Classic TV 101: The 1980s

 

The 1980s was the last true classic TV decade. Which is not to say that television hasn’t introduced many brilliant shows in the 20 years since – only that the medium, and our relationship to it – has drastically changed.

Cable and satellite television added hundreds of viewing options to our TV menu. As a result, viewership for even the most celebrated shows has been greatly diminished. Series such as Mad Men, Game of Thrones, Girls and Breaking Bad are watched by about 10% of the people that watched the lowest-rated network shows in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s.

The introduction of the VCR, followed by TiVo, the DVR and programs streaming on Netflix and mobile apps, allow viewers to view programs whenever they like. So even if 10 million people watch The Walking Dead, they’re not all watching at the same time.

For better or worse, new channels and new technology have abolished the communal pop culture experience that television once provided.  That experience, to me, is what separates the classic TV era from our current TV age.

The times were already changing by the 1980s, but if you can't find your Betamax tapes here's a reminder of the best television of the decade.

Hill Street Blues

Though it was preceded by 30 years of cop shows, Hill Street Blues immediately looked and felt different from anything that had come before. The large, multiracial cast, the frank portrayals of sex and violence, the handheld camerawork that put viewers inside the Hill Street station, sometimes uncomfortably so, all seemed to represent a sea change in dramatic television. 

Cheers

The last great workplace comedy of the classic TV era (though Taxi would also get some votes) Cheers was lucky to survive a first season where it ranked at the bottom of the ratings. Once it found an audience the series lasted more than 10 years, gracefully adapting to multiple cast changes like no other show since M*A*S*H.

Moonlighting

Sardonic and self-referential, Moonlighting was a one-hour detective show that generated more laughs than a situation comedy. The easily-confused Television Academy steered all its Emmy nominations into the Drama category, though the series’ only real drama was whether costars Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd could coexist long enough to keep the magic fresh. They couldn’t, and it didn’t. But for three seasons Moonlighting was a masterpiece.  

Roseanne

Many of the best shows of the 1980s were created by the first generation to grow up with television. Roseanne Barr, raised on sitcoms like Leave it to Beaver and The Donna Reed Show, believed it was time for a less idealized take on family life. And that’s what she delivered, though her self-titled series lost its way in later seasons.

Miami Vice

“MTV cops” was the two-word pitch that allegedly sold this sun-drenched, pastel-colored series to NBC. Parts of Miami Vice are now as badly dated as Valley girl talk and Members Only jackets, but the slick visual style of executive producer Michael Mann and Jan Hammer’s scoring both left their imprint on the crime drama genre – you can see echoes of them in shows airing today. 

The Cosby Show

It’s surprising that it took this long for a family like the Huxtables to achieve mainstream acceptance. And it’s also regrettable that, without Bill Cosby’s cross-generational, cross-cultural appeal, we’ve seen no comparable heir to their success.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Most of us who remember the build-up to this sequel were pretty sure it wasn’t going to work. Even many of the hardcore Star Trek fans were ambiguous, concerned it might soil the legacy of Gene Roddenberry’s original classic. Instead, Star Trek: The Next Generation expanded and deepened the Trek universe, paving the way for three more series.

Newhart

The inspired final episode was one of TV’s most talked-about moments, but Newhart also earns a place on this list for updating the absurdist rural archetype established by Green Acres. Just like Eddie Albert’s Oliver Douglas, Newhart’s Dick Loudon was a sane man set adrift among lunatics. 

Thirtysomething

A love-it-or-hate-it show that divided generations almost as much as The Smothers Brothers, Thirtysomething was a series about baby boomer disillusionment. It struck a chord with viewers coping with the same family and career issues, but others were turned off by what they saw as self-absorbed navel-gazing. 

The Golden Girls

Building a show around four senior citizens was distinctive, but in every other way The Golden Girls was as traditional as comedies get. It holds up thanks to the steadfast expertise of three TV sitcom vets, and an unknown stage actress (Estelle Getty) who consistently trumped their punch lines. 

