90's Equivalents of the 80's

This covers what the I Liked It When.. page about movies and TV shows doesn't cover.

This page currently edited by: . Past editor: ???

"Flare pants" = "Bell bottoms"
Fashion is repeating itself. Just like low rise skin tight jeans and Leg warmers too. But bell bottoms? Flare pants? No matter what you call them, they're STILL ugly looking to me!
"Nintendo" = "Atari"
Both are TV plug in games.
"Lady Gaga" = "Boy George"
The Cyndi Lauper comparison is terrible. Boy George was much closer to Lady Gaga in tone (gender bending rumors aside). Both were singers who expressed themselves through intentionally controversial appearance choices.
"Ashley Tisdale" = "Blossom (Miyam Bialik)"
They even look the same.
"Lady Gaga" = "Cyndi Lauper"
I know Lady Gaga is more recent than the 90s but its so true!! Except that we are for sure that Cyndi Lauper is a chick!
"Dream Phone game" = "Girl Talk Dateline game"
Dream Phone came out in the early 90's and had the same general, but updated, idea of Girl Talk Dateline. Both came with a nifty phone and had everything to do with boys.
"Bill Clinton - The Monica Lewinsky Affair" = "Ronald Reagan - The Iran-Contra Affair"
Both controversial events in US History where the president lied to the people about his involvement.
"Bill Clinton - The Monica Lewinsky Affair" = "Ronald Reagan - The Iran-Contra Affair"
Both controversial events in U.S. History where the president lied to the people about his involvement.
"Crystal Pepsi" = "7UP Gold"
Both soft drinks that flopped big time.
"Red Bull (and other energy drinks)" = "Tab"
Those soda pop alternatives have come a long way in putting in more flavor than Tab ever did.
"nutty professor/dr dolittle eddie murphy" = "48 hrs/trading places eddie murphy"
Went from a super funny no hole bared comedian to a not so funny, tranny liking, actor.
"Terminator 2: Judgment Day" = "The Terminator"
Who Cares!!!
"Mac" = "IBM"
Same company. Same but slightly faster computer. 10 years difference.
"Thong Bikinis" = "String Bikinis"
Same thing, different name.
"Shout 2000" = "Shout 1984"
I just don't get the reason why Disturbed took such a beautiful song and did all of this weird sh-t to it?
"Speedway Convenience Stores" = "7-Eleven"
Speedway has slushies similar to the Slurpees.Say that 10 times fast.
"Dialing 1-800 and getting an automated system" = "Dialing 1-800 and getting an actual live person"
Dialing 1-800 and getting a live person was so much quicker and easier to get business done over the telephone. Automated systems put you on hold forever!
"Beyond Pink" = "Barbie and the Rockers"
Both were Barbie bands. BATR wins, because her songs rule!
"Baby giggles n go" = "Baby talk by galoob"
Both dolls are scary in a way.
"Barney" = "Care Bears"
Both were lovey-dovey and happy and they liked to be around little children all day.
"Gameboy Color" = "Black-and-white Gameboy"
More colors, more fun!
"Mt. Bikes" = "Bmx"
Cos all the cool kids had'em... Oh and Vanilla Ice and Point Break were both from the 90s not 80s.
"Littlest pet shop" = "little pretty"
They both are pets littlest pet shop had more magnets than little pretty
"duece bigalow male gigalo" = "loverboy "Patrick Dempsey""
They worked hard for the money.
"jet li" = "jean claude van dame"
Is Jet Li the new Jean Claude Van Dam?
"gameworks" = "the arcade"
Swiping a card with credits Not Cool! What happened to dropping a quarter into a game?
"sonic the hedgehog" = "mario "
Both are adventurous heroes, but Mario is cooler!
"beenie babies" = "cabbage patch kids"
Make you want to collect them all.
"lexua" = "mercades benz"
All of a sudden, all of the ballers traded their Mercedes for a Lexus.
"lacoste" = "izod"
Izod just sounded better
"one hour photo" = "polaroid"
Instantaneously is still better than waiting an hour.
"dave & busters" = "chuck e cheese"
They're both fun and you can win prizes.
"barbie" = "acid washed jeans"
Because
"Yoga" = "Aerobics/jazzercise"
Workout trends attempted at least once by everyone.
