The 1980s: TV’s Golden Age
March 10, 2002 | 12:00am
Told you that one piece about the ’80s isn’t enough (matter of fact, even two aren’t). Nonetheless, we draw the curtains on our nostalgic trip to the ’80s.
But first, I’d like to continue with the list of kiddie shows that I forgot to mention last week. And yeah, I know why boys are captivated when they see Ani jumping in Shaider  but I’m not telling. Well, enough of that. Hang on, here we go back to the  80s again.
Astroboy  There seemed so many shows for kids back then, but one really worth mentioning is this show. Shown afternoons on Channel 9, Astroboy was one of the early anime shows that made an impact on us kids. It was about this robot boy in a futuristic city where robots and people live harmoniously. Astro was created by Dr. Boyton after his son Toby died. The series was really complex, and it’s really worth watching over and over again, since each episode had unique plots every time. Do the names Daddy Walrus and Doctor Elefan ring a bell?
The Real Ghostbusters  How can any decent list on the ‘80s leave this show out? "Who are you gonna call?" That one-liner is enough to afflict you with LSS (last song syndrome). After the success of the two movies, Ghostbusters producers decided to make an animation series out of the hit. This cartoon was really hip at that time (they put the word "real" because there was another animation series entitled The Ghostbusters, which was a lame copy). Toy shop were packed with Ghostbusters action figures like the "eye-popping" Egon action figure, to Ecto 1, to the firehouse. Kids would all nag their mothers for a Proton Pack. Yes, the show was really addicting. Each episode had depth and an honest-to-goodness story. Slimer (the icky green ghost) was the mascot and was really cute. My cousins and I loved to pretend we were the Ghostbusters. Since we lacked Proton Packs, we had to be resourceful: we used flashlights instead. A little trivia: the person who played and gave the wit and personality of the sleepy voiced Peter Venkman (and also Garfield the cat), Lorenzo Music died last year at the age of 64.
Small Wonder (1985-1989)  As I said, kids before could be really suckered. When this show was aired, there was a debate among kids whether Vicki was really a girl or a real robot (because there were bulbs and bolts attached to her back). But now, we’re older and should know better. So, if you still believe Vicki is a robot, well...
Anyway, this series is about how a scientist named Ted Lawson built a robot to help around the house. He designed the robot as a 10-year-old girl, and also became the sister of Jamie Lawson (the dorky-looking chubby kid). Well, you know the rest.
Voltron  Even if Voltron belonged to the long list of super robot heroes which needed five vehicles, lions, crafts, whatever to form one big giant robot, this was sort of different from the rest. I prefer the Lion team. And what is good with these shows was that they issued action figures. If you have the urge to play Voltron, just get your Voltron toy in your stash.
Gummi Bears  Before the candy came this animated series from Disney. Aside from Jim Henson, Disney played a major role in the life of kids. The six protagonist bears would drink a potion called Gummiberry Juice which imbued them with super powers, giving them the ability to bounce around. I remember, during an endless round of channel surfing, I accidentally tuned into the Indian channel and it ran Disney Hour that was running the Gummi Bears. Unfortunately for me, the show was dubbed in Hindi.
He-Man/She-Ra  One of the most unforgettable series that got kids into a "Buy me that, please, Mom!" mode. Hapless parents never heard the end of it. When the Kermit Channel was still on cable, they re-ran the shows. It seemed that He-Man was a huge role model for boys while She-Ra was for girls. Like the Sword of Omens, every kid wanted He-Man’s sword as they said, "By the Power of Greyskull!!!" (Then came a rumbling sound.)
Bravestarr  The hero with the "eyes of the hawk, strength of the bear, ears of the wolf, speed of the puma." After the success of He-Man and She-Ra, cartoon company Filmation decided to make Bravestarr. Another series that was re-ran thanks to the Kermit Channel. Sheriff Bravestarr was in charge of security of the town of Fort Kerium (which shrinks and turns into a base every time bad guys show up). He with his trusty sidekick robotic horse (or whatever), Thirty-Thirty (with his bazooka Sarah Jane), Deputy Fuzz, the little critter, and Sheriff Bravestarr’s mentor, the Shaman (who kept on popping here and there under a puff of smoke and who loved to give Bravestarr riddles) had adventure after adventure.
