1 00:00:09,218 --> 00:00:11,587 ROB: Welcome to the '80s Greatest Hits. 2 00:00:11,754 --> 00:00:14,791 Now we're entering a strange world of make believe, 3 00:00:14,857 --> 00:00:18,861 cuteness and charm and some creatures that quite frankly 4 00:00:18,928 --> 00:00:20,496 I find terrifying. 5 00:00:20,563 --> 00:00:23,299 We're talking about the top ten toys. 6 00:00:23,900 --> 00:00:26,969 JACKIE: All the best toys came out in the '80s. 7 00:00:27,036 --> 00:00:29,272 ROB (off-screen): They were way more than child's play. 8 00:00:29,338 --> 00:00:30,973 NINJA TURTLES: Cowabunga! 9 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:33,342 LONI: It was just a craze, we just loved it. 10 00:00:33,409 --> 00:00:35,078 WOMAN: I got my doll! I got my doll! 11 00:00:35,144 --> 00:00:37,647 ROB (off-screen): They were hot toys created during a Cold War. 12 00:00:37,713 --> 00:00:39,582 SETH: It was a torture device thinly disguised 13 00:00:39,649 --> 00:00:41,884 as a children's toy. 14 00:00:42,151 --> 00:00:43,653 ROB (off-screen): When old barriers began to break down 15 00:00:43,719 --> 00:00:47,290 DMC: My Little Pony is the flyest thing ever. 16 00:00:47,356 --> 00:00:49,926 ROB (off-screen): And toys first found their voice. 17 00:00:49,992 --> 00:00:53,362 TEDDY: Hi, my name is Teddy Ruxpin. 18 00:00:54,097 --> 00:00:55,331 ROB (off-screen): Capturing the minds... 19 00:00:55,398 --> 00:00:57,300 ADAM: I have the power! 20 00:00:57,366 --> 00:00:59,535 CRISTELA: Could you imagine if you could do that in real life? 21 00:00:59,602 --> 00:01:00,536 BOY: Wow! 22 00:01:00,603 --> 00:01:01,537 ROB (off-screen): And hearts... 23 00:01:01,604 --> 00:01:02,738 TIFFANI: I'm sorry I need to hug her. 24 00:01:02,805 --> 00:01:04,107 ROB (off-screen): Of a new generation. 25 00:01:04,173 --> 00:01:07,243 But what was the toy that conquered them all? 26 00:01:07,310 --> 00:01:09,479 Now we're gonna find out. 27 00:01:15,585 --> 00:01:19,989 ROB: Without further ado, here would be our unnerving number ten. 28 00:01:28,264 --> 00:01:31,334 NARRATOR: The '80s, where individual dreamers harness 29 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:33,970 technology to their imagination, 30 00:01:34,036 --> 00:01:36,973 creating toys that would inspire millions and 31 00:01:37,039 --> 00:01:41,177 make untold millions for their inspired creators. 32 00:01:42,278 --> 00:01:45,081 TEDDY: Hi, my name is Teddy Ruxpin. 33 00:01:45,148 --> 00:01:46,616 PHIL: Hi there, how are you? 34 00:01:46,682 --> 00:01:47,850 I'm Teddy Ruxpin. 35 00:01:47,917 --> 00:01:50,286 Can you and I be friends? 36 00:01:50,586 --> 00:01:52,722 ADAM: You know this was like the good version of Chucky, 37 00:01:52,788 --> 00:01:55,691 you know, that spoke to you and it wasn't gonna kill you. 38 00:01:55,758 --> 00:01:57,160 TEDDY: Say hello to our new friend. 39 00:01:57,226 --> 00:01:58,661 MIKE: It's kind of a frightening looking bear. 40 00:01:58,728 --> 00:02:00,530 TEDDY: Can you and I be friends? 41 00:02:00,596 --> 00:02:02,832 MIKE: You really gonna give this to a child? 42 00:02:02,899 --> 00:02:04,934 NARRATOR: Well actually, yes. 43 00:02:05,001 --> 00:02:08,437 1.7 million of them in two years to be precise. 44 00:02:09,138 --> 00:02:12,542 CHRIS: It was just an amazing thing and created a phenomenon 45 00:02:12,608 --> 00:02:15,144 and people had never seen anything like it and 46 00:02:15,211 --> 00:02:17,480 we forget that today. 47 00:02:17,947 --> 00:02:21,984 NARRATOR: Teddy Ruxpin is the brainchild of a dreamer named Ken Forsse, 48 00:02:22,051 --> 00:02:26,055 an American designer of robotic Disneyland attractions. 49 00:02:26,122 --> 00:02:29,225 Ken had been developing the bear since the late '60s, 50 00:02:29,292 --> 00:02:31,827 but it was not until the decade's advances in 51 00:02:31,894 --> 00:02:35,965 technology when his dream took furry form. 52 00:02:37,700 --> 00:02:41,537 CHRIS: The technology was by today's standards fairly simple. 53 00:02:41,604 --> 00:02:44,574 PHIL: He had a cassette player in the back and one track of 54 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:47,410 the cassette player was the story told by Teddy, 55 00:02:47,476 --> 00:02:51,480 plus some songs and the other track was a code track that 56 00:02:51,547 --> 00:02:55,151 would make Teddy's mouth move and his eyes blink. 57 00:02:56,085 --> 00:02:57,853 JACKIE: Kids today are totally spoiled. 58 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:00,122 All their toys talk to them, they do whatever they want. 59 00:03:00,189 --> 00:03:02,258 But there was no toy like that before. 60 00:03:02,325 --> 00:03:04,293 It was just pure magic. 61 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:07,897 TEDDY: You know, I can't sleep either. 62 00:03:08,731 --> 00:03:12,969 NARRATOR: The babbling bear launches in time for Christmas, 1985. 63 00:03:13,035 --> 00:03:16,872 Teddy is an instant hit despite his hefty price tag. 64 00:03:17,340 --> 00:03:19,342 SHOPPER: Oh my goodness. 65 00:03:19,408 --> 00:03:22,044 REPORTER: Jaws drop when people first meet Teddy Ruxpin, 66 00:03:22,111 --> 00:03:24,447 the mechanical bear who runs on a microchip that 67 00:03:24,513 --> 00:03:28,417 runs a tiny motor, all of which runs for about 70 bucks. 68 00:03:29,051 --> 00:03:31,687 PHIL: It was just an outrageous price point. 69 00:03:31,754 --> 00:03:34,624 I shouldn't really say that. 70 00:03:34,690 --> 00:03:38,527 KEVIN: My mom bought one which was spellbinding. 71 00:03:38,594 --> 00:03:41,163 Clearly we could afford the finest things in life. 72 00:03:41,864 --> 00:03:44,267 NARRATOR: Teddy Ruxpin may be an expensive luxury, 73 00:03:44,333 --> 00:03:46,269 but parents didn't care. 74 00:03:46,335 --> 00:03:49,105 They're desperate to get their hands on him. 75 00:03:49,171 --> 00:03:51,274 PHIL: I think maybe in some ways Teddy was a surrogate for 76 00:03:51,340 --> 00:03:54,777 parents who were very busy. 77 00:03:55,811 --> 00:03:58,414 NARRATOR: In the early '80s more parents than ever are 78 00:03:58,481 --> 00:04:01,751 working outside the home, which means moms and dads 79 00:04:01,817 --> 00:04:04,754 have less free time to entertain their kids. 80 00:04:09,091 --> 00:04:12,561 Enter Teddy Ruxpin, friend and virtual nanny. 81 00:04:12,828 --> 00:04:15,064 TEDDY: I can't sleep either, but I've learned a little 82 00:04:15,131 --> 00:04:16,799 trick to help me. 83 00:04:16,866 --> 00:04:19,935 I sing myself to sleep. 84 00:04:20,469 --> 00:04:23,873 PHIL: Actually every story that we told had some sort of moral. 85 00:04:23,939 --> 00:04:26,709 TEDDY: I really enjoy talking to people. 86 00:04:26,776 --> 00:04:28,311 PHIL: And so I think parents were very, 87 00:04:28,377 --> 00:04:32,248 very comfortable with what we were projecting. 88 00:04:32,315 --> 00:04:35,418 GIRL: I like it because it'll keep me company. 89 00:04:35,718 --> 00:04:39,922 ♪ If we will dream tonight ♪ 90 00:04:39,989 --> 00:04:42,525 JACKIE: I was obsessed. Loved Teddy Ruxpin. 91 00:04:43,092 --> 00:04:45,928 NARRATOR: But poor Teddy Ruxpin is soon destined to 92 00:04:45,995 --> 00:04:47,596 meet his maker. 93 00:04:47,663 --> 00:04:50,499 Sales plummet when knockoff copies and cheaper rival 94 00:04:50,566 --> 00:04:53,002 products flood the market. 95 00:04:53,069 --> 00:04:56,772 PHIL: Everyone tried to be the next Teddy Ruxpin. 96 00:04:57,106 --> 00:04:59,508 MAN: This is a bear that listens to my voice and then 97 00:04:59,575 --> 00:05:02,345 talks back in bear talk. 98 00:05:02,411 --> 00:05:04,680 NARRATOR: Manufacturer Worlds of Wonder fail to 99 00:05:04,747 --> 00:05:08,317 come up with another hit and in 1988, 100 00:05:08,384 --> 00:05:10,953 just three years after Teddy's release, 101 00:05:11,020 --> 00:05:13,089 they go bust. 102 00:05:13,155 --> 00:05:14,357 PHIL: Can you and I be friends? 103 00:05:14,423 --> 00:05:15,691 Yeah, I think we've been friends for a very, 104 00:05:15,758 --> 00:05:18,794 very long time, Teddy, since 1985. 105 00:05:18,861 --> 00:05:21,630 1985? Are you kidding? 106 00:05:21,697 --> 00:05:23,532 Well, how old must you be? 107 00:05:23,599 --> 00:05:25,935 Let's not talk about that right now. 108 00:05:28,137 --> 00:05:31,207 ROB: Our number nine revolves around a woman who had dreams 109 00:05:31,273 --> 00:05:33,943 as a little girl of owning a pet. 110 00:05:34,009 --> 00:05:36,579 She never forgot them and when she grew up she realized that 111 00:05:36,645 --> 00:05:39,448 millions of other little girls might have had the same 112 00:05:39,515 --> 00:05:41,183 dream as well. 113 00:05:41,250 --> 00:05:43,419 And she was right. 