VIDEOS: The Definitive Top 20 TV Shows From The 80s (With Videos).
By Henry and Matt.
The 80s were a great time for sitcoms and television in general. Don’t believe me? Ask Matt. Don’t believe him? Ask me (Henry).
So…what am I looking at here?
This is the unarguable list of top 20 80s TV shows.
Hey guys, how can you claim that this list is absolute?
We grew up in the 80s (and consequently, continued growing up throughout the 90s and through the present). We watched TV all the friggin time. The TV was like an uncle to us. The greatest uncle in the world.
Why only 20? Why not 80?
Because there were exactly 20 good shows in the 80s. We’re certain of it.
Without further ado…here are:
“The Greatest Definitive Sure-Fire Top Greatest TV Shows From The 80s.”
20. Mr. Belvedere
Mr. Belvedere was about an English housekeeper who works for a family in Pittsburgh. I liked Mr. Belvedere because he was always willing to help out. Whether the kids were having trouble with their schoolwork, the mom needed help in the kitchen, or the dad needed someone to help him dispose of the prostitute that he accidentally killed, Mr. Belvedere would always lend a hand.
19. The Dukes Of Hazzard
The Dukes had fast cars, hot girls, and didn’t care about the law. They fought the system like 2 modern day Robin Hoods. Every show was pretty much the same but I enjoyed the rebellious nature of it. They made a movie about the Dukes. All I remember is that Jessica Simpson is in it.
18. Knight Rider
Knight Rider starred David Hasselhoff as a man who rode around in a talking Trans Am and fought bad guys. This show was totally awesome, but it ended after only 4 seasons. Yeah, apparently the car was demanding too much money per episode. Hasselhoff recognized the greatness of the show and actually offered to take a pay cut, but the studio still couldn’t come up with enough money to meet the car’s demands. They tried doing the show with a talking Geo Prism, but it just wasn’t the same.
17. Night Court
Night Court was part of NBC’s powerful Thursday night line-up that included the Cosby Show, Family Ties and Cheers….can you say ratings monster? It wouldn’t reach total greatness until season four. That’s when the show hit its peak, and was at its brightest and funniest. John Larroquette is brilliant.
16. ALF
ALF is about an alien who ends up on earth and is taken in by a family who does their best to keep him hidden from everyone. ALF had decent success over here in the States, but he was way more popular overseas. They even made an ALF movie in Germany. This just proves my theory - Germans love David Hasselhoff…and they think ALF is pretty cool too.
15. Perfect Strangers
City boy Larry agrees to live with his country bred cousin in Chicago. They are the Abbott and Costello of the 80s. The greatest thing I learned from the show is the “Dance Of Joy.” The show was great until they moved out of the apartment and into the house with their girlfriends. Then the hilarity died and the show got cancelled.
14. The Golden Girls
This show was about a bunch of old ladies who lived together. Boring, right? Wrong. These ladies were old, but they had pizzazz. I definitely would’ve had sex with Blanche.
13. Growing Pains
The adventures of a family with a home psychologist business father and a journalist mother. This is where Leonardo DiCaprio made his debut. I’m also a big Alan Thicke fan. One thing to note is that Kirk Cameron made $50,000 dollars a week. He was a crazy character. I bet he still gets all the ladies.
12. Married…with Children
I think people loved Married..with Children because no matter how crappy your family seemed at times, it was 100 times better than the Bundys. Sure, your sister wasn’t as hot as Kelly, but most cultures frown upon having sex with your sister. I bet those West Virginians who watched the show wished that they had Kelly as a sister though.
11. Who’s The Boss?
A TV show about Tony Micelli, the housekeeper, Angela Bauer, the career-woman, their kids Samantha and Jonathon, and Mona, Angela’s man-crazy mother. I really enjoyed watching this family grow up. Especially Samantha. She ended up growing up to be Alyssa Milano.
10. Magnum P.I.
Magnum P.I. starred Tom Selleck as a private investigator who cruised around Hawaii in a Ferrari and privately investigated people. The show had a sucessful 8 year run, and Selleck tried to parlay that success into an adult film career. Unfortunately his fans just couldn’t picture him in another role, and Magnum P.E.N.I.S. was a failure at the box office.
09. Doogie Howser M.D.
Doogie Howser was the original blogger. He ended every episode with a little dialogue about the lessons he’s learned. What a pioneer! Oh yeah - He was also a kid doctor. Not so impressive.
8. The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show ruled the 80s TV rankings. It was the number one show in America from 1985 through 1990. Before The Cosby Show was created, Bill Cosby also had success with his cartoon Fat Albert, which ran for 12 years. It still amazes me that a show that was based on such a ridiculous premise (a fat kid having friends) could stay on the air that long.
