Top IMDB TV Shows (1980's), a list by Idyllwilde

9.0

/65389/

88

/976/

80

/290/

Only Fools and Horses.... Is a British sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally transmitted on BBC One from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until 2003. In working-class Peckham in south-east London, ambitious market trader Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter and his younger half-brother Rodney, explore their highs and lows in life, in particular their attempts to get rich. Initially not an immediate hit and receiving little promotion early on, it later achieved consistently high ratings, and the 1996 episode "Time on Our Hands" (originally billed as the series finale) holds the record for the biggest UK audience for a sitcom episode, attracting 24.3 million viewers. The series bears a significant influence on British culture, contributing several words and phrases to the English language.

86

8.9

/380453/

85

/14257/

82

/2232/

89

/131/

92

84

/16/

age 14+

A stand-up comedian and his three offbeat friends weather the pitfalls and payoffs of life in New York City in the '90s. It's a show about nothing.

81

8.7

/147745/

86

/9517/

84

/1666/

92

/77/

90

51

/8/

age 10+

Follow the intergalactic adventures of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and his loyal crew aboard the all-new USS Enterprise NCC-1701D, as they explore new worlds.

87

86

8.7

/29246/

Trakt

79

/404/

79

/202/

4.2

/8847/

98

/43/

94

age 14+

A pair of longtime friends and former Texas Rangers crave one last adventure before hanging-up their spurs. After stealing over a thousand head of cattle from rustlers south of the border, they recruit an unlikely crew of hands to drive the herd 3,000 miles north to the grasslands of Montana.

84

8.7

/27031/

84

/542/

81

/241/

Sherlock Holmes uses his abilities to take on cases by private clients and those that the Scotland Yard are unable to solve, along with his friend Dr. Watson.

85

8.6

/18623/

86

/534/

83

/160/

Satirical sitcom set in the office of a UK Cabinet minister, Jim Hacker MP, who struggles with Civil Service bureaucracy and political machinations as he tries to get on with government business.

85

8.6

/27476/

82

/644/

76

/215/

87

/69/

98

81

/6/

age 13+

A stranded spaceship pilot captured by mad scientists survives a blitz of cheesy B movies by riffing on them with his funny robot pals.

84

8.6

/14487/

85

/438/

83

/131/

James Hacker MP the Government's bumbling minister for Administrative Affairs is propelled along the corridors of power to the very pinnacle of politics - No. 10. Could this have possibly have been managed by his trusted Permanent Private Secretary, the formidably political Sir Humphrey Appleby who must move to the “Top Job” in Downing Street to support him, together with his much put upon PPS Bernard Wolley. What could possibly go wrong?

74

8.6

/57815/

84

/1504/

82

/523/

71

/35/

49

From England to Egypt, accompanied by his elegant and trustworthy sidekicks, the intelligent yet eccentrically-refined Belgian detective Hercule Poirot pits his wits against a collection of first class deceptions.

84

83

8.4

/11602/

81

/413/

74

/92/

100

/27/

83

/7/

age 15+

The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson.

82

8.4

/38977/

83

/2371/

80

/416/

The adventures of the last human alive and his friends, stranded three million years into deep space on the mining ship Red Dwarf.

85

8.3

/24248/

81

/905/

78

/410/

91

/32/

96

In this cult parody of cop dramas, replete with farce and sight gags, Lieutenant Frank Drebin and his fellow officers from Police Squad bungle their way though crime investigations.

81

8.3

/10272/

82

/498/

79

/127/

A British comedy television series with turns of phrase and elaborate wordplay, written by and starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.

79

8.2

/52021/

80

/1802/

75

/369/

82

/6/

age 13+

Four Southern Florida seniors share a house, their dreams, and a whole lot of cheesecake. Bright, promiscuous, clueless and hilarious, these lovely, mismatched ladies form the perfect circle of friends.

84

78

8.2

/11636/

76

/237/

76

/114/

97

/56/

88

A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.

75

8.2

/38979/

79

/1891/

80

/746/

61

/7/

age 12+

Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished... He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home.

80

76

8.2

/15685/

80

/324/

78

/134/

Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis, as well as a large cast of notable actors and actresses.

80

8.2

/17603/

81

/493/

78

/141/

The misadventures of four lunatic students who live in a shared student house. There's Rick, the overblown political one addicted to Cliff Richard, Vyvyan the experimental scientific one/part-time anarchist, Neil the worried hippy, and Mike the ladies' man (at least he is in his mind).

73

8.1

/116979/

78

/3909/

77

/1138/

58

/5/

age 15+

Al Bundy is an unsuccessful middle aged shoe salesman with a miserable life and an equally dysfunctional family. He hates his job, his wife is lazy, his son is dysfunctional (especially with women), and his daughter is dim-witted and promiscuous.

80

8.1

/17597/

77

/524/

76

/223/

3.7

/3376/

79

/39/

91

age 14+

An English navigator becomes both a player and pawn in complex political games in feudal Japan.

75

74

8.0

/12292/

79

/664/

81

/37/

3.9

/3007/

71

/7/

67

Don't Panic! The story of Arthur Dent, an average Englishman who life was spared by his friend, who turned out to be an alien, while the planet Earth is destroyed. His friend tells him about the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a guide with anything you ever needed, and wanted to know. They travel across the galaxy, meeting friendly, and not so friendly characters in order to find the great question (the answer being 42).

