The BEST shows of 1987
Every show that aired an episode in 1987, ranked
We've compiled the average episode rating for every TV show episode aired in 1987 to compile this list of best shows!
#1 - Knots Landing
Hoping to ride the crest of its success with Dallas, CBS spun off this series featuring the black sheep of the Ewing Family, Gary Ewing. Gary was a weakened reformed alcoholic who had deserted his wife Valene Ewing, and then remarried her and moved to Southern California to escape the formidable nature of life with the Ewings in Dallas. All the equals in this series lived on the same cul-de-sac in the quiet little community of Knots Landing. In addition to being neighbors, their lives intertwined in other ways. Gary worked for Sid Fairgate, owner of Knots Landing Motors, the local classic car dealership. Sid and his wife Karen Fairgate had three teenage children: Eric Fairgate, Michael Fairgate, and Diana Fairgate. The other two couples on the cul-de-sac were young recording executive Kenny Ward and his attractive wife, Ginger, and Richard and Laura Avery.
View Episode Rankings#2 - Fist of the North Star
Kenshiro is the sole heir of the deadly 2000 year old martial art, Hokuto Shinken. He is on a quest for vengeance after being betrayed by a former friend, Shin, who mutilates Ken's body and steals his girlfriend Julia. Bandits and rival martial artists await him in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Known as 北斗の拳 (Hokuto No Ken) in Japan, Ken le Survivant in France and Quebec and Ken il Guerriero in Italy. First Opening song: Ai o Torimodose Second Opening song: Tough Boy Closing song: Love Song
View Episode Rankings#3 - The Golden Girls
Four older single women sharing a house in Miami while navigating their "golden years" with humor, friendship, and occasional chaos.
View Episode Rankings#4 - Sherlock Holmes (1984)
Sherlock Holmes is one of the world’s most popular fictional detectives, famed for his legendary powers of observation and deduction. Adapted from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original novels, this classic series by Granada Television starred Jeremy Brett as the definitive Holmes, with David Burke and later Edward Hardwicke as his able assistant Dr. Watson.
View Episode Rankings#5 - Magnum, P.I.
Former Naval Intelligence officer Thomas Magnum resigns his commission to become a private investigator on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii. He lands a home in the guest house on the estate of millionaire author Robin Masters in exchange for testing the estate's security, but is forced to work under the strict and ever watchful eye of Jonathan Higgins, a former British Army soldier who serves as the estate manager, and constantly patrols the grounds with his two "lads" Zeus and Apollo, who are loyally trained Doberman Pinschers always ready to pounce on Magnum. Magnum makes good use of the perks that come with working on the estate, including driving Masters' sporty red 308 GTS Ferrari, Audi, and all-terrain Jimmy, as well as equipment such as high-end cameras and telescopes.
View Episode Rankings#6 - Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis, as well as a large cast of notable actors and actresses.
View Episode Rankings#7 - Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine is an affectionate comedy about people in the autumn of their years. The series is the world's longest-running sitcom, having clocked up 31 series and numerous Christmas specials during its run.
View Episode Rankings#8 - The Twilight Zone (1985)
This show is based on Rod Serling's classic TV anthology show, The Twilight Zone. Redoing some episodes and doing new ones 20 years laters after the originals, these are made in color and in one-hour episodes. Most of the episodes contained two or three stories, and were broken up in half hour episodes for syndication. CBS cancelled the show in its second season, but it was picked up by a Canadian producer and aired in syndication in a half-hour format. The show contains mostly ironic or special situations with a twist at the end, which show the human nature, coupled with science fiction, horror or fantasy. Some of the show's writers are well known: Harlan Ellison, Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Sidney Sheldon and J. Michael Straczynski. The opening and closing music was done by The Grateful Dead.
View Episode Rankings#9 - Blackadder
Cunning plans and cutting comedy as the Blackadder dynasty plot their way through British history.
View Episode Rankings#10 - 'Allo 'Allo!
In this spoof of World War II, René Artois runs a café in German-occupied France. He always seems to have his hands full: he's having affairs with most of his waitresses, he's keeping his wife happy, he's trying to please the German soldiers who frequent his café, and he's running a major underground operation for the Resistance.