The Wonder Years

The music and the fashions and the Vietnam references set this coming-of-age series in a very specific time and place, but there was also something universal about the struggles of Kevin Arnold. One hundred years from now, adolescent boys will still identify with his sibling issues, school issues, and the agony and ecstasy of falling in love with the exquisite Winnie Cooper. 

St. Elsewhere

Before St. Elsewhere, hospital shows tended toward idealized depictions of doctors and nurses. The staff of St. Eligius would make Marcus Welby cringe, and the show itself never attracted much of an audience. Fortunately, this was a time in television when quality still counted, and NBC gutted out six low-rated but magnificent seasons. The last episode, unfortunately, was a self-indulgent misstep.

Night Court

No gimmicks, no breakthroughs, no landmark episodes – just superb comedy. Stay with it through an inconsistent first season – after that it’s all good, especially in the Markie Post years.

Designing Women

Both politically charged and politically incorrect, Designing Women was a showcase for Dixie Carter’s supercharged sermonizing, Delta Burke’s entitled cluelessness, and Jean Smart’s downhome charms. But when Burke and Smart leave, you should too. 

Married With Children

In the 1970s it was Soap that heralded the collapse of culture and civilization; in the 1980s that title passed to this series, one of the first on the then-new FOX network. It was comedy wielded like a blunt instrument, but it lasted ten years.

Extra Credit

For more ‘80s goodness, check out these shows as well:

Square Pegs

L.A. Law

Max Headroom

China Beach

Murphy Brown

Family Ties

Classic TV 101: The 1970s

 

Whenever necessary I will own up to my own personal biases. So in the interest of full disclosure I acknowledge that the 1970s is my favorite TV era. It’s certainly not the best or the most groundbreaking but it’s the one I grew up on. And I have always believed that the television shows you bond with in childhood are the ones that always stay closest to your heart.

Escapism reigned for much of the decade, with a profusion of forget-your-troubles-and-just-get-happy shows that helped viewers cope with gas lines, presidential scandals and leisure suits as fashion statements. Those seeking more serious fare embraced a new programming genre – the miniseries – that adapted great books and retold great moments in history with all-star casts.

How I wish I could justify the addition of The Magician, Harry-O, Switch, Eight is Enough and ElectraWoman and DynaGirl to the list of must-see 70s shows. But here’s a more objective list of the decade’s finest offerings.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

One of the best comedic ensembles ever assembled for a situation comedy, choreographed into consistent excellence by two masters of the form, James L. Brooks and Allan Burns. The show is as fresh and funny today as it was 40 years ago. 

Columbo

Peter Falk’s trenchcoat-clad police lieutenant, who annoyed suspects into confessions, was one of several characters featured in NBC’s Sunday Mystery Movie series. But while McCloud, McMillan and Wife and Hec Ramsey all had their moments, Columbo was the only one that earns a place alongside the creations of Poe and Conan Doyle in the annals of classic detective fiction.  

Saturday Night Live

While each generation grumbles about how SNL is not as funny as it used to be, the show itself continues to introduce at least 2-3 major comedy talents every few years. The original cast may still be untouchable, though inconsistency has always been part of the mix. But no other series has been as influential on American comedy – from John Belushi to Eddie Murphy to Phil Hartman (and from Gilda Radner to Tina Fey to Kristen Wiig).

Dallas

In the seventies there were several prime-time soap operas depicting the shady lifestyles of the rich and glamorous. Dallas was the most successful and the most entertaining. J.R. Ewing, played with grinning malevolence by Larry Hagman, was a villain for the ages – as demonstrated by his charismatic return in the series’ 2012 revival. 

