September 26th in nerd history: By the power of Grayskull

Last updated: June 3, 2024

September 26th in nerd history: By the power of Grayskull

Happy National Chimichanga Day! I really appreciate whoever was trying to improve on the burrito — a seemingly impossible task — and figured why not deep-fry it. **chef's kiss**

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September 26 in Nerd History

Here are five things that happened on September 26th for those of us who automatically say "And also with you" when we hear "May the Force be with you."

I.

Birthdays of honor: Olivia Newton-John (1948), Jack LaLanne (1914), Linda Hamilton (1956), Serena Williams (1981), T. S. Eliot (1888), George Gershwin (1898), Marty Robbins (1925), Ivan Pavlov (1849), Bryan Ferry (1945), Johnny Appleseed (1774).

II.

In 1983, 40 years ago, the Saturday morning phenom He-Man and the Masters of the Universe hit the airwaves for the first time in the USA.

Prince Adam of Eternia transforms into He-Man whenever he's got hold of the Sword of Power and utters the magical phrase, "By the Power of Grayskull! I have the power!” The backstory was concocted after the toy had already been released, and not surprisingly the legendary animation studio Filmation did a fantastic job with what they were given.

Even though the show technically only lasted two seasons, Filmation turned out 130 episodes, and both the show and the toys became incredibly massive pop culture hits. So much so that they even made that weird live-action movie in 1987.

III.

Today in 1982 Knight Rider premiered on NBC, giving us one of the best TV theme songs in history. The show was OK, too.

It stars none other than David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight, a detective who was saved from near death and for some reason takes on a completely new identity, and William Daniels as the voice of KITT, the affable and cutting-edge Pontiac Firebird Trans Am with a terrifyingly good AI. The duo roam the land, fighting crime and helping the innocent, all with just the right amount of clever one-liners. There have been a few attempts at rebooting the franchise, which have largely been complete flops, so we don't speak of those.

The original Knight Rider ran for four seasons and 90 episodes.

I also vaguely remember getting to sit inside a real-life KITT at Universal Studios Hollywood when I was very young and talking to him. I don't remember exactly what went down but I swore from that day on that KITT is real and this show is a front, and nothing I've seen since then has proven to me otherwise.

IV.

It's been a while since we had an update on Nolan Ryan history, but today we have a doozy.

In 1981 Ryan set the MLB record when he recorded his fifth no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers, breaking his previous tie with Sandy Koufax.

He would go on to record two more and still holds the MLB record with seven career no-hitters.

V.

In addition to the ones we already touched on, there were a bevy of other TV premieres on September 26th.

  • We found out that a three-hour tour can sometimes take longer than three hours when Gilligan's Island premiered in 1964.
  • In 1969 the concept of a mixed family was taken to new heights when The Brady Bunch debuted.
  • 1968 saw another of the best TV theme songs ever made with the premiere of Hawaii Five-O.
  • And in 1962 Beverly Hillbillies made its start on CBS.