80s TV Drama Series

80s Drama TV programmes included various quality police/crime series, lavish soap operas, and many short run series.

Taggart - an 80s police drama TV show set in Glasgow - began in 1983 with DCI Jim Taggart (Mark McManus) as an experienced and hard faced detective trying to rid the Scottish streets of criminals.  His sidekick DS Peter Livingstone was a young rookie with more a modern perspective.  McManus died in 1994 but the TV series continued with the same name, and is still running today with DS Jackie Reid and DC Stuart Fraser as the main characters.

     

Remember Crockett and his partner Tubbs from the 80s? - They played cops on the search for drugs barons in Florida in the television show Miami Vice (1984-1990).  James "Sonny" Crockett (Don Johnson) lived on sailing boat with his alligator Elvis for protection.  Ricardo Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas) was trying to hunt down the killer of his brother.  The 80s TV show was known for it's glitzy costumes and synth music.  A movie version of Miami Vice was released in 2006 featuring Colin Farrell (Crockett) and Jamie Foxx (Tubbs).  Rather than setting it at the same time as the 80s TV series - the movie was updated into the 21st century.

The A-Team was a light hearted action drama television show starring George Peppard (Hannibal), Mr T (B.A. Baracus), Dirk Benedict (Faceman), and Dwight Schultz (Howling Mad Murdock).  The show ran for 98 episodes, from 1983 until 1987 - The 'A' in A-Team stood for 'Alpha' - The story was that the four had escaped prison following a conviction for a crime that they didn't commit during in Vietnam War.  Then, back in Los Angeles - still on the run from the government - they set to work aiding people in trouble.

     

Dallas spanned the whole of the 80s and presented the lives of wealthy Texans - made rich by oil.  The 80s TV soap's most well known characters were J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) and Sue Ellen Ewing (Linda Gray).  It's most famous periods include the 'who shot J.R.' episodes, and the time when Bobby died and reappeared in the shower after it was revealed that many of the past episodes had all been part of Pam's dream.

Dynasty (1981-1989) was also full of oil seeded richness.  Blake Carrington (John Forsythe), Krystal Carrington - with her gigantic 80s shoulder pads (Linda Evans) - and Alexis Carrington Colby (Joan Collins) all took the biggest roles.  The main theme of the TV soap drama was the conflict between the two oil companies - Denver Carrington and ColbyCo.

       

The BBC/ABC TV drama Tenko (1981-1984) began as a group of British women were shipwrecked in Singapore whilst attempting to avoid the Japanese invasion during World War II.  They are captured and become prisoners of war.  Through the three TV series' the years progress from 1941 until after the war when they are released and have adjust back to normal life.  A one off episode was aired in 1985 ('Tenko Reunion') set five years later - which showed the women coming back together to reminisce and look forward to the future.

Chocky ran for six episodes in 1984 in the UK (ITV).  It was an 80s TV drama series based on a novel by John Wyndham about a boy who becomes partly possessed by an extraterrestrial called Chocky.  The inquisitive Chocky wants to know all about life on the planet Earth in order to find and prepare a new home for her people.  In the end she decides Earth is not suitable - but stays to help humans discover a new energy source.  Two sequel episodes were made; Chocky's Children and Chocky's Challenge.

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