This Month In YesterYear History - June

    

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:  The most significant and longest-lasting oil/natural gas explosion takes place in Crosby, Texas, near Houston on the 1st.  On the 5th, "Monty Python's Spamalot" wins Best Musical at the 59th Tony Awards.  Rafael Nadal won the Men's French Open Tennis Tournament that same day.  The 6th sees the US Supreme Court ban medical marijuana in Gonzales v. Raich.  Afleet Alex wins the Belmont Stakes in the third horse race of the Triple Crown on the 7th.  Annika Sorenstam wins LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock on the 12th.  On the 13th, pop singer Michael Jackson is acquitted on child molestation charges brought by Gavin Arvizo.  On June 15th, "Batman Begins," the first in the Christopher Nolan "Batman" trilogy, debuts in theaters.  David Tennant starts his tenure as the 10th Dr. Who on the 18th.  At the Pinehurst Men's USA Open, New Zealand's Michael Campbell defeats Tiger Woods by two strokes.  Billy Corgan releases "TheFutureEmbrace," his first solo album, on the 21st.  On the 23rd, the San Antonio Spurs defeated defending champions the Detroit Pistons in Game 7 to win their 3rd NBA title.  That same day, the largest internet message board, "Reddit," was opened to the public.  On the 28th, the final draft of Manhattan's "Freedom Tower," the replacement for the World Trade Center, is unveiled.  

2000:  Pop/folk singer Joni Mitchell completes her retirement tour, "Both Sides Now Tour of America," with her last concert in Camden, New Jersey.  On the 5th, armed conflict erupts between Rwanda and Uganda in Kinsangani, a city in Congo.  Jockey Pat Day wins the Belmont Stakes, riding atop Commendable on the 8th.  On the 10th, the New Jersey Devils defeated the Dallas Stars in double overtime to win the Stanley Cup.  On the 12th, "X-Men," the first film based on the comic series, starring Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, and Ian McKellen, premieres on Ellis Island in New York Harbor.  The next day, Italy pardoned Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish gunman who tried to kill Pope John Paul in 1981.  That same day, the 13th, Samuel L. Jackson is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Also on the 13th, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung meets North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang to begin the first-ever inter-Korea summit.  Pitcher Greg Maddux earns his 387th putout (actually scoring an out).  On the 16th, after 22 years, Israel finally complied with the UN Security Resolution and withdrew completely from Lebanon.  Tiger Woods wins his first US Open, setting a record 15 strokes over Ernie Els at Pebble Beach on the 18th.  The Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA Championship in Game 6 over the Indiana Pacers on the 19th.  Shaquille O'Neal is named MVP.  On the 21st, Senator Daniel K. Inouye and 19 other Japanese-American WWII veterans of the 442nd Regiment were belatedly awarded the Medal of Honor by President Bill Clinton.  On the 23rd, the bulk ore ship "MV Treasure" sank off the western coast of South Africa, soiling more than 19,000 penguins, resulting in the world's largest ever bird rescue from an oil spill.  On the 28th, Elian Gonzales returns to Cuba following a court order.  On the 29th, Eminem's mother goes to court claiming defamation of character in a $10 million civil suit against her son, after taking exception to the line "My mother smokes more dope than I do" from the song "My Name Is."

1995:  On the 1st, Justin Tyler Carroll wins the 68th Spelling Bee, spelling "xanthosis."  Texas Rangers pitcher Kenny Rogers' scoreless inning streak ends at 39 innings in a 6-3 win over the Twins.  On the 3rd, Montreal Expos pitcher Pedro Martinez's perfect game was broken in extra innings when San Diego's Bip Roberts hit a double.  On the 4th, the 8th Children's Miracle Network Telethon raised $1.3 million.  On the 5th, Reba McIntire and Alan Jackson won top honors at the 29th Country Music Awards.  The Boeing 777 enters service on the 7th, flying for United Airlines.  On the 9th, "The Brady Bunch Movie" debuts.  Also on the 9th, downed Air Force pilot Captain Scott O'Grady was rescued in Bosnia.  Also, the movie "Congo" debuts on the 9th, while Dumb and Dumber debuts in Europe.  Thunder Gulch wins the Belmont Stakes with jockey Gary Stevens on the 10th.  Stefi Graff wins the French Open, her fourth French title, on the 10th.  The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4- 1 to win the Western Conference on the 11th, earning a trip to the Stanley Cup finals.  Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill" is released on the 12th.  It will earn the Album of the Year at the 1996 Grammys.  On the 13th, the New Jersey Devils defeated Philadelphia in the Eastern Championship and head to the finals.  The Houston Rockets swept the Orlando Magic in 4 games to win the NBA Championship on the 14th.  On the 16th, "Batman Forever" starring Val Kilmer opens with a $528 million opening weekend.  Salt Lake City was awarded the 2002 Winter Olympics on the same day.  A memorial service was held for actress Elizabeth Montgomery, best known as Samantha on Bewitched, in Beverly Hills on the 18th.   On the 19th, the Yankees announced they'd signed Darryl Strawberry.  On the 24th, the Devils sweep the Red Wings in 4 games to win the Stanley Cup.  On the 29th, George Foreman lost the IBF boxing title for refusing to fight a rematch bout against Axel Schulz.  On the 30th, Exxon signs a $15.2-billion deal to develop oil and gas fields near Russia's Sakhalin Island.

