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$100,000 Pyramid 1973-1988
The $100,000 Pyramid ranks as one of the greatest word-association games of all time. The contest of attempting to associate words and phrases within a time limit, along with the pressure-packed "Winners' Circle" bonus round, made for what remains a television masterpiece.
Pyramid, an expansion of creator Bob Stewart's Password (which he created during his time with Goodson-Todman Productions), had gone through two daily versions (1973's The $10,000 Pyramid, retitled The $20,000 Pyramid in 1976; and The $25,000 Pyramid, which began in 1982) and two syndicated versions (a mid-1970s entry known as The $25,000 Pyramid and a short-lived tourney, The $50,000 Pyramid, which came out in 1981).
The cases of an undercover police unit composed of young looking officers specializing in youth crime.
1985 This series took place in an apartment building, numbered 227. The cast would frequently be found sitting outside on a large set of stone stairs, in some discussion that would unfold into the weekly plot line.
ABC Afterschool Special 1972-1997
A Different World 1987
After MASH 1983-1984 1984-1986 Airwolf itself was a hi-tech attack helicopter, equipped with cutting-edge on-board computer, surveillance and radar systems, able to fly quicker than the fastest jets, and armed with awesome fire-power. Dubbed "The Lady" due to it's slender grace, Airwolf had been constructed by "The Firm", a mysterious, top-secret division of the C.I.A., distinguishable by it's agents all-white dress code.
At the start of the Pilot adventure, we see Airwolf on its maiden test flight, piloted by its creator, Dr. Moffet (David Hemmings). But after the successful test flight, the twisted Moffet turns the chopper's lethal fire-power onto the flight tower, causing carnage, before heading off to Libya in the machine.
Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III, codename "Archangel" (Alex Cord), the head of the division who built Airwolf, is badly wounded in the assault but not yet out of the game. Now wearing an eye-patch and walking with aid of a cane as a result of his injuries, he calls upon ace combat pilot Stringfellow Hawke (Jan-Michael Vincent) to take the task of bringing back Airwolf from Libya.
1986-1990
Gordon Shumway, last known survivor from the planet Melmac, crash-lands his spaceship into the Tanner family's suburban garage. Willie dubs him "ALF", short for Alien Life Form. After convincing a military officer that they are not harboring a space creature, the Tanners decide to take ALF in as a member of the family.
Alf Tales
Because of the big success of the TV show "ALF", the producers decieded in 1988 to create two animated ALF series. One is just called "ALF" and it's about ALF's time on Melmac and the other one is called "ALF Tales", and that's the one this page is about. While the "real" ALF always appeares in the beginning of each ALF animated episode to give a little introduction to his memories, ALF tales consists completely of animated scenes, there's no real life part in it. Spinoff of: ALF
1985-1989
Alfred Hitchcock Presents was a mystery and suspense anthology hosted by the master of supsense Alfred Hitchcock. Each 30 minute episode included opening and closing vingettes featuring Hitchcock who would often explain some aspect of the day's show and would often offer subtle (or not so subtle) jabs at the shows sponsors.
The series premiered on CBS on Sunday, October 2, 1955 in the 9:30-10:00 PM timeslot opposite ABC's The Original Amateur Hour and NBC's Alcoa-Goodyear Playhouse. In its sixth season the show moved to NBC and was shown on Tuesday 8:30-9:00 PM. On NBC it served as the lead in for two other anthology shows Thriller and The Dick Powell Show.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents featured both original works produced directly for television and adaptations of existing source material. Some authors whose work was adapted for the series include: Alexander Woollcott, Ambrose Bierce, Cornell Woolrich, Frederic Brown, Henry Slesar, H.H. Munro (aka Saki), John Cheever, John Collier, John Wyndham, Ray Bradbury, Roald Dahl, and Robert Bloch. The show also featured work by famous (or later famous) directors Alfred Hitchcock and Robert Altman. It also served as a proving ground for stars and future stars: Charles Bronson, Robert Redford, Steve McQueen, Peter Lorre, Robert Duvall, and Vera Miles.
In 1962, Alfred Hitchcock Presents was expanded to one hour and was shown under the title the The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. In 1985, the these shows experienced a revival under the title Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Spinoff: The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Alice (1976-1985) Alice was first seen in August of 1976 but was based on the 1975 film, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore starring Ellen Burstyn and centering around Alice Hyatt. The television series had Linda Lavin starring as Alice. After her husband, Donald, was killed in a truck accident, Alice Hyatt and her 12-year-old son, Tommy, moved out of their home in New Jersey and headed for Hollywood.
Alice's dream was to become a singer but for the time being she got work as a waitress in a greasy spoon, Mel's Diner after her car breaks down in Phoenix. Mel was gruff and demanding and constantly bossing his three waitresses around.
The other two waitresses, in the beginning were Flo and Vera. Flo was the man-hungry southern belle, who's favorite saying was "Kiss My Grits." The other waitress, Vera, was shy and quiet and somewhat, as Mel put it, "dingy." Flo left in 1980 for her own series and was replaced by Belle who was later replaced by Jolene.
In 1985, the series came to an end with Mel selling the diner, a married Vera, was now pregnant, Jolene was planning to open a beauty shop and Alice's dream was finally coming true, she became a lead singer with a band in Nashville.
Spin-offs: Flo
1989-1990Amazing Stories - The Complete First Season1985-1987 1986-1991Archie Bunker's Place - The Complete First Season 1979-1983A-Team, The - Season One Through Four 1983 - 1987
Four Vietnam vets, framed for a crime they didn't commit, help the innocent while on the run from the military.
Automan 1983-1984
Beauty and the Beast 1987-1990
1983-1984Benny Hill Show, The 1969-1989 In a move that further angered the BBC - the Corporation had commissioned and screened four new programmes with the comic in 1968, even after he had made a show for ATV the year before - Benny Hill upped sticks and moved to Thames in time for the week that ITV launched a regular colour service. (BBC1 went to colour at the same time; BBC2 had been screening programmes in colour since 1967.) Undoubtedly, even taking into account his achievements in the 1950s, it was these Thames programmes that gave Hill his greatest commercial success; moreover, they led to his astonishing global breakthrough.
Quite simply, when most people today speak of Benny Hill they do so with these Thames shows in mind, 58 hour-long productions made in 20 years, most of them featuring very highly in the ratings. (Hill did little TV work except for these shows and, being already wealthy beyond his exceedingly modest needs, certainly didn't do them for the money.) It was here that most viewers came to know - maybe even love - the lisping, inept nitwit Fred Scuttle, the Chinaman Chow Mein and a host of other characters who were often set in a village he named Little Dimpton. And, of course, there were the ever-present bevy of beauties who, from 1980, were named Hill's Angels. Hill's unusual twist was that rather than him chasing them, the girls chased him, and every programme ended with an extended, speeded-up sequence - set to corny but unforgettable music - in which the posse became longer and longer. (The music was 'Yakety Sax', an instrumental composed by Randy Randolph and James Rich - Americans, but with appropriate names.)
