The 1980s were an amazing decade for pop culture, with countless iconic movies and TV shows completely rewriting the zeitgeist. While many of the best shows of the era have become legendary in their own right, the same can’t be said of every release. There are many iconic ’80s shows that are well-remembered, but there are even more TV series that have slipped through the cracks to be widely forgotten. Among these overlooked shows, there are undoubtedly many hidden gems, with some titles of incredible quality becoming relatively obscure. There are also many that stand out as just plain weird.
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There were many incredible animated TV shows that aired in the 1980s, but there were also those that were decidedly bizarre. These shows endure as little more than a fever dream for many, with modern audiences unlikely to believe they were ever made in the first place. Here are 5 of the most bizarre cartoons from the 1980s that almost everybody has forgotten all about.
5) Rubik, the Amazing Cube (1983)
The 1980s saw a surprising amount of TV shows based on toys, but Rubik, the Amazing Cube took the idea just a bit too far. Running for just 12 episodes, the show followed the titular cube as he made an enemy of an evil magician, and was supported by a cast of children in his attempts to escape the villain’s clutches. The show’s incredibly strange and nonsensical premise is perhaps the only thing that truly stands out about Rubik, the Amazing Cube, and the puzzle toy that inspired it has endured far beyond the cartoon.
4) Shirt Tales (1982)
There are many cult TV shows from the 1980s that still boast some fans today, but Shirt Tales is not one of them. Another show to take the idea of a tie-in cartoon in a bizarre direction, Shirt Tales was conceived as a means of featuring characters from Hallmark greeting cards. It followed the titular animal characters as they fought crime in their hometown of Mid City, combining superheroes with greeting cards in a crossover that nobody wanted, and now, nobody seems to remember.
3) Fluppy Dogs (1984)
There are many TV shows that ’80s kids remember fondly, but Fluppy Dogs is not one of them. Now an incredibly obscure title, Fluppy Dogs followed the titular group of five talking dogs who appeared through an interdimensional doorway to team up with two human children. Seen by some as a strange precursor to the iconic sci-fi show Sliders, it blended cute, fluffy animals with an unexpected sci-fi idea. Naturally, most people have dismissed the show as nothing more than an ’80s fever dream, and others have forgotten it completely.
2) Turbo Teen (1984)
Turbo Teen has been dismissed by many as a strange animated rip-off of the awesome 1980s sci-fi show Knight Rider, and they really wouldn’t be far wrong. Airing for a single 13-episode season in 1984, Turbo Teen followed a teenager whose being is fused with a red sports car, allowing him to switch between human and car form when exposed to extreme heat or cold. Together with his friends and pet dog, he sets out to fight crime and solve mysteries. It’s an incredibly weird cartoon that many have forgotten ever existed.
1) Trollkins (1981)
Trollkins took the success of two completely unrelated TV shows and attempted to combine them into a single premise. Described by some as The Smurfs meets The Dukes of Hazzard, Trollkins followed a race of diminutive trolls who drove around in miniature cars through their tree-top community. A truly bizarre cartoon from top to bottom, Trollkins is not widely remembered even among those who may have happened to watch it in the 1980s when it first aired.
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