'80s Sci-Fi Shows That Still Hold Up Today

Some shows don't stand the test of time. Maybe their special effects are too clunky, or maybe the tone of the program is too ridiculous. Others feel like a product of their time instead of something with everlasting relevance. There's a reason why "Star Trek" and "Battlestar Galactica" are still so important to fans of the genre — their worlds, characters, and messages are all beautifully relevant no matter how much time has passed.

But these science fiction series remain topical many years later. And even if they don't have a message to convey, they manage to be effortlessly entertaining, with special effects that don't detract, good makeup work, and characters and stories that evoke ire and sympathy. Whether they take place across the time stream, on an earth changed by an alien invasion, or in the far-flung future, they continue to impress the eye, inspire the heart, and make the nervous system sizzle. 

"Quantum Leap" is a show so good that it was remade into a two-season wonder by its parent network, NBC. But you can't beat the original when it comes to world-building, quality special effects, and Al's (Dean Stockwell) snazzy suits and wit.

The show focuses on Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula), who invents a way to time travel. The physicist tests the contraption on himself and is seemingly immolated. But his conscious mind remains alive, and he has the ability to inhabit the bodies of various people across the time stream. He cannot move to another point in history until he changes the fate of the person he's leaped into — a prime detective unleashed by the computer he created for the experiment, Ziggy. Only Al can see and interact with him — and he does so in hologram form, feeding him information from Ziggy.

Sometimes the stories "Quantum Leap" tells are sad, some leave you angry, and other times they tickle the funny bone. It's a show that's so beloved decades later that fans are still mad about how it ended — and keep hoping that somehow, someway, Sam Beckett makes the leap home.

It might have been a one-season wonder that got cancelled early in the existence of the Fox network, but "Alien Nation" is surprisingly relevant to the modern world. TV Guide claimed it was a series that got cancelled too soon — which may be why Fox revived it with five television films — and years later it remains a trenchant, interesting commentary on what it's like to be an outsider to the American experience.

The Tenctonese are an alien race which have escaped slavery in their home galaxy, accidentally crash-landing on Earth in the process. Seeking asylum, they are accepted by the American government as Newcomers. Stronger and smarter than the average human, they nonetheless try to blend into their new culture. The show centers around Sam "George" Francisco (Eric Pierpoint), a Newcomer who joins the Los Angeles police force and must get along with his human partner, Detective Matthew Sikes (Gary Graham). Cultures clash and crimes are solved as George and Matthew become close friends.

Carrying the spirit of the mothership show while further questioning the social and political bonds that hold society together, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" continues to influence the franchise's image. It's inspired spin-offs of its own, and a recent revisitation of the life of Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) drew some mixed commentary. But nothing will ever tarnish the impact "TNG" made in the mainstream, and its best episodes are filled with thought-provoking, laugh-inducing moments.

Jean-Luc runs the Enterprise with calm, considered might. He has a diverse crew of dedicated professionals — including assured second-in-command William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes); cool-under-pressure Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton); kind-hearted counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis); the first Klingon to become a major part of a Federation crew Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn); and wonder-filled android Data (Brent Spiner). The adventures they shared could be wacky or heartbreaking; they could tell stories about prejudice or be pure action-packed sagas."The Next Generation" still has a huge following to this day, and it introduced the ultimate question every Trekker asks themselves in time: Which captain is better, Kirk (William Shatner) or Picard? 

"Star Wars" spawned several animated series that served as nifty stopgaps between installments of the original trilogy. "Droids" is the franchise's first piece of legacy media that gives us a glimpse into what life was like for the characters before the events of "A New Hope." 

The adventures C-3PO (voiced by original onscreen portrayer, Anthony Daniels) and R2D2 are fun and absorbing. When paired with "Ewoks," it's a surprisingly absorbing set of tales that helps you learn a little bit more about the supporting characters who fade into the background in the main "Star Wars" mythos. Years later, it's still a fun watch and an easy way to get little kids into the franchise if they're too young to enjoy the movies. 

"Droids" follows C-3PO and R2D2 as they tumble through the galaxy, going from master to master and problem to problem. They tangle with gangsters, aliens, and bounty hunters, bump into a couple of familiar faces, and are always looking for a way to make it to the next day.

It's rare that a franchise so thoroughly connected to the 1980s' gets a renaissance that brings a new crop of fans aboard. But that's how big of an impact "Transformers" made on the psyches of kids. Memories of Optimus Prime's (Peter Cullen) death in "Transformers: The Movie" still haunt them, and they remember how they felt the first time Starscream (Christopher Collins) tried to pull a mutiny against Megatron (Frank Welker). Surprisingly narratively rich for a show born mainly to sell action figures, "Transformers" has spawned everything from comic books to conventions.

The Decepticons and Autobots are an alien race of robots which can transform themselves into other common objects — weapons or vehicles, usually. They have been at war for centuries, and take their conflict to Earth when they crash land there. The Autobots dedicate themselves to protecting their new human allies, while the Deceptacons do anything they can to invade the planet.

