The 1980's was the golden age for primetime soap operas -- Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest, and Knots Landing all had their legions of faithful viewers. New life was breathed into the sitcom, with hit series like The Cosby Show, Cheers, Family Ties and the irreverent Married. . .With Children. Top crime dramas like Magnum P.I. and Hill Street Blues enjoyed long runs in the 80s, while the innovative Miami Vice had a significant impact on television imagery. Programs like thirtysomething and Moonlighting appealed to the yuppie crowd. TV talk shows hosted by the likes of Geraldo Rivera and David Letterman became more provocative and occasionally outrageous.

http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id13.htm

Turning on the TV in the 1990's enabled viewers to see the previous decade's comedy geniuses pass the torch to the new masters who were set to emerge and turn broadcasting on its ear. While 80's stalwarts like Cheers and the Cosby Show were still around, they would soon bow out to let innovative sitcoms like The Simpsons and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air rise to prominence with a new brand of cutting edge humor, sarcasm and style. In another vein, dramas would tackle the day to day of 1990s teenage existence (Beverly Hills 90210 and My So-Called Life), but they also mirrored society's fascination with doctors and medicine (ER and Chicago Hope). The traditional cop show got its own 1990s spin, taking on a harder edge with gritty programs like NYPD Blue and Homicide: Life on the Street that pushed the boundaries of broadcast television.

http://www.90s411.com/90s-movies-tv.html

Which decade of television do you think was better?

That is hard to say. I loved tv from both the 80s and 90s and shows from both the 80s and the 90s. I guess first I would have to make a top 10 list of each of my favorite shows from each decade. And decide which 10 I liked better. It's really hard to choose. I will have to get back to you.

I also liked both, but I'd give the edge to the 80's because of all the great dramas. I was crazy about Knots Landing & Dallas as well as Cagney & Lacey, Magnum PI, Simon & Simon, Miami Vice, Moonlighting, LA Law, The Greatest American Hero, Cheers, Designing Women & Newhart.

1990s for sure. 1980s had some great shows but I always look at it as being sort of the dead period after the high of the '70s. 90s had a lot of great, game changing shows, most notably The Simpsons, which is my pick for the greatest comedy of all time (the first 8 seasons anyway).

I'm a 90's kid who grew up on 90's television. It easily gets my vote!

The comment about the 80s being a dead period, between the 70s and the 90s, I think that is Ludacris. To me the 80s and the 90s are the greatest days TV has ever or will ever see. My hardest thing in coming up with a decision is determining what shows are 80s shows and what shows are 90s shows. Many shows started in the 80s but went well into the 90s. So, I need some clarification before I make my decision.

I just think, whenever I think about what I'd consider to be the greatest TV shows of all time, the only thing from the 80s that really comes to mind is Cheers, whereas with the 70s and the 90s there's many shows that spring to mind. Just my personal opinion.

I just think, whenever I think about what I'd consider to be the greatest TV shows of all time, the only thing from the 80s that really comes to mind is Cheers, whereas with the 70s and the 90s there's many shows that spring to mind. Just my personal opinion.



I hear you and, no harm done. I just don't agree. Here is just an example of some of the great shows from the 80's. Cheers, Facts of life, Family ties, Growing pains, Cagney and Lacey, Simon and Simon, Miami vice, Night court, The golden girls, Newhart, Matlock, In the heat of the night, Dukes of Hazard, The Cosby show, A-team, Magnum, Perfect strangers. I do believe Roseanne, Full house, And Married with children also started in the 80's, if that is the case. Then my choice would have to be the 80’s, But if we are considering those 3 90's shows. Along with the likes of Seinfeld, Friends, Wonder years, 90210, Step by Step, Family matters, Boy meets world, King of queens, Touched by an angel, Promised Land, Highway to heaven. I could go on and on. For me it's a very hard decision. The shows I named are really just brushing the surface.

The comment about the 80s being a dead period, between the 70s and the 90s, I think that is Ludacris. To me the 80s and the 90s are the greatest days TV has ever or will ever see. My hardest thing in coming up with a decision is determining what shows are 80s shows and what shows are 90s shows. Many shows started in the 80s but went well into the 90s. So, I need some clarification before I make my decision.
Whichever decade the show spent the most time in is what should determine if it's '80s or '90s. And usually, where it peaked. Examples: Growing Pains and Who's The Boss? are '80s. Married...With Children and Star Trek: The Next Generation are '90s.

I vote 90's because of Full house, Married with Children, Roseanne, Friends, Seinfeld, 90210 ETC. The choice isn't easy though and, I will say this the 80's had the best action shows and,police detective shows.

I just think, whenever I think about what I'd consider to be the greatest TV shows of all time, the only thing from the 80s that really comes to mind is Cheers, whereas with the 70s and the 90s there's many shows that spring to mind. Just my personal opinion.
I like many shows from the '80s, but when making a greatest of all time list, the '70s and '90s easily rank higher. Every decade was so different from the previous. Not to sound bitter, but I think this is the worst decade of television, so far (2010's). It's still early, as some of the best series from the previous decade came later on. Or it could be my nostalgia getting the best of me, not wanting to let go of my old favorites and accepting new in their spots. Or maybe I'm just getting old.

