1980's TV Shows

All it took was mentioning the theme song and I can suddenly remember it again.

In the late 80s, it seemed like anytime I turned the TV on and flipped through the channels I'd find one showing Small Wonder (or the Munsters remake).

 

21 Jump Street. Johnny Depp driving around in his 67 Mustang. I emulated his stringy, oily hairstyle around that time. Guess he was showing his acting range in one episode where he was undercover as a cholo, complete with hair net and barrio language.

Hunter. OK cop show, starring Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Washer, I mean Kramer. That was my dad's joke from a long time ago which still makes me laugh to this day.

 

Here's ten of my faves in roughly chronological order, and with brief commentary:

1. Star Blazers - more 70's really, but I mostly saw this Japanime classic during the early 80's
2. Cosmos - brilliant science-fact series
3. The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy - brilliant science-fiction series
4. Night Flight - a total grab bag of late night wonders, far more interesting than Letterman or The Tonight Show
5. Electric Blue - umm, you needed cable for this!
6. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - basically a cartoon version of "The Beastmaster"; cheesy, but loads of fun
7. Bodies in Motion - Gilad's great! I also watched "The 20 Minute Workout" but never quite got into Jane Fonda's aerobics
8. Pee-Wee's Playhouse - surreal children's programming cool enough for adults (and teens like myself at the time)
9. Max Headroom - a way too short-lived series that had much to say about the media (perhaps too much!)
10. Married...With Children - this, along with Roseanne and a little later The Simpsons, is where I'd say the 90's started to emerge

 

it's your move staring Mr. Jason Bateman

 

Indeed, let us not forget THE TWILIGHT ZONE, 80s version. It ran on CBS for two years and then one in first-run syndication to make the series more attractive to local stations. Just as the 60's version was a product of its time, so was the 80s TWILIGHT ZONE.

It was the first dramatic TV series to film on film and then process entirely on video. That's not much to brag about these days as the series is now mired forever in a mushy SD version. Still, it's good to have the entire series on DVD.

Harry

 

I haven't read through the entire thread, but I doubt it's been mentioned. From 1984 to 1989 Showtime Channel had a comedy series called "Brothers". It was one of THE first to address the topic of gay and lesbian topics. It was a great show. I've always waited for it to show up in its best quality. Nobody seems to talk about it. It's like it was never on. It deserves much more attention, IMO. (Not to be confused with the 2009 FOX TV series.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_(TV_series)

 

Back in the '80s I watched pretty much nothing but PBS, plus a few others like St Elsewhere (I'm one that hated the ending). Some that still stand clear in my mind are:
Flame Trees of Thika
Brideshead Revisted
Upstairs/Downstairs
and at the very end (really more of a 90s show) Poirot with David Suchet (absolutely born for the part)
I also watched Nova and Nature, Crocket's Victory Garden (just Victory Garden after Crocket died), This Old House, and so many others.

Sadly, PBS has largely lost me as a viewer. I still watch some Nova, I sometimes watch Antique Roadshow (American Version) and a couple others here and there, but I don't even have it as one of my favorite channels anymore because it is so rare that I find anything. Sadly, most of it seems to be directed to the baby boomers 10 years older than me and more and is more of a "get help for yourself" network than Oprah's...

 

Am I the only one sick enough to remember this one -- "Raising Miranda"?!!



"Breaking Bad" fans take note!

 

How could I forget that on my '80s PBS List! Plus back in the '70s we had Monty Python that way. Also, starting in the 80s and on PBS was Red Dwarf -- which is still my favorite comedy of all time... the episode Psirens makes me laugh just thinking about it.

Also going back to starting in the 70s and ending in the early 80s and my second favorite comedy -- WKRP (as god is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!). I understand a new boxed set has come out that has almost all of the original music, unlike the first DVD. Haven't checked it out but when I do, I'm going to be bummed if Jennifer's doorbell is still changed.

 

I don't recall this show at all. Part of the problem was the Showtime just wasn't very popular - most people with premium channels had HBO and a few had Cinemax. I don't remember anyone that had Showtime.

 

This would explain why it's never seen daylight since it was first aired. A damn shame. The critics at IMDb.com give it an 8.0 rating. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086677/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_17