This Month In YesterYear History - January

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  I hope you and your loved ones have a happy and healthy 2025!  

It's a new year, which means that (believe it or not!) 20 years ago was 2005!  25 years ago was 2000!  And 30 years ago was 1995!  That just seems crazy to me!  

For those new to this series, in "This Month in YesterYear History," we look back at the big pop culture moments from 20 (2005), 25 (2000), and 30 (1995) years ago!   

Below, you'll find a little time capsule of what was significant in the world back then.  Hopefully, as you read these brief recaps of the past, you'll remember the who, when, and where of some long tucked-away memories!  That's the whole point of this site! 

POINTS OF REFERENCE

2005:  January 3rd sees the start of Craig Ferguson's run on CBS' "The Late Late Show."  He would host until 2014.  On the 5th, astronomer Michael Brown discovers the largest known dwarf planet, Eris.  On the 6th, Edgar Allen Ray was arrested for the murder of three Mississippi civil rights workers in 1964.  On the 9th, Johnny Depp and Julia Roberts won Best Actor/Actress for motion pictures, and Matt LeBlanc and Marg Helgenberger won for television at the 31st People's Choice Award.  Rawhi Fattouh succeeds Yassar Arafat as the head of the PLO.  On the 10th, a mudslide in California kills ten, injuring many more and forcing the closure of Highway 101 for ten days.  On the 14th, the Huygens probe lands on Saturn's moon Titan, discovering calcium, aluminum, silicon, and iron on the surface.  "The Aviator" won Best Picture at the Golden Globes on the 16th.  Two days later, Airbus debuts the world's largest airplane, the double-decker A-380.  On the 23rd, "Numb3rs" debuts on CBS, starring Rob Morrow and David Krumholtz.  Also that day, the Patriots defeated the Steelers to win the AFC Championship, while the Eagles beat the Falcons for the NFC title.  The two would face off in February in the Super Bowl.  On January 26th, Condoleeza Rice was sworn in as Secretary of State.  On the 26th, two trains derailed in Glendale, California, killing 11 and injuring over 200.  

2000:  Pope John Paul II opened the Santa Maria Maggiore Holy doors in Rome to honor the start of a new millennium.  On the 2nd, over 19,000 fans watched the Miami Heat for the first event at the brand-new American Airlines Arena.   On the 4th, only one day after accepting the head coach job for the New York Jets, coach Bill Belichick resigned with a handwritten note on a napkin that read, "I resign as HC of the NYJ," and moved to the New England Patriots where he'd begin his legendary run.  On the 4th, Mark Cuban purchased a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks for $ 285 million from Ross Perot, Jr.  In the NFL on the 8th, the now-called "Music City Miracle" occurred during the AFC Wild Card when the Tennessee Titans defeated the Buffalo Bills 22-16 in the last 16 seconds of the game after Kevin Dyson ran the length of the field for a touchdown.  On the 9th, Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino played his final game.  On the 13th, Bill Gates steps aside as the head of Microsoft, naming Steve Ballmer as his replacement.  On the 19th, the now-retired Michael Jordan became part owner and Vice President of Operations for the Washington Wizards.  He would return to the court a year later for the Wizards, forcing him to divest his ownership in the team.  In 2006, Jordan would purchase part of the Charlotte Hornets (then the Bobcats) after retiring again.  He also owns half of the NASCAR team, 23XI Racing.  On the 23rd, "American Beauty" wins Best Picture at the Golden Globes.  Also, on the 23rd, the Tennessee Titans and the St. Louis Rams win their respective conference championships, earning a spot in the Super Bowl.  On the 30th, Kenya Airways crashes in the Atlantic off the Ivory Coast, killing 169.  That same day, the Rams defeated the Titans in the Super Bowl 23-16.  Kurt Warner is named MVP.  The next day, Alaska Airlines suffered a crash off the coast of California, killing 88.  Also, on the 31st, NFL linebacker Ray Lewis was involved in a fight, resulting in the deaths of Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar.  Lewis was indicted 11 days later on murder and assault charges.  The murder charge was eventually dropped.  