View Episode Rankings#11 - Dynasty
The saga of a wealthy Denver family in the oil business: Blake Carrington, the patriarch; Krystle, his former secretary and wife; his children: Adam, lost in childhood after a kidnapping; Fallon, pampered and spoiled; Steven, openly gay; and Amanda, hidden from him by his ex-wife, the conniving Alexis. Most of the show features the conflict between 2 large corporations, Blake's Denver Carrington and Alexis' ColbyCo.
View Episode Rankings#12 - Dragon Ball
Long ago in the mountains, a fighting master known as Gohan discovered a strange boy whom he named Goku. Gohan raised him and trained Goku in martial arts until he died. The young and very strong boy was on his own, but easily managed. Then one day, Goku met a teenage girl named Bulma, whose search for the dragon balls brought her to Goku's home. Together, they set off to find all seven dragon balls in an adventure that would change Goku's life forever. See how Goku met his life long friends Bulma, Yamcha, Krillin, Master Roshi and more. And see his adventures as a boy, all leading up to Dragonball Z and later Dragonball GT.
View Episode Rankings#13 - ALF
The Tanner family is an average American family. One day, they discover that they have a visitor. He's small, he's furry, he's arrogant, and he's an alien from the planet Melmac. Unsure what to do, they name him ALF: Alien Life Form. Alf soon decides that as much as he misses his home planet, there's a lot to be said for Earth: the Tanners are willing to concede anything as long as he doesn't announce his presence. Oh yeah, the Tanners also have a cat, which looks rather tasty...
View Episode Rankings#14 - Moonlighting
When former fashion model Maddie Hayes goes broke and finds that one of her few remaining assets is ownership of the Blue Moon Detective Agency, she is tempted to liquidate it until she meets the quirky employees and gets involved in their even quirkier cases.
View Episode Rankings#15 - Full House
Full House is an American sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for ABC. The show chronicles a widowed father, who enlists his best friend and his brother-in-law to help raise his three daughters. It aired from September 22, 1987, to May 23, 1995, broadcasting eight seasons and 192 episodes.
View Episode Rankings#16 - Hill Street Blues
This groundbreaking and award-winning NBC crime drama provided a very realistic view into the lives of the dedicated cops and detectives of an urban police station. From January 1981 to August 1986, the show ran on Thursdays at 10/9 Central, with occasional repeats on Saturdays at 10/9 Central. From August 1986 to August 1987 first-run episodes aired Tuesdays at 10/9 Central.
View Episode Rankings#17 - Mama's Family
Mama's Family mined humor from a squabbling family in the Midwestern blue collar suburb of Raytown. The noisy clan was headed by "Mama" Thelma, a buxom, gray-haired widow with sharp opinions and a sharper tongue who shared her small house with her high-strung sister Fran, a journalist for a local paper. Mama's lazy, dimwitted son, Vint, a locksmith by trade, moved in at the start of the series with his troublesome teenage children, Buzz and Sonja, after his wife run off to become a Las Vegas show-girl. Much to Mama's disgust, Vint soon took up with the flirtatious neighbor Naomi. The two where married in early 1983, and Naomi moved in too. Further uproar was caused by the periodic visits from Mama's two married daughter's, the foul mouthed Eunice and the snobbish Ellen. Ed was Eunice's Dolt of a husband. In the Fall of 86 Mama's Family returned to TV in first-run syndication. Fran had recently passed (Rue McClanahan was now starring in The Golden Girls) and Ed and Eunice had moved to Florida, leaving behind their son Bubba as he finishes his time in Juvenile Hall and forcing him to move in. Meanwhile, neighbor Iola Boylen makes the house's acquaintance and becomes a regular visitor with her unique charm.
View Episode Rankings#18 - Matlock
Don't be fooled by his down-home demeanor and country-boy ways; criminal defense lawyer Ben Matlock is worth every penny of his fee. Count on Matlock to visit the crime scene, scope out the clues everyone else missed, and dramatically reveal the real criminal during a climactic trial sequence.
