The Best Of 80's TV

Alf

The Alf TV show was a 30 minute fantasy/comedy series on NBC about a big-mouthed, furry, arrogant alien who came from the planet Melmac and landed on Earth by crashing into a garage. The owners allowed him to live with them as long as he promised to stay hidden from the rest of Earth's inhabitants. They called him Alf which stood for "Alien Life Form" and constantly had to help him out of one bad situation after another.

Cagney And Lacey

The Cagney And Lacey TV show was a 60 minute police drama series on CBS about a two female detective team. One had a firm approach to their jobs and the other was more calm and understanding. This made it possible for them to help each other in the various situations they encountered on the job and in their personal lives.

Knight Rider

The Knight Rider TV show was a 60 minute action/sci-fi series on NBC about a police detective who was ambushed during a stake-out. His department believed that he had been killed but, in actuality, he survived being shot in the face and through plastic surgery had been given a new identity. A billionaire armed him with a futuristic car named K.I.T.T. with an artificial intelligence personality. It was fully armored, had x-ray sensors, flame-throwers, smoke bombs, a super sense of smell and could achieve speeds of more than 300 miles per hour! Together, he and K.I.T.T. fight against evil criminals on this terrific TV show.

Moonlighting

Moonlighting was a 60 minute detective comedy series on ABC about a highly successful fashion model whose investment manager took off to South America with all of her money. She was left with only a house and an unprofitable detective agency. After initially deciding to sell the agency to raise much needed cash, the only working detective at the agency somehow talked her into coming on board as the new boss. The plotlines centered around Maddie's ability (or inability) to deal with the scum that they had to deal with like thieves, cheating husbands, embezzlers, etc. The obvious animal attraction between Maddie and David was also a main theme.

Mr. Belvedere

The Mr. Belvedere TV show was a 30 minute family comedy series on ABC about the perfect English butler who became a maid, cook, cleaning person, and nanny for a typical middle-class American family. While they obviously cared for each other, the conflict between the way that the "stiff upper lip" butler and the "not so structured" Owen family presented lots of opportunity for funny situations.

A-Team

The A-Team TV show was an 60 minute action series on NBC about four Vietnam veterans who were ordered by their superior officers to rob the Bank of Hanoi. When things went awry and they were caught, the superiors disavowed an knowledge of their actions and the veterans were sent to military prison. After escaping, they hired themselves out as soldiers of fortune for any good people being oppressed or wronged by someone. Against impossible odds, the A-Team always managed to "right the wrongs" while managing to stay just one step ahead of the law.

Golden Girls

The Golden Girls TV show was a 30 minute situation comedy series on NBC set in Miami Beach, Florida where four women lived together. They were best friends but as with any group of people sharing a place to live, they also got on each other's nerves. Many middle-aged issues were dealt with such as dating, losing a spouse and dealing with ex-spouses.

21 Jump Street

The 21 Jump Street TV show was a police drama series on the FOX Network for its first four seasons and in syndication for the final season. It was about a squad of undercover police officers. What set this show apart from others was the fact that the officers were all youthfull looking enough to pass for high school or college students. This allowed them to investigate crimes like date rape, parental abuse, school violence, teenage drug usage and others where an older looking officer would never be able to fit into the crowd.

Newhart

The Newhart TV show was a 30 minute comedy series on CBS about a Vermont Innkeeper, his wife, and their kooky band of friends and acquaintances.

Growing Pains

Growing Pains was a 30 minute family comedy series on ABC. The Seaver family was headed by a father who worked in a home office as a psychologist and a mother who was a newpaper reporter. Their 15-year-old son Mike was mostly into having good times which resulted in his often finding trouble. He cared less about petty things like school work! Their 14-year-old daughter Carol was the complete opposite of her older brother. She had a very "reserved" personality and would much rather study for an exam than waste her time going to parties. The youngest child was 9-year-old Ben who, to his parents dismay, worshiped every move his older brother Mike made. Growing Pains episodes pretty much featured storylines about common problems between parents and their children and between siblings with a few serious social issue episodes sprinkled in for good measure.

Empty Nest

The Empty Nest TV show was a 30 minute comedy series on NBC about a widowed doctor with two grown daughters who move back in with him after their marriages failed.