07. The A-Team
Four Vietnam vets, framed for a crime they didn’t commit, help the innocent while on the run from the military. This show taught me that guns make you a man. The most important lesson? You don’t need a shirt as long as you have 40 lbs. of gold on your neck.
6. Miami Vice
This video isn’t of the Miami Vice intro. Instead, it’s a clip from the pilot episode and it features the awesome Phil Collins song “In the Air Tonight.” Contrary to popular urban legends, the song is not about Phil Collins seeing a man drown and another man refusing to help. It’s actually about Phil Collins seeing a man get attacked by killer bees, and being unable to help the man because Phil is allergic to bee stings. Seriously, just listen to the song.
05. The Wonder Years
Kevin Arnold recalls growing up during the 60’s; the turbulent social times make the transition from child to adult unusually interesting. It was a lot like my life growing up - minus the fun and girls. Kevin, the main character, had this dorky friend, Paul. I wonder what happened to him?
4. M*A*S*H
M*A*S*H was a show about an army hospital in the Korean War. I didn’t catch too many episodes because I hate Koreans and I hate war, but a lot of people seemed to enjoy the show. The final episode was viewed by 106 million Americans, a record number of viewers for a TV episode. That record still remains, and it probably won’t be broken until the series finale of Spongebob Squarepants.
03. Macgyver
Macgyver is a show about a super boyscout (who’s also good at physics and chemistry). Give him a match, a paperclip, and a pen. He will create the world’s most powerful rocket launcher with it. We got a chance to meet Macgyver once. It was at E3 and he had ladies all around him. They knew what’s up.
2. Cheers
What a great idea for a show - a bunch of people hanging out at the bar. My friends and I hang out at bars all the time, but we’ve never experienced any of the cool hijinks that they did at Cheers. Our hijinks consist mainly of drinking too much, getting shot down by girls, and the occasional vomit. Man, my life would make a lame TV show.
01. Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek is the adventures of a bunch of cool cats in space. A lot of people like Captain Picard or Data. My favorites were always Geordi LaForge and little Wesley Crusher. I’m a big fan Wil Wheaton!
Since we know you so well, you'll like this too:
Neatorama » Blog Archive » Top 20 TV Shows From The 80s. said,
January 18, 2007 @ 1:33 am
[…] See if you agree with them or not (and yes, one of my favorites low-brow series, Night Court, is included): Link [YouTube clips] - Thanks Henry! […]
Carrie said,
January 18, 2007 @ 3:42 am
What about Quantum Leap?
Nate said,
January 18, 2007 @ 9:08 am
I second Carrie on Quantum Leap. Other shows I might add: You Can’t Do That On Television and He-Man. Fantastic list! Too many great shows during the 80’s!
Sean said,
January 18, 2007 @ 9:20 am
What about “Small Wonder”?
BagOfNothing.com » “The Greatest Definitive Sure-Fire Top Greatest TV Shows From The 80s.” said,
January 18, 2007 @ 9:27 am
[…] Link […]
Craig said,
January 18, 2007 @ 9:39 am
Quantum Leap was a 90’s show, not an 80’s show.
Nate said,
January 18, 2007 @ 9:56 am
Quantum Leap started in 1989, so I suppose it can be considered still in the 80’s
Henry said,
January 18, 2007 @ 10:09 am
Quantum Leap is a sweet show. Dang. I forgot that one. It could’ve probably taken Mr. Belvedere’s spot.
Sean: I had Small Wonder in the bookmarks but it got cut.
Jeff said,
January 18, 2007 @ 10:27 am
Great list - but where’s “Facts of Life”?!?
Lisa Welchel was the preppie hotness.
Jurgen said,
January 18, 2007 @ 10:48 am
No Family Ties!?
Jim said,
January 18, 2007 @ 10:48 am
you missed a good show with mash.. even thought it was sent during the Korean War.. it was the first hospital show out there. MASH stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. and it was funny and it was about the doctors there.. they did not show any fighting and hardy any Koreans.. it is on reruns are on cable you should watch
Fred Fredenheimer said,
January 18, 2007 @ 3:43 pm
Three words. HILL. STREET. BLUES.
March said,
January 18, 2007 @ 5:47 pm
One of my favorites, wish it was in syndication, was “Tales of the Gold Monkey”. Exotic location, Nazi spies, dog with an eye patch. It had it all.
Matt said,
January 18, 2007 @ 6:26 pm
FACTS OF LIFE, DIFFRN’T STROKES, and GIMME A BREAK
YALL ARE RACIST AND FATTIST (NELL CARTER)
Chaz said,
January 18, 2007 @ 7:32 pm
How could you not recognize the brilliance that was,(and thankfully is again on my channel 3-back to back episodes no less…) MAMA’S FAMILY…???
