I Guarantee You Don't Remember These Shows From The 80s and 90s

They're so esoteric or were on and off so quickly, they were vaporized from memory

Before you roll your eyes, and think to yourself, Oh yeah! I remember that show now? You need to know that even if the memories come rushing back, these were blotted from your memory core for a reason. The television landscape of the 80s and 90s was littered with ambitious failures, one-season wonders, and bizarre concepts that somehow made it past network executives. While some shows deserve their legendary status, these forgotten relics remind us that for every “Cheers” or “The X-Files,” dozens of misguided experiments were destined for the cultural trash heap. Let's dust off these televisual time capsules and remember why they were forgotten in the first place.

Day By Day (NBC, 1988–1989)

Do you remember Day by Day on NBC? Probably not. In this short-lived 1988–1989 sitcom a workaholic couple quits their jobs to run a home daycare so they can spend more time with their kids. It starred Douglas Sheehan, Linda Kelsey, teen heartthrob Christopher Daniel Barnes, plus a pre-Seinfeld Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the snarky next-door neighbor. Come on now!

Despite a Brady Bunch reunion episode and being created by Family Ties vet Gary David Goldberg, it sank after just 33 episodes. (Fun fact: little Molly Harper was played by future star Thora Birch.)

Where are they now? Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the show’s sharp-tongued neighbor Eileen Swift, shot to stardom as Seinfeld’s Elaine and later became an Emmy-winning comedy queen on Veep.

Dream On (HBO, 1990–1996)

This early-90s HBO sitcom was about a divorced book editor named Martin, whose inner feelings are revealed by snippets of vintage TV footage. Dream On was created by Friends producers Marta Kauffman and David Crane, and it was one of the first comedies to embrace real language (and occasional nudity) on cable. Its gimmick, the lead character’s memories and emotions shown via old sitcom clips, was pretty unique. Wendie Malick played Martin’s ex-wife on the show, and she later became a familiar face on sitcoms like Just Shoot Me! and Hot in Cleveland. (It’s also cool trivia that Dream On’s executive producer was Kevin Bright, who later became the Executive Producer of Friends!

Herman’s Head (Fox, 1991–1994)

Ever wondered what it would look like if your emotions got voice actors? Herman’s Head did exactly that. On this Fox oddity, we meet lowly fact-checker Herman Brooks, but the twist is we see his brain as four talking characters, Angel (the sensitive kid), Animal, Intellectual, and Worrier, bickering in Greek-chorus style. It starred William Ragsdale and gave future Simpson voice stars Hank Azaria and Yeardley Smith (Voices of Apu and Lisa!) regular bit parts. Herman’s Head ran three seasons (72 episodes) but remains a cult oddity.

Where are they now? Yeardley Smith still voices Lisa Simpson, and Hank Azaria of course voiced everyone else on The Simpsons for years.

Parker Lewis Can’t Lose (Fox, 1990–1993)

This was basically Ferris Bueller’s Day Off set inside a cartoonish high school hallway. Parker Lewis Can’t Lose starred Corin Nemec as the super-smooth title teen, who constantly narrated scenes, winked to the camera, and broke the fourth wall. The Fox series ran 3 seasons (73 episodes) and had a very Saturday-morning surreal vibe. (Seriously, the wacky transitions and over-the-top principal made it a Mad Magazine dream.)

Where are they now? Nemec, who was the cheeky Parker, later turned sci-fi actor, memorably playing Jonas Quinn on Stargate SG-1. The show also featured early roles for Billy Jayne and a young Troy Slaten.

Space: Above and Beyond (Fox, 1995–1996)

Just when you thought the 90s couldn’t have more canceled space dramas… Space: Above and Beyond blasted onto Fox for a single season. Set in 2063, it followed a platoon of US Marine Corps space fighters battling an alien race known as the “Chigs.” It had a whopping cliffhanger ending and never got to finish its story. The cast included a young Nathan Fillion (yes, future Captain Malcolm Reynolds) and Adam Baldwin, but neither NBC’s Fawlty Towers revival nor the hard SF setting could save it.

Where are they now? Many viewers’ fondest memory is Nathan Fillion, who soon after went on to Firefly and Castle. Creators Glen Morgan and James Wong later scored hits with The X-Files and Millennium.

The Powers That Be (NBC, 1992–1993)

A sitcom about a hopelessly dysfunctional political dynasty, The Powers That Be was decades ahead of Veep. It featured John Forsythe as obnoxiously aristocratic Senator William Powers (a DC parody set-up) and Holland Taylor as his status-obsessed wife. The keys: it was a Marta Kauffman–David Crane show (Friends creators) with Norman Lear exec-producing. It only lasted two short seasons (21 episodes, five of them unaired on NBC). The ensemble cast was star-packed: Valerie Mahaffey had an eating-disordered daughter, Peter MacNicol and Eve Gordon played the aide and mistress, and a teenaged Joseph Gordon-Levitt appeared as the senator’s grandson.

Where are they now? David Hyde Pierce (Senator’s son-in-law here) of course became Frasier’s Niles Crane (Happens to be in my top 5 shows of the 90s!) And Joseph Gordon-Levitt left sitcoms for blockbuster movies – a pretty good upgrade from a short-lived NBC sitcom!

Strange Luck (Fox, 1995–1996)

Strange Luck starred D.B. Sweeney as photojournalist Chance Harper, whose life is a magnet for bizarre coincidences. If a car will crash, Chance just happens to be standing there. The Fox thriller series aired only 17 episodes (a single half-season) before cancellation. Creator Karl Schaefer later worked on The Dead Zone and Eureka, which makes sense given this show’s eerie vibe.

Where are they now? Sweeney continued acting and you might recognize him from Memphis Belle (1990) or as President Kirsh in Air Force One (1997). Frances Fisher (who played Chance’s psychic neighbor) went on to fame as Rose’s mom in Titanic.

---

Each of these shows flickered briefly on your screen and then vanished. No syndication, little streaming, and hardly any DVDs. But they live on in lore, waiting for you to say, “Wait – what was that show again?” If you’re Gen X, this list is nostalgia served with a side of wtf. I hope you enjoyed the trip down TV memory lane…

Stay rad!

~ John