This Month In YesterYear History - May

   

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:  On the 1st, a 17-year-old Lionel Messi scored his 1st senior league goal for FC Barcelona.  On the 3rd, Fall Out Boy's breakthrough album "From Under the Cork Tree" debuts.  The 50-1 long shot horse Giacamo wins the Kentucky Derby on the 7th.  Liberal commentary website The Huffington Post was launched on the 9th.  On the 10th, a hand grenade thrown by Vladimir Arutyunian lands about 65 feet from President George W. Bush but fails to detonate in Tbilisi, Georgia.  I honestly have no recollection of that.  "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" starring Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, and Natalie Portman, premieres at the Cannes Film Festival on the 15th.  Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, and Gretchen Wilson take the top honors at the 40th Academy of Country Music Awards on May 17th.  Afleet Alex and jockey Jeremy Rose win the Preakness on the 21st.  The computer-animated film Madagascar debuts in theaters on the 27th, starring Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, and David Schwimmer.  Dan Wheldon won the Indy 500 on the 29th, becoming the first British-born driver to win since 1966.  Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's hit show "Hell's Kitchen" debuts on FOX on May 30th.  On the 31st, it's finally revealed in Vanity Fair that Mark Felt, a former FBI agent, was "Deep Throat" during the Watergate investigations.

2000:  Eventual Best Picture winner "Gladiator" debuts on May 1st, starring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix.  That same day, Barry Bonds became the first MLB player to hit a home run into San Francisco Bay when the Giants defeated the Mets 10-3.  Also on the 1st, opera singer Andrea Bocelli sings for Pope John Paul II in Rome in a televised concert.  President Bill Clinton announced on the 2nd that accurate GPS data would no longer be restricted to the military.  Thanks to lifting the GPS restrictions, May 3rd sees the creation of the game/sport "geocaching," where the first cache was placed and coordinates documented on Usenet.  The 4th sees Ken Livingstone become the first Mayor of London.  May 10th sees the nation of India reach 1 billion in population.  The current population has nearly doubled in just 25 years, and currently sits at 1,460,458,00.  On the 12th, Ringo Starr's sixth All-Starr Band debuts in concert; members include: Todd Rundgren, Jack Bruce, Gary Brooker, Simon Kirke, and Timmy Cappello.  On May 17th, a bomb exploded in a toilet at a video arcade, killing 13 teenagers in the Philippines.  On May 23rd, rapper Eminem releases his 3rd album, "The Marshall Mathers LP," and it becomes the fastest-selling studio album and the 2001 Grammy for Best Rap Album.  On the 26th, the New Jersey Devils beat Philadelphia to win the Eastern Conference, while on the 27th, the Dallas Stars defeated Colorado to win the West and head to the Finals against New Jersey.  Juan Pablo Montoya cruises to victory at the Indy 500 on the 28th after leading 167 laps.  May 31st sees the debut of reality show titan "Survivor."  

  

1995:  On the 1st, the Montreal Canadiens lost to Buffalo and missed the playoffs for the first time in 25 years.  On the 5th, the last basketball game is played at Boston Gardens when the Celtics are eliminated from the playoffs by the Orlando Magic.  May 6th sees "Thunder Gulch" win the Kentucky Derby.  Also on the 6th, the Classic Sports Network debuts on cable TV.  Jacques Chirac won the French Presidential election on the 7th.  Also on the 7th, the Minnesota Twins defeated the Cleveland Indians in one of the longest games in history at 17 innings, lasting 6 hours and 36 minutes.  Alan Jackson and Reba McEntire won Best Male/Female vocals at the Academy of Country Music Awards on the 10th.  On the 11th, More than 170 countries agreed to indefinitely extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.  A 6.5 earthquake hits Greece on the 13th.  On May 16th, Japan arrested cult leader Shoko Asahara & charged him with a Nerve-gas attack on Tokyo's subways two months earlier.  On the 18th, Mel Gibson's Braveheart premieres.  It eventually won the Best Picture at the 1996 Oscars.  On the 19th, Susan Lucci loses the Daytime Emmy Award for Best Actress for the 19th straight year.  Connie Chung was fired by CBS News on the 20th.  On the 22nd, a TV special airs for Laverne and Shirley's 20th anniversary.  On the 27th, actor Christopher Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down after falling off his horse.  I remember watching television at Granny's kitchen table when they broke in with this news.  On the 28th, Canadian driver Jacques Villeneuve wins the Indy 500 as race leader Scott Goodyear is controversially black flagged on lap 195.  Also on the 28th, all of Southwest Florida south of Tampa switched to the area code 941.  

