
- Beaches
- Charles in Charge
- A Fish Called Wanda
- Ickey Woods and the Bash Brothers
- Hypercolor T-shirts
- Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me"
- Young Guns
- Alternative rock
- 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
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
Ending Music Video: "Loco-Motion" by Kylie Minogue
1989
- Weekend at Bernie's
- Doogie Howser M.D.
- Samantha Fox's "I Wanna Have Some Fun"
- The Clapper
- Field of Dreams
- Pete Rose
- Biz Markie's "Just a Friend"
- Thirtysomething
- Yuppie
- Richard Marx
- Driving Miss Daisy
- Zsa Zsa Gabor slaps a cop
- Guns N' Roses' "Patience"
- Rock N Roll Flowers
- Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique
- 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
Hip-Hop Jam of 1989: "Don't Believe the Hype" by Public Enemy
PSA of 1989: Magic Johnson on Designated Drivers
Nerds of 1989: Screech Powers, Woody Allen, and Steve Urkel
The What The F#?%!!! Moment of 1989: 87-year-old Carrie Stringfellow nearly gets embalmed at a funeral home.
Ending Music Video: "Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry