Image: NBC
About This Quiz
The 1980s ushered in a new age for television. With the economy rebounding after the struggles of the '70s, audiences wanted everything bigger, even in their entertainment: bigger action, bigger explosions and bigger laughs. And networks delivered with a slew of family-friendly sitcoms, primetime dramas and action-packed crime shows.
Now audiences could see reflections of themselves on TV: in the Conners, the Seavers, the Keatons or the Huxtables. Each sitcom family reflected the values and attitudes of the '80s, with people focused on climbing the economic ladder and maintaining their social standing. More women were entering the workforce, as reflected on shows like "Growing Pains," "The Cosby Show" and "Roseanne." And many socially conservative youths found their '80s values at odds with their liberal parents', as on the show "Family Ties."
Whether you enjoyed the many lighthearted sitcoms of the 1980s or preferred the more serious dramas of the decade, see how many of these '80s shows you can remember. We pity the fool who can't get most of these right!
"ALF"
"Cheers"
Sam Malone (Ted Danson) ran Cheers, a bar with a bunch of memorable regulars: Cliff Clavin, Norm Peterson and Frasier Crane, for example. Sam's relationship with Diane kept audiences enthralled.
"The Facts of Life"
"Three's Company"
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"Roseanne"
"Roseanne" revolved around the Conners, a blue-collar family headed by Dan and Roseanne (John Goodman and Roseanne Barr). The show tackled real-life issues that many families faced in the '80s.
"Perfect Strangers"
"Newhart"
"Happy Days"
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"Punky Brewster"
"Taxi"
"Taxi" featured a wide cast of characters, with most of them trying to get through their shifts while dreaming of doing something more — and trying to stay on Louie De Palma's good side!
"Laverne & Shirley"
"Silver Spoons"
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"Voltron"
"ThunderCats"
"Adventures of the Gummi Bears"
"Muppet Babies"
"Muppet Babies" reintroduced the Muppets as babies playing together in a nursery. They're watched over by Nanny, although audiences only ever saw her green and white striped stockings.
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"Webster"
"The Jeffersons"
"Full House"
When Danny's (Bob Saget) wife died, Joey and Jesse moved in to help him raise his three young daughters, D.J., Stephanie and Michelle. The show had a successful run from 1987 to 1995.
"Taxi"
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"Mork & Mindy"
After appearing as Mork on "Happy Days," Robin Williams got his own spin-off show, "Mork & Mindy." He played Mork, an alien who lands in Boulder, Colorado, and tries to learn human customs.
"WKRP in Cincinnati"
"Full House"
"Kate & Allie"
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"Married ... with Children"
"Married ... with Children" was a new type of sitcom — the members of the Bundy family constantly mock the father, Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill), for his unfulfilling job as a shoe salesman.
"The Jeffersons"
"The Facts of Life"
"Who's the Boss"
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"Simon & Simon"
"Murder, She Wrote"
"Murder, She Wrote" ran for 12 seasons due to its popularity. Angela Lansbury starred as a famous mystery writer who inserts herself in police investigations in her hometown in Maine.
"Hawaii Five-O"
"The Equalizer"
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"Too Close for Comfort"
"Saved by the Bell"
"Saved by the Bell" was a new version of the show "Good Morning, Miss Bliss." The producers decided to focus on the kids instead of the adults, leading to this popular show for tweens.
"Charles in Charge"
"Mork & Mindy"
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"Laverne & Shirley"
"Seinfeld"
"Seinfeld" was developed on the premise that its four characters — Jerry, Elaine, Kramer and George — frequently find themselves in frustrating situations but never learn from their mistakes.
"Small Wonder"
"Newhart"
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"The Wonder Years"
Set in the late '60s, "The Wonder Years" showed Kevin's coming of age. His relationships with his parents, brother Wayne and childhood crush Winnie captivated audiences for six years.
