The best 1980s TV shows you can watch in 2018
Streaming services are serving up some nostalgic reruns from Roseanne to Full House
As hit television shows such as Stranger Things and Black Mirror take inspiration from the 1980s, streaming services are rerunning original classics from the decade. Here are our top nostalgia picks currently available:
Cheers
“Cheers represents a pinnacle of American pop culture, culminating in a record-breaking finale that caught the attention of millions of views,” Esquire writes.
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This American sitcom, set in a Boston bar called Cheers, follows a group of friends and their trials and tribulations. Despite it having last aired 25 years ago, its comedy and character themes are still lauded today.
Cheers is on Amazon Prime.
Roseanne
Despite the recent controversy surrounding leading actress Roseanne Barr and the Roseanne spin-off, The Connors, the original television series is still worth a watch.
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“It only takes a few episodes to understand what made this love letter to the working-class American family so special,” says The New York Times.
The comedy show grapples with day-to-day struggles such as family, love and money.
Roseanne is on Amazon Prime.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Even though this is the Next Generation (not the original Star Trek) it still carries much of the sci-fi charm that has endeared trekkie fans.
Set decades after Captain Kirk's original mission, Patrick Stewart plays Captain Picard as he leads the Enterprise ship. The show won 17 Emmy awards over its seven seasons.
Star Trek: The Next Generation is on Netflix
Full House
The hit American series, first debuting in 1987, has all eight seasons available on Netflix.
“The show never failed to entertain viewers with the antics of the Tanner family,” says Business Insider.
It depicts a widowed talk-show host raising his three daughters, with the assistance of his rock musician brother-in-law and best friend.
Full House is on Netflix.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
This 1980s cartoon series, based upon the Mattel toy line Masters of the Universe, has a complete season available to watch on Netflix.
The show depicts He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe, as he fights an evil skeleton named Skeletor. The show has garnered a huge fan base since its 1983 release date, which has led to a recent release of high-end He-Man action figures.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is on Netflix.
Highway to Heaven
This US drama series, which aired between 1984 and 1989, now has its five seasons available on Netflix.
Highway to Heaven follows an angel who has been stripped of his wings and sent to Earth on probation. The angel teams up with an ex-cop to travel around America, following missions from their boss (God) with the goal of delivering love and humility to those they help.
“This angel pointedly helps those who cannot help themselves,” says The New York Times in a 1984 television review.
Highway to Heaven is on Netflix.
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