Reconsidering "The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century"

Happy New Year my friends! And it's time to discuss something that is long overdue. A year or two ago I mentioned New Year's episodes of sitcoms. And one which I hated so much I didn't even want to discuss it. The strange thing is, it's a favorite episode for many. Even if you weren't a fan of the series. It's easy to hate on something that is generally hated and praise something that is generally loved, but hating something that is generally loved is trickier. But let's take this one step at a time. What series am I discussing?

Designing Women premiered in 1986 and I have discussed before how many problems I had with this show. With it's preachy, superior attitude. One episode that pissed me off when I saw it 31 years ago is a prime example of this stuff. What episode was that?  

"The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century,"

You just know Linda Bloodworth Thomason thought there was something special about January 1, 1990. Ok, sure. i was 16 at the time and don't recall people caring that much, but maybe they did. This episode usually appeared on lists of the series very best episodes, and considering the contents it is hard to criticize without coming off heartless. Or worst. But I hated it when I saw it. By the way the episode really did air on that date.

Over the years I have been going over stuff I hated when I first saw them and reconsidering them, for better or for worst. it's only fair to do the same here. So what happens in his episode? Lets take it step by step. I should mention I watched this on Hulu which from the looks of it used the syndicated version, so it's possible I missed some key lines.

Five Memorable TV Phones

 Almost every show features characters talking on a phone at some point. And usually that's just what it is, a normal phone we used at the time. From The Brady Bunch using a rotary phone to Friends using cell phones, you can literally track the progress of telephone's by watching various TV shows.

However, some shoes think outside the box a little and get creative with their phones. They have their characters using phones which, at the time, were either impossible to imagine or maybe they did exist but good luck getting one. Here are five:

Get Smart

This show was a great sendup of spy movies and TV, with the great Don Adams in the lead role. He is best remembered as Inspector Gadget but he truly shined in this show too. And one thing everyone remembers about this series, is the shoe phone he used to call the chief. The fact that this phone worked at all is ridiculous, but we loved it.