Retro Weekend Rewind: Christmas Edition - Christmas Comes to Pacland, Atari 2600, & Christmas Crunch

It’s beginning to look a lot like an ‘80s Christmas! (At least for us!)  In this month’s edition of the Retro Weekend Rewind we’re going to take a look at some Holiday Favorites from that Ho! Ho! Ho! so awesome decade!  So stop circling toys you want from that 1981 Sears Wish Book Catalog, mix up a fresh pitcher of Tang, and cozy up to a quick trip down Retro Christmas Memory Lane!

Christmas Comes to Pacland

Christmas Comes to Pacland (Preview) 12/16/1982

Christmas Comes to Pacland was a prime-time Holiday special based on the Pac-Man Saturday Morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera. It aired on December 16, 1982 on ABC. Pac-Man and his family help Santa get airborne after a crash landing on Christmas Eve while avoiding “Packy’s” ghostly enemies.  The cartoon featured classic voice talents as Marty Ingels (Pac-Man)  Russi Taylor (Pac-Baby), Frank Welker (Chomp Chomp/Morris Reindeer), Peter Cullen (Santa Claus/Sour Puss) among others.  Who remembers skipping Magnum P.I. that Thursday to watch this Christmas adventure and talk about it the next morning at school? 

Atari 2600

Atari 2600 Christmas Commercial (1981) 

It wouldn’t be an ‘80s Christmas without an Atari 2600 and a few games under the tree! The Atari VCS (Video Computer System) was originally released on September 11, 1977 and officially called the Atari 2600 by 1982.  This video game system brought arcade gaming home in a big way and can be considered the console that the entire industry is built on to this day! Popular games for the 2600 were Asteroids, Space Invaders, Yars’ Revenge, Centipede, among many others. Some of the Atari systems, including the two that I had (divorced parent’s) were bundled with Pac-Man and Combat! What were some of your favorite Atari 2600 video games?

Cap’n Crunch’s Christmas Crunch Cereal

Christmas Crunch commercial (1988)

Christmas wouldn't be complete without the sugary breakfast goodness that is Christmas Crunch!  This cereal is a seasonal version of Cap’n Crunch that was first introduced in 1988, by Quaker, and can still be purchased during the holiday season today! The cereal included the regular Cap’n Crunch cereal pieces, but added red and green Christmas Crunch Berries. Each year the box features the Cap’n dressed as Santa Claus. This Christmas version of an ‘80s favorite cereal still destroyed the roof of every boy and girl’s mouth who just wanted to stay off of Santa’s Naughty List! 

We hope you enjoyed this look back at Christmases long, long ago! Be sure to leave a comment below, Tweet, or Facebook us with your favorite childhood Christmas memories! If you have suggestions for future Retro Weekend Rewind posts let us know. Thanks for stopping by and we’ll see you here next time! Merry Christmas from The Near Mint Fanboys! 

Retro Weekend Rewind: Mr. T (Cartoon & Cereal)

This month’s post is about an 80s icon who would “Pity the fool who don’t devote an edition of Retro Weekend Rewind to his greatness” That’s right, I’m talking about the one and only Mr. T! 

That gold chain wearing, mohawk having, stay in school saying muscle man was a staple of the ‘80s. He was everywhere during that amazing decade from beating up Rocky Balboa, visiting Arnold Drummond, and being drugged just to get him on a plane every week for 5 seasons. The one and only Mr. T is so amazing that he hits the trifecta for Retro Weekend Rewind: Cartoon, Toys, and Cereal!

“Mister T” the series aired on NBC Saturday mornings from 1983-1986. Only Mr. T could put teenage gymnasts in danger every week, to solve mysteries, and not get in trouble by the authorities. (As long as there’s a lesson to be learned at the end of each episode.) That’s the power of T! Plus he had a dog with a mohawk and a gravelly voiced Danny Bonaduce look-alike that dressed like him. The cartoon was produced by Ruby-Spears Productions with a total of 30 episodes.

