#110 - The Anniversary Show Celebrating 5 years of Retro Pop Culture Memories

Thank you for tuning in to the Pop Culture Retrospective Podcast. This show is dedicated to the memory of my big sister, Rebecca, who was a fan of all things pop culture, particularly the people, places, and trends that defined the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. 

Welcome aboard this pop culture time machine! I'm Amy Lewis, and this is episode #110 - A very special 5th anniversary episode.

Since this is the 5th anniversary of this show, I thought it would be fun to look back on the show via various lists, each with 5 items on it.  We will discuss some funny moments from the show, lessons learned, which episodes have been the most popular thus far, etc.  And before we get into lists regarding the podcast, let's start with a re-introduction as well as some information about the inspiration behind the Pop Culture Retrospective Podcast.

To begin, as you heard a few moments ago, my name is Amy Lewis and I am the host of the show, your captain aboard this pop culture time machine, if you will.  I started this podcast in May of 2020 as a way of dealing with the tragic passing of my sister, Rebecca who died by suicide in March of 2019. She was just 38 years old, and I had just turned 36 a few days before she passed away.  My sister's life was cut way too short.  In the 3 1/2 decades that we had together, I thankfully have so many fond memories.  Memories that are associated with laughter, pop-culture, our family, our friends, our childhood, our adolescence and our young adulthood.  We lived apart for most of our adult lives and experienced strain at times with our relationship, but the love was always there.  The memories were always there.  The silly stuff we loved as kids and teenagers were always there and a part of our conversations.  My childhood and teenager years are intertwined with my sister and they always will be.  

I tried attending support groups about my devastating grief and I even did some walks to bring awareness to suicide and suicide prevention.  And these were certainly helpful, if for no other reason than being around people that I could relate to, but I always found myself still feeling incredibly sad after each thing was over.  Somehow out of nowhere, I decided to start a podcast.  At first I thought maybe it could be about mental health as I was witness to my sister's journey for my whole life and also because of my career as a School Counselor and other relevant work experiences.  

However, I knew that would likely focus on more serious topics that would potentially add to my sadness, but a lightbulb went off and I realized I had something I could talk about endlessly, something that I was already passionate about, something that my sister and I talked about and joked about constantly - the pop culture that we grew up with from the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.  And thus, the PCR was born.  What started as a solo show recorded in the corner of my bedroom, has evolved into a show that has involved guests at times, unique topics, tons of research and connections with fellow podcasters and guests who have become close friends.  I literally had no idea what I was doing when I recorded the first few episodes of the show, but I think starting this show has been the most helpful and productive thing I have done to cope with my grief.  And the show is always light hearted and funny.  I poke a lot of fun at the stuff me and my sister grew up with, just like we did whenever we were together.  Outside of the show, I am a mother of two boys, a wife to my best friend, self-employed as a photographer who owns their own business, and trying to find time for all of the other stuff I enjoy like traveling, mountain biking, reading, and a whole host of other things.  So that brings us to the 5th anniversary show.  Now, let's get started on those lists!

To start, here are 5 things you should know about my sister, Rebecca:

• She was a HORRIBLE driver.  Probably the worst driver I have ever met.  I am not sure why this was such a challenge for her, but despite being one of the smartest people I have ever met, girl could not drive.  She got so many speeding tickets in her first few years of driving that she either did have, or was close to, having her license suspended.  One time she got pulled over for speeding…she got distracting while listening to the Hamster Dance (do you remember the Hamster Dance website with that repetitive song?  Somehow I found a remix, probably on LimeWire or something and burned it onto a CD and gave it to her. Apparently she couldn't ignore that banger and she didn't realize she was going well over the speed limit. When she was pulled over, she apparently told the officer that she really had to pee.  He didn't buy it and she got a ticket.  She was also notorious for getting into fender benders…I think every square inch of her car must have gotten hit and subsequently repaired.  Another one of my favorite Becky stories was when she was at the repair shop getting her car, a gold/beige Honda civic…after paying for the completed body work, she drove out of the parking lot, pull into the street and got hit by another car.  I can't make this stuff up.  And although she was about my height, around 5 5 or so, she drove with her drivers seat pushed forward, probably almost as far as it could go.  

