TV Themes: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

[lucindabelle]

Huh, I actually love that song... maybe because I didn't see the movie until much later. It always seemed dark and very sad to me, and had little bearing on the tone of the actual show. I remember even as a little girl wishing the show were more like the music. Guess I was kind of an odd little girl.

 

Besides, how does anyone know suicide is painless? I bet it isn't.

[decembar13]

I love Oz intro (though I find it to be a bit too long), ditto Homicide:life on the streets. Oh, and I rock to the The Shield intro and I made it my waking up song once, but it didn't last (it traumatised me soo much that my waking up song has been Cruisin' from Smokey Robinson for years now  :p ).

Also, Buffy, Angel and Firefly themes are, imo, fitting to the shows they represent and I love, love them. I always liked Charmed theme, but I don't know if it goes with a show; storylines, acting and whatnot is pretty much crappy and girly, while the opening number is "sing-along-able" and tough(?).

Ohhhh, and openings for both Grenada's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and BBC's Sherlock are simply marvelous (for the ones who never heard the former, here's the link  http://youtu.be/P9bhfgZaHE0 ).

[Lovecat]

Adding a plug for another Crystal Method TV theme song:  Third Watch!  I would actually get off the couch and do a little jammin' dance to that one.

[WendyCR72]

Besides the L&O theme(s) I mentioned above, I also liked ER's opening theme. Around S12, NBC dropped it for more ad time, but it made a welcome (to me!) return for its last hurrah in S15 with the finale (with the original stars [making guest appearances for Carter's clinic] first in the credits, then the current cast.).

Edited April 9, 2014 by WendyR72

[smittykins]

I read once that Harry Nilsson regretted not making an extended version for release as a single.

[Kromm]

All of a sudden I just remembered what a GREAT theme song "What's Happening" had (even though the show itself was pretty awful).  It's a clean, elegant piece of music.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpBhrjfetkk

And then they did a "sequel series", "What's Happening Now" in the 80s, and totally ruined the theme song. It went from one of the best TV themes to one of the worst, using the exact same song, but with really shitty instrumentation and a nightmarishly overdone "80s" arrangement.

 

 

Seriously.  Listen to the two in succession and if you are like me, you will go from feeling kind of good and smiling to feeling kind of betrayed.

 

In fact, the song (and the original arrangement) wasn't done by some hack. It was written and arranged by Henry Mancini.  Yes, the same guy who did the Pink Panther theme, and "Baby Elephant Walk".  A TWENTY time Grammy winner (nominated 78 times).

 

Here's the extended version of the song, from one of Mancini's albums:

 

Edited May 3, 2014 by Kromm

[Wilowy]

Wow. You are a human TV databank. Kudos!

[BizBuzz]

Ditto what @Willowy said @Kromm!

 

So, I can admit watching What's Happening when it was live.  I actually liked it, but gosh, I was young so that must have been why.  A couple of months ago I saw that it was on Encore Classics and watch a few episodes and I was like, hmmm, not so much.

 

Definitely one of those series that didn't stand up to the test of time for me.

[Wilowy]

We just got a Wings forum, and here's the beautiful opening theme by Schubert:

 

[Kromm]

We just got a Wings forum, and here's the beautiful opening theme by Schubert:

 

It's a shame they didn't STICK with that.

 

I recall that they eventually traded down, way down, to a heavily synthesized and compressed (about 5 seconds) version.

 

Can't find a dedicated clip of it, but go look at ANY episode posted online from Season 4 onward.

[Wilowy]

@Kromm , I don't remember it ever being that short, but I do remember it got 'brighter' as the seasons went on. Could be too, the individual stations taking liberties with the syndication so they could stick in more commercials. boo.

 

Something about this piece always soothed me. I never ff'd or muted it, ever, and was always happy to hear it. 

[Kromm]

@Kromm , I don't remember it ever being that short, but I do remember it got 'brighter' as the seasons went on. Could be too, the individual stations taking liberties with the syndication so they could stick in more commercials. boo.

