The Silver Screen Oasis

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Bernard Hermann's thrilling opening theme music for THE TWILIGHT ZONE--one of the most hypnotically compelling pieces of music ever created for television.

klondike wrote:Ahh, but can any other theme match that of The Jackie Gleason Show, for pure force of summoning a mood?

Gleason had a wonderful orchestra. My mother had some of his albums. They were full of wonderfully lush, romantic and beautiful arrangements.

Here some of the favorite themes that come to mind for me:

1950s:

I Love Lucy
Dragnet
Mr. Peepers
Twilight Zone (overlap into the 60s)

1960s:

Twilight Zone
Batman
Dick van Dyke
Dobie Gillis
I Dream of Jeannie (can't get that one out of my head)
Hawaii Five-O (started in 1968)

1970s:

M*A*S*H
The Odd Couple
Happy Days

1980s:

St. Elsewhere
Hill Street Blues

There are so very many more - think of all the TV we have watched over the years - it would take hours of serious thought to sift through them all. If one had an inclination to devote hours of serious thought to such a thing, of course.

Now you've done it! This stupid theme song is rolling around in my head. Can anyone tell me why I should remember this one from 40 years ago so well, when the show itself only ran for a few episodes?

Tonight you'll meet two brothers who just happen to be us.
Though Tom is slightly different. The problem we will now discuss:
My brother Tom was lost at sea without his water wings,
And now he is an angel, and he tries to to amazing things.

That's right! Brother Dick, it's no trick if you see
Lots of different faces that look a lot like me.

An angel on a visit to his brother here below
Can cause a lot of trouble.
They're miracles to start, but they always come apart
On The Smothers Brothers Show.
Yes, they're miracles to start, but they always come apart
On the Smothers Brothers Show!

Which one of you other Senior Citizens remembers that one? Early to mid-60s, I think, on CBS. It was before their variety show. As I recall, it was pretty bad.

The Smothers Brothers had a show before their variety show? I don't remember the song but the lyrics point only to them.

(There are Pumas in the cravices!)

movieman1957 wrote:The Smothers Brothers had a show before their variety show? I son't remember the song but the lyrics point only to them.

(There are Pumas in the cravices!)

I remember it not too clearly, but apparently Tom was an angel who had to work a miracle or a good deed or something to earn his wings, and Dick was his swingin' playboy brother on Earth. Ouch! Good thing they brought in someone at CBS who knew what to do with them.

And you forgot the cockatoos!

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)

jdb1 wrote:

movieman1957 wrote:The Smothers Brothers had a show before their variety show? I son't remember the song but the lyrics point only to them.

(There are Pumas in the cravices!)

I remember it not too clearly, but apparently Tom was an angel who had to work a miracle or a good deed or something to earn his wings, and Dick was his swingin' playboy brother on Earth. Ouch! Good thing they brought in someone at CBS who knew what to do with them.

And you forgot the cockatoos!

You've got it. I actually have an episode or two of that on a disk somewhere.

Warner Bros private eye shows and westerns from the late 50s and early 60s typically had great theme music going for them. 77 SUNSET STRIP is classic among them, as are MAVERICK, SUGARFOOT and BRONCO.

(There are Pumas in the cravices!)
_________________
Chris >>

That's cuz Mom always liked you best!

Lynn:

One of my favorite bits of the Smothers Brothers was the responsibility of the folk singer to "take it" when it is thrown his way. The idea of a musician saying no is too funny. What added to their act was the fact that they harmonize so wonderfully and are decent musicians.