That obviously was the reality, but the *effect* was supposed to be that of a motorized toy. And yes it's definitely Summer 1985, The First episode starts on 6/28/85 IIRC. (well after the initial scene with the Russians)
The kids sneak in to see Day of the Dead at the Mall theater on 6/30/85 (the day it came out), and Back to the Future came out on 07/03/85, then of course the fair on July 4th. Yeah i know, its kind of sad that I remember the dates and nostalgic things more than the characters in the show...

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It's just that 1984-1986 were especially memorable years for me, I was between the ages of 8 and 10, but a lot of really cool stuff happened. My Aunt & Uncle took me on a cross-country road trip in the summer of 1985, which lasted almost 3 weeks. I remember my parents telling me they went to see Back to the Future while I was gone, and I had no idea what that even was, and didn't really care until I saw it on cable probably a year later.
There are no more good TV Shows, only ones that haven't disappointed me yet.