"Sex and the City" = "The Golden Girls"
For the most part, Blanche = Samantha Rose = Charlotte Sofia = Miranda Dorothy = Carrie
"Judge Judy" = "The Peoples Court"
Both shows take place in a courtroom
"slayer - seasons in the abyss" = "slayer - rein in blood"
Slayer owns!!!
"800 number calling an automated system" = "800 number calling an actual live person"
To me, this is one of a few disadvantages of modern technology. Back in the 80s, you could call an 800 number and get straight through to a live individual for help. When you call an 800 number these days, you're directed to a computerized automated system that has you selecting five or so different menu options,then puts you on hold for what seems like an eternity before you're connected to a live person for help. And in some cases, the operator jumps in and disconnects you, causing you to repeat the whole process again!
"Pikachu from "Pokemon"" = "Twink from "Rainbow Brite""
Both are just the cutest thinks just about anywhere, but Twink was the only cute '80s creature I know that could talk.
"American Idol host Ryan Seacrest" = "Star Search host Ed McMahon"
Both shows showcase competition-based talent, but Ed McMahon proved to be more popular in the '80s in Star Search.
"HDTV" = "Big screen projection TV"
I don't believe HDTV came out yet in the 90s, but it's definitely today's equivalent to those big-screen TVs of the 80s.
"The return of Daisy Duke shorts" = "The return of miniskirts"
And here in the 2000s, both of these articles of sexy clothing remain in style!
"Pierce Brosnan" = "Don Johnson"
Women wanted them, men wanted to be like them.
"Frasier" = "Cheers"
Both star Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane.
"Apple I Pods" = "Sony Walkman's"
I remember having a Walkman in 1985,now I have a I pod in 2007.
"Lego MindStorms" = "Lego Technic"
Both Lego are for older builders, and are parts-intense.
"Roller Blades" = "Roller Skates"
Both are great fun, but I don't remember having to shift the wheels on my old roller skates the way you have to on 'blades.
"American Pie" = "Porky's"
Eh, horny teens need movies too.
"Eminem" = "Vanilla Ice"
White rappers! Eminem is way better and hotter though.
"Marilyn Manson" = "Boy George"
Both are gender-bender singers, popular in their heyday.
"Mariah Carey" = "Whitney Houston"
Both belt their heads off. Both incredibly talented and divas for the history books. Just as Saving All My Love for You and then How Will I Know catapulted Houston into success, Vision of Love was Carey's fame-maker, one of the most successful debuts in history. Also, I Will Always Love You and One Sweet Day are the same drawn-out, over-produced, melodramatic song.
"American Pie" = "Fast Times At Ridgemont High"
Sex driven teen comedy!
"Tai-Boh" = "Jazzercise"
Group exercise to music.
"Click Hits" = "Pocket Rockers"
They both play music and fit in your pocket.
"8 simple rules" = "Family Ties"
Both are TV sitcoms that were based around family life in those times.
"J-Lo" = "Samantha Fox"
All boobs/no buns vs. all buns/no uns; neither can sing worth a damn, but holy crap were/are they hot!
"The Fast and the Furious" = "Point Break"
The one had surfboards and wet suits and the other had supped up Honda Civics and nitrous but it's the same movie.
"Portable CD players" = "Walkmans"
Walkmans were the 80's cassette players, with headphones, to the 90's portable CD players, with smaller headphones!
"Green Day" = "The Cure"
Green Day caught on the most in the 00s, but the songs from American Idiot wouldn't really be out of place on a Cure record.
"low-rise or boycut bell-bottom girls jeans" = "skin tight, stretch fabric, drainpipe girls jeans"
In the 80s, you had to have skin tight jeans with narrow legs, usually made of stretchy denim; the legs were sometimes so narrow that they had zippers at the cuffs because that was the only way you could get them on over your feet. In the 90s, the trend started for skin tight bell-bottom jeans, sometimes made of stretchy denim and cut low at the waist so girls could show off their thongs/belly button piercings/back tattoos.
"whiteboards" = "blackboards"
We both had color, but you could never get that really good ear cringing squeal on a white board. Plus you never got to dust the erasers.
"flat irons" = "crimpers"
It was wild and crazy like the girl from The Goonies. Now its nice and straight, though some people overdo it.
"Microsoft Word" = "Bank Street Writer"
Word processor!
" Furby" = "Monchichi"
Both cute, cuddly and a little scary.
"E-mail" = "Sticky Notes"
Non-physical communication.
