Once again, the press is declaring the death of tv themes.
Despite such attempts at revival, the theme song is dying. Once a siren’s call
that heralded the beginning of a show and drew people to the TV set from all
over the house, the theme song is fast going the way of Harbert’s cassette
tapes.Network executives point to several causes of death: There are
more commercials per half hour of TV, leaving less time for programs. The first
thing to go is often the theme song. It’s costly to hire a good composer to
write a song and pay the residuals due with each airing. Viewers have shorter
attention spans and won’t sit through theme songs. And they can seem
unsophisticated in this era of savvy audiences.But the loss is
significant. Anyone who has clapped along to the "Friends" theme or sat through
a middle school music class rendition of "The Greatest American Hero" song can
feel it. Good TV shows are made better by good theme songs and remembered more
fondly for them. Think of "Cheers" with its "Where Everybody Knows Your Name."
Or "The Golden Girls" and "Thank You for Being a Friend." Or the jazzy themes of
"Hill Street Blues" and "L.A. Law."
What I really think they mean is the death of TV theme songs, but even that isn’t true.
I’m a big TV theme fan and, while there are fewer memorable themes these days, there are certainly no shortage of instrumental or vocal themes… just not as many as in days past, and not as many that are catchy enough to remember.
Recent shows with vocal themes include Nip/Tuck, The Sopranos, Missing, Monk, Wild Card, The O.C. and Star Trek Enterprise. (And that doesn’t include shows using pop songs for their themes, like the three CSI shows). Recent shows with memorable instrumental themes include Six Feet Under, Deadwood, The West Wing, and, dare I say it, Survivor.
I think networks and studios are making a mistake not recognizing the importance of a strong theme tune/song. All it takes is a few notes of a memorable theme to create an immediate, emotional reaction in viewers, immediately evoking their affection for the show and its characters.
There’s a story, I don’t know if it’s true, that Scott Rudin wanted to ditch the finger-snapping Addams Family theme from the movie and its trailers. But when he saw the immediate reaction the first few notes had with preview audiences, he changed his mind. A strong theme is instant brand recognition…forever.
What makes the Mission Impossible movies, well, Mission Impossible is that classic Lalo Schifrin theme and the incidental score (which was also used in the film). Addams Family, Star Trek, Friends, Hawaii Five-O, Cheers, X-Files, Seinfeld, Law & Order… those are just a few of many, many TV themes that have become part of our shared culture, whether you’re a regular viewer of those shows or not.
When studios buy the remake rights to old TV series, I would argue what they are really buying is the format and theme music/song. What would Hawaii Five-O be without the Morton Stevens theme? What’s The Brady Bunch without the opening song and the incidental score?
The importance of the theme music/song also extends to most movie franchises. A James Bond movie simply isn’t a 007 film without the James Bond theme (what Bond fan didn’t long for it in NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN?). What would the Man With No Name be without Ennio Morricone’s haunting score? What people remember most about Shaft isn’t the movie… it’s Isaac Hayes theme song.
The TV theme isn’t dead…it’s just not as appreciated as it should be by the very people, the networks and studios, who have the most to gain by supporting it. The problem is, the gains aren’t as immediately tangible as using the money that would have gone into the music budget on designer wardrobe, big-name guest stars, or a more elaborate action sequences…
TV themes and theme songs are indeed iconic. Aside from the ones you’ve named, my favorites include Barney Miller(oh, that bass riff), Night Court, The A-Team, Green Acres and Happy Days (yeah, it’s cheesy, but what the hell.)
Of course, bad TV theme songs are pretty funny in their own way. Charles in Charge, anyone? Or even worse, Small Wonder? Granted, those shows sucked so badly, but the themes didn’t help either…
Still a cool TV theme makes such a difference. Now that Magnum PI’s first couple of seasons are out on DVD, I watched an early episode with the original theme, this 50s PI pastiche that was supposed to be retro cool…but didn’t work at all. Because Magnum wasn’t about that. Then Mike Post (I think) wrote a different, faster-paced theme and that’s the one everyone knows and loves. Because it’s the character in a nutshell, describing his incredibly cool lifestyle living in Hawaii on the beach with everything at his beck and call.