Comic Strip  Four cartoons make up this series  Karate Kat, The Street Frogs, Mini-Monsters and Tigersharks. I like three of these cartoons except for The Street Frogs. It was shown on weekday afternoons on Channel 9. Karate Kat is a detective who knew martial arts. However, he was pretty clumsy. The Street Frogs used to rap a lot, while the Mini-Monsters lived in Camp Minimon with their head officer who loved to play the organ. The main characters Dracky, Franky, Mumm-O, Blank-O and Wolfie, along with two human kids (the kids were also dumped in the camp because they were real terrors to their parents). Probably the coolest were the Tigersharks. Half man and half sea creature, the Waterians had a huge fish tank inside their ship the Sark, where they could change into fish-like creatures so they could breath in water. Their nemesis was Captain Bizarrly. Though this show only lasted a season (actually a lot of these shows that we came to love were total flops in the US) a lot of us loved this a lot.
Alf  I didn’t really watch this show back then, and I don’t know why. Nevertheless, you can never leave this out of a true list of the ’80s. He’s the cute furry alien who loved to eat cats. Later, Alf cartoons were really nice as well.
The Visionaries  I remember this toy very well. The Visionaries action figures would have a hologram sticker on their chests. The animated series was set in Prysmos. The Age of Science had ended and the Age of Magic had begun. Fourteen nights gained magical powers of transformation. The good Spectral Knights headed by Leoric and the evil Darkling Lords headed by Darstorm. I really loved it when they would transform into animals. And to distinguish which is which, the bad guys would transform into more disgusting and creepy animals. And I remember that when they introduced the show then, it was dubbed in Tagalog. Later, it was restored to English. Can you tell me which knight said this summoning spell for his staff? "Whispered secrets of a shattered age, I summon you, renew this sage."
The Wuzzles  Another ’80s Disney flick. It only had 13 episodes (no wonder they kept on showing re-runs). The show featured creatures which were combinations of animals. Half of something. Like Bumblelion (half lion, half bumblebee), Butterbear (half bear, half butterfly) to name a few. There isn’t much info about the show since it lasted only briefly.
Whew, that was really tiring! But if you think that’s it, well, think again! Aside from unforgettable kiddie shows, primetime shows we’d grown to love were in abundance then. They’re much better than today’s batch of US shows. Another noticeable fact about the ’80s shows was that you could really see that each of the characters stood out. The actors really projected the personality of the characters they were portraying. While before the shows relied on wit, nowadays writers rely on crazy antics, stupidity and shallowness at times (like The Drew Carry Show, Third Rock from the Sun and even Dharma and Greg to a certain extent). So, during those nights when our yayas would let us stay up until 10 we’d watch these primetime comedy shows. I got to watch a bunch of them and here goes:
The Golden Girls (1985-1992)  I really need to make this one on the top of my list because I consider this the biggest reminder of the 1980s. The show was really a phenomenon  and boasts 10 Emmys and three Golden Globes to its name. Who would ever think that these four old ladies would create such a stir? The humor was excellent and the writers were really good. I have yet to see a show that could match this. The closest one I can think of right now is Friends (another show that is very well written). Quite surprisingly, these two shows have one thing in common  they feature dunces. These dunces were really crucial to the success of the show  Rose Nylund (Betty White) and Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow). In the series, it was hard to play favorites since each character had very distinct and unique characteristics. At the opening, you would hear that popular theme song, Thank You for Being a Friend. I was surfing the Net getting info about the show and I stumbled upon tons of fan sites dedicated to it. Some even posted quite a number of funny lines from the show. I just laughed my ass off. To give you a sample of their lines:
Rose: "I don’t drink before bedtime. I stop all liquids at noon and I still wake up."
