November 4, 1988: The film They Live premieres. This is not an especially good movie – when the lead is played by a pro wrestler, in this case "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, and directed by John Carpenter, that]s to be expected – but it was really fun.
This movie came out in the final days of the Reagan Administration, but most Americans weren't willing to accept that it was an allegory for what was actually happening. Now, after the Crash of 2008 and the way rich people from Romney to to Bloomberg to Trump have acted, maybe now people will give this film another look, and listen. Or maybe there could be a remake: Dwayne Johnson, maybe? (No: The Rock is a Republican.)
Considering that Piper and Keith David battle a fascist government, maybe it should have been released the next day, the 5th of November.
Carpenter cast Piper as a common laborer who becomes a rather uncommon hero, uncovering an alien conspiracy. All along, we thought Hulk Hogan was a good guy and "Rowdy Roddy" was a jerk. In real life, it was the other way around all along.
Most alien invasion movies are about the successful attempt to stop the invasion, or about the rebellion to reverse the invasion after it's taken over. They Live was different: It was about an invasion that had succeeded, and the world didn't even know it.
I was working in a theater when it came out, and loved it -- ironically, to the point where it became one of the reasons I quit that lousy job.
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November 4, 1988 was a Friday. All-Pro Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant was born.
Baseball season was over. Football was in midweek. There were 10 games played in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks lost to the Boston Celtics, 122-115 in overtime at the Boston Garden.
* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Atlanta Hawks, 113-105 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands. Dominique Wilkins scored 35 points in defeat for the Hawks.
* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Los Angeles clippers, 129-110 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.
* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the expansion Charlotte Hornets, 133-93 at the Charlotte Coliseum.
* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Indiana Pacers, 117-103 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
* The Detroit Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls, 107-94 at the Chicago Stadium.
* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks, 116-113 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.
* The Denver Nuggets beat the Houston Rockets, 120-117 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.
* The Seattle SuperSonics beat the Utah Jazz, 104-97 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dale Ellis led all scorers on the night with 46 points.
* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Phoenix Suns, 120-105 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.
There were 3 games played in the NHL:
* The New York Islanders lost to the Washington Capitals, 4-2 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.
* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-3 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Buffalo Sabres, 7-3 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.
And in New Jersey high school football, my Alma Mater, East Brunswick, beat Bayonne, 38-21 at Jay Doyle Field in East Brunswick.
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