Popular Nostalgia

T.V. characters we love and remember from the past.

Woooooo! To be the man you gotta beat the man. Ric Flair! As a kid growing up in the Southeast US nothing was more exciting than getting out to the Saturday afternoon wrestling matches. No one brought more excitement and cocky self assurance to the mat than the “Nature Boy”. Although throughout most of his […]

RETURN OF THE CATS A 1980s favourite is set to become this year’s Christmas ‘must-have’ as retailer demand outstrips supply of the new Thundercats action figures and vehicles. The retro cartoon – with celebrity fans including Jonathan Ross, Chris Moyles and Paulo Nutini – has been updated and recently released on British TV screens. The […]

He-Man was another of my favourite cartoon TV shows when I was growing up. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, as a TV show really had it all. A main character with muscles and a big sword. Check. An enemy with a skull for a head (Skeletor). Check. At the end of the show, […]

SuperTed (just realised it is all one word, not two!) was one of my favourite cartoons on TV as a youngest growing up in the 1980s. I don’t really remember why, but I do remember the slightly effeminate character Spotty (I think his full name was the Spotty man, but Super Ted just used to […]

Saturday (or was it Sunday??) mornings never were the same once we lost the Orange Organics front-man Pugwall (Peter Unwin George Wall) and his epic series of the same name. In the UK, we used to watch these glorious moments of Aussie stardom on Channel 4. Pugwall was played by a chap called Jason Torrens. […]

Kevin & Perry were two teenagers depicted by Harry Enfield and Cathy Burke respectively. The whole thing began on the midnight of Kevin’s 13th birthday where he transformed, werewolf-like, into a sullen, lazy and badly-dressed teenager who frequently reminded his parents that he hated them. Middle England went wild for this sketch and all its […]

Ah the 1970’s, when Saturday afternoon meant one thing -wrestling. With the chants of “Easy, easy” and commentary by an over excited Kent Walton, this was British sport at its most showy. Remember Giant Haystacks at 6’11” and 45 stone? Loved by millions of viewers and reaching the peak of his popularity in the mid-1970’s, […]

Some people stand in the darkness, afraid to step into the light. And then there was Baywatch. We never missed a single episodes as normally disorganised brothers and dads managed to time their takeover of the telly to coincide with the weekly soft porn episode brought to you by David Hasslehof. I recently watched a […]

The best morning show of th 1990’s. Ant, Dec and Cat Deely would run amok for a couple of hours. Ant used to try and beat the kids at the trivia quiz and he could be quite harsh -especially if he won. They impersonated most celebrities and we nearly got the long-awaited kiss on their […]

Let’s get ready to rhumble! PJ & Duncan were the stars of Byker Grove -the cool kids. PJ was much cooler than Duncan, who was a bit soft. Duncan was the baby-faced nice one and PJ the fit, naughty one. Played by Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelley, the characters eventually grew up and out of […]

A SEMINAL MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF BRITISH TV!! Byker Grove was gritty, but worse than the under-age sex, drug-taking and general malaise of a rough Northern sitcom was when PJ, the hero of the saga, took one for the team against Denton Burn. I cannot remember how many times I have heard people recall […]

Mr Motivator WAS the 1990s. He carried off three horrendous looks in one go: The Bum Bag – rarely was Mr Motivator ever without his precious bum bag. The Leotard – something which should never be seen on a male, out of athletics, he somehow managed to get away with it. In bright colours. Before […]

Singlehandedly responsible for an entire decade’s worth of recruitment to the fire service, Fireman Sam was waaaay cooler than Postman Pat. The same cling film was used for water effects, but Sam had a Wallace and Gromit style LED system installed in his house. A man ahead of his time. Not only that, but Fireman […]

“Go-go-gadget legs!” Inspector Gadget was a buffoonish policeman who had a whole host of gadgets, most of which consisted of making his legs or arms extend. He also had helicopter style rotor-blades which came out of the top of his head. Most of the crimes which Inspector Gadget ‘investigated’ – his missions – were given […]

Screech, played by Dustin Diamond, was a cult figure in 90s teen TV. His affable nature, willingness to do anything for his best friend Zach, stupid curly hair and squealy not-quite-made-it-through-puberty voice made him our favourite. Screech had a massive crush on Lisa Turtle. Since Saved By The Bell, Dustin Diamond has played a number […]