NBC

Battlestars

Battlestars is an American game show that aired for two separate runs on NBC during the early 1980s. The show's first run aired from October 26, 1981 to April 23, 1982. An updated version–titled The New Battlestars–ran for 13 weeks, from April 4 to July 1, 1983. Battlestars was produced by Merrill Heatter Productions, Heatter's first show produced without Bob Quigley. The host was Alex Trebek and the announcers were Rod Roddy and Charlie Tuna.

The Nashville Palace

Fitz and Bones

Fitz and Bones is a short-lived American television series, starring Dick and Tom Smothers, that aired on NBC in 1981. Fitz and Bones details the investigative dynamic between reporter Ryan Fitzpatrick and cameraman Bones at a San Francisco news station, along with key cast members and plot tensions with bosses and rivals.

Family Reunion

Elizabeth Winfield is a retired teacher, who desperately tries to keep her family together. While she's traveling through the country and meeting her relatives, back in her hometown, a group of shopping mall developers are planning to take over her family land in order to begin their ambitious project. Now she needs to find ways to stop this construction in time before the town's annual festivities.

The Sophisticated Gents

The 25-year reunion of members of a black athletic-social club brings together nine of its members for the first time to honor their old coach but is marred by a murder investigation involving one of the gents.

Teen Force

Teen Force is a segment on Space Stars. The Teen Force consisted of three young heroes (Elektra, Kid Comet and Moleculad) who came from Black Hole X, described as "the gateway into our dimension". Accompanying the Teen Force were the Astro-Mites, Glax and Plutem. Their main enemy was Uglor, a winged monster who sought to conquer the cosmos.

Hero High

A variety of teenage superheroes attend high school and have wacky adventures.

The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam!

The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam! is an NBC Saturday morning cartoon produced by Filmation Studios in 1981.

Space Stars

As the entire world went "space action" crazy at the end of the Seventies, Hanna-Barbera reconvened its Sci-Fi superstars Space Ghost and the Herculoids for another round of adventures. Joining the sixties sci-fi faves in their interstellar battle against evil were newcomers Teen Force and Astro and the Space Mutts (yes, that Astro!).

The Smurfs

Classic Saturday-morning cartoon series featuring magical blue elf-like creatures called Smurfs. The Smurfs, named for their personalities, inhabit a village of mushroom houses in an enchanted forest. These loveable creatures are led by Papa Smurf and live carefree... except for one major threat to their existance: Gargamel, an evil but inept wizard who lives in a stone-built house in the forest; and his feline companion, the equally nasty Azrael.

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends is an American animated television series produced by Marvel Productions starring established Marvel Comics characters Spider-Man and Iceman and an original character, Firestar. As a trio called the Spider-Friends, they fought against various villains.

Hickory Hideout

Hickory Hideout was a television program for children which aired in Cleveland, Ohio on WKYC-TV from 1981 to 1991. It had human hosts, Cassie Wolfe and Wayne Turney, puppet squirrel characters, and a handful of other characters, such as Buzz Buzzsaw and Cecelia C. Seesaw. It addressed psychological issues that children face and was a change from the usual lineup of Saturday morning animation based cartoons. Kathryn Hahn, a Cleveland native who later appeared in the NBC series Crossing Jordan, had her first TV appearance on the show. The show also featured a young Matthew James Murphy, who went on to perform in the Broadway musical Rent. At the time of the program's production, WKYC-TV was an NBC owned-and-operated station. From 1986 until the program's conclusion in 1991 Hickory Hideout was also broadcast on other NBC-owned stations, including WNBC-TV in New York City; WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.; WMAQ-TV in Chicago; KCNC-TV in Denver; and KNBC in Los Angeles.

SCTV Network 90

After a successful Canadian run as Second City TV on Global and SCTV on CBC, the cast packed up and moved to America (theoretically) when NBC offered them a timeslot under the title SCTV Network 90. With them, they brought their unique, quirky characters, their personalities, and the shows they had appeared on. Dick Blasucci had begun writing for the cast in their second series, SCTV, and joined them here, serving as a recurring straight man for the characters. Tony Rosato and Robin Duke wrote scripts at the beginning of the show as they had before, until quickly leaving to write and perform for Saturday Night Live. The appeal of SCTV Network 90, however, doesn't only come from the writing, but from the sheer wit of its legendary stars.

Murder in Texas

A plastic surgeon was suspected of causing the death of his first wife, the daughter of a wealthy member of Houston society. The doctor then marries his mistress, whom he had been keeping during his marriage. His former father-in-law, convinced that his daughter was murdered, determines to see the doctor punished.

The Gangster Chronicles

The series follows the lives of the three main characters from their youth into becoming major criminal figures in 1920's America.

The Brady Brides

Marcia and Jan Brady marry their sweethearts -- total opposites -- and both couples move in together in this spin-off of The Brady Bunch, which features recurring appearances by Carol and Alice.

Walking Tall

Walking Tall is an American television drama series that ran on NBC in 1981 for one season of seven episodes. The first 5 episodes aired Saturday nights at 9:00 p.m.. The last 2 episodes aired Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. NBC reran all 7 episodes from April-August 1981. This one-hour show was based on the 1973 film Walking Tall, which was based on the life of Buford Pusser. Here, Pusser is the sheriff of McNeal County, Tennessee, fighting criminals each week in 1969.

Harper Valley

Harper Valley PTA is an early 1980s American television sitcom based on the 1978 film Harper Valley PTA, which was itself based on the 1968 song recorded by country singer Jeannie C. Riley, written by Tom T. Hall.

Hill Street Blues

A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.

Flamingo Road

Flamingo Road is an American prime time soap opera that aired on NBC. It was first seen as a TV movie on May 12, 1980, and as a series on January 6, 1981, after a rebroadcast of the pilot on December 30, 1980. The show is based on the 1949 movie starring Joan Crawford, which is, in turn, based on the novel by Robert Wilder. Flamingo Road was created to compete against CBS's Dallas and Knots Landing, nighttime dramas that were inspired by the daily afternoon soap operas that had been a staple of TV for years. The character of Constance Weldon ranked at #16 on E!'s list of The 50 Most Wicked Women in Primetime.