I’m on a bit of a music kick today. Concert last night, good CDs in the car… Add the fewer shows on TV, and you’ve got some good stuff to do and listen to. Anyway, got me thinking…
What’s your all-time favorite TV theme song?
This is a bit harder than I thought it’d be. After all, there’s kinda two parts to this question: Favorite song itself and favorite theme sequence. Add in the fact that a lot of shows have gotten rid of their theme songs, and it limits your options.
For me, I’d have to put Angel in the forefront. I love Darling Violetta’s song. It’s wonderful. But then again, I do always dance to Big Bang Theory. And those options aren’t even thinking of the entire sequence–you know, what they put to the music.
I used to love One Tree Hill, of course, but that’s since disappeared. I’m a Gavin DeGraw fan, and I loved Lucas walking along the bridge with the basketball. Not sure why, but I did.
So toss your favorites in the comments!
Fraggle Rock!
Oh my gosh. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that! That plus The Muppet Show were fantastic! Plus, Fraggle Rock had so much music inside the eps, too. Hmm, you don’t know what I don’t remember, though? How did the theme for Muppets Tonight go?
Oh, wow. Yes to Fraggle Rock and The Muppet Show. Yes to Angel and Big Bang Theory.
Also Firefly. And the theme to Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiago still gets stuck in my head sometimes.
Honorable mention to Enterprise. A lot of fans didn’t care for it, but I really liked the song (to the point where I made myself tired of it, haha).
Possible all time favorite: the fifth season opener of Babylon 5. Each season they did a whole new opener, new music and everything. I like them all, but what I love about the one for season 5 is that it starts with a nifty montage of important moments and lines from the first four seasons. Then it segues into the cast credits, backed by some gorgeous orchestral music.
30 Rock! It’s so upbeat! and House, too.
I like the Office. I think it’s just fitting for that show. Lost is good, although it kind of scares me and I’m not too sure it qualifies as a theme song. One theme song that I have to say I hated was Dawson’s Creek. I cannot listen to that song on the radio at all and I didn’t like it for the theme song!
KT beat me to it. Fifth season of Bab 5, hands down.
Let’s see… How about the 80s? A-Team? Perfect Strangers? Anyone…?
Speaking of, JC, the other night I was having trouble sleeping so I was trying to recite the words to the theme songs of Family Matters, Full House, and Step by Step. I’m pretty sure those don’t really stand out as fantastic ones.
Oh, but Happy Days! And I can still do Laverne and Shirley. Other categories:
Most memorable: Cheers
First one ever memorized: Dallas (My family thought it was adorable that I was humming this as a young child)
Love both Firefly and Buffy for the music and the opening pictures of the cast. Also love the use of the song in Weeds for the clever pictures it goes with and the way they had different people sing it for a couple of seasons.
I’ve never seen Weeds. I might have to check out the intro. I’m surprised JC didn’t mention Band of Brothers or Carnivale. Lucky Showtime and HBO. They actually have the resources to spend time in an episode on a theme.
You can get the Weeds intro on Youtube. The song is called “Little Boxes”.
I know some of these were already said, but Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock are probably my top two as far as themes that include vocals. And you can probably add the old Sesame Street theme to that as well. (The earlier version the better, of course.) Those 3 are tunes people learn at a young age and remember throughout life.
As far as intrumental themes, you’ve missed my top pick, which I shall kick off with the simple phrase of, “3… 2… 1… Let’s jam”. Despite the above 3 mentions, the theme for anime Cowboy Bebop blows everything else away. Nothing tops “Tank” from Bebop, especially with the show being so defined by the music it entails.
My other honorable mentions:
- Samurai Champloo: From the creator / director of Cowboy Bebop, this show’s opener may not be as catchy as Bebop’s, but stands out for the same reasons.
- Scrubs: So short, but so impactful. Props to Lazlo Bane.
- Newradio: Another short one, but I love the tune.