114 00:05:46,555 --> 00:05:49,258 ♪ My Little Pony, My Little Pony ♪ 115 00:05:49,325 --> 00:05:51,961 AMBER: I was obsessed with My Little Pony. 116 00:05:52,027 --> 00:05:56,165 I begged my mom for every single color. 117 00:05:56,232 --> 00:05:58,968 ♪ A ribbon to show how much I care ♪ 118 00:05:59,034 --> 00:06:00,803 CLAUDIA: All of that beautiful hair, 119 00:06:00,870 --> 00:06:03,372 you could make it fluffy and curly or keep it 120 00:06:03,439 --> 00:06:05,274 nice and tight and perfect. 121 00:06:05,341 --> 00:06:07,543 (laughs) 122 00:06:07,610 --> 00:06:09,478 NARRATOR: My Little Pony is one of the decade's 123 00:06:09,545 --> 00:06:11,514 most popular toys. 124 00:06:11,580 --> 00:06:15,084 But who knew it's unbridled success would owe so much 125 00:06:15,151 --> 00:06:18,387 to Ronald Reagan's deregulation of TV. 126 00:06:19,221 --> 00:06:22,024 CHRIS: My Little Pony was part of this whole movement that 127 00:06:22,091 --> 00:06:25,094 happened in the early '80s. 128 00:06:25,161 --> 00:06:27,329 NARRATOR: Reagan unleashed toy companies to advertise 129 00:06:27,396 --> 00:06:31,333 directly to kids and to also make cartoons starring the 130 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,036 same toys they want to sell. 131 00:06:34,103 --> 00:06:36,238 Now it's open season. 132 00:06:36,305 --> 00:06:37,473 Uh-oh. 133 00:06:37,540 --> 00:06:38,974 JEN: Yeah, it was there to entertain the kids but it was 134 00:06:39,041 --> 00:06:42,311 also there as a springboard to them buying more stuff. 135 00:06:43,646 --> 00:06:46,048 NARRATOR: And toy makers decide the best way to 136 00:06:46,115 --> 00:06:49,485 stand out in a crowded market place is to double down on 137 00:06:49,552 --> 00:06:52,121 gender specific toys. 138 00:06:52,188 --> 00:06:54,590 Now all Hasbro needs to do is come up with the 139 00:06:54,657 --> 00:06:57,460 next big thing for girls. 140 00:06:58,093 --> 00:07:00,496 There's a dreamer in the house of Hasbro. 141 00:07:00,563 --> 00:07:03,466 Her name is Bonnie Zacherle. 142 00:07:03,833 --> 00:07:08,003 BONNIE: The one thing in the world I always wanted was a horse. 143 00:07:08,671 --> 00:07:12,441 My father always promised me, someday when we retire and 144 00:07:12,508 --> 00:07:14,343 we get the dream house in the country, 145 00:07:14,410 --> 00:07:16,679 you'll have your own horse. 146 00:07:16,979 --> 00:07:20,182 PINKIE PIE: I wish, I wish, I wish! 147 00:07:20,249 --> 00:07:22,318 BONNIE: I never got one. 148 00:07:22,384 --> 00:07:24,887 Never did. Sad to say. 149 00:07:24,954 --> 00:07:28,357 But I knew there were girls like myself who would like 150 00:07:28,424 --> 00:07:32,962 horses and if I could make them into a small soft little doll 151 00:07:33,028 --> 00:07:34,263 it would be a good toy. 152 00:07:35,331 --> 00:07:37,600 NARRATOR: Bonnie is adamant her little horse should have 153 00:07:37,666 --> 00:07:39,902 a true to life appearance. 154 00:07:39,969 --> 00:07:42,037 Hasbro disagrees. 155 00:07:42,104 --> 00:07:44,707 BONNIE: I wanted natural colors, 156 00:07:44,773 --> 00:07:46,242 I was a horsewoman. 157 00:07:46,308 --> 00:07:49,211 I wanted palomino, dappled grey, 158 00:07:49,278 --> 00:07:52,248 but the rest as they say is history. 159 00:07:53,582 --> 00:07:56,151 NARRATOR: Hasbro wants there to be no mistake. 160 00:07:56,218 --> 00:07:58,220 This is a girl's toy. 161 00:07:58,287 --> 00:08:01,257 So before Bonnie's horse is ready for market, 162 00:08:01,323 --> 00:08:03,893 Hasbro demands a glamorous makeover. 163 00:08:03,959 --> 00:08:06,595 JACKIE: If you ask anyone in the toy industry 164 00:08:06,662 --> 00:08:09,765 the magic combination for little girls, it's glitter, 165 00:08:09,832 --> 00:08:12,835 bright colors and hair play. 166 00:08:12,902 --> 00:08:15,471 NARRATOR: This type of rigid gender stereotyping might not 167 00:08:15,538 --> 00:08:19,909 fly today, but in the '80s it was just business as usual. 168 00:08:21,544 --> 00:08:23,646 LORRAINE: In the '80s everything for girls 169 00:08:23,712 --> 00:08:26,048 got really pink and really purple. 170 00:08:26,115 --> 00:08:29,451 And My Little Pony just encapsulated that whole 171 00:08:29,518 --> 00:08:32,454 princess thing inside of a pony. 172 00:08:33,622 --> 00:08:35,591 NARRATOR: After the ponies land in toy stores, 173 00:08:35,658 --> 00:08:39,261 a cartoon follows, introducing kids to an entire range of 174 00:08:39,328 --> 00:08:42,364 new characters they can take home. 175 00:08:42,865 --> 00:08:45,601 AMBER: The sensation of like having your own little pony 176 00:08:45,668 --> 00:08:48,904 and grooming it and braiding its hair. 177 00:08:48,971 --> 00:08:51,340 It just, I dunno, kinda made me feel like I had a pet. 178 00:08:51,974 --> 00:08:54,643 NARRATOR: By the end of the decade over 150 million 179 00:08:54,710 --> 00:08:58,314 My Little Ponies are lovingly stabled in young girl's 180 00:08:58,380 --> 00:09:01,250 bedrooms all over the world. 181 00:09:03,485 --> 00:09:08,023 And even today the miniature horses refuse to be put out to pasture. 182 00:09:08,490 --> 00:09:09,925 SUNNY: Show me some magic! 183 00:09:09,992 --> 00:09:14,530 TWILIGHT SPARKLE: I can do this... 184 00:09:14,597 --> 00:09:16,732 Ta-da! 185 00:09:18,300 --> 00:09:20,302 NARRATOR: My Little Pony captured the hearts of a 186 00:09:20,369 --> 00:09:22,638 generation of girls and guess what, 187 00:09:22,705 --> 00:09:25,574 some boys liked them too. 188 00:09:25,641 --> 00:09:28,844 DMC: My Little Pony is the flyest thing ever. 189 00:09:28,911 --> 00:09:32,247 They were beautiful. I wanted one. 190 00:09:32,848 --> 00:09:35,184 That thing was gangster. 191 00:09:36,986 --> 00:09:38,821 ROB: Two down, eight to go. 192 00:09:38,887 --> 00:09:41,156 It's been said that art imitates life, 193 00:09:41,223 --> 00:09:45,260 but in the '80s art imitated 'larger than life' as 194 00:09:45,327 --> 00:09:48,497 muscle men raged across our movie screens. 195 00:09:48,564 --> 00:09:51,500 Our number eight toy was doing exactly the same thing, 196 00:09:51,567 --> 00:09:54,637 only this guy was doing it in plastic. 197 00:10:00,275 --> 00:10:03,045 AD NARRATOR: Luke Skywalker was just a farm boy until he 198 00:10:03,112 --> 00:10:07,116 received a mysterious message from a princess. 199 00:10:07,182 --> 00:10:09,251 LEIA: Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. 200 00:10:09,318 --> 00:10:10,886 LUKE: She's beautiful. 201 00:10:11,153 --> 00:10:15,124 NARRATOR: In 1976 toy company Mattel turned down the chance 202 00:10:15,190 --> 00:10:19,962 to make action figures for a new film destined for obscurity. 203 00:10:20,696 --> 00:10:23,399 DARTH VADER: I find your lack of faith disturbing. 204 00:10:23,766 --> 00:10:26,735 NARRATOR: They've been licking their wounds ever since. 205 00:10:27,102 --> 00:10:29,571 LARRY: So Mattel needed a reaction really quick. 206 00:10:29,638 --> 00:10:31,573 They needed a line of their own without purchasing the 207 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:35,310 rights to a film franchise like Star Wars. 208 00:10:35,377 --> 00:10:37,780 NARRATOR: The action figure market is very much targeted 209 00:10:37,846 --> 00:10:41,917 at boys and drawing their attention away from Star Wars 210 00:10:41,984 --> 00:10:43,452 is no easy task. 211 00:10:43,886 --> 00:10:47,222 But, if the start of the decade taught Mattel one thing, 212 00:10:47,289 --> 00:10:50,526 fantasy plus muscles equals millions. 213 00:10:51,293 --> 00:10:54,263 MAN: Conan, what is best in life? 214 00:10:54,329 --> 00:10:57,399 CONAN: To crush your enemies, see then driven before you 215 00:10:57,466 --> 00:10:59,968 and to hear the lamentation of the women. 216 00:11:01,403 --> 00:11:04,640 NARRATOR: To measure up to the decade's new masculine ideal, 217 00:11:04,707 --> 00:11:07,943 Mattel is convinced their new toy has to be one boys 218 00:11:08,010 --> 00:11:11,346 can admire and it can only help if he has a catchy, 219 00:11:11,413 --> 00:11:13,716 well, catchphrase. 220 00:11:13,782 --> 00:11:15,517 DMC: I have the power! 