While it is largely thought now that these Thames shows comprised nothing but the scantily clad women and accompanying innuendo-laced humour, they also - especially in the first ten years - featured more of Hill's clever mime work and parodies of other entertainers and in-vogue TV shows. All the same, it was the more simplistic, bawdy humour that continued to attract attention. A selection of the best Thames TV sketches from 1969 to 1973 was released as a theatrically distributed movie, The Best Of Benny Hill, in 1974 (director/producer John Robins), and people paid in their droves to see it on the big screen.
In 1979, the Thames material was re-edited into a package of half-hour shows for the American TV agent Don Taffner and these became hugely successful, causing Hill to become arguably the biggest star on US television at that time, and confounding those who had believed that, as in the case of Monty Python the essential Britishness of the humour could not appeal beyond these shores. That it did, and that Americans embraced Hill in such an all-encompassing fashion, owes much to his skill as a mime artist - many of his best sketches were without dialogue - and also to the shock factor generated by the more risqué material at a time when, generally, US TV was much more tame. And it wasn't just in America that the shows became massively popular: Hill's work went on to be cherished all over the world, regardless of how many times the shows were screened. Hill's visual comedy, much like that of Mr Bean, knows no boundaries.
Ironically, Benny Hill's international triumphs coincided with a dramatic decline in his fortunes at home. His British TV ratings slipped badly in the 1980s when not only did he suddenly crank up the bawdiness of the show but did so at a time when his particular strain of humour - lots of slap and tickle with sexy bimbettes, and treatment of women as brainless sexual objects - coincided with rising feminism and the advent of 'alternative' young comics determined to do away with sexism and the ancient 'mother-in-law' style of jokes. One can also point to Hill's physical appearance in the latter Thames shows as a further reason for the decline - he did not age well and put on much weight, so that the once cherubic features which had endeared him to viewers no longer evoked the same sympathies.
All the same, there was widespread surprise when Thames failed to renew Hill's contract in 1989. Subsequent reports suggested he would make programmes expressly for screening overseas but only one further show emerged. (Benny Hill - Unseen, details below.)
Benson 1979-1986
Best of the West 1981-1982
BJ and the Bear 1979-1981
1984 1980-1982 VHS
Henry and Kip are two advertising designers who had a real problem with finding a place to live. At the beginning, the sole place they could afford was condemned, but they only found out when the wrecking ball was smashing up the place while they were sleeping. A female friend suggested they stay at her building, but the snag is that the place is for women only. In desperation, they assume the identities of the women Hildegard and Buffy in order to rent a room. Now as they pursue their dream of success in the ad business, they also struggle to keep their deception at the apartment building so they won't be evicted, but the beautiful neighbours they have are a constant temptation.
Bozo Show, The 1980-1994 The Bozo Show had it's beginnings in a children's book in 1946. The first of it's kind, the book included a record featuring a narrator who read the story out loud, with "beeps" to tell the kids when to turn the page. Through the years, there were several incarnations of this show (see the Bozo the Clown guide for more info), but the one in Chicago is the one that will be best remembered.
This show was a staple for children throughought the 80s and 90s. Featuring humorous skits, games, cartoons and educational "field trips", this show was by far one of the best children's shows of all time. It was also one of the most successful.
Bustin' Loose 1987-1988Cagney & Lacey 1982-1988 VHS
Cagney and Lacey are two female New York policewomen doing their job as best they can in a male-dominated police department. The weekly program was variously a "cop show", a relationship drama, and an "issues vehicle".
Call to Glory (1984) 1984-1985 VHS CalliopeCapitol 1982-1987 The McCandless family was headed by Clarissa, a widow. She and her husband, Baxter, had five children: Tyler, an Air Force hero with political aspirations; Thomas, a handicapped doctor; Matt, an Olympic hopeful; Wally, a confused college student; and Gillian, still in her teens. Following Baxter's death, her father, former political bigwig Judson Tyler, served as the family's patriarchal figure. Playing an important role in Clarissa's life was longtime friend Senator Mark Denning. His unstable wife, Paula, was thought to be housebound. In fact, she pretended to suffer from agoraphobia as a way of holding onto her husband, who she feared was in love with Clarissa. Their daughter, Sloane, was a popular television newscaster.
The feud betweenthe Tylers and the Cleggs began thirty years earlier, when Myrna discovered her lifelong friend Clarissa was going to marry the love of Myrna's life, Baxter McCandless. Vowing revenge, Myrna implemented her first evil deed against Clarissa's family by destroying Judosn's political career. Exploiting the 'Red Scare' that had overtaken the counr¡try, Myrna succesfully convinced everyone that Judson was a closet communist.
The romance between Tyler McCandless and Julie Clegg figured prominently during the serial's first tow years (1982, 1983). When Julie suffered amnesia in a boating accident just weeks before her wedding to Tyler, Myrna took advantage of the situation convincing Julie she was in love with Lawrence Barrington. Myrna approved of Lawrence because she thought he came from a wealthy family. In reality, he was a con man hoping to tap into the Cleggs' millions by marrying Julie. Eventually, Lawrence's true identity was exposed, Julie regained her memory, and she and Tyler finally wed. Soon after, a pregnant Julie had a miscarriage and learned she'd never be able to have children. Two different attempts to adopt children proved unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, Tyler's vendetta against organized crime resulted in criminals kidnapping Julie to punish Tyler.. With Sloane's help, Tyler rescued julie. Unfortunately, Julie's return home wasn't a time for celebration. Instead, she was accused of shooting Senator Mark Denning ( he survived his wounds). It was later revealed that Jenny Diamond, a deranged woman with an amazing resemblance to Julie, was responsible. Before the serial ended, Julie and Tyler decided to separate.
Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future: Volume Two: Final Stand (3 Complete Episodes)1987-1988) VHS Earth 2147. The legacy of The Metal Wars , where man fought machine - and machines won. Biodreads. Monstrous creations that hunt down human survivors and digitize them. Volcania. Center of the biodread empire. Stronghold and fortress of Lord Dread , feared ruler of this new order. But from the fires of the Metal Wars arose a new breed of warrior. Born and trained to bring down Lord Dread and his biodread empire. They were Soldiers of the Future . Mankind's last hope.
Card Sharks 1978-1981 "Ace is high, deuce is low. Call them right and win the dough ... onnnn ... Card Sharks!" That's how the opening spiel for one of the most popular new game shows of the late 1970s went.
