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Grreat TV themes, don't you just love them


JoeinAR

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As perhaps the oldest, certainly the crankiest, and among the most passionate members here, I got my first exposere to John Williams all the way back in 1965, thats 43 years ago, I was 5.

A new show was premiering that fall called Lost In Space, and I so badly wanted to see it. Somehow I managed to keep my smart mouth in check, and my mom ok'd it for me to stay up past my bedtime and watch it.

I heard Johnny Williams music and was instantly hooked, and it started a life long love of his music, tv music, and film music.

I'm often torn deciding which version of Lost In Space I like best Season 1 & 2, or Season 3.

Both are among my top 10 most favorite tv themes.

However my #1 all time favorite tv theme is a Jerry Goldsmith one.

The Walton's. I can't say why this theme touches me the way it does I just know it does. Its short barely over a min. but so much is packed into that minute. I urge anyone who isn't familiar go take a listen.

I don't know if anyone has discovered this site. TelevisionTunes.com its a very good site, there are hundreds upon thousands of tv themes. I even got permission from Ricard for linking this site.

You can find the Walton's theme, as well as Lost In Space themes there, as well as Star Trek, Williams 84 Olympic theme, JW's themes to Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants, and so much more.

These are not always the highest quality recordings there but it helps you get familiarized with the theme.

Others I suggest you listen too, Hawaii 5-0, the Rockford Files, One Day at a Time, there are many versions of Dr. Who, and the wonderful 1983 theme version of the longest running show on tv and radio, The Guiding Light.

Check it out and lets discuss our favorite tv themes

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There is a certain warmth about The Walton's theme, which is a hell of an accomplishment when one does indeed consider it's short length. The pizzicato strings give it a certain sense jollity, often lacking from other genre TV themes.

Which brings me to Dallas, the greatest TV theme tune EVER.

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Muppet theme

The Fall Guy ("The Unknown Stuntman")

Hill Street Blues

The Incredible Hulk

CHiPs

Hell yeah - love'em all....

Great thread, joey...

Greg - who did not know that The Waltons was a Goldsmith composition!

Oh.....and whom ranks the theme from "Wonder Woman" as a guilty pleasure!!

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Buck Rogers all the way.

Give that man a drink....

Did you ever hear the Pilot Movie version with the vocals?? Pure Camembert....

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Grreat TV themes, don't you just love them,

Cagney and Lacey by Bill Conti. It is the one TV theme to rule them all, and has never been bettered (imo). :D

How can one fail to be exhillerated by that screaming sax and wonderful ending? I'll never 'ever' tire of this theme. :)

T.J Hooker Season One /

is another great one. Ah the 80s, when the U.S was admired the world over.

Things change :)

And who can forget the incredibly mellow music used for

? :D

Don't get me started on TV themes. I have a list of wonderful ones a mile long that I'd share :)

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Don't get me started on TV themes. I have a list of wonderful ones a mile long that I'd share :)

Ha, same here :)

I love all that's been mentioned so far, so some others for me are -

Magnum p.i.

The A-Team

Manimal

Dynasty

ahh, great stuff indeed :D

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Best for me:

Twin Peaks

Hill Street Blues

Poirot

You took the words out of my mouth (or fingers). Those precisely the 3 themes I was going to mention.

The theme for the Tintin animated series is pretty good too.

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Hogan's Heroes, Bewitched, and I Dream of Jeanie!

And the Flinstones.... yabba dabba dooooo!

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I haven't watched that many TV shows really, but the ones I will always be able to hum and enjoy:

The Amazing Spider-Man cartoon

MacGyver

Knight Rider

Sabre Rider

Chip 'n Dale

You may notice a slight affection for cartoons ... the Amazing Spider-Man theme really made my day as a kid, no matter what the episode was about :)

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Some of my favorites:

Chips

Both Lost In Space versions

Hawaii Five-O

Emergency Season 2

Dallas

The Waltons

Dynasty

Perry Mason

L.A. Law

Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Hill Street Blues

Bewitched

Barnaby Jones

Joe I'm having a blast going thru that site. I found music I thought I'd never hear again like CBS' 1980's NBA broadcast theme song as well as the NCAA college basketball piece.