221 00:11:19,121 --> 00:11:23,325 NARRATOR: At the start of the '80s muscles sell and size matters. 222 00:11:23,392 --> 00:11:27,529 Toy maker Mattel want to take this notion of hyper masculinity 223 00:11:27,596 --> 00:11:30,899 and transform it into an action figure for boys. 224 00:11:31,333 --> 00:11:34,069 And Mattel had just the dreamer for the job and 225 00:11:34,136 --> 00:11:37,706 that man had a "He-Man" up his sleeve. 226 00:11:38,340 --> 00:11:41,276 MARK: So I'd been developing very heroic figures from the 227 00:11:41,343 --> 00:11:46,482 time I was a little boy and He-Man was openly proud of 228 00:11:46,548 --> 00:11:49,218 his body, like Arnold Schwarzenegger. 229 00:11:49,284 --> 00:11:51,253 I mean these guys aren't shy about it. 230 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:54,656 And I wanted this guy to be powerful with no questions asked. 231 00:11:54,723 --> 00:11:57,025 And I don't mean a Superman, a God-like power, 232 00:11:57,092 --> 00:11:59,628 I mean a hero. 233 00:11:59,695 --> 00:12:01,563 CHRIS: He was this massive guy. 234 00:12:01,630 --> 00:12:05,067 The thing that always amuses me is that all his opposing 235 00:12:05,134 --> 00:12:07,836 muscle groups are flexed at the same time, 236 00:12:07,903 --> 00:12:10,038 which is impossible physiologically. 237 00:12:11,540 --> 00:12:14,276 NARRATOR: The Masters of the Universe toy line, 238 00:12:14,343 --> 00:12:16,712 with He-Man leading the charge, 239 00:12:16,779 --> 00:12:20,482 is released in 1982 and to further boost sales, 240 00:12:20,549 --> 00:12:25,220 Mattel takes the lesson of Star Wars and applies it in reverse. 241 00:12:26,321 --> 00:12:28,791 KEVIN: Unlike the Star Wars figures which seemed to be an 242 00:12:28,857 --> 00:12:31,393 afterthought to the movie, Masters of the Universe was 243 00:12:31,460 --> 00:12:34,930 engineered as a toy first, cartoons came later. 244 00:12:35,831 --> 00:12:37,032 ♪ He-Man! ♪ 245 00:12:37,099 --> 00:12:39,802 ♪ And the Masters of the Universe! ♪ 246 00:12:39,868 --> 00:12:43,639 NARRATOR: The He-Man animated series first airs in 1983. 247 00:12:44,173 --> 00:12:47,543 Soon boys all across America have a new favorite macho 248 00:12:47,609 --> 00:12:52,447 role model that gives pre-pubescent lads something they yearn for. 249 00:12:52,514 --> 00:12:55,651 HE-MAN: Were revealed to me the day I held aloft my magic sword. 250 00:12:55,717 --> 00:12:57,853 ADAM: One day I held aloft the magic sword and exclaimed, 251 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:00,556 "By the power of Grayskull!" 252 00:13:00,622 --> 00:13:04,293 HE-MAN: I have the power! 253 00:13:04,359 --> 00:13:06,762 ADAM: I have the power! 254 00:13:07,863 --> 00:13:09,998 KEVIN: When you're a child you have no power whatsoever. 255 00:13:10,065 --> 00:13:13,268 Everybody is taller than you, everybody's in charge of you. 256 00:13:13,335 --> 00:13:17,105 But, you know, at play you could have the power. 257 00:13:17,673 --> 00:13:20,809 NARRATOR: And with that power there's no better villain to 258 00:13:20,876 --> 00:13:24,112 fight than He-Man's notorious nemesis. 259 00:13:24,179 --> 00:13:27,549 SKELETOR: So He-Man, it's just you and me. 260 00:13:28,016 --> 00:13:31,320 MARK: Skeletor stands for everything that was not He-Man. 261 00:13:31,386 --> 00:13:35,090 He's depressing, he's sneaky, he's a liar. 262 00:13:35,490 --> 00:13:39,061 SKELETOR: Very clever you musclebound moron! 263 00:13:39,728 --> 00:13:43,765 CHRIS: The thing about He-Man that really resonated with kids 264 00:13:43,832 --> 00:13:45,334 was he started as Prince Adam, 265 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:47,536 sort of a normal person. 266 00:13:47,603 --> 00:13:50,072 HE-MAN: By the power of Grayskull! 267 00:13:50,138 --> 00:13:52,875 CHRIS: But he transformed into He-Man. 268 00:13:52,941 --> 00:13:55,377 JACKIE: He-Man showed boys that you can be kind of a 269 00:13:55,444 --> 00:13:59,181 regular kinda guy but when needed you could be strong and 270 00:13:59,248 --> 00:14:01,383 brave and a hero. 271 00:14:01,450 --> 00:14:04,486 And I think kids really felt that. 272 00:14:04,553 --> 00:14:07,356 NARRATOR: At it's peak, nine million kids tune in to watch 273 00:14:07,422 --> 00:14:12,094 He-Man every day and by 1986 the action figures rack up 274 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:14,963 $400 million in sales. 275 00:14:15,030 --> 00:14:18,600 Just like My Little Pony, He-Man's legacy lives on with 276 00:14:18,667 --> 00:14:22,704 a new series set to entertain fans young and old. 277 00:14:23,005 --> 00:14:26,975 HE-MAN: I have the power! 278 00:14:29,177 --> 00:14:31,513 ROB: Mr Plastic thought he had the power, 279 00:14:31,580 --> 00:14:34,116 but there was no escaping cuddly characters in the '80s, 280 00:14:34,182 --> 00:14:36,952 and our number seven was biologically engineered 281 00:14:37,019 --> 00:14:39,788 to take no prisoners in that arena. 282 00:14:47,095 --> 00:14:50,565 NARRATOR: At the start of the decade childhood is changing. 283 00:14:51,300 --> 00:14:53,101 CHRIS: It was a time when we began to really validate 284 00:14:53,168 --> 00:14:57,639 children's emotions as part of their developmental process. 285 00:14:57,706 --> 00:14:59,942 NARRATOR: Unlike their own repressed parents, 286 00:15:00,008 --> 00:15:04,012 '80s moms and dads want their kids to voice their feelings. 287 00:15:04,179 --> 00:15:06,848 CHRIS: And it's very reinforcing to kids because 288 00:15:06,915 --> 00:15:09,785 kids don't always feel happy and joyful. 289 00:15:09,851 --> 00:15:12,721 NARRATOR: Toy industry legend, Bernie Loomis, 290 00:15:12,788 --> 00:15:15,724 dreams big and senses the time is right for a 291 00:15:15,791 --> 00:15:18,160 new generation of teddy bear. 292 00:15:18,226 --> 00:15:21,029 One that is ready made to meet the needs of this 293 00:15:21,096 --> 00:15:24,032 new generation of children. 294 00:15:24,399 --> 00:15:26,134 BERNIE: It started with a blank piece of paper and we 295 00:15:26,201 --> 00:15:27,803 said bears have always been popular. 296 00:15:27,869 --> 00:15:31,873 And then somebody said how about doing tummy graphics on bears. 297 00:15:32,341 --> 00:15:34,943 Let's have them represent emotions. 298 00:15:35,310 --> 00:15:37,612 ♪ I wanna be a Care Bear, ♪ 299 00:15:37,679 --> 00:15:40,048 ♪ oh, it will be so great when I'm a Care Bear ♪ 300 00:15:40,549 --> 00:15:44,353 CRISTELA: I loved Care Bears. 301 00:15:44,987 --> 00:15:48,223 To me, the Care Bears were everything. 302 00:15:48,824 --> 00:15:54,463 JACKIE: My personal favorite was Funshine and Tenderheart and Grumpy. 303 00:15:55,030 --> 00:15:56,531 I know that's more than one favorite. 304 00:15:56,598 --> 00:15:57,866 (laughs) 305 00:15:57,933 --> 00:16:01,269 NARRATOR: Loomis is so confident the bears will be a success, 306 00:16:01,336 --> 00:16:03,872 he spends two years and millions of dollars 307 00:16:03,939 --> 00:16:07,476 producing an entire product range and he releases it 308 00:16:07,542 --> 00:16:09,411 all at once. 309 00:16:09,478 --> 00:16:10,912 PRESENTER: There's a Friend Bear, 310 00:16:10,979 --> 00:16:13,582 a Cheer Bear, a Grumpy Bear. 311 00:16:13,648 --> 00:16:16,551 One mother says that every morning her kids sit down next to her 312 00:16:16,618 --> 00:16:19,321 and tell her what kind of bear they're gonna be that day. 313 00:16:19,388 --> 00:16:22,391 NARRATOR: Loomis's Care Bear blitz is a gamble, 314 00:16:22,457 --> 00:16:24,726 but it soon pays off. 315 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:27,829 BERNIE: Care Bears is not only number one in the states, 316 00:16:27,896 --> 00:16:30,332 the number one in England, number one on the continent 317 00:16:30,399 --> 00:16:34,636 and it's really an interesting worldwide phenomenon. 318 00:16:35,203 --> 00:16:36,905 LOVE ALOT BEAR: We did it! 319 00:16:36,972 --> 00:16:40,042 WISH BEAR: I knew we would if I wished hard enough! 320 00:16:40,108 --> 00:16:41,710 CRISTELA: It had their emotion, 321 00:16:41,777 --> 00:16:43,612 like on their little stomach. 322 00:16:43,678 --> 00:16:46,048 Like, can you imagine if you could do that in real life? 323 00:16:46,114 --> 00:16:47,682 If you're having a bad day, hey, 324 00:16:47,749 --> 00:16:50,085 just don't mess with me, man, look at the rain cloud. 325 00:16:50,152 --> 00:16:52,654 Brilliant! Brilliant! 