Based on the card game Acey Deucy, Card Sharks enjoyed two successful runs: from 1978 to 1981 on NBC daytime; and from 1986-1989 on CBS (a five-a-week syndicated entry aired from 1986-1987). There was also an ill-advised debacle of a run, a five-a-week syndicated show that appeared in the fall of 2001. The basic premise for all three runs was similar: complete the row of cards before your opponent does, by correctly guessing whether the next card was higher or lower.
1978-1981 and 1986-1989 versions
The rules for the 1978 and 1986 versions, which saw two players (one a returning champion) compete, were virtually identical.
Each player had his/her own row of five cards. To gain control of his row, he/she had to be more accurate in answering a high-low opinion question posed of a group of 100 people.
For example: "We asked 100 Catholics, 'Are you offended by football commentators using the term Hail Mary to describe a last-second desparation pass?' How many said yes?"
The first player gave his/her numerical answer (and usually, some reasoning), after which the opponent guessed whether the correct answer was higher or lower.
Depending on who was more accurate in their answer (an exact guess was worth $500 in addition to control of the cards), that player saw his/her base card and could either play it or change it with (what they hoped) was a better card.
The object was to correctly guess whether the next card in sequence was higher or lower. A correct guess allowed the player to continue or freeze (at which time a marker moved to that point in the row, where that contestant could continue if they won another high-low question); however, an incorrect guess (or whenever the card was identical) caused the player to lose all his/her cards after the starting point and allowed his/her opponent to play their row (however, they could not change the base card, no matter how much it was disliked).
Up to four high-low questions were played, the fourth one always being "sudden death," where someone had to win on that play of the cards. The player who was correct on that question could either play out their row (with the option to change) or force his/her opponent to play without the change option. If the player completed the row, they won the round and $100; however, a wrong guess gave his/her opponent the victory.
The front game was played best-of-three rounds, with the third round a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, each player was given three cards in their row, and a maximum of three high-low questions were played. The winner was champion and played the Money Cards.
End Game: Money Cards
In Money Cards, seven cards were situated in three rows. The player was spotted $200 and could bet anywhere from $50 up to everything they had on whether they thought the next card was higher or lower. A correct guess won the bet, a wrong guess (or if the card was identical) deducted it. The player could change the first card on each row.
After the first row of three cards, the player moved to the second row and was given an additional $200; however, if the player lost everything on the first row before reaching the end, the card that caused him/her to "BUST" was moved to the second row, and the player was given $200; however, going bankrupt at any point thereafter ended the bonus game.
After completing the second row successfully, the end card was moved to the top row for the Big Bet, where the player had to bet at least half their bankroll on the final card. A maximum of $28,800 was possible in the NBC version (accomplished once). Champions stayed on up to seven times.
During the 1980-1981 season, the player could win $500 for turning over all five cards in a single play, without an incorrect guess. Also, an identical card in the Money Cards meant a "push" (no win or loss on that play).
Cavanaughs, The 1986-1989 Outspoken 71-year-old Irish expatriate Francis "Pop" Cavanaugh is the glue holding together his tightly-knit, yet constantly bickering, clan, who mostly all reside in the same house in a middle-class neighborhood in South Boston. That is, except for flashy, oft-divorced daughter Kit, who left the family years ago to chase her dreams of show biz. Stardom eluded Kit -- whose success was limited to the showgirl circuit -- and, after an absence of two decades, she returns home to try to mend ways with her crotchety, widowed father and act as mother figure for her conservative, widowed brother Chuck's four children: Father Chuck, Jr., a twentysomething priest who comes off more like a used car salesman; Mary Margaret, a shy, 16-year-old wallflower who's trying to find her way around the dating scene; and smart-mouthed 10-year-old fraternal twins, Kevin and John. Together, the adults all manage a family owned and run business, the Cavanaugh Bros. Construction Company.
Even with critical acclaim and decent ratings following Newhart, CBS failed to put The Cavanaughs on the fall schedule in 1987, partly because of a "controversial" religion-themed episode that brought the network negative publicity from the various religious groups
Charles in Charge: The Complete First SeasonCharles in Charge (1984-1990)
Charmings, The 1987-1988 Once upon a time there was a vain queen who was so jealous of her beautiful stepdaughter, Snow White, that she poisoned her with an apple. But, a handsome prince came along and broke the spell. Snow White and Prince Charming threw the wicked stepmother down a bottomless pit and lived happily ever after. But, it turns out the pit wasn't bottomless - just very deep. And now, the queen was very mad. With a spell so powerful even she couldn't control it, she put the Charmings asleep for a thousand years. She also got herself and one dwarf. Eventually they woke up..... in California - 1987!
The Charmings ran on ABC for two seasons. Each episode shows the Charmings trying adapt to their new life while Lillian and her wise cracking Magic Mirror watch from upstairs.
Cheers1982-1993 Cheers first aired September 30, 1982. The show, a sitcom about the patrons, proprietors and employees at an intimate Boston pub ("where everybody knows your name"), debuted on NBC with barely visible ratings. Critics hailed it as a sharp half-hour comedy, but it took some time for audiences to embrace the show. Gradually, more and more people began to tune in to watch the strong cast of characters: owner Sam Malone, the cocky but affable ex-jock (Ted Danson); prim, self-important barmaid, Diane Chambers (Shelley Long); venomous waitress Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman); trivia-spouting mailman, Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger); heavyweight, diehard beer lover, Norm Peterson (George Wendt) and gullible bartender, Ernie "Coach" Pantusso (Nicholas Colasanto). Cheers began to earn truly excellent ratings during its third season (1984-85) when NBC placed it in a Thursday night primetime block with two other ratings juggernauts: Family Ties and The Cosby Show. The third season of Cheers also brought the popular addition of farm boy turned bartender Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson). The fourth season witnessed the departure of Diane Chambers and the addition of neurotic bar manager Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley). Cheers' ratings peaked during the 1989-90 season, when it was ranked number one by Nieslen. The show's finale aired May 20, 1993. Cheers enjoyed an eleven season run and won a total of five Emmys.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Live! Love (Vol. 1) 1989-? A middle-aged Jewish man (Jackie Mason) meets an Irish Catholic woman (Lynn Redgrave) and falls in love. The show was to follow the two through courtship and the crazy and hopefully funny situations that would occur due to their religious differences. This was a comedy that NBC hyped but the two lacked chemistry, and the series was quickly cancelled.
China Beach 1988-1991 China Beach was a popular show that aired from April 26, 1988 to July 22, 1991. The show was about a group of nurses just trying to do their jobs in Vietnam.
The theme for the series was "Reflections", a hit from 1968 by Diana Ross and the Supremes.