But I don’t hold out much hope for the TV theme or song. Not as long as more commercial time can be bought…
My favorite TV themes in no particular order: TALES OF THE GOLD MONKEY, QUANTUM LEAP, BLACK SHEEP SQUADRON, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO, THE FALL GUY, REMINGTON STEELE, ROCKFORD FILES, AIRWOLF, MANNIX, JAG, STARSKY AND HUTCH, NCIS.
I’ve always thought the theme song was an integral part of any TV show, but most of my favorites are the wordless ones — MASH, ROCKFORD FILES, SOAP. The Cheers song is a classic, on its own as well as the TV theme. I actually like the sightly clever way the WHO songs have been used for the CSI shows. And we can’t forget ALLY McBEAL, which was more about good theme songs than anything.
And there were some annoying ones…
I don’t much care for seeing the credits on the screen during the first scene instead of the traditional intro and song. It seems so … clinical. Music has always been a big part of my life, and I’ve always thought that good theme songs intros gave a good idea of what the show was about.
Now I need to go and listen to some real music to try and get CHARLES IN CHARGE out of my head. Thank you, Sarah.
My favorite bad TV theme song is “Eyes of a Ranger,” from WALKER: TEXAS RANGER, sung by Chuck Norris himself.
My favorite TV themes are, in no particular order:
Hawaii Five-O
Wild Wild West
Judd For The Defense
Cannon
Mary Tyler Moore Show
Murder One
Barnaby Jones
The Rookies
The Streets of San Francisco
Police Story
Mannix
Medical Center
LA Dragnet
Police Woman
The Paper Chase
Mission Impossible
Star Trek
Bret Maverick
The Untouchables
Lost in Space (Season Three)
Land of the Giants (Season Two)
Inspector Morse
Kavangh QC
The Avengers
Matt Houston
Vega$
Martial Law (Season Two)
Diagnosis Murder (Season Six)
It Takes a Thief
SeaQuest (season one)
Name of the Game
High Chaparral
Ironside
Peter Gunn
Remington Steele
The Magician
The Mod Squad
UFO
Thunderbirds
The Bob Newhart Show
Tales of the Unexpected (U.S. version)
Yikes, I could go on and on. So I’ll just stop here, arbitrarily. I’m sure I left a bunch out. My favorite awful TV themes (so bad they’re good)
Walker Texas Ranger
Eight is Enough
The Bob Crane Show
TJ Hooker
Knightrider
Airwolf
The Love Boat
Gilligans Island
Its About Time
Ultraman
Branded
Burkes Law
Switch
Fantastic Journey
Battlestar Galactica
Space: 1999
Green Acres
James at 15
David Cassidy: Man Undercover
The Fall Guy
The Facts of LIfe
Here We Go Again
Gimme A Break
77 Sunset Strip
Movin On
BJ and The Bear
Again, I’m sure there more, but this is getting embarrassing. I have just exposed my geekhood to all the world…
C’mon, Lee, James at 15 wasn’t that bad. And what about James at 16? I believe it was by England Dan & John Ford Coley.
Do you remember What Ever Happened To The Class of ’65? That was a good theme, and a good show.
On your list of awful themes you left out CHiPs — both the original, and the disco version.
John,
I love the cheesy theme to WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO THE CLASS OF ’65 (with Tony Bill as the Rod Serling-esque host). In fact, I am listening to it right now…
hey, hey,class of 65
it’s great just to be alive
Singing songs all day.