View Episode Rankings#19 - Designing Women
Julia Sugarbaker, Mary Jo Shively, Charlene Frazier-Stillfield and Suzanne Sugarbaker are associates at their design firm, Sugarbaker and Associates. Julia is the owner and is very outspoken and strong-willed. Mary Jo is a divorced single-parent whom is just as strong-willed as Julia, but isn't as self-confident. Charlene is the naive and trusting farm girl from Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Suzanne is the self-centered ex-beauty queen whom has a number of wealthy ex-husbands.
View Episode Rankings#20 - Married... with Children
This Fox comedy broke the mold of unbelievably selfless family characters which had become the norm in American sitcoms of the 1980's. Al Bundy, shoe salesman, fears the frequent amorous advances of his ditsy wife Peggy, who henpecks him and frivolously spends all of his money, reliving his 4 touchdowns in a single game at high school. Supporting characters include their two shallow, self-serving teenage children Kelly and Bud, as well as nosy neighbor Marcy and her husband.
View Episode Rankings#21 - Cheers
Sam, a former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, owns and runs Cheers, a cozy bar in Boston. Somewhat snobby, beautiful and intelligent Diane -- forced to become a waitress when her fiance jilts her -- constantly bickers with Sam. Eventually, they fall in love. Several wacky characters make the bar their home-away-from-home, including sarcastic waitress Carla, beer-loving Norm and Boston letter carrier Cliff.
View Episode Rankings#22 - Highway to Heaven
The series stars Michael Landon as Jonathan Smith, an angel sent down to earth "on probation", and his human companion Mark Gordon, played by Victor French. Jonathan and Mark are given "assignments" by "The Boss" (God) where they are required to use their humanity in order to help various troubled souls to overcome their problems. Examples of these problems include families dealing with sick loved ones; wealthy and greedy businessmen being encouraged to use their wealth for good; and discouraging prejudice in regards to people of different ethnicities, appearances, or socioeconomic backgrounds or who have disabilities. Jonathan's mission on Earth is to do enough good so that he could earn his wings and, presumably, ascend to heaven. Due to the close relationship that builds between Jonathan and Mark, this becomes a contentious issue as Mark does not want to lose his friend, and sometimes tries to prevent it from happening.
View Episode Rankings#23 - The Cosby Show
Dr. Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable was an OBGYN (obstetrician/gynecologist), and his wife Clair was a successful attorney. They had five children: Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy. Sondra was rarely seen during the first season because she was away at Princeton. She became a regular character in the second season, and was usually seen with her on-again off-again beau, Elvin. They eventually married and had twins; but not before stunning their families by announcing the fact that Elvin was dropping out of medical school to open a camping store, and Sondra was dropping out of law school to help her husband in his endeavor. Denise was the "unique" child, the black sheep of the family. She had her own way of doing things, right down to the style of clothing she wore. After graduating high school, she left for Hillman College in 1986 (a year later, this would become the setting for the spin-off A Different World), but returned two years later with news that she was dropping ou
View Episode Rankings#24 - The Jetsons
The Jetsons is an animated sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera. It was Hanna-Barbera’s Space Age counterpart to The Flintstones, a half-hour family sitcom projecting contemporary American culture and lifestyle into another time period. The Jetsons live in a futuristic utopia in the year 2062 of elaborate robotic contraptions, aliens, holograms, and whimsical inventions.
View Episode Rankings#25 - MacGyver
MacGyver follows the adventures of the laid-back, extremely resourceful secret agent Angus MacGyver. He prefers non-violent conflict resolution whenever possible and refuses to carry or use a gun.
View Episode Rankings#26 - Who's the Boss?
When Tony Micelli takes a job as housekeeper for Angela Bower, a successful businesswoman, he and his daughter, Samantha, move into Angela's home. Now Tony and Sam must adjust to their new lives with the Bowers- Angela, her son Jonathan, and her mother, Mona.
View Episode Rankings#27 - The Facts of Life
Charlotte Rae stars as a dietician and house mother at a private girls' boarding school, watching over students Blair, Tootie, Natalie and Jo.