326 00:16:52,721 --> 00:16:55,757 NARRATOR: In five years, 40 million Care Bears march off 327 00:16:55,824 --> 00:16:59,895 the shelves generating over a billion dollars in sales and 328 00:16:59,961 --> 00:17:03,932 it goes without saying, the bears that care star in 329 00:17:03,999 --> 00:17:05,500 their own movie. 330 00:17:05,567 --> 00:17:07,702 FRIEND BEAR: Care Bears stay! 331 00:17:07,769 --> 00:17:10,372 AD NARRATOR: Will all their love and caring stop a shadowy 332 00:17:10,439 --> 00:17:13,809 spirit from stealing away every feeling in the world? 333 00:17:15,077 --> 00:17:17,345 JACKIE: I think the reason Care Bears appealed to girls 334 00:17:17,412 --> 00:17:21,716 so much is because they could defeat evil just by caring and 335 00:17:21,783 --> 00:17:23,785 by being friends. 336 00:17:23,852 --> 00:17:26,254 NARRATOR: The Care Bears conquer the '80s and not only 337 00:17:26,321 --> 00:17:29,091 that, they live to tell the tale. 338 00:17:29,157 --> 00:17:32,094 After all these years their mission to spread sharing and 339 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:35,564 caring is still going strong. 340 00:17:35,864 --> 00:17:38,200 LARRY: Even today, we stock Care Bears in the store and 341 00:17:38,266 --> 00:17:40,569 Care Bears are currently sold out. 342 00:17:40,635 --> 00:17:42,737 It's still a really hot property. 343 00:17:44,306 --> 00:17:46,374 NARRATOR: Care Bears are sitting cute and pretty 344 00:17:46,441 --> 00:17:48,610 at number seven, but with six more to go, 345 00:17:48,677 --> 00:17:51,680 our playtime is far from over. 346 00:17:53,381 --> 00:17:57,185 Next up, it's a fact filled phenomena that 40 years ago, 347 00:17:57,252 --> 00:17:59,988 no dinner party could be complete without. 348 00:18:00,055 --> 00:18:03,325 KATIE: The people who'd ruined it for everybody else were the loud mouths. 349 00:18:08,163 --> 00:18:10,298 ROB: All right, trivia time. 350 00:18:10,365 --> 00:18:16,972 What 1983 movie featured the debut of the '80s hottest actor? 351 00:18:18,039 --> 00:18:19,241 The Outsiders. 352 00:18:19,307 --> 00:18:22,177 Wait a minute, that wasn't Matt Dillon's first movie. 353 00:18:22,844 --> 00:18:24,679 They're talking about me. 354 00:18:24,746 --> 00:18:25,680 (laughs) 355 00:18:25,747 --> 00:18:28,617 Next question. Why was this only number six? 356 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:33,622 PRESENTER: At a time when we are inundated with the 357 00:18:33,688 --> 00:18:35,657 important, a threat of nuclear war, 358 00:18:35,724 --> 00:18:39,327 a fact of unemployment, the trivial can be a relief. 359 00:18:43,698 --> 00:18:46,701 JASON: In the early '80s you had to have a Trivial Pursuit game. 360 00:18:47,302 --> 00:18:49,571 JON: It was a huge game, huge. 361 00:18:49,638 --> 00:18:51,640 Everybody was playing it. 362 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:54,442 MEAT LOAF: You don't wanna play me in Trivial Pursuit. 363 00:18:54,509 --> 00:18:57,946 Trust me. I have never lost. 364 00:18:58,813 --> 00:19:01,383 PRESENTER: What was it that inspired you to design a new game? 365 00:19:01,449 --> 00:19:03,118 Were you bored with everything on the market or? 366 00:19:03,185 --> 00:19:05,787 SCOTT: It was about a case of beer. 367 00:19:05,854 --> 00:19:07,789 PRESENTER: Case of beer? 368 00:19:07,856 --> 00:19:10,125 NARRATOR: On December 15th, 1979, 369 00:19:10,192 --> 00:19:13,562 Journalist pals, Chris Haney and Scott Abbott settle in 370 00:19:13,628 --> 00:19:15,697 for a quiet game of Scrabble. 371 00:19:15,764 --> 00:19:19,301 Only they can't play when they discover some letters are missing 372 00:19:19,367 --> 00:19:23,705 and the two men have the same dream at the same moment. 373 00:19:24,272 --> 00:19:26,841 SCOTT: And Chris said, "why don't we invent a game? 374 00:19:26,908 --> 00:19:28,109 What could it be about?" 375 00:19:28,176 --> 00:19:30,812 And I said "trivia?" 376 00:19:30,879 --> 00:19:33,682 We sat down and did a little doodling and half an hour 377 00:19:33,748 --> 00:19:35,984 later it was all done. 378 00:19:36,051 --> 00:19:37,085 PRESENTER: This is it. 379 00:19:37,152 --> 00:19:39,688 No electronic joysticks, no hungry Pac-Men, 380 00:19:39,754 --> 00:19:43,558 just an old fashioned board game with 6,000 questions, 381 00:19:43,625 --> 00:19:46,995 all of them trivial, ranging from sports to science. 382 00:19:47,562 --> 00:19:49,965 NARRATOR: Timing as they say is everything and when 383 00:19:50,031 --> 00:19:53,668 Trivial Pursuit is released in 1982, it is the right game 384 00:19:53,735 --> 00:19:55,837 at just the right moment. 385 00:19:55,904 --> 00:19:58,640 JASON: It was the time of the 24 hour news cycle. 386 00:19:58,707 --> 00:20:00,842 You had the rise of CNN in the 1980's, 387 00:20:00,909 --> 00:20:04,746 so people were being inundated with all kinds of knowledge and information 388 00:20:04,813 --> 00:20:07,382 and Trivial Pursuit played into that. 389 00:20:07,449 --> 00:20:09,117 PRESENTER: Sure, they have all the popular games here, 390 00:20:09,184 --> 00:20:11,886 like Boggle and Pente and Scrabble over here, 391 00:20:11,953 --> 00:20:16,057 but the one they can't keep on the shelves is one that cost $40. 392 00:20:16,124 --> 00:20:17,892 It's called Trivial Pursuit. 393 00:20:18,793 --> 00:20:21,162 CHRIS: That was a lot of money. 394 00:20:21,229 --> 00:20:23,865 We certainly were coming out of a recession at that time, 395 00:20:23,932 --> 00:20:27,936 but it was actually a fairly affordable way to have an evening. 396 00:20:28,637 --> 00:20:31,539 KARL: You know, the '80s was so much about being bright and 397 00:20:31,606 --> 00:20:33,875 bold and over the top. 398 00:20:33,942 --> 00:20:35,410 You know, look how smart I am? 399 00:20:35,477 --> 00:20:38,213 Look at how much useless information I know? 400 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:42,617 WOMAN: What's the name of the piece flipped into the cup in Tiddly Winks? 401 00:20:43,551 --> 00:20:46,388 WOMAN: Oh, give (bleep) break. 402 00:20:46,888 --> 00:20:48,323 KATIE: It came along before the internet, 403 00:20:48,390 --> 00:20:50,625 before Google. 404 00:20:50,692 --> 00:20:55,063 This game really depended on you having the trivia in your brain box. 405 00:20:55,130 --> 00:20:59,601 It was a game that attracted really insufferable people. 406 00:21:00,769 --> 00:21:02,804 MEAT LOAF: I had a manager by the name of Bob Ellis who used 407 00:21:02,871 --> 00:21:04,606 to be married to Diana Ross. 408 00:21:04,673 --> 00:21:08,977 And we went to Bob Ellis's house every Saturday night for 409 00:21:09,044 --> 00:21:11,980 five years to play Trivial Pursuit. 410 00:21:12,047 --> 00:21:14,082 I won every time. 411 00:21:15,583 --> 00:21:18,386 NARRATOR: By the end of 1984, Trivial Pursuit generates 412 00:21:18,453 --> 00:21:21,690 almost $800 million and turns its makers 413 00:21:21,756 --> 00:21:23,958 into multi-millionaires. 414 00:21:24,025 --> 00:21:27,495 But, this success is no trivial matter and the author 415 00:21:27,562 --> 00:21:30,031 of a trivia encyclopedia, Fred Worth, 416 00:21:30,098 --> 00:21:32,467 believes he has been ripped off. 417 00:21:33,201 --> 00:21:37,205 FRED: About 32% of the material that is in a genus edition, 418 00:21:37,272 --> 00:21:40,508 the original edition, could be found in my book. 419 00:21:41,142 --> 00:21:44,479 NARRATOR: In a move worthy of Lieutenant Frank Columbo himself, 420 00:21:44,546 --> 00:21:47,916 Worth plants a fake fact in his trivia book, 421 00:21:47,982 --> 00:21:51,586 giving that fictional detective the wrong first name. 422 00:21:51,886 --> 00:21:52,987 Philip. 423 00:21:53,054 --> 00:21:55,090 And when that wrong name appears in the game, 424 00:21:55,156 --> 00:21:58,326 Fred, not Frank, pounces. 425 00:21:58,393 --> 00:21:59,961 FRED: It's a falsehood, doesn't exist and you won't 426 00:22:00,028 --> 00:22:03,264 find it anywhere except in my book and it's one of their questions. 427 00:22:04,065 --> 00:22:06,634 NARRATOR: Worth sues for $300 million, 428 00:22:06,701 --> 00:22:08,703 but the judge throws out the case, 429 00:22:08,770 --> 00:22:12,974 ruling that trivia can't be copyrighted even if it is wrong 430 00:22:15,210 --> 00:22:17,178 Trivial Pursuit goes on to become the decade's 431 00:22:17,245 --> 00:22:20,615 hottest property even outselling Monopoly, 432 00:22:20,682 --> 00:22:24,319 which has dominated the adult games market since the 1930's. 433 00:22:25,987 --> 00:22:30,225 CHRIS: It jumped that rubicon from sort of cool game to 434 00:22:30,291 --> 00:22:32,394 cultural phenomena. 