Top 10 Messed Up Things that Happened on 1980s TV

[Music] they're the moments that had adults glued to their screens and children asking their parents a few very important questions welcome to watchmojo.com and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 most controversial things on 1980s TV I don't believe in making people uncomfortable but I also don't believe in lying for this list we're ranking those infamous moments on TV in the 1980s that led to some intense water-cooler conversations talk shows movies and very special sitcom episodes will all be considered for this list so get ready to travel back to a decade that may have been totally awesome but also encountered its fair share of controversy number 10 the mold avian massacre dynasty tomorrow audiences came to expect outrageous twists on the popular primetime soap opera dynasty but how would they react to a bit of real-world conflict mixed in with all the cheesy drama what are you after I shall put it in one word mr. Dexter destiny well on May 15 1985 that's exactly what they got in the fifth season finale that episode ended in a cliffhanger as terrorists interrupted a wedding taking place in the Moldavian region of Europe the lives of nearly the entire cast of characters were in jeopardy as bullets rained down upon everyone in attendance everything did work out come season six however as it was revealed that only two supporting characters actually suffered fatal wounds understand number 9 Andrew Dice Clay the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards if we're gonna do it dice style stand-up comedy enjoyed a lucrative and successful boom in the 1980s thanks in part to the rise of comedy nightclubs and cable television specials raising the profile of up-and-coming comics one such performer was Andrew silverstein also known as Andrew Dice Clay who made a career out of his abrasive and off-color bad-boy character modeled largely after Jerry Lewis's buddy love character from the Nutty Professor not everyone took two clays offensive and often sexist material however with one particularly raunchy performance at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards earning him a lifetime ban from the network rock-a-bye baby on the tree top your mother's alright your pop this band was eventually repealed in 2011 I like to know I'm banging a chicken you know a chick is good to bang when she's bigger than the bed you're on number eight Geraldo Rivera punched in the nose Geraldo the Holocaust did it happen Bob Mike matter tabloid talk shows were a dime a dozen in the 1980s but the genre was starting to change due in large part to former ABC reporter Geraldo Rivera who entered the ring with his own show in 1987 Geraldo often invited guests onto his show like Satanists or members of the KKK strictly to stir up controversy [Applause] one particularly memorable episode on November 3rd 1988 saw a brawl break out between Roy Innes of the Congress of racial equality and John Metzger director of the white Aryan resistance Youth the host received a chair shot to the face and a broken nose during the melee but refused to press charges after the incident the show's ratings skyrocketed number seven it was all a dream Dallas what does a writer do when one of the most popular characters has killed off at the end of one season but is hired to come back a year later simple make the entire previous season a dream if that sounds too incredible to be true and ya haven't watched the ninth season of Dallas which fans refer to as the dream season yes turns out Bobby Ewing's death and the events of the entire ninth season were all dreamed up by Bobby's wife Pamela and howdy Pamela and viewers find this out she discovers her thought to be deceased husband Bobby in the shower washing up as if nothing had ever happened number six the counselor mr. Belvedere no I think you enjoyed doing anything as long as you're not supposed to be doing it buddy the late 80s sitcom known as mr. Belvedere was one of the few primetime comedy programs based on a novel in this case the Gwen Davenport penned Belvedere from 1947 I think the show wasn't afraid to tackle social issues as evidenced by a couple of controversial episodes from the series five-year run including one entitled Wesley's friend which deals with misinformation about the AIDS virus I heard you can get it just by playing tag or swingin on the same swings even more controversial with the episode called the counselor which deals with the fallout after a counselor attempts to sexually molest the owns family's youngest son Wesley while he's at summer camp getting goose bumps the counselor ends with a PSA telling children what to do if they ever find themselves in an uncomfortable situation if you have to keep a secret that makes you feel bad it's not worth keeping number five trash TV the Morton Downey jr. show let me tell ya Hitler and Mussolini were probably nice people the only thing they did wrong was kill people we mentioned earlier how the 1980s assured in a new decade of daytime talk shows that weren't afraid of pushing the envelope when it came to sensational content the Morton Downey jr. show might be