Whenever I got into her car because I refused to let her drive when I visited her, I felt like I was getting into a little Tikes car for a toddler.  

• She was an incredible artist, especially given that she had no formal training.  Her freehand cartoon drawings were incredible and her ability to color them in with various shading and detail was mind-boggling.  Even her signature, which me and my Dad have tattooed on our arms, was like a piece of art.  
• Although she struggled with decision making and judgment at times, her intuition and gut instincts regarding situations with me or other family members was often on point, whether we liked it or not.  She predicted situations years before they would happen.  I’m pretty srue she knew I was gay before I did.  I'm not kidding.  She was able to ask me about it in the most respectful way possible.  And when I finally did come out which wasn't easy, she took me to my first gay bar.  Which is now closed.  She never met a former partner of mine and she knew this person was awful and not a good fit for me.  She told me that and I was incredibly angry at her for a while.  However, a few weeks or months later, I realized she was totally right.   
• She was accepting of other people.  For example, when everyone she worked with shunned the cooks in the restaurant she worked at, she embraced them and learned their language.  Also,she was able to see through facades of some of our friends and family members and still spend time talking to them, even if they didn't agree on things and even when others couldn't be as compassionate as her.
• She was incredibly nostalgic and appreciated how fortunate we were growing up.  She would rather have spent time with our grandparents instead of her friends.  She and I would watch old home movies when we were home from college during vacations.  She still loved stickers and toy figurines well into her adulthood, just like she did as a child. After my paternal Grandparent’s passed away she had my grandfather’s page boy cap hanging on her wall along with my Grandmother’s rosary.  
• Bonus, #6 - gave great advice.  Best revenge is no revenge.  How to run classroom. 

My sister was an incredible person.

Now lets move on to lists of 5 from the show.  

Let's begin with the top 5 funniest moments.  It was really difficult to narrow down this list, but I've spent the past few weeks listening to the back catalog of episodes so I was able to come up with a fun list.  Episode #54 was entitled Bizarre Toys & Collectibles of the 1980s & 1990s and on that we talked about and Trolls.  I shared that the creator of Troll dolls was a man named and I made a ton of bad Damn pun jokes.  Here are a few.

Episode #38 was entitled Extinct and disappearing restaurant chains of the 80s and 90s Pt. II and I talked about restaurant chains that had either closed entirely or were on the verge of being extinct and one of those restaurants is Sizzler.  I don't remember going to Sizzler a ton as a kid, but I learned how the business got it's name which I just found hilarious.  Here is the description as it was shared on that episode PAUSE and here is the outakes.   

Episode #53 was entitled Popular Toy & Cartoon Bears of the 1980s and on it I discussed the multitude of cartoon and toy bears which were popular in the 80s and 90s.  I read an article from the Onion that my sister LOVED.  We read this to each other all of the time and laughed our asses off.  So I knew I had to include it in this episode.  Here is the clip as it can be heard on the episode and here are the outtakes.

Episode #26  was entitled Extinct Department & Big Box Stores - retail of yesteryear! and on it, we talked about several department and big box stores that had started to disappear or disappear completely and one of those was Linen N Things.  Once again the Onion published a satirical article about Linens N Things.  Here is the clip as it can be heard on this episode and here are the outtakes.

And finally, my all-time favorite funny moment from the podcast thus far, the sharing of the lyrics to the sexual innuendo song Dot Com by Usher. I did a full episode just on Usher, which was episode # 22.  Featured in the film no one saw called Rhythm City Volume 1:  Caught Up (which I believe was a made for TV movie), Dot Com, while seemingly intended to be a sensual and serious song, ended up being the most ludicrous songs I have ever heard.  I know my sister felt the same way.  I am not sure what I like more, the actual reading of the song lyrics PAUSE or the outtakes.  I am not sure how I will ever top this funny moment.  