M*A*S*H

M*A*S*H lasted so long – ten years and nearly 250 episodes – that fans debate which series era was better. Do you prefer the early years, which mimicked the impertinent tone of Robert Altman’s film, or the later, less outrageous seasons that reflected the input of star Alan Alda (who wrote and directed several episodes)? The final show still holds the record for most viewers, at more than 125 million.

All In the Family

The first of several Norman Lear-produced comedies that broke genre taboos, frankly discussed controversial issues and represented (for some) a bold step forward from the more innocent family sitcoms of an earlier age.

The Love Boat

Carefree escapism was a seventies TV staple, and no one delivered more of it than producer Aaron Spelling. The Love Boat was one of his most shallow and most successful concepts. It’s also worth another look for the golden age movie stars who staved off retirement with appearances on shows like this one, Fantasy Island and Hotel. Where else can you see Don Ameche and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. sailing alongside Jimmie Walker and Roz Kelly?

The Bob Newhart Show

No situation comedy explored the comic possibilities of the telephone and the elevator more than The Bob Newhart Show. Newhart’s dry delivery and Suzanne Pleshette’s sass anchored one of the decade’s top sitcoms. Plus, “Home to Emily” may be the era’s best instrumental TV theme. 

Roots

The ABC network was so nervous about how viewers would greet the ‘miniseries’ format, especially one that dealt with the harsh realities of slavery, that they aired all eight episodes on consecutive nights. The idea was to just get it over with quickly. Instead, America became enthralled with Roots. It drew 100 million viewers and became for a time the most watched and most honored dramatic show in television history.

Little House on the Prairie

Michael Landon was one of TV’s most beloved stars. While he also enjoyed long-running success in Bonanza and Highway to Heaven, Little House is his best TV work. Based on the classic books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, the series also introduced adorable half-pint Melissa Gilbert, and the delightfully wicked Nellie Oleson.

General Hospital

Soap operas were successful before and after the seventies, but General Hospital achieved the kind of pop culture prominence reserved for prime-time shows after introducing super-couple Luke and Laura, played by Tony Geary and Genie Francis. Their wedding was the most-watched daytime drama moment ever. 

Happy Days

Truth be told I don’t think this show holds up as well as other comedies from its era, but you can’t talk seventies television without paying due homage to The Fonz. For a few seasons, before he literally jumped the shark (introducing that phrase), Henry Winkler could stop the show with every entrance, every line reading and every thumbs-up. His leather jacket now hangs in the Smithsonian.

The Rockford Files

Beneath the glittering disco balls and superficial fads that flitted through 70s pop culture, there lingered a more sobering cynicism, spurred on by two events that served as decade bookends - Watergate and the Iran hostage crisis. Few shows tapped into that cynicism as entertainingly as The Rockford Files. No other TV detective ever received as little personal satisfaction or financial compensation for his work, suggesting that no matter how hard you try, you’re bound to fail in a system that’s rigged.

WKRP in Cincinnati

I’m not sure why this show seems to bubble just under confirmed “classic TV” status. Maybe it wasn’t on long enough. But I still can’t get through Thanksgiving without one reference to flying turkeys.

Charlie’s Angels

The first “jiggle TV” series, and the launching pad for the decade’s most famous and flawless face, Farrah Fawcett-Majors. The first three seasons offered pleasures besides cheesecake – Kate Jackson earned two Emmy nominations and almost made the Angels credible as investigators.  

Barney Miller

Barney Miller gets better with age. It’s been called TV’s only optimistic cop series, and that’s as good a description as any. Depicting real crime and real victims with humor requires a delicate balance, but at the 12^th Precinct it was all in a day’s work.

The Six Million Dollar Man

Though cell phones and iPads were still years away, technology began to play a larger role in our lives in the 1970s, and this was a series that suggested advancements once relegated to science fiction were coming closer to reality. Plus, more Farrah Fawcett, an illustrious spin-off series in The Bionic Woman, and Bigfoot!

