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From Gilligan to Alf: 10 great TV series from back in the day
For decades now, television series have been a part of our culture. And while many have faded into oblivion, quite a few are fondly remembered by fans all over the world, even years after their endings. Maybe it has to do with nostalgia, or perhaps it is something else, but no one can deny that characters like MacGyver or Alf are very much alive in pop culture. The following 10 are just a handful of the ones deserving a spot on this list, but still, these are the ones we remembered the most. Which ones do you recall?
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The Twilight Zone
The first show on our list was a fantasy science-fiction series created and presented by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons from 1959 to 1964. Each episode presented a standalone story in which characters dealt with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described as entering "the Twilight Zone", often with a surprise ending.
Since the show appeared, the phrase "Twilight Zone" has become a household term used to describe surreal experiences. The series featured both established stars and younger actors who would become much better known later.
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Bewitched
America’s favorite witch, Samantha Stephens was the star of Bewitched, a sitcom series that aired from 1964 to 1972. The plot of the show revolves around a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and leads the life of a typical suburban housewife.
The show was popular and starred Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens, Dick York as Darrin Stephens, and Agnes Moorehead as Endora, Samantha’s mother.
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Gilligan’s Island
Its iconic soundtrack and Gilligan’s bucket hat remain a part of today’s pop culture. This sitcom aired from 1964 to 1967, and it followed the misadventures of seven castaways trying to survive on an island where they shipwrecked.
Most episodes revolve around the different castaways’ conflicts and their unsuccessful attempts to escape the island, with the ship’s first mate, Gilligan, usually being responsible for the failures.
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MASH
This comedy-drama aired from 1972 to 1983 and was a spinoff of the 1970 film MASH. The series follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the "4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital" (hence the name, MASH) in South Korea during the Korean War.
The series included broad comedy and tragic drama and was one of the highest-rated shows in U.S. television history, regarded by many as one of the greatest television shows of all time. Its final episode remains both the most-watched finale of any television series and the most-watched episode of a scripted series.
Image: The Australian War Memorial
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Very few people in showbusiness, if any, are as widely appreciated as Fred Rogers, the host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Both his onstage and offstage persona were filled with a wholesome warmth that became an oasis in an increasingly loud and superficial medium as national television.
His half-hour educational children’s television show ran from 1968 to 2001. The series was aimed primarily at preschool children ages 2 to 5, but it was labeled by PBS as "appropriate for all ages".
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Knight Rider
The television series that showcased a young David Hasselhoff helping people in distress with his talking car aired from 1982 to 1986. Michael Knight (Hasselhoff’s character) was a modern-day crime-fighter who used a technologically advanced, artificially intelligent automobile.
The car, named KITT, was virtually indestructible due to a high-tech coating applied to it. Knight Rider stories usually depicted either average citizens or ethical heads of corporations being bullied into subservience to an overbearing or ruthless criminal organization.
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Cheers
A feelgood series, Cheers aired from 1982 to 1993. It was set in a bar of the same name in Boston, owned by former Red Sox pitcher Sam Malone, where a group of locals met to drink, relax, socialize, and escape from their daily routine.
During its run, Cheers became one of the most popular series in history, received critical acclaim from its start to its end, and is frequently cited as one of the greatest television shows of all time.
Image: Alex Knight
Sledge Hammer!
Its short lifespan (two seasons) didn’t prevent Sledge Hammer! from leaving a mark in pop culture. This satirical police sitcom aired from 1986 to 1988 and featured Inspector Sledge Hammer, a volatile agent of the law who solved crimes with outlandish methods. Hammer was accompanied by his partner, Dori Doreau, and the irascible police captain, Trunk.
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MacGyver
MacGyver was the name of the show and the character who sold a million Swiss Army knives. It was an action-adventure television series starring Richard Dean Anderson as Angus MacGyver, a secret agent armed with remarkable scientific resourcefulness to solve any problem out in the field using any materials at hand.
The show aired from 1985 to 1992 and was a ratings success. While some reboots for the series appeared in the years after its ending, none of those managed to achieve its predecessor’s success.
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Alf
The extra-terrestrial being that crash-landed in the Tanner family garage, Alf, had a hit sitcom that aired from 1986 to 1990. The series starred Max Wright as the ather, Willie Tanner, Anne Schedeen as the mother, Kate Tanner, and Andrea Elson and Benji Gregory as their children, Lynn and Brian Tanner.
As in the case of MacGyver, a few years after the original series ended, some reboots were announced.
Image: Erik Mclean
Roadtrip
