1. Double Trouble
Double Trouble
Double Trouble
Is there anything more fascinating and fun than twins? This show starred the world’s coolest, prettiest, most funkily dressed twins on Earth, Jean and Liz Sagal, sisters of Married… with Children and Sons of Anarchy's Katey Sagal. In the first season, they lived in Des Moines and hung out in their dad’s dance studio. In the second and final season, they went to live with their nutty aunt in NYC, and that’s when the show got really good — lots of twin mix-up hijinks, lots of comedy around the fact that one of them was easygoing and the other uptight. I got a pair of pink fluorescent suspenders in a rather pathetic effort to dress like the Double Trouble twins. It was unsuccessful.
2. Spencer (1984-85)
For a mere six episodes, we got to watch Chad Lowe play a teenage rascal who couldn’t stop getting into scrapes. Then they got a new actor to play Spencer and renamed the show Under One Roof. I was an enthusiastic member of the audience of six people who were die-hard fans of both shows.
3. It’s Your Move (1984-85)
It's Your Move
It's Your Move
Now that Jason Bateman has become a big star, people like to show off their pop culture bona fides by name-checking It’s Your Move, in which Bateman played a teenage con artist who played adorable pranks such as selling term papers. He was kind of a little shit and the show lasted about five minutes — no match for Dynasty, which shared its time slot.
4. Jennifer Slept Here (1983-84)
Jennifer Slept Here
Jennifer Slept Here
Ann Jillian may be most famous to fans of obscure ’80s television for the brilliant It’s a Living, about a group of women waitressing at a hotel restaurant (see No. 12). In Jennifer Slept Here, she played the ghost of an actress who haunts the family living in her former house, who is only visible to the family’s teenage son. I loved the show even though it was a little ridiculous and I adored the theme song. It’s the kind of hyper-passionate, cornball crooning that’s sorely missing from TV credits today.
5. Throb (1986-88)
A thirty-something divorcée goes to work at a boutique record label. Her son is played by a very young, pre-fast, pre-furious Paul Walker and her roommate is none other than Frasier's Jane Leeves. I am pretty sure no one remembers this show but me.
6. Three’s a Crowd (1984-85)
Three's a Crowd
Three's a Crowd
Can we agree Three’s Company was a pretty terrible show? It was one big misunderstanding overheard through the swinging kitchen door. Thank God in the very short-lived spinoff, Three’s a Crowd, Jack Tripper no longer had to pretend to be gay to rent his apartment given he was living with his girlfriend, Vicky. But wait! There’s still an intolerant landlord in the form of Vicky’s father, so the main premise of Three’s Company stays intact. Even as a child, I knew that Jack without the Ropers or Mr. Farley was not going to be worth watching. But somehow I persevered through all 22 episodes of this thin broth of a sitcom.
7. Square Pegs (1982-83)
The big question on all Square Pegs fans’ lips is, “What happened to Lauren Hutchinson?” We all know her best friend and fellow nerd Patty Greene (Sarah Jessica Parker) turned out just fine, but what about Lauren, played by Amy Linker? The show was like a very PG Sixteen Candles, a high school comedy that followed two misfits who seemed so grown up and cool to me I could hardly wait to get braces and grow up into a freshman dork myself. Bonus: The theme song was sung by The Waitresses.
Next: More essential '80s TV
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8. The Littles (1983-85)
The only people who loved The Littles were people who read the far superior series of books on which it was based, and even we weren’t totally nuts about the show. The Littles themselves were tiny rodent-like humans who lived in the walls of a family’s house. You’d think it would have made a great animated series, but somehow reading about little people who have tails made total sense. Seeing it portrayed on TV was a little creepy.
9. Joanie Loves Chachi (1982-83)
Joanie Loves Chachi
Joanie Loves Chachi
Oh, to be young and in love and to be Erin Moran singing passionately into Scott Baio’s puppy dog eyes! A far too short-lived spinoff of Happy Days, Joanie Loves Chachi chronicled the twosome’s life in the big city trying to make a go of it as rock stars. The theme song alone can move me to tears.
10. My Sister Sam (1986-88)
My Sister Sam
My Sister Sam
I always thought of My Sister Sam as a sequel of sorts to Mork & Mindy, even though the only thing the shows had in common were roommates and Pam Dawber. Sam (Dawber) is a photographer whose long-lost 16-year-old sister (played by Rebecca Schaeffer) comes to live with her in San Francisco. I loved the show and was heartbroken along with the rest of the country when Schaeffer was killed by a stalker a year after it went off the air.
11. Madame’s Place (1982-83)
Madame's Place
Madame's Place
Oh, how thrilled I was by Wayland Flowers and his salty aging actress puppet Madame! I knew I wasn’t getting 95 percent of Madame’s dirty jokes, but I didn’t care! A puppet in prime time! Who hosted her own talk show! I loved teeny-tiny Corey Feldman as Madame’s neighbor, and had absolutely no clue that Wayland and Madame had been massive gay icons since the ’60s. “A crazy old lady puppet!” was all I cared about at the tender age of 8.