Soap

This was one of the first shows that some took as the beginning of the end for western civilization. Watchdog groups protested and some ABC affiliates refused to carry the series, but Soap was never as decadent as its detractors claimed. Much of the controversy focused on Billy Crystal as Jodie Dallas, one of TV’s first gay characters.

Extra Credit

For more groovy Seventies classics, check out these shows:

The Partridge Family

Marcus Welby, M.D.

Three’s Company

Family

Starsky & Hutch

Maude

Next Week: The 1980s

Classic TV 101: The 1960s

 

The 1960s was a watershed decade for popular culture, particularly in music. But there were also signs of the changing times reflected in the television of the era.

Contrast the programming choices at the start of the decade, many of them holdovers from the more traditional 1950s, with the iconoclastic shows of 1968 and 1969. The disparity is much deeper than the change from black-and-white to color.

Sometimes it’s possible to notice the medium’s evolution within just one show – observe how Samantha Stephens’ outfits change from the first season of Bewitched (1964) to the last (1972). To paraphrase a popular advertising slogan from that era, she’s come a long way, baby.

These are the shows you should know from the 1960s.

The Andy Griffith Show

Sixties TV is evenly divided between shows that look back, and shows that look forward. The Andy Griffith Show is one of television’s most delightful backward glances – more than 40 years later and we still can’t get enough of the tranquil Mayberry lifestyle. 

Mission: Impossible

Television’s finest espionage series, particularly in its first three seasons when Martin Landau and Barbara Bain were part of the team. The propulsive Lalo Schifrin theme and Mr. Phelps’ self-destructing tape recorders left a permanent mark on popular culture. 

Peyton Place

A groundbreaking prime time soap opera (based on a once scandalous novel) that launched the careers of Ryan O’Neal and Mia Farrow. New shows were aired as often as three times a week, and fans still hope that all 500+ episodes will be released on DVD.

That Girl

This story of a young single girl in the big city reflected the changing times and the rise of feminism. Marlo Thomas’s character of struggling actress Ann Marie was a TV trailblazer that begat Mary Richards and Carrie Bradshaw. 

The Dick Van Dyke Show

Mixing sophisticated wordplay with inspired moments of slapstick silliness, The Dick Van Dyke Show was a near-perfect situation comedy that remains strikingly modern more than 50 years after its debut.

Star Trek

Star Trek, and it’s many subsequent TV and film incarnations, represents a vision of our future that might be achievable if we don’t screw it up. The Enterprise’s original five-year mission barely lasted three seasons but introduced a profusion of iconic characters, concepts and expressions. The series also inspired a then-unprecedented level of television series fandom, that didn’t truly kick in until after the show was canceled.

Bewitched

There were many sitcoms with fantasy elements in the Sixties (I Dream of Jeannie, My Favorite Martian, Mr. Ed). Bewitched was the best and the classiest of the bunch, and the only one with a subtext beyond its supernatural set-up. Was it really about TV’s first mixed marriage?

My Mother the Car

On the other end of the fantasy sitcom spectrum was this infamous disaster starring Jerry Van Dyke as a man whose mother is reincarnated as a 1928 Porter automobile. Treasure it the way bad movie fans love Plan 9 From Outer Space, as one of the medium’s preeminent punch lines. 

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

This youth-oriented variety series was on the front line of the cultural and generational conflicts of the Vietnam era. Tom and Dick Smothers and their writers (including Steve Martin) constantly pushed the envelope on provocative political humor, so much so that the series was pulled by conservative CBS executives despite respectable ratings.

Scooby Doo, Where Are You?

This Saturday morning staple was the first in a seemingly endless series of Hanna-Barbera cartoons pitting teenage friends against phony monsters and would-be world conquerors. It wasn’t brilliant television, but the premise was certainly durable – they’re still making new Scooby Doo adventures.

