This Month In YesterYear History - February

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 during this month in history.  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:  Canada sees February open with the Civil Marriage Act, becoming the fourth country to permit same-sex marriages.  On the 6th, the Patriots defeated the Eagles 24-21 at Superbowl 39 in Jacksonville, Florida.  On the other side of the pond, on the 6th, Tony Blair became the longest-reigning Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  On the 10th, Prince Charles (now King Charles) announces his engagement to Camilla Parker Bowles.  On the 13th, Peyton Manning was named MVP of the NFL Pro Bowl when the AFC defeated the NFC at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.  On the 14th, an online video-sharing website called YouTube was launched.  Whatever happened to that?  On the 16th, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman calls off the 2004-05 season due to a player strike.  This is the first time an entire season of a professional sport has been canceled due to labor issues.  Jeff Gordon wins his third Daytona 500 on February 20th.  On the 26th, the 25th annual "Raspberry Awards" give Halle Berry's "Catwoman" top "dis-honors."  A day later, "Million Dollar Baby" won Best Picture at the Oscars.  

2000:  On the 4th, the popular "reality simulation" game The Sims was released in stores.  On the 6th, the 50th NHL All-Star game occurred in Toronto when "The World" defeated "North America" 9-4.  On the 13th, the final original "Peanuts" comic strip is published a day after Charles Schulz's passing.  Tiger Woods and Mia Hamm took top honors at the ESPY Awards on Valentine's Day.  On the 15th, the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant in New York vents a "small" amount of radioactive steam when a steam generator fails.  I grew up looking directly across the Hudson River at this power plant, and I don't remember the leak, but then again, I sometimes glow at night.  On the 15th, New Jersey Devil's goaltender Martin Brodeur becomes the first goalie to score the "game-winning goal."  On the 20th, Dale Jarrett won his third Daytona 500.  Santana's "Smooth" wins Best Song at the Grammys on the 23rd.  

1995:  On the 4th, Archaeologist Kent R. Weeks crawls inside the tomb of the sons of Ramases II to discover the largest tomb ever found in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.  On the 6th, Darryl Strawberry was suspended for 60 days after testing positive for cocaine.  Shania Twain releases her 2nd studio album, "The Woman in Me," on February 7th.  It won 1996's Billboard Album of the Year.  On the 8th, a 6.4 earthquake kills 46 in Colombia.  On the 9th, the Irish dance show "Riverdance," featuring Michael Flatley, debuted in Dublin.  On the 10th, Nicole Bobek wins the US Figure Skating Championship.  On February 15th, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at a record 3986.17.  For comparison, when the markets reopened on January 2, the Dow was 42,392.27.  On the 19th, Sterling Marlin wins his second straight Daytona 500.  Sally Field's dramatic mini-series, "A Woman of Independent Means," airs for 6 hours over 3 nights on NBC starting on the 19th.  On the 21st, Royal Air Force pilot Jo Salter is the first woman to fly into a tornado.  On the night of the 25th, Frank Sinatra performs for the last time to a group of 1200 select audience members at the Palm Desert Marriott Ballroom on the final night of his charity golf event.  On the 28th, Denver International Airport and all of its conspiracy theories open to the flying public.  

  

TOP MOVIES

2005: "Hitch" - 

Hitch is a romantic comedy directed by Andy Tennant.  Will Smith plays the title role, Alex "Hitch" Hitchens.  The film also stars Eva Mendes, Kevin James, and Amber Valletta.  Hitch is a professional matchmaker who makes a living teaching men how to woo women.  Unfortunately, while helping his latest client (Kevin James) find the woman of his dreams, he discovers his skills don't work on the one woman he is smitten with.  

The film's working title was "The Last First Kiss," referring to a line that Hitch delivers to a client: "Tomorrow night, Allegra Cole could have her last first kiss."  

Filming took place between March and July 2004.  Most of the movie was filmed in and around New York City, specifically in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, Columbia University, Ellis Island, the Fulton Fish Market, Wall Street, and the North Cove Marina.  

Hitch debuted in theaters on February 11, 2005, to positive reviews from critics and was considered a box office "hit."  It grossed over $371 million worldwide on a budget of only $55 million, making it the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2005.  The film had the highest opening weekend for a romantic comedy, surpassing "50 First Dates.  "  The record would hold for over three years until "Sex and the City" opened in 2008.  

2000: "Scream 3" -  

Scream 3 is the third installment of the slasher franchise.  Directed by West Craven, it stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox Arquette, Parker Posey, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Foley, Lance Henriksen, Matt Keeslar, Jenny McCarthy, Emily Mortimer, Deon Richmond, and Patrick Warburton. 

This film is a sequel to 1997's Scream 2, and its story takes place one year after the previous film's events.  It again follows Sidney Prescott (Campbell), who has gone into self-imposed isolation following the events of the last two movies but is drawn to Hollywood after a new Ghostface begins killing the cast of the "film within a film" cheekily called "Stab 3."

The movie combines the violence of slasher flicks with comedy and a "whodunit" style mystery film.  Unlike the previous two films, there was an increase in the comic elements in this particular installment.  The violent aspects of the film were reduced in response to the public's scrutiny of violence in the media following the Columbine High School massacre.  

