Wendy Jo Sperber is so underrated. She was the sassy heavy-set (as they would have said, back then) girl in what seemed like literally every television show, for years. It was always a good thing when Wendy was in the cast, no matter how crappy the show was.

Hill Street Blues still holds up today, without question

I had forgotten Telma Hopkins was in Bosom Buddies! She has proven over the years to be a pretty good definition of a working comic actress, and one whose work I've always enjoyed. Still a damn fine singer as well, whenever she gets the chance.

Cool, the original "Bosom Buddies" theme, a version of "My Life" not sung by Billy Joel, is retained here!

I’m really surprised at how many of these went on to be more than one season wonders, let alone how many are now considered classic television.

Glad they didn't stick with the first Magnum P.I. theme.

Has anyone else noticed how tv shows today don't really have theme songs the way that they used to? I know some of the old themes are cheesy, but I kinda miss the days when shows would include them.

Boy, there were a lot of "Real People" clones--"Speak Up, America," "That's My Line," "Those Amazing Animals," "Games People Play," and "That's Incredible!"--back in 1980! Of the new programs that premiered during the 1980-81 season, "Bosom Buddies," "It's A Living," "Too Close For Comfort," "Magnum, P.I.," "Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters," "Harper Valley, P.T.A.," "Flamingo Road," "Dynasty," and "Hill Street Blues" were renewed for a second season. Thanks for uploading, RWdt09!

Your channel is addictive! There's something very cool about seeing all of these old TV line-ups.

That Hill Street Blues theme song was everything in 1981

I believe Antenna TV is putting “It’s a Living” in its show rotation starting in January.

"GAMES PEOPLE PLAY" did make a "star" out of one of its contestants- note at 1:11, during the "America's Toughest Bouncer" competition, Lawrence Tureaud- "Mr. T"- is seen decimating a punching bag. Later, he was featured in the cast of NBC's "THE A-TEAM" (1983-'87).

Oww that John Lennon announcment just about broke my heart Rip John💋💗💗💗

1:11 Mr. T before he was famous

Battlestar Galactica 1980.... Super Scouts!

Oh man, I forgot all about "It's a Living" but I remembered it the moment the intro started. And Too Close for Comfort too!!! And Enos... and Barbara Mandrell.... okay I watched *way too much TV* when I was a little kid!!!!! Harper Valley?!?! omg WAY too much TV but I loved it all!!! Dynasty too. And several shows I now wished I had watched back then!!

A few solid series (Hill St Blues, Dynasty, Magnum PI, Too Close for comfort), but as for the majority of the fall lineup, with shows that bad, I would have been back on the phone ready to give in to the union's demands after the first rushes!!!! (Marie Osmond singing a Queen song?!?)

This was the during the famous "Who Shot JR" cliff-hanger on "Dallas." All summer 1980 people were asking, "Who shot JR?" I had never watched the show, but I, too, got caught up in all the hoopla. Since Part II was delayed due to the actors' strike CBS ran reruns from the previous season which led up to the episode where he was shot.

The only shows that had any staying power were Dynasty, It's a Living, Magnum PI, Hill Street Blues, and Too Close for Comfort. And then Bosom Buddies was a cult classic. That was a brutal 27:30 I'll never get back…

For better or for worse, I REMEMBER MOST OF THE SHOWS FEATURED! I mainly remember Bosom Buddies, Dynasty, Magnum, p.i., Hill Street Blues and The Mandrell Sisters show. 🎭

How'd I end up watching all these videos about old TV shows? I came to YT to look at a volcano, and now I'm seriously missing Hill Street Blues. Odd but I didn't realize how much the disco sound still had an influence on American TV in 1981. It's like the '70s were over but nobody at the networks got the memo. AND I didn't realize that Magnum P.I. once had a different theme.

Surprised The Greatest American Hero wasn't included. It premiered on March 18, 1981.

The scary thing isn't the shows that got cancelled right of the bat or shortly after.. but the ones that should have been that didn't.

Whoa, NBC Magazine must have been on for only about 30 seconds, because David Brinkley left NBC for ABC’s This Week in 81

Does Hillstreet Blues still hold up today as that was the best show from this bunch.

2:19- Fred Silverman not only scheduled another variation of "THE FLINTSTONES" for NBC's Saturday morning schedule that fall {"THE FLINTSTONE COMEDY SHOW"}, he also had several of those episodes reworked into a limited prime-time series for a few weeks (I mean, he was DESPERATE to get viewers to watch NBC during those strikes!).

Who knew Tom Hanks would become a MEGA STAR...

