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First-run syndicated television dramas from the late 80s-90s

OMG, Thunder in Paradise! :lol: I had a job working at a K-Mart many summers ago and in our tiny break room there was like 15 guys or whatever and a TV with basic cable. Some people hated sports and some hated news and some hated this and that and somehow this meant Thunder in Paradise was the only show that everyone would at least tolerate at lunch so I saw more Hogan action than I would've otherwise.
 
I definitely watched some episodes of Renegade and Thunder in Paradise when I was a kid. I really miss all those outright cheesy 80's/90's action shows.
 
I watched a lot of syndicated shows just because of how they were aired. You usually had the local tv station which showed the show re-airing it once or twice a week in a very late night slot to fill programming (like 1AM/2AM/etc...) and since I usually would be awake that's when I'd watch them. I can understand why the syndication market for original programming has dried up because now you have cable networks with their original programming.
 
Aragorn said:
Ian Keldon said:
LOTS of memories. But you left out a few like Time Cop and Tek War.
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Timecop was on ABC, unless you're thinking about Time Trax.
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Yes, thank you, I meant Time Trax...sorry about the mix-up.

The TekWar TV movies were syndicated, but the series was on USA.
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Was it? I don't remember seeing it on USA, in fact I'm almost certain I saw it on Sci-Fi.

This wasn't meant to be a comprehensive list, because obviously a ton of shows weren't mentioned (many of them godawful), just a refresher for anyone who watched syndicated shows back then.
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While that's true, I thought the shows I mentioned deserved to be on the "short list" for the era/genre.
 
tomalak301 said:
I've been trying to remember but it's a bit fuzzy, wasn't there a show where a theme song sequence featured a speed boat (Not Baywatch) that was part of the network that brought Kung Fu: The Legend Continues and Babylon 5?.
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That was "Thunder in Paradise".
 
I always liked RELIC HUNTER, which I thought was more fun than the actual TOMB RAIDER movies . . . .
 
I've seen Renegade mentioned a few times as being a horrible show. Granted when it was on, I was like 10 years old but the only thing I really remember about it was it was always on USA here. Was it really that bad?

Also does anyone remember Kung Fu the legend continues? I remember liking it and it did have a successful run.
 
When did Jack of All Trades come into the picture in terms of the syndication? I thought that was a bit more clever in terms of its concept and execution than some of the other first run syndication shows of the era.
 
bullethead said:
When did Jack of All Trades come into the picture in terms of the syndication? I thought that was a bit more clever in terms of its concept and execution than some of the other first run syndication shows of the era.
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I remember it being paired with Cleopatra 2525 since they were only half hour shows.
 
Aragorn said:
bullethead said:
When did Jack of All Trades come into the picture in terms of the syndication? I thought that was a bit more clever in terms of its concept and execution than some of the other first run syndication shows of the era.
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I remember it being paired with Cleopatra 2525 since they were only half hour shows.
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Yeah, Cleopatra 2525 was pretty dire, relying on campiness to carry it.
 
bullethead said:
Aragorn said:
bullethead said:
When did Jack of All Trades come into the picture in terms of the syndication? I thought that was a bit more clever in terms of its concept and execution than some of the other first run syndication shows of the era.
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I remember it being paired with Cleopatra 2525 since they were only half hour shows.
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Yeah, Cleopatra 2525 was pretty dire, relying on campiness to carry it.
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Okay, I know this is a minority opinion, but I thought Cleopatra 2525 was a lot of fun. The theme song alone made me grin every week.

I will go to my grave regretting that I never got to write a Cleopatra 2525 novel . . . .
 
I really liked Viper when it aired on NBC but I didn't keep up with it when it went into syndication. When it came back, it looked cheap, the car transformation wasn't as good and James McCaffrey and Dorian Harewood weren't there. McCaffrey came back in season 4, but I still couldn't get into it because it bounced around the schedule. I wouldn't mind catching up, but it's not out in any format.

Here's the season 1 intro. It's one of the best I've ever seen.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u95IHZ1dnNI[/yt]

tomalak301 said:
Also does anyone remember Kung Fu the legend continues? I remember liking it and it did have a successful run.
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I loved that show. It was supposed to go for a 5th and final season, but it got cancelled.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBWRcNjJqnc[/yt]
 
I used to like Pointman. If you've never heard of it, the intro sets everything up.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEvz6ie8fZw[/yt]

And here's Night Man... I think I saw one episode.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5LhB2X0cuA[/yt]
 
BigFoot said:
Man this thread brings back some memories... I watched a LOT of those shows when I was a kid.
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I didn't watch a single one of the shows that had clips, though I did watch a number of those that were listed before the clips.

I think this was because Hubby and I had moved in together in '87. We were busy doing...other things...most nights. ;) :D
 
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