Themes to Our Favorite Shows
Whatever happened to TV theme songs? They used to really gear you up for the show and made the TV-watching experience that much more enjoyable. Nowadays, TV execs are freaked out that the MTV generation and its spawn the Play Station generation have the attention span of a goldfish with ADHD and they don't give us good tunes to groove to- they just jump right into the action. I hate that! So TV themes started to die out in the 90s with "Seinfeld", the show about nothing with the nothing theme. What a tragedy.
Some people are enamored of theme songs that tell a story or basically explain what the show you're about to sit down and watch is about. Classic examples of this are "Gilligan's Island" with its tale of a three-hour-tour gone wrong (complete with a run-down of who is stranded on the island). Don't you wish "Lost" had done this? And of course, there are those Alan Thicke-penned gems like "The Facts of Life" and "Growing Pains".
But for me the true favorites are those I can dance to. I mean, there are TV theme songs that I get up and jump around clapping to and they just put me in a good mood. Some are classic 70s funk stuff and others are 80s synth, and there are two gospel lovelies which top the list for me. Please do enjoy:
CHIPS FIRST SEASON
CHIPS DISCO VERSION
SWAT (I actually danced to this at a club & the boy I was with asked, "What's this again?" and I said, "SWAT" and he said, "You're good." Didn't he know what a big couch potato he was gettin' jiggy with? )
STARKSY & HUTCH FUNKY FINE
STARSKY & HUTCH THEME I WAS MOST FAMILIAR WITH GROWING UP
KNIGHT RIDER FIRST SEASON PURE 80s!
IN A CATEGORY OF ITS OWN
(THE SECOND SEASON HAD A VERY SURFER FEEL BUT I LIKE THIS BEST)
THIS ONE GOES OUT TO RAFAEL 'CAUSE HE LOVES IT!
IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS YOU'RE GOING TO HELL
THIS ONE I INCLUDE BECAUSE IT'S THE BEST SHOW EVER, NOT NECESSARILY FOR THE THE THEME MUSIC BUT IT AIN'T BAD AT ALL!
SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST! IF YOU DIDN'T GET UP TO DANCE YOU'RE A SOULLESS TROLL!
Some people are enamored of theme songs that tell a story or basically explain what the show you're about to sit down and watch is about. Classic examples of this are "Gilligan's Island" with its tale of a three-hour-tour gone wrong (complete with a run-down of who is stranded on the island). Don't you wish "Lost" had done this? And of course, there are those Alan Thicke-penned gems like "The Facts of Life" and "Growing Pains".
But for me the true favorites are those I can dance to. I mean, there are TV theme songs that I get up and jump around clapping to and they just put me in a good mood. Some are classic 70s funk stuff and others are 80s synth, and there are two gospel lovelies which top the list for me. Please do enjoy:
CHIPS FIRST SEASON
CHIPS DISCO VERSION
SWAT (I actually danced to this at a club & the boy I was with asked, "What's this again?" and I said, "SWAT" and he said, "You're good." Didn't he know what a big couch potato he was gettin' jiggy with? )
STARKSY & HUTCH FUNKY FINE
STARSKY & HUTCH THEME I WAS MOST FAMILIAR WITH GROWING UP
KNIGHT RIDER FIRST SEASON PURE 80s!
IN A CATEGORY OF ITS OWN
(THE SECOND SEASON HAD A VERY SURFER FEEL BUT I LIKE THIS BEST)
THIS ONE GOES OUT TO RAFAEL 'CAUSE HE LOVES IT!
IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS YOU'RE GOING TO HELL
THIS ONE I INCLUDE BECAUSE IT'S THE BEST SHOW EVER, NOT NECESSARILY FOR THE THE THEME MUSIC BUT IT AIN'T BAD AT ALL!
SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST! IF YOU DIDN'T GET UP TO DANCE YOU'RE A SOULLESS TROLL!
posted by Spleengrrl @ 5:32 PM
15 Comments:
At 7:21 PM,
Kathy said…
I know all the words to the theme song for The Nanny. I sing it pretty well too IMHO. ; )
At 7:31 PM,
Spleengrrl said…
Yes, that's a classic example of the theme that explains what the show is all about. I almost included that one but maybe if I do a Part II....
At 7:36 PM,
Spleengrrl said…
PS I do too: She was working in bridal shop in Flushing, Queens till her boyfriend kicked her out in one of those crushing scenes. What was she to do? Where was she to go? She was out on her fanny! So over the bridge from Flushing to the Sheffield door. She was there to sell make-up but the father saw more: She had style! She had flair! She was there! That's how she became- The Nanny! Who would've guessed that the girl we described was just exactly what the doctor prescribed? Now the father finds her beguiling- watch out, C.C.! and the kids are actually smiling- such Joie d'vie! She's the Lady in Red when everybody else is wearing tan. The flashy girl from Flushing- the Nanny named Fran!
At 9:01 AM,
RV3 said…
The Nanny theme song is one of the last good sitcom themes to be written.
Thanks for the post!
BTW besides the Mr. Belvedere, my other favorite theme is the one for The Jeffersons.
At 9:43 PM,
Unknown said…
You forgot the Friends theme song but maybe you left it out because Rafael is not a fan.
At 8:03 AM,
RV3 said…
Wendy... wathching all of those t.v. theme song clips has left me with a deep sense of nostalgia...
Amen!!!
At 12:24 PM,
Spleengrrl said…
I left it out because even though it was one of the last sitcom theme songs, I'm not a big fan of it. It was catchy & like the Nanny song really showcased what the program was about but unlike the Nanny (or the other themes I included), it wasn't stellar. I give one-and-a-half stars out of 10.
At 6:57 PM,
Kathy said…
The TVLAND channel plays all the old shows. I just saw an episode of Sanford and Son, and man that show is funny. The writing was timed for punchlines in way you just don't see anymore. So many new shows have faux irony and irritating kids making the jokes. On top of it all -- great theme song.
At 7:55 PM,
lucy4 said…
The Jetsons also has one of those theme song that introduces everyone too. This reminded me of the White Rapper Show because it also had a great theme song.
At 8:00 PM,
Spleengrrl said…
My favorite S & S moment came when Grady gets 2 soc. sec. checks & spends them in Vegas. Lamont is indignant & asks "How did you spend $400 in 2 days?" and Grady answers, looking lost in bliss: "Happily!"
At 11:22 AM,
waldocarmona said…
There were actually like 2 or 3 themes to "Starsky and Hutch", but the one you posted is the one I think I like best. Where's the Buffy theme by Nerf Herder hmmm?????
At 11:30 AM,
waldocarmona said…
Oh never mind, I see you posted more than one. Now that I've listened to them again, I think I like them both equally.
At 11:39 AM,
waldocarmona said…
Also, I was thinking about it's not just the theme songs, it's the overall presentation. The theme songs did tell the story. Think of what a great job of exposition the "Different Strokes" opening does. Look at that unforgettable shot of K.I.T.T. riding into the sunset at the conclusion of the KR theme. There are very few examples of this nowadays, "Smallville"'s opening with the meteor crashing into the sign is probably the closest I can think of a post 90s theme opening that really kicks ass. Guess there's no point in doing that for drivel like "Big Brother 8" and all the reality based crap that's on network TV
At 12:31 PM,
Spleengrrl said…
But "Smallville" uses that Remy Zero song....they didn't get their own theme. I guess Nerf Herder wrote that theme exclusively for Buffy? Contrary to popular belief, the insanely catchy Friends theme song is actually NOT a real-song-turned-TV-them-song like all those Who songs they use on the different CSI shows. It was written FOR friends, then converted into a longer radio song because of the popularity of the show. The radio version sucks even more, though. It's passable as a theme song but as a regular radio tune it's really grating.
At 11:22 AM,
waldocarmona said…
I wasn't really thinking about "Smallville's" theme so much as the presentation of the opening credits
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