Toy Galaxy: The History Of... Season 4, Episode 6: The Sad Rise and Fall of Toys R Us: The End of When Toys Ruled the World

1

The History of Sectaurs: Creepy Insect Puppets?

On this episode Dan dives into the history of Sectaurs, a toyline and animated series with an insect motif that briefly popped up on the pop culture landscape in 1985. With it's unique play features, however, the toyline has long been a favorite and made quite an impact through to today.

2

The History of MUSCLE (aka M.U.S.C.L.E.)

On this episode we tackle the history of MUSCLE or M.U.S.C.L.E. as it is sometimes written. They were tiny and pink and completely unposeable. They didn't do anything or come with any accessories so where did they come from?

3

The History of Robotech: Enter Harmony Gold & The Birth of Robotech

On this episode we begin the very messy history of Robotech. Robotech is a science fiction franchise that began with an 85-episode anime television series created by Carl Macek and produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production and first released in the United States in 1985. The show was adapted from three original and distinct, though visually similar, Japanese anime television series (Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA) to make a series suitable for syndication. But that really is just the beginning of the story...

4

The History of Marvel's The Black Panther: Rising From Almost Forgotten

On this episode we cover the history of The Black Panther. From his creation by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the 60's to being nearly forgotten through the 80's and being brought back to prominence in the 2000's to the huge release of the film Black Panther.

5

The History of The Centurions: Short-Lived Power Extreme

This week we cover the history of The Centurions. Born out of Star Wars brown gravy of success as an animated series and having only a few figures released by Kenner, all these years later it still holds a place in many peoples hearts.

6

The Sad Rise and Fall of Toys R Us: The End of When Toys Ruled the World

On this episode Dan digs through the history of beloved and nearly departed toy store Toys R Us. From its humble beginnings as Bargainworld to it's website and strategy problems to its acquisition of FAO Shwarz and KB Toys to its bankruptcy filing in 2017. Toys R Us may be soon gone but not soon forgotten. He also explains what a leveraged buyout is. Don't worry. It's cool.

7

The History of Robotech: The Movie, The Lawsuits Begin and Government Trouble

In this video we dive even deeper into the crazy history of Robotech. This episode covers Harmony Gold's efforts to get a Robotech movie into theaters with the help of Cannon Films and their efforts to create a season 2 of Robotech with all new animation. Robotech: The Movie, also called Robotech: The Untold Story, is a feature film and was the first new Robotech adventure created after the premiere of the original series. It uses footage from the Megazone 23 – Part 1 OVA (original video animation; made-for-video animated feature) combined with scenes from "Southern Cross" and additional original animation produced for the film. Unfortunately, the governments of the world didn't care about any of that.

8

The History of COPS (aka C.O.P.S.)

In this episode we cover the history of COPS also known as C.O.P.S. Inspired by Robocop? Maybe? It only lasted 1 season at the tail end of the 80's but it's action figures had a gimmick that would not be seen on the toy shelves of today.

9

The History of The MCU: The Deals & Drama That Built The Marvel Cinematic Universe

On this episode we cover the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From the movie Volcano through to Blade and X-Men to the fortuitous reaquiring of the rights to Iron Man and Disney acquiring Marvel through to the Avengers and the soon to be released Avengers:Infinity War. These are the deals and drama that built the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

10

The History of The X-Men Animated Series: How Belief in the Idea Conquered A Lack of Cash

In this episode we cover one of the most quintessentially 90's shows of all-time: The X-Men Animated Series. With it's earworm of a theme song and it's chronological approach to storytelling it helped to bring Marvel to the forefront of pop culture and turn it into the juggernaut it is today.

11

Spiral Zone: An 80's Animated Walking Dead... Sort Of

On this episode we cover the History of the mostly forgotten Spiral Zone. A line of deluxe figures and an animated show weren't enough to keep this line alive in 1987. Maybe it was the glut of pop culture products or the dark nature of the story which seems closer to The Walking Dead than standard afternoon cartoon fare. Regardless, it came and went pretty quickly and has not endured the way some 80's properties did.

12

The Story of Boba Fett & How He Became Star Wars Most Overrated Bounty Hunter

On this episode Dan covers the history and possible future of Star Wars coolest and most overrated bounty hunter, Boba Fett. With less than 10 minutes of screen time over the course of 3 movies Boba Fett has never the less managed to also become one of the most popular. But why? And where did he come from?

13

The History of Robotech: More Lawsuits, Games, Comics and Licensing Nonsense

It's the history of Robotech volume 3 as we continue on. Harmony Gold starts to really enforce its license and Dan explores the Robotech RPG, all of the Robotech comics from all of the various publishers and the series of Robotech novels and talks about where they fit in the larger Robotech canon.

14

The History of Batman The Animated Series: Dark, Gritty & Wildly Influential

Launched in 1992 and catering to a much more mature audience than what came before, Batman: The Animated Series is now rightly remembered as the groundbreaking work it was. Take a trip through the history of Batman: The Animated Series.

15

The History of TMNT: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

On this episode it's the history of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. From a joke drawing between 2 friends to a pop culture phenomenon with games, action figures, movies and so many animated series.

16

The History of The Garbage Pail Kids: From Parody to Pop Culture

On this episode we cover the history of the Garbage Pail Kids. What started out as a parody of a doll line has turned into a pop culture staple parodying nearly everything else. From the start at Topps through the lawsuits, the Garbage Pail Kids movie and animated show through today with more series, Funko Pops, pins and more.