435 00:22:32,460 --> 00:22:33,895 NARRATOR: But, in the age of the internet, 436 00:22:33,962 --> 00:22:37,031 with relentless amounts of useless information only a 437 00:22:37,098 --> 00:22:41,436 click away, Trivial Pursuit's popularity declines. 438 00:22:42,137 --> 00:22:45,740 Perhaps some games are just a product of their time. 439 00:22:46,107 --> 00:22:51,212 KATIE: It was just another way to be loud and domineering, 440 00:22:51,279 --> 00:22:53,782 which was kind of an '80s quality. 441 00:22:55,216 --> 00:22:58,353 ROB: Alright, five toys down, five toys to go. 442 00:22:58,420 --> 00:23:01,389 And the competition is gonna get vicious. 443 00:23:01,689 --> 00:23:04,859 Now, our number five toy is far from trivial and has led 444 00:23:04,926 --> 00:23:09,230 to some of the biggest and loudest movies ever made. 445 00:23:15,703 --> 00:23:17,338 NARRATOR: In the high-tech '80s, 446 00:23:17,405 --> 00:23:20,642 Japan's electronics lead the way. 447 00:23:21,009 --> 00:23:23,044 JAMES: It was a real consumer technology revolution coming 448 00:23:23,111 --> 00:23:28,082 from the Pacific Rim and American consumers were huge beneficiaries. 449 00:23:28,683 --> 00:23:32,086 NARRATOR: And at the Tokyo toy fair of 1983, 450 00:23:32,153 --> 00:23:35,857 Hasbro spots a toy that will revolutionize action figures. 451 00:23:36,357 --> 00:23:38,593 Here come the bots. 452 00:23:39,427 --> 00:23:40,929 TV PRESENTER: The toy company, Hasbro, is calling 453 00:23:40,995 --> 00:23:44,899 the Transformer the biggest thing from Japan since Godzilla. 454 00:23:45,433 --> 00:23:49,137 CHRIS: Transformers started in Japan as transforming robots. 455 00:23:49,537 --> 00:23:51,539 SETH: They became trucks, they became cars, 456 00:23:51,606 --> 00:23:53,908 they became planes. 457 00:23:54,509 --> 00:23:56,945 CHRIS: And that's really all they did. 458 00:23:57,011 --> 00:23:58,746 NARRATOR: Hasbro love the concept, 459 00:23:58,813 --> 00:24:02,050 but fear kids won't know why they should want them. 460 00:24:02,116 --> 00:24:05,053 To guarantee transformers reach their target audience 461 00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:08,923 the toy maker comes up with an intergalactic solution. 462 00:24:13,761 --> 00:24:16,764 NARRATOR: In 1983, Hasbro spots the potential for a 463 00:24:16,831 --> 00:24:19,801 revolutionary new Japanese toy. 464 00:24:19,868 --> 00:24:22,070 But, to be a hit this side of the Pacific, 465 00:24:22,136 --> 00:24:25,406 the transforming robots need an identity that an '80s 466 00:24:25,473 --> 00:24:29,177 generation of jaded kids can connect with. 467 00:24:29,844 --> 00:24:31,746 MARK: The thing that makes American toys really good is 468 00:24:31,813 --> 00:24:34,682 that little bit of edge or drama. 469 00:24:34,749 --> 00:24:38,119 KARL: When it comes to the action figure you've gotta 470 00:24:38,186 --> 00:24:42,757 establish story and characters and it does take a show to do that. 471 00:24:43,458 --> 00:24:46,394 NARRATOR: Hasbro turns to Marvel and Marvel comes up 472 00:24:46,461 --> 00:24:50,431 with the idea of opposing forces of good and evil robots 473 00:24:50,498 --> 00:24:53,334 locked in an endless civil war. 474 00:24:55,904 --> 00:24:59,073 In 1984, the toys and animated series are released 475 00:24:59,140 --> 00:25:01,042 at the same time. 476 00:25:01,109 --> 00:25:04,279 ♪ Transformers, more than meets the eye. ♪ 477 00:25:05,179 --> 00:25:09,384 ♪ Auto-bots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces ♪ 478 00:25:09,450 --> 00:25:11,486 ♪ Of the Decepticons ♪ 479 00:25:11,553 --> 00:25:13,521 SETH: You see this cartoon and you see Optimus Prime 480 00:25:13,588 --> 00:25:16,891 transform from this robotic alien into a truck and back again. 481 00:25:16,958 --> 00:25:18,626 You buy the toy, it does it. 482 00:25:18,693 --> 00:25:20,061 It actually does it. 483 00:25:20,128 --> 00:25:21,796 OPTIMUS PRIME: Decepticons attacking. 484 00:25:21,863 --> 00:25:25,333 Auto-bots, transform and meet me there. 485 00:25:26,801 --> 00:25:30,638 JACQUES: There was something about Optimus Prime's voice. 486 00:25:30,705 --> 00:25:32,840 OPTIMUS PRIME: Very perceptive. 487 00:25:32,907 --> 00:25:35,910 JACQUES: That I was just instantly drawn to it. 488 00:25:36,711 --> 00:25:38,212 NARRATOR: Off the back of the cartoon, 489 00:25:38,279 --> 00:25:41,916 toy sales surprise surprise, go through the roof, 490 00:25:41,983 --> 00:25:45,086 helped in no small part by a stellar cast of characters. 491 00:25:45,787 --> 00:25:48,523 JOHN: Kids just love the show, I loved doing it. 492 00:25:48,590 --> 00:25:49,857 BLURR: Why didn't you tell us they were Decepticons? 493 00:25:49,924 --> 00:25:51,159 If you had we would have been interested earlier instead of.. 494 00:25:51,225 --> 00:25:52,393 JOHN: Decepticons, Decepticons, Decepticons, 495 00:25:52,460 --> 00:25:53,828 Decepticons above me, Decepticons below me, 496 00:25:53,895 --> 00:25:55,263 every place I look I see Decepticons. 497 00:25:55,330 --> 00:25:57,065 BLURR: Hard enough to unbend the strut maybe. 498 00:25:57,131 --> 00:25:58,600 JOHN: I've had people come up to me and say you know, 499 00:25:58,666 --> 00:26:02,003 "what was like in episode 54 when your struts melted?" 500 00:26:02,070 --> 00:26:04,539 I'm like, "well, you know, I'm a human being and I don't have 501 00:26:04,606 --> 00:26:08,242 struts and I don't know what my struts felt like when they melted". 502 00:26:08,776 --> 00:26:10,511 NARRATOR: And the auto-bots eternal battle with the 503 00:26:10,578 --> 00:26:14,482 Decepticons shows no sign of ending with modern reboots 504 00:26:14,549 --> 00:26:17,752 still coming fast and occasionally furious. 505 00:26:17,819 --> 00:26:20,421 OPTIMUS PRIME: My name is Optimus Prime. 506 00:26:20,488 --> 00:26:24,225 We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet, Cybertron. 507 00:26:24,993 --> 00:26:27,562 CHRIS: Transformers really is one of those lines that's 508 00:26:27,629 --> 00:26:30,832 captured imaginations for multiple generations now. 509 00:26:36,537 --> 00:26:39,007 SETH: Transformers were two toys for the price of one. 510 00:26:39,073 --> 00:26:41,976 I mean, to make that actually work in a plastic toy still 511 00:26:42,043 --> 00:26:43,911 blows my mind. 512 00:26:45,513 --> 00:26:50,284 ROB: Motorized vehicles that transform into law-of-physics-defying robots? 513 00:26:50,351 --> 00:26:51,285 Got it. 514 00:26:51,352 --> 00:26:54,422 And as for our number four toy of the 1980s, 515 00:26:54,489 --> 00:26:58,359 well their creators heard that insane transformer mythology 516 00:26:58,426 --> 00:27:01,195 and said "hold my beer". 517 00:27:04,899 --> 00:27:07,769 TURTLES: Cowabunga! 518 00:27:07,969 --> 00:27:09,604 SETH: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is so funny to me 519 00:27:09,671 --> 00:27:11,873 because it started out as a joke. 520 00:27:11,939 --> 00:27:14,809 CHRIS: Turtles that had been exposed to radioactive ooze 521 00:27:14,876 --> 00:27:19,847 and turned into surf talking characters who liked pizza 522 00:27:19,914 --> 00:27:22,850 and had names of renaissance painters. 523 00:27:23,584 --> 00:27:27,355 KARL: A phenomenon like Turtles you cannot plan for. 524 00:27:29,123 --> 00:27:31,693 NARRATOR: The story of the Turtles bumpy rise 525 00:27:31,759 --> 00:27:35,396 to toy supremacy begins in New Hampshire, 1984. 526 00:27:35,963 --> 00:27:39,634 Down on their luck cartoonists, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird 527 00:27:39,701 --> 00:27:41,302 are just fooling around when they 528 00:27:41,369 --> 00:27:44,672 accidentally dream up an empire. 529 00:27:45,506 --> 00:27:47,842 PETER: Kevin drew a turtle standing upright with a mask on 530 00:27:47,909 --> 00:27:50,378 and wearing nun chucks on his forearms. 531 00:27:50,445 --> 00:27:52,180 EASTMAN: It was an effort to make Pete laugh. 532 00:27:52,246 --> 00:27:55,983 I dubbed it a ninja turtle and we got into doodling sketches. 533 00:27:56,050 --> 00:27:59,153 NARRATOR: They name the four sewer dwelling superheroes 534 00:27:59,220 --> 00:28:02,490 after 15th century painters and get busy writing them 535 00:28:02,557 --> 00:28:04,959 their own comic strip. 