Best TV Shows of the '80s

Man, am I getting old! I decided to write this article on the best TV shows of the '80s and I thought, sure, I can write about Six Million Dollar Man, The Waltons, Diff'rent Strokes, M*A*S*H, and White Shadow. I was informed by crazyabouttv.com that those were TV shows of the earlier decade, not TV shows of the '80s. So I had to rethink (after I took my blood pressure medicine and cleaned my bifocals), what were some of the best TV shows of the '80s era? Reviewing the list, here are my top 5 TV shows of the '80s:

1. The Cosby Show: Who doesn't like Bill Cosby? Dr. Huxtable (Cosby) was the perfect dad that showed America how to keep your cool in tough situations, seek advice from his wife Clair (Phylicia Rashad), and hand down wisdom to his four children with finesse. And at the same time, it was downright funny! As a comedian, Bill Cosby writes the book on being hilarious without having to include vulgarity or dirty jokes to accomplish it. The Cosby Show was definitely a great TV show of the '80s.

2. The Bob Newhart Show: Ok, I promise the rest of the best TV shows of the '80s will not be titled by the main character's real name! But since we were looking at a good comedy, I had to include this one. Some may disagree with me here, but my taste can't be too far from normal since it did air for 8 seasons. This comedy had a rather dry humor to it, which if you know me at all, I am all about dry humor. Two of my favorite characters on this show was Larry, Darryl and Darryl which happened to be brothers: "My name's Larry. This is my brother Darryl and this is my other brother Darryl." (played by William Sanderson, Tony Papenfuss and John Voldstad). If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about!

3. MacGyver: In the 1980's real life, people referred to someone that could rig something out of nothing as MacGyver. Because that's what Angus MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) accomplished in his character on his hit TV show of the '80s, MacGyver. This guy could take a paper napkin, some copper wire and some ingredient from a common cooking recipe and devise a bomb that could blow open a steel door. He was the good guy that used both brains and muscles to defeat the bad guys; it was hard not to cheer for him. And, according to most females, he didn't look half bad either.

4. Unsolved Mysteries: This TV show of the '80s was real reality TV. It surprised the viewers of how many unsolved crimes were being committed by dramatizing the actual crime. Robert Stack, the host of the show, narrated the reenactments, emphasizing the craftiness and sometimes almost unbelievable acts of crime people were committing that had no closure. Because of the airing of this series of TV shows, missing persons were found and over 100 criminals were apprehended.

5. Highway to Heaven: Since I could not mention shows that aired in the 1970s, the least I could do was mention a great TV show of the '80s that starred two actors that continued to work together, Michael Landon and Victor French. Jonathon Smith (Landon) portrayed an angel in human form, traveling from town to town helping others see the benefit of doing what was right even if that meant taking the hard road. A great family TV show of the '80s that was entertaining and carried a great message at the same time.

Those were the days. Some of the best TV shows of the '80s will continue to be classics for many years to follow. And now that I'm done reminiscing about the good old days, it's time for this old man to go take a nap. (By the way, I am only 40, so I am not old!)

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