the most unapologetically abrasive of them all thanks to its host and his hyper confrontational style no safe it's something to prove they were same side Morton Downey jr. yelled finger pointed and Shane smoked on his show and thought nothing of blowing smoke into the faces of his guests at a moment's notice this chaotic carnival atmosphere made Downey very successful in the ratings department however as his talk show enjoyed success and infamous notoriety during its two-year run with the judge number four nuclear war the day after the 1970s and 80s were a fruitful time for made-for-tv movies with many television films of the era enjoying classic status even today it's only been five days and I can't remember what Bruce looks like one of these was the day after which received a record 100 million viewers for its debut on November 20th 1983 the film looked at the possibility of a full-scale nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union with startling realism [Music] according to some sources mr. Rogers neighborhoods controversial conflict episodes were produced in direct response to the film explaining issues of violence and the possibility of nuclear war to children who might have caught the film with their parents so please get a grown-up that you love to watch this program with you because we're going to talk about some sad and scary thing whether or not that's true this film put people on edge going through you like an x-ray right into yourselves what if it killed all these animals number three Madonna's like a virgin live the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards the idea of an award show for the then-fledgling cable channel known as MTV was a gamble at the time but music televisions roll of the dice proved lucrative credit the performance of a similarly fresh-faced artist known as Madonna who made TV history right out of the gate parents and older viewers lost their minds as the singer rolled around on the floor during her rendition of like a virgin while kids soon began mimicking the material girls classically outlandish fashion sense the spectacle would cement both MTV and Madonna as two of the most influential forces in popular culture and no one would forget the performance even decades later number two the bicycle man Diff'rent Strokes we urge families children and parents to watch the special episode together because some of the material presented might be disturbing to younger children sitcoms of the 1980s loved to include a number of very special episodes during their runs Diff'rent Strokes was no stranger to this trend and handled difficult issues with a surprising amount of drama tension and poignancy mr. Horton good the hitch-hiker episode focused on the kidnapping of Arnold and Kimberly Drummond for example and the bicycle man took on child molestation in this two-part episode Arnold and his friend Dudley are lured to the apartment of their local cycle store owner and are convinced to let him take shirtless Polaroids of them fortunately they eventually alert adults to what's going on creepy and powerful the bicycle man remains an infamous 80's television moment to this day before we reveal our most controversial moment on ATS television here are a few shocking honorable mentions I know someone else like that [Music] number one goodbye farewell and amen mash you don't mind I'd like to exchange my straitjacket for something in a30901 episode of 80s television can claim to be the most watched television broadcast in American history a record it held from 1983 until 2010 that episode is the series finale of mash a two and a half hours send-off for the beloved dramedy entitled goodbye farewell and Amin but the episode proved notable for another reason as well controversially it tackled series lead Hawkeye Pierce's battles with PTSD as he prepares to return home from the Korean War dear dad but the first time I understand what a nervous disorder is because it seems I've got one the episode pulls no punches depicting Hawkeye struggle with the demons in his mind with actor and director Alan Alda performing tremendously in the role simply stated goodbye farewell and ahmen his classic television storytelling at its best and most challenging do you agree with our list which 80's TV moment do you feel was the most controversial here let me give you a hand for more time-traveling top 10s published every day be sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com some hugs and kisses are still okay [Music] [Applause]

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Keywords: top 10, list, top 5, video, tv, television, controversy, controversial, disputed, contentious, arguable, moments, times, things, series, shows, events, Moldavian Massacre, dynasty, season, finale, andrew dice clay, andrew, clay, mtv, music, geraldo, rivera, punch, nose, face, dream, dallas, Counselor, Belvedere, trash tv, morton downey jr, nuclear, war, day, after, madonna, like a virgin, live, different strokes, bicycle man, mighty mouse, cocaine, goodbye, mash, m.a.s.h., watchmojo

Id: M7TcMHVk4Kc

Length: 12min 25sec (745 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 27 2016