TOP MOVIES

2005: "Star Wars III - Revenge of the Sith" - 

This third installment of the Star Wars "prequel" trilogy was the third chronological chapter in the "Skywalker Saga."  It was written and directed by George Lucas, who also served as executive producer.  The film stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Frank Oz.

Set three years after the Clone Wars (as established in the previous film, Attack of the Clones, this film depicts the rise of Darth Sidious and the Galactic Empire.  We also see Anakin Skywalker turning to the dark side of the Force, which will have wide-ranging consequences in the galaxy that lead to the extinction of the Jedi.  

Lucas started writing before finishing production on Attack of the Clones, citing the desire to end the trilogy with a romantic tragedy, thus building to Darth Vader's angered state at the beginning of the next film, which would be Episode 4, "A New Hope," released in 1977.  Production of this film started in June 2003, and filming took place mainly in Australia, with additional locations in Thailand, Switzerland, China, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

Premiering on May 15, 2005, at the Cannes Film Festival, it was released in the United States on the 19th.  The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the more mature themes and darker tones.  Many fans consider it the best installment of the much scorned prequel trilogy.  "Revenge" broke several box office records during its opening weekend, eventually earning $868.4 million worldwide, the second highest Star Wars film at the time.  It was the final Star Wars film from 20th Century Fox, and the franchise was acquired by Disney six years later when they purchased Lucasfilm.  

2000: "Gladiator" -  

This historical drama from Ridley Scott stars Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, and Richard Harris.  Crowe portrays Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Roman general who is betrayed when Commodus (Phoenix), the ambitious son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, murders his father and seizes the throne.  Reduced to slavery, Maximus becomes a gladiator and rises through the ranks of the arena, determined to avenge the murders of his family and the emperor.

The screenplay was inspired by the 1958 Daniel P. Mannix novel Those About to Die.  DreamWorks Pictures acquired the script, and Ridley Scott signed on to direct it.  Principal photography began in January 1999 and wrapped in May of that year.  Production was complicated by multiple last-minute rewrites and Oliver Reed's death during production. 

Gladiator premiered in Los Angeles, California, on May 1, 2000.  It was released in the United States on May 5, 2000, grossing $465 million worldwide to become the second-highest-grossing film of 2000.  It won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe.  It received favorable reviews and is considered one of the best films of the 21st century.  

A (not that good) sequel, Gladiator II, was released in November 2024 starring Denzel Washington.

1995: "Crimson Tide" -  

Crimson Tide is an action thriller film about submarine warfare produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.  It takes place during a period of political turmoil in Russia, in which ultranationalists threaten to launch nuclear missiles at the United States and Japan.

The film focuses on a clash of wills between the seasoned commanding officer of a U.S. nuclear missile submarine (Gene Hackman) and his new executive officer (Denzel Washington), arising from conflicting interpretations of an order to launch their missiles.  The story loosely parallels a real-life incident during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In 1993, the United States Navy allowed studio executives to board the Trident submarine USS Florida to conduct research for the film.  Those allowed aboard were Hollywood Pictures president of production Ricardo Mestres, the film's director Tony Scott, producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, screenwriter Michael Schiffer, and writer Richard Henrick.  While aboard, the Navy allowed the film crew to videotape Florida's Executive Officer, Lieutenant Commander William Toti, performing many actions that actor Denzel Washington eventually performed as the executive officer in the movie.  

Despite this, the Navy refused to cooperate with filming for the movie.   The Navy claims it was told the story would be "The Hunt for Red October meets 2001: A Space Odyssey" and only cooperated with the studio's research to prove that there is no computer on a submarine that can launch missiles, making the storyline implausible.   Because the Navy refused to cooperate with the filming, the production company could not secure footage of a submarine submerging.  After checking to ensure there was no law against filming naval vessels, the producers waited at the submarine base at Pearl Harbor until a submarine was put to sea.  Coincidentally, the one captured on film was the real USS Alabama.  

Crimson Tide earned $18.6 million in the United States on its opening weekend, ranking #1 that weekend.  Overall, it earned $91 million in the U.S. and an additional $66 million internationally, for a total of $157.3 million.

