Can You Guess the Missing Word in These 1980s TV Series?

Susan McDonald

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About This Quiz

How well do you remember '80s TV? Sure, you remember wishing Sam and Diane would get together, and you remember laughing as them Duke boys left Boss Hogg in The General Lee's dust, but do you remember the name of the TV show that started Leonardo DiCaprio's career? Do you remember the title of the show that urged us all to "be careful out there?" If so, this is the quiz for you!

The right title can make or break a new show. Would "Saved By The Bell" have been such a teen hit if the show had stuck with its original title "When The Bell Rings?" Probably not. The original title "Oil" would certainly have helped explain how everyone on the show made their fortunes, but would have failed to convey the glitz, glamour, and drama that was implied when execs renamed their show "Dynasty." A good title can convey the tone of the show, help to explain the premise, and even introduce the characters.

However, some titles are more memorable than others, and some are hard to place when incomplete. We've pulled together a list of some of the greatest TV shows the decade of shoulder pads and leg warmers had to offer and removed part of the title. Can you choose the correct answer and complete the titles of these classic shows? Let's find out!

The ________ Girls

Four . . . shall we say, mature . . . women share a spacious home in Miami, wearing beautiful clothes and making the most of their golden years. We should all be so lucky.

Diff'rent _______

When two orphaned boys from Harlem are adopted by a wealthy New York businessman, what could go wrong? It will always be known as the show that gave us, "Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?"

_______ Brewster

This sitcom featured a girl with a funny name and her foster dad. The actress had an unusual name as well - Soleil Moon Frye. Some episodes were only 15 minutes long, to accommodate delays caused by NBC football coverage.

Married . . . With _______

Long-suffering Ed Bundy and his hot-to-trot wife, Peg, have their hands full raising two teenage children. Kelly is clueless, Bud is funny, and the neighbors should probably just move.

The _______ of Hazzard

Bo and Luke are just a couple of good ol' boys trying to have a good time while staying within the limits of their probation for selling moonshine. It's not easy, with Boss Hogg watching their every move, but Uncle Jesse is always there to lend a hand.

Growing _______

We first met the Seaver family in 1985, when it was just Jason, Maggie and their three children. Later another baby came along, and by the time the series ended, we'd gotten an early look at the young Leonardo DiCaprio.

Three's _______

Ditzy Chrissy and practical Janet need a roommate. Enter Jack, an impoverished culinary student who must pretend to be gay to pass muster with their strait-laced landlord, Mr. Roper. Misunderstandings ensue.

Highway to _______

Little Joe Cartwright of "Bonanza" is now an angel who's been placed on probation. He partners with a human buddy to help people solve a wide variety of problems in one of the feel-good dramas of the 1980s.

_______ Strangers

Larry is pretty psyched about having his own apartment for the first time, when his heretofore-unknown cousin Balki arrives from Mypos and moves right in. Now Larry is in charge of teaching Balki about the United States, and Balki is in charge of all things dance-related.

Full _______

A family is what you make it. When Danny Tanner's wife dies, he enlists his friend Joey and brother-in-law Jesse, both single, to move in and help with his three young daughters. Expect lots of warm, fuzzy moments.

The _______ Boat

Each week, Captain Stubing, Doc, Gopher, Isaac and Julie welcome a new group of passengers aboard the Pacific Princess. By the end of their cruise, some passengers have found new romance, while others have patched up old conflicts, but everyone leaves happy.

_______ Jump Street

Hello, Johnny Depp! He starred in this police procedural that found a group of cops who look young enough to pass for teenagers, enabling them to go undercover in high schools and colleges to investigate crimes involving drugs, child abuse and other issues.

Head of the _______

Take a group of academically gifted high school students in Manhattan. Add one out-of-work actor turned history teacher. Stir and serve for five funny and charming seasons.

_______ Court

Judge Harry Anderson dispenses justice in a New York City courtroom when he's not performing magic or listening to Mel Torme. His sidekicks include public defender Christine, prosecutor Dan, and bailiff Aristotle Nostradamus Shannon, appropriately nicknamed Bull.

WKRP in _______

Andy Travis has his hands full, trying to turn around a failing radio station by switching from easy listening to a rock format with the help of a couple of cool DJs, a clueless newsman, a gorgeous receptionist and a sleazy salesman. No one will ever forget the Thanksgiving episode, in which Mr. Carlson planned and executed an ill-advised giveaway. "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."

_______, She Wrote

Jessica Fletcher writes mysteries and solves them too. You wouldn't think there would be so much crime in tiny Cabot Cove, Maine, but there were enough evil goings-ons to last twelve seasons.

Doogie Howser, _______

Who didn't fall in love with Neil Patrick Harris as Doogie Howser, a child prodigy who begins practicing medicine at age 14? As the show's open tells us, he can prescribe drugs, but he can't buy beer.

