1980's TV Shows

I don't remember much 80's TV except for the sitcoms that started around '86 or '87. This is because I was a kid back then and was more interested in cartoons.

Although I have since seen "Miami Vice" on pay TV (awesome show, in my opinion) and, of course, I've heard of "Star Trek: The Next Generation", "Cosby", "Roseanne", "ALF" and "Married... With Children" (most of which were still going in the early 1990's), what else was there and are there DVD's I should track down?

 

Magnum P.I.

 

The Steven Bocho dramas, HILL STREET BLUES and L.A. LAW, were very influential, although this can work against re-viewing them years after the fact. The realistic HILL STREET BLUES has been surpassed by things like HOMICIDE and THE WIRE, while the ensemble courtroom drama of L.A. LAW is now such a staple of evening viewing I suspect it would seem completely redundant.

The big '80s comedy was CHEERS, which started as a critics' favorite skirting cancellation and finished as a popular institution.

 

If you've only "heard of" shows like TNG or Roseanne, I'd say give them a watch for yourself. Cosby hasn't aged too well except for its earliest seasons, IMO, and Married was always an acquired taste. (Well, and of course, so is ST: TNG, but even as someone who never got into any other versions of Trek I always liked it.) ALF...well, I loved it as a kid, but it is what it is.

A strong second recommendation for Cheers which stayed excellent almost right to the end. As for some others, it's not a hugely well-remembered show (and most of its seasons ran in the early '90s), but if you like crime procedurals or Carroll O'Connor, In the Heat of the Night is worth a look. Then of course there's The Wonder Years, which isn't always easy to see in its proper intact form, but is worth the effort. As family sitcom type shows went, I still enjoy Growing Pains to this day, which was often a better-written show than it's ever given credit for.

 

I'd highly recommend Max Headroom. It still stands up well today.

For comedy I'd recommend Police Squad!, Night Court, and Wings.

For the early 80's I'd love to recommend WKRP In Cincinnati, but only Season 1 is available on DVD, and it's a real hatchet job due to music rights issues. You can sometimes find uncut episodes on the web, though.

 

Moonlighting- Up until David and Maddie "do it."

 

Remington Steel

 

Roseanne is great… up to the last two seasons or so, at least.

 

The Outlaws
Nowhere Man...
Married With Children!

 

Late Night with David Letterman was a big deal in the 1980s. A lot of interesting guests in their early days of fame. I recall one show around 1984 where the guests were Howard Stern, who was gaining attention for his afternoon show on WNBC-AM (it was still a music station), which was in the same building, and Jerry Seinfeld, who was gaining attention as a stand-up comedian.

 

Friday the 13th the series a cool horror series .
The second and third seasons had some hardcore stories

 

Miami Vice, is a must see!

 

Many people love the A-Team, not to mention the Dukes of Hazzard. Both those shows have much more relevance though to Americans than foreigners.

 

I used to really like Real People(79-84) and That's Incredible!(80-84)

 

Roseanne 89 to 93.

 

GET A LIFE

(The Chris Elliott sitcom)

 

I wouldn't want to see the series again, but one of the most popular TV shows of that era was Dallas, a big prime time soap opera. (1978-1991 )

 

SCTV is wonderful and can be found cheap. It launched the careers of some great talents.

 

really? where? love that show!

 

SCTV can be found used on Amazon at reasonably cheap prices.

 

Shows I liked in the 80s:

Hill Street Blues
L.A. Law
Family Ties
It's Your Move
The Simpsons
Saturday Night Live (only to see Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscipo)
Moonlighting

Other than those dhows, and maybe something else I can't remember at the moment, I didn't watch TV in the 80s. Such a miserable time in my history.

(Man! The forum really zips right now!)

 

Too Close For Comfort
Mr. Belvedere

 

Yeah, but it's the NBC shows, isn't it? At least the box I have is. I'd love to get the original season that was shown only on Global in Ontario, when Harold Ramis was a regular. They've been repeated on TV but they always freezeframe the end credits for some reason while you can still hear the laugh track in the background so stuff is still happening. Very annoying.

It's an amazing show no matter what season it is!

 

No one watched The Fall Guy (with Lee Majors and Heather Thomas)?