1980s American TV.
A list of shows from the days when American TV was still entertaining. Classic escapism!
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- CreatorStephen J. CannellFrank LupoStarsGeorge PeppardMr. TDwight SchultzFour Vietnam vets, framed for a crime they didn't commit, help the innocent while on the run from the military.The ideal escapism.
- CreatorGlen A. LarsonStarsDavid HasselhoffEdward MulhareRichard BasehartA lone crimefighter battles the forces of evil with the help of a virtually indestructible and artificially intelligent supercar.K.I.T.T was THE ultimate car back then.
- CreatorRichard LindheimMichael SloanStarsEdward WoodwardKeith SzarabajkaRobert LansingA retired Intelligence Agent turned private detective helps various threatened clients to equalize the odds.Edward Woodward is effectively cast.
- CreatorDonald P. BellisarioGlen A. LarsonStarsTom SelleckJohn HillermanRoger E. MosleyThe adventures of a Hawaii-based private investigator.
- CreatorL. Travis ClarkSteve DuncanStarsTerence KnoxStephen CaffreyTony BeckerThe trials of a U.S. Army platoon serving in the field during the Vietnam War.
- CreatorCarol BlackNeal MarlensStarsFred SavageDan LauriaAlley MillsKevin Arnold recalls growing up during the late 60s and early 70s; the turbulent social times make the transition from child to adult unusually interesting.
- CreatorDonald P. BellisarioStarsJan-Michael VincentAlex CordErnest BorgnineAs part of a deal with an intelligence agency to look for his missing brother, a renegade pilot goes on missions with an advanced battle helicopter.
- CreatorDonald P. BellisarioStarsScott BakulaDean StockwellDeborah PrattDuring an experiment into time travel, a scientist finds himself trapped in the past, "leaping" into the lives of different people, sorting out their problems and changing history in hopes of getting back to his own life in the present.
- CreatorPaul M. BelousRobert WolterstorffBruce LansburyStarsRex SmithRichard VentureJoe RegalbutoA desk bound cop secretly fights crime as the test pilot for a prototype combat motorcycle.
- CreatorKenneth JohnsonStarsGary GrahamEric PierpointMichele ScarabelliIn the near future, a human cop and his alien partner fight crime and discrimination in Los Angeles.
- CreatorAnthony YerkovichStarsDon JohnsonPhilip Michael ThomasSaundra Santiago-Resplendent with authentic 1980s music, fashion, and vibe, "Miami Vice" follows two undercover detectives and their extended team through the mean streets of Miami, Florida.Gritty and well made.
- CreatorGlen A. LarsonStarsLee MajorsDouglas BarrHeather ThomasThe adventures of a film stuntman who moonlights as a bounty hunter when movie work is slow.
- CreatorGene RoddenberryStarsPatrick StewartBrent SpinerJonathan FrakesSet almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before.
- CreatorNeal MarlensStarsAlan ThickeJoanna KernsKirk CameronThe misadventures of a family with a home business father and a journalist mother.
- CreatorStu SilverStarsEmmanuel LewisAlex KarrasSusan ClarkThe post-retirement season is suddenly disrupted for football player George Papadapolis and his wife Katherine when Webster, the orphaned son of a former teammate, moves in. Laughter, and life lessons, in every episode.
- CreatorDavid W. DuclonStarsSoleil Moon FryeGeorge GaynesCherie JohnsonYoung Punky Brewster is abandoned with her dog, Brandon, in a supermarket. When she befriends Henry Warnimont, her new family life begins.
- CreatorMichael LeesonStarsBill CosbyPhylicia RashadMalcolm-Jamal WarnerThe goings-on in the life of a successful African-American family.
- CreatorTom PatchettPaul FuscoStarsMihaly 'Michu' MeszarosPaul FuscoMax WrightWhen an ugly creature, who loves eating cats, crash-lands into the Tanner family's garage, they treat him as a guest and allow him to live with them as he comments on the stupidity of mankind.
- CreatorReinhold WeegeStarsHarry AndersonJohn LarroquetteRichard MollAn eccentric fun-loving judge presides over an urban night court and all the silliness going on there.
- CreatorMort LachmanSy RosenStarsNell CarterLara Jill MillerKari MichaelsenNell agrees to look after the Kanisky's home, as a special favor to her dying friend, and takes on the role of housekeeper to widowed police chief Carl and a parental figure to his three teenage daughters, and eventually a foster son.
- CreatorJames BurrowsGlen CharlesLes CharlesStarsTed DansonRhea PerlmanJohn RatzenbergerThe regulars of the Boston bar "Cheers" share their experiences and lives with each other while drinking or working at the bar where everybody knows your name.