 

Something about this piece always soothed me. I never ff'd or muted it, ever, and was always happy to hear it. 

The only way I could prove it would be to link or embed the full episodes I see posted up there (on YouTube) and I don't think that's a good idea.  Just goto YouTube and search for those episodes though.  

 

I was wrong, BTW.  It's actually about 4 seconds, not 5.  Seriously.

 

I'd think it was syndication fooling with things too, except I kinda remember it from watching first run (I actually don't recall ever watching the show syndicated).

Edited May 5, 2014 by Kromm

[Wilowy]

Well holy tarmac, that's just crap! FOUR seconds? What, did they just get the ending lilt in there? Lame. 

 

Didn't mean to make you obligated to prove it, dear. Just never remembered it shortened by that much. I would watch the actual real-time show, then the episodes in syndication, too. Loved it. 

[Kromm]

NOW FOR SOME OF THE BAD.

 

 

I read some article which riffed on how awful the Dollhouse theme song was.  I hadn't really remembered it as that bad, but lo and behold, the article is right.  This is goddawful.

 

 

They also mentioned NCIS as being one of the biggest steaming pile of shit themes, and I didn't even need reminding of that.  It's the very essence of what's gone wrong with TV theme songs.  Just pointless synthesized noise with cast pictures propped up in front of it.

 

[Wilowy]

Never mind that I find her the most obnoxious character in scripted drama. 

 

Also, poor Dollhouse. Just another thing that sucked about it (and this from a two decade long Whedon fan). 

 

Nominating the ridiculous theme song from my daughter's show "Jessie". Ugh.

 

I don't even want to expend the energy to find it on youtube. I LOVE iCarly's theme, and Austin and Ali are also catchy... but that Jessie... I want to stab forks into my ears when I hear it. 

[BizBuzz]

Ok, not to doubt @Kromm, I had to do some research on the opening theme to Wings, and dang it if he ain't right. My head memory was always that beautiful sunset theme with the Schubert intro. According to Wikipedia, that only lasted for 2.5 seasons. What a complete let down. ::giggle::

The good thing? The brought it back for the series finale, or so Wikipedia says.

Geesh. My life is over.

;-)

[Wilowy]

Wait, I have to, HAVE to, go back to the really good for a minute because this theme is just gorgeous. Class personified, managing to convey the gravity, while still honoring the bravery of the Band of Brothers, and respecting the subject matter. No words, just somber, hopeful beauty.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GonzHGwLTOw

God, put headphones on and just listen.

[Kromm]

While the show itself got pretty awful pretty quick, I always always appreciated the THEME MUSIC of True Blood.  Just a great great song, and very fitting for the mood the show should have been more consistent with.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxINMuOgAu8

This thread (versus this one) is primarily about the music, but it is worth noting that the actual contents of the True Blood credits were great too.  Far better and more "on message" than the show itself usually was (creepy and unsettling, and giving a real sense of "place" to the show).

[ElleryAnne]

Ohhhh, and openings for both Grenada's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and BBC's Sherlock are simply marvelous

 

 

ITA.  When Sherlock first aired in the US I spent hours teaching myself that theme on piano. 

 

I'll also second the theme from Courtship of Eddie's Father.  I've only seen episodes of the show a handful of times, but that theme is adorable.

 

One of my favorite songs used as a theme song was Reflections, used as the opening for China Beach. 

 

And on a very shallow note, I love the themes to Dinosaurs and especially Tiny Toon Adventures.  

[pootlus]

Love the themes to Buffy, Angel and True Blood (although the latter is so long I generally just skip it these days).

 

Also how about this for exposition: the theme to Pinky and the Brain:

 

 

Adored the Friends theme back in the day, but now I think it would send me into a homicidal killing rage.