CHiPs 1977-1983 The adventures of Highway Patrol officers in Los Angeles. This great series had 6 seasons before it ended. The main characters are Jon Baker and Frank Poncherello, two motorcycle officers always on the street to save lives. 1998 followed the TV movie "CHiPs ´99" with some of the series cast but we can also see new faces like Officer Roulette and his partner or Sandy Baker, Jon´s spouse.
Chocky 1984-? This Thames TV adaptation of a novel by John Wyndham is about a twelve year old boy named Matthew Gore who becomes host to an extraterrestial entity named Chocky. Chocky is a very inquisitive entity which asks all sorts of questions about life on earth. Matthew tries to keep Chocky a secret from the people around him, but this is hard since he can't help talking to Chocky out loud.
It turns out that Chocky is an advance scout from another solar system who was sent to Earth to find a possible location for a colony for her people. She decides that Earth is not a suitable location but stays anyway because she feels it is her duty to help humans discover a new source of energy.
Chocky helps Matthew in certain things like looking at the world in a way he's never looked at it before, from the eyes of a stranger, and by saving him when he and his sister almost drown. But Chocky also endangers Matthew by being there. When a certain group of people find out about Chocky's existence, they kidnap Matthew and perform tests on him. This event leads Chocky to believe Matthew's life is in danger and she must leave him.
Chocky was well received by children and adults alike and was quickly followed by two 6 episode sequels called Chocky's Children and Chocky's Challenge
Code Red 1981-1982 Joe Rorchek was a 30-year veteran of the Los Angeles City Fire Department who specialized in arson investigations. His sons were also firemen - Ted on the ground and Chris from the air, as a helicopter pilot.
Other cast members included: Haley, a young woman trying to prove herself as the city's first female "smoke eater," and Danny, a homeless 13-year-old boy adopted by the Rorcheks. Of course, he joined the Fire Department's Explorer Program so he could fight fires as well.
Along with lessons in fire safety, the audience saw examples of the work of rescue operations, paramedics and even scuba diving for underwater fire protection - a danger most people didn't even know existed!
Colbys 1985-1987 The Colbys premiered in the fall of 1985, as a spin-off of the popular and highly-rated primetime soap opera, Dynasty. Originally, titled Dynasty II: The Colbys, the spin-off introduced viewers to a new "dynasty"- the wealthy and powerful Colby clan of California. In the series' premiere, Jeff Colby (son-in-law of the Carrington family from Dynasty) relocated to California to reconnect with his own kin and claim his shares in the family fortune. Jeff also hoped to reconnect with his ex-wife Fallon, who was believed to have perished the previous year, but who was not only very much alive but suffering from amnesia and newly married to Jeff's cousin Miles!
Heading up the Colby clan was Jeff's uncle, Jason Colby, a powerful businessman (à la Dynasty's Blake Carrington) who ran Colby Enterprises, the family company. Jason was married to the devious Sable, but was in love with her more sympathetic sister Francesca, who was also Jeff's mother. It was soon revealed that Jeff was actually the love child of Jason and Francesca. Jason's older sister, Constance, served as the matriarchal figure of the family. Rounding out the family were Jason and Sable's three children- twins, Miles and Monica, and daughter Bliss. Other characters included Garrett Boydston (the family lawyer), Hutch Corrigan (Constance's love interest) and Zachary Powers (Jason's ruthless business rival).
When the show first premiered, many critics dismissed it as a clone of the original series, Dynasty. And in many ways, it was. Jason, the powerful business magnate, was strikingly similar to Dynasty's Blake Carrington. Likewise, Sable appeared to be patterned after Dynasty's villainess Alexis (and to reinforce that idea, it was revealed that Alexis and Sable were cousins), while Francesca seemed akin to Dynasty's Krystle. Additionally, old Dynasty plotlines seemed to be recycled in the new series. For example, on Dynasty, Jeff married Kirby, who had been raped by Adam and became pregnant, while on The Colbys, Jeff married Fallon, who had similarly been raped by Miles and became pregnant. The similarities between the two shows and the frequent cross-overs from Dynasty cast members did little to help The Colbys establish its own identity during its initial season, which, unfortunately, did not share the same ratings success as its predecessor. To make matters worse, at the end of the first season, two of the series' regulars, Barbara Stanwyck (Constance) and Ken Howard (Garrett), quit the show.
During the show's second season, efforts were made to improve the show, such as adding a handful of new characters and curtailing the crossovers with the original series. In January 1987, Michael Parks joined the cast as Phillip Colby, Jason's trouble-making younger brother, who had long been presumed dead. Then, in March 1987, the show made its boldest move ever, when, in the season-ending cliffhanger, the show's heroine, Fallon, was abducted by a U.F.O!! And while that particularly episode, scored the highest ratings for the series, it was not enough to save the show, which was soon cancelled (although some of the characters would transition back to the parent series, Dynasty).
Condo 1983-? An Insurance Salesman with family in tow, moves from a big house to a smaller Condumidiaum. There he meets Jesse Rodriguez and family. , Jokes galore about relegion and other issues occared during the shows brief TVDom Appearance.
The Cosby Show - All Seasons 1984-1992 Long-running popular comedy television series about the Huxtable family. Doctor Heathcliff Huxtable and Clair Huxtable, a happily married couple, are raising their children (Sondra, Denise, Theodore, Vanessa, and Rudy). The two oldest daughters eventually live successful adult lives and get married (Sondra to Elvin and Denise to Martin). As the children get older, the family gets larger and, to the chagrin of Cliff, keep on coming back home when he wants them to move out and live on their own for good.
The Cover Up 1984-1985 Dani Reynolds is photographer. Her life changes after her husband dies. She learned that he was the mild mannered man he said he was but was in reality a government agent. When she found out that he was murdered, she recruited a former Vietnam Vet Mac Harper to help her find her husbands killers. After doing that, Henry Towner, her husband's boss, offered her her husband's job. Basically, she would continue being a photographer and Mac was one of her models. And Henry would send them anywhere in the world where there are Americans in trouble or criminals that need to be apprehended or enemies of the U.S. that had to be stopped, and they acted pretty much on their own. When Jon-Erik Hexum who played Mac died, Jack Striker joined the show as an actual agent who joined Dani's team as the new model.
Crazy Like a Fox 1984-1986 Harrison K. Fox was a conservative young attorney trying to develop a successful law practice in San Francisco to support his wife, Cindy, and his young son, Josh. Unfortunately his life was endlessly complicated by his unconventional father Harry, a lovable con artist and private eye who was constantly getting involved in murder cases. Harry was a real character. When he got involved in a dicey case, he would inevitably drag Harrison in with him
Crime Story - All Seasons 1986-1988 Chicago, 1963. As head of the police department's Major Crime Unit, Lieutenant Michael Torello must deal with the city's most dangerous criminals. And possibly the most dangerous of all is Ray Luca, a young ambitious street hood who's out to gain wealth and power by whatever means - including theft, threats, extortion and murder. As Luca begins his ruthless climb up the ladder of organized crime, leaving a growing number of victims in his wake, Torello becomes more and more determined to bring him down.