536 00:28:05,026 --> 00:28:07,428 CHRIS: They were designed to satirize the sort of 537 00:28:07,495 --> 00:28:10,431 traditional action hero. 538 00:28:10,498 --> 00:28:13,568 NARRATOR: The self-published comic surprise success lands 539 00:28:13,634 --> 00:28:17,271 the cartoonist a deal with toy manufacturer Playmates. 540 00:28:17,739 --> 00:28:21,676 He-Man designer, Mark Taylor is hired to turn the 2-D turtles 541 00:28:21,743 --> 00:28:24,746 into 3-D action figures. 542 00:28:24,812 --> 00:28:26,714 MARK: And these two guys, they are so poor. 543 00:28:26,781 --> 00:28:30,918 Their shoes were held together with duct tape and they said 544 00:28:30,985 --> 00:28:33,054 "what do you think of it?" And I said "it's good." 545 00:28:33,121 --> 00:28:35,757 These guys are a group that care about each other and 546 00:28:35,823 --> 00:28:37,959 they're like the musketeers. 547 00:28:38,025 --> 00:28:39,927 One for all and all for one. 548 00:28:40,828 --> 00:28:42,797 NARRATOR: Mark works his modeling magic, 549 00:28:42,864 --> 00:28:47,335 but toy shops aren't prepared to shell out for radioactive reptiles. 550 00:28:48,503 --> 00:28:50,838 KARL: It was a disaster. 551 00:28:50,905 --> 00:28:52,206 Everybody looked at turtles and said 552 00:28:52,273 --> 00:28:55,243 "these can't be heroes, this will never work." 553 00:28:55,309 --> 00:28:57,712 NARRATOR: But, by now, the '80s have a tried and tested 554 00:28:57,779 --> 00:29:00,848 formula to get kids into toy stores. 555 00:29:00,915 --> 00:29:04,252 KARL: And the decision was made that the only way this 556 00:29:04,318 --> 00:29:08,456 would work as a toy product was to create an animated show 557 00:29:08,523 --> 00:29:11,592 based on the original comic books. 558 00:29:12,460 --> 00:29:14,562 ♪ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ♪ 559 00:29:14,629 --> 00:29:18,666 ♪ Teenage Ninja Turtles, heroes in a half shell, ♪ 560 00:29:18,733 --> 00:29:20,268 ♪ Turtle power! ♪ 561 00:29:20,334 --> 00:29:23,304 SETH: Everything about the Ninja Turtles was kinda cool, right? 562 00:29:23,371 --> 00:29:24,438 They were party dudes. 563 00:29:24,505 --> 00:29:26,174 They were like, teenagers. 564 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:27,341 They live in the sewer. 565 00:29:27,408 --> 00:29:28,843 All they ate was pizza. 566 00:29:28,910 --> 00:29:31,712 When you're a kid all you wanna do is eat nothing but pizza. 567 00:29:31,779 --> 00:29:33,114 The turtles did that. 568 00:29:33,181 --> 00:29:34,782 NARRATOR: And kids can't seem to get enough of the 569 00:29:34,849 --> 00:29:38,452 rebellious Teenage Turtle toys for obvious reasons. 570 00:29:39,020 --> 00:29:41,756 They offer something they've not seen before. 571 00:29:43,191 --> 00:29:45,893 KARL: Let's not forget that the '80s really started with 572 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:48,896 straight laced fantasy filled characters such as 573 00:29:48,963 --> 00:29:51,566 a He-Man or Thundercats. 574 00:29:51,632 --> 00:29:54,435 Everything was played pretty straight. 575 00:29:55,136 --> 00:29:57,171 DMC: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was brilliant in the 576 00:29:57,238 --> 00:30:01,542 '80s because it started to change the perception of what 577 00:30:01,609 --> 00:30:05,813 a superhero really means and who could be a superhero. 578 00:30:06,681 --> 00:30:09,250 KARL: Turtles was one of the first ones to really mix in a 579 00:30:09,317 --> 00:30:11,552 healthy dose of humor. 580 00:30:11,619 --> 00:30:14,989 And it was that humor that ended up being one of 581 00:30:15,056 --> 00:30:17,091 the differentiating elements. 582 00:30:17,158 --> 00:30:19,493 LEONARDO: We turtles don't know the meaning of the word "defeat". 583 00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:20,595 MICHELANGELO: That's right. 584 00:30:20,661 --> 00:30:23,064 We never bothered to look it up in the dictionary. 585 00:30:23,397 --> 00:30:26,500 APRIL: Don't you guys take anything seriously? 586 00:30:27,468 --> 00:30:29,303 KARL: After the show had aired a few times, 587 00:30:29,370 --> 00:30:34,575 I walked in to a Toys "R" Us store: completely empty shelves. 588 00:30:34,876 --> 00:30:37,245 And at that point, I knew we finally had something 589 00:30:37,311 --> 00:30:39,680 good on our hands. 590 00:30:40,114 --> 00:30:42,416 NARRATOR: Turtle mania quickly takes hold, 591 00:30:42,483 --> 00:30:46,787 selling $1.1 billion worth of toys in just four years. 592 00:30:47,321 --> 00:30:50,892 And then, inevitably, the boys in green get their own movie, 593 00:30:50,958 --> 00:30:54,428 cementing their status as one of the biggest brands. 594 00:30:58,666 --> 00:31:02,436 RAPHAEL: Ya! I love being a turtle! 595 00:31:03,938 --> 00:31:07,241 NARRATOR: Surfing teen turtles crest a wave onto our scoreboar 596 00:31:07,308 --> 00:31:10,344 at number four, but coming up in our Top Ten Toys: 597 00:31:10,411 --> 00:31:14,649 the underground game so out there it almost got banned. 598 00:31:20,855 --> 00:31:23,758 ROB: We are now entering the rarified atmosphere of 599 00:31:23,824 --> 00:31:25,826 our top three toys of the '80s. 600 00:31:26,060 --> 00:31:28,529 Our next contender began with a man whose world turned 601 00:31:28,596 --> 00:31:31,499 inside out when he lost his job, 602 00:31:31,565 --> 00:31:36,637 so he created a new world: one inside the human mind. 603 00:31:36,704 --> 00:31:39,640 No batteries or assembly required. 604 00:31:43,044 --> 00:31:45,179 JEN: My entire knowledge of Dungeons and Dragons in the 605 00:31:45,246 --> 00:31:47,949 '80s was based entirely on the movie ET, 606 00:31:48,015 --> 00:31:50,551 because the kids in ET played Dungeons and Dragons. 607 00:31:50,618 --> 00:31:52,853 ELLIOT: I'm ready to play now, you guys. 608 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:54,221 MAN: We're in the middle, Elliot. 609 00:31:54,288 --> 00:31:56,090 You can't just join any universe in the middle. 610 00:31:56,157 --> 00:31:58,426 KATIE: It was always the smart kid who played it, 611 00:31:58,492 --> 00:32:00,861 so that's probably why I didn't. 612 00:32:00,928 --> 00:32:04,198 MEAT LOAF: I've seen films about people that play 613 00:32:04,265 --> 00:32:07,234 Dungeons and Dragons, and they're serial killers. 614 00:32:07,301 --> 00:32:08,669 (laughs) 615 00:32:09,303 --> 00:32:12,273 NARRATOR: In the late '70s, Gary Gygax loses his job in 616 00:32:12,340 --> 00:32:15,176 insurance, so Gary fills the hours, 617 00:32:15,242 --> 00:32:19,580 yes, you guessed it, dreaming up fantasy war games in, 618 00:32:19,647 --> 00:32:22,283 of course, his basement. 619 00:32:22,350 --> 00:32:25,786 Little did he imagine the game he dreams up will become one 620 00:32:25,853 --> 00:32:28,556 of the decade's most controversial. 621 00:32:29,023 --> 00:32:30,424 CHRIS: Dungeons and Dragons: 622 00:32:30,491 --> 00:32:32,760 it's basically a role-playing fantasy game. 623 00:32:32,827 --> 00:32:35,997 You've got the players who are creating their characters. 624 00:32:36,063 --> 00:32:39,667 You have a dungeon master who is setting up the story. 625 00:32:39,734 --> 00:32:42,570 NARRATOR: You also had weird-shaped dice. 626 00:32:42,636 --> 00:32:45,740 And 40 years ago, the game gets popular amongst 627 00:32:45,806 --> 00:32:48,843 the unpopular kids. 628 00:32:49,844 --> 00:32:51,512 Dungeons and Dragons was nerd heaven. 629 00:32:51,579 --> 00:32:53,447 If you felt like your own life sucked, 630 00:32:53,514 --> 00:32:56,117 if you were getting picked on, if you felt like you were a 631 00:32:56,183 --> 00:32:58,119 puny little kid, you could be some, 632 00:32:58,185 --> 00:33:00,187 like, kick-ass elf with a bow and arrow, 633 00:33:00,254 --> 00:33:02,089 right, and you felt empowered. 634 00:33:02,156 --> 00:33:04,191 GARY: If would feel much better if we knew that we were 635 00:33:04,258 --> 00:33:08,729 a super hero or a mighty wizard of the stamp of Conan 636 00:33:08,796 --> 00:33:10,498 or Merlin or whoever. 637 00:33:10,564 --> 00:33:14,235 JEN: Being a nerd started to become kind of a cool thing 638 00:33:14,301 --> 00:33:16,003 in the '80s a little bit. 639 00:33:16,070 --> 00:33:19,006 And I think Dungeons and Dragons was definitely part of that. 640 00:33:19,607 --> 00:33:21,876 NARRATOR: Soon, D&D clubs spring up in schools 641 00:33:21,942 --> 00:33:23,911 all across America. 