I loved Bosom Buddies. We watched it in my dorm’s lounge because who had TVs in their dorm room? It’s not like college installed cable in dorm rooms then. Fun memories. 😊

Almost nobody figured out that off that mess the strike put 3 legendary series would emerge as MAGNUM PI (starting in late '80), HILL STREET BLUES and DYNASTY (starting in early '81) and a few more that made careers or made it for longer than a couple of seasons.

Titles for "Games People Play" were done by Image West and can be seen here on KZfaq as part of their 1981 demo reel.

Tom Hanks in ‘Good lord, when is my career going to start already?!’

Funny how you can tell by the quality of the intros which shows would make it past season 1.

This also delayed the cliffhanger answer to "who shot JR" on Dallas. Sonny Shroyer was thinking ahead when he had it written into his contract that if the show "Enos" flopped, he could return to the Dukes of Hazzard. It's almost like he knew that show was doomed to fail.

I can’t see that “Bosom Buddies” intro without thinking of that one episode of Adam Scott’s “Greatest Event in Television History.”

My goodness how did some of these make it past the first commercial break?

For "Those Amazing Animals," why wasn't Burgess Meredith holding a Penguin? Why wasn't Jim Stafford holding a Spider and a Snake?

I watched most of this having it confused with the writer's strike that gave us Paradise! (I love Paradise's opening...) Paradise was uniquely born of the 88 strike: a western that stayed HISTORICALLY ACCURATE its whole first season, because the strike allowed the creator to WRITE every single episode!

I remember that season, there was a writers strike and shows didn't start until November, the one I remember best was Three's Company when Suzanne Somers left the show except for a few scenes with her on the phone, she was only in 2 episodes with John and Joyce in the apartment.

While I knew there was a Harper Valley PTA movie, I had no idea it spun off into a series.

This was the year I started college, so I didn't have access to a tv (or time to watch it, come to that), so I never saw any of the shows that weren't around too long (and I didn't discover the ones that did hang around until much later). Looks to me that apart from the earliest years of MAGNUM and HILL STREET BLUES, I didn't miss too much. As for Tom Hanks on BOSOM BUDDIES, well, face it, you gotta start somewhere (or did I say that before in commenting on the '80-'84 compilation video?)

1:31 Strange irony: the Penguin gets to host Those Amazing Animals! (YOU'RE A BUM, ROCK!)

They managed to pull it off despite everything. Compared to Fall 1979 this was a pretty good season.

I'd rather watch this mixed fruit collection of schlock than the current unpalatable tripe of network TV

Could've gone the rest of my life without being reminded about the Mandrell Sisters. :/

I can't believe how many familiar actors appeared in these shows. Just look at this list: "Ladies' Man": Herbert Edelman, who played Stan, Dorothy's ex-husband on "The Golden Girls." "I'm A Big Girl, Now": Diana Canova, formerly of "Soap" (she's also the daughter of Judy Canova, who was a popular "hillbilly"-type comic back in the 1940s-50s, and who even had her own radio show); Danny Thomas; future comic star Martin Short. "Breaking Away": Jackie Earle Haley, who I believe is the son of Jack Haley, Jr. and Liza Minnelli (Jack, Jr.'s father, Jack Haley, Sr., played the Tin Woodsman who wanted a heart in the classic 1939 film, "The Wizard Of Oz," which starred Judy Garland, the mother of Liza Minnelli); Vincent Gardenia, who appeared on "All In The Family," first as Archie Bunker's neighbor who sells his house (which is next door to the Bunker's house) to a black family, the Jeffersons​ (who later got their own spin-off series), then as one​ half of a wife-swapping couple (the wife was played by Rue McClanahan, who was Vivian on "Maude," another spin-off from "All In The Family," and later Blanche on "The Golden Girls," featuring her former "Maude" co-star, Bea Arthur), and finally as new neighbor Frank Lorenzo (whom Archie thinks is "a fag" because he loves singing and cooking), whose wife, Irene (Betty Garrett), becomes a close friend of Archie's wife, Edith. Gardenia also played a police detective who tracks down Charles Bronson as the Vigilante Killer in the first two "Death Wish" movies. "Flamingo Road": Howard Duff, who appeared in various movies, radio and television shows during the 1940s-50s, usually playing "tough guy" roles, like Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer; Kevin McCarthy, who was in the original version of the science- fiction film, "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers" (1956); by the way, he also had a bit part in the 1978 remake of the movie. "Foul Play": Barry Bostwick, who has been a well known movie and T.V. actor for decades (he was, incidentally, the first "Danny Zucco" in the original Broadway production of the musical "Grease"; John Travolta played the role famously in the 1978 movie version); Greg and John Rice, two midget twin brothers who first appeared on "Real People," and then were in a series of popular television commercials for a well known pest extermination service (I don't remember the name of the company). I heard that one of them died many years ago, but I don't remember which one. "Nero Wolfe": George Voskovec, another character actor who appeared in several movies and T.V. programs; I recall seeing him as one of the jurors in the movie "12 Angry Men" (1957), starring Henry Fonda (I think Voskovec may have been in​ the original television play version from the anthology series "Studio One"). "The Gangster Chronicles: An American Story": Richard Castellano, who played Peter Clemenza in the film "The Godfather" (1972). In the credits for "Dynasty," Dale Robertson was listed as a guest star. I remember seeing him back in the '70s in a couple of Made-For-TV films​ as Melvin Purvis, the F.B.I. agent credited with the shooting death of bank robber John Dillinger. Bo Svenson appeared in the short-lived program "Walking Tall," which was based on the 1973 film about Sheriff Buford Pusser, who waged a one-man war on corruption and Organized Crime in his small Tennessee town. Joe Don Baker played Pusser in the film, but Bo Svenson took over the role in the two sequels, "Part Two, Walking Tall" (1974), and "Final Chapter, Walking Tall" (1975), which ended with Pusser's tragic death in an automobile accident, which the movie suggests was actually an Underworld assassination.

