Henry and Matt at Brohans.com have compiled what they are absolutely, positively sure are the twenty greatest '80s television series ever. They are:
- Mr. Belvedere
- The Dukes of Hazzard
- Knight Rider
- Night Court
- ALF
- Perfect Strangers
- The Golden Girls
- Growing Pains
- Married ... with Children
- Who's the Boss?
- Magnum P.I.
- Doogie Howser, M.D.
- The Cosby Show
- The A-Team
- Miami Vice
- The Wonder Years
- MASH
- MacGyver
- Cheers
- Star Trek: The Next Generation
Out of this list, I only see four I would still watch today (MASH, Magnum P.I., Doogie Howser and The Wonder Years). Shows like Knight Rider, The A-Team, ALF and The Dukes of Hazzard were fun when I was a youngster, but they're essentially live-action cartoons. Okay, I'll watch them when I don't want to think too hard about what I'm watching, but those times are rare.
A lot of these shows seem confined to the decade in which they were created, with the exception of the ones I mentioned (and it's worth pointing out that two of those shows actually take place in earlier decades). The only two shows on the list I didn't watch were Miami Vice and Star Trek: The Next Generation, so I can't fairly judge either of them. At the time, I had an aversion to aliens and unshaven narcs. I've grown since then.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-26-2007 @ 3:19PM
Wild Bill said...
I hear you on the 80s shows being live-action cartoons. Night Court was such a cartoony show that Wily E. Coyote (yeah, that one) once made an appearance on it... as a cartoon.
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1-26-2007 @ 3:27PM
gail said...
Mr. Belvidere?!
please explain
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1-26-2007 @ 3:40PM
David said...
KHAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!
Yeah yeah wrong Star Trek but still. :)
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1-26-2007 @ 3:48PM
justin said...
only the first 13 episodes of Doogie Howser, M.D. broadcast in the 80s. the rest of season one and the show were in the 90s.
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1-26-2007 @ 4:18PM
Nick said...
Do "The Simpsons" count since they started in the eighties? And what about "Not Necessarily the News"? MASH suffered from losing its first season spunk. Should I be happy that neither "Diff'rent Strokes" or "The Facts of Life" appear on this list?
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1-26-2007 @ 4:20PM
WILL said...
Where is Family Ties?
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1-26-2007 @ 4:32PM
Angus M. said...
Sorry Adam, but A-Team and MacGyver still get me goin and The Cosby Show will always be one of my favorites. All in all, this list convinces me that I spent too much of my time in the '80s going to kindergarten and learning to read.
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1-26-2007 @ 4:44PM
ferley said...
What About Dallas?? Monk and Mindy 1978-82?? Empty Nest?? MASH was a 70's show it run 1972-1982 and by the 80's it was bad.
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1-26-2007 @ 4:49PM
Tanya said...
Yeah the Doogster was totally 90's but glad to see others appreciate it too! I have all the Dvd's!
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1-26-2007 @ 4:55PM
Tess Capra said...
That's definitely a guy's list. A chick's list would most likely include one of the following: *Remington Steele,* *Beauty and the Beast,* *Moonlighting,* or *Quantum Leap.*
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1-26-2007 @ 4:56PM
david said...
WHy the hell is the Wonder Years not on DVD yet? There has to be a reason. IT was too popular of a show not to be when retarded 1 season failures are put out right away. Its a crime.
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1-26-2007 @ 5:03PM
scott said...
david - easy answer: music licensing. i wouldn't count on ever seeing the wonder years on dvd.
no moonlighting?? and how was that a chick show? bruce fucking willis, man!!!
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1-26-2007 @ 5:26PM
mike said...
Henry and Matt need to step away from the bong.
Mr. Belvedere & The Dukes of Hazzard?!?! If you're currently 10 I can understand liking these shows. Once you hit adulthood though the only way you could rank them that high on the list is drugs.
I grew up with the Brady Bunch, and while the occasional viewing may take me back in time (and that in itself is somewhat enjoyable) I am under no delusion that it was a "great" show.
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1-26-2007 @ 6:02PM
David D said...
Why can't they just say "their 20 FAVORITE shows of the 80s?" Because how can you have a "greatest" list without "Hill Street Blues"?
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1-26-2007 @ 6:05PM
Toby OB said...
No 'St. Elsewhere'? Am I misreading this list or something?
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1-26-2007 @ 6:29PM
Adam said...
If you read their post, it's written tongue-in-cheek. They're well aware the list isn't definitive. :)
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1-27-2007 @ 1:39AM
Chris said...
No Dynasty
No Dallas
No Knots Landing
No Family Ties
No Pee Wee's Playhouse
No St. Elsewhere
No Moonlighting
No 227
No Designing Women
No L.A. Law
No Hill Street Blues
No Amen
No Facts of Life
No Falcon Crest
No A Different World
No Hunter
No Late Night with David Letterman
What kind of list of this? The Cosby Show should have been #1 anyway.
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1-27-2007 @ 3:16AM
misterblue said...
Since this list is missing 'Newhart', 'It's Your Move', 'Misfits of Science', 'Sledge Hammer!' and 'Police Squad!', it means nothing to me...
I also feel that Moonlighting, Greatest American Hero, Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, and Remington Steele are WAY under-appreciated...
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2-05-2007 @ 1:20AM
Michael C said...
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