TOP MOVIES

2005: "Batman Begins" - 

The first film in the Christopher Nolan Batman series, this film stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, along with Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, and Morgan Freeman.  The film serves as a reboot of the Batman series, telling the origin story of Bruce Wayne from the death of his parents to his journey to become Batman and his fight to stop Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson) and the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) from sinking Gotham City into pure chaos.

After 1997's Batman & Robin was panned by audiences and severely underperformed at the box office, Warner Bros. Pictures cancelled future Batman films, including the already-in-preproduction Joel Schumacher's Batman Unchained.  I guess adding nipples to the Batsuit didn't go over well.

The studio rejected a reboot story by Joss Whedon in 2002 and hired Nolan in early 2003 for the new film.  The primary goal for Nolan and his team was to engage the audience's emotional investment in Batman and Bruce Wayne.  The film, principally shot in the United Kingdom, Iceland, and Chicago, relied heavily on traditional stunts and miniature effects, with computer-generated imagery used minimally compared to other action films.  The film was inspired by comic book storylines such as The Man Who Falls, Batman: Year One, and Batman: The Long Halloween.

Since its release, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Trilogy have often been cited as some of the most influential films of the 21st century.  It was credited for revitalizing the Batman character in popular culture, shifting its tone towards a darker and more serious tone and style.  The film helped popularise the term "reboot" in Hollywood, inspiring studios and filmmakers to revive franchises with realistic and serious tones.  It was followed by The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), with the three films constituting The Dark Knight Trilogy.

2000: "Mission Impossible:  II" -  

Mission: Impossible 2 (abbreviated as M:I 2) is the second action/spy film starring Tom Cruise.  Directed by John Woo, it is a direct sequel to the 1996 Mission: Impossible.  The film also stars Dougray Scott, Thandiwe Newton, Richard Roxburgh, John Polson, Brendan Gleeson, Rade Šerbedžija, and Ving Rhames.   In this film, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) must team with professional thief Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Newton) to secure a genetically modified disease stolen by rogue Impossible Missions Force (IMF) agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott), who happens to also be Nyah's ex-husband. 

M:I 2 was released by Paramount Pictures on May 24, grossing $12.5 million on opening day and eventually $546 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2000, beating even Gladiator, until December when it was dethroned by Jim Carey's version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  M:I 2 was the highest-grossing film in the Mission: Impossible series until the fourth film, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, was released in 2011.

Initial reactions from critics were mixed, with praise for the action sequences but criticism for character and storybuilding.  

A sequel, Mission: Impossible III, was released in 2006.  As of 2025, there are eight installments in the series, with plans for more as long as Tom Cruise can.

1995: "Batman Forever" -  

Based on the iconic DC Comics character, this superhero film is the third installment in the Warner Bros. initial Batman film series, acting as a soft reboot of the series continuity.  Directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton and Peter MacGregor-Scott, the movie stars Val Kilmer as Bruce Wayne/Batman, replacing Michael Keaton.  The film also stars Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, and Chris O'Donnell.  

Batman Forever sees Batman attempt to prevent Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) and the Riddler (Jim Carrey) from uncovering his secret identity and extracting information from the minds of Gotham City's residents.  At the same time Batman naviates his feeligs for psychologosit Dr. Chase Meridian (Nicole Kidman) and adopting the orphaned acrobat Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell) - who eventually becomes his best friend and partner, Robin.  

Schumacher steered the film away from the dark, dystopian atmosphere of Tim Burton's two previous films, drawing inspiration from the comic books and the 1960s television series.  After Keaton chose not to continue as Batman, William Baldwin and Ethan Hawke were considered as his replacement until Val Kilmer was selected.  

