CHEERS -- Pictured: (l-r) Nicholas Colasanto as Ernie 'Coach' Pantusso, Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli, Shelley Long as Diane Chambers, Ted Danson as Sam Malone (Photo by Herb Ball/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

(Photo by Herb Ball/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

FALL 2019 TV SURVEY: 20 TV Shows That Defined the 1980s

For Rotten Tomatoes’ annual Fall TV Survey, we asked thousands of our users what they’re most looking forward to in the coming TV season and to reflect on the best shows from seasons past.

Cheers to Cheers! Rotten Tomatoes users selected the show about a bar where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came as the top show of the 1980s. The series was truly an ensemble effort with Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, John Ratzenberger, George Wendt, Kelsey Grammer, Woody Harrelson, Kirstie Alley, and Shelley Long as the principal cast.

Cheers took top spot with 66% of the vote, followed by The Cosby Show at 53%, The Golden Girls at 47%, Magnum, P.I. with 46%, and the 1980s edition of Saturday Night Live taking fifth place with 45%.

Which star ruled the 1980s? Your vote went to SNL star Eddie Murphy with 16%, followed by The Golden Girls cast with 14%, and Tom Selleck with 12%. Bruce Willis was at No. 4 with 12%, and Don Johnson took fifth with 7%.

Disagree with the survey results? Tell us in the comments who you think should have made the list or have been ranked higher.

#20

Murder, She Wrote

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91%

Synopsis: Mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher - a down-to-earth, middle-aged widow - ferrets out the criminals in idyllic Cabot Cove, Maine, which apparently is... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Angela Lansbury

#19

ALF

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84%

Synopsis: A smart-mouthed creature, ALF (aka Alien Life Form), crash-lands in a suburban garage. His spaceship is beyond repair, he's ugly, he's short, he's got a... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Max Wright, Paul Fusco, Anne Schedeen, Andrea Elson

#18

Dynasty

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Synopsis: One of the quintessential 1980s prime-time soaps, "Dynasty" follows the gloriously over-the-top trials and tribulations of the fabulously wealthy and none-to-nice Carrington and Colby clans.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: John Forsythe, Linda Evans, Joan Collins, Heather Locklear

#17

Knight Rider

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81%

Synopsis: Michael Knight is a man on a mission. Reborn, so to speak, after getting shot in the face, Knight decides to dedicate his life to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Richard Basehart, David Hasselhoff, Edward Mulhare, Patricia McPherson

#16

The A-Team

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74%

Synopsis: A team of ex-special forces soldiers on the lam from the military police (even though they didn't really commit the crime for which they'd been... View Full Synopsis

Starring: George Peppard, Mr. T, Dirk Benedict, Dwight Schultz

#15

Three's Company

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95%

Synopsis: When two single girls need a roommate to share their Santa Monica apartment, they decide to offer a room to the guy they find passed... View Full Synopsis

Starring: John Ritter, Joyce DeWitt, Suzanne Somers, Richard Kline

#14

Houdini: Season 1

42%

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Critics Consensus: Houdini's cast is talented, but given the decades of fascination surrounding its subject, the show is oddly lacking in intrigue.

Starring: Adrien Brody, Evan Jones, Kristen Connolly

#12

21 Jump Street

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Synopsis: Crime in school is bad, so to combat it, LAPD higher-ups decide to send four young-looking officers to high school to pose as students. Cops... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Holly Robinson Peete, Steven Williams, Peter DeLuise, Johnny Depp

#11

Hill Street Blues

97%

88%

Synopsis: A gritty, realistic look at the life of cops in a large (and unnamed) metropolitan city. Led by Capt. Frank Furillo, the cops of the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Daniel J. Travanti, Michael Warren, Bruce Weitz, Charlie Haid

#10

Family Ties

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89%

Synopsis: Steven and Elyse Keaton, once 1960s radicals, now find themselves in Reagan-era American trying to raise a traditional suburban family. Son Alex P. Keaton is... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Meredith Baxter, Michael Gross, Justine Bateman

Saved by the Bell

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61%

Synopsis: Lovable schemer Zack Morris leads his pals on adventures at California's Bayside High School. The friends navigate relationships, final exams, school dances, breakups and more... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen, Mario López, Elizabeth Berkley Lauren

MacGyver

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72%

Synopsis: MacGyver is a top agent for the Phoenix Foundation, a progressive agency devoted to righting the wrongs of the world. Even more progressive is the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Richard Dean Anderson, Dana Elcar, Bruce McGill, Elyssa Davalos

Dallas

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Synopsis: "Dallas" is the saga of the Ewing family and its massive oil empire. Patriarch Jock has three sons. The eldest is J.R., the relentless CEO... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray, Victoria Principal

Miami Vice

72%

90%

Synopsis: This series is largely remembered for the stylish clothes Detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs wore, the soundtrack, and its distinct visuals. But beneath the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Don Johnson, Philip Michael Thomas, Edward James Olmos, Saundra Santiago

Saturday Night Live

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61%

Synopsis: Live from New York for more than four decades, celebrity hosts join an award-winning ensemble cast to perform comedic sketches, satirical news and digital shorts,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael Che, Mikey Day, Chloe Fineman, Colin Jost

Magnum, P.I.

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96%

Synopsis: This series makes the most of its Hawaiian setting by sending private eye Thomas Magnum all over Oahu righting wrongs -- at least when he... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tom Selleck, John Hillerman, Roger E. Mosley, Larry Manetti

The Golden Girls

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95%

Synopsis: Four mature women live together in Miami and experience the joys and angst of their golden years; strong-willed Dorothy, spacey Rose, lusty Southern belle Blanche... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Betty White, Estelle Getty

The Cosby Show

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69%

Synopsis: "The Cosby Show" centers on the lives of the Huxtables: obstetrician Cliff and his lawyer wife Claire, their daughters Sondra, Denise, Vanessa and Rudy, and... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Tempestt Bledsoe

Cheers

87%

95%

Synopsis: Laid-back Sam Malone, a former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, owns and runs Cheers, a cozy bar in Boston. He hires smart, uptight... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, George Wendt, Shelley Long

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