Remington Steele

Remington Steele was 60 minute crime drama series on NBC about an attractive, intelligent woman who opens her own detective agency and finds that no customers will hire a female detective. In order to "fix" her problem, she renamed her agency from "Laura Holt Investigations" to "Remington Steele Investigations" and told everyone that she works for a mythical "Mr. Steele". Although her business picks up dramatically, all of her clients eventually want to meet her employer (who doesn't exist). As the pressure is building beyond her ability to deal with it, she meets a handsome man with just the right amount of class to play the part of Remington Steele. He convinces her to make him her partner and the story begins.

Miami Vice

The Miami Vice TV show was a 60 minute drama series on NBC about two cops working through the Miami Metro-Dade Police Department's Vice division. They sought out criminals predominantly in prostitution and the trading of drugs and illegal firearms. The TV show was known for its fast-paced action and its terrific musical scores.

Falcon Crest

The Falcon Crest TV show was a 60 minute prime-time soap opera drama series on CBS about two vineyard owning families in California that are vicious enemies. One family is led by Angela Channing (Jane Wyman) and the other by her nephew Chase Gioberti (Robert Foxworth). Angela's Falcon Crest vineyards were huge but it wasn't enough to satisfy her greed. She felt that Chase should not have inherited his small 50 acres of vineyards from her brother. She wanted that too! Chase, on the other hand, was a wonderfull person who went out of his way to protect others from his aunt's visious ways. In his position as a county supervisor, he was able to stop her many schemes to ruin other people's lives to enrich herself. Of course, that just made her that much more determined to ruin Chase!

Punky Brewster

The Punky Brewster TV show was a 30 minute comedy series that aired on NBC for its first two seasons and then in syndication for the final two seasons. It was about a little girl whose father walked out on the family and then her mother abandoned her along with her dog Brandon in a Chicago area shopping center. The girl and her dog took refuge in an empty apartment but was ultimately discovered and sent to an orphanage. Luckily, the manager of the building where she was found took a liking to her and fought diligently to become her foster father. While she still had to struggle with losing her parents, Punky moved on with her life making new friends and growing closer and closer to her new dad.

Quantum Leap

Quantum Leap was a 60 minute sci-fi series on NBC about Dr. Sam Beckett, a scientist who has lead a project to build a time machine. When he's threatened with losing his funding for the project, Sam decides to try using the untested machine himself. The experiment works in that Sam is sent into the past. He finds, however, that his mind is inside someone else's body and he can't remember who he really is or how he got there. His only contact with the present is through Al Calavicci who can only appear in the past as a holographic projection.

Dynasty

Dynasty was a 60 minute drama series on ABC and a prime-time soap. A wealthy family (The Carringtons) living in Denver, Colorado, fight over their fortune earned from an oil company or they fight about just about anything else you can think of for the first season. Then, beginning in the second season, Alexis, the owner of a rival oil company joins the cast and the fighting continues between her and the Carringtons. Of course, there's also a lot of lusty lovin' that goes on!

Doogie Howser

The Doogie Howser TV show was a 30 minute comedy series on ABC about a teenager with an extremely high IQ. He graduated from medical school at age 14, becoming a very young doctor. The series mainly focused on his challenges in taking on so much responsibility so young in life and, at the same time, trying to be a normal teenager.

Mama's Family

The Mama's Family TV show was a 30 minute comedy series that aired on NBC for its first two seasons and in syndication for another four. It was about an old woman who did love her family, but due to her cantankerous ways, she seldom showed it. She disapproved of just about everything her children did and their treatment was nothing compared to that she gave to her daughter-in-law! The only person who was usually safe from her scoldings was her grandson who she adored. Everyone else though had to watch their every move around Mama!

Who's The Boss

Who's The Boss was a 30 minute family comedy series on ABC about an ex major-leager working as a housekeeper for a woman executive. They both had children and they all lived together in the lady executive's home. While there were occasional conflicts between the "Jock" and the lady that rules the roost, they all eventually became one big happy household. There was also a lot of potential romance between the two during Who's The Boss which was fun to watch but 'mostly' stayed plutonic. It was also fun watching the kids grow up over the eight-year run!

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