I have a dream that all of those unwanted toys from yesteryear can one day try again. I have a dream that one day all of the next experiences will feel like first experiences. I have a dream that we can all live peacefully in a future protected by Terry McGuiness and Miguel O’Hara both.

I have a dream that even unwanted toys can find love when they are rebooted in the future.

Masters of the Universe was the best thing ever when I was a kid! Sadly, looking back in the attic something has happened to those magical action figures I loved. They seem to have lost articulation and original sculpting. The 200x line of retail figures was the line that I thought I had as a kid of the 80s–that is to say they looked like how my imagination made the 80s toys look when I was playing. Somehow, my She-Ra figures became all girly. Weren’t they awesome when I was a kid? Did they come with small hair brushes? Say it ain’t so!

The same thing happened to G.I. Joe. I remember them fondly. Pulling them from the attic was not a kind thing to do. My most recent Joe display started with the VvV figures and then was over taken with the newer overly poseable figures.

More recently Ninja Turtles have come back cooler in comic, show, and toy than ever before. Seriously.

So, if MOTU and Joe can get cooler when they were rebooted and brought back to the toy aisle then can’t that happen for all unloved 80s toys?

M.A.S.K. and Dino Rider spring to mind as excellent figures. I never had any but I loved playing with them at other people’s homes. A few less than kind, but probably accurate, blogs have decried both lines for having small but unwieldly figures in odd vehicles and sets. Sure. But give them another chance!

Perhaps technology can improve it.

Perhaps we know more now.

Perhaps we just need another shot.

Sure, some toys just didn’t live up to the advertising hype, but that doesn’t mean that they couldn’t in the future.

I have a dream that next times will feel like first times. I agree with Claymation Werewolf, some experiences just pale to reach the original. I’ve given up video games because the super realistic graphics and long story development over hours of charted play just don’t equal the joy I felt on my hand me down Atari system. I could Tank Command all day long but I get  bored with whatever the newest Final Fantasy is or will be.

Some experiences just don’t replicate.

I often become apprehensive about looking back at once treasured properties. Nostalgia is a powerful tool. Perhaps when I look back at Spider-Man 2099 and the entire original Marvel 2099 universe I won’t find the thoughtful second generation that I once loved. Although, re-watching and re-reading Batman Beyond has left me hopeful that perhaps some things were truly good in my childhood.

Perhaps I can’t go home again to my treasured toy chest, but I can dream about it still.