This Day in Pop Culture for November 25

1987: Three Men Meet a Baby

Based on the French film, Trois hommes et un couffin, Three Men in a Baby was released in theaters on this day in 1987. Directed by Leonard Nimoy, the film followed the adventures of three bachelors trying to keep it together after finding an abandoned baby on their doorstep.

Tom Selleck played architect Peter Mitchell, Steve Guttenberg play satirist Michael Kellam and Ted Danson played actor Jack Holden. The mother of the baby was played by Nancy Travis. It was the biggest box office hit of that year earning $240 million worldwide. It was also Walt Disney Studios first production to gross over $100 million domestically during its initial run. It was followed by the sequel Three Men and a Little Lady in 1990. (Touchstone Pictures)

1948: Macy’s First Televised Thanksgiving Parade

Debuting in 1924, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has become the world’s largest parade and has only been suspended from 1942 to 1944 due to World War II.

The first parade featured Macy’s employees marching to its Herald Square location on 34th Street in New York. With an audience of 250,000 people, the parade featured floats, marching bands, live animals from the Central Park Zoo and of course, Santa who became the “King of the Kiddies” at the balcony at the store’s entrance.

The first giant balloons to be featured in the parade were presented in 1928 (replacing the animals). The parade was first broadcast on TV in 1948 and the following year, Milton Berle was one of the first TV performers.

Broadway numbers were first introduced in 1975. In 2020, Macy’s announced that the parade will go on as usual, but only for a television audience due to the Coronavirus.

2020: Saved by the Bell…Again

One of the crown jewels for NBC’s streaming service Peacock when it debuted was a new version of Saved by the Bell. It served as both a sequel and revival of the original series. It was edgier with a little language, and it actually mocked the original’s wholesome charm.

Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez appeared in every episode of the new series as a school counselor and P.E. teacher. Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen also reprised their roles as Mr. and Mrs. Morris, the Governor and First Lady of California. Voorhies appeared in one episode as a grown-up Lisa Turtle working as a fashion designer living in Paris.

As for the students, the show featured underprivileged Daisy Jimenez (Velazquez), Mac Morris (Hoog) son of Zack and Kelly, Lexi-DeFabrizio (Totah) a transgender cheerleader, ultracompetitive quarterback Aisha Garcia (Pascual-Pena), Jamie Spano (Cameli) the dumb-as-rock football captain (and son of Jessie) and drama student Devante Young (Darden).

Although this “new” Saved by the Bell was a hit with critics, it only ran for two seasons.