80s, TV Shows, Star Trek, Cop Show, Sci Fi

Of all the TV shows of the 1980's, how can I choose my all time favorites? Easy, they are the ones I can remember - and they aren't many. As a matter of fact, there are only three that I can remember contributing to my early couch potato-hood. They are Hill Street Blues, Quantum Leap and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

I won't wax nostalgic about how great the actors were back then, that the shows were more cerebral and imbued with more socially redeemable values than today's TV shows - although it is true. But I will explain what held my rapt attention for season after season of three of the most groundbreaking TV shows of the 1980s.

Groundbreaking? Why groundbreaking? Hill Street Blues was the first ensemble police-crime drama that didn't end each episode in a tidy package. You know - the bad guys got caught, the good guys got the girls and we all lived happily ever after and there was no more crime until next week. HillStreet Blues had multi-dimensional characters that seemed to carry on with their lives between episodes as they did during prime time.

I use to imagine that Captain Furillo and Public Defender Joyce Davenport would arrange a tryst at a seedy motel in between episodes or even when the TV was turned off. That Bobby Hill and Andy Renko would have a beer at a bar and trade racial stereotypes (there was no politically correct back then) all the while trying to work through their prejudices without being wimps - that's a 1980s word. Mick Belker, an undercover cop committed to catching all the bad guys he could, even at the expense of his personal life, did not have the best people skills, but was lovable all the same. The bowtie-wearing Sgt Henry Goldblume, sensitive and intelligent, who after many tribulations finally became one of the guys.

The ensemble was one of the best casts ever. The day-in-the-life style of Hill Street Blues was believable without being graphic, in dept and revealing without being voyeuristic. It relied on character, a profound understanding of human nature and the knowledge that even heroes have flaws. NYPD Blue, The Wire and the like; owe their success to the pioneering efforts of Hill Street Blues. And lest I forget the roll call that began almost every episode (until the death of Michael Conrad in 1983) with the unforgettable Sgt Phil Esterhaus who immortalized the warning, "let's be careful out there."

Being the Sci-Fi geek that I am, Quantum Leap was irresistible. I will take a minute to lambast the SciFi Channel for changing its name to "Syfy," whatever that means. Dr. Sam Beckett, Admiral Al Calavicci and Ziggy, the all-knowing artificial intelligence, were essential viewing for anyone who dared to imagine.

I often wondered if I had the opportunity to travel through time and space, would I accept it. After watching the first episode of Quantum Leap, the answer was a resounding "yes." Dr. Sam Beckett had the power to leap from person to person, setting right what was once a wrong, living a life of adventure by literally walking in someone else's shoes. He gave them a second chance, a chance to be the person they desired to be and not the person circumstances determined they should be.

Who was Sam to decide who should get a second chance? That was the question posed by Sam's antithesis, his nemesis. One of the most profound cosmological questions ever posed on a TV show. If Sam can put wrongs to rights why can't his antithesis put rights to wrongs? More importantly, what is "right" and what is "wrong?"

Usually, we are told that interference is a time traveler's nightmare, if not a paradox. With QuantumLeap, interference was the norm with Al using Ziggy to calculate the odds that the interference would not have devastating ripple effects on the time-space continuum. Question for Quantum Leap fans, how many times did Sam become a woman?

Last but not least, Star Trek: The Next Generation. It is difficult to believe that the Next Generation was a generation ago. Times flies, but I'm not travelling. Captain Picard, my beloved Data, Number One, Counselor Troi, Dr. Crusher, Worf, and Geordi were exemplar Star Fleet officers. It was just wonderful to see the continuation of the, USS Enterprise, with its mission to boldly go where no one has gone before, even when that meant the encounter with the Borg.

The Borg was a conglomeration of species, collected throughout the galaxies, which were assimilated into one collective conscious. It tried to assimilate Captain Picard, but in true Star Trek fashion, the crew managed to defeat it. Captain Picard and Data proved that resistance is not futile and humanity will continue and thrive.

It is Star Trek, what else can I say?

To future generations who may read this article, you now know that being an occasional couch potato isn't all bad - you might even learn something. "Oh, boy!"