Next, here are the top 5 most downloaded episodes of the show.  

Remember that obviously some of these have been out and available to listen to for longer periods of time than others, but nontheless, here's the list.  I'll make sure to add at least one interesting tidbit I learned while researching for each episode.

Number 5 - Episode #88 - A brief history of the camcorder

I learned

• Before the inception of the camcorder, video filming required two separate devices - a video camera and a VCR. That all changed in 1984 with the release of the JVC GR-C1. JVC Video Movie Camcorder Commercial 1985 Produced from 1984 to 1985, this model was groundbreaking for the home video nerds of the world. The camera could record up to 30 minutes at a time on a TC-30 tape.  It could zoom up to 6x and even had a headphone jack.
• Vast majority of camcorders designed as right hand dominant.

Number 4 - Episode #87 - Top Selling Holiday Toys of the 1990s

In case you didn’t know, a lot of people have actually died because of Pokemon go, there have been countless accidents and acts of violence surrounding this game.  There is a website called https://pokemongodeathtracker.com/ and it has a timeline of all of the alleged deaths and accidents associated with the game.  So far the site suggests there have been 24 deaths and 62 injuries.  Apparently fights have broken out over disagreements while playing the game, an elderly woman was hit by a driver who was playing the game, etc.  As of 5/29/25, there have been 25 deaths and 63 injuries.

Number 3 - Episode #76 - History of Department Store Photography Studios

In the 1980s, Kodak did a nationwide survey in the United States and asked people what business they thought of when they thought of portrait photography and 60% said Olan Mills.   By this point there were studios all over the country in states like Alabama, Tennessee, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky.  At their peak, Olan Mills had over 1,000 free-standing studios.

Number 2 - Episode #1 Golden Girls

Rue McClanahan once allegedly said that the GGs executive producer asked her to persuade Bea Arthur to play the role of Dorothy as initially she was reluctant.  McClanahan told her that she was going to be playing Blanche and Betty White would be playing Rose and that made her perk up.  McClanahan told her it was the best script that would come across her desk, why pass on it?

Number 1 - Episode #45 Fiona Apple

One thing I read about Apple that just broke my heart is something she said about her classmates.  She said once quote:  “When I was a kid--10, 11, 12, 13--the thing I wanted most in the world was a best friend. I wanted to be important to people; to have people that understood me. I wanted to just be close to somebody. And back then, a thought would go through my head almost constantly: "There's never gonna be a room someplace where there's a group of people sitting around, having fun, hanging out, where one of them goes, 'You know what would be great? We should call Fiona. Yeah, that would be good.' That'll never happen. There's nothing interesting about me." I just felt like I was a sad little boring thing.” 

Which 5 topics did I enjoy researching the most:

Honestly, I have enjoyed every single episode of this podcast and I can't think of a time when I wasn't excited to learn more about something and record an episode about it.  That being said, there are a few standout topics/episodes that I really enjoyed putting together:

-Extinct and Disappearing department and big box stores Episode #26

-Extinct and disappearing restaurant chains - Episodes #37 & 38

-History of Department Store Photography Studios #76

-Today's Special Episode #4

-Novelty Crap and Gag Gifts of the 90s and early 2000s Episode #100

Comments from listeners about fav episodes

-Amy Bolduc has said a few times that she really enjoyed the episode about Department Store Photography Studios.  Friend and listener Jess said she just loves the flashbacks about her 80s childhood, Justin from the Pop Culture Reflections Pod said that the episode about In Living Color Color and Tina Turner episodes.

I hope you have enjoyed this retrospective episode to mark the 5 year anniversary of the PCRP.  I know I had so much putting this all together and reflecting on the show. I found a quote about nostalgia that I really loved, I shared it on IG a few days ago and figured it would be appropriate to close out the show with it as well.  Make sure to visit popcultureretrospective.com for all of the 80s, 90s and early 2000s pop culture needs.  You can leave a review, check out my blog posts, or purchase some merch!  I hope you will join me for my next episode where we will discuss yet another fascinating facet of the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s in memory of my sister.