The first season of Dynasty (before Joan Collins) was rough.

I watched a lot of these shows. My favorite was the one here that doesn't have the opening credits, just a commercial, Secrets Of Midland Heights. It had a great cast of vets and young people,some of the younger cast members went on to have great careers. Linda Hamilton and Lorenzo Lamas obviously have had big careers. A very young Melora Hardin of The Office was on it as well. I wish there was someone who had the opening credits or even some of the ten episodes produced that could put it online. Would love to see it again.

It’s amazing how innocent that era of shows seems compared to now. Also I can look at some of these shows and tell which production house made it. They have particular identifiable esthetics….

Whatever happened to that Hanks guy from Bosom Buddies? I hope his career stayed on track

great change of themes for magnum p.i. wikipedia wouldn't tell one that or even provide the emotion of how a simple change, transforms the entire show

0:55 I remember seeing this as a preeteen. The first show I've ever heard of a guy called "Mr. T". 1:16 I also remember this! By the creators of "That's Incredible!" (unless I'm mistaken).

I was 18 in 80-81...attending college and never watched a single show on TV during this time. Except news.

Somehow, you got Hill Street Blues amid this other dreck . . .

The original intro to Bosom Buddies featured a song by Stephanie Mills that was popular but never released as a full song.

Wow, was Magnum PI really so long ago?? I still watch it now on some satellite channel. Love it!

Charge TV airs some version of 'Walking Tall (its either pre or post-series Movies of the week, or episodes edited to form movie 'sequels"

My mother LOVED LOVED LOVED "It's a Living"!

"CONCRETE COWBOYS" was originally produced as a 1979 TV movie, co-starring Tom Selleck and Jerry Reed. It was watched by enough people for CBS to consider making a weekly series out of it. However, by the time it was produced, Selleck had already opted to star as "MAGNUM, P.I."- and Geoffrey Scott replaced him in the series. And it lasted only a few weeks.....

One could argue this 80-81 season was ahead of its time with all the reality competitions, sports, and special interest stuff. That's like 90% of TV now because streaming services have begun to usurp traditional programming.

I remember liking Too Close For Comfort when I was a kid (I was 6 when it aired). I'm afraid to re-watch it now because I probably won't like it, and I'll have destroyed a happy memory.

43 years later, with Both SAG-AFTRA & the WGA on strike, history may very well repeat itself (Lots of "Reality" shows, Game shows, Hastily thrown together News shows and other oddities, I'm sure).

As a young kid, I remember all of these shows. Must have watch a lot of TV.

Games People Play was the first appearance of Mr. T on either tv or the big screen

I forgot Holland Taylor was in Bosom Buddies.

I always loved the song my life by billy joel from bosom buddies.

The pilot of "BOSOM BUDDIES" was filmed; the series was videotaped. Betty Kennedy eventually became "Mrs. Herbert B. Leonard"- the producer of "LADIES' MAN".

1:10 a very early Mr T. This was before A-Team. He was transitioning from bouncer to star. Evidently burned a few people along the way too.

Lydia Cornell... mmm mmm MMM!!!

