1980's TV Shows

I watched Small Wonder today. Great old show.

 

When I think of bad 80's TV, that's the first show that comes to mind.

 

Never saw it before, then caught the first two episodes yesterday. They sure don't make 'em like that anymore!

 

This and "Lou Grant" are shows that really need to be back in the public eye. Despite the outdated medical and newspaper scenarios, both really tackled issues that are still relevant today.

 

I agree with Cerebus: when I think of Bad 1980s Shows, that one is at or near the top of the list. Unwatchable by humans.

 

We use to watch it and party back in the 80s. Nothing else on. Good times.

 

Another 80s show I'd forgotten about - Love Sidney, with Tony Randall as the first gay main character, though you wouldn't necessarily know this due to how the character was written. I remember watching it regularly when it was on and finding it very depressing. Haven't seen an episode in over 30 years, so I don't know if it was any good.

 

I used to know the mixer at Complete Post who did Small Wonder every week. One day I poked my head in to the mixing stage and said, "hey! How's everything going?" And he grimaced, pointed to the screen, and said, "please kill me now." Terrible, terrible, terrible show.

 

I can't imagine watching Small Wonder and partying. I believe it was syndicated and broadcasted at odd times, though I remember it being a Saturday afternoon staple. You also had shows like She's the Sheriff, Mama's Family, and the later WKRP in Cincinnati for it to compete with.

Apparently the boy from Small Wonder was robbed of his fortune at age 18 by a stripper and has spent the last 20+ years either living under a bridge or working at a restaurant.

 

Noooo. "Small Wonder" isn't a bad 1980s show. It's pretty much the worst thing ever on television. Perhaps it's about the worst thing ever in the history of broadcast, period.

It ran 4 seasons, two of which are available on DVD. It's impossible to think of all the great shows that never got a second season. Imagine the countless hours of radio and television that has been destroyed or lost, or was never even recorded in the first place. But the "Small Wonder" masters survive, taking up valuable space that could've gone to some pre-72 Johnny Carson tapes or....anything really. The world, it ain't fair I tells ya.

dan c

 

When the human race is long dead and gone, some future being will discover a working tape of Small Wonder and that will represent the apogee of our civilization.

 

I loved the mix of sitcoms and game shows in daytime programming in the 1980s. Super Password, Gimme A Break, Scrabble, The Hogan Family, and Classic Concentration woo-hoo!!

 

I was a kid in the 80s, ending 1989 still in high school, and the three shows that define the decade for me were Moonlighting, China Beach, and Twin Peaks.

Shalom, y'all!

L. Bangs

 

My favs:
Family Ties
Cheers
Roseanne
Wonder Years
Golden Girls (this is a must!!)

These are all smartly written shows that are worth checking out. Most of these are on Netflix I would assume. I don't know if you want buy all of these on DVD.

Golden Girls runs non-stop on cable so just start taping it from there.

 

I really enjoyed Roseanne, even the whacked-out last season. I keep intending to revisit it.

 

I don't recall ever seeing a single frame of SMALL WONDER. Unfortunately, that streak just ended as I flipped on Antenna TV and there it was. I stomached about five minutes of it before turning it off and heading here to post about it. I believe there's a current-day expression that sums it up - OMG!!!

Were there actual professionals who worked on that? Hopefully they've changed their names or gone into the witless protection program...

Harry

 

Hotel
Freddy's Nightmares
Dynasty

Those were a few that I remember.

Scott

 

"Married with Children" and the pre-They-do-it "Moonlighting".

On the somewhat-related topic of TV movies of the 1980s that were well done, there were the Hallmark movies of "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "Master of Ballantrae", both with Richard Thomas and "Ivanhoe" with James Mason.

The episode of "Miami Vice" with G Gordon Liddy and an all-Doors soundtrack.

HBO used to have a comedy about a football team called "1st and 10" that was trashy, had nudity and O J Simpson.

 

I used to love this show...

 

The cable shows I enjoyed back then were:

The Hitchhiker
Ray Bradbury Presents
Dream On
Double Trouble
Edison Twins
Down to Earth
The New Leave It Beaver
Mama's Family
Not Necessarily the News
Fraggle Rock
Danger Mouse
You Can't Do That On Television
Mysterious Cities of Gold

 

I was obsessed with You Can't Do That On Television. If you grew up in the 80's it was a rite of passage.

Is this worse than Small Wonder or is Small Wonder the worst TV show ever?

 

Man, I've had the theme song from that show stuck in my head for a few days... I haven't watched the show in over 20 years, strange.

 

The show is back on now. It comes on all the time, for good or for bad.

 

Twin Peaks ran from 1990 - 1991.