TV Themes

Films, TV shows, and books of the 'modern' era
klondike

Post by klondike »

> [quote="JohnM"]lol. Lynda Carter is beautiful in WW, that's for sure; but I just couldn't get into that show, no matter how much I tried. "

Well, you just didn't try hard enough, Mister!
(In my best R. Lee Ermy voice.)

There, consider yourself spanked. (Old school definition only!)

No really, thanks for the theme music link, John; it sure was fun to hear it again after so many years . . I could just imagine those back-up singers sporting big springy afroes and goldtone platform heels.
Gotta admit, though, as big a fan as I was of this small-screen pastiche, Wonder Woman went right into that southbound handbasket as soon as it got "modernized" to a 70's setting.
Like I always say (if you were to call me up & ask), retro-heroics are just never as much fun when the Nazis get written out!

Klondike
cmvgor
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Post by cmvgor »

[quote="SHolmes"]Again, I am undoubtedly showing my age but one that I loved was the WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE.

"What is the sign of true class in musical taste? It is being able to listen to the WTOverture and NOT think of the Lone Ranger!" :lol:

A couple of questions, my dear Holmes: First; at what age and under what circumstances did you learn of the connection between the Lone Ranger and opera? I learned it from a throwaway line in a 'Popeye' satire
in MAD Magazine. Age 14. Secondly, am I wrong in thinking that the internal music
in the series episodes was not affected by the opera, and that the Overture was only used for the closing credits? That's my impression, but I'm not 100% sure.

Oh, if I can be permitted a third question: Have you been briefed on the
connection between Wagner's RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES and Warner Bros'
CATCH THE WABBIT?

--And my own favorite theme is from the 1980's reprise series 'Bret Maverick':
My Pappy always told me,
Your fate is in your hand.
Stand pat or draw, its yours to choose.
Luck ain't got a thing to do with how you play the game;
Maverick didn't come here to lose.
Last edited by cmvgor on August 20th, 2007, 6:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"Faint heart never filled inside straight"
--Bret & Bart's Pappy
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traceyk
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Re: Favorite themes of tv shows

Post by traceyk »

moirafinnie wrote:Top Three for me:
The Andy Griffith Show (that whistling theme was the greatest)
The Rifleman (bless you for your wistful little theme, herschel burke gilbert)
Perry Mason (wonderfully melodramatic stuff)

Yes! That Perry Mason theme was great!

Other good ones:
"Hawaii 5-O"
"Stargate SG1"
"Star Trek" (the original--"Space...the final frontier...")
"The Addams Family"
"Mission Impossible"
"Peter Gunn"

Tracey
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. "~~Wilde
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moira finnie
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Paladin Theme

Post by moira finnie »

I just saw a dvd of the first part of the first season of the Western "Have Gun, Will Travel", the series that starred Richard Boone as Paladin. It had a very distinctive, relatively simple theme, which was uncredited in the dvd, and according to some internet sources was probably composed by Bernard Herrmann, though there are several other composers credited with writing music for the show as well. This makes sense, since the music is very "Herrmannesque" melodically. If anyone knows if that main theme was created by the great composer, I hope that you'll clarify this for me. Thanks in advance for any info you may be able to share with me.
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traceyk
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Post by traceyk »

Oh, if I can be permitted a third question: Have you been briefed on the
connection between Wagner's RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES and Warner Bros'
CATCH THE WABBIT?

.
I just love those Bugs Bunny cartoons with the operatic themes. "What's Opera Doc?" and "The Rabbit of Seville"--funny stuff.

Of course, I love most of those old cartoons.

Tracey
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. "~~Wilde
jdb1

Post by jdb1 »

The Have Gun theme has stayed in my head lo, these many years. I love that description of Palladin: "A knight without armor in a savage land." Cool.

The song sounds more to me like one of those proto-American folksongs, of the kind you find in a collection gathered by the great musicologist/folklorist John Jacob Niles. I suppose because the folk music craze was just gathering steam at the time of Palladin, I associate that song with the folkies.
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Dewey1960
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johnny staccato

Post by Dewey1960 »

For the longest time I've been screaming the virtues of John Cassavetes' short-lived 1959/60 private eye TV drama JOHNNY STACCATO--featuring scorching music from the brilliant Elmer Bernstein. Below is a link that will (hopefully) take you to a version of the main theme. Hope it works; hope you enjoy it!

http://play.rhapsody.com/album/theessen ... ounce=true
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Dewey1960
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Post by Dewey1960 »

John wrote: "The music is extremely familiar to me."

Hi there, John - Even though JOHNNY STACCATO was unceremoniously cancelled after only one incredible season, the soundtrack LP inexplicably remained in print for several years. Even now, you can go up on eBay and find copies of the original vinyl. The main theme has been anthologized on numerous LP and CD collections of great TV themes which might account for the familiar ring. Bernstein is definitely one of my favorites, too! Glad I could share this one with you, after all the terrific themes YOU'VE posted!
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moira finnie
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Paladin Theme

Post by moira finnie »

That theme was co-written by Pat Boone, Johnny Western and Sam Rolfe ~ JohnM
Thanks for the info about the authors of the theme for "Have Gun, Will Travel", John. Btw, I still find it hard to reconcile that Richard Boone and Pat Boone were cousins, but genetic variations are one of Nature's most interesting surprises!
pktrekgirl
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Post by pktrekgirl »

My favorite TV themes are not from classic TV in any way.

I think my favorite TV theme, believe it or not, is The Sopranos. Never has a theme fit a show like that one does.

From the scifi genre (which is what I mainly watch), I'd have to go with Farscape - especially the way they had it by the end of the show. They tweaked it a few times during the years it was on, but by the end, it was one of the coolest things ever.

I also have to give credit in this genre to Firefly, nBattlestar Galactica and season 4's theme from Babylon 5. Babylon 5 had great music throughout the entire run of the show...not only in the themes (a new one each year), but in the music written for the episodes. Very well done.

The best theme in Star Trek is the second one used on Deep Space Nine. Not that I'm biased in the slightest. 8)

Honorable mention goes to Stargate too...But in the SG-1 version, I like the end credits music better than the opening credits music.
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movieman1957
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Re: TV Themes

Post by movieman1957 »

Here's an article about the top 60 TV theme songs. They only talk about the top 10 but the cool thing is that there is a link that will take you to either sample or listen to those songs.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/20 ... -all-time/
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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MissGoddess
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Re: TV Themes

Post by MissGoddess »

i'm glad they provide a link because i wouldn't have known #5, lol.
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
-- Will Rogers
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mrsl
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Re: TV Themes

Post by mrsl »

.
I like the rousing ones: From the old classics, the Bonanza theme, and Hawaii 5-0

From today, again Hawaii 5-0.
Anne


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