Sophia: "I never had that problem, never. I sleep like a log. I never get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. I go in the morning. Every morning like clockwork at 7 a.m. I pee. Unfortunately, I don’t wake up till 8."
Blanche: "I’ve never been so humiliated in my life."
Dorothy: "What about the time when you lost the key to your handcuffs and had to go with that guy on his mail route."
These are just a sample. And another trivia for you folks, Estelle Getty (Sophia Petrillo) the "smart ass" old lady and mother of Dorothy Zbornack (Bea Arthur) is actually younger than her on-screen daughter. Though unfortunately now, Estelle Getty, 78, is suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
Empty Nest (1988-1995)  This was a spin-off from the Golden Girls, though it wasn’t as popular. In the story, they live across the street from the girls, and sometimes Estelle Getty would guest in the show. This time though, the story is centered on Dr. Harry Weston, a widowed pediatrician and his two daughters, Carol and Barbara. And other unforgettable characters like his Dr. Harry’s witty and pushy nurse Laverne Todd, the southern belle from Hickory, Arkansas. And remember that big brown dog named Dreyfuss? Sadly, Richard Mulligan, the actor who played Dr. Weston, died in September 2000 after a long battle with colon cancer.
Perfect Strangers (1986-1993)  The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word Chicago is the show Perfect Strangers. The two main characters, Balki Bartokomous (played by Bronson Pinchot) with his trademark "Well of course not, don’t be ridiculous" line and his cousin from the US Larry Appleton. Balki, originally from the island of Mypos in the Mediterranean, came to live with cousin Larry in Chicago.
Charles in Charge  Starring Scott Baio (Charles), Charles was a live-in helper in charge of a household. Actually, there were two families Charles took care of  Pembrokes and the Powells. Together with him was his klutzy best friend Buddy Lembeck.
Doogie Howser, MD (1989-1993)  One Sunday morning, I woke up very early switched on the TV. Lo and behold, they were showing reruns of Doogie Howser on Star World! Another show that we always looked forward to every Friday night; who would think the exploits of a teenage doctor would be entertaining?
John en Marsha  It’s quite morbid to think that they started showing the re-runs of the show only after the Nida Blanca tragedy. But it was one of the most popular Filipino sitcoms. In those days, my grandparents would always make it a habit to watch the show and I would always hop in to join them. It was even more hilarious because you could hear the loud whirr of the air-conditioner in the background. Well, you could always hear that sound in every Pinoy sitcom back then.
MacGyver  No situation was ever an untenable one for the great MacGyver. To this day, if you’re a techie with the mostest, people would tell you, "Ang galing mo, parang si MacGyver!" I never really watched the show, but my grandfather did. And if ever I got to watch this show every Saturday night (now they’re showing it on Star World), what really interested me was how he could tinker. He could use household cleaners to make a smoke screen, or build an ultra-light plane from materials at a construction site.
WWF (the Hulk Hogan years)  Ahhh, back then I never thought wrestling matches were scripted, but it sure as heck entertained the entire household. At that time, I bet The Rock and Stone Cold were still going through puberty, and it was Hulk Hogan (probably the coolest of them all), Ravishing Rick Rude, Andre the Giant, Bam Bam Bigalow, Ultimate Warrior, Junk Yard Dog, Captain Lou Albano (who also played Mario in a movie) were idolized by kids. So every recess time at school, long before the boys talked about cars, it was the wrestlers that caught every boy’s fancy. The kid who was able to sneak out of bed to watch WWF wrestling late the other night would narrate to the others (mind you, with matching actions) what happened to the hot matches. I can’t remember much of the wrestlers, sorry.
Well, that’s it. Though there were a lot more shows that were left out like Uncle Bob’s Lucky 7 Club, The Wonder Years (nah, you could see it on the Disney channel anyway), Full House, I can’t remember any more. There were quite a lot of people who e-mailed me and all their reactions were one and the same  they miss being a kid, and if there were only a way to go back. But heck, we can’t do anything about that, can we?
