Can We Guess Your Job Based on Your ’80s TV Preferences?

Ian Fortey

5 Min Quiz

Image: NBC

About This Quiz

The television landscape has changed a lot since the early days of black and white TV and only three channels to choose from. Back then, shows were broadcast live and commercials were an actual part of the show, with actors just turning to the camera and holding up the latest innovation in toothpaste or tobacco. Now you can watch TV on your phone while you take the bus to work and binge an entire season of a show like "Game of Thrones," which has a multi-million dollar budget. That's a heck of an evolution.

Nestled right in the middle of modern super TV and old school TV was the '80s. This was the decade that produced some of the most memorable sitcoms and dramas in TV history. Writers and actors were slowly starting to introduce some riskier plotlines and ideas that expanded the post-'70s TV landscape. It also created some of TV's most memorable characters, such as ALF, the A-team or Norm on "Cheers." What you liked and didn't like about TV in the '80s says a lot about who you are in life, believe it or not. We'll prove it: Tell us about your '80s TV preferences, we'll guess what you do for a living. Don't believe us? Take the quiz and see!

If you needed a good laugh, what '80s TV show was never going to let you down?

ALF

The Golden Girls
Married... with Children

Cheers

Suppose you were feeling a little more serious. What dramatic '80s show would keep you entertained?

MacGyver

St. Elsewhere
Miami Vice

Quantum Leap

Horror fans have tons to enjoy on TV these days, but it was a barren landscape in the '80s. What was the best horror show of that decade?

Monsters

Tales from the Darkside
Friday the 13th: The Series

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Maybe horror isn't your thing, what about sci-fi? Pick the best '80s science fiction!

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Quantum Leap
Knight Rider

V

Are you down with shows about law enforcement? What's your favorite '80s cop show?

21 Jump Street

Magnum P.I.
T.J. Hooker

Cagney and Lacey

Once the cops are done, the lawyers have to step in. Which show had the best legal action?

Night Court

Matlock
The People's Court

L.A. Law

Sitcom families were front and center in the '80s. Which family did you want to be a part of?

The Bundys on "Married... with Children"

The Arnolds on "The Wonder Years"
The Simpsons

The Winslows on "Family Matters"

Not every sitcom family was ideal. Which family would you have hated to be a part of?

The Tanners on "Full House"

The Bundys on "Married... with Children"
The Tanners on "ALF"

The Lawsons on "Small Wonder"

If you were going to hang out for an evening -- maybe have dinner and catch a movie -- with a male from the world of '80s TV, who would it be?

Angus MacGyver from "MacGyver"

Captain Picard from "Star Trek: The Next Generation"
Norm Peterson from "Cheers"

Alex P. Keaton from "Family Ties"

Is there a woman from '80s TV you'd like to hang out with?

Carla Tortelli from "Cheers"

Claire Huxtable from "The Cosby Show"
Sophia Petrillo from "The Golden Girls"

Peg Bundy from "Married... with Children"

When you were a kid, what '80s kid would you have been friends with?

Arnold from "Diff'rent Strokes"

Webster
Punky Brewster

Kevin Arnold on "The Wonder Years"

Who had the coolest pet in the '80s?

Data's cat, Spot, on "Star Trek: The Next Generation"

Comet on "Full House"
Battle Cat from "He-Man"

Abraham the fish on "Diff'rent Strokes"

Not everyone on '80s TV was even human. Who was the coolest non-human character?

ALF

Data on "Star Trek: The Next Generation"
Vicki on "Small Wonder"

Willie from "V"

Any '80s sitcoms you just never found all that funny?

Full House

Growing Pains
Who's the Boss

Golden Girls

Ending a show is never easy. What '80s show had the worst ending?

St. Elsewhere

Quantum Leap
Roseanne

ALF

Reboots are all the rage, with shows like "MacGyver" and "Full House" having a second life. What other '80s show should come back?

The Wonder Years

Cheers
The Golden Girls

The A-Team

Not everyone likes a reboot. Which show should have stayed in the '80s?

Full House

Magnum P.I.
Knight Rider

Dynasty

There were a lot of heroic people in the '80s, but who would you want to have your back the most?

Manimal

Magnum
MacGyver

Knight Rider

You had to have a sharp tongue to get a laugh in the '80s. Who could toss the zingers like a champ?

Dan Fielding on "Night Court"

Mona on "Who's the Boss"
Sophia on "Golden Girls"

Alex P. Keaton on "Family Ties"

The '80s really perfect the "dumb" character. Who was the most lovable, if somewhat dim, character?

Bull from "Night Court"

Mallory from "Family Ties"
Kelly Bundy from "Married... with Children"

Mike Seaver from "Growing Pains"

Sometimes it seems like a TV show is trolling you with annoying characters. Who was the most annoying of them all in the '80s?

Steve Urkel on "Family Matters"

Balki on "Perfect Strangers"
Screech on "Saved by the Bell"

Kimmy Gibbler on "Full House"

Not that your own mom isn't awesome, but pick a sitcom mom that it would have been fun to have.

Marge Simpson

Claire Huxtable on "The Cosby Show"
Elyse Keaton on "Family Ties"

Angela Bower on "Who's the Boss"

You have a mom picked out; now who's the best sitcom dad out there?

Steven Keaton on "Family Ties"

Carl Winslow on "Family Matters"
Tony Micelli on "Who's the Boss"

Jack Arnold on "The Wonder Years"

Do you think the '80s produced better dramas or comedies?

Comedies by a landslide

Dramas
They were equally good

Some of each were good and some of each were terrible

Have you ever binged any '80s shows from start to finish on Netflix or Hulu?

Tons

A few
I only watch a few episodes here and there.

One or two

Ever watch any '80s shows just because you had a crush on one of the stars back in the day?

Oh yeah

No
Just one

No, but that doesn't hurt.

In the '80s, it was normal for sitcoms to do episodes with seriously heavy topics once in a while. Which show had the weirdest "very special" episodes?

Diff'rent Strokes

Saved by the Bell
Full House

Punky Brewster

In the '80s, there were spinoffs everywhere. Which spinoff series did you like the most?

The Facts of Life

Mama's Family
Family Matters

A Different World

Cartoons were huge in the '80s. Which show was the best of the best?

Transformers

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
G.I. Joe

Ducktales

Just like live action shows, cartoons sometimes miss their mark. Pick the worst '80s cartoon.

The Care Bears

Ghost Busters (the one with the gorilla)
Denver, the Last Dinosaur

Rubik the Amazing Cube

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