Jem! Truly Outrageous!

Jem was an animated television series in the late '80's, originally designed for the purpose of marketing a line of dolls for Hasbro. Each doll came with a cassette tape of music from the cartoon.

Sounds like an awful gimmick, doesn't it? But Jem was and still is loved by many fans. Why? Because the cartoon was great and the dolls were even better!

Jem was all about "glamor and glitter, fashion and fame." The story all began when upon the death of her father, Jerrica Benton inherited his recording label, Starlight Music. Her father had also invented a holographic computer, named Synergy, which could transform Jerrica into Jem, a pop star, through a pair of earrings. This lead to the creation of the band "Jem and the Holograms."

Most episodes of the series included two major plot lines: Jerrica's struggles to keep up with two lives and the havoc caused by their rivals, The Misfits. The series ran from 1985-1988.

It's kinda hard for me to pick just one favorite. I loved Aja and her pretty blue hair. I loved Kimber and her rockin' piano keyboard. I also loved Raya and her awesome pink curls. But I think my favorite doll was Video, one of the second generation of Jem dolls that was released in .

Why? Maybe because she had such a pretty shade of blonde hair (not peroxide blonde)? Maybe because she had a cool updo? I don't know. I just know I had fun playing with her (and Raya, a very close second favorite doll). Maybe the thing that was the most fun for me was that there were some exciting new things to buy to go along with my favorite dolls. Whatever it was, Video's left a fond impression on all my Jem memories.

How about you? Who was your favorite Jem doll?