The Fox Cubhouse, an American preschool children’s television series that aired weekday mornings on Fox Kids from 1994 through 1996, premieres. NHL owners begin lockout of players lasting 103 days; season shortened to 48 games instead of 84; players seek collective bargaining and owners a salary cap. South African President Nelson Mandela visits US. Legendary Miami head coach Don Shula beats Cincinnati head coach and his son David in the first-ever NFL meeting between father and son; Dolphins defeat the Bengals, 23-7. Financial advisor Keith Moore is charged with stealing $5,000,000 from rock singer-songwriter Sting. NBA shortens the 3-point distance to a uniform 22 feet in attempt to help offensive players score more; Michael Jordan sets career highs in 3-point attempts & converted 3-point field goals, nearly double previous statistics. European Campaign against Racism confers in Austria. Nobel prize for physiology awarded to Alfred G. Gilman & Martin Rodbell for G-protein discoveries. Thomas Nicely reports bug in Intel’s Pentium-processor on the Internet.

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Music

Other mentions:

• Edge of Sanity: Purgatory Afterglow
• Lucas: Lucacentric
• Joe Jackson: Night Music
• The Mighty Mighty Bosstones: Question the Answers. Great album title.
• Suede: Dog Man Star
• Tom Jones: The Lead and How to Swing It
• Front Line Assembly: Millennium
• The Sea and Cake: The Sea and Cake
• The 3rd and the Mortal: Tears Laid in Earth
• Madonna: Bedtime Stories
• Mercyful Fate: Time. Titular track isn’t bad, but the album didn’t do enough for me to stand out.
• Millencolin: Same Old Tunes. I fucking hate this music style, primarily because of how dominant it got.

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The Cranberries: No Need to Argue (3)

The album that had the hit song they would forever be known for: Zombie.

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Dream Theater: Awake (4)

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Danzig: Danzig 4 (4)

Rockin’.

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Accept: Death Row (4)

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Annihilator: King of the Kill (10)

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The Cult: The Cult (10)

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John Anderson: Country ’til I Die (11)

Well, here’s a country album and artist that has a hit track that I know of. Keep Your Hands to Yourself.

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Korn: Korn (11)

Debut of this famous metal band. Allegedly responsible for establishing the “nu metal” style of music. Ball Tongue. I’ll give this album of the month, though I do think this band goes too hard into this nu metal style to the point that the tempo and pitch of the vocals gets annoying after a while.

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Queensrÿche: Promised Land (18)

Arguably their last great album.

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Sick of it All: Scratch the Surface (18)

Now this is my kind of punk music.

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Melvins: Stoner Witch (18)

Not bad. Revolve. Roadbull.

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Deep Blue Something: Home (24?)

Normally not my kind of music, but this is a relatively pleasant listen.

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Movies

Other mentions:

• Only You. This movie is such bullshit, from the premise on up.
• The Specialist. Dull Stallone affair.
• A Troll in Central Park. I can’t take it, it meanders so fucking much.
• The Browning Version. Look, it’s not bad for what it is, but it’s not as good as the 1951 version. Not to mention it does this bullshit trend from back then where they have to prominently display a black boy somewhere in various scenes just to meet a diversity quota that the 50s didn’t have. And that’s irritating, especially knowing the horrors that came about in the film industry that this trend was a precursor to (though in all fairness, I think this trend started in the 80s, maybe even the 70s). Oh yeah, and there’s also needless swearing that is off-putting for an adaptation of something like this. Giving the wife more screen time and a strong presence during the final scene didn’t do this adaptation any favors compared to the subtle yet more heart-wrenching moments of the original. Plus this part really pissed me off: “We must drop Latin and Greek language studies in favor of other languages. After all, this is a multicultural society.” It’s less that it’s said and more that it’s said with an aura that he’s right about it. Fuck you.
• Imaginary Crimes. It’s decent.
• I Like it Like That. I can’t stand the annoying family drama of these Puerto Ricans. Those kids need to get their asses beat.
• Little Giants. I probably would’ve enjoyed this kid flick more when I was a, well, kid. It has the typical female empowerment message to it (of course). But that aside, on the surface, it has its heart in the right place. A message about a group of kids interested in football who aren’t at the same level as those selected to do the school playoffs, who just want to play football for the sake of having fun rather than for the competitive aspect. But that’s just what’s on the surface. Probing deeper, it gets a bit devious. That these second tier at best players end of beating the superior team without having anything resembling good practice leading up to the game is ridiculous, contradicts the message a bit (it becomes less about playing just to have fun and more about overlooking talent, but it’s such horseshit).
• Bullets Over Broadway. Tolerable.
• Radioland Murders. Not entertaining enough.
• Drop Squad. Whew… man. Fucking Spike Lee (he may not be the director, but his hands are all over this). He finally decided not to pull punches with his extremist pro-black anti-white worldview. And I have to admit, I admire parts of it just for going all-out with the subject. Primarily with the premise of a black group called the Drop Squad kidnapping other black people who have “lost their way” because of how they have sold themselves and their black culture out (to the white devil), and they attempt to de-program them so they can re-acquire a love and lifestyle for their culture. I want to see something like this with the races reversed. That said, this movie is bullshit. If for no other reason (there’s plenty of other reasons) than their methods for de-programming are ridiculous. It’s like if a faceless social media troll had someone he hated at his mercy and had every method at his disposal for convincing him to see things his way and live the way he does.
• Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale. Typical Disney-fied version of history, in a typical unremarkable movie.

