The Classic TV Database

In the sci-fi sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, John Lithgow plays Dick Solomon, the leader of an extraterrestrial team of explorers studying Earth culture. Dick and his crew assume human guises and pretend to be a typical family of four, but their behavior is anything but normal. Despite his erratic personality, Dick manages t…

Just as Fox's 21 Jump Street injected the cop drama with a dose of hip, Beverly Hills 90210 infused the primetime soap with youthful energy. Like Aaron Spelling's Dynasty, most characters don't lack for disposable income, except for middle-class twins Brandon (Jason Priestley) and Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty, Heathers). C…

Dear John starred Judd Hirsch as easy going high school teacher John Lacey who is dumped by his wife, Wendy, via a Dear John letter. Wendy ends up with everything in the divorce settlement, including custody of the couple's son, forcing John to move into an apartment in Queens.

Doogie Howser showed the coming of age of a teenage genius who was a board-certified surgeon by the time he was 16. At that tender age, Doogie (a childhood nickname for "Douglas") has to balance life with his parents and contemporaries and the demands of a career that's stressful even for adults. He has help and support …

A perfect spin-off from Perfect Strangers: Family Matters focused on Harriet Winslow (the elevator operator from the Chronicle) and her family of sorts. Carl Winslow, her husband, was a dutiful cop, and a gruff and lovable father to three kids: Eddie Winslow, the rebel son; Laura Winslow, the smart-aleck daughter; and cute …

Frasier provides a weekly dose of the neuroses and tribulations suffered by an insecure and pompous psychiatrist, Dr. Frasier Crane, host of a Seattle radio advice show at KACL. The twice-divorced doctor's peaceful home life of fine cigars and haute cuisine was shattered when his gruff, ex-cop father, Martin, was injured in…

Before he became a mega-movie star, hip hop artist Will Smith starred in this quintessential '90s sitcom. Will Smith plays a street-smart teenager who grew up on the mean streets of West Philadelphia. After he gets into some trouble, his mother sends him to Bel-Air to live with Will's rich uncle. Will's foils included his s…

A television phenomenon and genuine American cultural artifact, Friends chronicled the misadventures of six twentysomethings navigating their way through the not-so-fast lane of Manhattan life. Like all great sitcoms, Friends featured unforgettable characters we all could identify with: self-absorbed but sweet-natured Rache…

Set in San Francisco, family-friendly sitcom Full House centers around the adventures of a widowed father, his three children, and his two best friends. Danny (Bob Saget of America's Funniest Home Videos) is a straight-laced sportscaster, Joey (David Coulier) is a fun-loving stand-up comedian, and brother-in-law Jesse (John…

Herman Brooks is an aspiring writer working as a fact-checker for a magazine publisher. While dealing with life in the big city, his inner thoughts are played out by four characters representing: his intellect, his fear, his sensitivity, and his lust. His "outer world" consists of a trivia-trove of a boss, two female co-wor…

There's no more reliable engine for comedy than the differences between men and women; Home Improvement puts that topic front and center. Launched from the stand-up comedy of Tim Allen (The Santa Clause, the voice of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story), this sturdy sitcom rests on the endearing, befuddled machismo of Tim Taylor (A…

Jamie (Helen Hunt) and Paul Buchman (Paul Reiser) are a young urban couple with five months of marriage behind them and they're still trying to make some ground rules of living together in an apartment in Manhattan. This is definitely not easy because Jamie & Paul are both equally neurotic - but in totally different ways. P…

When Married... with Children debuted on Fox TV on April 5, 1987 (followed by The Tracey Ullman Show a half-hour later), the grungy sitcom became an instant flagship for Rupert Murdoch's upstart network. The program's much-publicized working title, Not the Cosbys (a dismissive reference to the cheerful vitality of Bill Cosb…

There had never been anyone on primetime quite like Murphy, the star investigative reporter for the Washington, D.C.-based television news magazine F.Y.I. As created by Diane English and embodied by Candice Bergen, Murphy was, in English's words, "Mike Wallace in a dress." On camera, she was tough, smart, and relentless. Of…

Former test pilot Sam Beckett finds himself trapped in time due to an experiment gone awry, leaping into the body of a different person each week. Al Calavicci, at first known only as The Observer, is Sam's holographic adviser -- he provides Sam with some details about his new identity and gives him guidance on how to help …

Roseanne burst onto the screen in 1988, when top-rated sitcom The Cosby Show exuded a smug Father Knows Best glossiness. In contrast, the blue-collar Conner family bickered with the offhand nastiness of real families, which didn't mean they loved each other any less. Front and center was Roseanne Barr (now known by the sing…

As high school comedies for young viewers go, Saved by the Bell is as light as they come, yet there is something unusually addictive about it. No doubt that's because the series, set at Bayside High School in Pacific Palisades, California, balances fluffy stories with evolving relationships. It's no chore to watch every epi…

Jerry Seinfeld portrayed himself as a young single comic in New York coping with dating, nutty friends, and the indignities of city life. The show revolved around Jerry; Elaine, his ex-girlfriend and platonic pal; George, his worrywart best friend; and eccentric entrepreneur Kramer, the next-door neighbor who constantly wan…

A popular and well-regarded comedy that ran for eight seasons in the '90s, Wings was created by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee, the team that worked together on Cheers and later created Frasier. Tim Daly and Steven Weber play two brothers, Joe and Brian Hackett, respectively, who parted ways many years ago when a …

The Wonder Years was a hit comedy series starring Fred Savage as Kevin Arnold the main character, a boy facing rites of passage on his way to adulthood. Kevin lives with his brother Wayne (Jason Hervey), his sister Karen (Olivia d'Abo), his father Jack (Dan Lauria), and his mother Norma (Alley Mills). Kevin grows up with hi…