"Pokemon cards" = "Garbage Pail Kids"
GPK Still rule!
"Chat rooms" = "Party -lines"
Both were ways to try to meet new people. Both were controversial and dangerous.
"Jennifer Love Hewitt" = "Alyssa Milano"
Both girls would pass for sisters!
"John Madden Football" = "Tecmo Bowl"
Both are addictive football games and are great when played with some obnoxious loudmouth.
"Christina Aguilera's Soda/Shoe deals" = "Paula Abdul's Soft Drink and Shoe endorsements"
Although their musical styling is quite different, their endorsement deals are not. Paula had a soft drink deal and performed with Frank Sinatra in her soda ad. Christina had a deal with Coke. Paula was the front women for a shoe company(Reebok I think?), much like Christina hawks Sketcher's today.
"Britney Spears's Curious perfume" = "Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth perfume"
Both were teenage pop music princesses. Each of these ladies were the top young female performers of their day, and each made loads of young kids smell good.
"Britney/X-Tina/J-Lo/Jessica/Mandy/Ashlee/Beyonce" = "Debbie/Tiffany/Paula/Cyndi/Madonna/Janet"
All of these ladies from the 80's helped blaze the way for the women of today. Debbie Gibson and Tiffany helped the teenager's of today by carving out a path for young girls in their hey-day. Debbie Gibson wrote, produced and performed her own music, much like how girls like Christina and Ashlee at least write their own material. Debbie also performed choreographed dances, much like Britney does today. Paula Abdul, of course, was the leader of the choreography craze, which is similar to J-Lo and Beyonce. Cyndi Lauper and Madonna were trailblazers as far as statements and fashion, Hence Ashlee and Christina. Janet=Beyonce, need we say more? All of the females of today have taken something from the ladies of the 80's.
"Harry Potter" = "Jackie Joker"
Jackie Joker was an unfunny comic book about a boy magician/comedian. It was drawn by the same folks responsible for the unfunny Casper The Friendly Ghost and Wendy The Witch comic books.
"DVD" = "VHS"
You can watch movies, but with more technology.
"N Sync" = "New Kids on the Block"
Just like the Backstreet Boys...N Sync was right up there with the Boys from Boston!
"Pokemon... " = "Panini stickers"
Panini stickers ruled!
"The Internet" = "Teletext"
Teletext won!!!
"Reeves And Mortimer" = "Morcambe And Wise"
Possibly interchangeable!
"Electric scooters" = "Normal scooters"
At least they didn't make that ridiculous noise in the 80's!!!
"Mobile Phones" = "Walkie Talkies"
Sort of!
"Ashton Kutcher" = "Tom Cruise"
Both started dating older women, don't be surprised if our beloved Kelso starts dating Apple (Gwinneth Paltrow's baby) in few years!
"Bratz" = "Barbie "
They have the same hypnotizing power over girls, and a must-have for X-mas!
"Matrix, Lord of the Rings" = "Star wars"
Simple movies, converted into religion among geeks.
"Demi Moore" = "Julianne Moore"
Actresses named Moore who were in daytime soap operas in the 80s. (Julianne in As The World Turns, Demi in General Hospital.)
"Claire Danes" = "Molly Ringwald"
Redheaded teen actresses.
"White Michael Jackson" = "Black Michael Jackson"
Still the same, but just a SLIGHT difference.
"Spice girls" = "The Go GO's"
Successful female groups. Not exactly the best comparison!
"Pepsi" = "Pepsi Free"
"Jennifer Lopez" = "Paula Abdul"
Both so-so singers, great dancers, danced in Janet Jackson's videos, who knows some years from now J.Lo maybe hosting a reality TV show.
"Microsoft X-Box " = "Intellivision"
I think they were the most powerful console of their time.
"Dimmu Borgir (black/death metal in general)" = "Misfits with Jerry Only"
They invoke similar attitudes in the underground and the styles of dress are remarkably similar... after a decade, people are still angry, and they still love dudes who scream about death. Nice!
"PlayStation" = "Nintendo Entertainment System"
Final Fantasy started on the NES/Famicom and continues on the Play Station.
"City guys talking into wires." = "Yuppies on huge mobile phones."
Now is the first time everyone wants to say mines the smallest!
"Subaru 4x4 Cars" = "Amc Eagle 4x4 Cars"
"Coldplay" = "The Cure"
Yaaay for depressing British bands!!!!!