This is actually my favorite time period for TV in a while lol. There's so many great shows on the air right now that I really love. To me the worst time period would probably be the early 00s. So many reality shows and unimaginative Friends/Everybody Loves Raymond rip-offs.

The 80s while the 90s had some good shows political correctness and placing more emphasis on sex, sleaze and pure shock value rather than a good quality story killed what could've been a great decade for TV.

This is actually my favorite time period for TV in a while lol. There's so many great shows on the air right now that I really love. To me the worst time period would probably be the early 00s. So many reality shows and unimaginative Friends/Everybody Loves Raymond rip-offs.
I'm a llittle behind on my TV, lol. I'm trying to figure out what shows to start watching. Not much smarks my interest.

My vote goes to the '90s. I was a '90s kid and had a passion for television growing up. I can relate and enjoy most of the shows that were on at any point during the day/night. I don't think kids these days can do that. I can't see a 7 year old making popcorn and running to watch The Office. The 2012 TV world is very different.

I love shows of all different kinds. TV shows from every decade in time, if I had to pick a favorite though. It would most likely be the 90's. 80's and 90's both had the kind of TV shows that related to everyone equally kids and adults. They we're funny dramas and they taught great lessons as well. They we're real life and relatable. But they we're also a place you could go, where the good guys always win.

Both Decades knock the socks of what's being passed off as programming these days!

The 80s while the 90s had some good shows political correctness and placing more emphasis on sex, sleaze and pure shock value rather than a good quality story killed what could've been a great decade for TV.


There is a place for all sorts of different shows. I love the whole family values, teaching good moral lessons. TV shows the family ties of the 80s. They had that in the 90's to though with Full house, Family matters, Step by Step, Wonder years. I could go on. But my point is the 90's had just as many shows like that as the 80's. They also added a whole different element, with the hilarious comedies of Married with children, Roseanne, Seinfeld, Friends. Don't get me wrong the 80's had great comedies as well. Cheers, Cosby, Newhart, Night court. I went with the 90's just slightly. But I even have trouble convincing myself. When I think about the action shows like A-team, Dukes of hazard or the cop and detective shows like Simon & Simon, Cagney & lacey.

Without a doubt, the 80's, since I'm an 80's kid. I also think we had a lot more diversity back then too, in terms of race and age sharing screentime together.

I was in college during the 90's and working full-time, so I really didn't get into a lot of the 90's shows, except for the early-mid seasons of Roseanne, and shows that my grandparents and I watched together, like Diagnosis Murder and the last runs of Matlock, In the Heat of the Night, and Murder, She Wrote.

My Top 10 90s Shows
1. Early Edition
2. Star Trek: the Next Generation
3. The Wonder Years
4. Frasier
5. Murphy Brown
6. Wings
7. 7th Heaven
8. Mad About You
9. Touched by an Angel
10. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

My Top 10 80s Shows
1. Fame
2. $100,000 Pyramid/$25,000 Pyramid
3. Benson
4. Newhart
5. Different Strokes
6. Family Ties
7. The Facts of Life
8. Greatest American Hero
9. Our House
10. Yes, Minister/Yes, Prime Minister

The 90s gets the edge because Early Edition is my all time favorite show.

Mainly because I grew up in the 90s I'd have to go with 90s TV. It seems any generation has its good shows, though. I like to watch Cheers reruns, sometimes Frasier, love Everybody Loves Raymond, Seinfeld and some others. Back in the day I'd occasionally watch Buffy, 90210, 7th Heaven, Degrassi Junior High (how great was that show?!) and more that I probably can't remember. Thanks to people here for sparking my memory on these shows! 90210 was great. Haven't watched more than a few minutes of the latest version (and don't care to) but kids thesedays will probably enjoy it.

I'm a llittle behind on my TV, lol. I'm trying to figure out what shows to start watching. Not much smarks my interest.

My vote goes to the '90s. I was a '90s kid and had a passion for television growing up. I can relate and enjoy most of the shows that were on at any point during the day/night. I don't think kids these days can do that. I can't see a 7 year old making popcorn and running to watch The Office. The 2012 TV world is very different.
I don't think a 7 year old would really be heating up popcorn getting ready to watch shows like Seinfeld either. I think there is still plenty of kid/family-friendly entertainment on TV, it's just moved to cable.

I don't think a 7 year old would really be heating up popcorn getting ready to watch shows like Seinfeld either. I think there is still plenty of kid/family-friendly entertainment on TV, it's just moved to cable.
I was a 7 year old watching Star Trek, Married...With Children, Baywatch, and 90210. I'd plead to stay up and watch late-night reruns of Cheers and The Honeymooners. I was watching Buffy, Friends, Seinfeld, Nick at Nite, and daytime talk shows by age 10. I can't picture a 10 year old in 2012 switching over to Antenna TV in between Tweets.

