Throw on your Baddest oversized jersey, and get your hair braidedas we take you back to the 90s! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!
Artist: Coolio Song: 1,2,3,4 (Sumpin' New) Album: Gangsta's Paradise (1995) Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 5 Bonus Fun Facts: This song had a second video made where Coolio is assisted in the rapping department by the Muppets!
Over the last few years, I've been collecting old wax & foil packs of trading cards from the 80s & 90s. Sure, I have a ton of these non-sport cards from when I was a kid, but the artwork and design of the packaging is something I missed. When you would buy one of these packs you would tear it open and throw away the wrapper. Never giving it a second thought. Seeing these again brings back memories of feeling the slick paper in your hands, seeing the simple artwork and the smell of bubble gum. Let's dive into a few of these packs that I have on display...AGAIN!
FOX KIDS CARDS (Fleer, 1995)
I love this set! I never knew these cards existed back in the mid-90's, but if I had known, I probably would have the entire set! Where else could you get a complete base set of 150 great looking cards that feature Spider-Man, the X-Men, The Tick, Bobby's World and Eek! The Cat? What a great blend of classic after school cartoons! There also was a Fleer Ultra version of this set that included foil stamping on each card and also had some chase cards available like "Power Pop-Ups" and "Suspended Animation" cards!
WildC.A.T.S ANIMATED (Wildstorm, 1995)
I was a fan of the WildC.A.T.S comic when it first hit the stands in 1992. It featured gorgeous art by Jim Lee and the stories were fairly entertaining in a 90's extreme kind of way. My liking for the series had already waned by the time the WildC.A.T.S cartoon hit the air in 1994. These cards are based off of that series and I maybe caught 1 or 2 episodes of it's 13 episode run. Still, pretty nice set.
MUPPETS TAKE THE ICE (Cardz, 1994)
I got a few of these card packs in those 2 comics and 1 card pack combo set that the Dollar Tree used to sell. For $1 you could not go wrong. These cards are officially licensed NHL products and feature the Muppets on the ice in all the NHL teams uniforms and use official logos. There are 80 cards in the set and include such variations as "Team Facts", "Team History" and "Rules" cards. Glad to see Animal representing the NJ Devils here!
VR TROOPERS PUZZLE CARDS (Saban, 1995)
My younger brother was big into the Power Rangers in the early 90's, so when VR Troopers, a sister series to MMPR, hit screens in 1994, he was there to watch it. The premise of the show followed 3 California teenagers who stumble upon experimental VR technology. They use this technology and their martial arts talentsto find their leader's father and also to fight the evil Grimlord alongside their talking dog, Jeb! This pack of cards features cards that are puzzle pieces to a large picture of the canine sidekick. I just found out that the popularity of VR Troopers was close to that of Power Rangers, but the show was cancelled after 2 seasons due to the production staff exhausting all of the Japanese footage they had licensed to make the show! Wow!
1987 TOPPS BASEBALL CARDS
This is my favorite baseball card set of all-time! This was the set that introduced me to card collecting. I love everything about it from the selection of players included to the wood grain borders. It also helps that I could collect the entire 1986 World Series Champions Mets team. I also received my first Bo Jackson card through this set! Now enjoy this hot "Get Metsmerized" jam from 1986 featuring the mad mic skills of Dwight Gooden, Lenny Dykstra, Howard Johnson and more!
Watching Jim Henson's Christmas Toy holiday special has been a yearly tradition in my family since the special aired on December 6th, 1986 on ABC! We recorded the puppet driven special onto a VHS tape that me and my brother would watch countless numbers of times. Over the years we lost that tape, but a few years ago I discovered the Christmas Toy on DVD and picked it up. Now my 3 kids can enjoy this amazing holiday tradition each year.
The Christmas Toy has 3 main characters that are the center of the story. Rugby, Apple & Mew. But there are so many fantastic background characters in this movie that you can watch this every year and discover someone new in the playroom. Below are 5 of my favorite toys:
Bleep The Robot
Bleep actually plays a fairly large roll in the film and has a few fun moments. I have always been a fan of the old school looking tin robots and Bleep fits the bill.
Defenders of the Castle
These colorful little soldiers never leave their post, but they will take a break from their duties to sing a rousing number called "Toys Love to Play"! I always thought these guys and their castle playset would have been so much fun to have.
Dauntless Dragon
What kid wouldn't love a huge stuffed dragon like Mr. Dauntless here? Unlike some of the other toys in the play room he is huge and you can easily spot him in some of the scenes. He really is a very cool looking toy.
Ditz The Clown
Ditz has a very small part in The Christmas Toy, but it's a big one! He is the first toy we see get frozen after he is spotted out of place by one of the humans that live in the house. Thank goodness Christmas spirit can save the day. His name should tell you all you need to know about this toy's personality.
The Rabbit in a Baseball Jersey
I don't know why, but I have always loved this little guy. He is truly a background character in this movie. He has no lines is mostly in the back of every shot he is in and he doesn't do anything that affects the overall story. He is just a cuddly looking bunny ready to smack a few home runs and that's pretty awesome to me!
The Christmas Toy is one of my favorite holiday movies and I hope one day it will be released in HD with it's original open and ending featuring Kermit The Frog! Until then I can always enjoy these clips on YouTube.
In 1986 Jim Henson introduced us to Rugby the tiger and his friends in the family holiday special "The Christmas Toy"! I remember when this first aired on TV we recorded it onto VHS and watched it every year. It became one of our favorite Christmas movies. I still remember that it was presented by KRAFT foods and they ran a recipe or holiday related commercial for KRAFT products during every break!
The story revolves around our main character Rugby, who was last year's beloved Christmas toy wanting to be this year's Christmas toy. He is willing to do anything to get under the tree this year, even facing off with the people who live there. You see, if a toy is found out of place they become "frozen" forever, but this matters not to our confident hero, Rugby!
His best friends Mew, the cat toy and Apple, the doll try to do their best to stop him, but the Tiger proves to wily for them to keep in the play room. Rugby eventually makes it to the living room, but finds out that someone else is under the tree! He learns a valuable lesson from his adventure and Christmas cheer is spread throughout the house. I don't want to spoil the ending for you if you haven't seen this special yet, but it's pretty AWESOME!
"The Christmas Toy" still remains one of my favorite holiday specials and I was finally able to pick up a DVD copy of it a few years ago, so I could introduce it to my kids. Guess what? They love it too!
My only beef with the latest release of "The Christmas Toy" is that they completely removed all evidence that Kermit the frog was in this film! I understand that HIT had to do this because Disney owns the Muppets now, but it just didn't seem right to keep the green legend out of this special. I mean, he did the introduction that sets up the whole story! If you would like to see Kermit's intro, you can view it in the video below.
What is your favorite Christmas special/movie? Let us know in the comments below and HAPPY HOLIDAYS from 20 Years Before 2000!