Scream 3 premiered on February 3, 2000, and was theatrically released the following day.  It grossed $162 million worldwide on a budget of $40 million.  Scream 3 was initially intended to be the series' final installment, but the franchise was revived with a sequel, Scream 4, released on April 11, 2011.

1995: "The Brady Bunch Movie" -  

Growing up, The Brady Bunch was always on television in reruns.  I'd occasionally watch them, but it was never my favorite show.  I think I only liked to sing along with the theme song.  In any event, when this film came out, my Dad took me to see it.  I'm not sure why, and if my memory is correct (which, in my Subway Series article, we found out it's sometimes not), it was in the middle of a weekday, so I likely had the day off from school.  Why Dad was home from work is a mystery.  And why was HE the one to take me (and not my brother) when usually Mom took us to see movies?  

Although, I do have fond memories of him taking me to see each of the re-released Star Wars trilogy films with the newly added scenes and Apollo 13, so maybe it's not that far out of the realm of things, but... The Brady Bunch Movie?  Maybe Dad is a bigger Brady Bunch fan than I thought.

The Brady Bunch Movie was meant as a parody of the 1969-1974 television series through what they called "a post-modern lens."  Directed by Betty Thomas, the film stars Shelley Long, Gary Cole, and Michael McKean.  It also features cameos from Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, RuPaul, and some of the original cast of The Brady Bunch in new roles.

The film (likewise with the connected sequels) is an "alternate retroactive continuity of the Brady Bunch storyline," based on the kitschy-camp parody musical tour "Live Brady Bunch" in the early 1990s. 

The film places the original sitcom characters, with their 1970s fashion sense and sitcom family morality, in a contemporary 1990s setting.  Mike Brady works as a successful architect in Los Angeles, but his family's home is at risk for repossession due to failing to pay property tax.  Mike has to contend with his conman neighbor Larry Dittmeyer, who tries to sabotage the Bradys' effort to save their home.  The film features humorous side plots around the culture clash between the Bradys' quaint conservative lifestyle and their more liberal surroundings.

The Brady Bunch Movie was released in the United States on February 17, 1995, and grossed $54 million.  A sequel, "A Very Brady Sequel," was released on August 23, 1996, and a television film, "The Brady Bunch in the White House," was aired on November 29, 2002.

TOP SONGS

2004:  "Let Me Love You" by Mario

2000:  "Thank God I Found You" by Mariah Carey featuring Joe and 98 Degrees

1995:  "Take a Bow" by Madonna

TOP TV NEWS

February 2005:  

2nd - Paramount Television and UPN announce the cancellation of Star Trek:  Enterprise.  Fans begin an online campaign to raise funds for further production ($3 million!), but Paramount rejects the offer.

6th - Super Bowl 39 is telecast by FOX.  After the game, The Simpsons episode "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass" is played, followed by the pilot episode of American Dad!

7th - MTV replaces the two-headed dog symbol.

21st - Avatar:  The Last Airbender airs an hour-long series premiere on Nickelodeon.

February 2000:  

8th - Chris-Craft Broadcasting (50% owner of UPN) filed a lawsuit against Viacom in the New York Supreme Court to block its partner's merger with CBS.  The lawsuit claimed that a pact signed between the two partners in 1997 had prevented either from owning "any interest, financial or otherwise" in "any competing network," including CBS, for a four-year period through January 2001.  The following month, the New York Supreme Court ruled against Chris-Craft and allowed the merger to go through. 

12th - The New Batman/Superman Adventures and Superman:  The Animated Series are canceled on Kids' WB.  Batman/Superman Adventures had been on the air since 1997, and Superman:  The Animated Series since 1996.  

15th - Rick Rockwell married complete stranger Darve Conger on FOX's Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?  The show is watched by 22 million people.  While on their honeymoon, word breaks that he has a checkered past and is not really a millionaire.  Fox immediately canceled the following season.  The couple ends their relationship soon after.

21st - David Letterman resumes hosting The Late Show following a quintuple heart bypass surgery in January.  On the show, Letterman (whose own father died of heart failure in his 50s) brings out the surgeons on stage.  In an unusual show of emotion, Letterman is in tears as he thanks his doctors.  

27th - Nickelodeon cancels Animorphs after two seasons.

February 1995:  

2nd -  Seinfeld broadcasts its 100th episode.

19th - FOX's rebooted version of Get Smart, starring Don Adams and Barbara Feldon reprising their roles, was canceled at the end of the first season.  I remember Dad being very excited about this.  

20th -  What a Cartoon!  (also known as World Premiere Toons) launches on TBS, TNT, and Cartoon Network simultaneously as part of the Space Ghost Coast to Coast special "1st Annual World Premiere Toon-In."  This series launched the careers of many prominent animators, such as  Butch Hartman, Craig McCracken, Genndy Tartakovsky, and Seth MacFarlane.

21st-  Ted Danson reprises his role as Sam Malone from Cheers in an episode of the Cheers' spinoff show Frasier.  

25th - In his final television appearance, George Burns is presented with the first-ever SAG Lifetime Achievement Award.