"V" is another franchise-spawning miniseries, one that's kept audiences on the edge of their seats with a seemingly stock aliens-infiltrate-humanity story that is completely unique upon viewing. But the lizard-like shapeshifting Visitors have definitely grabbed a foothold on the world's imagination. That one miniseries spawned a sequel miniseries, a one-season wonder show, and a reboot series. 

Fans love the show's spirited mystery, the possibility that any of the humanoid characters they love might be evil at heart, and have wrapped their arms and hearts around its twisted narrative. The show isn't afraid to get terribly scary with its invasion plot, making you care about the humans.

In "V," the Visitors show up claiming they're friendly beings, requesting supplies with which to fuel their spacecrafts, offering humanity advanced technology in return. It soon becomes clear that they're less-than kind, secretly harboring the desire to enslave Earth for its resources and consume all the flesh they can. Will a small group of wise humans save the day?

He's a whole lot more than a bowl cut and a meme. Gen X kids are still wild about "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" because it taught them important life lessons — and when it wasn't doing that, it entertained with great world-building and surprisingly amusing action scenes. Fans still happily populate FAST streams dedicated to the show and quote "By the Power of Greyskull" to this day. "He-Man" has stood the test of time and remains an enjoyable rewatch, with tons of things you probably forgot happened.

Set in Eternia, "He-Man" is about Prince Adam (John Irwin), the result of a marriage between Eternia's king and Marlena, a human astronaut who wound up in his realm. Adam has a secret identity and, much like Batman, pulls it off by differentiating his personality — as He-Man, he's a tough, witty, bold  and two-fisted adventurer. As Adam, he's a cringing coward. The difference comes about when he holds a sword aloft and says "By the Power of Greyskull, I am He-Man!" Surrounded by multiple friends and accompanied by his pet Cringer (who also transforms into the tough Battle Cat), he tries to defeat Skeletor (Alan Oppenheimer), who fantasizes about completely controlling Eternia.

Blessed with an extremely memorable theme song, "Ewoks" lasted for one more season than "Droids." It's an engaging series that gave the unintelligible Ewoks personality and wit all their own, offering a deeper look into friendships only glimpsed in "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi." With its light-hearted, kid-friendly nature, it's quite easy to digest decades later. The Ewoks are, after all, the unsung heroes of the "Star Wars" franchise, and they're never better than they are here.

The series centers on the large Warrick family, led by Wicket Wystri Warrick (Jim Henshaw and Denny Delk), a warrior-in-training who would do anything to be seen as serious soldiering material. While he and his large family sometimes butt heads, they deeply love each other. Wicket goes on adventures with his best friend, the eminently sensible Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka (Cree Summer and Jeanne Reynolds), magic-loving Teebo (Eric Peterson and James Cranna), and Latara (Taborah Johnson and Sue Murphy) and between them, life lessons are learned.

Glitz, glamour, fashion, and fame — and, for many young watchers back in the '80s, their very first serialized soap opera. "Jem" may have suffered through a movie so bad it was pulled from theaters, but in the cartoon world it was a unique and interesting program. It featured an ongoing storyline, several twisty romances, and a band versus band conflagration that puts most real-life musical rivalries to shame. Add in a little sci-fi style magic and secret identity angst, and you have one heck of a heady concoction that's still fun to rewatch years later, filled with moments only adults will notice.

Jerrica Benton (Samantha Newark and Britta Phillips) runs Starlight Music, a record company whose biggest act is Jem and the Holograms. Only the band and a few select allies know that Jerrica is also the band's lead singer. Jem is a wholly fictional character partially maintained by Synergy, a super computer created by Jerrica's late father. Jerrica is caught in a love triangle ... with her alter ego, as Jem attracts the romantic attention of Rio Pacheco (Michael Sheehan) ... who is Jerrica's longtime boyfriend. On top of that, the Holograms are stuck in a rivalry with bad girl group The Misfits, and Jerrica has business drama with Eric Raymond (Charlie Adler), who is furious that Jerrica's father gave her half of the company in his will.

This final entry is a somewhat obscure and slightly surreal option, but it definitely stands out as a cyberpunk pioneer. "Max Headroom" was more than a soft-drink spokesman; he ended up becoming the emblem of a future rebelling against tech company domination — television networks instead of computer and cyber commerce outlets, naturally — and the old-fashioned joy of making fun of those direly serious and then just-emerging technopunk entertainment scene.

Edison Carter (Matt Frewer) is a reporter rebelling against the system. His employers are uneasy with his discoveries but continue publishing the news he drags in. What often saves him is the fact that in the television-dominated world, Edison's reports garner huge ratings for his home network. When Edison is injured in a motorcycle accident, his brain is uploaded to a computer, and the character Max Headroom is constructed from a scan of his image and brainwaves. Max continues Edison's work and, thanks to his existence as a computer program, can get into places that his human compatriots cannot. While Edison's life is held in limbo, Max becomes a wisecracking, knowing, and ever-curious face for the ongoing revolution. It's up to Edison's colleagues to keep getting his stories out.