Released on June 16 to mixed reviews, the film was a box office success.  It grossed over $336 million worldwide and became the sixth highest-grossing movie of the year.    It had the largest opening weekend for a Warner Bros. film for six years until 2001, when it was surpassed by Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  The film also achieved the highest June opening weekend, holding that record until it was beaten by Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me in 1999.

In addition to an extensive line of toys, video games, and action figures by Kenner, McDonald's released several collectibles and mugs to coincide with the film's release.  Six Flags Great Adventure re-themed their "Axis Chemical" arena to the home of the Batman stunt show, resembling the Batman Forever movie.  Six Flags Over Texas featured a fireworks show to promote the movie, and replica busts of Batman, Robin, Two-Face, and the Riddler could be found in the Justice League store of the theme park until they were removed in 2023.  

It was followed by "Batman & Robin" in 1997, replacing Kilmer with George Clooney as Batman.

TOP SONGS

2005:  "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey

2000:  "Try Again" by Aaliyah

1995:  "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" by Bryan Adams

TOP TV NEWS

June is typically a slow television news month...

June 2005:

2nd: Beauty and the Geek debuts on The WB.  The reality series, produced by Ashton Kutcher, lasted 5 seasons.

15th:  Nickelodeon's CatDog cartoon was canceled after 7 years.

21st:  I Want to Be a Hilton debuted on NBC.  This game show, hosted by Kathy Hilton, lasted 8 episodes and was meant to play off the fame of Paris Hilton's hit show, The Simple Life.

26th:  MTV launched The Andy Milonakis Show to capitalize on Milonakis' 15 minutes of fame.  It lasted three seasons before being canceled. 

30th:  Viacom launches Logo TV, a channel specifically for LGBT adults.  The new station took over the channel space of defunct sister network VH1 Mega Hits.  In February 2012, the network removed the LGBT focus and began using the airtime to show movies and sitcoms from the Paramount vault and other syndicated hit sitcoms.

June 2000:  

9th:  The hit syndicated game show, The Dating Game, ends its run that began in 1965.

11th:  Nickelodeon's children's horror series "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" is canceled, ending a run that began in 1992.  It would return briefly in 2019.

17th:  One of Disney Channel's most successful sitcoms, Even Stevens, debuts.  Starring Shia LaBeouf and Christy Carlson Romano, the sitcom lasted three years and 65 episodes before meeting Disney's dreaded "65 episode/three-year mark."  In the past, this was when Disney would cancel a series or change the show's title so as not to have to pay syndication royalties or deal with renegotiating higher salaries of the cast.  Kim Possible was the last show subjected to this rule.

23rd:  Bill Cosby's "Kids Say the Darndest Things" ends its 3-year run on CBS.  It would return very briefly in 2019 on ABC.

27th:  Veronica's Closet, the NBC sitcom starring Kathy Najimy, was canceled.  It ran for three seasons and 66 episodes.  

June 1995:

5th:  Dating game show "Singled Out" debuts on MTV, starring Chris Hardwick and Jenny McCarthy as hosts.

11th:  Seeing this in my research opened a section of my brain that I had long forgotten.  On this day, "McGee and Me" officially ended.  This Christian-themed series ran on ABC since 1989 for twelve 30-minute episodes and one special to wrap up the series.  It followed around Nicholas and his cartoon friend McGee as they learned moral lessons, such as lying, stealing, and bullying.  The show was given a brief new life in 1995 and reaired on ABC, with its final episode ending on June 11th.  I don't know if I saw this the first run or the second, if it was shown in Sunday School or if it was rented by my Mom on VHS, but this was definitely a show I saw frequently as a child and had totally blocked out.

16th:  One of my favorite shows, Supermarket Sweep, ended its most famous run on this day.  The show had originally aired from 1965 to 1967 on ABC before returning in 1990 with host David Ruprecht on Lifetime and PAX.  It returned to PAX with new episodes from 2000 to 2003.  It returned to ABC in 2020 for a terrible reboot, with Leslie Jones as the host.  She was a poor fit for the show, and I was deeply disappointed in the reboot.  It didn't have the same feeling and was canceled after a shortened second season.

17th:  Empty Nest, the spinoff of The Golden Girls, was canceled after 170 episodes.

24th:  FOX broadcasts the fourth Stanley Cup Finals game between the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings.  This marks the first time a championship-clinching game from the Stanley Cup has been broadcast on a network station since 1980.

30th:  The dating game show, Love Connection, ends after a 12-year run.  I can never forget this show because Granny would enjoy watching it from time to time in the evening waiting for "Wheel" (of Fortune.)  If you knew Granny, you know how out of character this was for her.