Leisure Suit Larry
Ah.. anybody remember those primitive choppy images of prostitutes, pimps, cliché bars, taxi rides and hotels? Originally considered a soft porn adventure, Sierra On-line created a world for Larry Laffer, a balding loser in his forties to... get laid. I remember laughing with a lot of my friends, easily cracking through the questions with a notepad until we were permitted into his sleazy world. That was then. In recent years the gaming industry has progressed far beyond our expectations or nightmares, where murder, theft and whoring are the next generation norm for entertainment. Released in Japan in 2006, a "hentai" rape-based game "RapeLay" made close to $100 million. Although it's now banned from shelves in Japan and pulled from Amazon, the domestic Japanese market is unlikely to fade anytime soon. I won't go into details of the sheer perversion and indecency but it makes me wish for the days of Leisure Suit Larry.
Multi-million toy commercials
So far only Transformers and G.I. Joe have been churned into action packed candy cotton. Can't Hollywood think of anything fresh? They probably can but it's a heck of a lot easier to just make a blockbuster that already has a set market. My question is... what do kids watch? The Saturday morning time slot is a pale comparison to the packed programs of the past. Sure there's Spongebob, but one show can't compare to the explosive creative burst of the 80's where the Smurfs, Voltron, Thundercats, the Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock ruled the waves. I guess the most we can look forward to is the onslaught of remakes coming our way.
Fashionistas & Hollywood
The part of the 80s that I sometimes think... why why WHY BRING IT BACK? The colors, thick theatrical makeup, leggings, jewelry, hair, shoulder pads, neon, silver and acid washed jeans ... it makes my head spin.
Although little kids can get away with wearing absolutely anything... hope to see a few little David Bowie and Madonna outfits this Halloween!
