Pop Culture | 70s

10 Beloved TV Shows From the Late '70s That Are Turning 40 This Year

By Moojan |

Daily Mail / All Posters

The 70s weren't the greatest time for TV shows, considering that 45 out of 96 shows got canceled.

That being said, 1978, which was, believe it or not, 40 years ago, aired a handful of memorable shows that are still talked about today.

Here are 10 beloved TV series that are turning 40 years old in 2018.

1. Battlestar Galactica

After the success of Star Wars, space operas became the latest Hollywood craze in the late 70s and early 80s. Surprisingly, the show ran for a year until it was canceled in 1979, but a campaign revived the show as Galactica 1980.

2. WKRP in Cincinnati

The lives of people working at a struggling radio station was a late 70s favorite, and its success lasted for a decade. The sitcom won a Humanitas Prize and was nominated for many Emmy Awards.

3. Dallas

The mystery of "Who shot J.R.?" had people from around the world hooked. This soap opera series was loved so much that it was aired in countries behind the Iron Curtain. One of the episodes from 1980 is still the highest-rated prime-time telecast ever.

4. Mork & Mindy

In 1978, Hollywood's most beloved actor, Robin Williams, rose to stardom on the sitcom Mork & Mindy. Williams hilariously portrayed the character of an extraterrestrial, and the romantic love story between him and Mindy was just heart warming.

5. Diff'rent Strokes

Diff'rent Strokes set the bar high when it first aired in 1978. Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges played two African American boys from Harlem who are taken in by an affluent white family. The show was so popular that it started the catchphrase "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?"

6. Project U.F.O

The show ran from 1978 to 1979 for only two seasons. Creators Jack Webb and Harold Jack Bloom looked through U.S. Air Force files looking for ideas, and were finally able to reassure viewers that the Air Force stopped investigating U.F.Os in 1969, and that they found no evidence of extra-terrestrial landings. Phew.

7. Fantasy Island

Fantasy Island looked like a paradise. The show made us long for places filled with palm trees, waterfalls, and white sand. How excited were you to yell "de plane!" when the opening credits rolled in?

8. Taxi

The Emmy-winning sitcom Taxi follows the lives of cabbies in New York. This is the show that made us all fall in love with Danny DeVito, who played the short-tempered dispatcher.

9. Three's Company

The adventures of three, attractive single roommates in a platonic relationship were humorous and entertaining. Their constant misunderstanding, social lives, and financial troubles kept your eyes glued to the screen until the closing credits.

10. The Incredible Hulk

David Banner was a really good guy, even when he turned into a big, green monster. His adventures walking in the streets of America and performing good deeds were incredibly entertaining to watch, which explains why the Marvel franchise has been doing so well.

Which show was your favorite?

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