12. It’s a Living (1980-82)
It's a Living
It's a Living
Before her star turn as a ghost in Jennifer Slept Here, Ann Jillian was already committing to that platinum curled-under shag as part of the hilarious crew of waitresses at the fancy Above the Top restaurant on the top floor of the Bonaventure Hotel. The ladies endured the joking of a sleazy pianist and were presided over by another hair marvel, Marian Mercer as Nancy Beebe, Above the Top’s hostess, who was so glamorous you could hardly stand it.
13. She’s the Sheriff (1987-89)
She's the Sheriff
She's the Sheriff
Suzanne Somers in her first post-Three’s Company role as a sheriff of a Nevada town? Why not, you ask? Well, the show was voted one of TV Guide's 50 Worst Shows, but I think we can all agree that’s a little harsh. Sure, it was improbable that a widowed mom would be given her husband’s sheriff job, but as a tween, I found the prospect of sweet Chrissy Snow as a law enforcement agent genius. (I think Three’s Company was a worse show.)
14. The Edison Twins (1982-86)
The Edison Twins
The Edison Twins
It wasn’t Double Trouble, but it was a show about twins (not real twins, alas) who solved mysteries using science. The show was Canadian and a tiny bit too educational for me, but I thought the male twin looked a lot like Christopher Atkins and so, due to some incomprehensible kid logic, I kept watching.
Next: Even more essential '80s TV
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15. The Greatest American Hero (1981-83)
Greatest American Hero
Greatest American Hero
Sure, you knew the theme song, but did you ever actually watch the show? Few people did. William Katt played a schoolteacher who’s gifted by aliens with a suit and a cape that give him superpowers, but he loses the instruction manual, so these powers pop up whenever and take him by surprise. I love that someone thought this was a good idea for a show, because it so totally is, but it’s so bananas. It was where I first learned about ESP and telekinesis, which would come in handy when I saw Escape to Witch Mountain a year later.
16. My Secret Identity (1988-1991)
My Secret Identity
My Secret Identity
Starring a Jerry O’Connell who was closer to Vern from Stand By Me than the heartthrob he would later become, this Canadian series was also about superpowers — this time they’re possessed by the teenage Andrew Clements, who gets struck by a photon beam and henceforth is able to fly and levitate like his favorite comic book heroes. The only one who knows Andrew is superhuman is his friend, the scientist Dr. Jeffcoate. This always felt like a boys’ show to me and I only watched it with half-interest, truth be told.
17. Webster (1983-89)
This was the successor to Diff’rent Strokes, once again featuring a tiny African-American boy adopted by a white family. This time it was the adorable Emmanuel Lewis who was adopted by the Papadopouloses (Alex Karras and Susan Clark, who were married in real life!). I always found it bizarre that Webster called his adoptive mother “Ma’am.”
18. Love, Sidney (1981-1983)
Love, Sydney
Love, Sydney
I’ve read that Love, Sidney was the first show to feature a gay character on TV. Sidney, played by Tony Randall, is sort of a BFF and surrogate dad to a single mom, played by Swoosie Kurtz, and her adorable little daughter. The theme was sung by the three stars — give it a listen. I over-identified with the daughter, played by Kaleena Kiff, and always sang her part with the most gusto.
19. Valerie (1986-1991)
This saw Jason Bateman back in action after It’s Your Move. This show had four names and two stars — it started as a family comedy called Valerie and starred Valerie Harper as a mother of three boys. In the third season, they killed off Valerie, and Sandy Duncan filled in as the matriarch — and the show was sometimes called Valerie’s Family, sometimes The Hogans and sometimes The Hogan Family. I somehow managed to track it down in every iteration.
20. Archie Bunker’s Place (1979-83)
Archie Bunker's Place
Archie Bunker's Place
I was too young to get the incisive social satire of All in the Family and found all the shouting panic-inducing, but I loved Archie Bunker’s Place, mostly because of the addition of Stephanie, the 10-year-old girl Archie takes in, played by Danielle Brisebois, a character I could identify with. In this series, Archie owns a bar/restaurant in Queens and hangs out there with a bunch of pals. I still didn’t understand the politics, but I watched nonetheless. Why did we just watch anything as kids? We were so undiscerning!
21. Down to Earth (1984-87)
Down to Earth
Down to Earth
This show had all the trappings of a typical ’80s success: a main character with a superpower or secret (in this case, Ethel is a maid who died in 1925 and, after waiting 60 years to earn her wings, comes back to Earth to work for and help a family — a widow and his kids, and a young boy who is the only one in on her secret). And let us not forget that Down to Earth starred a teenage Kyle Richards, future Real Housewife of Beverly Hills.
22. Benson (1979-86)
A spinoff of Soap, Benson starred Robert Guillaume as the butler for a governor and his family. He’s always far smarter than the real politicians and gets promoted over the years to eventually run for governor himself. I watched this show mostly for Missy Gold — my childhood nickname was Missy and I found her captivating. I think I was happy to watch any show that had a girl roughly my age.
23. Slim Goodbody: The Inside Story (1980)
Slim Goodbody
Slim Goodbody
Oh, dear, this guy was creepy. He wore a skin-tight, flesh-colored suit with all his organs and muscles and arteries and bones on it. I did love his songs (“Food is the fuel that will keep us alive!”) and so tried to overlook the fact that I was looking at a naked man with no secondary sex characteristics. I had no idea Slim’s still making the rounds.
This article originally appeared in different form on Scary Mommy.