However, I do hope that local stations could bring back some of these shows for the ’90s and ’00s kids to enjoy.
E-mail me at ketsupluis@hotmail.com. Oh and yeah, there was a typo last week about my birthday being in two months time  not!
But first, I’d like to continue with the list of kiddie shows that I forgot to mention last week. And yeah, I know why boys are captivated when they see Ani jumping in Shaider  but I’m not telling. Well, enough of that. Hang on, here we go back to the  80s again.
Astroboy  There seemed so many shows for kids back then, but one really worth mentioning is this show. Shown afternoons on Channel 9, Astroboy was one of the early anime shows that made an impact on us kids. It was about this robot boy in a futuristic city where robots and people live harmoniously. Astro was created by Dr. Boyton after his son Toby died. The series was really complex, and it’s really worth watching over and over again, since each episode had unique plots every time. Do the names Daddy Walrus and Doctor Elefan ring a bell?
The Real Ghostbusters  How can any decent list on the ‘80s leave this show out? "Who are you gonna call?" That one-liner is enough to afflict you with LSS (last song syndrome). After the success of the two movies, Ghostbusters producers decided to make an animation series out of the hit. This cartoon was really hip at that time (they put the word "real" because there was another animation series entitled The Ghostbusters, which was a lame copy). Toy shop were packed with Ghostbusters action figures like the "eye-popping" Egon action figure, to Ecto 1, to the firehouse. Kids would all nag their mothers for a Proton Pack. Yes, the show was really addicting. Each episode had depth and an honest-to-goodness story. Slimer (the icky green ghost) was the mascot and was really cute. My cousins and I loved to pretend we were the Ghostbusters. Since we lacked Proton Packs, we had to be resourceful: we used flashlights instead. A little trivia: the person who played and gave the wit and personality of the sleepy voiced Peter Venkman (and also Garfield the cat), Lorenzo Music died last year at the age of 64.
Small Wonder (1985-1989)  As I said, kids before could be really suckered. When this show was aired, there was a debate among kids whether Vicki was really a girl or a real robot (because there were bulbs and bolts attached to her back). But now, we’re older and should know better. So, if you still believe Vicki is a robot, well...
Anyway, this series is about how a scientist named Ted Lawson built a robot to help around the house. He designed the robot as a 10-year-old girl, and also became the sister of Jamie Lawson (the dorky-looking chubby kid). Well, you know the rest.
Voltron  Even if Voltron belonged to the long list of super robot heroes which needed five vehicles, lions, crafts, whatever to form one big giant robot, this was sort of different from the rest. I prefer the Lion team. And what is good with these shows was that they issued action figures. If you have the urge to play Voltron, just get your Voltron toy in your stash.
Gummi Bears  Before the candy came this animated series from Disney. Aside from Jim Henson, Disney played a major role in the life of kids. The six protagonist bears would drink a potion called Gummiberry Juice which imbued them with super powers, giving them the ability to bounce around. I remember, during an endless round of channel surfing, I accidentally tuned into the Indian channel and it ran Disney Hour that was running the Gummi Bears. Unfortunately for me, the show was dubbed in Hindi.
He-Man/She-Ra  One of the most unforgettable series that got kids into a "Buy me that, please, Mom!" mode. Hapless parents never heard the end of it. When the Kermit Channel was still on cable, they re-ran the shows. It seemed that He-Man was a huge role model for boys while She-Ra was for girls. Like the Sword of Omens, every kid wanted He-Man’s sword as they said, "By the Power of Greyskull!!!" (Then came a rumbling sound.)
Bravestarr  The hero with the "eyes of the hawk, strength of the bear, ears of the wolf, speed of the puma." After the success of He-Man and She-Ra, cartoon company Filmation decided to make Bravestarr. Another series that was re-ran thanks to the Kermit Channel. Sheriff Bravestarr was in charge of security of the town of Fort Kerium (which shrinks and turns into a base every time bad guys show up). He with his trusty sidekick robotic horse (or whatever), Thirty-Thirty (with his bazooka Sarah Jane), Deputy Fuzz, the little critter, and Sheriff Bravestarr’s mentor, the Shaman (who kept on popping here and there under a puff of smoke and who loved to give Bravestarr riddles) had adventure after adventure.
