Look out Vice cops on the move

Opening credits for “Miami Vice”, 1984. This detective series was typical of bland cop show storylines, specializing in lurid prostitution and drug-trafficking crime. However, the story wasn’t the selling point of Miami Vice. Shot in Miami, primarily in South Beach during the mid 80s, the show is credited with creating a surge of interest for restoring the art deco buildings of the neighborhood. Miami Vice was saturated with color and featured so much of the music of the 80s. In a way, it appealed to the new MTV generation with color, music, and spectacle.

Roseanne and Dan in Lanford

Here are the opening credits for the pilot episode of “Roseanne”, dating to 1988. Love her or hate her, Roseanne created a show which tackled serious issues through the lens of a working-class family.

Dallas – the Ewings and the Colbys

These are the opening credits of “Dallas”, the mega-hit that spawned dozens of other prime-time soaps. Nothing on television today has the mass appeal that this show did.