Our friend Eddie Spuhghetti over at HERE LIES has outdone himself again with an overload of nostalgia compilation- but this time the hero of the day is video games. And we got the best of the 70s, 80s, and ’90s video game content, ranging from commercials, cartoons inspired by video games, and, of course, a full-length movie jam-packed into a six-hour VHS for your consumption.
The movie, for those who are curious, is usually left as a surprise, but in this instance, is revealed beforehand and in marvelous 3D- THE LAST STARFIGHTER! Whereby, the VHS tape comes with two pairs of 3D glasses for proper maximum enjoyment.
As with HERE LIES’ other VHS companions, this tape is no different in how meticulously placed each commercial and episode segment is- all in the name of nostalgia and to light up all your senses into thinking you’ve traveled back in time with this little piece of polypropylene. With a bonus digital copy included for your on-the-go needs, or for those who don’t have the luxury (wild that I’m saying that in 2026), of a working VCR, it’s a must-have for both video game and VHS enthusiasts!
Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Dream Phone, and McDees Pizza – three things I recall being as clear as Crystal Pepsi on my then five-year old pop culture radar in 1993. Being little over thirty years now, an interest in discovering (or re-discovering) the ‘90s is evident – it’s a fascinating decade that went through considerable changes by distancing itself from the pastel ’80s to a chrome-toned future of dial-up internet.
After completing a few entries in the Here Lies Halloween Companion series, I aspired to create a new non-holiday-themed collection that would be set during the summer months on specific years. The “Summer of” series gives you the experience of what it was like watching late night TV on a hot summer eve during the ’80s and ’90s – my first entry is 1987, which was picked because many had recollected to me about it being the best year of the 1980’s in their adolescence. But let’s stick to the era of Dunkaroos because I want to focus on the 2nd installment – Summer of ’93.
To date, this is the most difficult tape I’ve created, as not only did I have to stay true to the obvious shift in aesthetics but also nail the final result in capturing the feelings that a five-year-old me had experienced. Per usual, I avoid revealing the contents of my tapes so that your brain receives all the endorphins it can get when recognizing a commercial it hasn’t processed in a long time. But for this article (which I am very grateful Nightmare Nostalgia has let me pen), I gotta delve into a few aspects due to their personal relevance.
The 6hr Summer of ’93 begins with home video footage of a holiday being narrated by an enthusiastic Dad, specifically interested in getting a close up of a sunset as he refers to someone named Heinz. There’s a pan across the horizon where a windsurfer cruises the Atlantic Ocean, and then the camera gives us a look at the campsite – likely a familiar display for many, right down to the Coleman 4 Slice Toast ring. A silver Mazda MPV sits parked nearby as a cemetery eerily looks on from the other side of a fence. We then see a kid helping wash dishes at a picnic table, pulling out a plastic McDonalds spoon and exclaiming to the camera in a jingle-tone “McDonalds TO-DAY”. Cut immediately to a McDees Pizza commercial as we start off a block of YTV content.
This footage is actually from my family’s June 1993 trip to Prince Edward Island, and I am the McDonalds crazed kid. The cameraman is my Dad and Heinz is my Opa – who happens to make a few cameos on the Here Lies Xmas Companion VOL 2. The YTV block that follows is as close to exactly how I remember watching that channel – a kids station out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada – right down to the Maniac Mansion promo and anti-drug PSAs that back then I didn’t understand.
The finished result is six hours worth of capturing a feeling of innocence that co-sides with an abundant sense of optimism that went hard in ’93. An over-reliance on technology hasn’t kicked in just yet, but it’s coming. In the meantime, all the chips are in for environmentalism and stranger danger in the form of various colored vans. Stay alert and stay safe.
This Summer, relive (or see for the first time) what 1993 was like – it’s a fascinating year from the ’90s that captures a distinct shift in aesthetics and consumerism, while continuing to encourage recycling and exercise. Summer of ’93 can be found over at www.here-lies.com in all its 6 hour VHS glory with a free Bonus Digital copy so you can watch it on anything you wish!
Growing up, I have fond memories of a VHS tape that played in rotation throughout the holidays for years at my house. A Christmas companion if you will, as that Polaroid tape strip was filled to the very last bit that contained every damn Christmas special WITH commercials, because my parents were too lazy to pause the recording- bless them for that. Specials that were continually added throughout the years that included A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS, FROSTY, RUDOLPH, and the last bit at the end of the tape in 1989, the very first SIMPSONS airing that was also a XMAS episode. The 1989 holiday season was also one my music teacher, Mr. Barnes absolutely LOATHED my second-grade class as we would turn Jingle Bells into the Batman Smells rendition.
Thanks, Bart!
Alas, as time swallows everything worth a damn, my beloved XMAS VHS compilation was lost and I haven’t been right since. However, thanks to VHS cassette wizards, not all hope is completely lost for those who yearn for the nostalgic visuals from our childhood that once was.
Back in September, I let you guys in on a little not so secret VHS and BETA connoisseur Eddie Spuhghetti, and his HERE LIES compilation projects for the Halloween season that included several series’ of VHS tapes dedicated to the Halloween holiday. Now of course, we gotta have one to carry on that XMAS tradition and the site now has not one, but TWO fully-jacked and loaded with holiday nostalgia on steroids XMAS companions to choose from!
Each tape has been curated to a television standard with a film, and holiday specials included with enough XMAS commercials to boot you’ll be having nightmares of the little 7-UP Christmas critters in your sleep. Companion 1 is 8 hours long while the all new Companion 2 is 6 hours with QR Codes included upon purchase. Also worth noting the tape’s movie is a BETAMAX rip with extended scenes cut into it.
And just because you need to know, Volume 2’s movie is the wholesome Christmas epic, BATMAN RETURNS. Now, click on over to HERELIES online shop and get yourself nostalgically cozy with the Bat, the Cat, and an incredible amount of XMAS commercial memories that’ll have you sick with nostalgia!
