"Hit Me Baby One More Time"

I can't believe I wasted an hour of my life watching this depressing show! I got sucked in hook, line and sinker only to be bitterly disappointed.

"Hit Me Baby One More Time," NBC's take-off on a British show that spotlights has-been musical acts of the Reagan years all competing against each other for cash prizes, to go to a charity of the winner's choice. They sing their original hit, after that they sing a new song, then the audience votes for the best act.

A flock of TV throwbacks

The '80s live on via "Hit Me Baby, One More Time." Here's the lineup for the first of three shows:

Loverboy: Cynically corporate Canadian rockers best known for the 1981 Joe Blow anthem "Working for the Weekend."

A Flock of Seagulls: Though they achieved worldwide fame with their early '80s synth-pop smash "I Ran," the most individual aspect of the group was the bizarre "waterfall" haircut sported by frontman Mike Score, hands down the worst 'do in salon history.

Arrested Development: Just what the world needs, PC hip hop. AD scored a No. 6 hit in 1992 with "Tennessee," joined by several other examples of touchy-feely rap.

Cece Peniston: She scored a classic with her ecstatic dance hit "Finally." But it proved to be her pop finale.

Tiffany: The mall queen of 1987 had the first No. 1 by a teenage girl with her debut album. It yielded an over-chewed cover of Tommy James' bubblegum classic "I Think We're Alone Now."

I don't know what was more depressing, seeing how A Flock of Seagulls had let themselves go(In case you're wondering they've been living under a bridge for the last 20 years)or watching the lead singer of Lover Boy try to stuff his rotund rear into a pair of leather pants? When the show was over I went into the kitchen looking for the grape koolaid. Alas, time waits for no man!