Editing 1980s (section)

===Television===
{{Main|1980s in television}}
Music video channel [[MTV]] was launched in the United States in 1981 and had a profound impact on the [[music industry]] and [[popular culture]], especially in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The 1980s was a decade of transformation in television. [[Cable television]] became more accessible and therefore, more popular. By the middle of the decade, almost 70% of the US population had cable television and over 85% were paying for cable services such as [[HBO]] or [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]].<ref>[http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id13.htm The Politics and Pop Culture of the 1980s] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318100759/http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id13.htm |date=2009-03-18 }} The Eighties Club. Retrieved on 2010-03-08</ref> People who lived in rural areas where cable TV service was not available could still access cable channels through a large (and expensive) [[satellite dish]], which, by the mid-1990s, was phased out in favor of the small rooftop dishes that offer [[DirecTV]] and [[Dish Network]] services.

[[CNN]] and [[Bravo (American TV network)|Bravo]] began in 1980; [[Channel 4]], [[Rete 4]] and [[Italia 1]] in 1982; [[RTL (German TV channel)|RTL]] and [[Canal+ (French TV channel)|Canal+]] in 1984; [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] in 1986; [[M6 (TV channel)|M6]] in 1987; [[Turner Network Television]] in 1988; [[CNBC]] and [[ProSieben]] in 1989.

New [[prime-time television|prime-time]] [[soap opera]]s  included ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]'', its spin-off ''[[Knots Landing]]'', ''[[Dynasty (1981 TV series)|Dynasty]]'', ''[[Falcon Crest]]'', ''[[EastEnders]]'' and ''[[Neighbours]]''. Their stars included [[Larry Hagman]], [[Linda Gray]], [[Patrick Duffy]], [[Victoria Principal]], [[John Forsythe]], [[Joan Collins]], [[Linda Evans]] and [[Heather Locklear]].

During the 1980s, sitcoms were popular, including ''[[Bosom Buddies]]'', ''[[Family Ties]]'', ''[[Newhart]]'', ''[[Too Close for Comfort]]'', ''[[The Cosby Show]]'', ''[[Night Court]]'', ''[[Full House]]'', ''[[The Wonder Years]]'' and ''[[Married... with Children]]''. Sitcom ''[[Cheers]]'' starred [[Kirstie Alley]], [[Woody Harrelson]], [[Shelley Long]], [[Rhea Perlman]], [[John Ratzenberger]], [[George Wendt]]. ''[[Taxi (TV series)|Taxi]]'' starred [[Marilu Henner]], [[Judd Hirsch]], [[Tony Danza]] and [[Andy Kaufman]]. ''[[Who's the Boss?]]'' starred [[Judith Light]] and [[Alyssa Milano]]. ''[[The Golden Girls]]'', was the first comedy ever to feature four older women in title TV roles. ''[[Designing Women]]'' starred [[Dixie Carter]], [[Annie Potts]] and [[Delta Burke]]. [[Marla Gibbs]] starred in ''[[The Jeffersons]]'' and ''[[227 (TV series)|227]]'', which also starred [[Jackée Harry]]. Other sitcoms included [[Growing Pains]] and the British ''[[Blackadder]]'', ''[['Allo 'Allo!]]'', ''[[The Young Ones (TV series)|The Young Ones]]'' and ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]''.

Sketch comedy and variety show ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' experienced turbulence for much of the 1980s. Its cast members included [[Jim Belushi]], [[Bill Murray]], [[Eddie Murphy]], [[Martin Short]], and [[Julia Louis-Dreyfus]]. Other comedy sketch shows included ''[[Not the Nine O'Clock News]]'', ''[[The Kenny Everett Television Show]]'' and the influential and popular ''{{ill|Oretachi Hyokinzoku|ja|オレたちひょうきん族}}'' (sometimes called "We Are Wild and Crazy Guys").<ref>Janet Ashby, "Oretachi Hyokinzoku" in "Time Out Japanese". [[The Japan Times]]. 10 August 1990. No 32878. p 13.</ref>

[[Legal drama]]s included ''[[Matlock (1986 TV series)|Matlock]]'', which starred [[Andy Griffith]] as Matlock,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stransky |first=Tanner  |date=July 3, 2012 |title=Andy Griffith dies |url=https://ew.com/article/2012/07/03/andy-griffith-dies |access-date=May 7, 2018 |website=EW.com}}</ref> and also starred [[Nancy Stafford]] and [[Clarence Gilyard Jr.]]. Cop shows included ''[[Dempsey and Makepeace]]'', ''[[Miami Vice]]'', ''[[Cagney & Lacey]]'', ''[[21 Jump Street]]'', ''[[Hill Street Blues]]'' and ''[[The Bill]]''. Other crime shows included ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]''. Their stars included [[Don Johnson]], [[Philip Michael Thomas]], [[Tyne Daly]], [[Sharon Gless]], [[Johnny Depp]] and [[Angela Lansbury]].