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Hoop Dreams (14)

Pretty damn good basketball documentary showing what it’s like trying to be recognized by the pros at the high school level. It doesn’t hold back on what the environment is like, the pros, the cons, the faults, the parents and upbringing, the dumb decisions, the dreams and aspirations, etc.

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Pulp Fiction (14)

Quentin Tarantino’s magnum opus. The film that defined his entire career, and spawned an insane amount of imitators. That said, I have a preference for Reservoir Dogs over this. That also said, this is film of the month, and contender for film of the year.

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Clerks (19; limited [also had a limited January 1994 release])

Kevin Smith’s magnum opus. His first big hit that put him in the Hollywood spotlight. And I dare say he never topped it. Mallrats was a decent effort. Chasing Amy was another decent effort though I didn’t like how he ended it. Dogma is overrated. And everything after all that isn’t really worth mentioning (or at best relies on the existence of this film too heavily). Personally, I think the film is ok. It’s worth at least one watch.

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The Puppet Masters (21)

Guilty pleasure. Donald Sutherland basically revisiting the body snatchers concept.

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The Last Seduction (26)

The film that perfectly encapsulates how dangerous a woman can be.

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The Road to Wellville (28)

Amusing satire of health regimens.

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Stargate (28)

Rolland Emmerich and Dean Devlin one-upped their popularity from Universal Soldier with this sci-fi flick, which is more known for spawning a successful long-running television show a few years later. This movie is just ok. But it did start a trend that Emmerich’s next couple films would be known for. Having really good teaser trailers leading up to the film’s release (seriously, the stuff that built up Independence Day and Godzilla were nothing short of terrific, regardless of how you feel about those movies).

Anyway, my main gripe with this film, and this applies to just about every Emmerich film until he made Midway, was how the soldiers are such pansies compared to the opposition.

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Games

Other mentions:

• Yogi Bear’s Gold Rush (Game Boy)
• Virtual Bart (Genesis)
• FIFA Soccer 95 (Genesis)
• Bubsy 2 (Genesis, SNES)
• Shaq Fu (Genesis, SNES). A game that was as overexposed as the attempt to make Shaq as marketable as Michael Jordan (and pretty much every attempt at that failed). Everyone hated on it knowing its purpose for existing, but the game on its own is decent. Not great, not terrible, just decent.
• Brain Lord (SNES)
• Disney’s Bonkers (SNES)
• Operation Thunderbolt (SNES, Arcade [1988])
• Demolition Man (3DO)

One of the best months in 90s gaming yet in terms of quantity and quality of titles that came out.

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Armored Warriors (24; Arcade)

Fun enough beat-em-up.

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Killer Instinct (28; Arcade, SNES [August 1995])

One of the other big-time arcade fighter games that stood alongside Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Samurai Shodown, and Fatal Fury at the time. CA-CA-CA-COMBO-BREAKER!

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Samurai Shodown II (28; Arcade)

Superior to the first. Only less notable simply because it’s an arcade exclusive (Neo Geo console aside).

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Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya (October; Game Gear)

So we missed out on Shining Force Gaiden, which was a direct sequel to Shining Force (unlike Shining Force II). But we got this instead, which came out afterwards (a sequel to Gaiden). Hindsight really makes video game history rather irritating, knowing what Americans missed out on overseas.

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Earthworm Jim (October; Genesis, SNES, Sega CD [1995])

Another iconic character game character, who got his start here. Sega CD version is the best way to play it, but the Genesis version is really the only other solid alternative. The SNES version is fine, it’s just that Sega did it better.

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Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition (October; Genesis)

For those who wanted the prior Jurassic Park game on the Genesis to be more like the running and gunning genre akin to Contra or Gunstar Heroes, here you go.

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Shining Force II (October; Genesis)

This may be the last great RPG the Genesis was going to get. Pity that competition for this game genre on the Genesis was so miniscule compared to what was on the SNES. But what the Genesis provided with Phantasy Star and Shining Force was solid competition towards the Final Fantasy franchise (among others). More on that later.

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Taz in Escape from Mars (October; Genesis)

More for the nostalgia than anything else that I bring this one up.

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Zero Tolerance (October; Genesis)

Holy shit. A Wolfenstein-like FPS game on the Sega Genesis that is actually good?

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NBA Live 95 (October?; Genesis, SNES)

The start of this franchise.