Comic Strip  Four cartoons make up this series  Karate Kat, The Street Frogs, Mini-Monsters and Tigersharks. I like three of these cartoons except for The Street Frogs. It was shown on weekday afternoons on Channel 9. Karate Kat is a detective who knew martial arts. However, he was pretty clumsy. The Street Frogs used to rap a lot, while the Mini-Monsters lived in Camp Minimon with their head officer who loved to play the organ. The main characters Dracky, Franky, Mumm-O, Blank-O and Wolfie, along with two human kids (the kids were also dumped in the camp because they were real terrors to their parents). Probably the coolest were the Tigersharks. Half man and half sea creature, the Waterians had a huge fish tank inside their ship the Sark, where they could change into fish-like creatures so they could breath in water. Their nemesis was Captain Bizarrly. Though this show only lasted a season (actually a lot of these shows that we came to love were total flops in the US) a lot of us loved this a lot.
Alf  I didn’t really watch this show back then, and I don’t know why. Nevertheless, you can never leave this out of a true list of the ’80s. He’s the cute furry alien who loved to eat cats. Later, Alf cartoons were really nice as well.
The Visionaries  I remember this toy very well. The Visionaries action figures would have a hologram sticker on their chests. The animated series was set in Prysmos. The Age of Science had ended and the Age of Magic had begun. Fourteen nights gained magical powers of transformation. The good Spectral Knights headed by Leoric and the evil Darkling Lords headed by Darstorm. I really loved it when they would transform into animals. And to distinguish which is which, the bad guys would transform into more disgusting and creepy animals. And I remember that when they introduced the show then, it was dubbed in Tagalog. Later, it was restored to English. Can you tell me which knight said this summoning spell for his staff? "Whispered secrets of a shattered age, I summon you, renew this sage."
The Wuzzles  Another ’80s Disney flick. It only had 13 episodes (no wonder they kept on showing re-runs). The show featured creatures which were combinations of animals. Half of something. Like Bumblelion (half lion, half bumblebee), Butterbear (half bear, half butterfly) to name a few. There isn’t much info about the show since it lasted only briefly.
Whew, that was really tiring! But if you think that’s it, well, think again! Aside from unforgettable kiddie shows, primetime shows we’d grown to love were in abundance then. They’re much better than today’s batch of US shows. Another noticeable fact about the ’80s shows was that you could really see that each of the characters stood out. The actors really projected the personality of the characters they were portraying. While before the shows relied on wit, nowadays writers rely on crazy antics, stupidity and shallowness at times (like The Drew Carry Show, Third Rock from the Sun and even Dharma and Greg to a certain extent). So, during those nights when our yayas would let us stay up until 10 we’d watch these primetime comedy shows. I got to watch a bunch of them and here goes:
The Golden Girls (1985-1992)  I really need to make this one on the top of my list because I consider this the biggest reminder of the 1980s. The show was really a phenomenon  and boasts 10 Emmys and three Golden Globes to its name. Who would ever think that these four old ladies would create such a stir? The humor was excellent and the writers were really good. I have yet to see a show that could match this. The closest one I can think of right now is Friends (another show that is very well written). Quite surprisingly, these two shows have one thing in common  they feature dunces. These dunces were really crucial to the success of the show  Rose Nylund (Betty White) and Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow). In the series, it was hard to play favorites since each character had very distinct and unique characteristics. At the opening, you would hear that popular theme song, Thank You for Being a Friend. I was surfing the Net getting info about the show and I stumbled upon tons of fan sites dedicated to it. Some even posted quite a number of funny lines from the show. I just laughed my ass off. To give you a sample of their lines:
Sophia: "I never had that problem, never. I sleep like a log. I never get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. I go in the morning. Every morning like clockwork at 7 a.m. I pee. Unfortunately, I don’t wake up till 8."