The cases of an undercover police unit composed of young looking officers specializing in youth crime.
1985 This series took place in an apartment building, numbered 227. The cast would frequently be found sitting outside on a large set of stone stairs, in some discussion that would unfold into the weekly plot line.
ABC Afterschool Special 1972-1997
A Different World 1987
After MASH
1983-1984
1984-1986 Airwolf itself was a hi-tech attack helicopter, equipped with cutting-edge on-board computer, surveillance and radar systems, able to fly quicker than the fastest jets, and armed with awesome fire-power. Dubbed "The Lady" due to it's slender grace, Airwolf had been constructed by "The Firm", a mysterious, top-secret division of the C.I.A., distinguishable by it's agents all-white dress code.
At the start of the Pilot adventure, we see Airwolf on its maiden test flight, piloted by its creator, Dr. Moffet (David Hemmings). But after the successful test flight, the twisted Moffet turns the chopper's lethal fire-power onto the flight tower, causing carnage, before heading off to Libya in the machine.
Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III, codename "Archangel" (Alex Cord), the head of the division who built Airwolf, is badly wounded in the assault but not yet out of the game. Now wearing an eye-patch and walking with aid of a cane as a result of his injuries, he calls upon ace combat pilot Stringfellow Hawke (Jan-Michael Vincent) to take the task of bringing back Airwolf from Libya.
1986-1990
Gordon Shumway, last known survivor from the planet Melmac, crash-lands his spaceship into the Tanner family's suburban garage. Willie dubs him "ALF", short for Alien Life Form. After convincing a military officer that they are not harboring a space creature, the Tanners decide to take ALF in as a member of the family.
Alf Tales
Because of the big success of the TV show "ALF", the producers decieded in 1988 to create two animated ALF series. One is just called "ALF" and it's about ALF's time on Melmac and the other one is called "ALF Tales", and that's the one this page is about. While the "real" ALF always appeares in the beginning of each ALF animated episode to give a little introduction to his memories, ALF tales consists completely of animated scenes, there's no real life part in it. Spinoff of: ALF
1985-1989
Alfred Hitchcock Presents was a mystery and suspense anthology hosted by the master of supsense Alfred Hitchcock. Each 30 minute episode included opening and closing vingettes featuring Hitchcock who would often explain some aspect of the day's show and would often offer subtle (or not so subtle) jabs at the shows sponsors.
The series premiered on CBS on Sunday, October 2, 1955 in the 9:30-10:00 PM timeslot opposite ABC's The Original Amateur Hour and NBC's Alcoa-Goodyear Playhouse. In its sixth season the show moved to NBC and was shown on Tuesday 8:30-9:00 PM. On NBC it served as the lead in for two other anthology shows Thriller and The Dick Powell Show.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents featured both original works produced directly for television and adaptations of existing source material. Some authors whose work was adapted for the series include: Alexander Woollcott, Ambrose Bierce, Cornell Woolrich, Frederic Brown, Henry Slesar, H.H. Munro (aka Saki), John Cheever, John Collier, John Wyndham, Ray Bradbury, Roald Dahl, and Robert Bloch. The show also featured work by famous (or later famous) directors Alfred Hitchcock and Robert Altman. It also served as a proving ground for stars and future stars: Charles Bronson, Robert Redford, Steve McQueen, Peter Lorre, Robert Duvall, and Vera Miles.
In 1962, Alfred Hitchcock Presents was expanded to one hour and was shown under the title the The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. In 1985, the these shows experienced a revival under the title Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Spinoff: The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Alice (1976-1985) Alice was first seen in August of 1976 but was based on the 1975 film, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore starring Ellen Burstyn and centering around Alice Hyatt. The television series had Linda Lavin starring as Alice. After her husband, Donald, was killed in a truck accident, Alice Hyatt and her 12-year-old son, Tommy, moved out of their home in New Jersey and headed for Hollywood.
Alice's dream was to become a singer but for the time being she got work as a waitress in a greasy spoon, Mel's Diner after her car breaks down in Phoenix. Mel was gruff and demanding and constantly bossing his three waitresses around.
The other two waitresses, in the beginning were Flo and Vera. Flo was the man-hungry southern belle, who's favorite saying was "Kiss My Grits." The other waitress, Vera, was shy and quiet and somewhat, as Mel put it, "dingy." Flo left in 1980 for her own series and was replaced by Belle who was later replaced by Jolene.
In 1985, the series came to an end with Mel selling the diner, a married Vera, was now pregnant, Jolene was planning to open a beauty shop and Alice's dream was finally coming true, she became a lead singer with a band in Nashville.
Spin-offs: Flo
1989-1990
Amazing Stories - The Complete First Season
1985-1987
1986-1991
Archie Bunker's Place - The Complete First Season
1979-1983
A-Team, The - Season One Through Four 
1983 - 1987
Four Vietnam vets, framed for a crime they didn't commit, help the innocent while on the run from the military.
Automan 1983-1984
Beauty and the Beast 1987-1990
1983-1984
Benny Hill Show, The
1969-1989 In a move that further angered the BBC - the Corporation had commissioned and screened four new programmes with the comic in 1968, even after he had made a show for ATV the year before - Benny Hill upped sticks and moved to Thames in time for the week that ITV launched a regular colour service. (BBC1 went to colour at the same time; BBC2 had been screening programmes in colour since 1967.) Undoubtedly, even taking into account his achievements in the 1950s, it was these Thames programmes that gave Hill his greatest commercial success; moreover, they led to his astonishing global breakthrough.
Quite simply, when most people today speak of Benny Hill they do so with these Thames shows in mind, 58 hour-long productions made in 20 years, most of them featuring very highly in the ratings. (Hill did little TV work except for these shows and, being already wealthy beyond his exceedingly modest needs, certainly didn't do them for the money.) It was here that most viewers came to know - maybe even love - the lisping, inept nitwit Fred Scuttle, the Chinaman Chow Mein and a host of other characters who were often set in a village he named Little Dimpton. And, of course, there were the ever-present bevy of beauties who, from 1980, were named Hill's Angels. Hill's unusual twist was that rather than him chasing them, the girls chased him, and every programme ended with an extended, speeded-up sequence - set to corny but unforgettable music - in which the posse became longer and longer. (The music was 'Yakety Sax', an instrumental composed by Randy Randolph and James Rich - Americans, but with appropriate names.)