642 00:33:23,978 --> 00:33:27,448 But by the mid-'80s, as the game's legend spreads, 643 00:33:27,515 --> 00:33:29,483 parents start to panic. 644 00:33:29,550 --> 00:33:31,685 Why this time? 645 00:33:32,053 --> 00:33:33,220 REPORTER: This morning, we're going to take up the 646 00:33:33,287 --> 00:33:36,457 controversy surrounding the game Dungeons and Dragons, 647 00:33:36,524 --> 00:33:40,094 which some parents fear could lead to violence and suicide. 648 00:33:41,929 --> 00:33:44,265 LORRAINE: There was a big scare about satanism, 649 00:33:44,331 --> 00:33:47,034 about sorcery, and Dungeons and Dragons, 650 00:33:47,101 --> 00:33:50,404 you know, seemed like it was part of this dark netherworld. 651 00:33:50,471 --> 00:33:52,973 SETH: There was a movie that came out in the '80s with Tom Hanks 652 00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:55,943 that was about, like, a Dungeons-and-Dragons-inspired 653 00:33:56,010 --> 00:33:56,911 moral panic. 654 00:33:56,977 --> 00:33:58,512 People were scared of this stuff. 655 00:33:58,579 --> 00:34:01,449 ROBBIE: I am Pardieu, a holy man. 656 00:34:01,849 --> 00:34:03,918 In reaching the ninth level, I have acquired many magic 657 00:34:03,984 --> 00:34:06,554 spells and charms, the greatest of which is the 658 00:34:06,620 --> 00:34:09,523 graven eye of Timor. 659 00:34:10,257 --> 00:34:11,892 LORRAINE: Anything in the '80s that seemed like it was 660 00:34:11,959 --> 00:34:15,129 slightly dabbling in magic, was really terrifying to, 661 00:34:15,196 --> 00:34:18,032 especially, you know, people in the Bible Belt, 662 00:34:18,099 --> 00:34:19,900 to some parents. 663 00:34:19,967 --> 00:34:22,736 NARRATOR: Despite concerns, there is no evidence the game 664 00:34:22,803 --> 00:34:25,206 is involved in any teen deaths. 665 00:34:25,272 --> 00:34:28,242 If anything, the bad press encourages more kids to 666 00:34:28,309 --> 00:34:29,977 buy the game. 667 00:34:30,044 --> 00:34:35,249 By 1986, it attracts around fou million fanatical followers. 668 00:34:35,850 --> 00:34:38,018 Dungeons and Dragons captured the imagination 669 00:34:38,085 --> 00:34:41,889 of a generation, and when those kids grow up, 670 00:34:41,956 --> 00:34:45,559 they're destined to dream up even bigger fantasy worlds. 671 00:34:45,793 --> 00:34:47,895 KARL: The creators of Game of Thrones I know 672 00:34:47,962 --> 00:34:49,964 play D&D, even today. 673 00:34:50,030 --> 00:34:53,968 So it helped, I think, inspire a lot of creative people. 674 00:34:54,368 --> 00:34:56,604 JEN: I know that it inspired Stranger Things. 675 00:34:57,638 --> 00:34:59,573 MIKE: A shadow grows on the wall behind you, 676 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:01,709 swallowing you in darkness. 677 00:35:01,775 --> 00:35:03,310 It is almost here. 678 00:35:03,377 --> 00:35:04,445 WILL: What is it? 679 00:35:04,512 --> 00:35:06,313 JEN: A lot of the monsters and things in the show are 680 00:35:06,380 --> 00:35:08,916 taken directly from Dungeons and Dragons. 681 00:35:08,983 --> 00:35:10,784 MIKE: The Demogorgon! 682 00:35:12,186 --> 00:35:15,789 NARRATOR: And just be careful who you call a nerd. 683 00:35:15,856 --> 00:35:17,992 VIN: I've been called the witch hunter. 684 00:35:18,058 --> 00:35:19,226 Attack! 685 00:35:19,293 --> 00:35:20,261 (laughs) 686 00:35:20,327 --> 00:35:21,562 LARRY: Dungeons and Dragons, typically, 687 00:35:21,629 --> 00:35:24,031 has been associated with your nerd. 688 00:35:24,732 --> 00:35:27,535 And now all these years later, those geeks and nerds 689 00:35:27,601 --> 00:35:29,637 have grown up to rule the world. 690 00:35:31,705 --> 00:35:34,842 ROB: In the '80s, not only did people want their MTV, 691 00:35:34,909 --> 00:35:37,778 their VHS machines, and their leg warmers, 692 00:35:37,845 --> 00:35:40,748 some parents just had to have something else. 693 00:35:40,814 --> 00:35:43,918 And that trend got a little outta hand. 694 00:35:43,984 --> 00:35:45,419 Our number two. 695 00:35:49,423 --> 00:35:53,861 MAN (over TV): In Memphis, Tennessee: pushing, shoving, scratching. 696 00:35:53,928 --> 00:35:57,431 One store official armed himself with a baseball bat. 697 00:35:58,332 --> 00:36:01,202 In Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, it was a near riot; 698 00:36:01,268 --> 00:36:04,271 one woman broke her leg, four others were hurt. 699 00:36:05,506 --> 00:36:08,142 This is what the fuss is all about: pudgy-faced little 700 00:36:08,209 --> 00:36:11,145 dolls called Cabbage Patch Kids. 701 00:36:11,545 --> 00:36:13,981 NARRATOR: The Cabbage Patch Kids are the decade's ultimate 702 00:36:14,048 --> 00:36:16,450 toy craze that no one saw coming, 703 00:36:16,517 --> 00:36:20,921 except perhaps for their creator: dreamer Xavier Roberts 704 00:36:20,988 --> 00:36:22,456 XAVIER: When we started the company, 705 00:36:22,523 --> 00:36:24,825 we really had big dreams, and most of the people, 706 00:36:24,892 --> 00:36:27,094 the bank, just thought we were crazy and they thought a bunch 707 00:36:27,161 --> 00:36:30,197 of kids couldn't do something like this. 708 00:36:30,264 --> 00:36:32,099 MAN: Roberts started making and selling the dolls 709 00:36:32,166 --> 00:36:33,534 six years ago. 710 00:36:33,601 --> 00:36:36,470 They proved so popular he decided to go into business full-time. 711 00:36:40,874 --> 00:36:42,810 NARRATOR: Roberts then licenses his creation to 712 00:36:42,876 --> 00:36:45,346 toy manufacturer Coleco. 713 00:36:45,412 --> 00:36:48,182 In 1983, mass production begins, 714 00:36:48,249 --> 00:36:51,418 and a computer operated manufacturing process makes 715 00:36:51,485 --> 00:36:54,121 certain no two are the same. 716 00:36:56,690 --> 00:36:59,026 LONI: It was a different doll for everybody, 717 00:36:59,093 --> 00:37:01,262 that's why it was so special. 718 00:37:01,328 --> 00:37:02,930 And I liked the little brown ones, 719 00:37:02,997 --> 00:37:05,566 oh, 'cause I was brown, and I was like, 720 00:37:05,633 --> 00:37:09,169 "OK, it's like a little brown face like mine." 721 00:37:09,970 --> 00:37:12,072 JEN: The idea behind the dolls is that you were adopting 722 00:37:12,139 --> 00:37:14,808 them, and they came with birth certificate. 723 00:37:15,509 --> 00:37:18,612 TIFFANI: It was like your own little kid, I guess. 724 00:37:18,679 --> 00:37:21,282 And it tapped into that nurturing sort of thing 725 00:37:21,348 --> 00:37:23,550 that all of us have. 726 00:37:25,286 --> 00:37:28,689 NARRATOR: In February 1983, the mass-market version of the 727 00:37:28,756 --> 00:37:32,926 doll launches, and demand slowly begins to grow. 728 00:37:32,993 --> 00:37:35,329 Driven by an unstoppable force, 729 00:37:35,396 --> 00:37:38,766 commercial mayhem will soon ensue. 730 00:37:38,832 --> 00:37:40,734 MAN: Hold it! Hold it! 731 00:37:43,470 --> 00:37:48,142 NARRATOR: In 1983, the Cabbage Patch Kids take over America. 732 00:37:48,208 --> 00:37:49,910 CRISTELA: Every Christmas had a hot toy. 733 00:37:49,977 --> 00:37:52,379 This was the toy that year. 734 00:37:52,446 --> 00:37:53,580 NARRATOR: Why? 735 00:37:53,647 --> 00:37:56,283 Because an army of hungry consumers feel like they 736 00:37:56,350 --> 00:37:57,918 have to own one. 737 00:37:57,985 --> 00:38:01,822 Remember that Reagan revolution about TV deregulation? 738 00:38:02,389 --> 00:38:04,792 TIFFANI: There was a commercial for the Cabbage Patch doll. 739 00:38:04,858 --> 00:38:07,594 MAN: Each doll is different, and you can pretend to adopt them. 740 00:38:07,661 --> 00:38:09,563 GIRL: My baby has a real diaper. 741 00:38:09,630 --> 00:38:11,498 TIFFANI: That was the start of me going, 742 00:38:11,565 --> 00:38:15,102 "Oh, wow. This is like a real baby. 743 00:38:15,169 --> 00:38:18,472 It has a birth certificate. I get to take care of it." 744 00:38:19,306 --> 00:38:22,609 JEREMY: I remember wanting one so, so, so badly. 745 00:38:23,077 --> 00:38:27,681 CHRIS: We suddenly saw kids who were a consuming force, 746 00:38:27,748 --> 00:38:31,218 and they were influencing all the purchases in the house. 747 00:38:32,152 --> 00:38:34,221 NARRATOR: And by Christmas 1983, 748 00:38:34,288 --> 00:38:38,726 demand for Cabbage Patch Kids reaches epidemic proportions, 749 00:38:38,792 --> 00:38:41,995 helped in no small degree by the news media reporting 750 00:38:42,062 --> 00:38:43,831 a shortage of dolls. 