What began as a simple doll sold at craft fairs in the 1970s soon became one of the biggest toy fads in history. After beggning their life as "doll babies," the soft and playable dolls went through some more changes before becoming the Cabbage Patch Kids.

And their release in 1983 couldn't have been timed out better, as, coming out of the Great Video Game Crash, there was a return to simple, more traditional toys. But then something happened...

The growing popularity, combined with a very short supply, led to one of the biggest toy crazes of all time. Heading into the holiday season of 1983, utter chaos emerged in retail, and toy stores everywhere...

• Bonus 1980s audio content: Patreon.com/80s

She-Ra: Princess of Power wasn't just a He-Man spinoff, but a standalone character with her own persona, legacy, and mythology.

She was a bold experiment by Mattel and Filmation to crack into multiple toy markets at the same time, while also growing the He-Man brand.

From breaking the "Smurfette principle" to its unique introduction, She-Ra quickly became a defining 1980s brand.

Today, we look back at the creation, launch, and success of what ended up being a relatively short-lived toy and 1980s cartoon that still managed to make a huge dent in 1980s pop culture.

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Over the years, there's been a steady return to traditional media. From vinyl albums to 4K Blu-ray, people want to hold--and own--the content they love. There's also been a return to traditional film.

Our digital, streaming age is incredible, but sometimes it can feel like something is missing. And if you're a fan of 1980s movies, that means seeing these films we love, the way they were meant to be seen.

Traditional film, such as 35mm and 70mm, is making a comeback as real film provides a richer, more organic movie-watching experience compared to digital projection.

To look deeper into this, I took a trip to an independent cinema to talk to a true film projectionist and learn about the movies we grew up watching, and the theatres we watched them in.

• The Hyland Cinema: hylandcinema.com
• The Everything 80s Movie Review Podcast: Patreon.com/80s

When it was released in the summer of 2016, not only did Stranger Things become a pop culture phenomenon, but it was also a true love letter to the 1980s.

Today, we look back at the creation, success, and impact of an era-defining show that introduced 1980s culture to a whole new generation. In this episode, we'll look at:

• The struggles the Duffer brothers went through to get the show made
• The specific premise they used that combined two 1980s icons
• The real-life CIA experiments that led to the creation of Eleven
• The 1980s movies that influenced the show
• How Stranger Things became one of the crown jewels for Netflix
• How Stranger Things may have led to a resurgence of 1980s-based movies and TV shows

The Everything 80s Movie Review Podcast: Patreon.com/80s

It's time to head back to Bayside as we look at the creation, launch, and success of an era-defining show: Saved by the Bell.

But the true origins of Saved by the Bell not only go back to 1986; it started as a completely different show.

From there, the show went through many changes, including a new cast, bouncing from NBC to the Disney Channel, and then from prime time to its eventual home on Saturday mornings.

However, back at this point in the 80s, the launch of a live-action show to air during Saturday morning cartoons was seen as a gigantic risk.

Fortunately, a generation of kids who were growing up quickly soon fell in love with Zack, Kelly, Lisa, Jessie, Slater, and Screech.

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Where do you even start when compiling a list of the greatest TV shows of the 1980s? Well, today, this won't come from my opinion but a combination of rankings by Variety, Rolling Stone, and the Writers Guild of America.

By combining the expertise of staff, television actors, creators, showrunners, writers, directors, producers, and critics, these outlets have compiled their own lists of the 100 best TV shows of all time.

I've gone through them and found 20 shows with connections to the 1980s, and in this episode, we'll look at those shows to see which ones are considered the very best of the decade.

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The big day has finally arrived; it's Halloween in the 1980s. Your costume is set, your pillowcase is ready, and you've strategically planned your trick-or-treating route. But before you get to the big night, you still have to get through the day.

Welcome to The Everything 80s Halloween Special. Today, we walk through a typical Halloween day during the 1980s. We start the day at school before catching a quick dinner at the fast food place that did Halloween as well as anyone in the 80s.

With time to kill before heading out to trick-or-treat, you have time to watch some cartoons, but we'll look at a few unsuspecting ones that were caught up in the Satanic Panic of the 1980s.

Finally, it's time to head door-to-door, and you're looking for the best candy possible. But which candy was the most popular at Halloween during the 1980s? We'll look at the top choices for each year, along with the one that is the most popular overall (along with the one considered the worst...).

And before the day is finished, there is still time to watch some Prime Time TV, and we'll look back at the Halloween episodes of some popular sitcoms.

• Bonus Audio Content: Patreon.com/80s

In 1986, Clifford Stoll -- originally a Berkley Lab astronomer -- had become the manager of their computer department. One day, he noticed something, a small accounting glitch that seemed insignificant, but would become the first great Cold War hacking story.

One tiny clue led Clifford Stoll on a real-life digital spy chase that included West Germany, the KGB, and the most top-secret, classified information on earth.

In an era of dial-up phone lines and dot matrix printers, computer security wasn't given much priority, but this event would lead to the dawn of modern cybersecurity.

• Rambo movie review: Patreon.com/80s