Ranking the Top 10 Most Underrated TV Shows of the 1980s

Although the 1980s fell between two golden ages of television (the first spanned from the late 1940s to the 1950s, and the second began in 1999 and lasted until at least the early 2010s), there were still many It was a decade of iconic shows. It was aired on TV. Some shows have received well-deserved recognition and praise and are still fondly remembered, while others feel somewhat forgotten..

The TV shows below all fall somewhere between these two extremes. Some built rabid cult followings rather than achieving mainstream success, while others never got a big enough audience but deserved to. These are all underrated shows to some extent, and we’ve ranked them below considering how underrated they are and how truly good they are in terms of quality.

Ten “Alien Nation” (1989-1990)

Author: Kenneth Johnson

Why not do something a little different and start with a show that was canceled before it reached its full potential? alien nation The show started in the late 1980s and lasted only one season, ending in early 1990. This is a show that expands on his 1988 film of the same name and is his eventual return to the world of film. A few years later, five TV movies were produced that more or less continued/concluded things.

Regarding the premise that alien nation, This work combines the police procedural genre with science fiction, and revolves around a detective who is paired with a member of an alien race.. What may sound silly is actually taken admirably seriously most of the time. alien nation It puts a fresh spin on the police/crime/mystery genre and uses its sci-fi concepts to explore issues like racism and other social issues.

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9 “Dungeons & Dragons” (1983-1985)

Author: Mark Evanier

in contrast, alien nationanime program Dungeons & Dragons was able to run for a total of three seasons, but fell victim to cancellation and the third season finale was never completed. It’s probably the most acclaimed film/TV spin-off of the tabletop game of the same name, and possibly the (also underrated) 2023 live-action movie. Dungeons & Dragons: Thieves’ Honor.

The premise is that six young friends are thrown into the world. Dungeons & Dragons, Eventually a series of adventures begins as they try to find a way to escape. The show had enough to build a small but passionate fan base, but not enough to reach the level of widespread popularity it probably deserved.

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8 “New Heart” (1982-1990)

Author: Barry Kemp, Sheldon Bull

bob newhart ran two acclaimed long-running sitcoms in the 1970s and 1980s. The first production aired from his 1972 to his 1978. bob newhart showAnd from 1982 to 1990, new heart It was aired. The former may have been more consistent and traditional for a sitcom, focusing on a psychologist, while the latter focuses on a Vermont innkeeper, and gets a little goofier and more unusual as it progresses. It became.

Having eight seasons and receiving general acclaim from critics and viewers may not seem like the best thing to say about an underrated show, but… Mr. Newhart’s The ratio of Emmy nominations to wins is pretty amazing. It received a total of 25 nominations, but never won. It’s not the same as being nominated 53 times and never winning.but still worth noting.

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7 “Beauty and the Beast” (1987-1990)

Author: Ron Koslow

The 18th century French fairy tale has been adapted countless times. beauty and the beastincluding the iconic 1946 film La belle et la bete And the beloved 1990s animated film, simply called beauty and the beast. However, one of the more interesting interpretations of this material was aired in the late 1980s in the form of a television show also known as “Beauty and the Beast.”

It takes things to a new kind of setting, and this time the central story unfolds a little faster and more slowly. The story revolves around the titular Beast and an assistant district attorney who live together in love in modern-day New York City.. It built a strange but interesting world, successfully ran for a decent length of time over three seasons, and built a solid cult fan base that continues to some extent to this day.

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6 “Sherlock Hound” (1984-1985)

Director: Hayao Miyazaki, Kyosuke Mikuriya

Animated shows seemed to explode in popularity outside of the United States in the 1990s. trigun and cowboy bebop It turns out to be especially important in this regard. Then, from the 2000s to his 2010s, anime shows definitely became mainstream, and the movie aspect also grew. Hayao Miyazaki’s Fans of his films may not realize it as much, but his rise in popularity over the past few decades is likely a contributing factor. The fact that he worked on various TV shows in the 1960s, 70s, and even parts of the 80s.

One of them is sherlock houndof which he directed the first six episodes, Kyosuke Mikuriya He took over as director for the next 20 years. This is a novel interpretation. Sherlock Holmesof course, this time making him an anthropomorphic dog (not to be confused) The Hound of the Baskervillesbut).