View Episode Rankings#28 - Perfect Strangers
The series chronicles the rocky coexistence of Larry Appleton and his distant cousin Balki Bartokomous. A Wisconsin native, Larry, who comes from a large family with numerous brothers and sisters, has just moved into a new apartment in Chicago, and is experiencing his first joys of newfound privacy when Balki, a hitherto unknown cousin from a Greek-like island in the Mediterranean called Mypos, drops by to live with him. Balki, a shepherd by trade, interprets what little he knows about the United States by relying on his own recollections of American pop culture, which are often out-of-context. After initially gently rebuffing his cousin's request to stay at his apartment, Larry, an aspiring photographer, decides to take Balki under his wing and teach him about American life...
View Episode Rankings#29 - This Old House
This Old House celebrates the fusion on old world craftsmanship and modern technology. Each season features two renovation projects. Project One traditionally consists of eighteen or more so episodes and is filmed in Massachusetts. Project Two is taped in a different region of the country to highlight the variety of American architectural styles and renovation issues.
View Episode Rankings#30 - Tour of Duty
As the first television drama series about the Vietnam War, Tour of Duty focuses on a single platoon of young U.S. soldiers through their one-year tour of combat duty in Vietnam during the late 1960's. While their own country is rocked by a massive anti-war movement, these young men find themselves thrown into combat in Southeast Asia, where they face enemy troops they can not see and sometimes can not kill. They also face their own fears, as they struggle in a hostile environment just to keep themselves and their fellow soldiers alive. Terence Knox, Kevin Conroy, Stephen Caffrey, Joshua Maurer, Steve Akahoshi, Tony Becker, Eric Bruskotter, Stan Foster, Ramon Franco and Miguel A. Nunez, Jr. star as the infantrymen who represent diverse racial, cultural and philosophical backgrounds but must ultimately depend on one another to get through the war alive.
View Episode Rankings#31 - The A-Team
The A-Team is about a group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a crime they didn't commit.
View Episode Rankings#32 - The Transformers
Two opposing factions of transforming alien robots engage in a battle that has the fate of Earth in the balance.
View Episode Rankings#33 - Miami Vice
Miami Vice centers around the unlikely partnership of Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) and Ricardo Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas), two undercover detectives from the Miami Police Department’s vice squad battling against drug trafficking and prostitution in the city’s seamy underworld. Its use of New Wave music and colorful Italian men’s fashion was groundbreaking and the series had a defining influence on the popular culture of the 1980s.
View Episode Rankings#34 - Saturday Night Live
Each week, live from New York, a famous guest host appears in sketches and parodies alongside a company of up-and-coming comedians. A popular musical guest, short films, and Weekend Update - a recurring satirical newscast - form the backbone of one of the most influential and culturally significant comedy shows in history.
View Episode Rankings#36 - Dallas
The world's first mega-soap, and one of the most popular ever produced, Dallas had it all. Beautiful women, expensive cars, and men playing Monopoly with real buildings. Famous for one of the best cliffhangers in TV history, as the world asked "Who shot J.R.?" A slow-burner to begin with, Dallas hit its stride in the 2nd season, with long storylines and expert character development. Dallas ruled the airwaves in the 1980's.
View Episode Rankings#37 - Murder, She Wrote
Murder seems to follow Jessica Fletcher, a former English teacher and a mystery writer full of charm, zest-for-life, and personality; who happens to become "the investigator" when traveling around the country to promote a series of novels. Murder always occurs when she is present. Even in Cabot Cove!
View Episode Rankings#38 - Star Trek: The Next Generation
A century after Captain Kirk's five year mission, the next generation of Starfleet officers begins their journey aboard the new flagship of the Federation. Commanded by Captain Jean-Luc Picard the Galaxy class starship Enterprise NCC-1701-D will seek out new life and new civilizations - to boldly go where no one has gone before.
View Episode Rankings#39 - Adventures of the Gummi Bears
Long ago, there was a thriving civilization of small humanoid bears called Gummi Bears. Possessing powerful magic and advanced technology, this race coexisted with humans until the growing rivalry forced the Gummis to flee across the sea, leaving only a small caretaker colony to prepare for a possible return. However, generations passed and the colony forgot their purpose even as human knowledge of the race faded into mere legend. All that changes when the colony meets a boy with a Gummi Bear medallion which unlocks the Great Book of Gummi which reveals lost knowledge of their past. Now the colony has dedicated themselves to the new goal to rediscover their heritage with the help of a few trusted humans while preventing new enemies like Duke Igthorn from exploiting that heritage to their own ends. Gummi Bears was part of what many consider Disney's "Golden Age".