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Mega Bomberman (11; Genesis)

It doesn’t really do anything to stand out from the other bomberman titles other than being on the Genesis, and that 90s game cover.

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Sonic & Knuckles (18; Genesis)

The crowning jewel of the mascot franchise on the Sega Genesis. The one that showed a technology that would only be exclusively used for this game, and Sonic 3 (though it did have an amusing use with Sonic 2). The lock-on cartridge, where the top of it opens up, and you can slide in your cartridge of Sonic 3 on top of it (like how you could attach the 32X onto the Sega Genesis), and both games would combine together into the singular game, complete with save states that Sonic 3 had. In other words, combine both games into one, as the designers intended them to be from the beginning. It’s the definitive Genesis Sonic experience. While I do think Sonic 2 is the more solid of the Sonic games on this console, Sonic 3 & Knuckles is definitely the most fun.

It would take a lot for me to not give this game of the month. Unfortunately (only if you look at it from a Sonic fan’s perspective), this month did give a lot.

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Android Assault: The Revenge of Bari-Arm (October; Sega-CD)

Fun side-scrolling shmup.

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Mickey Mania (October?; Sega CD, Genesis, SNES)

CD > Genesis > SNES.

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Nobunaga’s Ambition: Lord of Darkness (October; SNES)

One of those strategy games for the niche crowd.

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Robotrek (October; SNES)

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R-Type III: The Third Lightning (October; SNES)

One of the best shmups on the SNES. Competition for Thunder Force

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Shien’s Revenge (October; SNES)

Interesting.

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Sparkster (October; SNES)

The SNES version is distinct enough from the Genesis version (released February of this year, allegedly). Both are fun.

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Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (October; SNES)

To complete this ridiculously difficult SNES trilogy.

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Uncharted Waters: New Horizons (October?; SNES, Genesis, PC [1995])

Better than the first. Hidden gem.

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Stunt Race FX (10; SNES)

Amusing.

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Final Fantasy III, aka Final Fantasy VI (11; SNES)

This was the granddaddy of Final Fantasy games up to this point. The epic that did things story and character-wise that most other games (if no other game) have done up to this point. A true epic. While I personally prefer Final Fantasy II (aka Final Fantasy IV), I have to give this game its much due respect. And incredibly enough, it’s sequel (which would jump to a different console entirely, in the next generation) managed to top it, if only in terms of gaming culture impact and in storytelling. Until then, we had this. And believe me, this was more than enough to meet any and all expectations for J-RPGs in this time period. While I choose not to give this the game of the month title, it really could’ve gone either way.

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Indiana Jones’ Greatest Adventures (11; SNES)

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The Great Circus Mystery Starring Mickey & Minnie (16; SNES, Genesis)

In spite of the impression one may get from the title, this game isn’t half bad.

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Firestriker (20; SNES)

Ok, now this is a fun spinoff of the Breakout concept.

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Realms of Arkania: Star Trail (October; PC)

Sequel to Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny.

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Metaltech: EarthSiege (October; PC)

The Mech sim genre was getting started late this year. Also released alongside Metaltech: Battledrome.

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Math Blaster 2 (5; PC)

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Doom II: Hell on Earth (10; PC)

Game of the month. This did what a true sequel to one of the greatest FPS games of all time (to this day) should do, and make it bigger. More guns (including the iconic double barrel shotgun), more enemies per level to where you are decimating entire armies at certain points, the Icon of Sin. This delivered, big time, on what Doom fans were salivating for from less than a year ago. While I don’t think the tempo and pacing is on par with the original, it makes up for it with everything else.

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One Must Fall: 2097 (10?; PC)

Huh. A fighting game made exclusively for the PC. That’s gotta be a first for back then (aside from the first game in this franchise).

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Wacky Wheels (17; PC, Mac, Linux)

Aged better than Super Mario Kart.

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Under a Killing Moon (31; PC)

The Tex Murphy series just got better. It would reach peak status in the next entry.

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Shows

Other mentions:

• Rimba’s Island
• Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills
• Jim Henson’s Animal Show
• Johnson and Friends
• Allegra’s Window

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Wild C.A.T.s (1; CBS)

This short-lived animated show is awesome.

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U to U (3; Nickelodeon)

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The Secret World of Alex Mack (8; Nickelodeon)

Cult classic.

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My Brother and Me (15; Nickelodeon)

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Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (29; Nickelodeon)

A Nickelodeon classic. One of my favorites back in the day.

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Gullah Gullah Island (24; Nickelodeon)

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Gargoyles (24; Syndicated -> ABC)

The iconic Disney classic that almost rivaled the animated Batman series. Just a pity the 3rd season kind of ruined everything. But those first 2 seasons are good stuff. Show of the month.

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Edit (5-6-2024): Added U to U to Shows.

Edit (6-19-2024): Added Math Blaster 2, and Metaltech: Earthsiege to Games.

Edit (4-7-2024): Added Samurai Shodown II to Games.