TV Freak Scott Goodings is crazy about TV. Scott's first TV memory is an
episode of "Matlock Police" called "A Piece Of Cake". His first experience of
the medium in colour was seeing a Hector The Cat road safety commercial through
the window of the CBA bank in Cheltenham in 1975. Catch his regular reviews at
Quickflix
.
80's TV : A beginner's guide
Ahhh, the 80s...
Free "Neighbours" swap cards in chip packets, Kylie Mole and Con The Fruiterer
talking dolls, the black A-Team van with red decals on the side – I've got them
all, but that's not enough. Find that Rubik's Cube, don the thin leather tie,
and think back to when Danni was the better known Minogue sister as we revisit
the TV decade that was the 1980s.
- Scott
Knight Rider
Check out Knight
Rider - Volume 1 - Disc 1 (1982)
Imagine the initial production meeting ... 'A cop believed to be dead gets a
new identity and vehicle (called Kitt), the whole thing bankrolled by a dying
billionaire. We'll cast the ghost from "The Ghost and Mrs Muir" as the
billionaire, Dr Craig from "St Elsewhere" as the voice of the car, and a doctor
called Snapper from "The Young And The Restless" as the cop - oh, and it will
all end when the car starts getting more fan mail than Hasselhoff (allegedly)
'. It was "Knight Rider" that kick started 80s TV out of neutral and into top
gear.
The Professionals
Check out the episode "Old Dog With New Tricks" on
The Professionals - Series 1 - Disc 1 (1977)
A car bursting through glass windows dragged us kicking and screaming into the
world of bubble perms, machismo and ultra violence that was "The
Professionals". Gordon Jackson, a world away from his role as butler Hudson in
"Upstairs, Downstairs", stars as CI5 boss George Cowley in the criminal
espionage show from the makers of "The Avengers". This episode features a cameo
from Pamela Stephenson, long before "Not The Nine O'Clock News", Billy Connolly
and a phd in psychology. Speaking of which, Freud would have a field day with
agents Bodie and Doyle, perhaps the most latent homoerotic double act in
television history.
Dallas
Check out Dallas-Seasons
1 and 2 - Disc 1
Witnessing the transformation in Larry Hagman from squeaky-clean astronaut in
afternoon repeats of "I Dream Of Jeannie" to "Dallas" villain J.R. Ewing in
prime time, how was any kid expected to get homework done in the 80s? Late
night screenings of "Dallas" spin-off "Knots Landing" only exacerbated the
problem. With its Stetson hats, Texan drawls, Sue-Ellen hitting the bottle and
all that oil well wheeling and dealing, "Dallas" was the epitome of
pre-Glasnost Reagan-era TV. See where it all began before J.R. got shot by Bing
Crosby's daughter, and Bobby stepped out of the shower and his death in a
previous season was put down to his wife Pamela's 'bad dream'.
Prisoner
Check out "The Terrorist Siege" on
Prisoner - Volume 2 (1979)
For two nights a week through most of the 80s, "Prisoner" kept me sane. There
was ultra marathoner Cliff Young and Greg Evans visiting Wentworth Detention
Centre to judge a dance marathon, and "Kath And Kim's" Jane Turner as a blind
inmate - but so soon after hearing of 'Queen' Bea Smith's demise in the
Barnhurst fire, I never saw the terrorist siege plotline coming. And the
terrorist's themselves? There was 'Ram' played by Robert Hughes, who soon after
morphed into the patriarch of the Kelly family (and nemesis of Nudge) in
Australia's biggest ever TV export to Germany, "Hey Dad". And his partner in
crime? 'Al', another TV legend here in Gerard Kennedy ("Division 4", "Against
The Wind"). Over twenty years later these episodes still chill me to the bone.
When the bullet is fired into the head of... sorry, I can't give it away. Rent
this even if it costs you your monthly 'buy up'.
