Throwback Thursday: Fave 80’s Shows on Netflix

As a member of the Netflix Stream Team, we were given the challenge to think back to our youth and see what favorite shows from our childhood are  on Netflix.  I expected to see a few of them…but I actually came up with ten 80’s shows that I used to watch while growing up.  I was shocked to see how many were available.

In fact, there are many more 80’s show available that I don’t mention here…it’s just that I didn’t really watch them much.  Shows like Star Trek, Saved by the Bell, Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew, the Transformers, and movies like Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, Grease, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Being a family tech blogger, I’d love to paint of history showing you my fascination for technology even in my childhood days…through my TV shows.  But unfortunately, shows like Get Smart (remember all those cool contraptions Maxwell Smart used?) and The Jetson’s aren’t available on Netflix!  But shows like Knight Rider, Quincy, M.D., and the Twilight Zone show my STEM side!

Throwback 80’s Shows on Netflix

I’m excited to share with you the top 10 shows that are still available to watch today…on Netflix.  Here they are!

Twilight Zone

One of my all-time-favorite series.  True, The Twilight Zone was not a true 80’s show, rather one from the 50’s and 60’s, but they were on every weekday at noon and my girlfriends and I would gather for lunch each day during Summer to watch the 1/2 hr back-to-back shows.  Who can forget Talking Tina or the man who didn’t want to be bothered by people…all he wanted to do was read.  Then one day, the world was bombed, but he was spared because he was in his bank’s safe, where he worked.  He was thrilled to discover at the books at the library were unharmed.  He was happy as a clam…until he dropped and broke his glasses.

The Munsters

Gotta love the Munsters and little Eddie.  His sister, Marilyn was the only normal looking one, but she never seemed to notice…until she invited a boyfriend home.  Great funny show.  It was always fun to see their pet dragon who lived under the stairs.

Brady Bunch Movie

Unfortunately, the Brady Bunch episodes are not available on Netflix.  I’d love to show my kids the episode when they were playing with a ball in the house and broke their mom’s vase or the time when Jan Brady said her famous line about her charmed sister…”Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!”  And who can forget Jan’s made-up boyfriend, George Glass!  Fortunately, the Brady Bunch Movie is available on Netflix and I can’t wait to introduce my kids to the Brady kids!

Wonder Years

Ahhh, remember the Wonder Years?  I remember watching Kevin grow up with his bullying brother, Wayne, and finding love with Winnie, the girl next door.  I loved Kevin’s self-narration as the show progressed.  I hadn’t seen a TV like that before where the main character is talking to the audience.  Kevin grew up in an earlier era, during the late 60’s to early 70’s.  Netflix has 6 seasons available to stream.  I’m so glad I’ll be able to relive this great show by watching it with my children.

The Rockford Files

My Mom was really into detective shows growing up, they were her favorite.  My earliest memories of watching TV shows (besides cartoons) were watching The Planet of the Apes and The Rockford Files.  Rockford was a LA based private detective that lived out of an old trailer…right by the beach.  He prefered avoiding violence whenever possible and was fairly good at talking himself out of impending trouble.

Murder She Wrote

Who didn’t love Angela Lansbury?  With all the detective shows on TV, it was refreshing to see a woman solve mysteries for a while.  Angela played the role of Jessica Fletcher, who was a retired English teacher in her 50’s.  When her husband passed away,  Jessica reinvented herself as a popular mystery writer, making her keen to solving local mysteries.  The show was well written and lasted 12 seasons!  Murder She Wrote was one of the most successful and longest running TV shows in history.

Magnum P.I.

Magnum P.I. Was another highly rated detective 80’s show.  I loved watching Tom Selleck in the role of Thomas Magnum, a dreamy private detective who lived in luxury at the Oahu, HI beachfront guesthouse of a rich man named Robin Masters.  Magnum appeared rich due to his living quarters and zooming around in his famous red Ferrari, but all of this was due to the generosity of Robin Masters, whom we never really got to meet during the show.

Quincy MD

Another type of detective show where Quincy, a medical examiner (forensic pathologist) for the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office, would examine bodies brought in my the police to determine how the person died.  His suspicions always lead the further investigation outside of his office, as he was very dedicated to his job and had a curious mind to know more.

Knight Rider

OK, I admit it, I even more enamored by KITT, the artificially intelligent, almost indestructible car than I was by David Hasselhoff, the handsome star who played Michael Knight, a high-tech modern crime fighter.  I loved the way Michael Knight would call for his car and his car would come and pick him up!  How futuristic!  Believe it or not, this is possible today, as I saw at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2011 with the GE EN-V.   KITT was a really cool 1982 souped up Trans Am that talked to Knight and protected him from danger.  I read that the car cost $100,000 to make for the show.

Cheers

Isn’t great going to a place where everybody knows your name?  Cheers was a great funny show about people who sit around a bar with funny antics from owner/bartender, Ted Danson and the sarcastic Shelly Long, his on again off again girlfriend (later replaced by Kristie Alley).  Although Shelly Long eventually goes off to pursue a writing career in Los Angeles.  The regulars, a mailman, psychiatrist, former baseball player & coach, and others bring humor and drama to the show as they stop by their favorite watering hole each day to shrug off the day.

It’s been fun going down memory lane by looking for these 80’s shows on Netflix.  It reminds me about how much TV I really used to watch!  And these were just the shows I could find on Netflix, I watched tons more!  I love it that these shows have not been lost and are available at any time on Netflix to throw me back to the past.

Last year I shared Twilight Zone, off of Netflix, with my daughter.  It was really the first black and white TV show she’d ever seen.  I think the mystery and eeriness of some of the shows frightened her a bit, but she enjoyed watching them with me and cuddled up to me close as we watched.  One day I’ll watch the Talking Tina episode with her, about the doll that is evil.  It was scary and one I’ll never forget.  Have you seen it?

What are some of your favorite 80’s shows?  I’ll check and see if they’re on Netflix!

*    I am a member of the Netflix Stream Team and was provided with streaming service for my time. All thoughts and opinions are my own.