"The Hogan Family"
"Empty Nest"
"My Two Dads"
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"Automan"
"Taggart"
"The Professionals"
"America's Most Wanted"
John Walsh, a victims' rights advocate, hosted this long-running reality show, which provided information on fugitives. The show also provided a hotline so audiences could call in with tips.
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"The Real Ghostbusters"
"Robotech"
"He-Man and the Masters of the Universe"
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"
Cowabunga, dude! The popular cartoon based on the comic books ran from 1987 to 1996 and spawned a massive toy line. And every kid of the '80s could sing the theme song — "Turtle Power"!
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"DuckTales"
"DuckTales" had a catchy theme song and saw its young heroes — Huey, Dewey and Louie — go on all sorts of adventures with their uncles Donald and Scrooge McDuck. In 2017, the popular show got a reboot.
"G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero"
"Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers"
"The Transformers"
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"A Country Practice"
"HeartBeat"
"Doogie Howser, M.D."
Child prodigy Douglas "Doogie" Howser has more to juggle than typical teenager issues like pimples and girlfriend problems — he's also training to be a surgeon at a busy hospital.
"Trapper John, M.D."
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"ALF"
The alien Gordon Shumway gets the nickname ALF (short for Alien Life Form) after he lands in the Tanners' home. He must adjust to human life — while also resisting the temptation to eat the family cat!
"Mork & Mindy"
"Dynasty"
"Star Trek: The Next Generation"
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"The A-Team"
"The A-Team" featured four ex-soldiers on the run who become mercenaries. The action-packed show ran from 1983 to 1987 and starred George Peppard, Dirk Benedict, Dwight Schultz and Mr. T.
"Miami Vice"
"Knight Rider"
"M*A*S*H"
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"Miami Vice"
"Crime Story"
"In the Heat of the Night"
"Hill Street Blues"
Audiences got an up-close look at the daily struggles of police officers in this realistic show. Set in an unnamed city, "Hill Street Blues" often developed stories over several episodes.
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"Jake and the Fatman"
"Barney Miller"
In "Barney Miller" (1975 - 1982), the title character leads a police station in Greenwich Village. The job is not as glamorous as it sounds, though, as he deals with budget cuts and eccentric co-workers.
"Quincy, M.E."
"Matt Houston"
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"In the Heat of the Night"
"MacGyver"
"The Waltons"
"Star Trek: The Next Generation"
"Star Trek: The Next Generation" was a continuation of the original series from the '60s. It continued for seven seasons and starred Patrick Stewart, LeVar Burton and Michael Dorn.
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"Little House on the Prairie"
"The Dukes of Hazzard"
Luke and Bo Duke are constantly going up against the corrupt Boss Hogg on "The Dukes of Hazzard" — with Daisy Duke and Uncle Jesse on their side. The "General Lee" became an iconic TV car.
"Captain Kangaroo"
"The Golden Girls"
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"Columbo"
"The Simpsons"
"The Simpsons" has been running longer than any other American sitcom. The family of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie have won over audience's hearts even as they satirize American culture.
"Seinfeld"
"One Day at a Time"
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"21 Jump Street"
Johnny Depp played one of the youthful police officers sent on undercover missions at high schools. The show tackled challenging issues and often ended with a public service announcement.
"Police Squad!"
"Columbo"
"Wiseguy"
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"The Cosby Show"
Bill Cosby starred as Cliff Huxtable, a doctor raising five kids with his lawyer wife, Claire. Whenever the kids got into some mischief, the parents were there to impart some wisdom (and discipline)!
"The Golden Girls"
"Married ... with Children"
"Family Ties"
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"MacGyver"
MacGyver, as played by Richard Dean Anderson, is a brilliant engineer who can fashion tools out of everyday items. And while he can easily take down bad guys, he prefers to use non-lethal force.
"The A-Team"
"Hill Street Blues"
"Magnum, P.I."
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"Dallas"
Running for 14 seasons, "Dallas" was a widely popular soap opera drama on CBS. It featured the Ewings, a Texas family that owned a big oil business, and their rivals, the Barnes.
