Dynasty
In the 80s the hottest hit show, Dallas, belonged to ABC’s competitor, CBS. With more than 300,000-million fans worldwide, it’s no wonder Dallas was a thorn in the side of ABC. Of course, the only thing ABC could do was find some way to compete. Their ace in the hole turned out to be CBS’s own hit show, Dynasty. If you were familiar with both of the shows, it didn’t take too long to figure out that CBS decided not to reinvent the...
Punky Brewster (1984 – 1986)
What memory do the following words inspire: mismatched sneakers, colorful bandanas, a rainbow colored bedroom, and pig tails? For a child of the 80s, they should instantly evoke images of Penelope “Punky” Brewster, the main character of the popular family sitcom Punky Brewster. Debuting on NBC in 1984, Punk Brewster was a funny light-hearted show about a sassy and spirited young girl played by Soleil Moon Frye who was abandoned by her...
ALF
It makes perfect sense, really. Combine a sarcastic furry alien who likes to eat cats, an average suburban family, and one destroyed planet and you end up with a television hit—in the 80s at least. That was certainly the case with the popular NBC family sitcom ALF which first aired on September 22, 1986 and ran until June 18, 1990. A spoof of the 1982 hit movie ET, the show ALF features Gordon Shumway, a 230 year old alien from the...
Fantasy Island
What show featured an exotic island located somewhere in the Pacific and a suave charismatic host who allowed his guests to live out their greatest fantasy? No, it wasn’t a popular reality show but rather ABC’s hit television show Fantasy Island which debuted in 1978 and continued to entertain viewers until 1984. Featuring Mr. Roarke, played by Ricardo Montalban, and his side-kick Tattoo the series was based on two made for television...
The A-Team, 1983
Who can forget this famous television voice over? “In 1972 a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire: THE A-TEAM.” NBC’s...
The Smurfs, 1981-1989
The little blue creatures known as the Smurfs first appeared in October of 1958, the creation of Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford (known as Peyo). However, it would take the 1980’s Saturday morning cartoon to launch them into stardom and cartoon history. The Hanna-Barbera cartoon ran on NBC Saturday morning cartoons from 1981 to 1989 and are a permanent part of 80s pop culture. I was a huge Smurfs fan much to the dismay of my...
Who Remembers the Matt Houston TV Show?
If you’re the heir of a multi-million-dollar oil fortune and you’re really into mystery and crime, what do you do? Fund your own private investigation career, of course! That’s exactly what the leading character, Matt Houston (played by Lee Horsley), did in this cheesy yet addictive 80s cult classic. Cheesy plots, bikini-clad actresses, hot (well, they used to be hot) guest stars and action and adventure effectively sum up the Matt...
Famous People of the 1980s: Dreamy Teen Heartthrobs on 80s TV
In the early 80s, while John Ritter was Jack Trippering his way into the hall of sitcom fame, other small-screen stars like Alan Alda and Erik Estrada were slowly tumbling down the charts after a wild ride in the late 70s. And even though Henry Winkler literally jumped the shark in 1977, Happy Days continued to ride the top 10 for several seasons into the 80s, then spun off the infamous Joanie Loves Chachi, catapulting Scott Baio into...
Who Shot J.R.?
The 80’s started with a bang – literally – and that bang was followed by a question that’s been immortalized in the history of television programming. “Who Shot J.R.?” If your Friday evening didn’t revolve around the infamous Dallas soap opera, you were either living in a cave or you didn’t own a television. After all, the show had more than 300-million fans. Everyone knew the oil-rich Ewings and most of us wanted to be them – no...
The Cosby Show
What may have been one of the most beloved shows of the 80s graced our television screens for the first time in 1984. The name of this funny and wholesome family show was The Cosby Show and we welcomed the Cosbys into our homes and hearts right from the start. If you didn’t watch The Cosby Show, you may think it was a show about the typical American family – and it was if the typical American family has an abundance of income, no...
The Love Boat, 1977-1986
Aaron Spelling was around long before Beverly Hills 90210 came to be. In fact, The Love Boat, one of the most popular shows of the 80s, was one of his other famous projects. The hour-long romance show was set on a cruise ship called the Pacific Princess and featured different sets of famous guest stars each and every week. Some of the guests were old favorites rarely seen on television and others were up-and-coming stars who went on...