17

The Controversial Rise & Fall of Entertech: The Banned Line of Water Guns

On this episode we cover the quick rise and controversial fall of Entertech. Creating realistic water guns in the mid-eighties they were a big hit with kids but government regulation pushed them away from what they were known for and quickly discontinued in a few short years.

18

The History of Battle Beasts: Fire! Water! Wood! Conspiracy!

On this episode we cover the history of Battle Beasts. They were short-lived in the United States and had their connection to the Transformers severed but their unique rub symbol play gimmick has still kept a fervent community of collectors after all these years.

19

The History and Controversy of Captain Power

On this episode we cover the history of Captain Power and the controversy surrounding it's initial run in 1988. Born from the ashes that were the Masters of the Universe movie and married to advanced light gun technology, it was a show aimed at kids and adults that struggled to get either on board. Rising from the ashes again with a reboot planned in 2016, legal troubles have derailed those plans.

20

The History of Visionaries: The Hologram Gimmick Didn't Sell

On this episode we cover the history of the Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light. Released by Hasbro in 1987 their play gimmick was holograms. With a comic book series from Marvel and an animated series what could go wrong? Plenty. While Visionaries didn't sell in 1987 the property has been sitting on the edge of resurrection for a number of years, including a new comic and maybe a new movie.

21

The History of Starcom: The Toys With Magnets On Their Feet!

Starcom: The U.S. Space Force is a 1987 animated syndicated television series inspired by a motorized toy franchise manufactured by Coleco. The plot detailed the adventures of an American astronaut brigade as they fought off attempted invasions by Shadow Force, a nasty collection of humans and robots led by the nefarious Emperor Dark. You might remember them as the small action figures with magnets in their feet. Unfortunately, no one seemed to care as 1987 was jammed full of other more popular lines based on already established brands like GI Joe and Transformers and MASK. The show earned poor ratings, and it was cancelled after 13 episodes.[3] The series was broadcast in reruns in the early 1990s, but no new episodes were produced.

22

The History of Saturday Morning Cartoons & Why They Disappeared

For a few decades at the end of the 20th century kids all over the US gathered in front of their TV's every Saturday morning for the Saturday Morning Cartoon ritual. Bugs Bunny, Mr. T, Pac-Man, The Ghostbusters, Thhe Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, wizards, monsters, villains, heroes and everything else. But it's gone now, at least on the major networks. Where did it go? Why did it go? This is the history of Saturday morning cartoons and the impact of the children's television act.

23

The History of The Transformers Vol 1: Generation 1 & Everyone Dies

The beginning of the history of the Transformers. This first volume covers the birth of the Transformers brand and line and the Generation 1 Transformers right up until THEY WERE ALL KILLED! Also covering Megatrons origins, Optimus Primes origins and the differences between Diaclone and Micro Change, the 2 Japanese toylines that merged into Transformers.

24

The Tragedies & Triumphs of Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons and Dragons, the most successful RPG of all time, has seen many tragedies and triumphs over it's long history, including being in the middle of the Satanic Panic in the 1980's, to now be part of pop culture and as popular as ever. From Gary Gygax and TSR through Mazes and Monsters and it's (sort of) use in such shows as Community and Stranger Things.

25

The History of Madballs: The Balls That Wouldn't Die

On this episode we cover the history of Madballs. Started in the 80's as gross... balls this property has been resurrected a number of times by different companies, like Kid Robot, and is now as strong and popular as it's ever been.

26

The History of Toxic Crusaders: The Toxic Avenger Gets Animated

On this episode we cover the history of the Toxic Crusaders. Another children's property born out of a rated "R" series of films, in this case Troma's The Toxic Avenger series. Sharing many similarities with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles this was a full fledged media property with video games, lunchboxes and Halloween costumes. But they can't all be hits.

27

The Gory Story of Inhumanoids: This Was Supposed To Be For Kids?

Inhumanoids is the title of an animated series and the name of a Hasbro toy property that were both released in 1986. Inhumanoids tells the story of the scientist-hero group, Earth Corps, as they battle a trio of subterranean monsters called the Inhumanoids with the aid of elemental beings, the Mutores. Unique because the title characters were the bad guys, The Inhumanoids, and not the good guys, The Earth Corps (bunch of nerds).

28

The History and Controversy of Adult Swim: Space Ghost, A Bomb Scare & Men From The Moon

Adult Swim started out as a few hours a night a few nights a week but has now launched (or relaunched) a ton of culturally significant shows like Family Guy, Futurama, Rick and Morty, Robot Chicken and others. Here is a quick history of Adult Swim.

29

The History of Transformers Vol 2: Beast Wars & G1 Wins Again, Jerks!

Picking up where The History of Transformers Vol 1 left off, we take a quick detour through Transformers Generation 2 before spending most of the video on Transformers: Beast Wars and Beast Machines. Their awkward computer generated shows may have turned a lot of fans off at the time but they both have since found their place in pop culture history.

30

The History of The Pirates of Dark Water: An Ambitious & Expensive Failure

The Pirates of Dark Water limped through 2 short seasons in the early 1990's before being cancelled in the middle of the story. But this wasn't just another quickly thrown together cash-in. With a well-known cast and a well-known producer Pirates of Dark Water was supposed to be a media juggernaut that turn out to be barely a blip on the radar.