Rewinding the '80s: January 1980
Welcome to Rewinding the '80s, a series of lists in indulge in a massive nostalgia trip by embarking on a retrospective of my favorite era of pop culture. I will be watching and/or re-watching numerous titles from that golden, glorious decade and listing them all here for posterity.
This includes feature films, made-for-TV movies and miniseries, individual TV episodes, and short films, all listed in chronological order by their original release/air dates.
Many of these titles were seen during their original releases. Some were watched in later years. Others still, I will be viewing for the first time.
Naturally, we begin with January of 1980, during which time I was 7 years old and in second grade, and this was my favorite show.
Other shows I watched on a regular or semi-regular basis were this, this, this, and this, and, of course, my Saturday morning cartoons.
Let the journey down memory lane commence!
This includes feature films, made-for-TV movies and miniseries, individual TV episodes, and short films, all listed in chronological order by their original release/air dates.
Many of these titles were seen during their original releases. Some were watched in later years. Others still, I will be viewing for the first time.
Naturally, we begin with January of 1980, during which time I was 7 years old and in second grade, and this was my favorite show.
Other shows I watched on a regular or semi-regular basis were this, this, this, and this, and, of course, my Saturday morning cartoons.
Let the journey down memory lane commence!
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- DirectorPaul Stewart LaingStarsEric SykesDiana CouplandDiane HollandEric Sykes is a frustrated director of a Broadway musical, in which everything goes wrong.January 1, 1980
- DirectorDon WeisStarsJack LordWilliam SmithSharon FarrellFive-O is assigned to provide security for a meeting involving a Middle Eastern sheik from OPEC, who is coming to Honolulu to negotiate with oil magnate John Ellington. McGarrett gets information that someone may be planning to disrupt the meeting, and sends Kimo to infiltrate what turns out to be a school for assassins operated out of an estate on Oahu -- whose best student, Kelsey, is tasked with assassinating the OPEC representative.January 1, 1980
- CreatorDavid CroftJimmy PerryStarsPaul ShaneRuth MadocJeffrey HollandComic goings-on in this series. Ted's the camp comic but is always on the lookout for a way to make money. Gladys has her eye on the boss, and Peggy wants to swap her mop and cleaner's outfit for a 'yellow coat.'Series debuted January 1, 1980 on BBC1
- DirectorDavid CroftStarsSimon CadellPaul ShaneRuth MadocEngland in the late 1950s: Jeffrey Fairbrother is an unassuming Cambridge academic suffering a mid-life crisis. His wife wants a divorce and he wants a change of career. He applies to become the entertainments manager at Maplins, a South coast holiday camp. Also up for the job is comedian Ted Bovis, a seasoned entertainer who knows how to work a crowd, but Jeff gets the job due to his administrative background and Ted remains Camp Host. Jeff feels that he should step down and give Ted the post but he is encouraged to stay when an elderly couple express their appreciation of his efforts.January 1, 1980 | Pilot episode
- StarsIan TraceySammy SnydersBrigitte HorneyThe exploits of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer.Series debuted on January 1, 1980 on CBC Television
- DirectorJack HivelyStarsIan TraceySammy SnydersBrigitte HorneyTom plays hooky to go swimming with Huck, and nearly gets away with it too until Sid interferes. To get back at him, Tom rashly boasts that he'll get a prize bible before Sid does.January 1, 1980 | Debut episode
- DirectorMichael BraunStarsWalter SedlmayrBruni LöbelElmar WepperJanuary 1, 1980
- DirectorVictor LoblStarsKen HowardJoan PringleEd BernardWhen Salami hurts his knee in a pickup basketball game he is prescribed some painkillers. Word gets out to a school drug distributor that he has then he becomes pressured to sell some. When busted, he blames Salami.January 1, 1980
- DirectorJim GoddardStarsMichael AngelisTom GeorgesonAlan IgbonA group of Liverpudlians goes to Middlesborough to lay a tarmac road.January 2, 1980
- StarsGilles LatulippeFrançoise LemieuxGaston LepageJanuary 2, 1980
- DirectorCliff BoleStarsJaclyn SmithCheryl LaddShelley HackTiffany is having psychic premonitions about history repeating itself during a costume party at the mansion of a recently married friend of hers.January 2, 1980
- DirectorDon ChaffeyStarsRobert UrichGreg MorrisBart BravermanWhen a friend of Dan's who's also a P.I. is killed, his girlfriend asks him to look into it. At the same time, there's a P.I. convention going on at the hotel and some other P.I.s are getting killed. A female P.I. knows something but she's not willing to share it. When an attempt is made on her, she reveals that she and other P.I.'s were hired to solve a case that's been unsolved for years.January 2, 1980
