The '80s Greatest S1:E2

Miracle on Ice

The 1980s begins with an Olympic Hockey game that lifts America's spirits; Ronald Reagan battles Bruce Springsteen; and a sitcom helps invent the yuppie.

Family Values

In the '80s, family values undergo a huge makeover, as depicted in films and sitcoms, despite President Reagan's best attempts to stop it.

The Culture Clash

A generation of kids express themselves by breaking all the rules, takes on '80s conservative America in the ultimate pop culture clash.

America Gets Wired

In the '80s, networks like CNN help drive the stratospheric rise of cable. The 24-hour news channel's coverage of John Lennon's death at the start of the 80s and the rescue of baby Jessica McClure near the end cemented its place in viewers' homes. Niche channels are spawned, including MTV, QVC and many televangelism networks. The downfall of televangelists Jim and Tammy Bakker becomes must-see TV.

I Want It All

In the early 1980s America emerges from a recession and goes straight into an era of conspicuous consumption. Widely available credit cards spark a spending frenzy and competing brands battle to make a sale. Sex, and controversy, enter the advertiser's toolkit - but one iconic brand is almost brought to its knees when it takes rebranding too far.

New Dynasty

For American women in the 1980s, life is not easy. Bullied by their bosses or stuck at home, they find unlikely inspiration and support from stars of the stage and screen. Eighties icons like Madonna, Jane Fonda and Joan Collins encourage them to speak up and break out of traditional gender roles, and by the end of the decade, the difference between men and women is no longer so clearly defined.

Greed Is Good

The '80s, when nothing succeeds like excess. In Texas, a fictional oil millionaire's lifestyle captures the world's imagination and even changes the world. On Wall Street, a new philosophy breeds a new kind of capitalist, and for yuppies "Greed is Good." In Los Angeles, music and fashion take new heights. But in this era of big hair, big bonuses and even bigger phones, what goes up must come down.

It's a Small World

In the '80s, shrinking gadgets and new technology bring the world together in unexpected ways but also trigger fears of Japanese economic might.

Walls Come Down

In the late '80s, the Berlin Wall embodies the Cold War, but change is in the air and (with some unexpected help from popular culture) it come crashing down.