10 TV Shows That Defined the (My) 80’s

Acid washed jeans, big hair and pastel colored clothing were all hallmarks of the 1980’s and I remember them well. It’s been over 20 years and I still smell the Polo cologne. We had Ronald Reagan, music videos on MTV and a dissipating fear of the Soviet Union. And through it all was (in my humble opinion) the greatest era in television programming.  Although family sitcoms started in the 60’s, they hit their peak in the 80’s, showing us it was okay to have a screwed up family life as long as you could laugh at it. It also brought in the golden age of prime time soap operas (dramas), showing us that it was okay to have a screwed up family, as long as you got rich doing it (I’m looking at you, J.R.) But there were a few that shone a little brighter, stood a little taller and makes for good Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime binge watching on rainy weekends. These are the results of an in-depth survey created and taken by only me, so your opinions may vary. Oh yeah, also in no particular order…

• Star Trek: The Next Generation – My first real foray into the Roddenberry universe as I was a little too young to appreciate the original series. It gave hope that not only would we survive as a species, but thrive and prosper as well. We would someday wander the stars and meet alien life forms that not only looked like us, but spoke English too!
• Miami Vice – Cops that looked good, drove awesome cars, played great music and even busted bad guys from time to time. It also brought the (quite real) ongoing going fight against illegal drugs to our living rooms and our consciousness. My strongest memory? Ferraris and pastels.
• Cheers – A sitcom about a different kind of family; your friends at the bar. It made fun of just about everything; relationships, pretentiousness, drinking… It’s funny, as much as they drank, you rarely saw anyone totally tanked. Definitely one of the funniest shows of all time. Norm!
• Roseanne – Almost an “anti-family” sitcom, this show struck a chord with millions of lower- to middle-class Americans. Roseanne made fun of everything, especially her husband and children but there was an underlying love you couldn’t deny. In today’s terms: “Roseanne kept it real.” And real freakin’ funny, too.
• The Love Boat – A cruise ship with a wacky crew and a plethora of “used to be famous” stars every week. The weekly theme was almost always finding or rekindling love. That and “what’s that goofy ship’s purser Gopher and his nutty-buddy bartender Oscar gonna do this week?” Hilarity ensued. It made me want to live on a cruise ship. And I still do.
• Moonlighting – a young Bruce Willis cracking you up and Cybil Sheppard in soft lighting, this was a different kind of show. A romantic/private investigator/comedy, it hit on a lot of different levels. And it helped my pass my “Taming of the Shrew” exam in high school (by far the best episode.)
• Dallas – An extended family screwing each other over for money and power, Dallas was a staple in our household every Friday night. Funny story, when I was 9, my mother bought me a t-shirt that said “I Shot J.R.” My favorite shirt all summer, until we all found out the shooter was a girl (woman). I never wore it again.
• The Golden Girls – Four extremely funny old ladies joking about sex, retirement, sex, getting old, sex, the warm Miami climate, and sex. Simple and ingenious. I still watch the re-runs today and laugh just as much. And Betty White rules.
• Fantasy Island – Everyone remembers “De Plane, de plane,” it meant another hour of Ricardo Montalban and Hervé Villechaize educating their weekly guests that they should be careful what they wish for. I always wanted to go and even called and asked a travel agent where I could get tickets (true story.) Seriously, was there anyone cooler that Mr. Roarke?
• Magnum PI – Speaking of moustaches (oh, we weren’t? Anyway), Tom Selleck inspired me to start growing my own in 8^th grade. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Hawaii, Ferrari, mansion, beautiful bikini-clad women, and always a mystery to solve.  Ah, the life of a private investigator.

This is a short list (there could have been another 50 shows on it), but if you have any I left out, leave a comment below.