1995:  The last edition of "The Far Side" cartoon by Gary Larson is published after 15 years.  On the 4th, Newt Gingrich becomes Speaker of the House.  On the 5th, Bill Fitch becomes the 5th coach in NBA history to register 850 career victories.  On January 6th, a chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, leads to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass terrorist attack.  On the 7th, the limited run of Patrick Stewart's one-man show "A Christmas Carol", based on Charles Dickens' novel, closes at Richard Rodgers Theater, NYC, after 18 performances.  On the 9th, an employee accidentally cuts electrical wires at Newark Airport, grounding flights for several hours.  On the 11th, the WB begins broadcasting as the 5th over-the-air television network.  Also, that day, the NHL and the Players Association agreed to end the season-long lockout.  A significant earthquake killed 5,092 in Japan, while O.J. Simpson's murder trial begins on the 12th.  Bill Clinton signs an order for $20 billion in financial aid to Mexico on January 14th.  On the 15th, San Francisco and San Diego won their respective championships and will face each other in the Super Bowl later this month.  On the 16th, UPN begins telecasting on WWOR (Channel 9) in New York.  Another earthquake hits Japan, this time a 7.2, killing an additional 5,372 on the 17th.  Also, on the 17th, George W. Bush was sworn in as Governor of Texas, and the Los Angeles Rams announced that they were moving to St. Louis.  On the 18th, Pope John Paul II begins his tour of Australia.  On the 20th, the NHL finally started playing again after the player's strike halted the first 5 months of the season.  "Forrest Gump" won Best Picture at the Golden Globes on the 21st.  On the 26th, New Jersey Governor Christine Whitman dedicates a highway rest stop to shock jock Howard Stern.  Much like Howard's career, it now sits abandoned and fenced off on the side of Interstate 295.  :)  On the 29th, San Francisco defeats San Diego in the Super Bowl 49-26.  QB Steve Young is named MVP.  

  

TOP MOVIES

2005: "Meet the Fockers" - 

Meet the Fockers, often called "Meet the Parents 2," is a romantic comedy sequel to the 2000 movie Meet the Parents.  It stars Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbara Streisand, Blythe Danner, and Teri Polo.  

Following up on the last film, Greg (Ben Stiller) and Pam (Teri Polo) are now engaged and have decided to introduce their parents to each other.  They fly from Chicago to New York to join Pam's parents, retired CIA operative Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) and Dina (Blythe Danner).  Instead of flying, Jack informs them he will drive them to Miami to meet Greg's parents in his new RV.  They will also have Pam's one-year-old nephew, "Little Jack," along for the trip.  In Miami, they are greeted by Greg's eccentric and fun-loving, free-spirited parents, Bernie (Dustin Hoffman) and Roz (Barbara Streisand).  The contrasting personalities of each family cause several misunderstandings and hijinx, and to make matters more complicated, Pam informs Greg that she is pregnant and wants to keep it a secret until they are married.  

Despite mixed reviews, the film was a box office success, grossing $522 million worldwide and becoming the seventh highest-grossing film of 2004.  It is Robert De Niro's second highest-grossing film, behind Joker.  A sequel, "Little Fockers," was made six years later.

The film used twins Spencer and Bradley Pickren as Little Jack because their mother, a pediatric nurse, had taught them to use sign language from birth.  Reports from the set say the children were easy to work with but did not like Ben Stiller due to his "head-butt" sequence.  Although the head-butt itself was digitized, Stiller grabbed his face, cursed loudly, and smeared fake blood under his nose, all of which upset the twins.  

2000: "Stuart Little" -  

Stuart Little is a live-action/animated comedy film loosely based on E. B. White's novel of the same name.  Directed by Rob Minkoff in his live-action directorial debut, the screenplay was written by M. Night Shyamalan and Greg Brooker and stars Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, and Jonathan Lipnicki, alongside the voices of Michael J. Fox, Nathan Lane, Chazz Palminteri, Steve Zahn, Bruno Kirby, and Jennifer Tilly.