751 00:38:46,133 --> 00:38:48,402 MAN: What is it that has left at least ten people injured 752 00:38:48,469 --> 00:38:49,536 and two arrested? 753 00:38:49,603 --> 00:38:51,739 Why are parents suddenly acting like children in an 754 00:38:51,805 --> 00:38:54,208 attempt to get their children a doll that will make them 755 00:38:54,274 --> 00:38:56,110 act like parents? 756 00:38:56,176 --> 00:38:58,445 CRISTELA: If your kids wanted a specific one, 757 00:38:58,512 --> 00:39:01,248 if you didn't find it, you were done. 758 00:39:01,315 --> 00:39:03,417 Like, the parents were dead to them. 759 00:39:03,484 --> 00:39:05,419 So that's why the fights broke out. 760 00:39:05,486 --> 00:39:07,020 WOMAN: This ain't what Christmas is about? 761 00:39:07,087 --> 00:39:08,889 MAN: That's right. I agree with you 100%. 762 00:39:08,956 --> 00:39:12,860 WOMAN: A full-grown woman taking a doll out of child's hands! 763 00:39:13,227 --> 00:39:15,062 LONI: You know, we would knock somebody out during 764 00:39:15,129 --> 00:39:18,265 Christmastime to get one, 'cause that's what we did. 765 00:39:19,466 --> 00:39:21,769 WOMAN: I got my doll! I got my doll! 766 00:39:23,604 --> 00:39:24,905 NARRATOR: When the dust settles, 767 00:39:24,972 --> 00:39:28,776 three million Cabbage Patch Kids have new homes. 768 00:39:28,842 --> 00:39:31,278 Sales continue at a steady pace until, 769 00:39:31,345 --> 00:39:34,782 of course, kids freely express their collective thought that 770 00:39:34,848 --> 00:39:37,818 they want the next big thing. 771 00:39:38,185 --> 00:39:40,621 SETH: The Cabbage Patch Kid didn't really make it out of the '80s. 772 00:39:40,687 --> 00:39:41,955 This is a relic. 773 00:39:42,022 --> 00:39:44,091 You gave this to a kid today, they probably wouldn't know 774 00:39:44,158 --> 00:39:45,793 what to do with it. 775 00:39:46,493 --> 00:39:48,562 CRISTELA: I'm in my 40s, and I have to tell you that 776 00:39:48,629 --> 00:39:50,264 just holding this one right now, 777 00:39:50,330 --> 00:39:53,500 it just brings back all those memories. 778 00:39:54,635 --> 00:39:56,637 TIFFANI: I'm sorry, I need to hug her. 779 00:39:58,105 --> 00:40:00,007 ROB: So, we've had cute ponies, 780 00:40:00,073 --> 00:40:02,643 mutant creatures, and Cabbage Patch dolls. 781 00:40:02,709 --> 00:40:05,546 But now something a little more challenging, 782 00:40:05,946 --> 00:40:09,883 simple but complex, cool but dorky, 783 00:40:09,950 --> 00:40:13,020 and I personally have never been able to figure it out myself; 784 00:40:14,021 --> 00:40:15,489 kinda like the '80s. 785 00:40:21,428 --> 00:40:24,798 SETH: It was a torture device, thinly disguised as a children's toy. 786 00:40:24,865 --> 00:40:26,166 JON: Everybody had one. 787 00:40:26,233 --> 00:40:28,969 I remember trying it; I don't think I ever solved it. 788 00:40:29,036 --> 00:40:32,272 MEAT LOAF: I tried to solve it for days and days and days. 789 00:40:32,739 --> 00:40:36,643 NARRATOR: It came from behind the Iron Curtain to conquer the world; 790 00:40:36,710 --> 00:40:40,347 a cube of plastic that soon became an addictive toy. 791 00:40:40,781 --> 00:40:44,251 And as is so often the case, our story begins with 792 00:40:44,318 --> 00:40:46,720 one man with a dream. 793 00:40:48,222 --> 00:40:49,790 CHRISI: It was the late 70's. 794 00:40:49,857 --> 00:40:53,026 Tom Kremer, and myself as his assistant, 795 00:40:53,093 --> 00:40:55,262 were at the Nuremberg Toy Fair. 796 00:40:56,263 --> 00:41:01,835 His eyes lit up because he saw this extraordinary cube in the 797 00:41:01,902 --> 00:41:04,872 hands of this representative. 798 00:41:04,938 --> 00:41:08,408 NARRATOR: Kremer discovers the representative is a Hungarian 799 00:41:08,475 --> 00:41:11,211 architect/professor by the name of Erno, 800 00:41:11,278 --> 00:41:13,514 wait for it, Rubik. 801 00:41:13,580 --> 00:41:17,317 Rubik had invented the cube decades before as a teaching aid. 802 00:41:17,818 --> 00:41:20,120 CHRIS: It was designed to solve engineering problems, 803 00:41:20,187 --> 00:41:23,624 and the idea being that there's a moving piece 804 00:41:23,690 --> 00:41:26,260 while something else stays stationary. 805 00:41:26,326 --> 00:41:27,594 And suddenly somebody said, 806 00:41:27,661 --> 00:41:29,930 "Hey, that's a puzzle." 807 00:41:30,397 --> 00:41:34,067 NARRATOR: Kremer is taken with both Rubik and his cube, 808 00:41:34,134 --> 00:41:36,803 but struggles to convince backers in the West of its 809 00:41:36,870 --> 00:41:39,072 potential as a toy. 810 00:41:39,439 --> 00:41:42,476 CHRISI: Their first reaction was always: we cannot 811 00:41:42,543 --> 00:41:46,079 sell something that you cannot solve. 812 00:41:48,882 --> 00:41:52,319 Tom persuaded the Ideal Toy Company representative to 813 00:41:52,386 --> 00:41:57,024 go to Hungary to see the people in the street solving the cube. 814 00:41:57,090 --> 00:42:02,329 That was how he finally made the Ideal Toy Company say yes. 815 00:42:02,763 --> 00:42:06,533 NARRATOR: In 1980, the Rubik's cube launches globally, 816 00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:08,535 and a phenomenon is born. 817 00:42:09,136 --> 00:42:11,038 REPORTER: Around the world for millions of people, 818 00:42:11,104 --> 00:42:12,606 this Rubik's cube, this year, 819 00:42:12,673 --> 00:42:15,909 has become a maddening addiction. 820 00:42:15,976 --> 00:42:18,011 NARRATOR: In its first year alone, 821 00:42:18,078 --> 00:42:20,881 4.5 million cubes are snapped up. 822 00:42:20,948 --> 00:42:23,517 Kids compete in school yards across America, 823 00:42:23,584 --> 00:42:26,720 trying to solve the brain teaser of the decade. 824 00:42:27,721 --> 00:42:29,890 BRIAN: There was always one kid that could do this thing 825 00:42:29,957 --> 00:42:31,291 in five seconds at every school. 826 00:42:31,358 --> 00:42:33,160 TONY: I was obsessed with solving it, 827 00:42:33,226 --> 00:42:35,596 and I did finally solve it. 828 00:42:35,662 --> 00:42:37,898 I got put into advanced math courses after that. 829 00:42:37,965 --> 00:42:39,766 MAN: Why do young kids do this better? 830 00:42:39,833 --> 00:42:42,069 MAN: I asked Professor Rubik. 831 00:42:42,135 --> 00:42:45,739 He said, "Kids do it better because they're not prejudiced 832 00:42:45,806 --> 00:42:48,241 to believe that they shouldn't be able to do it." 833 00:42:48,308 --> 00:42:50,210 But we all know it's impossible so we give up and 834 00:42:50,277 --> 00:42:51,812 smash it against the fireplace. 835 00:42:51,878 --> 00:42:54,681 JASON: I had absolutely no idea what to do with it. 836 00:42:54,748 --> 00:42:57,317 KEVIN: Easiest way to make the Rubik's cube work was to just 837 00:42:57,384 --> 00:42:59,720 peel off the stickers and put them back. 838 00:43:01,555 --> 00:43:04,391 NARRATOR: But for the cubers who don't need to cheat, 839 00:43:04,458 --> 00:43:07,127 competitions spring up all over the world. 840 00:43:10,564 --> 00:43:14,334 It's been over 40 years since the cube defected from the East 841 00:43:14,401 --> 00:43:17,638 and 450 million cubes have been sold. 842 00:43:17,971 --> 00:43:22,109 Even today, around 20 million cubes sell each year. 843 00:43:22,676 --> 00:43:25,512 SETH: The Rubik's cube became this pop culture puzzle. 844 00:43:25,579 --> 00:43:26,813 You start seeing them in movies, 845 00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:28,348 start seeing them in TV shows. 846 00:43:28,415 --> 00:43:30,484 It was everywhere. 847 00:43:30,817 --> 00:43:32,619 SPIDERMAN NOIR: I'm taking this cube thing with me. 848 00:43:32,686 --> 00:43:36,223 I don't understand it, but I will. 849 00:43:38,325 --> 00:43:40,827 NARRATOR: It's a simple cube that embodies a simple yet 850 00:43:40,894 --> 00:43:44,297 elusive dream: elegance, simplicity, 851 00:43:44,364 --> 00:43:47,567 and complexity, all in something you can hold 852 00:43:47,634 --> 00:43:50,103 in the palm of your hand. 853 00:43:50,170 --> 00:43:52,739 These are the qualities that have earned the cube 854 00:43:52,806 --> 00:43:56,410 its number one rank of all '80s toys. 855 00:43:57,678 --> 00:43:59,913 CHRISI: It's just an icon. 856 00:43:59,980 --> 00:44:03,083 Yes, there are other puzzles, but the one that started it all 857 00:44:03,150 --> 00:44:04,184 was the Rubik's cube.