While it is largely thought now that these Thames shows comprised nothing but the scantily clad women and accompanying innuendo-laced humour, they also - especially in the first ten years - featured more of Hill's clever mime work and parodies of other entertainers and in-vogue TV shows. All the same, it was the more simplistic, bawdy humour that continued to attract attention. A selection of the best Thames TV sketches from 1969 to 1973 was released as a theatrically distributed movie, The Best Of Benny Hill, in 1974 (director/producer John Robins), and people paid in their droves to see it on the big screen.
In 1979, the Thames material was re-edited into a package of half-hour shows for the American TV agent Don Taffner and these became hugely successful, causing Hill to become arguably the biggest star on US television at that time, and confounding those who had believed that, as in the case of Monty Python the essential Britishness of the humour could not appeal beyond these shores. That it did, and that Americans embraced Hill in such an all-encompassing fashion, owes much to his skill as a mime artist - many of his best sketches were without dialogue - and also to the shock factor generated by the more risqué material at a time when, generally, US TV was much more tame. And it wasn't just in America that the shows became massively popular: Hill's work went on to be cherished all over the world, regardless of how many times the shows were screened. Hill's visual comedy, much like that of Mr Bean, knows no boundaries.
Ironically, Benny Hill's international triumphs coincided with a dramatic decline in his fortunes at home. His British TV ratings slipped badly in the 1980s when not only did he suddenly crank up the bawdiness of the show but did so at a time when his particular strain of humour - lots of slap and tickle with sexy bimbettes, and treatment of women as brainless sexual objects - coincided with rising feminism and the advent of 'alternative' young comics determined to do away with sexism and the ancient 'mother-in-law' style of jokes. One can also point to Hill's physical appearance in the latter Thames shows as a further reason for the decline - he did not age well and put on much weight, so that the once cherubic features which had endeared him to viewers no longer evoked the same sympathies.
All the same, there was widespread surprise when Thames failed to renew Hill's contract in 1989. Subsequent reports suggested he would make programmes expressly for screening overseas but only one further show emerged. (Benny Hill - Unseen, details below.)
Benson 1979-1986
Best of the West 1981-1982
BJ and the Bear 1979-1981
1984
1980-1982 VHS
Henry and Kip are two advertising designers who had a real problem with finding a place to live. At the beginning, the sole place they could afford was condemned, but they only found out when the wrecking ball was smashing up the place while they were sleeping. A female friend suggested they stay at her building, but the snag is that the place is for women only. In desperation, they assume the identities of the women Hildegard and Buffy in order to rent a room. Now as they pursue their dream of success in the ad business, they also struggle to keep their deception at the apartment building so they won't be evicted, but the beautiful neighbours they have are a constant temptation.
Bozo Show, The 1980-1994 The Bozo Show had it's beginnings in a children's book in 1946. The first of it's kind, the book included a record featuring a narrator who read the story out loud, with "beeps" to tell the kids when to turn the page. Through the years, there were several incarnations of this show (see the Bozo the Clown guide for more info), but the one in Chicago is the one that will be best remembered.
This show was a staple for children throughought the 80s and 90s. Featuring humorous skits, games, cartoons and educational "field trips", this show was by far one of the best children's shows of all time. It was also one of the most successful.
Bustin' Loose
1987-1988
Cagney & Lacey
1982-1988 VHS
Cagney and Lacey are two female New York policewomen doing their job as best they can in a male-dominated police department. The weekly program was variously a "cop show", a relationship drama, and an "issues vehicle".
Call to Glory (1984)
1984-1985 VHS
Calliope
Capitol 1982-1987 The McCandless family was headed by Clarissa, a widow. She and her husband, Baxter, had five children: Tyler, an Air Force hero with political aspirations; Thomas, a handicapped doctor; Matt, an Olympic hopeful; Wally, a confused college student; and Gillian, still in her teens. Following Baxter's death, her father, former political bigwig Judson Tyler, served as the family's patriarchal figure. Playing an important role in Clarissa's life was longtime friend Senator Mark Denning. His unstable wife, Paula, was thought to be housebound. In fact, she pretended to suffer from agoraphobia as a way of holding onto her husband, who she feared was in love with Clarissa. Their daughter, Sloane, was a popular television newscaster.
The feud betweenthe Tylers and the Cleggs began thirty years earlier, when Myrna discovered her lifelong friend Clarissa was going to marry the love of Myrna's life, Baxter McCandless. Vowing revenge, Myrna implemented her first evil deed against Clarissa's family by destroying Judosn's political career. Exploiting the 'Red Scare' that had overtaken the counr¡try, Myrna succesfully convinced everyone that Judson was a closet communist.
The romance between Tyler McCandless and Julie Clegg figured prominently during the serial's first tow years (1982, 1983). When Julie suffered amnesia in a boating accident just weeks before her wedding to Tyler, Myrna took advantage of the situation convincing Julie she was in love with Lawrence Barrington. Myrna approved of Lawrence because she thought he came from a wealthy family. In reality, he was a con man hoping to tap into the Cleggs' millions by marrying Julie. Eventually, Lawrence's true identity was exposed, Julie regained her memory, and she and Tyler finally wed. Soon after, a pregnant Julie had a miscarriage and learned she'd never be able to have children. Two different attempts to adopt children proved unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, Tyler's vendetta against organized crime resulted in criminals kidnapping Julie to punish Tyler.. With Sloane's help, Tyler rescued julie. Unfortunately, Julie's return home wasn't a time for celebration. Instead, she was accused of shooting Senator Mark Denning ( he survived his wounds). It was later revealed that Jenny Diamond, a deranged woman with an amazing resemblance to Julie, was responsible. Before the serial ended, Julie and Tyler decided to separate.
Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future: Volume Two: Final Stand (3 Complete Episodes)
1987-1988) VHS Earth 2147. The legacy of The Metal Wars , where man fought machine - and machines won. Biodreads. Monstrous creations that hunt down human survivors and digitize them. Volcania. Center of the biodread empire. Stronghold and fortress of Lord Dread , feared ruler of this new order. But from the fires of the Metal Wars arose a new breed of warrior. Born and trained to bring down Lord Dread and his biodread empire. They were Soldiers of the Future . Mankind's last hope.
Card Sharks 1978-1981 "Ace is high, deuce is low. Call them right and win the dough ... onnnn ... Card Sharks!" That's how the opening spiel for one of the most popular new game shows of the late 1970s went.
Based on the card game Acey Deucy, Card Sharks enjoyed two successful runs: from 1978 to 1981 on NBC daytime; and from 1986-1989 on CBS (a five-a-week syndicated entry aired from 1986-1987). There was also an ill-advised debacle of a run, a five-a-week syndicated show that appeared in the fall of 2001. The basic premise for all three runs was similar: complete the row of cards before your opponent does, by correctly guessing whether the next card was higher or lower.