Chris B. said,
January 18, 2007 @ 10:06 pm
You Bastards forgot Manimal!
Nate said,
January 18, 2007 @ 11:06 pm
Ok, I totally forgot about Small Wonder! Ok talking with some other people at work about this and we came up with two more: V (remember the aliens that ripped off their skins and were really lizard people?) and Airwolf.
Henry said,
January 18, 2007 @ 11:47 pm
We didn’t get manimal, airwolf, or V but we did have facts of life, gimme a break, and different strokes in our candidates. they simply got cut.
I wasn’t a fan of Hill Street Blues. Of course my age was still in the single digits at that time so my interests were somewhat different back then…
Bearded Jon said,
January 19, 2007 @ 12:09 am
There are a couple shows I can think of that I can’t remember the name of.
One was about a computer generated guy with a Delorian (I think) and a sidekick that was a computer bit named, er, Bit but I don’t remember the name of the show, just that the car had awesome cornering ability.
The other one had Tom Hanks as a desk clerk of a remote hotel. Kinda like Bob Newhart’s last show but 15 years earlier. That one might have been in 1979 though.
Maybe you should post a list of the 80 other 80 shows that didn’t make the top 20.
Henry said,
January 19, 2007 @ 12:18 am
Bearded Jon: The Tom Hanks one was called “Bosum Buddies.” It was way ahead of its time.
I wanted to make an honorable mentions section but it was easier not to.
Appelogen » Brohans’ top 20 van tv-series uit de jaren ‘80 said,
January 19, 2007 @ 4:06 am
[…] Henry en Matt van Brohans hebben de, volgens hen, definitieve top 20 gemaakt van tv-series uit de jaren ‘80. Ik pik er de leukste uit: […]
Phil said,
January 19, 2007 @ 9:01 am
Star Trek :TNG is number one? You didn’t have many friends in the 80’s, did you?
Byron said,
January 19, 2007 @ 2:13 pm
Isnt paul from the wonder years marilyn manson?
Gabriel said,
January 21, 2007 @ 2:23 am
Bearded Jon, that show was called “Automan”, and it had a Lamborghini Countach, not a Delorean (that’s “Back To The Future”). It only lasted 12 episodes, but it was at least 8 kinds of awesome.
Zombo said,
January 21, 2007 @ 1:05 pm
What about Buck Rogers? Erin Gray was so smokin’ in that show!
TVSeriesFinale.com said,
January 25, 2007 @ 11:03 pm
I can think of a few others but overall your list has a nice mix.
thatstv.com » Blog Archive » Top 20 ’80s TV shows by Brohans.com said,
January 27, 2007 @ 9:33 am
[…] Henry and Matt at Brohans.com have compiled what they are absolutely, positively sure are the twenty greatest ’80s television series ever. They are: […]
The 80s Club - All things 1980s from b5media said,
January 28, 2007 @ 12:37 am
[…] Over at Brohans.com, there is compiled a list of the top 20 shows of the 1980s. While they do include the first shows that I thought of offhand, (Growing Pains, The Cosby Show, Cheers, etc.), there are a few notable absences. No Family Ties? No Dallas? Hill Street Blues? And, really, did they not think of Pee-wee’s Playhouse? (Okay, so I’m joking on that one.) […]
:: The World’s Greatest Wrestling Fan said,
February 27, 2007 @ 9:01 am
[…] check out Brohans, where I snatched it from. The site is STOCK FULL of awesome clips like the top 20 TV shows of the 80s. You Shall Like It Very […]
moses said,
March 15, 2007 @ 7:27 pm
A good list overall, but TNG cannot be the number one show. A lot of people will remember where they were for the final episode of MASH, but how many know where they were when Farpoint was encountered? I love TNG, but it didnt really peak until the 90’s and certainly cannot be put ahead of shows like the Cosby show and MASH.
redballooon said,
March 21, 2007 @ 7:41 pm
*clears throat* 21 JUMP STREET. come on now! undercover high school dramarama. it’s too good to pass up.
what about the top 10 sitcoms of all time? some might even add 30 rock, as green as it may be…
http://www.culturecloud.com/Articles/00002206/TOP_10_SITCOMS_OF_AL.aspx
kabababrubarta said,
March 26, 2007 @ 7:25 pm
Cool! kabababrubarta
The Bogus Doctor said,
May 7, 2007 @ 10:30 am
Loved the chart. That Doogie Howser…Kids, eh?
Jen said,
May 18, 2007 @ 4:50 pm
What about Hunter?