I Love Lucy, Smallville and Fight Club were among some of the many classics that celebrated anniversaries this week. Check out our video rundown for your weekly dose of nostalgia.
October 15, 1951I Love Lucy premieres on CBS
In the series’ first episode “The Girls Want To Go to A Nightclub,” Lucy and Ricky Ricardo (Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz), and Fred and Ethel Mertz (William Frawley and Vivian Vance) argue over how to celebrate the Mertzes’ wedding anniversary. Lucy and Ethel wish to go to a nightclub, while Ricky and Fred would rather go see a fight. Needless to say, hilarious shenanigans ensue. I Love Lucy would go on to run for six years on CBS. After the show’s end in 1957, Ball played Lucy on other series until 1974.
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October 14, 1983Cyndi Lauper’s debut album ‘She’s So Unusual’ drops.
“Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Time After Time,” and “She Bop” were among some of the hit songs included on Lauper’s critically acclaimed and highly successful debut album. “She’s So Unusual” not only earned Lauper the Grammy for Best New Artist, but it also made her the first female artist to have four top five singles on the Billboard Hot 100. In June of this year, Lauper kicked off her celebratory “She’s So Unusual: 30th Anniversary Tour,” in which she performs the whole album.
October 18, 1988Roseanne premieres on ABC
In its first year on the air, Roseanne became the most watched series on television, and remained among the top rated shows during its nine-season run. Roseanne raised the bar for other sitcoms through its willingness to tackle sensitive issues like gay rights and social class, and for bringing a strong feminist voice to network television. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, creator and star Roseanne Barr reflected on the show’s legacy in a column for the Huffington Post. In her column, she said that the episode called “The Fifties Show” is the best example of Roseanne’s impact on television and is her “favourite episode of any television show, ever.”
October 15, 1999Fight Club hits theatres
Empire Magazine ranked Fight Club at number ten on its “500 Greatest Movies of All Time” list. This, however, was not always the pervading view among critics. Upon its release, Fight Club underperformed at the box office and was met with a fair amount of negative critical reaction. Fight Club’s successful DVD release, however, made it a cult classic. These days it is hard to find someone who does not at least know the classic quote “The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club.”
October 16, 2001Smallville premieres on The WB
12 years ago, Superman started high school. When Smallville premiered in October 2001, its creators had one rule: “no flights, no tights.” The rule remained in effect for the first 217 episodes. Clark Kent (Tom Welling) did not take to the skies in the classic Superman costume until Smallville’s series finale, which aired on May 13, 2011. Throughout its run, the series featured many famous DC Comics characters including: Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum), Green Arrow (Justin Hartley), Black Canary (Alaina Huffman), Flash (Kyle Gallner), and Darkseid. When it went off the air in 2011, Smallville became North America’s longest running science fiction television series.
