15 Landmark TV Moments That Defined the 1980s

Imagine a time when only three or four television networks broadcast original scripted programs — no Netflix, no streaming, no kidding.

Unlike today, everyone shared the most memorable TV moments of the 1980s because limited choices meant that more people tuned in to each show and then talked about them in school or around the water cooler at work.

The most-watched shows of the Reagan era — Moonlighting, Cheers, Dynasty, Dallas, Happy Days, and more — all had that one episode that not only helped define ’80s pop culture, but is still discussed today. Like right now…

Dallas: Who Shot J.R.?

Long before social media speculation and bloggers, the world waited with bated breath to find out who shot J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) on Dallas.

The answer arrived in season four on an episode titled “Who Done It?” On the show, oil tycoon J.R. Ewing had so many enemies that viewers debated for months who put a bullet in him. It’s not really a spoiler alert 44 years later to reveal that J.R.’s sister-in-law and mistress, Kristin Shepard (Mary Crosby), did the dirty deed.

Cheers: “Thanksgiving Orphans”

Cheers had many landmark moments, but one of the most beloved is the fifth-season episode “Thanksgiving Orphans,” which aired in 1986.

In the episode, the gang from the Cheers bar gathers at Carla’s (Rhea Perlman) house for a Thanksgiving feast. The turkey takes too long, people get irritable, and a hilarious food fight ensues.

General Hospital: Luke and Laura’s Wedding

Daytime soap operas were unbelievably popular in the 1980s, and nothing generated more magazine articles and news coverage than the wedding of Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) and Laura Webber (Genie Francis) on General Hospital.

The two-part episode attracted 30 million viewers, making it the most-watched soap opera moment in TV history.

Dynasty: Krystle and Alexis’ Catfight

On the 1983 Dynasty episode titled “The Threat,” gentle Krystle (Linda Evans) finally comes to blows with Alexis (Joan Collins), the scheming ex-wife of Krystle’s husband, Blake Carrington (John Forsythe).

Viewers waited two seasons for the situation between the two glam women to boil over, and “The Threat” did not disappoint. Krystle and Alexis chose violence, and watching them pull each other’s hair, hurl furniture at each other, and exchange slaps became one of the most talked about TV moments of the 1980s.

Archie Bunker’s Place: Edith Bunker’s Death

Archie Bunker’s Place continues the characters featured in All in the Family, one of the most popular and influential shows of the 1970s.

In the two-part season two opener, “Archie Alone,” Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor) deals with the unexpected death of his wife, Edith (Jean Stapleton). For the first time, audiences saw vulnerability and genuine sorrow in the otherwise gruff and bigoted Archie character.

The Dukes of Hazzard: The ‘General Lee’ Jumps 32 Cars

The season three The Dukes of Hazzard episode “Carnival of Thrills” aired in 1980 and featured one of the most impressive stunts on the TV show about two rebellious cousins who outrun and outsmart the local law in the fictional Georgia county of Hazzard.

In “Carnival of Thrills,” Bo Duke (John Schneider) demonstrates his expert driving skills by jumping 32 parked cars in the General Lee for a traveling carnival.

Moonlighting: David and Maddie Finally Sleep Together

The romantic tension between Blue Moon Detective Agency partners David Addison (Bruce Willis) and Madolyn Hayes (Cybill Shepherd) kept viewers tuning in for the first three seasons of Moonlighting.

In the 1987 season-three episode titled “I Am Curious… Maddie,” the patented back-and-forth banter between the two finally leads to a passionate encounter. The show teased their inevitable hookup for as long as possible, and audiences tuned in, but Moonlighting went downhill fast after this climax.

Cagney & Lacey: Cagney Gets Assaulted

In the season one episode titled “Burn Out” of the police procedural Cagney & Lacey, Detective Christine Cagney (Sharon Gless) goes undercover to expose a drug ring only to get brutally assaulted by one of the suspects.

This poignant and powerful episode of Cagney & Lacey called attention to the challenges faced by women in a male-dominated profession.

WKRP in Cincinnati: “Changes”

The WKRP in Cincinnati episode “Changes” aired during the popular sitcom’s fourth and final season. In the landmark episode, the beloved radio station gets an overhaul, including personnel changes, new management, and a new music format.

“Changes” aired during a time when “video killed the radio star,” thanks to the rise of MTV. While the episode signaled the end of WKRP in Cincinnati, it also amplified the abrupt cultural shift from ’70s radio to music videos.

Dallas: An Entire Season Was a Dream

In season nine of Dallas, Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) seemingly dies in a car accident. In the season 10 premiere titled “Blast From the Past,” Bobby’s wife, Pam (Victoria Principal), wakes up to find Bobby taking a shower.

In one steamy moment, the 1986 episode retconned the entire ninth season of Dallas as Pam’s dream. This just-a-dream narrative cheat became a popular plot device in movies and TV shows before the whole multiverse concept used today, especially in superhero flicks.

Happy Days: Series Finale

Titled “Passages: Part 2,” the Happy Days series finale aired in 1984 as the gang graduates from high school and everyone moves on from their meaningful moments at Arnold’s Drive-In.

The emotional finale came years after Fonzie literally jumped over a shark in the Arnold’s parking lot, an episode that spawned the phrase “jump the shark” in reference to the moment when a TV show starts to decline in quality. Despite Happy Days jumping the shark, its finale signified not only the end of the sitcom, but a declining interest in 1960s nostalgia during the 1980s.

Three’s Company: Janet Moves Out

The season finale of Three’s Company, “Friends and Lovers: Part 2,” aired in 1984. It features a teary-eyed Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt) looking back one last time at the apartment she shared with various roommates over the course of the sitcom before shutting the door on the apartment and the series itself.

The uncharacteristically emotional episode of the silly sitcom ended Three’s Company on a high note.

MacGyver: Bombs Away!

MacGyver stars Richard Dean Anderson as an astoundingly resourceful secret agent who can get out of any pickle using ordinary items in his surroundings. The TV series proved so popular that “MacGyver” became a verb in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

In the season one episode “Last Stand,” MacGyver makes a bomb out of a chocolate candy bar, sodium metal, and water to deter armed men from entering the cabin he’s in.

Who’s the Boss?: Angela and Tony Smooch

On the sitcom Who’s the Boss?, former MLB player Tony Micelli (Tony Danza) becomes the housekeeper for Angela Bower (Judith Light).

In the season two episode “An Unmarried Couple,” Tony and Angela finally kiss, which changes their dynamic and calls attention to the challenges of workplace romances — especially between employer and employee. Who indeed is the boss?

The Golden Girls: “Dreams”

In the 1987 episode “Dreams” of The Golden Girls, the revealing dreams of the main characters — Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan), Rose Nylund (Betty White), Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), and Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty) — give viewers more insight into the senior roommates.

Blanche dreams of the lack of mourners at her funeral, Rose dreams of her hometown, Dorothy dreams of getting back together with her ex-husband, and Sophia dreams of being on trial for murder with her daughter, Dorothy, as the judge.