In anticipation of our Ultimate ’80s Dance Party, I was in an ’80s mood and thinking about all of the great things that came out of that decade. From the TV shows, to the movies, music, hairstyles and fashion, it was an awesome 10 year span! Plus, I was born in the beginning of it (’81), so even though I was a small kid, I got to grow up with almost all of that awesomeness! I’ve been thinking about what I should wear to our dance party, and looking to some TV shows for inspiration…which got me thinking about my favorite shows from the ’80s, so I put together this list! See if any of your faves are on here too!
10- Pee Wee’s Playhouse: This show was my fave on Saturday mornings, between the wacky cast of characters like Cowboy Curtis, Captain Carl, Reba the Mail Lady, and Miss Yvonne, and the “Secret Word”, that got everyone to scream, this show was so fun!
9- Full House: Every Friday night I’d watch TGIF for Full House. Although I didn’t realize it back then, this show had the corniest humor, but I absolutely loved it! I sang along to the theme song and wanted to be just like DJ Tanner. Have Mercy!
8- You Can’t Do That On Television: Nickelodeon was EVERYTHING when I was a kid! I loved almost every single show that came on, and this one of my faves! It was kind of cool to watch people get drenched with water when the word “water” left their lips, but it was DEFINITELY a thrill to watch them get covered in green slime when they uttered the words “I Don’t Know!” I can still remember the theme song with the school bus entrance on the show. Ahh, memories!
7- Fraggle Rock: RIP Jim Henson. He was the great creator of the amazing show Fraggle Rock, that I looked forward to so much as a little kid! Gobo, Mokey, Red, Wembley, and Boober, the Fraggles, they were the best!
6- The Wonder Years: Bringing it right back to my 9-year-old self, who had a massive crush on ‘Kevin’ aka Fred Savage, omg, he was SO adorable! I watched this show religiously, and of course, sang along to the theme song…’what would you do, if I sang out of tune… la la la!’ I remembered that even without the help of google, go me!
5- Saved By The Bell: Like clockwork, I would get out of school, go home, make a snack and turn on ‘Saved By The Bell’. I so badly wanted Jessie and Slater to stay together and hated it when they fought. I cried when Zack and Kelly broke up and I always felt bad for poor Screech, who could never get Lisa to give him a second look.
4- Reading Rainbow: I don’t remember a lot about this show, because I think I was really young when I watched it, bout 5-years-old. I remember that I absolutely LOVED it though! If my memory serves me correctly, it came on at 430pm right after Sesame Street, and I only watched Sesame Street to pass the time until my favorite, Reading Rainbow came on. I wanted to be friends with the host, LeVar Burton. This was another show that I of course, sang to the theme song.
3- Diff’rent Strokes: “What’chu talkin’ bout Willis?” It’s such a shame that many of the child actors who starred in this show were later plagued by drug addiction and legal troubles in real life.
2- Little House On The Prairie: I have seen every single episode of this show, multiple times and I even have the books somewhere in my old room at my mom’s house. This show was classic, down home, country living and I loved every second of it. Laura was my favorite, it broke my heart when Mary went blind, and that Nellie Oleson with her perfect blonde curls, she was so mean! I was so sad when Michael Landon passed away in real life in 1991 of pancreatic cancer. I felt like I really knew “Pa!”
1- Punky Brewster: This was my number 1 absolute favorite show growing up! This show taught me so much! I cried when Cherry got stuck in the refrigerator, and when Allen’s parents got divorced. I was scared when Punky was almost peer pressured into trying drugs and cheered when she “just said no!” I learned to treat everyone with kindness, when Punky’s classmates made fun of the woman working as the school janitor who sang into her mop, and Punky and Mr. Fulton were the only ones to stick up for her. I can admit that I bought every single episode of Punky Brewster on DVD off eBay back in 2008, and one time when I got the flu and was stuck in bed for days, I watched every single one. Best show ever!!
Are any of your favorite ’80s shows on my list? Doesn’t this bring you back? I had so much fun creating this list, I hope you enjoy it!
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