In the 1980s, TV began to transition from being undervalued as a form of popular entertainment to a platform that rivaled cinema in producing works of great substance, depth, and artistic vision. Things generally weren’t yet of the caliber of prestige TV shows at the turn of the millennium, or today’s streaming masterpieces, but the foundations were being laid.
Some particularly underrated 1980s TV shows deserve far more credit than they tend to receive, for blazing a trail for more celebrated series in their genres, and raising the bar for television as a whole. Too many small-screen classics from the ‘80s have been forgotten today, as we’re handed down a caricature of the decade’s televisual output.
Today, we think of 1980s TV shows in terms of their iconic characters, larger-than-life figures who’d been too cartoonish to work in contemporary series. But they were also about innovating and subverting genres, setting new standards of visual storytelling, and incorporating the cinematic techniques of New Hollywood into TV production.
10
Benson
1979–1986
A spinoff from the landmark 1970s sitcom Soap, Benson is more nuanced and sophisticated than its forerunner in some respects, especially when it comes to its title character. Played by Robert Guillaume, who’d later feature in the cast of Cosby Show spinoff A Different World, Benson is no longer just the quick-witted butler he was in Soap.
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He holds more authority in the household of his new employer, Governor Eugene X. Gatling, and there are political implications to his position. Besides the progression of Benson’s career during the course of the show, it’s the razor-sharp barbs he trades with Gatling’s housekeeper, Kraus, that really sets it apart from other sitcoms.
9
Voyagers!
1982–1983
The list of TV’s best time travel shows could fill several pages if we were to include every worthy contender, but one which all too often gets unfairly excluded is James D. Parriott’s Voyagers!. This entertaining journey through history with Phineas Bogg and his young friend Jeffrey Jones only lasts 20 episodes, but it still manages to traverse several millennia.
Each episode features a different period of the past, but all of them are equally fun. A little more educational than Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, but somewhat less dazzling than Back to the Future, Voyagers! Wonderfully engaging and doesn’t take itself too seriously, while making the most of the late Jon-Erik Hexum’s charismatic screen presence.
8
Inspector Gadget
1982–1985
Inspector Gadget was once a Saturday morning obsession for kids in the 1980s, but this classic cartoon has now all but disappeared from view. Perhaps it was the poorly-made live-action movie adaptation starring Matthew Broderick that set it back, but the original show deserves far more attention than it currently gets.
The fact that Inspector Gadget is a complete buffoon who only ever catches the villain by accident makes the show even funnier.
The titular robotically-enhanced police inspector ought to be one of the coolest children’s TV characters ever created, given his awesome catchphrase and the endless array of gadgets he can call upon. The fact that he’s also a complete buffoon who only ever catches the villain by accident makes the show even funnier, and a clever subversion of police detective tropes.
7
The Greatest American Hero
1981–1983
The Greatest American Hero
- Release Date
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1981 – 1983
- Directors
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Ivan Dixon, Rod Holcomb, Bruce Kessler, Gabrielle Beaumont, Robert C. Thompson, Chuck Bowman, Lawrence Doheny, Sidney Hayers, Christian I. Nyby II
- Writers
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Frank Lupo, Babs Greyhosky, Juanita Bartlett, Robert Culp
Long before The Boys and other TV shows parodying superheroes came into existence, there was The Greatest American Hero, an affectionate send-up of the entire sci-fi genre. It centers on a school teacher endowed with superpowers following an alien encounter, who fights crime alongside an FBI special agent at the same time as going through a divorce.
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Despite its occasionally patchy storytelling, the show has an ingenious premise and is uproariously funny at its best. Based on recent TV trends, it was at least three decades ahead of its time, too.
6
Crime Story
1986–1988
As 1980s crime dramas go, Crime Story stands well apart from the rest, as a visually resplendent and soaringly ambitious portrayal of police investigations of organized crime. Prefiguring epic period mobster series such as Boardwalk Empire and Peaky Blinders, the show perhaps aims higher than it can reach.
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Yet, it’s still a cut above the ‘80s crime shows that didn’t aim at all, and deserves to be recognized as one of the prototypes for the genre’s best modern iterations. What’s more, Crime Story is still an engrossing watch on its own terms.
5
The Young Ones
1982–1984
The Young Ones exploded onto British TV screens in the early 1980s, and lasted about as long as the social movements it lampoons, but left its own indelible mark on comedy. The sitcom’s motley crew of punks, hippies, and student revolutionaries is only half as unruly as its anarchic brand of humor.
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Few UK sitcoms are more worthy watches than this forgotten classic, which influenced entire generations of comedians that came after it. With Ben Elton, American movie writer Lise Mayer, and the late, great Rik Mayall on script duties, it’s no wonder The Young Ones is chock-full of timeless hilarity.
4
Moonlighting
1985–1989
The detective series that turned Bruce Willis into a star is completely unknown to most viewers today, despite being a compelling comedy-drama series in its own right. Moonlighting can be streamed on Hulu, but it doesn’t get a fraction of the attention its winning matchup of Willis and Cybill Shepherd warrants.
It’s a crime show on a different plane from its ‘80s peers in terms of snappy dialogue and the screen chemistry of its leads. Alongside the output of crime series currently being released across various streaming platforms, Moonlighting doesn’t feel a bit out of place.
3
China Beach
1988–1991
One of the darkest TV shows ever made about war, China Beach introduced a whole different aspect of serving in Vietnam to public consciousness. Set mostly at a U.S. Army rest and recuperation facility, the series addresses the horrors of war from the point of view of soldiers and medics coming to terms with the physical and psychological traumas they’ve suffered.
China Beach is inspired by the memoir Home Before Morning by U.S. Army nurse Lynda Van Devanter.
With stunning cinematography and extraordinary performances, China Beach is a military drama that’s still almost without equal, even today. Band of Brothers and its sequels get an enormous amount of praise, and rightfully so. But this four-season series is just as powerful in its own way.
2
Hill Street Blues
1981–1987
One of television’s first great works of art, Hill Street Blues is the perfect crime drama. Gripping storylines, captivating characterization, cutting-edge production, and even a great theme song combine to make this show a forgotten masterpiece of the 1980s.
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Hill Street Blues was among the first genre TV shows to involve single storylines spread out across multiple episodes. It was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the televisual language of crime drama series today, and more than holds its own against pretty much all of them.
1
Second City Television
1976–1984
SCTV
- Release Date
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1976 – 1984-00-00
- Network
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NBC, CBC Television, Global TV, Super Channel, Cinemax
- Directors
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George Bloomfield
-
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Joe Flaherty
Self – Special Guest Star
A Canadian comedy series that made its U.S. network debut on NBC in 1981, Second City Television challenged Saturday Night Live in its first golden age for the small-screen comedy crown. Some of the most famous alumni from Chicago’s Second City comedy theatre, including John Candy, Eugene Levy, and Catherine O’Hara, made their names on SCTV, not SNL.
This is a series which needs to be placed alongside the very best that SNL had to offer.
Yet the latter is lauded as the legendary institution of television comedy, whereas SCTV has been all but forgotten. Looking back on the show’s greatest sketches and ingenious meta setup as a fictional TV network, however, it’s clear that this is a series which needs to be placed alongside the very best that SNL had to offer in the ‘80s.