Columbia Pictures released Stuart Little in the United States on December 17, 1999.  The film received positive reviews and became a box office success, grossing over $300 million worldwide.  It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects but lost to The Matrix.  After its success, it was followed with a sequel, Stuart Little 2, in 2002, the short-lived television series Stuart Little in 2003, and the direct-to-video sequel film Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild in 2006.  It was Estelle Getty's (of Golden Girls fame) final film role.

Stuart Little grossed $15 million on its opening weekend, placing it at #1, dethroning Toy Story 2.  It dropped to #2 over its second weekend but returned to #1 on its third weekend with $16 million.  According to Box Office Mojo, its final gross in the United States and Canada was $140 million.  It grossed $160.1 million at the international box office, for an estimated $300 million worldwide.

1994: "Dumb and Dumber" -  

This is easily one of my Top 10 favorite movies, maybe even Top 5.  I'm glad we finally get to discuss it because I don't think any kid who grew up in the 90s like I did doesn't frequently quote this movie, even today. 

Dumb and Dumber is considered a "buddy comedy" film directed by Peter Farrelly, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Bobby Farrelly and Bennett Yellin.  Starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, it tells the story of Lloyd Christmas (Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Daniels), two dumb but well-meaning friends from Providence, Rhode Island, who set out on a cross-country road trip to Aspen, Colorado, with intentions of returning a briefcase full of money to its owner.  The briefcase, which Harry and Lloyd think was left by accident, was actually left by ransom.  Lauren Holly, Karen Duffy, Mike Starr, Charles Rocket, and Teri Garr play supporting roles.

Released December 16, 1994, it initially received mixed to poor critical reviews but debuted to very positive audience scores.  It has since developed a massive cult following.  The success of Dumb and Dumber launched the career of the Farrelly brothers and established the acting range of the dramatically acclaimed Daniels as a gifted comedic actor.  This revitalized Daniels's career and solidified Jim Carrey as one of the most prominent actors of the 90s and comedic actors ever.  

Legendary screenwriter John Hughes originally developed the idea but sold it to the Farrelly Brothers and asked for his name to be removed from the writing credits.  

The Farrelly Brothers did not know who Jim Carrey was; they were only told that he was "The White Guy" on In Living Color.  After screening Carrey's first major acting role, "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," the Farrellys became interested in casting him.  Based on the success of Ace Ventura, Carrey negotiated a salary of $7 million for the film.  

Nicolas Cage was proposed as Carrey's co-star, but when he tried to negotiate a $2 million salary increase, New Line Cinema decided against casting him.  Instead, Jeff Daniels was selected.  Cage claims he turned the film down and chose "Leaving Las Vegas."  

Reportedly, Daniels only earned $50,000 for his role in the film, and The Farrellys and Carrey had to fight for Daniels to get the part when New Line Cinemas claimed Daniels was only good at dramatic roles.  He was offered a low salary in hopes that he would turn the role down, and despite his agent's attempts to dissuade him for fear that the film was a "career-killer," Daniels eagerly accepted.   

There are also reports that Steve Martin and Martin Short turned down the role of Lloyd, which went to Jim Carrey.  Chris Elliott and Rob Lowe were also rumored to have been considered for the role of Harry.

Dumb and Dumber opened at No. 1 in its opening weekend, earning $16.4 million.  It grossed $127,175,374 in the United States and $247,275,374 worldwide, topping the holiday season film gross.

In 2003, a prequel titled "Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd" was released." The film featured a different cast and crew from the previous one, and the Farrelly brothers were not involved in its production.  Critics and audiences panned it.  

In 2013, the Farrelly brothers returned to make a sequel, "Dumb and Dumber To."  Carrey and Daniels also returned, reprising their roles from the original film.  The film was released on November 14, 2014, and did well commercially despite negative reviews.  

TOP SONGS

2004:  "Let Me Love You" by Mario

2000:  "What a Girl Wants" by Christina Aguilera

1995:  "On Bended Knee" by Boyz II Men

TOP TV NEWS

January 2005:  

2nd - Fox cancels the reality show "Who's Your Daddy?" after only one episode.

