The Eighties
The third installment from executive producers Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman and Mark Herzog, following in the footsteps of critically-acclaimed series THE SIXTIES and THE SEVENTIES, tackles 10 years shaped by exceptionalism and excess. Like its predecessors, THE EIGHTIES intersperses rare archival newsreel footage, interviews, and comments by historians, journalists, politicians, celebrities and others, painting a perspective-rich picture of a vibrant decade. Episodes examine the age of Reagan, the AIDS crisis, the end of the Cold War, Wall Street corruption, the evolving TV and music scene, and everything in between.
Episodes
Season 1 — 7 episodes
E1
Raised on Television
60m·6.0
VCRs, remote controls, family sitcoms, adult dramas, and prime-time soaps all changed TV enjoyment.
E2
The Reagan Revolution
60m
Exploring the two-term presidency of Ronald Reagan; highlighting his triumphs and controversies.
E3
Tear Down This Wall
60m
The ever-present Cold War between the United States and Russia finally comes to an end thanks to a chain of events that had once been unthinkable.
E4
Greed Is Good
60m
Junk bonds, bailouts and Wall Street corruption set the tone for a decade of greed and excess.
E5
Video Killed the Radio Star
60m
Music videos and the digital revolution dominated the music industry, as CDs replaced records; the charts were dominated by artists like Madonna, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and Prince.
E6
The Tech Boom
60m
A look at the innovations and inventions of the Digital Revolution, including the personal computer and the Internet, which have defined life as we know it today.
E7
The Fight Against AIDS
60m
The rise of a mysterious and deadly illness developed into a pandemic, affecting primarily the gay community and killing millions of people to date called acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