Let’s go on surfboard ride
we’ll groove to the evening tide
and we’ll dance the night away
This world is a playground
There’s fun everywhere
from sun up to sun down
we’re rockin and a rollin without a care
So long class of ’65
we’re off to the world outside
but through all our lives,
we’ll be the class of ’65
If you’d like the .wav file, let me know and I’ll send it too you. I recorded it off the air onto a cassette tape when I was a kid… the fact I am still listening to those tapes today, transformed into .wav and .mp3 files, is pretty scary.
Thanks, Lee. I’d like to have it.
john_schramm@sbcglobal.net
Funny thing — the three shows (CHiPs, James, ’65) were all on Thursday night, and one night I tried to record all the songs, but long since lost the tape.
Thank you!!
You know one the reasons I’m most upset about more Mary Tyler Moore not coming to DVD? I prefer the theme from seasons 2-7 to season 1, although watching my season 1 set last night, I remembered how much I love it in any format. And, as much as I enjoy Greatest American Hero, I can’t want to here that theme song again when the season 1 set comes out.
And even shows that I don’t list as favorite themes still provoke smiles and happy memories, like I Love Lucy.
And no one’s mentioned Laverne and Shirley. Say what you want, I love that song.
Man, I think I need to get a CD or two of TV theme songs.
I actually have a 45 of Making Our Dreams Come True. I loved the song, too. Say what you want. The show got really goofy, but the song was always good.
Yeah, but the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movies screwed up the theme.
I realize I’m the only one who cares about this. But it’s probably the only 5/4 TV theme ever, and they dumbed it down to 4/4.
All I know is, if someone doesn’t do something about that guy at the start of SMALLVILLE howling “Somebody saaaave meeee,” I’m gonna snap.
DEAR MADAM
I WORLD LIKE TO 77 SUNSET STRIP TV SERIES 1959-64 DVD
THANK YOU
LAWRENCE BLACK
NORWOOD RAVENSWOOD VILLAGE
NINE MILE RIDE
CROWTHORNE
BERKSHIRE
RG456BQ
ENGLAND
First of all, I’m not a woman (at least not the last time I checked). Secondly, why would you ask me for the 77 SUNSET STRIP series on DVD? I’m not Warner Brothers. I don’t own 77 SUNSET STRIP. Nor do I produce, distribute or sell DVDs. So what’s the point of your comment in a discussion about TV themes?
DEAR SIR OR MADAM
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE NEW 77 SUNSET STRIP FROM 1959-63
THEN TO 2005 TV SERIES OR NEW MOVIES OR DVD
THANK YOU
LAWRENCE BLACK
DEAR SIR OR MADAM
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE NEW 77 SUNSET STRIP FROM 1959-63
THEN TO 2005 TV SERIES OR NEW MOVIES OR DVD
THANK YOU
LAWRENCE BLACK
Hi,
too bad that I discovered this thread after some delay, but in fact I’m very interested in TV themes right now, too.
My personal favourites being:
Mannix (3rd version)
The Streets of San Francicso
Mission: Impossible
Fantasy Island (really beautiful)
U.F.O.
The Avengers
I Dream of Jeannie (maybe)
Ironside (maybe)
Time Tunnel (end title; maybe the most advanced theme ever written)
P.S.: I would like to add a short quote by the late Bernard Herrmann here to which I have listened just now:
“But the strange thing about cinema, and this would go for television film is, that no-one really knows why music is needed. I would say after a lifetime in it, I cannot tell you, why. But it is not complete without it.”
Correction:
I misspelled the URL of the Bernard Herrmann web site. Actually it is http://www.uib.no/herrmann/.
This article articulates very well what I’ve been saying for years! I’m also a great big fan of TV themes. I have too many favorites to list, and they change with my mood. It’s a good thing there are a lot of them! My current favorite is “What Really Happened to the Class of 65.”
As a matter of fact, I’m so passionate about TV themes, that I’ve dedicated an entire website to them! I encourage you to come by for a visit and remember some of your favorites.
After a general hiatus of a few years (with only a few new themes posted every so often), it’s BACK! New content is posted often.
http://www.TVsGreatestHits.com