10 Great American TV Series

By: SM. Mehdi Hassan

I do not know how many of you enjoy watching television but I was and still am an avid television watcher. From childhood, television was my favorite pastime. American TV series is one of my favorite TV shows. Here are some of my all time favorite American TV series. You people out there who enjoy watching television also watched these series. You watched and loved and adored some of the characters. Here we start:

Battlestar Galactica:

Image link: Battlestar Galactica

No folks, I am not going to talk about the recent series released in 2003. The series I saw was the first one; released in 1978. In 1977, Star Wars was released and created new trend in the genre of sci-fi films. Battlestar Galactica was also based on space adventure like Star Wars. The idea of the series came from Mormon theology. A human society living in a star system has been engaged in war with a robotic race named Cylons. After a sneak attack by the Cylons on the human led by a man named Baltar, the twelve colonies were destroyed. Only one battle ship, Battle Star Galactica, survived that attack. Now under the leader ship of Commander Adama, the few thousand survivors are looking for the planet named Earth. On their way to find earth, they face and overcome various obstacles. The series had 24 episodes broadcast on ABC. The mini series went on for one season 1978-1979 but it was very popular.

The Fall Guy:

Image link: The Fall Guy

I might fall from a tall building, I might roll a brand new car.

’Cause I’m the unknown stuntman that made Redford such a star.
YES FOLKS!! These are my favorite lines of the famous theme song of the popular TV series, The Fall Guy. The story of a stuntman named, Colt Seavers (Lee Majors), who, aside from his stunt job, works as a bounty hunter to earn extra money. Also works with him his cousin Bowie and beautiful stunt woman Jody Banks (Heather Thomas). The major attraction of this mini series is the stunts, especially, the car jumps. My favorite character in this series was Colt Seavers. Before the car jumps he used to say: HANG ON!! which was my favorite. The series had 113 episodes. It started in 1981 and continued till 1986. It was broadcast by ABC.

Knight Rider:

Image link: Knight Rider

The TV series that turned David Hasselhof into a superstar, Knight Rider, is about a futuristic car with artificial intelligence and various defense mechanisms. This black car, Knight 2000, built by Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT), has many amazing capabilities. It is immune to any kind of firearms below heavy artillery. Its turbine engine could instantly accelerate to 300mph; the turbo boost would enable the car jump over various obstacles. Driven by Michael Knight (a former police officer and soldier, his real name is Michael Arthur Long), the car is used to fight crimes. The most interesting thing in this tv series is the futuristic car. Along with jumping over obstacles and running at a high speed, the car could do many other things. Broadcast by NBC television, from 1982 to 1986, the tv series had 90 episodes.

The A-team:

Image link: The A-team

The first name that comes in my mind when I think about The A-team is Mr.T. This African American Actor was not only popular in USA but also in our country through this series. However, The A-team is about four soldiers who used to work in special force in Vietnam. They were charged for a crime which was not committed by them. So they escaped prison and grouped up. The four members are: Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith (George Peppard), Lieutenant. Templeton "The Faceman" Peck (Dirk Benedict), Sergeant. Bosco Albert "B.A." Baracus (Mr. T), Captain H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock (Dwight Schultz). The mini series ran on NBC from 1983-1986. The series had 98 episodes.

Street Hawk:

Image link: Street Hawk

Knight Rider was about car and Street Hawk was about motorcycle. A former motor cycle police, Jesse Mach, who suffered from injury, was chosen as the test pilot for Street Hawk, an all terrain attack motor cycle, built as a secret government project. Compared to normal motorcycles this motorcycle was highly advanced and contained weapons like: laser cannon, machine guns, and rocket launcher. It could accelerate to 300 mph. Like Knight 2000, Street Hawk caught audience attention for the black motorcycle. Unfortunately, the series did not last long. Only 13 episodes were aired in 1985 in ABC.

Highway to Heaven:

Image link: Highway to Heaven

Honestly speaking, I did not understand much what was going on over here but I enjoyed watching this mini series. Each episode shows a person or a family in trouble and two men come along to help them. Highway to Heaven is about an angel, who is on probation. He is sent to earth to work with a former police officer. The two work together to make other people’s lives better. I remembered most Michael Landon. In the beginning, he is walking by the street wearing a leather jacket, then a car comes and picks him up. Bangladesh television did not show all the episodes of this drama series. There were total 111 episodes and it ran for five years; from 1984 to 1989. In USA, it was broadcast on NBC.

L. A. LAW:

Image link: L.A. LAW

For the first time I saw a mini series related to the law. Like USA, L.A. Law was very popular in Bangladesh as well. Based on a fictional law firm, this drama series was shown on NBC television from 1986 to 1994. The series had 172 episodes. This mini series is a three time Emmy award winner.

Manimal:

Image link: Manimal

This mini series immediately caught my attention for the unusual power of the protagonist. He could turn himself into any kind of animal and fight bad people. Jonathan Chase (Simon MacCorkindale) is from a wealthy family. He is a lecturer on Animal Behavioural Sciences. A brilliant man with good looks he inherited this mystical power to transform himself into different animals. Only two people know about his secret. What I most liked about this mini series is the use of special effects while Jonathan transforms into an animal. Mostly he turned himself into a Puma. Manimal did not continue for long but I enjoyed it very much.

Dallas:

Image link: Dallas

Broadcast on CBS from 1978 to 1991, Dallas was one of the most successful series in American TV history. The story of the series revolves around a rich Texan family; the Ewings. John Ross is an experienced oil worker who established Ewing Oil. He had three sons:
J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman), Gary (David Ackroyd) and Bobby (Patrick Duffy). J.R. is evil and despotic, Bobby, a handsome but honest man. Bobby always opposes J.R. The series continued for thirteen seasons.

Macgyver:

Image link: Macgyver

I do not know about USA but I can say from my experience that till now, Macgyver is the most popular mini series in Bangladesh. Every Wednesday from 9 to 10 p.m. people remain glued to the television. I was a teenager at that time and I remembered the next day at school, my classmates were talking about Macgyver. The story is based on various adventures of Macgyver, a secret agent, who does not use guns rather scientific knowledge. He could create amusing devices from ordinary objects. The Swiss army knife and duct tape are the key weapons of Macgyver. With these two things and knowledge of science and from the surrounding objects he used to create explosives and many other devices. Richard Dean Anderson, the actor who starred in the character of Macgyver was immensely popular in Bangladesh.

There are many other American TV series that were very popular in Bangladesh. Still, I will never forget these TV series. They are related with my childhood and teenage memories. I really enjoyed watching them.
(The images used here have been taken from other websites and in each case a link is provided to the original location. If any right has been violated please let me know and the image(s) will be removed immediately).