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Five “Amazing Stories” (1985-1987)

Author: Steven Spielberg, Joshua Brand, John Falsey

no one could blame great story That there’s some pretty amazing star power behind it. steven spielberg I am a creator and sometimes a director. Other notable filmmakers who have directed episodes of the show include: martin scorsese, robert zemeckisand clint eastwoodis well known, Actors like Kevin Costner, Kiefer Sutherland, Patrick Swayze, and Harvey Keitel appear in one-off episodes.

As an anthology series, each episode stood on its own and functioned as something like a mini-movie. This was a novel approach for him in the 1980s, especially at a time when these one-shot episodes generally had big-name talent in front of and behind the camera. It wasn’t the most stable show, lasting only two seasons, but it’s safe to say it’s safe for what’s next. great story Those who watched the film remember it fondly, and its best moments and episodes are still there.

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Four “Red Dwarf” (1988-)

Author: Rob Grant, Doug Naylor

science fiction, absurdist comedy, and a little bit of existential dread Just in case, red dwarf is one of the most distinctive and long-running comedies in history. This work began with him in 1988 and seems to be continuing to this day, although there have been some hiatus. His latest work will be released in 2020. promised land.

So while it might not work to call this an “80s show” in the strictest sense of the word, it started this decade and three of the 12 main seasons aired by the end of the decade. I did. red dwarf The show is a “cult hit” in the best way possible, following four eccentric characters (only one of whom is technically human) wandering through a galaxy in the future some three million years in the future. It’s the kind of show that was written for. It’s creative, ridiculous, and often funny, and is one of the best cult classic sitcoms that started airing in the 1980s.

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3 “The Young Ones” (1982-1984)

Creator: Ben Elton, Rik Mayall, Rise Meyer

Young peoplelike red dwarf, another British sitcom, probably won’t be to everyone’s taste, but those who can relate to its rebellious, anarchic spirit will enjoy it. The film adopts a well-worn sitcom setup – four unlucky young people sharing the same house while studying – and shows how flawed and hellish the characters are. When you think about what you’re doing, you’re pushing it into wild, unexplored territory. each other’s lives.

It’s safe to say that this is a very punk and cynical depiction of life in Britain in the 1980s, and if you want to dig deeper, it also serves as a commentary on the prevailing attitudes of the time, potentially like Thatcherism. Masu.Or you can just be surprised how Young people It always disintegrates itself from within and sometimes even destroys itself. On his calmer days, he shatters comedic conventions, and on his most intense, he shatters them to the ground..

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2 “Blackadder” (1983-1989)

Author: Richard Curtis, Rowan Atkinson

The first season was a little unstable, but from seasons 2 to 4 black adder very high quality, and perhaps the most highly acclaimed sitcom of these “underrated” ones. So it may not actually be undervalued.Rather, it’s just less well-known now because of its age and because it’s star/co-creator rowan atkinson He is probably best known for playing Mr. Bean.

of each season black adder They take place at different times in history, the first in the Middle Ages and the last during World War I. When it comes to writing, it’s the final season that may well represent the show at its best, given that much of it is still darkly funny and witty, but by the finale it’s surprisingly (and in fact) get serious. It best depicts the meaninglessness of war.

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1 “Police Squad!” (1982)

Creator Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker

stab wound Police squad! The fact that it lasted only 6 episodes It was spun off into three successful films. naked gun trilogy, the first of which is probably one of the greatest parody films of all time. However, all of the slapstick, surreal sight gags, and intricate wordplay that define the film’s best scenes never seemed to capture the hearts of audiences at the time, and were offered during the series. Ta.

It has been suggested that Police squad! “It was too dense for a sitcom to appeal to people who want to watch TV to relax. But that has meant that the approach to funny has aged considerably in the decades since, as sitcoms have sped up and the jokes have gotten more intense. Police squad! While it may be respected and highly regarded now, it was criminally ignored at the time and was canceled so quickly that it became perhaps the most underrated/underrated show of the decade.

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Next: Ranking the most underrated TV shows of the 1990s