'80s TV Flops That Are Actually Worth Watching

After a rocky start, the United States experienced a period of impressive economic growth through much of the 1980s. And one of the things that all that excess money was spent on was television. Every pilot season that decade saw a massive influx of new shows vying to become the next big thing — to say nothing of all the mid-season replacements. But with only three major networks for the first half of the '80s (Fox didn't join the fray until 1986) and cable not yet having established itself as a viable home for original programming, there was only so much room in the schedule. Not to mention, juggernauts like "Cheers," "The Cosby Show," and "The Golden Girls" set the bar extremely high as to what constituted a hit show during the era.

All that is to say that the majority of shows didn't have a chance. Granted, most of the '80s shows that didn't get a second season — if they even survived to the end of their first — are best left as forgotten footnotes of the decade. But some shows that met a swift demise didn't deserve that fate, and moreover, they actually hold up pretty well to being revisited now. And that last point is especially impressive, given that there are a number of shows that were successful in the '80s that have aged so poorly they are borderline unwatchable these days. Here are the best TV flops from the '80s, the gold that fell through the pan and got lost in the decades since.

Sitcoms can feel like a dime a dozen on TV. But 1984's "It's Your Move" shouldn't be lumped in with the almost countless number of failed sitcoms from the decade that didn't do anything to justify their existence. Before striking sitcom gold and helping to put upstart network Fox on the map two years later by creating "Married... with Children," the duo of Ron Leavitt and Michael G. Moye swung and missed with the "It's Your Move" on NBC.

To be fair, the miss was only a commercial one, not a creative one. Starring a still-teenaged Jason Bateman — hot off his recurring role on "Silver Spoons" — "It's Your Move" leaned a little edgier than most sitcoms of the era. In retrospect, this isn't surprising from the guys behind "Married... with Children," but NBC and Fox were two different beasts at that time. So a show about a teenaged con artist who is constantly trying to both scam his classmates and ruin his mom's (Caren Kaye) relationship with her new boyfriend (David Garrison) was probably a bit much for a network that leaned more toward the likes of "Punky Brewster" and "Facts of Life" in its depictions of kids in sitcoms. Still, it was pretty well-received — it just wasn't enough to best "Dynasty," which aired in the same time slot on ABC. Had it received the Nick at Nite treatment as many of its contemporaries did, "It's Your Move" would've gotten the second life it deserved rather than unfairly fading into obscurity.

"Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future" was extremely ahead of its time — and not just because it took place in the 22nd century. Not only did it feature rudimentary computer animation years before that became even remotely commonplace, but the TV show was to serve as the anchor point for an interactive multimedia experience that also included comics, video games, and toys. (The show was also produced by Mattel.) More than just being based on the show, the "Captain Power" toys were designed to interact with the show at specific points. It was all extremely forward-thinking and well-branded.

Probably a little too much so, as the world didn't really take to it. Which is too bad, as the "Captain Power" TV show itself was actually pretty good. It was obviously limited in what it could do in terms of special effects, costumes, and the like given its budget — TV shows weren't yet typically given eight to nine figures to spend like they are now. And when the toys failed to sell, investors lost interest in continuing to fund the entire endeavor. But as The AV Club pointed out in an in-depth look back at the series, "Captain Power" clearly influenced both "Babylon 5" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (the Borg in particular). If you can get past the rough edges, the show is a definite hidden gem of '80s-era sci-fi. An attempt to reboot the series was actually announced in 2016, but it never materialized. 

After appearing in a few cult classic '80s movies, Jim Carrey became a series regular on the groundbreaking sketch comedy series "In Living Color" before returning to the big screen to earn record-breaking paychecks. But his back-and-forth between television and movies went even farther back than his early film roles like "Earth Girls Are Easy" and "Once Bitten." In 1984, he was given a potential star vehicle in the form of the NBC sitcom "The Duck Factory." 

The show starred Carrey as a fledgling cartoonist who lands a job working at an animation studio nicknamed "The Duck Factory," since its main product is a cartoon called "The Dippy Duck Show." It served as a great showcase for Carrey's manic energy and rubber-faced mugging, and reviews at the time were of the general consensus that Carrey was a star in the making. Admittedly, the show itself needed another season to iron out some of its wrinkles — a second season which it never got. But it's worth a watch today to see just how fully formed Carrey's shtick already was that early on in his career; plus, it's easy to marvel at how good he could be in an ensemble — a talent that was mostly lost once he started headlining his own films.

A woman is in a sterile-looking grocery store, surrounded by products with white labels containing extremely to-the-point descriptions. She picks up a can labeled "meat" and asks a worker what kind of meat it actually is. Confused and a little irritated, the worker replies, "What kind? Well, what do you mean? It's just meat." It's one of those moments that gets permanently etched into people's brains, even if they don't remember what they know the moment from. 

In this case, the mysteriously iconic scene is from an oft-forgotten sci-fi series from 1985 called "Otherworld." And the scene is a great representation of the show's dark humor and off-kilter vibe, a cocktail that mostly confused viewers at the time — so much so that ratings didn't justify it getting more than eight episodes — but would secure its place as a cult classic for decades to come. It follows a family of five whose vacation to visit the pyramids in Egypt ends up transporting them to a parallel version of Earth. Like much sci-fi of the era, "Otherworld" has a general overarching plot, but most episodes are largely self-contained and often play with genre and format. Some have questioned if the show's premise was sustainable over multiple seasons, making "Otherworld" perhaps best left as a limited miniseries. And other than the cliffhanger ending, it still holds up remarkably well when viewed as such.

Craig T. Nelson had been kicking around on television for over 15 years before landing the lead role on the beloved 1989 sports sitcom "Coach" — to say nothing of film roles like "Stir Crazy" and "Poltergeist." And though most of those small-screen roles were single-episode appearances, there was an ABC show he starred in during the 1984-85 television season that frequently shows up on lists of the best shows of the decade — even though most people have either forgotten about it or never knew of it to begin with.

The show is "Call to Glory," which begins during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Nelson plays an Air Force pilot, and the show follows his military service and the family waiting for and worried about him at home in almost equal measure — including his daughter, played by Elisabeth Shue. ABC made it known to the press that it was proud of the show and was trying its best to find a time slot wherein the show would secure the audience it deserved. Despite the network's faith and strong praise from critics, "Call to Glory" ultimately didn't find that audience, and the show was honorably discharged before it got a second season.