Mister T Cartoon intro courtesy of Warner Archive

The A-Team 6" action figure commercial courtesy of vintagetvcommercials.com

The Mr. T cartoon did not have it’s own toylike, like so many of it’s ‘80s counterparts, but "T" did have several action figures at the time. The A-Team had  6” and 3 3/4” toy lines released by Galoob in 1984. The 6” figures, didn’t have great articulation, but a lot of cool accessories for a line this size. The 3 3/4” line had articulation similar to the G.I. Joe figures of that time, but with less quality control and broke very easily. The most popular piece of Mister T merchandise was the talking 12” doll that said lines like “Always listen to your parents”, “Stay in School”, and (of course) “I pity the fool!”.

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Mr. T Cereal was a great example of 80s cereal based on a cartoon.  It was released in 1984 by Quaker and had cereal pieces shaped like the letter T.  The box was in-your-face with a bright yellow background, the name in large red letters, and Mr. T himself pointing right at you! This cereal was so popular that Pee-Wee Herman ate it as part of a well balanced breakfast in 1985's "Pee-Wees Big Adventure"!

Mister T Cereal Commercial

We pity the fool that didn't enjoy this months Retro Weekend Rewind. Be sure to leave your comments and stories of your own 80s Saturday mornings with us. If you have any suggestions for a future Retro Weekend Rewind let us know here or on our twitter @nearmintfanboys. See you in December for a Christmas themed Retro Weekend Rewind!

Retro Weekend Rewind: Pac-Man

Pac-Man Arcade Game

Hello, nerds! It’s the first Saturday of the month so we’re back with a new Retro Weekend Rewind. This weekend we are going to take a look at the awesomeness that is the dot-gobbling yellow open-mouth circle that is Pac-Man! If the 80s had a poster child then Pac-Man would be it.

Pac-Man hit the United States, from Japan, in October of 1980 with his amazing arcade game. Soon after that he became a social phenomenon! Today we’re going to take a quick look at some of Pac-Mans highlights from the decade that can’t be beat!

Pac-Man Arcade

The Pac-Man Arcade Game was developed by Namco and released in Japan in May 1980. In October, of that same year, the game was licensed and distributed by Midway in the United States. Once Pac-Man hit American shore’s the video

game and cultural landscapes were never the same. 

Pac-Man Arcade screen

I remember sinking quarter after quarter into this game at our local Dairy Queen every Friday night. The game play was exciting as you tried to eat up all the pac-dots (or pellets) while trying to avoid four multicolored ghost. (Blinky, Pinky, Inky, & Clyde) I never felt more powerful then when I ate one of the four Power-Pellets and saw those specters turn blue and run for their…uh lives? 

Pac-Man on Atari 2600

Pac-Man Atari 2600 Box

In 1982, Atari released Pac-Man for the Atari 2600 game console.  I remember getting my wood veneer Atari 2600 for Christmas, that came bundled with Combat and Pac-Man.  It was like having the arcade game in my living room…with square pellets. The graphics weren’t as good or colorful as the arcade version, if you can imagine that, but it was still fun for a six year old who didn’t want to leave the house.

Pac-Man Caleco Mini-Arcade

                                        

Coleco Pac-Man Mini-Arcade

In 1982, Coleco released a line of Mini-Arcade games that included Galaxian, Donkey Kong, Frogger, and (of course) Pac-Man!  These were great, because they looked like smaller versions of the stand-up arcade games they are based on. 

I have an Aunt who owned the Pac-Man and Donkey Kong Mini-Arcade games. One summer I spent a week at her house playing the Pac-Man game non-stop. Because of the ear piercing sound effects, that blared throughout the house that entire week, that dear sweet woman let me keep the game. I still have it to this day.

Pac-Man Fever

Pac-Man Fever Album Cover

Way back in 1982, damn Pac-Man ruled that year, Bucker and Garcia released “Pac-Man Fever”.  The song was the first track on their concept album, also titled “Pac-Man Fever”, that was all about classic arcade games. Other songs included “Froggy’s Lament (Frogger), Ode to a Centipede (Centipede), and Do the Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong), as well as others. 

The song “Pac-Man Fever” was definitely the most popular off the album and became a top-ten hit, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. You couldn’t escape the song in the early 80s. Bucker & Garcia even performed it live on American Bandstand and Solid Gold. If you thought the video game’s own music was hard to ignore try getting this catchy tune out of your head after your first listen.