"Gargoyles" = "Thundercats"
Mortal Kombat= Double dragon
"Amy Grant as a pop star" = "Amy Grant as a gospel singer"
Double the fun. She's got some great songs though.
"French kissing" = "Messing"
Back when macking was said when kids kissed, nowadays it's called messing,
"Paula Abdul" = "Toni Basil"
Come to think of it they're both pretty hot but I like Toni Basil better, Hey Mickey!
"Renault Megane Coupe" = "Ford Escort XR3i"
Undoubtedly the eighties were better in car fashion. Do you remember the beautiful blue XR3i that owns Pierce Brosnan in 1987 movie The Fourth Protocol
"Website addresses" = "800 numbers"
"Myst" = "Zelda"
And, mind you, Myst was made entirely on Macintosh's. There's no such thing as a rotten Apple!
"Harry Potter book and movie series." = "The Worst Witch book and movie series."
Both are about children who go off to private school to learn about how to become witches and wizards.
"Pay-Per-View" = "Closed-circuit TV"
Although Pay-Per-View started in the mid-80s, closed-circuit TV was what dominated special events programming in the first half of the 80s.
"Balkans wars" = "Latin American wars"
Two series of wars in two different parts of the world that helped define their respective decades.
"Alan Jackson" = "John Schnieder"
Both are tall blondes who sing country music. The only notable difference is Jackson is a Southerner by nature and Schnieder just played one on TV.
"Dodge Viper" = "Chevrolet Corvette"
The Sexiest muscle cars.
"DirecTV" = "Large Satellite Dish"
Some advantages of DirecTV over the large satellite dish, such as the Houston Tracker: 1. DirecTV dish is small enough to mount on the roof of your house. 2. You can surf DirecTV without having to rotate the dish and switching satellites. 3. DirecTV is a lot less likely to be struck by lightning than a large dish.
"Lloyd Christmas" = "Pee-Wee Herman"
Two lovably dorky gents who both need to see a tailor (Lloyd in the Orange tux, Pee-Wee with the Gray suit)and visit a styling parlor (Lloyd's bowl haircut vs Pee-Wee's goofy crew cut. Both Pee-Wee and the Lloyd-Meister had run ins with big bullies (Lloyd tangled with Sea Bass while Pee-We locked horns with Francis) and went on cross-country trips (Lloyd went to take Mary her briefcase while Pee-Wee went to search for his bike. Both boys also had a penchant for goofy oversized grooming aids (Pee-Wee's giant toothbrush versus the electric sander for Lloyd's pedicure) Nuff said.
"General Motor's EV-1" = "1981 DeLorean DMC-12"
Both were called the car of the future, and both sold about the same only a few thousand.
"Travel Plazas" = "Stuckey's "
Although Stuckey's is still around, their popularity began to wane as the 90s rolled around. You could tell it by the way some locations began closing their doors.
"Minivan" = "Station Wagon"
As far as I can remember, the minivan was introduced sometime in the 80s. However, into at least the early 80s, the station wagon was still what it was all about in regards to family travel.
"Would you please pass the jelly?" = "Where's the beef?"
The Polaner All-Fruit commercial actually debuted near the end of the 80s, but it continued to air off and on throughout the 90s. So it is safe to say that Polaner All-Fruit was basically a 90s commercial.
"E-mail" = "Easylink"
Easylink was an electronic mail program that ran from MS DOS and used by a lot of businesses in the 80s. Messages were transmitted by use of Telex or TWX numbers.
"The Hooters Girls" = "The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders"
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders remain without a doubt the most popular group of young ladies in the world. And although the Hooters Restaurant chain started in 1983, the Hooters Girls didn't become famous until the 90s. In fact, the Hooters Girls would probably come in a close second to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in popularity, above all those other famous cheer leading squads.
"Internet" = "BBS (Bulletin Board Service)"
Although the BBS still exists on the Internet as forums and messageboards, it is the best computer use of a modem in the 80's.
"Compact disc/2000 The Mini disc" = "LP Records/Casstte tapes"
Getting smaller and smaller every 10 years. Think of it, what will the world think of next?!
"George Clooney on ER the drama" = "George Clooney on ER the sitcom"
Ya like how he came full circle? LOL.
Do You Have Other Observations to Share?

Please check out the 90's Equivalents of the 80's submission page.