prime time - 4/6 - Retroland

Traditionally, when a film is only marginally successful at the box office, the likelihood of it ever spawning a television series is slim at best. Even more rare is when anyone associated with such a film decides to make the transition into television. But Buffy the Vampire Slayer apparently wasn’t concerned by these preconceptions, because it proceeded to render them null. Not only was this 90s series far more successful than the original film, it also had creator and screenwriter Joss Whedon at the helm. Traditions be damned.

The Munsters

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Every community has the one family that raises the collective eyebrows of the neighbors due to their non-conforming ways. Sure, they appear to be nice enough folks but they just don’t fit in with their surroundings. Well, over on 1313 Mockingbird Lane, raised eyebrows gave way to sheer terror when they got a look at the inhabitants, better known as The Munsters.

Mork & Mindy

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Living in Milwaukee in the 50’s could be pretty boring for a young teenager. Even with the occasional excitement of Fonzie jumping his motorcycle over a bunch of garbage cans and water-skiing over sharks, Ritchie’s life remained, in a word, humdrum. That is, until one fateful night, when he received a visit from a quick-witted extraterrestrial named Mork from the faraway planet of Ork. This particular episode of the iconic sitcom Happy Days was a huge crowd-pleaser and made a relatively unknown stand-up comedian named Robin Williams into an instant star. A spin-off series was a no-brainer for television execs and in 1978, Mork and Mindy made its debut on ABC.

CHiPs

Boy Meets World

The A-Team

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You gotta love a show that tells you exactly what it’s about in the first 30 seconds of every episode. The above was narrated every week before the opening credits, followed by the distinctive staccato beat of the theme and, oh yes, machine gun rounds spelling out the ‘A’ in A-Team. One may even say that machine guns were the main instruments utilized in the show’s musical score. The series created by 80s wunderkind Stephen J. Cannell ran very successfully from 1983 to 1987, becoming an international hit and pop culture icon.

Taxi

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Welcome to The Sunshine Cab Company, where the career aspirations of the taxi-driving employees sit as idle as a yellow cab parked along a deserted curb, just hoping to be noticed. And through their trials and tribulations, their triumphs, and more often, their failures, this collection of cab drivers delivered some of the most memorable and uproarious moments in the history of television sitcoms.

The Bionic Woman

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America caught its first glimpse of female superhero Jaime Summers when she appeared on a special two-part episode of the popular prime-time series, The Six Million Dollar Man, circa 1975. The long-lost love interest of Steve Austin, Jamie and her bionic boyfriend hoped to rekindle that high school romance. Then, she became crippled in a tragic parachuting accident and a distraught Steve pleaded with his boss, Oscar Goldman, to use some high-tech healing power on his lady friend.

Punky Brewster

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Only the most hardened heart could refuse to soften a little when faced with a little orphaned girl. Just ask Annie, just ask Pippi, just ask Heidi. Now, put a spunky and self-confident little orphan alongside a cantankerous old codger, an odd couple if there ever was one, and you have a recipe for heart-string tugging like no other. Such was the power of Punky Brewster.