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Happy Days

Back in the 70s, television viewers received a romanticized view of the 50s, thanks to a sitcom called Happy Days, which followed the daily life of the Cunningham family, their friends and a soon-to-be hoodlum hero named Fonzie. It went on to become one of the most popular series of the decade and today, we pay tribute to this iconic sitcom.

ALF

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For all of the 80s shows mentioned on Retroland, perhaps one of the most fondly-remembered is ALF. Debuting in 1986 and airing for four seasons, ALF was an instant hit, as viewers couldn't help but fall in love with the furry orange alien, always funny and always armed with a wisecrack at the ready. Today, we take a look back at this beloved sitcom.

TJ Hooker

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After commanding the USS Enterprise around the galaxy for three years on the television series, Star Trek, William Shatner made a celebrated return to the airwaves in the early 80s. This time around, he traded his gold shirt, spaceship and phaser for a police uniform, cruiser and a gun, keeping the streets safe from crime on the ABC series, TJ Hooker.

F Troop

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Considering the adoration that fans retain for the fine soldiers that made up F-Troop, it seems impossible that the show only ran for a mere two seasons. And yet, in that short amount of time, the show was filled with so many memorable moments of silliness that it was destined to pick up numerous fans in later syndication. Perhaps the first parody ever produced of the Old West, F-Troop was a groundbreaking sitcom, fondly remembered for its wacky characters and “Anything goes” attitude.

The Six Million Dollar Man

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If anyone had any doubts that science fiction could be an enormous success in prime time, those doubts were put to rest with The Six Million Dollar Man. The story of a man who, as a result of a devastating crash in the line of duty, is put back together with advanced technology, then goes on to work as a secret agent, kept viewers (mostly young ones) riveted to their television sets for four years.

Spiderman

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It didn’t take a rocket science to predict that the legendary Marvel Comics superhero, Spiderman, would eventually show up on the Saturday morning airwaves. And from the moment it first aired in 1967, the cartoon was destined to be a classic. With legendary animator Ralph Bakshi supervising the production and a swinging theme song so catchy it adhered to the brain cells as securely as Spidey climbing a skyscraper, it was pretty clear from the get-go that Spiderman would find a loyal following.

Bewitched

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Mixed marriages have long provided fodder for sitcoms, but Hollywood really conjured up a winner when they paired an advertising executive with a sweet-hearted sorceress in the long-running sitcom, Bewitched. Debuting in 1964, this beloved series charmed an entire generation with its wonderful casting and witty storylines, and still claims legions of enamored admirers to this day.

Bump in the Night

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Bedroom-dwelling monsters, those things that go bump in the night, have suffered from some pretty bad PR over the years. It would take the popular 90s series, Bump in the Night, to shed some new light on the creatures who lurk in the shadows and show them to be the friendly companions they truly are.

My Pet Monster

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The considerable plush toy market, for better or worse, tends to market their wares towards the female youngsters. One of the few exceptions was My Pet Monster, released in 1986, which aimed to pick up the slack in the boy's market. It didn't really matter though - kids of both genders couldn’t help but take a liking to this furry and fanged friend, simply because he was too cool to ignore.

Kid Power

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In 1965, cartoonist Morrie Turner introduced his popular newspaper comic strip, Wee Pals, which focused on a collection of multicultural kids called “The Rainbow Club.” And, although a portion of society was a wee bit uncomfortable with the socially conscious subject matter at the time, it was hard to deny that the cartoon was, above all, funny – funny enough, in fact, to lead ABC to base a Saturday morning animated series on the comic strip called Kid Power.