"M*A*S*H"
"Little House on the Prairie"
"Captain Kangaroo"
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"St. Elsewhere"
"St. Elsewhere" was a gritty ensemble drama that portrayed the daily struggles of doctors at a teaching hospital. The run-down hospital, which cared for the city's poor, was actually named St. Eligius.
"Casualty"
"Trapper John, M.D."
"M*A*S*H"
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"MacGyver"
"Magnum, P.I."
Tom Selleck played the private investigator Thomas Magnum, who lives and works in Hawaii. While living at the Robin's Nest, Magnum has to deal with the uptight caretaker, Higgins.
"Dallas"
"The Waltons"
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"The Jeffersons"
"Diff'rent Strokes"
Orphaned brothers Arnold and Willis move in with a wealthy businessman and his daughter and become his adopted sons. Thus, "Diff'rent Strokes" balanced lighthearted storylines with serious social issues.
"The Young Riders"
"The Rockford Files"
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"Laverne & Shirley"
Each episode began with the title characters skipping down the street, followed by the jaunty theme, "Making Our Dreams Come True." It was just the sort of peppy, lighthearted comedy audiences wanted to see!
"Three's Company"
"The Cosby Show"
"Charlie's Angels"
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"The Jeffersons"
"Charlie's Angels"
"Beauty and the Beast"
"Beauty and the Beast" got an '80s update! After Vincent, a mysterious man-beast, rescues Catherine, a district attorney, he introduces her to a secret world underneath the streets of New York City.
"Full House"
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"Family Matters"
"Family Matters," which ran from 1989 to 1998, featured the Winslows, an African-American family in Chicago. Their geeky, suspender-sporting neighbor Steve Urkel quickly became the star of the show.
"A Different World"
"M*A*S*H"
"Family Ties"
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"The Waltons"
"Full House"
"Family Matters"
"The Golden Girls"
Set in Miami, "The Golden Girls" featured four widowed or divorced women who move in together and face the twilight years with humor. The show won over many fans, including Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
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"Night Court"
The sitcom "Night Court" (1984 - 1992) featured the goings-on at a Manhattan court. Harry T. Stone stands out as a quirky judge because of his young age and fondness of magic tricks.
"The Waltons"
"In the Heat of the Night"
"Magnum, P.I."
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"The Jeffersons"
"The Greatest American Hero"
"Family Matters"
"Family Ties"
In "Family Ties," Alex P. Keaton supports the conservative ideals of the '80s while his parents hold on to their liberal views from the '60s and '70s. Michael J. Fox rose to stardom as the entrepreneurial Alex.
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"Miami Vice"
"Jake and the Fatman"
Switching between Los Angeles and Hawaii, "Jake and the Fatman" featured William Conrad and Joe Penny as the title characters. The prosecutor and investigator team together to put criminals away.
"The Equalizer"
"The Rockford Files"
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"Hill Street Blues"
"Barney Miller"
"In the Heat of the Night"
A continuation of the 1967 film starring Sidney Poitier, "In the Heat of the Night" shows the relationship between African-American detective Virgil Tibbs and white police chief William Gillespie.
"T.J. Hooker"
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"Moonlighting"
Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd starred as a pair of private investigators at the Blue Moon Detective Agency. The two partners solved crimes while maintaining a simmering sexual tension.
"Newhart"
"Taxi"
"L.A. Law"
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"Inspector Gadget"
"The Smurfs"
"The Care Bears"
"Adventures of the Gummi Bears"
All the Gummi Bears need is some magic gummi berry juice to bounce away from their enemies. The Gummis live in a series of underground tunnels and generally avoid humans, except for two kids.
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"Full House"
"Diff'rent Strokes"
"Who's the Boss"
"Growing Pains"
"Growing Pains" began in 1985 and featured the lovable Seavers: psychiatrist dad Jason, journalist mom Maggie and four kids. It was in his role as Mike Seaver that Kirk Cameron attained teen heartthrob status.
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