Discover the most popular TV show the year you were born

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 26: Mr. T attends the Team USA Awards at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts on April 26, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images for USOC)

1983: The A-Team

The A-Team was an action series that aired on NBC from 1983 to 1987 about the members of a fictitious US Army Special Forces unit, who end up being court-martialed for a crime they didn’t commit and end up escaping from military prison. While on the run, they work as soldiers of fortune, fighting crime for their own gain.

For the first few seasons of The A-Team, the show found itself placing within the top 10 rated shows in the United States. The show’s fourth season saw a dramatic dip in ratings, which many critics blamed on the fact that the show’s episodic format, which remained the same every week, got boring for viewers. By the end of its last season, the show was moved to Friday nights — the dreaded time slot — and the show dropped out of the Nielsen top 50 altogether before getting canceled after its fifth season.

The show was a surprise hit in the first place. The show’s violence was described as cartoonish, because the people who were injured never seemed to bleed or bruised, but there were constant explosions and huge gun fights. The show was also criticized for being sexist, because it was a total boy’s club. Nevertheless, the show was still a hit, and has been a pop culture staple for decades, often referenced even today.