1978-1981 and 1986-1989 versions
The rules for the 1978 and 1986 versions, which saw two players (one a returning champion) compete, were virtually identical.
Each player had his/her own row of five cards. To gain control of his row, he/she had to be more accurate in answering a high-low opinion question posed of a group of 100 people.
For example: "We asked 100 Catholics, 'Are you offended by football commentators using the term Hail Mary to describe a last-second desparation pass?' How many said yes?"
The first player gave his/her numerical answer (and usually, some reasoning), after which the opponent guessed whether the correct answer was higher or lower.
Depending on who was more accurate in their answer (an exact guess was worth $500 in addition to control of the cards), that player saw his/her base card and could either play it or change it with (what they hoped) was a better card.
The object was to correctly guess whether the next card in sequence was higher or lower. A correct guess allowed the player to continue or freeze (at which time a marker moved to that point in the row, where that contestant could continue if they won another high-low question); however, an incorrect guess (or whenever the card was identical) caused the player to lose all his/her cards after the starting point and allowed his/her opponent to play their row (however, they could not change the base card, no matter how much it was disliked).
Up to four high-low questions were played, the fourth one always being "sudden death," where someone had to win on that play of the cards. The player who was correct on that question could either play out their row (with the option to change) or force his/her opponent to play without the change option. If the player completed the row, they won the round and $100; however, a wrong guess gave his/her opponent the victory.
The front game was played best-of-three rounds, with the third round a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, each player was given three cards in their row, and a maximum of three high-low questions were played. The winner was champion and played the Money Cards.
End Game: Money Cards
In Money Cards, seven cards were situated in three rows. The player was spotted $200 and could bet anywhere from $50 up to everything they had on whether they thought the next card was higher or lower. A correct guess won the bet, a wrong guess (or if the card was identical) deducted it. The player could change the first card on each row.
After the first row of three cards, the player moved to the second row and was given an additional $200; however, if the player lost everything on the first row before reaching the end, the card that caused him/her to "BUST" was moved to the second row, and the player was given $200; however, going bankrupt at any point thereafter ended the bonus game.
After completing the second row successfully, the end card was moved to the top row for the Big Bet, where the player had to bet at least half their bankroll on the final card. A maximum of $28,800 was possible in the NBC version (accomplished once). Champions stayed on up to seven times.
During the 1980-1981 season, the player could win $500 for turning over all five cards in a single play, without an incorrect guess. Also, an identical card in the Money Cards meant a "push" (no win or loss on that play).
Cavanaughs, The 1986-1989 Outspoken 71-year-old Irish expatriate Francis "Pop" Cavanaugh is the glue holding together his tightly-knit, yet constantly bickering, clan, who mostly all reside in the same house in a middle-class neighborhood in South Boston. That is, except for flashy, oft-divorced daughter Kit, who left the family years ago to chase her dreams of show biz. Stardom eluded Kit -- whose success was limited to the showgirl circuit -- and, after an absence of two decades, she returns home to try to mend ways with her crotchety, widowed father and act as mother figure for her conservative, widowed brother Chuck's four children: Father Chuck, Jr., a twentysomething priest who comes off more like a used car salesman; Mary Margaret, a shy, 16-year-old wallflower who's trying to find her way around the dating scene; and smart-mouthed 10-year-old fraternal twins, Kevin and John. Together, the adults all manage a family owned and run business, the Cavanaugh Bros. Construction Company.
Even with critical acclaim and decent ratings following Newhart, CBS failed to put The Cavanaughs on the fall schedule in 1987, partly because of a "controversial" religion-themed episode that brought the network negative publicity from the various religious groups
Charles in Charge: The Complete First Season
Charles in Charge (1984-1990)
Charmings, The 1987-1988 Once upon a time there was a vain queen who was so jealous of her beautiful stepdaughter, Snow White, that she poisoned her with an apple. But, a handsome prince came along and broke the spell. Snow White and Prince Charming threw the wicked stepmother down a bottomless pit and lived happily ever after. But, it turns out the pit wasn't bottomless - just very deep. And now, the queen was very mad. With a spell so powerful even she couldn't control it, she put the Charmings asleep for a thousand years. She also got herself and one dwarf. Eventually they woke up..... in California - 1987!
The Charmings ran on ABC for two seasons. Each episode shows the Charmings trying adapt to their new life while Lillian and her wise cracking Magic Mirror watch from upstairs.
Cheers
1982-1993 Cheers first aired September 30, 1982. The show, a sitcom about the patrons, proprietors and employees at an intimate Boston pub ("where everybody knows your name"), debuted on NBC with barely visible ratings. Critics hailed it as a sharp half-hour comedy, but it took some time for audiences to embrace the show. Gradually, more and more people began to tune in to watch the strong cast of characters: owner Sam Malone, the cocky but affable ex-jock (Ted Danson); prim, self-important barmaid, Diane Chambers (Shelley Long); venomous waitress Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman); trivia-spouting mailman, Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger); heavyweight, diehard beer lover, Norm Peterson (George Wendt) and gullible bartender, Ernie "Coach" Pantusso (Nicholas Colasanto). Cheers began to earn truly excellent ratings during its third season (1984-85) when NBC placed it in a Thursday night primetime block with two other ratings juggernauts: Family Ties and The Cosby Show. The third season of Cheers also brought the popular addition of farm boy turned bartender Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson). The fourth season witnessed the departure of Diane Chambers and the addition of neurotic bar manager Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley). Cheers' ratings peaked during the 1989-90 season, when it was ranked number one by Nieslen. The show's finale aired May 20, 1993. Cheers enjoyed an eleven season run and won a total of five Emmys.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Live! Love (Vol. 1)
1989-? A middle-aged Jewish man (Jackie Mason) meets an Irish Catholic woman (Lynn Redgrave) and falls in love. The show was to follow the two through courtship and the crazy and hopefully funny situations that would occur due to their religious differences. This was a comedy that NBC hyped but the two lacked chemistry, and the series was quickly cancelled.
China Beach
1988-1991 China Beach was a popular show that aired from April 26, 1988 to July 22, 1991. The show was about a group of nurses just trying to do their jobs in Vietnam.
The theme for the series was "Reflections", a hit from 1968 by Diana Ross and the Supremes.
CHiPs
1977-1983 The adventures of Highway Patrol officers in Los Angeles. This great series had 6 seasons before it ended. The main characters are Jon Baker and Frank Poncherello, two motorcycle officers always on the street to save lives. 1998 followed the TV movie "CHiPs ´99" with some of the series cast but we can also see new faces like Officer Roulette and his partner or Sandy Baker, Jon´s spouse.