When i first saw Bosum buddies i knew Tom Hanks was going somewhere even when he made the Cheezy Mazes and Monsters he was the only Actor to stand out.

Amazing the greatest show of all time Hill Street Blues came out of this disastrous season. Glad I had a pretty active social life at the time.

I only remember like one scene in the entire run of "I'm a big girl now." but i never forgot the theme song to that. i thought it was so pretty and i remember sing or humming it while i worked long after the show was cancelled and i always tried to remember where i heard it from. :)

Anybody spot Bridget Hanley, late of "Here Come the Brides" (1969) in Harper Valley?

I remember in 1980-81, the solid sitcoms were that were strong "The Jeffersons" 3's Company", "One Day At A Time" & "Alice", also "Different Strokes" & "Facts of Life, with "Jeffersons" being the only black sitcom, besides "Sanford",( witch that only stayed for 2 seasons), to went on to grabbed an Emmy in 1981!!

Wow. I must not have watched TV in these years, I would've been 11. I can count on one hand which of these shows I've heard of and on one finger how many I've seen (2 episodes of Hill Street Blues in college for a TV class). Tell you what, though, I can smell the coke wafting down from the writers rooms of some of these, lo, 40 years later. I do remember where I was when Lennon died; in front of the living room TV, angry because my older cousin was hogging the set to watch Monday Night Football. I picked up on what Howard Cosell said, and when I heard the words "Lennon" and "shot", I pushed Cousin out of the way and tuned to CBS, where Douglass Edwards' did the news break. I was a fan of the Beatles by then, and John was my favorite.

I liked the ted knight show

I liked the Gangster Chronicles; I thought it was well done. Michael Nouri was playing Lucky Luciano, Nick Penny was Bugsy Siegel and Brian Benben was actually playing Meyer Lansky but because Lansky was still alive, they had to change his name (Michael Lasker I think it was). It was unusual that two of the three main characters (who were played as the "heroes" of the story--good guys as compared to Capone, Genovese and Dutch Schultz) were Jewish.

13:15-My god, Freddie Mercury must have been turning over in his grave-and he wasn't even dead yet!

Oh man...that Marie Osmand clip was super creepy

In the end credits to Steve Allen show, notice there is a mention of John Lennon twice? I guess this had aired right after that maniac killed him.

I believe it's Sturgon's Law which states "90% of everything is crud". The vast majority of these shows don't rise to that level. Of all of them maybe three are at all memorable (Magnum being at the top of the list of course).

Wendy Jo Sperber would go on to appear in Back to the Future

So Walking Tall was about a sheriff who went around hitting things with a bat? How was that not a hit?

Sonny Shroyer was a very shrewd man- he had written into his contract that, if "ENOS" was cancelled after one season, he could return to "THE DUKES OF HAZZARD". And he did, for the rest of the series.

Eerily, I remember I was watching Ladies' Man the night John Lennon died. Halfway through the show the news report interrupted the show.

A pre-fame Mr T @1:11!

I remember this all too well, unfortunately.

Judging by the first 3 shows , you really could tell there was a writer's strike. Yuck . The Flintstones Meet The Frankenstones . 😲

I was in jr. high so the only show I really watched out of this bunch was HSB, but remember the folks watching some of the others like To Close For Comfort and Bosom Buddys.

This was when reality TV got its start.

Were all the animal, variety and what we'd now call "reality" shows a way around the strike at the time?

I still watch Too Close For Comfort reruns. Such a great show!

How bad was television back then? We had a prime time talk show with wild animals as guests. Week after week, Number 96 was the lowest rated show on television. Out of morbid curiosity I watched it once. The most incredible thing about it was that NBC could not sell advertising for it! The commercial breaks were entirely public service announcements and promos for their other shows which were dying almost as fast as this show. This of course would be impossible to imagine today.

Bosom Buddies had a remake in the last writers strike "Work It".

Gangster Chronicles was full of good people, including Jonathan Banks.

As a lad I would watch any damn thing with puppets, so I remember sitting through a lot of insufferable banjo plucking and wretched hayseed drivel just to get to the Krofft puppets, none of which I can even vaguely recall the names or personalities of now. But the Mandrell sisters were pretty cute.

I don't know why, kind of relaxing I guess, but I really, really dig the Too Close For Comfort theme song.

What a difference in the Magnum PI theme music between season 1 and later.. The guitar intro is so much better..

When the big three networks said, "programming"....... It was meant literally....... And explains so much......

“Games People Play” truly gave birth to the concept of “Reality TV”...lol

some of the biggest shows in tv history almost werent...what a trip