Family Ties (1983) – Sherry Baby, The Fugitive Part 1, and Part 2

Mallory (Justine Bateman) and Alex (Micheal J. Fox) find themselves manipulated and used in Sherry Baby. Written by Barbara Hall, it first aired on 12 January, 1983. Mallory is intent on getting into a sorority and her classmate, Sherry (Lisa Lucas) may be the key. But Sherry has her eye on Alex. So Mallory attempts…

Hill Street Blues (1982/1983) – Santaclaustrophobia, and Gung Ho

It’s the holiday season on the hill, and lots of things are going on at the precinct. Santaclaustrophobia, written by Steven Bochco, Anthony Yerkovich, and Jeffrey Lewis, first aired on 16 December, 1982. Belker (Bruce Weitz) is undercover as a bell-ringing Santa, but a young kid keeps spoiling things by revealing he’s a cop. Hill’s…

M*A*S*H (1983) – Strange Bedfellows, Say No More, and Friends and Enemies

Mike Farrell gets behind the camera and settles into the director’s chair again in Strange Bedfellows which was written by Karen Hall and debuted on 10 January, 1983. Charles (David Ogden Stiers) is suffering from a seasonal allergy and his snoring is keeping both Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and B.J. (Farrell) awake. It’s complicated by the…

Doctor Who (Peter Davison) – Snakedance

  Teagan (Janet Fielding) falls under the influence of the Mara again in this sequel to Kinda. This four-parter ran from the 18th to the 26th of January, 1983 and was written by Christopher Bailey. Using Tegan and an alien named Lon (Martin Clunes), the Mara plans to steal ‘The Great Crystal’ which will help…

Doctor Who (Peter Davison) – Arc of Infinity

  Season 20 (!) gets underway for the Doctor (Davison) this week, and each story this season has a nod back to the stories before it, as they celebrate the show’s anniversary. This four episode story ran from 3 to 12 January, 1983, and was written by Johnny Byrne, who brought back the ancient, villainous…

The A-Team (1983) – Children of Jamestown and Pros and Cons

  Here’s where the series gets really underway, this week’s episodes see the A-Team falling right into the groove, or the jazz, that we know they’ll be following for the next couple of seasons (to the point where it will become predictable, perhaps even cliché). First up is Children of Jamestown, written by Cannell with…