Well, a lot of stuff happened while Jacko's hair burned in 1984

On Jan. 27, 1984, Michael Jackson's hair caught fire during the sixth take of a Pepsi commercial. 1984 was smack-dab in between the release of Thriller (1982) and the release of Bad (1987), the pillars on which Jackson's kingdom was built. This infamous commercial blaze was one of the first out-of-the-box events that drew attention to Jackson. Many accusations, court settlements, and surgeries have transcended since that mishap; in fact, what was a major celebrity accident is now one of the more humorous points on Jackson's otherwise purported timeline. Jackson is aiming for a comeback now, in late 2001. A moment to reflect will show just how much has happened since that Pepsi incident and now.

The victor at the Jan. 27-29 weekend box office in 1984 was Mike Nichols and Nora Ephron's Silkwood, starring Meryl Streep and Kurt Russell. The period thriller surged past Terms of Endearment with timely content: On Nov. 13, 1974, Karen Silkwood, an employee of a nuclear facility, left to meet with a reporter from the New York Times. She never got there. It was Ephron's first big-screen script. A person born that weekend would be well into his or her teens by the time Nichols' Primary Colors hit the screens.

Terms of Endearment would go on to an Oscar sweep in 1984: best actor, actress, director, screenplay, and picture. It would be 14 years until James L. Brooks directed Jack Nicholson to his next Oscar, for As Good As It Gets.

Director Ridley Scott, fresh off Blade Runner, directed Apple Corp.'s groundbreaking 1984 Macintosh commercial, featuring one woman in a tank top and shorts hammering through an anonymous, gray, futuristic computer world. "On Jan. 24, Apple Computer will introduce the Macintosh. And you'll see why 1984 won't be like 1984."

The commercial premiered during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII, five days prior to Michael's hair incident. The game was reported as the most one-sided Super Bowl ever, as the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins 38-9. That NFL season was the first for highly touted rookies of the 1983 draft, including John Elway, Dan Marino, Eric Dickerson and Jim Kelly. All of those players have since retired. Redskins cornerback Darrell Green, a rookie in that game, is now the oldest NFL player ever to play his position.

Ten days after the Pepsi commercial, President Reagan ordered the removal of troops from Beirut. French scientists were the first to isolate the virus that caused Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome in 1984.

On Jan. 27, Carl Lewis broke his own record with a long jump of 28 feet, 10-1/4 inches at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. It would be the fourth of his nine gold medals.

Stephen King, 37, took a departure from his mainstream horror rollout by offering "The Talisman," penned with Peter Straub, and "Thinner," issued under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. He was still three years off from publishing "Misery," which would be put to film and released in 1990. Kathy Bates would receive the 1991 Best Actress Oscar for her performance as Annie Wilkes almost a full decade before her next nomination — for her portrayal of Libby Holden in the aforementioned Primary Colors.

Since the hair incident, Pearl Jam has issued 82 albums, most of them live. Yet when Jackson's hair caught fire, Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder could not vote. In fact, there was no Pearl Jam. The group's original band name, Mookie Blaylock, didn't even have its inspiration yet. Blaylock, now on his last legs as a backup point guard for the Golden State Warriors, was finishing his second season at Midland (Texas) Junior College in January of 1984. After that season, Blaylock would transfer to the University of Oklahoma. On Jan. 27, 2001, 17 years to the day after the hair incident, the University of Oklahoma retired Mookie's jersey, No. 10, the inspiration for Pearl Jam's debut album Ten.

Since the Pepsi commercial, Michael Jackson has released two new albums, eight greatest hits or remastered albums and one that was half-and-half. He is best known for his altered skin tone, his bouts of seclusion and settling a child molestation case out of court. Now, almost 18 years after the Pepsi commercial, the first spark of the fire among the media, he is attempting a comeback.

— Andy Stilp (andy.stilp at gmail dot com)