Growing up in the ’80s was amazing for a kid like me who loved watching TV! After school, in the evenings, and on weekends, there was always something good on. Some shows, like 3-2-1 Contact and Square One TV, actually taught you things, but a lot of them were just pure, simple fun – exactly what I needed!
Growing up in the 1980s meant rushing home from school to catch shows like Inspector Gadget and DuckTales. Many people still remember the DuckTales theme song! While these shows aren’t on TV anymore, those who watched them as kids still have fond memories of them.
7) Inspector Gadget
The 1980s cartoon Inspector Gadget was definitely unusual, but it was a big hit with children. Don Adams, famous for playing the clumsy spy Maxwell Smart in Get Smart, provided the voice for Inspector Gadget. The cartoon’s title came from the many gadgets built into the character, like roller skates, extendable arms, and even a helicopter propeller.
The gadgets in Inspector Gadget rarely functioned correctly, which often resulted in funny mishaps. Plus, Gadget frequently pursued the wrong leads while solving cases. Luckily, his niece Penny and their dog Brain usually did the real work of stopping Dr. Claw’s plans. Most kids who grew up in the ’80s will remember Dr. Claw – the villain who never showed his face – shaking his fist and yelling, “I’ll get you next time, Gadget!” at the end of each episode.
6) You Can’t Do That On Television
This hilarious but often shocking comedy show helped make Nickelodeon a ratings leader in the 1980s. Produced in Canada, it featured a cast of kids in outrageous sketches, including a creepy burger joint owner, mock executions where kids pleaded for mercy, and the now-iconic green slime that would dump on anyone who answered ‘I don’t know.’
The show was surprisingly popular with children, despite some parents disliking it. Later in the series, a young Alanis Morissette – who was 14 years old at the time – appeared as a performer, before she became famous as a singer.
5) Small Wonder
The 1980s TV show Small Wonder was similar to older shows like My Favorite Martian and Bewitched, which featured characters pretending to be human. It told the story of a family – a robotics engineer father, his wife, and their son – and the android daughter the father created, named Vicki.
The show became incredibly popular with kids globally, and was translated into many languages. The comedy revolved around Vicki, a character who struggled to understand people – she was very literal, spoke without emotion, and didn’t pick up on social cues. Despite this, she could blend in enough to attend school, though a curious neighbor was constantly trying to uncover her secret.
4) ALF
ALF and Small Wonder shared similar themes, but ALF presented a bigger challenge for the family hiding him – a furry alien was much harder to conceal! ALF was known for being funny, sarcastic, and a bit like the famous cartoon cat Garfield, though he definitely had a bigger appetite – he even ate cats!
Like many sitcoms of its kind, a lot of the comedy in ALF came from the family trying to keep him a secret from their neighbors. The Tanners also attempted to teach ALF how to behave like a human, though they didn’t always succeed.
3) Mr. Belvedere
The show Mr. Belvedere centered around a formal, British butler who became part of an average American family living in Pittsburgh. A lot of the comedy came from the contrast between his proper demeanor and the head of the household, played by sportscaster Bob Uecker. He also had to navigate life with the children, particularly the youngest, Wesley, who was a typical mischievous kid of the 1980s.
This show was part of a wave of family sitcoms from the time, but it stands out thanks to Mr. Belvedere’s clever British humor and his unwavering principles, even when dealing with the family he worked for. Each episode also concluded with Belvedere writing in his diary, offering a funny take on the events that had unfolded.
2) Square One TV
Square One TV was a groundbreaking PBS show that made learning math fun for kids. Instead of being dull, it used funny skits based on popular TV shows, music videos inspired by MTV, and game show-style segments to teach important concepts like problem-solving, patterns, and the chances of things happening.
One of the highlights of the show was Mathnet, a funny 10-minute segment that imitated Dragnet. Each episode presented a new mystery solved by detectives Kate Monday and George Frankly, who cleverly used math to crack the case. The very first Mathnet story featured Yeardley Smith—the voice of Lisa Simpson—playing a young woman searching for a missing gorilla from the zoo.
1) DuckTales
DuckTales was a Disney cartoon featuring the wealthy, but stingy, Scrooge McDuck and his three nephews. The show usually followed the family as they went on exciting adventures to find treasure, but they also frequently had to defend Scrooge’s money from rivals and thieves.
The show’s success sparked a wave of other Disney programs in the 80s and 90s, along with video games and related products. While it was revived in 2017 and lasted for four more years, the original DuckTales remains a beloved classic for those who grew up with it in the 1980s.
What 1980s TV show did you love the most? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!
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2025-12-01 16:11