- Angel: Been watching a lot lately, and it, quite simply, rocks, providing a vibe that is exactly what the show is: modern, upbeat, dark & gothic.
- Firefly: It’s a little slow, but as with Angel’s opener, does such a good job of defining that shows vibe.
- Johnny Quest: May have been a precursor to the Cowboy Bebop theme. If you know it, you love it.
And, of course, just when I think I’m finished, I remember another. Never enjoyed the show. Never really watched the show, for that matter. But I think anyone who knows me will know that this tune actually tops Cowboy Bebop’s as I’m caught singing it ALL the time.
The #1 pick on my list deservedly goes to the theme from Sanford & Son. You know you love it too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj22p3YPACQ
(Sorry for the essay, but it’s all coming from a music junkie.)
As a side note, though it’s not at the top of my list, I’m shocked no one here has mentioned the theme song for Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Or any old Disney cartoons, such as Gummi Bears, Duck Tales, Tale Spin, etc.
HOW DID I FORGET COWBOY BEBOP???? Oh, good choice, man, good choice. That totally tops some of mine. And yes, I did just have to scroll up to remind myself of what I chose originally.
Fresh Prince–yes, a goodie.
Oh, and no shoutout to Joan of Arcadia? I was sure you’d like to mention Joan Osborne.
I tend to be kind of unimpressed by tunes written by an artist for an album and then months or years later grabbed by some studio exec for a show. I prefer songs written specifically for shows. Thus, a lot of CW “theme songs” aren’t really themes to me. As for JoA, “One of Us” will always be a tune from Osborne’s 1995 album to me. It’s nice that they decided to use it, but it’s kind of a cop-out. (Doesn’t help that it was re-recorded with another singer either.)
By the way, if we’re gonna pick on people about songs they didn’t mention, how do you get to avoid mentioning Friends? I mean, it may not be as loved now, but just by adding “I’ll Be There For You”, the Rembrandts made a fortune off of what can be considered an otherwise unimpressive CD.
In my opinion, it was ok, and you’re right, it did seem to cause a stir, but it doesn’t stand out as one of the greatest to me.
So I guess you’re not impressed with BNL’s Big Bang theme?
I can see your point, though. I still like some of them. The part that I liked about One Tree Hill was how the pics combined with the song (and the idea of the show, actually). I mean, high school life plus car accidents and various other unbelievable things. The combo just seemed to work.
Big Bang’s is too short for me. I don’t really watch the show, and the song just doesn’t really grab me. But props to them for using BNL.
Also… here are LB’s choices: Golden Girls and All in the Family. And the Jeffersons.
Thank you for being a friend, LB.
I defiantly agree with some of the above, Song of Serenity from ‘Firefly,’ Which i was just singing in the car on the way home. And of course i find myself also singing the “Facts of Life” and “Jeffersons” every now and, but likely because they are popular. Almost all those 80’s shows have iconic theme songs. I also like the song from ‘Gilmore girls,’ ‘Scrubs,’ and ‘The OC.’ But those were all popular artist songs and not written for the show.
For instrumental, i dont know how many Doctor fans there are, but ‘Doctor Who’ is still going after 50 years on the air.
And Tank! from ‘Bebop,’ i hear it every time my phone rings.
Well the ringtone on my phone right now is the opening song for Mad Men–I also thought the music for Six Feet Under was amazing.
Not necessarily a favorite, but I always got the theme song from Malcolm in the Middle stuck in my head. So frickin catchy.
And I actually told someone the other day I was chillin’ out, maxin’, relaxin’, all cool. The generation gap became apparent when I got a blank stare in return.
Asher — as it happens, I’ll be covering Doctor Who for Raked as new episodes air here in the U.S. …starting now! Feel free to come share your opinions.
And I agree, I think it’s pretty cool that the theme music has mutated over the years without ever changing completely.