View Episode Rankings#40 - Night Court
Judge Harold T. Stone presides over Manhattan's Night Court, where all of the petty, silly, and dime-a-dozen crimes get sent to be tried. Invariably, the cases appearing before the court are bizarre, but that's OK because Harry Stone is not your typical judge. He's assisted by a motley crew of clerks, attorneys, and bailiffs who often create as much chaos as the criminals they bring in for trial.
View Episode Rankings#41 - DuckTales
When Donald Duck decides to join the Navy, he leaves his nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, in the care of his cantankerous Uncle Scrooge. He is an eccentric and miserly billionare who loves to literally swim in his money that is held in his corporate headquarters/vault known as the Money Bin. While the initial meeting was less than pleasant, events soon have them, along with a newly hired nanny, her daughter and Scrooge's stupid but skilled pilot, on countless adventures as the group goes around the world looking for treasure, or defending Scrooge's current assets from enemies like the Beagle Boys or Magica De Spell.
View Episode Rankings#42 - Doctor Who
The Doctor, a mysterious traveller in space and time, travels in his ship, the TARDIS. The TARDIS can take him and his companions anywhere in time and space. Inevitably he finds evil at work wherever he goes...
View Episode Rankings#43 - The Equalizer
Robert McCall is a former agent of a shadowy, unnamed government agency, who is trying to make up for the unspoken sins of his past. His atonement comes in the form of an advertisement in a New York newspaper that features the quote: "Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer." McCall uses his finely honed skills and occasionally the agents and resources from his old agency to combat the injustices perpetrated against those who can't seek protection from the law.
View Episode Rankings#44 - The Smurfs
The Smurfs are tiny blue creatures that live in mushroom houses in a peaceful forest. They repeatedly try to outwit Gargamel, an evil sorcerer, his apprentice, Scruple, and his mangy cat, Azrael.
View Episode Rankings#45 - Family Ties
Steven and Elyse Keaton, once 1960s radicals, now find themselves in Reagan-era American trying to raise a traditional suburban family. Son Alex P. Keaton is an ambitious young Republican, and his sister Mallory is a shallow victim of the corporate culture, obsessed with music, clothes and boys. Their only normal kid is young Jennifer, a bit of a tomboy. In later seasons, the Keatons add a fourth child, Andrew. Most of the comedy arose from the conflict between the liberal parents and the conservative children. Content expanded.
View Episode Rankings#46 - Newhart
Dick Loudon and wife Joanna relocate from New York City to a small town in Vermont, where they run the historic Stratford Inn. They're surrounded by a town full of oddballs and colorful characters, whom Loudon deals with in various states of bemusement.
View Episode Rankings#47 - Tales of the Unexpected
Tales Of The Unexpected is a British television series originally aired between 1979 and 1988, made by Anglia Television for ITV. The series was an anthology of different tales. Initially episodes were based on the short stories collected in the books Tales of the Unexpected, Kiss Kiss and Someone Like You by Roald Dahl. The stories were sometimes sinister, sometimes wryly comedic, and usually had a twist ending. The upbeat theme music for the series was written by the prolific film and television composer Ron Grainer.
View Episode Rankings#48 - Airwolf
'Airwolf' followed the adventures of a hi-tech helicopter and its reclusive pilot, Stringfellow Hawke. Airwolf itself was a hi-tech attack helicopter, equipped with cutting-edge on-board computer, surveillance and radar systems.
View Episode Rankings#49 - 21 Jump Street
21 Jump Street revolved around a group of young cops who would use their youthful appearance to go undercover and solve crimes involving teenagers and young adults.
View Episode Rankings#50 - Amazing Stories (1985)
Truly amazing, fantastical, funny, and odd, and sometimes scary, sad, and endearing stories are portrayed. Many famous actors, actresses, and directors made guest appearances.
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