The Fugitive

As Dr. Richard Kimble, a pediatrician wrongly accused of killing his wife, David Janssen delivers one of the most poignant and nuanced performances on any program from any decade (so of course he never won an Emmy). The series’ final episode held the record for largest viewing audience until the resolution of Dallas’s “Who shot J.R.” cliffhanger. 

The Brady Bunch

If there is an official family sitcom of the Baby Boomer era, this is it. It’s far from the best written or performed representation of its genre, but its characters have been lovingly embraced by two generations of TV fans. This is one of the ultimate “Comfort TV” series. 

Candid Camera

Technically, Candid Camera debuted in 1948, and appeared sporadically on local stations and as a segment of network series throughout the 1950s. But it is mostly remembered for a 1960-1967 run, so it is listed here with the best of the sixties. The gags staged by host Allen Funt were remarkably inventive, without the streak of cruelty apparent in latter-day updates like Punk’d.

The Avengers

London had its own swinging sixties vibe, which provided the backdrop for this tongue-in-cheek secret agent series, one of the few British programs to crack a US prime time schedule. The chemistry and witty repartee  between Patrick Macnee (John Steed) and Diana Rigg (Emma Peel) has yet to rivaled, much less surpassed. 

The Carol Burnett Show

Though it’s now more closely associated with the 1970s, Carol Burnett’s classic variety series debuted in 1967. So many of the comedy sketches have passed into TV legend, but the show’s musical moments, now largely forgotten, were just as impressive.

Batman

Even with new superhero movies opening almost every month, there hasn’t been anything comparable to this inspired, deranged and altogether unique rendering of  the Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder.

Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In

A phenomenon in its day, and a peerless launching pad for future stars (Goldie Hawn, Arte Johnson, Lily Tomlin), Laugh-In introduced more memorable comedic characters and catchphrases than any other 1960s series. 

 

The Beverly Hillbillies

Paul Henning created three rural-themed sitcoms for CBS in the Sixties – The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres and Petticoat Junction. All of them are worth revisiting. Hillbillies was the most popular and the most polarizing. Some find it lowbrow humor at its worst, but others (like me) find the Clampetts irresistible.

The Outer Limits

Television’s first truly exceptional science-fiction series was hindered only by primitive special effects. But with scripts by Harlan Ellison and Joseph Stefano, and actors like Martin Sheen, Robert Culp, Leonard Nimoy, Martin Landau and Cliff Robertson, it was easier to imagine the show’s rubber-suited creatures as convincing metaphors for social injustice and the military-industrial complex.

The Monkees

American TV’s answer to A Hard Day’s Night proved far more successful, both artistically and musically, than anyone had a right to expect. The series was fresh and funny and made a pioneering contribution to music video. The Monkees’ music, once derided by some critics as corporate-driven and manufactured, has aged even more gracefully than the series.

Dark Shadows

A gothic daytime drama that added vampires, witches, werewolves, time travel and reanimated corpses into the usual mix of soapy afternoon romance and betrayal. Echoes of reluctant vampire Barnabas Collins, masterfully played by Jonathan Frid, can be perceived in nearly all of the vampire shows and movies of the past decade. 

Get Smart

An obvious gimmick – sending up James Bond – with a distinguished pedigree (Mel Brooks and Buck Henry served as creators) Get Smart was a giddy mix of dumb jokes and smart jokes, anchored by Don Adams’ matchless portrayal of Maxwell Smart. You can’t be a classic TV lover if you don’t cherish every appearance of the Cone of Silence. 

Julia

In Julia, Diahann Carroll became the first African-American woman to play a (non-domestic) lead role in a prime time series. With Greg Morris already on Mission: Impossible and Nichelle Nichols on Star Trek this wasn’t color-barrier breaking at the Jackie Robinson level, but it’s a progression of which TV fans should be aware.

Extra Credit

More 1960s standouts that deserve your attention:

The Flintstones

Monty Python’s Flying Circus

The Dean Martin Show

Honey West

The Defenders

The Patty Duke Show

Route 66

Next week: The 1970s

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