Science fiction included ''[[Blake's 7]]'', ''[[V (franchise)|V]]'', ''[[Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (TV series)|Buck Rogers]]'', ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' (starring [[Patrick Stewart]]), ''[[Red Dwarf]]'', [[ALF (TV series)|''ALF'']], ''[[Airwolf]]'', ''[[Knight Rider (1982 TV series)|Knight Rider]]'' and ''[[Quantum Leap (1989 TV series)|Quantum Leap]]''. Adventure series included  ''[[The A-Team]]'', ''[[Robin of Sherwood]]'', ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard]]'' and ''[[Remington Steele]]''.

Musicals included ''[[Fame (1982 TV series)|Fame]]''. Television magicians included [[David Copperfield (illusionist)|David Copperfield]] and [[Paul Daniels]]. Stand-up comedians included [[Steven Wright]], [[Andrew Dice Clay]] and [[Sam Kinison]]. Dancers included [[Gregory Hines]].

TV talk shows expanded in popularity; ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' remained popular into its third decade, and some of the most viewed newer shows were hosted by [[Geraldo Rivera]], [[Arsenio Hall]] and [[David Letterman]].<ref>[http://abc80s.com/sunshine80stv.htm An overview on 80s Television] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316165254/http://abc80s.com/sunshine80stv.htm |date=2010-03-16 }} Retrieved on 2010-03-08</ref>

TV documentary shows of the 1980s that were popular included ''[[Frontline (American TV program)|Frontline]]'', ''[[Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days]]'', ''[[Unsolved Mysteries]]'' with [[Robert Stack]], and ''[[Rescue 911]]'' with [[William Shatner]].

The [[Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer]] was watched by an estimated global television audience of 750 million people in 1981.

Scandal rocked TV evangelism when in 1987 evangelist [[Jim Bakker]], founder of [[The PTL Club|PTL]] and [[Heritage USA]], was defrocked for having an [[affair]] years earlier and later sent to prison for [[fraud]]. One year later, evangelist [[Jimmy Swaggart]] was defrocked for allegedly having sexual relations with a [[prostitute]].

The 1980s was prominent for spawning popular animated shows such as ''[[The Smurfs (1981 TV series)|The Smurfs]]'', ''[[ThunderCats (1985 TV series)|ThunderCats]]'', ''[[The Transformers (TV series)|The Transformers]]'', ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!]]'', ''[[Henry's Cat]]'', ''[[Danger Mouse (1981 TV series)|Danger Mouse]]'', ''[[Count Duckula]]'', ''[[Alias the Jester]]'', ''[[Yakari (1983 TV series)|Yakari]]'', ''[[Lucky Luke (1984 TV series)|Lucky Luke]]'', ''[[Heathcliff (1984 TV series)|Heathcliff]]'' ([[Mel Blanc]]'s final series), ''[[Masters of the Universe]]'', ''[[Inspector Gadget (1983 TV series)|Inspector Gadget]]'', ''[[Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983 TV series)|Alvin and the Chipmunks]]'', ''[[Bananaman (TV series)|Bananaman]]'', ''[[Thomas & Friends]]'', ''[[Muppet Babies (1984 TV series)|Muppet Babies]]'', ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'', ''[[Babar (TV series)|Babar]]'', ''[[The Raccoons]]'', ''[[DuckTales (1987 TV series)|DuckTales]]'', ''[[Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (TV series)|Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers]]'', ''[[Dennis the Menace (1986 TV series)|Dennis the Menace]]'', ''[[M.A.S.K. (TV series)|M.A.S.K.]]'', ''[[Care Bears (TV series)|Care Bears]]'', ''[[Rainbow Brite (1984 TV series)|Rainbow Brite]]'', ''[[Garfield and Friends]]'', ''[[Pingu]]'', ''[[Postman Pat]]'' and ''[[Fireman Sam]]''.

The earliest ''[[The Simpsons shorts]]'' aired on ''[[The Tracey Ullman Show]]'', and the earliest series of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' appeared. In 1980, ''[[Astro Boy (1980 TV series)|Astro Boy]]'' was remade in color. Other anime series from the 1980s include ''[[Wowser (TV series)|Wowser]]'', ''[[Ulysses 31]]'', ''[[The Mysterious Cities of Gold]]'', ''[[Dominion (manga)|Dominion]]'', ''[[Voltron (1984 TV series)|Voltron]]'', ''[[Super Dimension Fortress Macross]]'', ''[[Fist of the North Star]]'', ''[[Gundam]]'' and ''[[Star Blazers]]''.