- CreatorRoseanne BarrMatt WilliamsStarsRoseanne BarrJohn GoodmanLaurie MetcalfA revival of the popular 1990s sitcom "Roseanne," which centered on the everyday life of an American working-class family.
- CreatorRon LeavittMichael G. MoyeStarsEd O'NeillChristina ApplegateKatey SagalAl is the quintessential working class dad. Peggy, his wife, always wants more from him. With their children, they go through the highs and lows of ordinary life.
- CreatorPeter S. FischerRichard LevinsonWilliam LinkStarsAngela LansburyWilliam WindomRon MasakProfessional writer and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher uses her intellect, charm, and persistence to get to the bottom of every crime she encounters.
- CreatorBrian CookeEarl BarretArne SultanStarsTed KnightNancy DussaultJim J. BullockIn liberal San Francisco a conservative cartoonist tries to keep his two daughters, who rent an apartment below him, safe. In season 6 the cartoonist buys a small-town newspaper in Tiburon.
- CreatorHoward LeedsStarsRichard ChristieMarla PenningtonJerry SupiranThe zany adventures of a suburban family, their next-door neighbors, and an innovative robot designed to look like a human child.
- CreatorJames D. ParriottStarsJon-Erik HexumMeeno PeluceDavid CadienteA member of a league of time travelers and a boy travel through time repairing errors in world history.
- CreatorMichael LandonStarsMichael LandonVictor FrenchJames TroeshA probationary angel, sent back to Earth, teams with an ex-cop to help people.
- CreatorGlenn Gordon CaronStarsCybill ShepherdBruce WillisAllyce BeasleyThe quirky cases of a former model and a smart aleck detective who manage a private detective agency.
- CreatorStephen J. CannellPatrick HasburghStarsJohnny DeppDustin NguyenPeter DeLuiseThe cases of an undercover police unit composed of young-looking officers specializing in youth crime.
- CreatorMartin CohanBlake HunterStarsTony DanzaJudith LightAlyssa MilanoTony Micelli, a retired baseball player, becomes the housekeeper of Angela Bower, an advertising executive in New York. Together they raise their kids, Samantha Micelli and Jonathan Bower, with help from Mona Robinson, Angela's man-crazy mother.
- CreatorKenneth JohnsonStarsJane BadlerMichael DurrellRobert EnglundA small group of human resistance fighters fight a desperate guerilla war against the genocidal extra-terrestrials who dominate Earth.
- CreatorSusan HarrisStarsBea ArthurBetty WhiteRue McClanahanFour previously married women live together in Miami, sharing their various experiences together and enjoying themselves despite hard times.
- CreatorGary David GoldbergStarsMichael J. FoxMichael GrossMeredith BaxterChronicles liberal ex-hippies Steven and Elyse Keaton, their conservative son Alex, daughters Mallory and Jennifer, and later, youngest child Andrew.
- CreatorFrank DunganJeff SteinStarsChristopher HewettBob UeckerIlene GraffThe humourous adventures of an English housekeeper working for an American family.
- CreatorDiane EnglishStarsCandice BergenGrant ShaudRobert PastorelliThe personal and professional misadventures of an opinionated but beloved woman working as a television journalist.
- CreatorJohn CosgroveTerry Dunn MeurerStarsRobert StackDennis FarinaKeely Shaye BrosnanCombines dramatic re-enactments, interviews and updates, to tell stories of real mysteries, from human to the supernatural.
- CreatorDanielle AlexandraMichael JacobsStarsPaul ReiserGreg EviganStaci KeananWhen Marcy Bradford dies, she leaves her teenage daughter Nicole in the custody of two ex-boyfriends: straight-laced, formal Michael and wild artist Joey.
- CreatorSteven BochcoDavid E. KelleyStarsNeil Patrick HarrisMax CasellaBelinda MontgomeryA teenage genius deals with the usual problems of growing up, on top of being a licensed physician in a difficult residency program.
- CreatorBarry KempSheldon BullStarsBob NewhartMary FrannTom PostonThe misadventures of an author-turned-innkeeper and his friends in rural Vermont.
- CreatorJohn LangleyMalcolm BarbourStarsRuben BarelaAndrew FincherAlex CoxCamera crews follow police officers while they work.
- CreatorBrad BucknerEugenie Ross-LemingStarsKate JacksonBruce BoxleitnerBeverly GarlandThe adventures of a housewife and a spy, with whom she fell in love.