(Correct title: "Night of a Thousand Eyes") - DirectorWing-Cho YipStarsKa-Yan LeungYi-Lung HuangFeng ChengAh Chi (Ka-Yan Leung) is obsessed with the martial arts and, more often than not, his kung-fu clowning gets him into trouble. One day he gets into a fight defending the locals from a violent thug who turns out to be an enforcer for tong boss Hsia (Eddie Ko) of the notorious Jade Brotherhood. In retaliation, Hsia forces Chi's martial arts master to expel him. Masterless and working for a fish vendor, Chi meets a crafty kid (Yat Lung Wong), whose uncle Chow Tung (Simon Yuen) is a master of the Insane Mantis style. Though the crotchety old man refuses to teach Chi his technique, Chi picks up what he can in secret. Master Chow soon relents after Chi is badly beaten in yet another battle with Hsia's goons. Insane Mantis instruction now begins in earnest with great acrobatic acuity. Eventually, however, Hsia and his lackeys ambush and kill both the fish vendor and the old master which, in turn, completes Ah Chi's descent into total insanity. Emulating praying mantis behavior, Ah Chi unleashes an outright cannibalistic rage directed against the Jade Brotherhood's big boss himself!January 3, 1980
My rating: 7/10 - DirectorJohn CarterStarsBuddy EbsenLee MeriwetherMark SheraA friend of Betty's supposedly dies while going for a walk, but she uncovers evidence that he may have been murdered. The wife of her late friend hires her to further investigate and she soon believes embezzlement may be the motive.January 3, 1980
- DirectorNoam PitlikStarsHal LindenMax GailRon GlassWeary apartment dwellers band together to catch a burglar. A census taker takes drastic measures to count an unco-operative target.January 3, 1980
- DirectorJohn BowabStarsRobert GuillaumeJames NobleInga SwensonThe governor tries to convince a business owner to move his operation into the state so that more jobs are available. When Benson meets the business man and his wife, he is uncomfortable because he used to date the wife when she was single.January 3, 1980
- DirectorLarry StewartStarsGil GerardErin GrayTim O'ConnorBuck Rogers and Wilma Deering arrive at Theta Station to have Twiki serviced, but soon a freighter crashes with the space station. The freighter crew are found in a state between life and death, and believing a virus may be responsible, Commander Royko orders the base under quarantine. Soon however, Wilma feels a cold, evil presence stalking her and several station crew begun turning up half-dead. Buck learns that the source of said deaths is the Vorvon, a space vampire that can drain the life energy from his victims and turn them into zombies. However, only Buck is convinced that the Vorvon exists and plans on making Wilma his next victim.January 3, 1980
- DirectorJames SheldonStarsJames HoughtonKim LankfordMichele LeeJ.R. visits Knots Landing as he wants to drill for oil offshore and the community protests.January 3, 1980
- DirectorAllan EastmanStarsLondonPhilip AkinMichael ColeThe Hobo discovers a drug smuggling operation. He's only able to bring this to the attention of an ex-con who doesn't want to get involved, but the smugglers wind up involving him anyway--as the fall guy.January 3, 1980
- DirectorHoward StormStarsRobin WilliamsPam DawberJay ThomasMork is overjoyed when Fred returns and announces that he's remarried, but for Mindy, it dredges up painful memories of her mother's death.January 3, 1980
- DirectorJ.D. LobueStarsBilly CrystalCathryn DamonKatherine HelmondDanny catches up with Polly; Chester and Jessica attend a counseling session with a minister; Burt's doctor reveals that Mary is pregnant--and that Burt's insomnia is caused by a fatal blood disease.January 3, 1980
- DirectorRalph WaiteStarsRalph WaiteJon WalmsleyJudy NortonA soldier in Jason's company is Jewish. He tells the Waltons what is happening to Jews by the Nazis. Meanwhile, Elizabeth is getting teased for being such a smart student at school.January 3, 1980
- DirectorMichel DevilleStarsDominique SandaGeraldine ChaplinJacques ZaborChildhood friends, dominant Helene and submissive Lucie, are now in their thirties and married. Nostalgic about their youth, they take a bonding car trip to French countryside, while discussing their real and made up sexual experiences.January 4, 1980
My rating: 6/10 - DirectorJuraj HerzStarsVladimír KratinaRadim HlozekZora KerovaA young square-built Tadeás Falk called Táda (Vladimír Kratina) distributes meat from a slaughterhouse to the Liberec-city environs and to mountain hotels. The divorced Bára Saklová (Zora Kerova) must marry her lover Táda as soon as possible to get a company flat and be able to take care of her five-year-old daughter Beruska who lives with her grandmother. Her ex-husband, a hotel manager Sakl (Jirí Stepnicka), troubles her. Though, in fact, he does not actually care for his daughter, he does not agree Tadeás would adopt her and give her his name.January 4, 1980
My rating: 6/10 - DirectorLeslie H. MartinsonStarsBarbara Bel GeddesJim DavisPatrick DuffyKristin discovers Lucy's affair with Alan Beam and brings the information to J.R.. J.R. sees a way to turn Alan's romance to his own advantage.January 4, 1980