I was a 7 year old watching Star Trek, Married...With Children, Baywatch, and 90210. I'd plead to stay up and watch late-night reruns of Cheers and The Honeymooners. I was watching Buffy, Friends, Seinfeld, Nick at Nite, and daytime talk shows by age 10. I can't picture a 10 year old in 2012 switching over to Antenna TV in between Tweets.
Oh yeah, I'd agree that there is a lot less of respect for older TV than there used to be with young kids. I practically grew up on Nick at Nite, along with a lot of my generation. That's changed, sadly.

The 1980's easily. The 90's were a transitional period for me. The dramas were great but the sitcoms were slipping. Still much better than the following decade though.

I don't think a 7 year old would really be heating up popcorn getting ready to watch shows like Seinfeld either. I think there is still plenty of kid/family-friendly entertainment on TV, it's just moved to cable.
i was a 7 year old kid watching AITF and Maude so...lol

The 1980's easily. The 90's were a transitional period for me. The dramas were great but the sitcoms were slipping. Still much better than the following decade though.
The '80s were full of GREAT sitcoms. Not too many were unique though. Granted, every show is different in their own right, but a bunch of '80s sitcoms seemed quite similar to each other:

Diff'rent Strokes and Webster
Punky Brewster and Small Wonder
Family Ties and Growing Pains
Who's The Boss? and Charles In Charge
Alf and Harry and The Hendersons
The Golden Girls and Designing Women

80's TV for me.

1980's

1990s! I grew around the 1980s-1990s Time Period and I Remember Watching Frineds, Seinfeld, Home Improvement, etc.. Growing Up. There were also just a lot of good shows during that time and it Didn't have that Corny-Peachy-cheesy Feeling hat some of the shows of the 80s Had during the Reagan Era. The 1990's Are my second Favorite decade behind the 1970's

90's, partially out of nostalgia because the 90's is when I grew up.

There's plenty of gems from the 80's, but it was also filled with so much CHEESE. The 80's were just a big old infestation of cheese. That's what kills it for me.

80s TV by a mile!

Although some great 80s shows like 3's Company and The Jeffersons started in the 70s. But the 80s had Dallas and you will NEVER see a show like Dallas again!

The 80's had great game shows like "The Joker's Wild" and "Tic Tac Dough".
The 90's gave us the 1990 versions of "The Joker's Wild" and "Tic Tac Dough".

In the 80's, on cable TV, we could watch a distant station's version of "Bowling for Dollars", when we didn't have one in our area, along with those reruns of shows our stations didn't run, and other things.
In the 90's (starting in the late-80's admittedly), cable TV said "No TV stations except local ones, and the superstations", so that was gone.

In the 80's, we had "Hee Haw".
Then came 1991 and "The Hee Haw Show" (Note the difference in title that came with the new format).

In the 80's, even up until the mid-90's when we had that "vast number of cable channels", we knew what channel we were watching when we watched a show. For example, it didn't take me long to know where The Weather Channel was, and what times Jeanetta Jones was on, so I'd watch her, don'tchu worry.
In the mid-90's, cable channels, and then TV networks - and boy did it break my heart when our local stations started doing this - didn't give us credit for having a brain, and thought they'd "help" us by keeping a logo on the corner of the screen perpetually.

In the 80's. TV comedy went like this:
GUY 1: What are you doing bashing your head on the table?
GUY 2: I'm rockin' to heavy metal, dude!
GUY 1: Why are you doing that?
GUY 2: 'Cause it feels so good when the music stops.

Then 90's sitcoms started being "about nothing":
[They just have to put that little bit of laugh track in these spaces]
GUY (the "star"): Know what I heard on the radio ... on that station between sports-talk and gospel, you know what I'm talking about ... no, not soft variety, the other one ... Yeah, that one ... Anyway, they played a bunch of ... noise ... I'm guessing it's that stuff they call ... "heavy metal" ... You know ... where the guy screams like Cookie Monster? ... Yeah, he'd be ... chomping away ... and you'd see those crumbs ... fall right down to the floor ... [sings] One of these things just doesn't be-long here (sniff) ... Gosh I miss the 80's.
GAL (obviously not the "star"): Uhhh, excuse me, writers. Do I get to talk now?

All I can say for the 90's is that it didn't give us popup ads, fake lines on football fields, or mess up reruns as bad (and I have to stress as bad) as we have to put up with today.

80s stuff. I also like the shows that started in the 80s and had some of their run in the 90s. That's what I grew up with. Shows like Full House and Perfect Strangers that started in the mid-80s and ended early/mid 90s.

Most sitcoms produced after 92 or so were terrible. The ones that weren't lasted a season. I absolutely hate shows like Friends and Will and Grace. They're so stale compared to sitcoms that were launched a few years before. Though, I do find That 70s Show to be hilarious and it started in 98.

I do like 90s dramas though. Especially Law and Order and ER. The 80s had some great ones too like Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere. (Though, it's ending was stupid with a capitol "S")

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