This past month, Netflix debuted a new series that takes a look at the history behind the biggest toy lines of the '70s and '80s. Created by Brian Volk-Weiss, the show interviews the people involved with the creation of the lines and how they came to be; it also examines the impact of the line on the toy market. The lines themselves are showcased by way of prototypes, variants, concept art, vintage commercials for the toys, colorful reenactments of planning meetings, and the collections of enthusiasts from around the world.
The series stared out with some heavy hitters in toy history: Barbie, Masters of the Universe, G.I. Joe, and Star Wars. I found these all to be fascinating and fun to watch even though I was only into two of those four growing up. My wife Rachel and I found ourselves pointing at the TV throughout each episode exclaiming, "I had that!" The interviews and editing are fantastic and they really make each episode interesting. They follow each line through the production process from concept to release and even death, where applicable.
They have already announced another wave of episodes coming this year focusing on LEGO, Transformers, Hello Kitty, and Star Trek. Three of these I was very much into as a kid and still am today (I'll let you figure out which...).
This really is a great series. If you have Netflix - go watch it! My only complaint is the absence of music from the associated lines. While there is some in the commercials they show and snippets from the cartoons associated with each line, I wish they had sprung for rights to use more of that music throughout the episodes. The graphics more than make up for this, though, so I didn't grade too harshly on that point.
Here are some toy lines that I hope to see them cover in future episodes (I also plan on doing reviews on each of these):
RoboCop had a huge toy line throughout the '80s and '90s by different manufacturers. Starting with Kenner in 1987, the R-rated movie was translated into a cartoon series that spawned one of my favorite toys of my childhood.
Easily the largest toy line of the early '90s, Batman was yet another product of Kenner's penchant for licensing movie franchise based toys. Toy Biz originally had the licence when the movie came out in 1989 but it was Kenner's acquisition in 1990 that drove the line into the stratosphere (I'm looking at you, Dark Knight Collection).
No '80s toy line list is complete without Kenner's The REAL Ghostbusters line from 1986-1991. I still collect toys from this line and the Firehouse Headquarters was THE have-to-have playset of the '80s. The Ghostbusters section was the first I flipped to in those little Kenner cattalog books they used to pack in with each toy. Maybe they should just do a 2-part episode about Kenner?
Playmates knocked Kenner and it's Ghostbusters line on its ass with the popularity of the cartoon tie-in line for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1988. By 1990, it was the top selling toy line and the movie released that same year drove sales through the roof. Ghostbusters was cancelled a year later.