[Rinaldo]

My impression of what happened with Wings is that they didn't so much rewrite the opening theme as drop it -- as many series were doing in those years, when the permissible number of minutes for commercials each hour was increased yet again -- in favor of a quick sting to give just the title, and then actor credits superimposed over that week's opening scene. It's a way to recoup a little more time for the story when time keeps getting taken away.

[Kromm]

My impression of what happened with Wings is that they didn't so much rewrite the opening theme as drop it -- as many series were doing in those years, when the permissible number of minutes for commercials each hour was increased yet again -- in favor of a quick sting to give just the title, and then actor credits superimposed over that week's opening scene. It's a way to recoup a little more time for the story when time keeps getting taken away.

 

I've always seen that as the reason for the overall death of 90 and 60 second credits sequences, but the elimination of 30 second ones is even yet a level beyond that.

 

It's non-commercial TV that's preserved credit sequences, of course.  That True Blood credit sequence is a full 90 seconds!  It's like a dinosaur!  Except not.  Game of Thrones sequence is even longer (about 1:40), and I think Dexter's credits were around that too.

[Wilowy]

Game of Thrones is epic, rivaling Band of Brothers for me, though in totally different ways. I created a Ramon Djawadi channel on Pandora just off his GoT theme with zero knowledge of his other stuff at that time. 

The non-existent theme time also speaks to viewer attention-span (lack thereof) as well, unfortunately. 

[decembar13]

I always loved opening for Road to Avonlea

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddSwigDd5yE

 

I heard complaints that it's repetitive, but personally I don't mind it.

[Rinaldo]

I've always seen that as the reason for the overall death of 90 and 60 second credits sequences, but the elimination of 30 second ones is even yet a level beyond that.

 

We don't have many 30-second ones left at all, do we? Community, Parks and Rec, and Brooklyn 9-9 all do short credit sequences with names (and in the latter two, faces) of all the regulars, and I love them for it but does seem like a throwback to another time. (Which is no doubt what they wanted.)

Edited May 5, 2014 by Rinaldo

[Kromm]

We don't have many 30-second ones left at all, do we? Community, Parks and Rec, and Brooklyn 9-9 all do short credit sequences with names (and in the latter two, faces) of all the regulars, and I love them for it but does seem like a throwback to another time. (Which is no doubt what they wanted.)

Oddly enough, despite the cast getting larger, the Parks and Rec credits got smaller.  Go compare the season 1 creds to later seasons.  They're like 10 seconds less.

 

Season 1:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWOZVz9OVnk

 

 

Season 3:

 

[photo fox]

Elementary has 30-second credits, but sometimes they run shorter ones for time.

[pootlus]

A lot of shows these days do away with credits altogether - Arrow just has a brief shot with the name of the show over a stylised arrowhead - I don't think it's even three seconds.

 

The cast - both name and guest stars - appear over the post-teaser sequence (although some of the 'teaser' segments are 10 minutes or so!).

[Lovecat]

Elementary has 30-second credits, but sometimes they run shorter ones for time.

I have to cop to getting ridiculously excited when they run the whole credits.  I love the whole Rube Goldburg/Mousetrap setup!

[Wilowy]

Great clip of the Northern Exposure opening and a bit of the show:

 

[Kromm]

Great clip of the Northern Exposure opening and a bit of the show:

 

I think visually it's a great opening, but I don't know if that one key element--the theme song--is all that good.

 

Luckily the show itself was.

[MaryMitch]

I find myself singing this song every now and then, from the show "It's a Living":

[Wilowy]

@Kromm I always dug it. Always got me humming along. And you're right, the show was great. 

 

I'm especially fond of it because I was born/raised in Alaska. They did get it mostly right. 

[Rinaldo]

@MaryMitch, I'd been thinking of It's a Living too! Same music guy who had done Soap and Benson, but this song is way zippier, as if it were a 1960s show tune a la "Mame". When I think it back to myself, I always have to start with Crash!, for that initial cymbal hit. And I really milk that group slide near the end, on "Iiiiii --- t's aaaaa living!"

