Dallas

From all the excellent prime-time 1980s TV dramas, Dallas ranks right up at the top. The series follows the lives of the Ewing family and their rivals, the Barnes family. Being both Texan oil families, there is plenty of quarrelling and romantic intrigue weaved through the episodes. The Ewing family home, Southfork ranch, was the central location for this successful series. The show first aired in the late 70s on CBS and continued for another 13 seasons. The lead character was the infamous JR Ewing, played by Larry Hagman. The most watched episode was the ‘who shot J.R.?’ scene.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek, the extremely popular sci-fi TV series continued into the 1980s with The Next Generation episodes. The action follows the crew of the USS Enterprise, a spaceship on a journey to discover the secrets of the galaxy. The Next Generation first aired in 1987 and continued for 7 seasons. The Next Generation series won many awards, such as the first syndicated TV show to receive a nomination for the Best Dramatic Series Emmy, a total of eighteen Emmy Awards and 3 Hugo Awards.

Cheers

The television series Cheers was based on the lives of the staff and patrons of a Boston bar, called Cheers. Although it took a few seasons to attract its popular following, by the mid 1980s Cheers was highly ranked. The popularity of this show stemmed from the light-hearted comedy and the colorful lives of the folk who met at the bar. The principle character was Sam, the owner of the bar. An NBC show, Cheers was often in the top ten rated TV shows and won 26 Emmy Awards.