Pac-Man Cartoon

Pac-Man Family

Hey, guess what happened in 1982? That’s right Pac-Man got his own Saturday Morning cartoon!  The great Hanna-Barbera produced the Pac-Man cartoon and it ran for two season from 1982-1983. It aired on aired on Saturday mornings on ABC and was the first cartoon based on a video game. 

The cartoon followed the adventures of Pac-Man, Mrs Pac-Man (Pepper Pac-Man) Pac-Baby, their dog Chomp-Chomp and their cat Sour Puss. The Pac-Man family had to deal with their old enemies the Ghost Monsters and their boss Mezmoran.  Two holiday specials sprung from this show: The Pac-Man Halloween Special & Christmas Comes to Pacland. 

Pac-Man Cereal

Pac-Man Cereal Box

The sign of any great 80s icon is when it gets it’s own cereal and Pac-Man was no exception. In 1983 General Mills introduced Pac-Man Cereal and Saturday morning’s were not the same again! 

Like all great cereals of the decade, this included crunchy sweetened corn puffs with marshmallow bits. Of course the marshmallows were shaped like Pac-Man, and the ghosts: Blinky, Pinky, Inky, & Clyde. To this day, when I think of this cereal I believe “I can do it, I can do the Pac-Man!”

Well gang, I hope you’ve enjoyed this trip back to the era of Pac-Man. We’ll be back next month with another Retro Weekend Rewind where we’ll reminisce about more 80s awesomeness! -Fred

Retro Weekend Rewind: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Hello fellow Fanboys and Fangirls! Welcome to the Retro Weekend Rewind! Join us, on the first Saturday of each month, for a trip back in time as we remember the staples of Saturday Mornings: Cartoons, Toys, and Sugary Cereal!

Our debut Retro Weekend Rewind post is devoted to one of our favorite ‘80s franchises: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! 

Origin:

The Heroes in a Half Shell were created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird during a night of brainstorming in the early 80s.  The two creators self-publised a single issue comic that was intended to parody comics such as Frank Miller’s Daredevil run, New Mutants, Cerebus, and Ronin. In 1984 the Ninja Turtles appeared in their own comic produced by Mirage Studios. 

My first introduction to Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Michelangelo, in comic book form, was when Bryan let me borrow his copy of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle graphic novel that had the first 7 issues of the original comic. The artwork was amazing and the action popped off the pages even in a black & white comic! 

Cartoon:

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon first aired as a 5 part mini-series starting on December 28th 1987. This show was part of a great 80s tradition of having a cartoon to sell toys, because when Playmates Toys Inc was approached to create the toy line they requested that a television deal be made first. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cartoon Intro 1987

I remember the first morning Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles aired, because I was on Christmas break and getting ready to watch ThunderCats when this amazing intro and theme song came across my screen. This Near Mint Fanboy was hooked from the beginning. 

Toys:

The amazing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys were produced by Playmates Toys starting in 1988 and had lots of figures, vehicles, and playlets. These toys were a huge fixture of our childhood and could possibly be the line that I have the most figures and vehicles for. Bryan and I have memories of getting our allowances, walking to Wal-Mart, and buying new Ninja Turtle figures every week.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figure commercial

Michelangelo was my favorite turtle on the cartoon & from the toy line. Some of my other favorite Turtle toys were Casey Jones, Usagi Yojimbo, Baxter Stockman, Slash, Triceraton, & Leo the Sewer Samurai! Then there is one of my favorite vehicles from any toyline; The Party Wagon!

Party Wagon and Turtle Cycle Commercial

Cereal:

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cereal was made by Ralston and introduced in 1989. This was a huge part of my breakfast in the late 80s! It included “crunchy sweetened ninja nets” and “Ninja Turtle marshmallows”! Later pizza shaped marshmallows were added. This cereal has one of my favorite boxes of any cereal, because of the awesome use of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle logo and the bright animated version of the Turtles posing behind the bowl, in a group, with Donatello holing a giant spoon made to look like his bo-staff. I would still be eating this today if it were still around!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cereal Commercial

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are still going strong, after 30 years, and continue to be a part of the pop-culture landscape with new comics, cartoons, action figures, and live-action movies! Hope you Shell-Heads enjoyed this month's edition of the Retro Weekend Rewind! Let us know your favorite memories of the Ninja Turtles in the comments below. We’ll see you guys next time! COWABUNGA!