My Ode to Jem and The Holograms

...life isn't all about comedy...

I don't know what it was about the 80s that made everything seem so fabulous (and if I were better at HTML, I would have the word "fabulous" in blinking annoying lights just to emote a feeling.)

Not only fabulous, but attainable. We all could be what we wanted to be in the 80s. Perhaps, it was Reaganomics. It was like everyone was on store-bought laughing gas during the 80s. Things could only bother people so little before we headed back to the strip mall to get another fix. At least that's what it seemed like.

It even affected the children of the 80s. Everything--I mean everything-- was awesome!

Saturday Morning cartoons--awesome!

Lunchboxes--awesome!

Fruit Roll Ups IN Lunchboxes while watching Saturday morning cartoon--indulgent, but awesome!

And the last thing that was awesome to a young girl in the 80s---Jem and the Holograms.

Trust me. I want to be ashamed to admit, but I can't.

But, Lucy, what does this have to do with comedy?

Nothing you, comedy-obsessed freak. Allow me some reprieve from comedy, for once. And if you're patient, by the end of this post I'll think of something, just for your comedy-obsessed mind.

YOU KNOW, life isn't all about comedy! There all OTHER things besides comedy!

Eh-hem. Allow me to regain some composure...

Back to the task at hand:
I loved Jem and the Holograms. I was anything but a girly-girl growing up, but I could not get enough of them. (I'm convinced there were subliminal messages that were sent through the air waves and beamed directly into our impressionable skulls. This stuff was like crack!)

But somehow, somewhere, someway, Jem and the Holograms became the quintessential life--a fantasy--an ideal that every young girl wanted to attain.

Yes, I admit it. They were a massive influence on my music choice, hair style, and what I wore to school that day. (Neon Dayglo was all the rage.)

And it certainly brightened my morning, when I could wake up to Jem and a half hour later head off to school that day knowing take Jerrica and the Starlight House were out of harm's way. (The sad part about this post was that I didn't need Wikipedia for all of the name references.)

As much as I like the show, Jem and Holograms, I was more fascinated by Pizzazz and the The Misfits, who were Jem and the Holograms' mortal enemy.

Why was I fascinated? They were better songwriters. Their melodies were catchy, the lyrics were funny if not biting and conveyed true emotion, and they had no apologies (at least no Pizzazz.)

Tell me you can listen to The Misfits, Universal Appeal and NOT want to dance and sing-along. (Make sure to listen to the piano and the baseline--perfection!!! Man, can Stormer really bang on that keytar!)

The Misfits even state that they're the better musical act. They say it in the intro: "We are the Misfits! Our songs are better!"

'nuff said. Case closed.



Here are another set of videos by The Misfits:

"Jack Take a Hike"
'cept for the fact that they're chasin' a black guy (not impressed), but I forgive them.

"I am a giant"

I would have so much more respect if Jem performed like the Misfits do.



My only complaint: We didn't get enough of the music in the show. Their songs are decidedly short, mainly because a 3 min song would steal significant airtime from a 22 min long show.

(audible sigh)


MTV easily picked up where Jem and Holograms left off (Mmmm... that scrumptious Adam Curry and his big hair.)

So you ask about the impact that Jem and the Holograms had on my comedy career?

Well none, really. Just the sense of humor I have acquired by now looking back at how a simple cheesy silly cartoon program weighed so heavily in my childhood and childhood memories.


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