We (in the US at least) are being constantly inundated with show after show that brings back pop-culture characters from our past, and I think it’s because what we’ve got now just isn’t as great. I love it, it’s like having an old friend over for dinner and seeing that they haven’t changed a bit. Nostalgia plays a big part in the postings on this blog, and maybe there’s just more people out there like me who yearn for the characters that made cameo appearances in the entertainment of their youth. It’s no coincidence that Scott Baio, Brett Michaels, Hulk Hogan, the Coreys, and a bunch of other people I can’t think of at the moment all have TV shows. So, I’m waxing nostalgic about the last couple decades rather than my bikini line on this Sunday evening.

Sure, there were bad things like the Japanese buying up all of our property and our reciprocal embracing of their management styles only to later realize that they kind of sucked. There was also the imminent onset of Africanized killer bees, and one sting, or possibly even looking at them would kill you, at least according to that made-for-TV movie they did.

There were lots of good things though. Gary Coleman wasn’t doing CashCall commercials yet, because he still had enough money to spot Todd Bridges on crack runs. Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Nicole Richie were young, but getting loaded at home with older men instead of at popular LA establishments endangering the lives of my friends on Sunset when they drive home. Prague and Budapest were still affordable and free of T.G.I. Friday’s. The Police were still broken up and not packing stadiums full of people to play them mediocre shows. That’s right, Sting, you will not get 50 of my hard-earned dollars because I’ve heard about what you’re up to.

There was a time when the best musicians were dying because they either offed themselves, o.d.’d, or were involved in a deadly rivalry based on the coastal origin of their music. The latter circumstances gave us one of the best songs ever, “California Love“, which neglects to recognize the cultural diversity and economic significance of the Golden State, but highlights the joy one feels upon being released from prison and “hearing hoochies screaming”. Yeah, they just don’t make ‘em like they used to, and it just leaves me wanting more…