- CreatorRon KoslowStarsRon PerlmanRoy DotriceJay AcovoneThe adventures and romance of a sensitive and cultured lion-man and a crusading assistant district attorney in Manhattan, New York City.
- CreatorRita LakinStarsJohn BeckWoody BrownHoward DuffThe lives and trials of the residents of Truro, Florida.
- CreatorFrank Mancuso Jr.Larry B. WilliamsStarsLouise RobeyChris WigginsJohn D. LeMayTwo young antique store owners must recover cursed antiques.
- CreatorLee David ZlotoffStarsRichard Dean AndersonDana ElcarBruce McGillThe adventures of a secret Agent armed with almost infinite scientific resourcefulness.
- CreatorEsther ShapiroRichard Alan ShapiroStarsJohn ForsytheLinda EvansJoan CollinsThe trials and tribulations of two feuding families, the Carringtons and the Colbys, both oil rich families in Denver, Colorado.
- CreatorEarl Hamner Jr.StarsJane WymanLorenzo LamasChao Li ChiSet in the vineyards of California, this prime-time soap opera presented the conflict in the powerful Gioberti family, owners of the vast Falcon Crest Winery.
- CreatorRobert ButlerMichael GleasonStarsStephanie ZimbalistPierce BrosnanDoris RobertsThe cases of a female private detective partnered with a former thief who assumes the role of a fictitious detective in the business.
- CreatorDean HargroveStarsAndy GriffithLinda PurlKene HolidayBen Matlock is a very expensive criminal defense attorney, who charges one hundred thousand dollars to take a case. Fortunately, he's worth every penny, as he and his associates defend his clients by finding the real killer.
- CreatorHerbert LichtenfeldStarsKlausjürgen WussowGaby DohmSascha HehnThe Brinkmann family of doctors run the Black Forest Clinic in West Germany.
- CreatorJohn Sacret YoungWilliam Broyles Jr.StarsDana DelanyMarg HelgenbergerBrian WimmerThe trials of a weary nurse, her friends and colleagues in a Vietnam War field hospital.
- CreatorGlen A. LarsonStarsDesi Arnaz Jr.Chuck WagnerHeather McNairA computer-generated superhero and his human creator fight crime in the city.Taking inspiration from the "Tron" movie.
- CreatorMartin CohanDavid W. DuclonRon LeavittStarsRicky SchroderErin GrayJoel HigginsRicky Stratton is a spoiled rich kid who lives the life that many kids dream of, but he still suffers from the problems that many teens do.
- StarsJane BadlerMichael DurrellFaye GrantA seemingly peaceful alien race, arrives at earth and asks for help to ensure their own planets survival. However, the visitors agenda turns out be much darker.
- CreatorMichael BerkGregory J. BonannDouglas SchwartzStarsDavid HasselhoffPamela AndersonYasmine BleethAt a Los Angeles beach, a team of lifeguards led by Lieutenant Mitch Buchannon save lives, deal with personal dramas, fight crime and participate in over the top adventures on a daily basis.
- CreatorDean HargroveJoel SteigerStarsTom BosleyTracy NelsonMary WickesAn amiable, inquisitive Chicago priest moonlights as a detective and is assisted by a rather worldly, lock-picking nun.
- CreatorSteven DoddStarsJohn KassirRoy BrocksmithMiguel Ferrer"Tales from the Crypt" was a 1989 horror story anthology series based on the gruesome E.C. comic books of the 1950s presented by the legendary "Crypt Keeper", a sinister ghoul obsessed with gallows humor and horrific puns.
- DirectorNicholas CoreaBill BixbyStarsBill BixbyLou FerrignoJack ColvinHopefully on the verge of curing his Hulk condition, Banner meets his colleague, Don Blake, who is mystically linked to a Viking warrior, Thor.
- DirectorBill BixbyStarsBill BixbyLou FerrignoMarta DuBoisWhen Banner is held as a witness to a violent crime linked to the Kingpin, the fugitive is helped by lawyer Matt Murdock who is also the superhero, Daredevil.
- CreatorWes CravenJeff FreilichStarsRobert EnglundMary CrosbyTodd Allen"Freddy's Nightmares" was a 1988 horror anthology series with "Freddy", the dream serial killer, hosting stories set in Springwood, USA.
- CreatorRod SerlingStarsRobin WardCharles AidmanRichard MulliganA collection of tales which range from comic to tragic, but often have a wicked sense of humor and an unexpected twist.
- CreatorDonald R. BoyleGlen A. LarsonStarsSimon MacCorkindaleMelody AndersonReni SantoniA suave and elegant university professor, who can shape-shift into any animal, fights crime along with a female New York detective and his right-hand man.
