12 Truly Outrageous Plots From The Original Jem & The Holograms

Let's get this out of the way first: The Jem and the Holograms movie opening October 23 is not really a remake of the original cartoon and Hasbro dolls that children of the '80s know and love. But what was that original cartoon all about? Maybe you watched every episode; maybe you only have hazy memories (or second-hand nostalgia) of a pink-haired singer, her giant earrings, and the phrase "truly outrageous." Either way, we're pretty sure you don't remember how batshit crazy the show could get.

We say this with absolute admiration. The Saturday morning cartoons of the era, mostly produced in order to sell toys, were insane, action-packed fantasies. Let's just review the central plot of Jem: Jerrica is the heiress to a record company, a home for foster girls, and a bizarre, voice-activated computer her father invented that projects realistic, touchable holograms. She uses the computer to forge a new pop star identity in order to wrestle control of her record company away from her dad's awful partner. And really, she does it all for the foster girls. Along the way, though, being famous musicians lands her, her sister Kimber, and bandmates Aja and Shana (plus later addition Raya) in some wacky, often life-threatening situations. The show was written and created by a former G.I. Joe writer, Christy Marx, after all.

Do you remember some of those trippy episodes, like the time the Holograms save Alaska? Or the time they meet Mozart? How about when they reunite a famous jazz quartet? Flip through some of our favorite plots here, but to relive the true outrageousness of it all, we recommend watching them for yourself. The three-season series is streaming on Netflix, or available as a box set from Shout! Factory.