Reader here, and today, I’m talking about memories of some of my favourite TV shows.
Specifically, I want to chat about something that’s become a bit of a lost art – the TV theme song.
Nowadays, theme tunes aren’t quite as prevalent as they used to be, but when I was growing up, every show on TV had a theme tune, good or bad, and many of them became earworms, that would get stuck in your head.
Some are peppy and upbeat, some are dark and dramatic, and some are just downright creepy.
When it comes to the creep factor, one of my all-time favourite shows cornered the market. I’m speaking, of course, of “Unsolved Mysteries.”
Tell me that theme doesn’t make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, and send you running to hide behind the couch!
I LOVED “Unsolved Mysteries” as a kid, and I still do.
A show aimed at solving unsolved crimes, unexplained phenomena, the paranormal, and reuniting lost loves, I never missed the show, if I could help it. And if I couldn’t watch i t live, I’d record it, and watch it later, usually at midnight on Friday nights, when I didn’t have to get up early the next day.
Of all the things on the show that used to freak me out, it was the composite sketches of crime suspects that did it the most. Some of them were terrifying!
Another favourite show that I loved as a teen/young adult? “ER.”
Forget “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Chicago Hope,” “The Pitt,” “St. Elsewhere” and other medical dramas… “ER” was the one for me, though admittedly, the quality started to drop off in later seasons.
But with a fantastic cast and great storytelling, every episode started with this banger…
Gets the pulse pounding, right?
Another beauty? This little gem, that George Costanza memorably used as the basis for his answering machine message in an episode of “Seinfeld” – the theme from the superhero comedy “The Greatest American Hero!”
Classic!
There were a lot of cop/private eye shows that had distinctive and memorable themes, from “Miami Vice” to “Hunter” or “The Rockford Files,” but the greatest, of course, is that of “Magnum P.I..”
But a close second? “Simon & Simon,” a show about the adventures (and misadventures) of Rick and A,J, Simon, two brothers, who are complete opposites (of course) who go into the P.I. business. Love this theme!
So good!
How about a comedy? My favourite comedy theme? “Night Court.”
Love that bassline!
And, let’s not forget the forgotten genre of the 70’s and 80’s, the miniseries!
Nowadays, shows on streaming services are basically miniseries anyway, but back in the day, a miniseries was an event, and my favourite of all-time?
“V.”
What is “V,” you ask? Created by Kenneth Johnson, the man behind the TV versions of “The Incredible Hulk,” “Alien Nation” and “The Bionic Woman,” “V’ was the story of an alien invasion, by the “Visitors,” who looked human, but were, in fact, reptiles in disguise, taking over Earth as a fascist regime, looking to pilfer all the water, and take the humans back to their planet as food. That is, until the plucky human resistance fighters said no way!
The original series spawned a sequel “V: The Final Battle,” and a short-lived weekly series, which had a pretty sweet theme, as well!
Ahhhh… the memories!
A great theme tune helps to set the stage for the show to come.
What are your favourite television themes? I want to know!
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