- CreatorRick HuskyStarsWilliam ShatnerHeather LocklearAdrian ZmedThe weekly adventures of tough-as-nails veteran police officer Sgt. T.J. Hooker, who rides the beat with his rookie partner Vince Romano.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsJoanne WoodwardCharles DurningHenderson ForsytheStory of the federally-ordered integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957.
- CreatorWilliam BastPaul HusonEileen PollockStarsCharlton HestonJohn JamesKatharine RossThis spin-off of Dynasty (1981) featured the adventures of Jeff and Fallon Colby and Jeff's other wealthy relatives in California.
- StarsRock HudsonGayle HunnicuttBernie CaseyIn the 21st century, Earth begins the colonization of Mars. However, things do not go as planned, at first due to the hostile Martian natives and later because of the self-destructive Earthmen.
- DirectorRobert MarkowitzStarsTelly SavalasSuzanne PleshetteMax von SydowLieutenant Theo Kojak teams up with Dana Sutton, a comely federal agent, to uncover a conspiracy reaching back to the Nazi occupation of the Soviet Union.
- DirectorPaul KrasnyStarsTelly SavalasAndre BraugherShari HeadleyOne of Kojak's old enemies uses Ariana, a young Greek girl, as bait to trap the legendary New York detective. Meanwhile, Kojak finds himself a brash young associate.
- DirectorRichard ComptonStarsTelly SavalasAndre BraugherAngie DickinsonInvestigating the murder of a writer responsible for a Mob exposé, Kojak discovers that the dead man's wife is an old flame.
- StarsDavid SoulHector ElizondoReuven Bar-YotamA short-lived prequel to Casablanca (1942).
- CreatorDonald P. BellisarioStarsStephen CollinsJeff MacKayCaitlin O'HeaneyThe adventures of a 1930's Pacific Islands bush pilot and his companions.
- CreatorDouglas Stefen BorghiDean HargroveJoel SteigerStarsWilliam ConradJoe PennyAlan CampbellVeteran district attorney "Fatman" McCabe solves cases with the help of his easygoing private investigator partner Jake Styles.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsRichard ChamberlainAlice KrigeKenneth ColleyThe story of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat responsible for saving thousands of lives from the Nazi Holocaust.
- DirectorDavid HemmingsStarsCliff RobertsonDavid SoulSeason HubleyIn Cairo during World War II, a German Agent tries to infiltrate the British command to lay the groundwork for Erwin Rommel's conquest of Egypt.
- StarsJames GarnerSusan AnspachBlair BrownA 13-hour mini-series detailing James A. Michner's fictional account of the American space program from the years after World War II to the Apollo landings on the moon in the early 1970s.
- DirectorAnthony HarveyStarsPeter O'TooleJodie FosterElizabeth AshleyAn old singer coaches a young woman whom he believes will be the next singing sensation. As she starts off with her career, their bond gets stronger.
- DirectorDick LowryStarsMr. TDennis DuganJohn P. Navin Jr.Mr. T's first starring made-for-TV movie role has him playing a tough and scowling, but softhearted, nightclub bouncer who finds himself involved with a bunch of kids after being conned into taking over a youth center.
- CreatorKenneth JohnsonBrian GrazerStarsTrevor EveDennis DuganNina FochA disparate duo investigates the paranormal.
- DirectorPaul NewmanStarsJoanne WoodwardChristopher PlummerValerie HarperThree terminally-ill cancer patients dwell in separate cottages on a hospital's grounds, where they are attended and visited by both family and close friends.
- DirectorDan CurtisStarsDean JonesJoan HackettRonnie ScribnerIn 1939, Daniel, a young Jewish boy, and his attorney father, fight against prejudice in a New England town.
- StarsRobert MitchumAli MacGrawJan-Michael VincentThe trials of the Henry and Jastrow families in the early years of World War II.
- DirectorHarvey HartStarsTom MasonEric BraedenMelinda O. FeeAn alien mother ship hovering in Earth's atmosphere is the base for an attempted alien invasion of Earth.
- CreatorFrank CardeaGeorge SchenckStarsBruce BoxleitnerClyde KusatsuRon O'NealPith-helmeted Buck is a Great White Hunter who here (unlike the real one from the 1940s) works out of the Raffles Hotel bar in Singapore during the 1930s fighting all kinds of bad guys in pre-war Malaya.