Dorothy: "What about the time when you lost the key to your handcuffs and had to go with that guy on his mail route."
These are just a sample. And another trivia for you folks, Estelle Getty (Sophia Petrillo) the "smart ass" old lady and mother of Dorothy Zbornack (Bea Arthur) is actually younger than her on-screen daughter. Though unfortunately now, Estelle Getty, 78, is suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
Empty Nest (1988-1995)  This was a spin-off from the Golden Girls, though it wasn’t as popular. In the story, they live across the street from the girls, and sometimes Estelle Getty would guest in the show. This time though, the story is centered on Dr. Harry Weston, a widowed pediatrician and his two daughters, Carol and Barbara. And other unforgettable characters like his Dr. Harry’s witty and pushy nurse Laverne Todd, the southern belle from Hickory, Arkansas. And remember that big brown dog named Dreyfuss? Sadly, Richard Mulligan, the actor who played Dr. Weston, died in September 2000 after a long battle with colon cancer.
Perfect Strangers (1986-1993)  The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word Chicago is the show Perfect Strangers. The two main characters, Balki Bartokomous (played by Bronson Pinchot) with his trademark "Well of course not, don’t be ridiculous" line and his cousin from the US Larry Appleton. Balki, originally from the island of Mypos in the Mediterranean, came to live with cousin Larry in Chicago.
Charles in Charge  Starring Scott Baio (Charles), Charles was a live-in helper in charge of a household. Actually, there were two families Charles took care of  Pembrokes and the Powells. Together with him was his klutzy best friend Buddy Lembeck.
Doogie Howser, MD (1989-1993)  One Sunday morning, I woke up very early switched on the TV. Lo and behold, they were showing reruns of Doogie Howser on Star World! Another show that we always looked forward to every Friday night; who would think the exploits of a teenage doctor would be entertaining?
John en Marsha  It’s quite morbid to think that they started showing the re-runs of the show only after the Nida Blanca tragedy. But it was one of the most popular Filipino sitcoms. In those days, my grandparents would always make it a habit to watch the show and I would always hop in to join them. It was even more hilarious because you could hear the loud whirr of the air-conditioner in the background. Well, you could always hear that sound in every Pinoy sitcom back then.
MacGyver  No situation was ever an untenable one for the great MacGyver. To this day, if you’re a techie with the mostest, people would tell you, "Ang galing mo, parang si MacGyver!" I never really watched the show, but my grandfather did. And if ever I got to watch this show every Saturday night (now they’re showing it on Star World), what really interested me was how he could tinker. He could use household cleaners to make a smoke screen, or build an ultra-light plane from materials at a construction site.
WWF (the Hulk Hogan years)  Ahhh, back then I never thought wrestling matches were scripted, but it sure as heck entertained the entire household. At that time, I bet The Rock and Stone Cold were still going through puberty, and it was Hulk Hogan (probably the coolest of them all), Ravishing Rick Rude, Andre the Giant, Bam Bam Bigalow, Ultimate Warrior, Junk Yard Dog, Captain Lou Albano (who also played Mario in a movie) were idolized by kids. So every recess time at school, long before the boys talked about cars, it was the wrestlers that caught every boy’s fancy. The kid who was able to sneak out of bed to watch WWF wrestling late the other night would narrate to the others (mind you, with matching actions) what happened to the hot matches. I can’t remember much of the wrestlers, sorry.
Well, that’s it. Though there were a lot more shows that were left out like Uncle Bob’s Lucky 7 Club, The Wonder Years (nah, you could see it on the Disney channel anyway), Full House, I can’t remember any more. There were quite a lot of people who e-mailed me and all their reactions were one and the same  they miss being a kid, and if there were only a way to go back. But heck, we can’t do anything about that, can we?
However, I do hope that local stations could bring back some of these shows for the ’90s and ’00s kids to enjoy.
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