I discovered and got on the bandwagon late with this show, I wholeheartedly admit it. However, it was so great, I’ve watched all four episodes TWICE since I love toys, even at my advanced age. Not just playing with them but I love to know the story behind their creation.
Toys kicks off with Star Wars during the Kenner years which was my childhood too. Thanks to George Lucas’ willingness to market anything, he accidentally co-created one of the greatest licenses of all time. He almost killed it with his crappy prequels though. Next is Barbie, the only girls’ toy in the lot and I think the oldest in the Modern Era. I enjoyed how they highlighted the different sculpts of Barbie’s face and explained why her neck is longer than a standard human. Mattel Toys returns with the story of He-Man, a toy/TV show that kind of flipped the Star Wars formula (the toys came before the show). My minor gripe regarding this episode is the producers left out D&D’s influence and how He-Man was originally going to be the D&D toy line for Mattel. Lastly is GI Joe, primarily the Eighties period.
How Toys differs from say I Love the Eighties on VH-1 is the interviews. They don’t bother getting B-list celebrities’ input, the producers found the designers, the lawyers, the executives and artists who made what we loved possible. A few are no longer alive yet there are enough key people to piece together the true story on why He-Man exclaims, “I have the power!” or why do the big GI Joes have their thumbnails on the wrong side.
I can’t wait for the next quartet of shows as per the theme song. I don’t necessarily agree with what they’ll cover: Lego (they have their own documentary), Hello Kitty (this tends to be popular with teens and adults), Transformers and Star Trek (this property has been with multiple companies). If it were up to me, I would’ve gone with…
- Hot Wheels.
- Strawberry Shortcake or My Little Pony.
- Mego which would have Marvel, DC, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek and a few other licenses.
- Atari, aka the 2600 console.
Finding a toy nearly half as popular or as influential as Barbie for girls is a tough nut to crack. Should these producers get a second season, they definitely need to include D&D.
Check the show out on Netflix. Nostalgia carries much of it for me but I also crave to know the history behind what fueled the scores of space operas I composed while alone with all these bitchin’ toys.