I’ve been thinking more about CS’ comment that if it wasn’t written for the show, it doesn’t count as a theme song. I’m starting to disagree. It might not be the branding for the show, so to speak, but I think it still counts to some degree. I was thinking about Gilmore Girls, and true, that was a popular song before, but it didn’t make it that much more effective. But I guess I can see your point somewhat. Maybe I just don’t know which shows grabbed songs or specifically composed–I mean, was Darling Violetta’s song already written and adopted? Or did they write it for Angel? Firefly’s was original, I know, but bands like Darling Violetta and even Nerf Herder, I’m not sure if the songs were original.
Already written, already popular, or whatever else, it’s still a deliberate expression of the show’s identity. For that matter, if you choose a popular song to represent your show, doesn’t that also make a statement about what kind of show it is? Or at least it tells us something about how the show’s creators think about the show.
Good point, KT. Therefore, I think those should count as theme songs.
Hey, I never said they shouldn’t count as an opening theme, just that if I’d heard it elsewhere first, it doesn’t stand out as a theme to me. As with all things, first opinions are everything. If I hear a song elsewhere first, and that song is later used as an opening theme for a show, that song is a standalone piece of art to me first, and a theme song second, which kind of excludes from the top of my list. Doesn’t mean that to someone else it doesn’t go the other way around. However, I will say this: opening themes written for or about a show certainly make more of an impact to me than themes that pre-exist and are made to apply to a show. Tunes like those from Firefly, The Muppet Show, Gilligan’s Isle, Fresh Prince, The Brady Bunch, etc. will always make more of an impact to me than those of Smallville or One Tree Hill. Call me old school.
BTW, if anything on Wikipedia is to be believed, Darling Violetta composed the theme for Angel after performing 2 songs in season 3 of Buffy, so it doesn’t appear to have been a pre-existing song. As for Nerf Herder, it appears that they already had the melody written, but it doesn’t appear to have been incorporated into an actual song prior to submission to Joss.
Also, it oddly enough appears that though the tune used as the Scrubs theme was not written for Scrubs, it was used in the show before it was released on a Lazlo Bane album. Wouldn’t you think that would be the other way around?
Ohhhh, ok. I see CS’ point now.
That makes complete sense. Of course, you’ve now just elevated Disney Channel in their theme song efforts since every one of their themes are written specifically for their shows. Haha.
That’s interesting about Scrubs. That’s really funny. And thanks for clarifying about Darling Violetta. Man, I love that one.
But back to Joan of Arcadia for a sec, I do like that intro. It’s a good song, even if we do associate it more with the artist and less the show, but I like how they brought in images from the real world.
Also, just thinking about Tru Calling. Love that song, too, though the intro could use some work. Running, running, running. Ah! Though the eye in the end is nice.
What about Dollhouse? What do we think about that one? All the Whedonverse has gone crazy about it, and I think parts of it are artistically done, but I don’t know if it stands out for me.
A) Let’s make this clear: I’m not throwing my support in favor of the theme songs of current Disney shows. Just because they’re originals doesn’t mean that they don’t suck. On a similar line of musical thought, for example, while I might generally prefer indie bands over bands on major labels, it doesn’t mean there aren’t indie bands that should be avoided at all costs. Nor does it mean that major label bands never make the cut.
B) Sorry about the italics in my previous post. Didn’t mean to do that to 6 lines of type.
C) With the mention of current Disney shows, it makes me think of another tangent for this conversation: LEAST favorite opening themes. My vote: Spongebob Squarepants. I swear to God….
D) Just remembered a good modern cartoon opener: Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.
Why did you have to get Spongebob in my head? And haha, I would never support Disney themes, though they are damn catchy. Man alive, I get those in my head all the time. Ugggggggh.
Raked sure likes to tease.
Ooh, another catchy one: Saved by the Bell. Very 90s. Much better than Saved by the Bell: The College Years. Which is also very 90s. Not terrible, but the original is better.
I remember liking the theme for Boston Common at the time it was on the air, though I have no recollection of how the tune goes now. I think it had reminded me a little of Dave Matthews.