[Kromm]

@MaryMitch, I'd been thinking of It's a Living too! Same music guy who had done Soap and Benson, but this song is way zippier, as if it were a 1960s show tune a la "Mame". When I think it back to myself, I always have to start with Crash!, for that initial cymbal hit. And I really milk that group slide near the end, on "Iiiiii --- t's aaaaa living!"

"It's a Living" was indeed a bizarre one (themewise I mean).  Because as you say, the song is in no way contemporary in style to 1980. I wouldn't even say it's 1960ish.  It's almost like it was yanked out of a Busby Berkeley movie from the 20s or 30s.  Like this.  

[BizBuzz]

When Sherlock first aired in the US I spent hours teaching myself that theme on piano. 

 

The first time I watched Sherlock, I put the intro theme into my phone as the general ring tone.  Until they did this:

 

 

Not usually into dubstep, but this blew me away, and now IT holds my general ring tone spot.

[Wilowy]

Ringtones, yes! My general is of course Criminal Minds, my son's is Firefly, and my text tone is the ENTIRE X-Files theme. Ha! 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbBX6aEzEz8

[BizBuzz]

@Willowy, the X-files theme seems to have a block on it? 

[Wilowy]

Two more I love:

 

Deadwood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B909njPoX7k

 

and of course, Buffy.

@Willowy, the X-files theme seems to have a block on it? 

 

Sucks! Well, you can click on the linky and it'll take you to youtube. I hate it when they do that. Grr.

[ElleryAnne]

My ringtone currently is this one, from Teen Wolf.

 

 

 

And I just noticed that one of my favorite theme songs hasn't been mentioned yet - Monk.  Like most Randy Newman tunes, it's a love-it-or-hate-it thing, I think.

 

Edited May 10, 2014 by ElleryAnne

[Wilowy]

I can't even begin to tell you how much anxiety Monk gave me. I never could get through a single episode. :D

[Wilowy]

One of my all-time favorite sitcoms EVAR:

 

[Kromm]

Ringtones, yes! My general is of course Criminal Minds, my son's is Firefly, and my text tone is the ENTIRE X-Files theme. Ha! 

I know taste is very subjective, and I hope this isn't taken as a shot against yours, but I have to admit I can't really understand the appeal of the Criminal Minds theme. To me it seems very generic--at least to me neither memorable, exciting nor particularly emotive.

 

The rest of those in the two posts are pretty good, although for me Deadwood is mostly interesting because of the instrumentation--the actual song itself doesn't do anything for me.  

 

Buffy's theme though is truly interesting--although if I'm being brutally honest I have to admit a lot of the continuing appeal is that even still based on the fact that even since then (and certainly before) a piece of Punk music isn't generally used as a TV theme.  Firefly's theme, for me, does what Deadwood's theme doesn't--it's memorable and fairly unique (not that they're all that similar as shows, but both are pseudo-westerns of different types).  The X-Files theme, of course, I don't think we even have to talk about--it certainly is both memorable and unique.

One of my all-time favorite sitcoms EVAR:

 

I honestly had no clue until today what was behind this song, but looking it up now it's interesting that it's written and sung by the lady who's the next door neighbor on Good Times (Ja'net Dubois).  I mean they're both part of the All In The Family chain of shows (All In The Family --> The Jeffersons and All In The Family --> Maude --> Good Times), so I guess it makes sense.

 

Speaking of "Good Times", that's a great theme song too (although Ja'net Dubois wasn't the female singer on that).

 

Edited May 10, 2014 by Kromm

[Wilowy]

Ah, no worries Kromm. I probably wouldn't even notice the CM theme were I not so in love with my team. Not one for procedurals, I couldn't even tell you the difference between a L&O and a CSI theme. I just love my actiony, whooshy, dun dun dunnnn-y CM theme, though. I can't explain my love for the show. It's pretty crazy.