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John Tesh's "Roundball Rock" (for the NBA on NBC) is perhaps the greatest sports show jingle in television history. An absurdly catchy and adrenaline-pumping theme. Puts the ABC/TNT/ESPN pablum to shame.

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I gotta toss in Peter Gunn and Bonanza.

Barney Miller and Night Court also have a nice groove to them.

And, one most of you have never heard of: the theme from the "new Route 66" (from the 90's) which was titled "If You Don't Leave Me, I'll Find Somebody Who Will" by Warren Zevon (and this relates to the show how?).

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Battlestar Galactica, The A-Team, Knight Rider.

They are almost like a Holy trinitry for someone growing up in the 80's.

Those are all-time classics, but let's make it a party of four and add Miami Vice.

Some of my favorites from recent years: Deadwood, the first three seasons of Alias (brief though it is), the American version of The Office, Mad Men (I'm assuming that's original -- it might not be), Dexter, Friday Night Lights (a particularly gorgeous theme), Six Feet Under, House (not positive that one's an original, either), 24 (although that one is an end-credits theme), even the theme song for Firefly. Stepping a bit further into the past, there's The West Wing, Star Trek: Voyager, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and the iconic Millennium and The X-Files. There have also been a few -- such as The Sopranos and Smallville and The Wire come to mind-- that used pre-existing songs so well that they will probably always be far more famous as tv themes than as songs in their own right.

I don't recall seeing it mentioned earlier, although I might have skimmed over it, but one of my favorite tv themes of all time is the theme to Moonlighting. So evocative; a lovely song, beautifully sung. And even though it jumps the rails at some point, I still love the series.

One of the

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The theme from House is just the first chords from the song "Teardrop" by Massive Attack.

I think I knew that in the back of my mind somewhere.

However, that music will probably always mean House now. It's great, either way.

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Some of my favorites:

Chips

Both Lost In Space versions

Hawaii Five-O

Emergency Season 2

Dallas

The Waltons

Dynasty

Perry Mason

L.A. Law

Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Hill Street Blues

Bewitched

Barnaby Jones

Joe I'm having a blast going thru that site. I found music I thought I'd never hear again like CBS' 1980's NBA broadcast theme song as well as the NCAA college basketball piece.

I found it some months back, Dave wanted me to make him a cd of tv themes, he's a walking encyclopedia of tv themes, he'll sing them to me in the car and while thats fine and dandy, the real versions sound a bit better. Its uncanny how he remembers some of the most obscure themes

I've enjoyed listening to all the Jerry Goldsmith tv themes, he was prolific.

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For modern television, I like James Newton Howard's E.R. theme (which was replaced by some brief, non-descript drivel in recent seasons), and Danny Elfman's fun and appropriately Elfmanesque theme for Desperate Housewives.

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Hi,

I am a new member.I live in İstanbul,Turkey

the ones I like (though not a complete list)

Dallas

Dynasty

Perfect Strangers

National Geographic theme

but Dallas's theme is my favourite. Bruce Broughton 's theme. isn't it?

regards,

Timur

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My top five would probably have to be....

Get Smart

Mission: Impossible

Stargate: SG-1

The Office (American)

The Greatest American Hero

Definitely a good find...that site has the goods.