3rd - Craig Ferguson replaces Craig Kilborn as the host of "The Late Late Show" on CBS.

5th - The 35th-anniversary episode of "All My Children" airs on ABC.  

8th - CBS airs only one episode of the reality series "The Will."  Ratings are so low that it is canceled after only one episode, following Fox's "Who's Your Daddy?" marking the approaching end of outlandish shock-and-awe reality shows.  Reality shows, however, are here to stay forever.  

9th - "Zoey 101" debuts on Nickelodeon.

17th - "Supernanny" debuts on ABC.

22nd - FoxBox, Fox's Saturday morning programming block owned by 4Kids Entertainment, is rebranded as 4Kids TV.

28th - "Grounded for Life" ends on The WB after 4 seasons.

29th - Nickelodeon's successful Saturday night block, SNICK, is discontinued after 12 years.  It would be revamped as a Saturday night version of TEENick until February 2009.  It was moved to a 24-hour channel (rebranded "The N") months later. 

January 2000:  

5th - All My Children celebrates its 30th anniversary on ABC.

8th - The series finale of Saved by the Bell: The New Class airs on NBC, ending a consecutive run for the SBTB franchise that began on July 11, 1987 as "Good Morning, Miss Bliss."  The franchise would return briefly in 2020.

9th - Malcolm in the Middle debuts on FOX.  The series lasted 151 episodes over seven seasons and recently announced a 2025 return on Disney Plus.

15th - David Letterman undergoes quintuple heart bypass surgery in New York-Presbyterian Hospital following an angiogram that revealed that one of his arteries was seriously constricted.

22nd - Long time SNICK show (For Nickelodeon, anyway), from 1995, "KaBlam!" is canceled.  

30th - Animated series "Ace Ventura:  Pet Detective" is canceled after being on air since 1995.  

January 1995:  

2nd - "Cybil" debuts on CBS.

5th - All My Children celebrates its 25th anniversary and broadcasts a prime-time special on ABC.

In a CBS interview with Kathleen Gingrich, mother of Republican Newt Gingrich, Mrs. Gingrich said she could not say what her son thought about First Lady Hillary Clinton on the air.  The interviewer, Connie Chung, asked Mrs. Gingrich to "just whisper it to me, just between you and me."  Producers turned the microphone volume on Mrs. Gingrich up as she whispered, "He thinks she's a bitch."  Many interpreted Chung's suggestion to whisper "between just you and me" that the statement would be off the record.  Chung and CBS faced fierce criticism for their actions.  

6th - "SWAT KATS: The Radical Squadron," an animated show I enjoyed immensely about cats who flew fighter jets, was canceled after two years.  

11th - The WB Network, a joint venture between Warner Bros. Television and Tribune Broadcasting, launches.  Among the programs offered are four situation comedies (two family-oriented, one family-focused but adult-targeted, and one adult-oriented soap opera-inspired satire): The Wayans Bros., The Parent 'Hood (starring Robert Townsend), Unhappily Ever After, and Muscle.  While the former three series lasted five seasons, Muscle failed to survive its first season.  The WB was available on 70 affiliates but was also initially distributed directly through Chicago superstation WGN (owned by Tribune).  This arrangement lasted until August 1999, resulting in The WB gaining full-time affiliates.  

16th—The United Paramount Network (UPN) launched with a two-hour Star Trek: Voyager premiere.  UPN and the freshly launched The WB caused many local and regional independent stations to change affiliations throughout the country, causing havoc to people's cable network lineups.

"Hercules: The Legendary Journies," starring Kevin Sorbo, debuts in syndication.  It would run for six seasons and become a pop culture phenomenon.  

24th - Live broadcasts of the O.J. Simpson trial began, preempting many daytime network soap operas for nine months.

26th - "My So-Called Life," a melodrama that spoke to many teen girls of the 90s, starring Claire Danes, was canceled by MTV after the end of its first (19-episode) season.  

27th - "The New Price is Right," starring actor Doug Davidson (The Young and the Restless) as the host, was canceled after 80 episodes.  This was a syndicated 30-minute edition of the classic game show.