Personal Memories Archives : Page 2 of 9 : The Retro Network

Toy of the Week: Raspberry Tart and Rhubarb Monkey

One day when I got off the bus in kindergarten, my mom was waiting for me in the car with my brother strapped into his car seat. It was March of 1983 and we had

Toys That Had the Best Gimmicks

Brian Cave

Toy manufacturers have been able to squeeze in all sorts of features into our GI Joe, Transformers, and He-Man figures throughout the years. Spring-loaded missiles, lights and sounds, chips, battle-damage armor are just a few

TRN Toy Box: Transformers: The Movie Retro Figures

Ken Spaulding

Due out in mid-January from HasbroPulse.com (currently sold out) and Walmart.com, Hot Rod and Starscream are also due to hit Walmart stores in January. Priced at 33.99, these retro-inspired G1 figures from the 1986 animated

Event Spotlight: IBM Christmas Party

Karen Flieger

Sometime in December, my parents would get us dressed up and into the car and my dad would drive us all downtown to a big office building or hotel or banquet hall. I don’t remember

Christmas’ Hottest Toys: Tickle Me Elmo

Jeff Sheldon

When I was really young, we only had a handful of channels to watch. Because of that, my brother and I watched the same handful of episodes of the same shows over and over again.

My Christmas Memories: 1984

OldSchool80s

As you should already know, I can’t get enough ’80s nostalgia the whole year, but Christmas is an especially nostalgic time for me. In the past, I shared My Christmas Memories from 1980 and also My

Media Spotlight: Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth (David Bowie & Bing Crosby)

Karen Flieger

1. Why did I choose to cover this recording? It’s now officially Christmastime, for starters. For another, this now classic version of the song is celebrating its forty-fifth anniversary this year. My mom told me

Mighty Morphin Miracle: A Power Rangers Christmas Story

Adam Pope

No, not this. I promise I’m not subjecting you to a review of this sappy holiday hokeyness on VHS. For less annoying nostalgic fun, please read on… In August of 1993, I was wrapping up

Toy of the Week: Search for The White Ranger

Karen Flieger

1. Why did I choose this toy? I chose the White Ranger for two reasons: 1. It’s a story about looking for a popular toy for a child at Christmastime. 2. The recent tragic passing

Toy of the Week: California Ken

Karen Flieger

Over the summer, I wrote an article about the first Ken(s) I received, Roller Skating Ken. I also wrote about how those first Ken dolls

Toy of the Week: Mr. Sketch Scented Markers

Karen Flieger

If the 1980s had to be summed up with one specific sense, it would be scent. From Strawberry Shortcake dolls to Scratch and Sniff stickers and anything from Yankee Candle or Bath and Body Works,

Halloween on Roseanne

Jeff Sheldon

1990’s Sitcom television’s version of Halloween depicts how I feel Halloween should have been in real life. Dressed up in cool costumes, the characters on the show attended heavily decorated Halloween house parties and were

The 1994 Fox Halloween Bash with Elvira and George Carlin

Jeff Sheldon

One of the great things about Halloween during the 80s and 90s was that television networks put in much more effort to celebrate the holiday. Not only did the big sitcoms feature special Halloween episodes,

Top 10 Tales From the Darkside Episodes

Pitfall Gary

Man lives in the sunlit world of what he believes to be reality.But… there is, unseen by most, an underworld, a place that is just as real, but not as brightly lit…a dark side. Tales

Coca Cola’s Monsters of the Grid Iron

Jeff Sheldon

It was 1993 and I had just entered the 4th grade. My parents were at work and I was home from school likely for Columbus Day in early October. I remember it was a crisp

Remembering Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters

Jeff Sheldon

We didn’t have a Blockbuster in my town until I was in high school, and until then, there were only two other ways to get a movie that you didn’t buy at the mall. You