TOP SONGS

2005:  "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani

2000:  "Maria Maria" by Santana 

1995:  "This is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan

TOP TV NEWS

May 2005:  

1st: Family Guy begins airing new episodes on FOX after being canceled (by FOX) in 2002.  The unexpected popularity of the show's reruns on Adult Swim and higher-than-average DVD sales forced the network to renew the show.  The revival coincided with the launch of the "Animation Domination" programming block, pairing Family Guy with King of the Hill, The Simpsons, and the network premiere of American Dad.

2nd:  The Bold and the Beautiful pull off a rare "not-leaked" surprise when Hunter Tylo resumes her role as Dr. Taylor Forrester after being "killed off" three years earlier.  In the modern era, when leaks are frequent on the internet, viewers were caught by surprise.

3rd:  Judging Amy is canceled by CBS, having been on air since 1999.

6th:  SpongeBob SquarePants 4th season debuts on Nickelodeon.  Initially set to end in 2004, the success of the third season forced Nickelodeon to renew the series for a fourth season before the development of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.

13th:  The final (and according to the internet, controversial) episode of Star Trek:  Enterprise is broadcast, ending an uninterrupted 18-year run of four consecutive or concurrent Star Trek series dating back to 1987.

The Sci-Fi channel's Andromeda series comes to an end after 6 seasons.

16th:  A personal family favorite, Everybody Loves Raymond, airs its final episode after a nearly ten-year run on CBS.

23rd:  "The Couch Incident" on The Oprah Winfrey Show occurs when Tom Cruise appears to make several statements about his relationship with Katie Holmes.

24th:  CBS aired a special called "Rob and Amber Get Married," featuring the marriage of Survivor and Amazing Race contestants Amber Brkich and Rob Mariano.  

25th:  On FOX, Carrie Underwood wins season four of American Idol.  What did she ever do afterward?  :)

27th:  Shop 'Till You Drop, a syndicated shopping mall game show similar to Supermarket Sweep, was finally canceled, having been produced since 1991.    

30th:  Hell's Kitchen starring Gordon Ramsay debuts on FOX.  

May 2000:  

1st:  The WWF receives the 2nd highest rated episode of RAW with a 7.4 rating, where The Rock defeats Shane McMahon.  

3rd:  Party of Five was canceled by FOX after 6 seasons.  It was rebooted in 2020.  

5th:  ABC cancelled Boy Meets World, the 90s version of The Wonder Years, which had been on air since 1993.

14th:  After four years, NBC returns to the Black Hills area of South Dakota when KNBN signs on from Rapid City.  KEVN had left NBC and signed on as a Fox affiliate in 1996.  

17th:  16.8 million Americans watch the 2-hour final episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 on FOX.

20th:  Syndicated daytime talk show "Donny and Marie" was canceled after two seasons.

24th:  The WB broadcasts the third-season finale of Dawson's Creek, featuring the first male gay kiss on American primetime television.  

27th:  CBS canceled Early Addition, a drama/comedy series about a man who receives the newspaper a day in advance, after four seasons.

31st:  The first season of CBS's long-running reality show Survivor debuts.  Sonja Christopher is the first contestant to be eliminated.  

May 1995:

7th:  Jurassic Park makes its broadcast television premiere on NBC.

Matlock ended after nine seasons and 193 episodes.  The show was "rebooted" in 2024, but don't waste your time on that.

9th:  CBS broadcasts "Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan," starring Elizabeth Montgomery.  This was her final acting role as Montgomery would die on the 18th.  

12th:  As the World Turns broadcasts its 10,000th episode on CBS.

20th:  Star Search, the competition talent show, ends after a 12-year run.

21st:  "Above Suspicion" starring Christopher Reeve debuts on HBO.  In it, Reeve plays a paralyzed cop who plots to murder his wife.  Six days after this first airs, Reeve falls off his horse and becomes a quadriplegic for the remainder of his life.

22nd:  NBC sitcom "Blossom" ends after 5 seasons and 114 episodes.

Fox Kids cartoon "Taz-Mania" finished its run after 4 seasons and 65 episodes, signalling the end of the Looney Tunes fad of the 90s.

Adult cartoon "The Critic," starring Jon Lovitz, ended after two seasons.

23rd:  Full House, the iconic '90s sitcom, finished after 8 seasons and 192 episodes.

24th:  ABC deletes an episode of All My Children due to the then-recent Oklahoma City bombing in which the villainess, Janet Green, was supposed to blow up the church in which Trevor Dillon, her ex, was marrying her rival, Laurel Banning.   

28th:  The kid's cartoon, and a personal favorite, Tiny Toon Adventures, is canceled after 5 years, and the classic feature film, How I Spent My Vacation.