 

I think Deadwood captures the somber beauty, the grit, and the sadness of the show really well. And Firefly? Oh, yes. Unimpressed when I first heard it, it's now my alarm clock tone (instrumental), as well as what I mentioned before. I also taped my daughter singing it when she was six.

 

Appreciate all your comments! :)

[Kromm]

And speaking of shows from that Good Times era, while I think Welcome Back Kotter was mentioned upthread, I don't think we covered "Chico and the Man"--and frankly the great Jose Feliciano trumps even John Sebastian (although both of them were truly mighty talents for something as trite as a TV theme song).

 

long cut of the song:

 

 

 

I do think that it's probably pretty easy to read a lot of dated, politically incorrect stuff both into the show, and the song lyrics (even though the song is by a Hispanic), but just as plain MUSIC it's immensely great.

Edited May 10, 2014 by Kromm

[Wilowy]

Agreed! That's a great one!

 

Last year I bought a cheapo dvd of Chico and sat down with my daughter to watch. The formula for sitcoms back then was so very close to what they do on Disney channel and Nick productions now, so I knew she'd like it, and probably develop a wee crush on Chico like I did back then. She loved it. After school that was her favorite show for nearly a month, and of course she knows the theme by heart. 

 

[BizBuzz]

Wow, totally enjoying the travel back in time.

 

Here is one that I can still sing and love.  Loved the show:

 

[Kromm]

Wow, totally enjoying the travel back in time.

 

Here is one that I can still sing and love.  Loved the show:

 

Heh.  It's catchy, I'll admit that.  My only criticism of it ever was that it always struck me as kind of buttoned up (what if we were being disparaging we might refer to as "kind of white", although clearly that's not always the actual cause of that).  It's not the song itself, I bet, just that singer and her peppy delivery (which in my opinion leaches the soul a bit from songs).

 

To me it's very similar in delivery to the equally catchy, but equally over-peppy "Laverne & Shirley" theme.

 

 

But the main goal of a TV theme song is to be memorable, and both "This is It" and "Doing It Our Way" were.  They may not be emotively all that deep, but do they have to be?

[Wilowy]

While we're still in the era, I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up the confusing (what the hell were all those instruments?) but awesome Sanford & Son theme! It has been a part of my pop-culture psyche my entire life, and to this day if I see a beater truck tooling down the road I'll sing the first few bars, sometimes even out loud. :D

 

@BizBuzz, One Day At A Time theme always also reminded me of The Facts of Life theme. Similar bouncy-ness and I can still sing both of them! 

@Kromm I had the 45 of the Laverne and Shirley Theme, also Happy Days of course, which was just Rock Around The Clock by Bill Haley and the Comets. 

[Kromm]

While we're still in the era, I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up the confusing (what the hell were all those instruments?) but awesome Sanford & Son theme! It has been a part of my pop-culture psyche my entire life, and to this day if I see a beater truck tooling down the road I'll sing the first few bars, sometimes even out loud. :D

 

That song rules in the same way that a lot of great jazz or funk pieces (a few we've mentioned, Barney Miller, Night Court, What's Happening) turned into TV themes did.  Something that quite apart from the show could stand on its own as awesome.

 

I mean... Quincy Jones, people.  That's who wrote this.  Quincy Jones.

 

-------------------------------------------------------

Now if we are talking FUNKY TV themes (and ones that involve the import of unexpected big mainstream talent to either write or perform it) the ultimate may be:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAUFuTKdWAw

 

This is another of these gems, where if you poke around you uncover an unexpected story (which I just did).  Apparently this didn't even involve Sammy (or have those lyrics at all) until after three seasons as JUST an instrumental (but all I recall--or at least retained--ever hearing before was the Sammy version).  Of course the irony of those lyrics in regards to Robert Blake didn't appear until many many years later.

 

NO SAMMY VERSION:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDm6PjZI4Ns

Edited May 10, 2014 by Kromm