Hey, I know this thread has been done before, but some topics are just worth revisitng. . . .more than once! I’m talking themes (without lyrics) that were so good you always sat through the opening credits. My picks are:
Doctor Who. I’m talking the original theme music, used by the show from 1963 to 1980. The BBC monkeyed with it a bit afterward, but never improved upon the original. That weird, unearthly electronic screech at the beginning, followed by something that sounded like the howl of of a wounded robot. Cooler than cool.
Angel. I think it’s that opening cello that does it for me. Those mournful notes, followed by a guitar riff, convey without words the spirit of the show.
Hill Street Blues. Didn’t really go with a serious cop show, IMHO, but a great piece of music nonetheless.
Knight Rider. The theme stayed cool longer than the show did. How many tv shows from the 80s have their beats ripped off to make a rap tune?
Honorable Mention:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Don’t know who the drummer was, but he could flail!
Overrated themes:
Miami Vice. Gah!
Hawaii Five-O. To every high school marching band in the country: You can stop now!
I listened to the This American Life episode the other day and the music was played. I hadn’t heard it for years, and never really followed the show, but it seemed really fitting for the times and the show.
Just about everything Post and/or Carpenter ever composed would be on this list. Along with “Hill Street Blues” and “Quantum Leap” is “Magnum P.I.”, “The Rockford Files”, “The A-Team”, “Hardcastle and McCormick”, “Law & Order” (all three), etc.
I’ve always like the theme from Mission Impossible. I even bought the soundtrack cassette from the dollar bin a few years ago to play on my daily walks.
I’m amazed each time this topic comes up that a mod doesn’t just post Peter Gunn, announce that this is a General Question, move it, note that s/he has answered it, and close the thread.