Chocky
1984-? This Thames TV adaptation of a novel by John Wyndham is about a twelve year old boy named Matthew Gore who becomes host to an extraterrestial entity named Chocky. Chocky is a very inquisitive entity which asks all sorts of questions about life on earth. Matthew tries to keep Chocky a secret from the people around him, but this is hard since he can't help talking to Chocky out loud.
It turns out that Chocky is an advance scout from another solar system who was sent to Earth to find a possible location for a colony for her people. She decides that Earth is not a suitable location but stays anyway because she feels it is her duty to help humans discover a new source of energy.
Chocky helps Matthew in certain things like looking at the world in a way he's never looked at it before, from the eyes of a stranger, and by saving him when he and his sister almost drown. But Chocky also endangers Matthew by being there. When a certain group of people find out about Chocky's existence, they kidnap Matthew and perform tests on him. This event leads Chocky to believe Matthew's life is in danger and she must leave him.
Chocky was well received by children and adults alike and was quickly followed by two 6 episode sequels called Chocky's Children and Chocky's Challenge
Code Red 1981-1982 Joe Rorchek was a 30-year veteran of the Los Angeles City Fire Department who specialized in arson investigations. His sons were also firemen - Ted on the ground and Chris from the air, as a helicopter pilot.
Other cast members included: Haley, a young woman trying to prove herself as the city's first female "smoke eater," and Danny, a homeless 13-year-old boy adopted by the Rorcheks. Of course, he joined the Fire Department's Explorer Program so he could fight fires as well.
Along with lessons in fire safety, the audience saw examples of the work of rescue operations, paramedics and even scuba diving for underwater fire protection - a danger most people didn't even know existed!
Colbys 1985-1987 The Colbys premiered in the fall of 1985, as a spin-off of the popular and highly-rated primetime soap opera, Dynasty. Originally, titled Dynasty II: The Colbys, the spin-off introduced viewers to a new "dynasty"- the wealthy and powerful Colby clan of California. In the series' premiere, Jeff Colby (son-in-law of the Carrington family from Dynasty) relocated to California to reconnect with his own kin and claim his shares in the family fortune. Jeff also hoped to reconnect with his ex-wife Fallon, who was believed to have perished the previous year, but who was not only very much alive but suffering from amnesia and newly married to Jeff's cousin Miles!
Heading up the Colby clan was Jeff's uncle, Jason Colby, a powerful businessman (à la Dynasty's Blake Carrington) who ran Colby Enterprises, the family company. Jason was married to the devious Sable, but was in love with her more sympathetic sister Francesca, who was also Jeff's mother. It was soon revealed that Jeff was actually the love child of Jason and Francesca. Jason's older sister, Constance, served as the matriarchal figure of the family. Rounding out the family were Jason and Sable's three children- twins, Miles and Monica, and daughter Bliss. Other characters included Garrett Boydston (the family lawyer), Hutch Corrigan (Constance's love interest) and Zachary Powers (Jason's ruthless business rival).
When the show first premiered, many critics dismissed it as a clone of the original series, Dynasty. And in many ways, it was. Jason, the powerful business magnate, was strikingly similar to Dynasty's Blake Carrington. Likewise, Sable appeared to be patterned after Dynasty's villainess Alexis (and to reinforce that idea, it was revealed that Alexis and Sable were cousins), while Francesca seemed akin to Dynasty's Krystle. Additionally, old Dynasty plotlines seemed to be recycled in the new series. For example, on Dynasty, Jeff married Kirby, who had been raped by Adam and became pregnant, while on The Colbys, Jeff married Fallon, who had similarly been raped by Miles and became pregnant. The similarities between the two shows and the frequent cross-overs from Dynasty cast members did little to help The Colbys establish its own identity during its initial season, which, unfortunately, did not share the same ratings success as its predecessor. To make matters worse, at the end of the first season, two of the series' regulars, Barbara Stanwyck (Constance) and Ken Howard (Garrett), quit the show.
During the show's second season, efforts were made to improve the show, such as adding a handful of new characters and curtailing the crossovers with the original series. In January 1987, Michael Parks joined the cast as Phillip Colby, Jason's trouble-making younger brother, who had long been presumed dead. Then, in March 1987, the show made its boldest move ever, when, in the season-ending cliffhanger, the show's heroine, Fallon, was abducted by a U.F.O!! And while that particularly episode, scored the highest ratings for the series, it was not enough to save the show, which was soon cancelled (although some of the characters would transition back to the parent series, Dynasty).
Condo 1983-? An Insurance Salesman with family in tow, moves from a big house to a smaller Condumidiaum. There he meets Jesse Rodriguez and family. , Jokes galore about relegion and other issues occared during the shows brief TVDom Appearance.
The Cosby Show - All Seasons
1984-1992 Long-running popular comedy television series about the Huxtable family. Doctor Heathcliff Huxtable and Clair Huxtable, a happily married couple, are raising their children (Sondra, Denise, Theodore, Vanessa, and Rudy). The two oldest daughters eventually live successful adult lives and get married (Sondra to Elvin and Denise to Martin). As the children get older, the family gets larger and, to the chagrin of Cliff, keep on coming back home when he wants them to move out and live on their own for good.
The Cover Up
1984-1985 Dani Reynolds is photographer. Her life changes after her husband dies. She learned that he was the mild mannered man he said he was but was in reality a government agent. When she found out that he was murdered, she recruited a former Vietnam Vet Mac Harper to help her find her husbands killers. After doing that, Henry Towner, her husband's boss, offered her her husband's job. Basically, she would continue being a photographer and Mac was one of her models. And Henry would send them anywhere in the world where there are Americans in trouble or criminals that need to be apprehended or enemies of the U.S. that had to be stopped, and they acted pretty much on their own. When Jon-Erik Hexum who played Mac died, Jack Striker joined the show as an actual agent who joined Dani's team as the new model.
Crazy Like a Fox 1984-1986 Harrison K. Fox was a conservative young attorney trying to develop a successful law practice in San Francisco to support his wife, Cindy, and his young son, Josh. Unfortunately his life was endlessly complicated by his unconventional father Harry, a lovable con artist and private eye who was constantly getting involved in murder cases. Harry was a real character. When he got involved in a dicey case, he would inevitably drag Harrison in with him
Crime Story - All Seasons
1986-1988 Chicago, 1963. As head of the police department's Major Crime Unit, Lieutenant Michael Torello must deal with the city's most dangerous criminals. And possibly the most dangerous of all is Ray Luca, a young ambitious street hood who's out to gain wealth and power by whatever means - including theft, threats, extortion and murder. As Luca begins his ruthless climb up the ladder of organized crime, leaving a growing number of victims in his wake, Torello becomes more and more determined to bring him down.