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The Simpsons

Mission: Impossible

The Waltons

All the JW Irwin Allen ones

Star Trek: Voyager

Babylon 5 (despite the cheesy orchestration)

Judd For the Defense

Daktari (don't ask me why, but I've always loved it)

Mannix (I love the classiness of it, particularly the piano)

Sex and The City (love the unapologetic tone)

Northern Exposure (nostalgic favorite. Although every time I try to hum it, I invariably end up humming the Midnight Cowboy theme)

I Love Lucy (perfectly sums up the show)

The Dating Game

National Geographic

E.R. (JNH does a hell of alot around two notes)

Hawaii 5-0

Leave it to Beaver (The Toy Parade)

Wagon Train

Bonanza

Maverick (I also love how Randy Newman captured the tone of the theme when he scored the film)

The Ghost And Mrs. Muir

Airwolf

Amazing Stories

X-Men: The Animated Series

Barnaby Jones (For a long time may favorite)

The Man from U.N.C.L.E

Playhouse 90

The Contender

Poirot

Peter Gunn, of course.

Great thread! and that website is fantastic- thanks, Joe.

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I'm surprised Greg or one of our other Brits didn't mention this:

Version 1

Verison 2

Verison 3

I love the Tom Baker beginning, but then he is my favorite Dr.

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I'm surprised Greg or one of our other Brits didn't mention this:

Version 1

Verison 2

Verison 3

I love the Tom Baker beginning, but then he is my favorite Dr.

I've been slowly rewatching all the original series episodes I can get my hands on since the new series started airing on SciFi, and I think it's almost unquestionable that Baker is THE Doctor. Granted, I haven't gotten to Davison, C. Baker, McCoy, or McGann yet, but I can't imagine they'll change my opinion.

I've liked all of them, though. Pertwee is probably my second favorite, with Eccleston coming in after him, and Tennant close behind.

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I'm surprised Greg or one of our other Brits didn't mention this:

Version 1

Verison 2

Verison 3

I love the Tom Baker beginning, but then he is my favorite Dr.

I've been slowly rewatching all the original series episodes I can get my hands on since the new series started airing on SciFi, and I think it's almost unquestionable that Baker is THE Doctor. Granted, I haven't gotten to Davison, C. Baker, McCoy, or McGann yet, but I can't imagine they'll change my opinion.

I've liked all of them, though. Pertwee is probably my second favorite, with Eccleston coming in after him, and Tennant close behind.

Pertwee is marvelous, and the 5 Doctor Episode was quite fun.

OH and Timur, nice call on the National Geographic I forgot how much I like that

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I'm surprised Greg or one of our other Brits didn't mention this:

Version 1

Verison 2

Verison 3

I love the Tom Baker beginning, but then he is my favorite Dr.

I've been slowly rewatching all the original series episodes I can get my hands on since the new series started airing on SciFi, and I think it's almost unquestionable that Baker is THE Doctor. Granted, I haven't gotten to Davison, C. Baker, McCoy, or McGann yet, but I can't imagine they'll change my opinion.

I've liked all of them, though. Pertwee is probably my second favorite, with Eccleston coming in after him, and Tennant close behind.

Pertwee is marvelous, and the 5 Doctor Episode was quite fun.

They're all great in their own way. The last year or so I've really been enjoying Troughton on DVD. Colin Baker gets the short shrift, he did the best he could considering everything he was up against.

Davison was superb when he came back for Time Crash, I'd love to see the new series do a proper multi-Doctor ep. Maybe one of next year's specials...

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Dallas and seaQuest DSV.

I just don't remember when Star Wars was a TV show. They have it posted. It's not a movie version, either. I think it's the version from the Best of JW and the Boston Pops that came out in the late 80s, since I have that CD. This Star Wars is a hybridization because it has the same middle section from Star Wars' end credits (Leia's Theme counterpointed with the Rebel Fanfare), but has the same grand descending finale used at the end of the end credits in Return of the Jedi, which was then used again for Revenge of the Sith.

Holy crap, the Cliff Hangers song from The Price is Right!

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Hi, I am a new member.I live in İstanbul,Turkey

Merhaba ;)

Merhaba:)

recently I watched the intro of 'Perfect Strangers' in Youtube after so many years.Very nice song.The energy and sweetness of characters are still there.

rgrds,

Timur

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