The A-Team
Check out the episode "Lease With An Option To Die" on
The A-Team, Volume 1 - Disc 2 (1983)
"The A-Team" was examining the plight of Vietnam Vets long before Stallone,
Kubrick, De Palma and Stone brought the post-Vietnam War experience to our
cinema screens, albeit with slapstick, crazy cars and cameos from WWF wrestlers
and Boy George. This episode sees thugs trying to force "B.A." Baracus' (Mr. T)
mother out of her house. 'I pity the fools!!!' Once Mr. T musters the art of
walking with half of Fort Knox's gold reserves around his neck, I'm betting on
some 'Bad Attitude' revenge.
Miami Vice
Check out Miami
Vice-Season 1 - Disc 1 (1984)
The mid 80s, and male fashion is dominated by pastels, linen and Italian
loafers sans socks - such was the cultural influence of Michael Mann's ("Heat",
"Collateral") take on cops battling the Florida drug cartels. Mann's stylistic
vision incorporated colour and music like never before, and changed the TV's
cops and robbers genre forever – and seeing it was the 80s, we had to have
songs (and cameos) from musicians like Phil Collins and ex-Eagle Glenn Frey.
Crockett or Tubbs? With his houseboat, Elvis the pet alligator and the designer
stubble, Don Johnson's Sonny Crockett won it for me.
Who's The Boss
Check out the episode "First Kiss" on
Who's the Boss-Season 1 - Disc 3 (1984)
URST (Unresolved Sexual Tension) was big in the 80s. "Moonlighting's" Maddie
and David got it over too soon, which leaves us with "Who's The Boss". The
premise: Tony Micelli (Tony Danza), ex-baseballer, takes a job as corporate
high flyer Angela Bower's housekeeper, so he can stay with his daughter Sam
(Alyssa Milano from "Charmed"), providing the best home help since Alice Nelson
cooked a mean meatloaf for "The Brady Bunch". Throw in Katherine Helmond (the
Tate family matriarch from "Soap") as Angela's flirty Mum and you have sitcom
synopsis heaven. In "First Kiss", Tony and Ang arrive home after separate
nights out, both drunk. Will they or won't they? To quote one of the era's
finest tunes "Our Lips Are Sealed".
The Young Ones
Check out the episode "Bomb" on
The Young Ones - Series 1 (1982)
'Once in every lifetime...' Cool kids got into this anarchic sitcom about a
punk, a hippy, a student and a cool person sharing a London house via its late
night ABC post-"Rock Arena" timeslot in 1985. The rest got the joke with the
repeats a year later and before we knew it Neil the Hippy had sold out doing
ads for the multinational petroleum company man. Go for the "Bomb" episode.
Neil paints himself white to deflect a nuclear bomb as the rest watch the test
pattern on TV. Then, before you can say 'Too Rye Yay', Birmingham's finest
combo (sorry "Duran Duran") "Dexy's Midnight Runners" is doing the "Jackie
Wilson Said" dungaree-violin-horn stomp in the toilet.
The Comedy Company
Check out
The Comedy Company-The Very Best Of: Volume 1
This Australian sketch comedy show, with its gentle lampooning of suburban
stereotypes and mores, was one of the few shows in the 80s to threaten the
traditional Sunday night ratings dominance of "Sixty Minutes". While Kylie Mole
(Mary-Anne Fahey) enticed Kylie Minogue to join in the schoolyard twang and gum
twirling, Con The Fruiterer (Mark Mitchell) introduced 'bewdiful' and 'coupla
days' to the vernacular and sent then Prime Minister Bob Hawke's popularity
soaring when he dropped in to buy a kilo of bananas. Also inspired the most
diverse and expansive collection of Australian merchandise.
Neighbours : The Music
Check out Neighbours
: The Music
Long before Delta Goodrem, "Neighbours" and pop went hand in hand. The 80s was
the golden era for Ramsay Street rapping, kicking off with Kylie's paint by
numbers version of Little Eva's "Locomotion", then driven by her and Jason
Donovan's Stock Aitken and Waterman warehouse pop, and reaching its crescendo
with Angry Anderson mellowing out on Scott and Charlene's wedding anthem
"Suddenly". Decide for yourself where Stefan Dennis' "Don't It Make You Feel
Good" and Craig McLachlan's acid-wash cock rock that is "Mona" sit in the opus.