82

8.0

/67224/

78

/2335/

76

/635/

87

/94/

95

81

/17/

age 13+

The story about a blue-collar Boston bar run by former sports star Sam Malone and the quirky and wonderful people who worked and drank there.

83

8.0

/43373/

84

/2694/

79

/519/

85

/29/

89

Black Adder traces the deeply cynical and self-serving lineage of various Edmund Blackadders throughout British history, from the muck of the Middle Ages to the frontline of the First World War.

78

8.0

/37300/

79

/1448/

76

/707/

age 7+

Scrooge McDuck finds his hands full at home when nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie move to Duckburg. Joined by their loyal pals Launchpad McQuack, Gyro Gearloose and Mrs. Beakley, the DuckTales gang never fails to deliver a wealth of adventure. Get ready for a fortune of fun with DuckTales!

77

8.0

/29227/

78

/920/

79

/945/

82

/39/

92

56

/9/

Cadaverous scream legend the Crypt Keeper is your macabre host for these forays of fright and fun based on the classic E.C. Comics tales from back in the day. So shamble up to the bar and pick your poison. Will it be an insane Santa on a personal slay ride? Honeymooners out to fulfill the "til death do we part" vow ASAP?

77

7.9

/40239/

77

/1184/

78

/801/

age 7+

Four turtles fall into the sewers and are befriended by Hamato Yoshi a Japanese man sent to New York who was forced to live in the sewers. One day he sees a strange green glow which transforms the four turtles into human-like creatures. Hamato (now Master Splinter) changes into a giant rat from the green glow and teaches the turtles the skills of the ninja as they team up with news reporter April O'Neil to battle against Yoshi's arch enemy Shredder and Krang, an alien warlord from Dimension X.

79

7.9

/20317/

78

/659/

82

/1071/

age 7+

The inhabitants of the planet Thundera evacuate just before it is destroyed. They were pursued by a band of mutants. All but one of their escape ships was destroyed. Only a small group of Thunderans (Thundercats) remained. With only half engine power, the group, which was led by Jaga, had to set a course for the nearest planet. Jaga commanded their ship while the other seven were in their stasis tubes. Jaga died on their journey to Third Earth and their ship crashed there. Soon they made friends with various groups in the area and they designed a fortress. Mumm-Ra the centuries-old embodiment of evil, along with the mutants that destroyed the rest of the Thunderans are a constant threat. But Lion-O, the new leader of the Thundercats, with his weapon the "Sword of Omens" will help the Thundercats to have a standing chance.

72

71

7.8

/18615/

75

/346/

77

/957/

3.6

/5174/

67

/24/

79

60

/36/

Fifty spaceships, each three miles across, hover ominously above Earth's major cities. The Visitors that emerge are humanlike in appearance and extend the hand of friendship. Our planet's resources are just what these aliens need to survive. And for its future survival, unsuspecting humankind will need... a miracle!

75

70

7.7

/10035/

71

/229/

73

/149/

3.5

/2122/

69

/29/

88

A small group of human resistance fighters fight a desperate guerilla war against the genocidal extra-terrestrials who dominate Earth.

76

74

7.7

/13120/

76

/383/

77

/240/

This 1980s revival of the classic sci-fi series features a similar style to the original anthology series. Each episode tells a tale (sometimes two or three) rooted in horror or suspense, often with a surprising twist at the end. Episodes usually feature elements of drama and comedy.

74

7.7

/19349/

75

/436/

72

/137/

age 13+

An eccentric fun-loving judge presides over an urban night court and all the silliness going on there.

77

7.6

/44612/

78

/2073/

77

/891/

age 11+

He's everyone's favorite action hero... but he's a hero with a difference. Angus MacGyver is a secret agent whose wits are his deadliest weapon. Armed with only a knapsack filled with everyday items he picks up along the way, he improvises his way out of every peril the bad guys throw at him. Making a bomb out of chewing gum? Fixing a speeding car's breaks... while he's riding in it? Using soda pop to cook up tear gas? That's all in a day's adventures for MacGyver. He's part Boy Scout, part genius. And all hero.

77

7.6

/33323/

75

/797/

74

/477/

72

/48/

90

The story of the Miami Police Department's vice squad and its efforts to end drug trafficking and prostitution, centered on the unlikely partnership of Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs - who first meet when Tubbs is undercover in a drug cartel.

77

7.6

/26624/

75

/657/

75

/378/

89

/52/

90

62

/20/

age 11+

After being duped and going bankrupt, model Maddie is convinced by David to become a partner in a detective agency. Together they solve various cases, while getting comfortable with each other.

75

71

7.6

/11890/

73

/332/

76

/284/

age 7+

The continuing adventures of paranormal investigators Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Egon Spengler, Dr. Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, their secretary Janine Melnitz and their mascot ghost Slimer.

74

7.5

/31378/

76

/878/

73

/424/

age 11+

A private investigator who works when he wants, lives in a beachfront estate in Hawaii, drives a posh Ferrari, runs up an unlimited tab at a swank bar, and charms attractive women in peril - that's the lifestyle of Thomas Magnum, aka Magnum, P.I.

74

7.5

/44832/

74

/1823/

75

/1023/

age 11+

A fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel work as soldiers of fortune while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit."

82

7.5

/21370/

73

/637/

73

/393/

100

/7/