- DirectorJonathan KaplanStarsRichard HatchKay LenzJeanette NolanA slick promoter in the bodybuilding subculture of Venice Beach, California, finds what he considers a diamond in the rough: a dedicated but somewhat mentally challenged young man who wants to win bodybuilding championships, but needs some help and direction--and the promoter thinks he's just the one to do it.
- DirectorJames SheldonStarsBobby VintonRobert VaughnDick SargentNew Tinseltown gossip columnist Dina Moran helps faded movie star Georgia O'Hanlon dig up dirt on amoral characters.
- DirectorJames GoldstoneStarsTalia BalsamEllen BarkinSteve BeauchampBased on the true story of the student protests at Kent State University in Ohio. This film focuses on the four students who were killed when the National Guard attempted to quell the riots that began on May 4, 1970, after President Nixon announced that American troops would begin bombing the heretofore neutral country of Cambodia.
- DirectorWilliam HaleStarsCharles FieldsLiane LanglandJoyce Van PattenA young boy is taken over by demons who force him to commit murder.
- DirectorRon SatlofStarsRaymond BurrBarbara HaleWilliam KattWhen his former secretary Della Street is accused of murder, Perry Mason gives up a judgeship to defend her.
- DirectorArthur Allan SeidelmanStarsJoe PesciVictoria JacksonFred WilliamsonRocky Nelson is a New York City cop, who after making a major bust and selling the rights of his story to Hollywood decides to try his luck out as an actor. However, when he gets there, the directors think that he is too short to be an actor. He is then approached by someone who offers him a job at a Hollywood security agency, because he would fit in there being an ex-cop, and while working there, he could come in contact with some Hollywood heavyweights who could give him the break he needs, and at the same time, he gets to live in Dean Martin's guest house.
- DirectorDavid GreeneDon TaylorStarsJohn BellahScotch ByerleyRobert ClotworthyFarm widow Sarah Bowman has been impoverished by the siphoning of her water supply. A nearby big-city aqueduct has priority over water rights, leaving the rural outskirts virtually dry. Attempting to bring her cause to the forefront, Sarah dynamites the reservoir, half-hoping that she'll be "martyred" in the process. When she fails to arouse public support, she targets the local power plant for her next blast. Assistant DA Anne Greyfeather, who as an orphaned Indian girl was virtually raised by Sarah, decides to challenge the water-department bureaucracy on McGuire's behalf.
- DirectorSteven Hilliard SternStarsAlexandra PaulSandahl BergmanDavid NaughtonChubby Kendall's weight causes her to suffer from self-esteem issues. She decides to take up female bodybuilding and ends up competing with the pros for the championship. However, her boyfriend and dad don't like her new tough look.
- StarsChad EverettArthur HillAnne BaxterAn outdoorsman and a city-bred lawyer team up to fight crime in San Francisco.
- DirectorRichard MichaelsStarsBarry BostwickMaureen AndermanLee ChamberlinA Father struggles to keep his family on track and take care of the kids after his wife leaves.
- DirectorJud TaylorStarsJames FarentinoPenny FullerDon MurrayA grieving family whose daughter was killed in a car crash with a drunken driver is outraged and frustrated as they encounter the inevitable bureaucratic delays in bringing the case to trial. Once in the courtroom, they are horror-stricken as the young, hard-pressed district attorney seems unable to overcome the technicalities and maneuverings that the driver's attorney uses to keep his client out of jail and still on the streets as a legal driver. When the judge is forced to rule time and again in favor of the defense, it appears that the driver might escape punishment altogether.
- StarsTimothy BottomsJane SeymourBruce BoxleitnerScreen adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel which begins in the years after the American Civil War and, through the story of the Trask family, brings to light a struggle and conflict inherent in the human condition.
- 19831h 36mTV-PG6.4 (750)TV MovieDirectorRay AustinStarsRobert VaughnDavid McCallumPatrick MacneeWhen THRUSH steals a nuclear weapon and demands a ransom delivered by Napoleon Solo, UNCLE recalls him and his partner to duty.
- DirectorVolker SchlöndorffStarsDustin HoffmanKate ReidJohn MalkovichAn aging traveling salesman recognizes the emptiness of his life and tries to fix it.
- DirectorWilliam A. GrahamStarsMariette HartleyPaula PrentissShelby BalikCindy Lightner relentlessly tries to spearhead the drive for the national anti-drunk driver legislation after her own daughter becomes the victim of a hit-and-run by a drunk driver.
- CreatorJames D. ParriottStarsDean Paul MartinKevin Peter HallMark Thomas MillerThe adventures of a team of misfit superheroes who fight crime for a scientific think tank.