In the '80s we had big hair bands, Michael Jackson and family TV. TV during this time wasn't about who overdosed, who could eat what bugs, or who could survive on an island. It was about family right down to the group at Cheers. We spent each week with these groups as if we were part of the family.

At any given point in time, you knew you could turn on your set on and catch a glimpse of the families you had come to love and hate. Yes, hate. I mean who could forget J R Ewing in Dallas. He was night time drama's male villain for the 80's. Then, there was the Colorado clan from Dynasty. The women in that night-time drama were loved and hated for their conniving ways. You could trust that Linda Evans and Joan Collins were sure to have a cat fight almost every episode.

Shows like The Cosby Show, Married...with Children, Growing Pains, The Facts of Life, and Designing Women gave us a comedic glimpse at what the nuclear family was like. Life lessons were told in short bursts from week to week. Tears were shed and laughter was made, but in the meantime you might have learned an important lesson while you were watching. The finale of these shows were sad and poignant. One could be expected to shed a tear and a final laugh with the characters as they bid us farewell.

Drama's were special. They brought in the lives of the characters to a depth that you felt you were one of the gang. St. Elsewhere, Dallas, and Dynasty had us all riveted to our seats. The A-Team, Dukes of Hazzard, and Starsky and Hutch brought the action. Miami Vice introduced us to the grittier side of life on the streets.

Life Goes On showed us the family unit that struggles with the times while trying to bring up a special child in the world that is ever changing. These TV drama's were not about ratings as much as giving a good performance. The only two shows that come close in today's night time set are Army Wives’ and Grey's Anatomy. Grey’s Anatomy will soon be winding up their run and we now have the new show Trauma. Trauma looks to be pretty good, but it is too soon to tell if it will have a long run or not. We do get to see the grittier side with some of the CSI Drama series but not a lot.

Reality TV has taken over in the form of Survivor, Dances with the Stars, American Idol, and so many more. I have watched some of these shows but it is incredibly hard to really feel for any of the contestants as you know in the end most of it was staged for television. I think the actors and actresses of yester year were classic and of course now those shows have become classics.

What do you think? Should we go back to drama or keep reality TV? To say the author here misses the days of TV in the ‘80s would be an understatement. While there are shows that satisfy now, it still isn't the same as knowing you are going to be entertained by just flipping on the TV. You really must search to find a good quality show that isn't trying to score points in reality. Life is reality enough. Give us back our days of escapism.

This article copyright to lynnechandler at HubPages 2009 with all rights reserved.