Hill Street _______

In this case, blues refers not to a type of music, but rather to the uniforms of the cops at the Hill Street precinct. Under the leadership of Captain Furillo, a large contingent of officers hits the streets every day, always with the admonition to "be careful out there."

Designing _______

There's nothing like a Southern belle to politely put you in your place while serving sweet tea and biscuits. Julia Sugarbaker and her fellow belles run an interior design firm in Atlanta while helping each other with their personal problems.

St. _______

Its real name is St. Eligius, but the somewhat crumbling hospital in South Boston is nicknamed St. Elsewhere because of its less-than-prestigious status in the medical world. But the doctors and nurses were dedicated to their profession. In addition to being a medical procedural, the show tackles topical issues, such as AIDS, breast cancer, eating disorders and suicide.

The Greatest _______ Hero

One day you're just an ordinary teacher, and the next day you're a reluctant superhero. Things might have gone more smoothly if Ralph hadn't lost the instruction booklet for his spiffy red-and-black suit, making it necessary for him to learn to operate it by trial and error.

The Facts of _______

Mrs. Garrett is more than a housemother to the girls at Eastland boarding school in upstate New York. She dispenses life lessons by the ton as the show tackles issues such as sex, bigotry, peer pressure and drugs. And don't forget that George Clooney prettied up the screen in a few episodes.

_______ Vice

Who needs socks when you've got a t-shirt, jacket and white linen pants? Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs set fashion trends while fighting crime in this police procedural that ran from 1984 until 1990.

Silver _______

It's role reversal time when a responsible, down-to-earth kid named Ricky moves in with the father he's never met. Throw in a grandfather and cast of supporting characters, and you've got the makings of a five-year series.

Too _______ for Comfort

If you're ready to spread your wings and move away from your parents, it's probably best to go farther than the other half of Mom and Dad's duplex. Sara and Jackie learn that lesson when their cartoonist father refuses to back out of their lives, but he does have an impressive array of college sweatshirts.

Scarecrow and Mrs. _______

A chance encounter at a Washington, D.C., train station leads single mom Amanda King into an unlikely career as a secret government agent, a job she must hide from her mother and two sons. She works with an agent, codenamed Scarecrow, and eventually they fall in love and marry, but that's a secret too.

The Wonder _______

Kevin Arnold looks back at the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he was growing up in a suburban middle-class family with his parents and two older siblings. Kevin leans on his best friend Paul and girlfriend Winnie as he navigates the ups and downs of the 'tween and teen years.

Who's the _______

When divorced advertising executive Angela needs a live-in housekeeper, she makes an unorthodox choice. Enter Tony Micelli, who recently retired from a baseball career because of an injury and wants to take his daughter Samantha out of New York City. Hilarity ensues.

Quantum _______

Don't you hate it when your trip through time goes awry and you're stuck in another period? That's the dilemma of Sam Beckett in this science fiction series. Now he has to work with his friend Al, who appears as a hologram from the present time, to alter various events he encounters in an effort to get back home.

_______ Ties

Former hippies Steven and Elyse Keaton have settled down to raise a family in Columbus, Ohio, but that doesn't mean they've given up on their liberal views. This causes frequent clashes with their ultra-capitalist Republican son, Alex, played by Michael J. Fox. The Keatons' other children, Mallory, Jennifer, and eventually baby Andy, are less controversial, but Alex kicks up enough dust for everyone.

_______ Days

Richie Cunningham and his family are the centerpiece of this eleven-season sitcom, but it's soon clear that the breakout character is biker, ladies man, and all-around cool guy Arthur Fonzarelli. Set in the mid-'50s to the mid-'60s, the show brings back a seemingly simpler time, filled with school, dating, and hanging out at the drive-in.

Charlie's _______

Although we never see his face, Charlie Townsend is usually surrounded by beautiful women, so it's no surprise that the women he employs as private investigators are no slouches in the looks department. Week after week, the "angels" carry out often-dangerous assignments, using the training they gained at the police academy, and then gather to speculate about the elusive Charlie.

Knots _______

Prime-time soap operas were very popular in the 1980s and none had more staying power than "Knots Landing," which lasted a whopping 14 seasons. A spin-off of Dallas, the show followed the exploits of Gary Ewing, the family black sheep, his wife Valene, and their neighbors in a Southern California cul-de-sac.

In the _______ of the Night

Archie Bunker is reincarnated as William Gillespie, the police chief in Sparta, Mississippi. He hires Virgil Tibbs, an African-American Sparta native who's been working in Philadelphia, as chief of detectives, in the hope that he will whip his fellow officers into shape and combat the department's reputation for being racist.

Gimme a _______

Margaret Kanisky has died, leaving behind a husband and three teenage daughters. How is a busy police chief supposed to cope? He hires Nell Harper as his live-in housekeeper and kid wrangler, that's how.

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