# The most unwarranted kick-ass theme song to an unworthy show. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 22, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184 "2011-02-22T02:20:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/1 "2011-02-22T02:20:23Z")
Hubby was watching a mini Lost In Space marathon on cable. What a stupid, not exciting, totally not-worth-the-time-spent-watching excuse for sci-fi. But damn if it didn’t have TWO kick-ass theme songs! [Season One theme.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80TAVW3paBA:) How could you not expect fast-paced action after hearing that? But all you get after watching is an overwhelming urge to torture Jonathan Harris to death. [Later seasons showcase even more iconic music](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llNnlE6Hbu) that prepares one for space cowboy shoot outs. Only to deliver scary space vegetables. [Have you heard the movie theme song?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgskINKZWjY) Again, kicks ass. I’ve never seen the movie but I have downloaded the song onto my ipod. What other entertainments did not live up to their theme songs. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/2 "2011-02-22T02:38:43Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/e9Q3orQhEcA/hqdefault.jpg "Greatest American Hero Intro") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Q3orQhEcA) ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/3 "2011-02-22T02:46:34Z")
Good one, **PSXer**. Also includes the total waste of Robert Kulp. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/4 "2011-02-22T02:49:12Z")
Damn it, PSXer won the thread already. That’s exactly what I was going to submit. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/5 "2011-02-22T03:42:07Z")
I can’t listen to that theme without thinking, “Believe it or not, George is not home!!” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/6 "2011-02-22T03:55:51Z")
Hawaii 5-0 the original (I’m not familiar with the current remake) had a kick ass theme song that should be the state song. Yet the show itself was awful, awful, awful. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/7 "2011-02-22T04:24:55Z")
The Peter Gunn Theme is the canonical answer. Here’s the original: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcflCzZlLcQ) Here’s the Art of Noise version (music kicks in at 1:34): [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH33RIfi2KI) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/8 "2011-02-22T04:35:04Z")
If you like Peter Gunn, you’ll probably like **Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse** , which ripped it off but still works. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLCW6pAmL0M) **The Texas Wheelers** , for reasons that can never be adequately explained, used this as their theme: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0z1wNrPHGlQ/hqdefault.jpg "John Prine - Illegal Smile (Live) - Juneau, AK '08") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z1wNrPHGlQ) And, of course, there’s **Dragnet** [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Hj-qhIGTXdU/hqdefault.jpg "Dragnet 1951") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj-qhIGTXdU) ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/9 "2011-02-22T08:24:40Z")
I can’t really remember enough about the show to say if it was unworthy or not—I don’t think it was that remarkable—but the theme to [Peter Benchley’s Amazon](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHQnXOtYNYk) was pretty decent. (Yes, apparently the only version of the theme online is the bootleg one with the Russian CAPCOM reading the text. Yeah, _that’s_ a good sign in the show’s favor, right?.) _Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda_ wasn’t that bad, but the (first season) theme song itself was [better](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC5eAJReTG0). ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/10 "2011-02-22T13:14:56Z")
“In the year 2525, There are women with the will to survi-i-ive! Fighting for a brand new day! Nothing’s gonna stand in their wa-a-ay!” [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YmnG2pzVgQ) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/11 "2011-02-22T14:01:03Z")
[Octonauts](http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/octonauts/songs/octonautsthemetune/) A cutesy semi-educational show about undersea life starring fuzzy animals and strange vegetable-animal hybrids, with a proper action theme tune. There are also [dance remixes](http://www.stevenwilsonbeales.com/octonauts-dance-remix-alert/)out. ---
**Author:** ![alfonzos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alfonzos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alfonzos)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/12 "2011-02-25T01:21:19Z")
The award for the best theme song to slowly paced word game goes to [Blockbusters](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vddbWs8TOLk). ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/13 "2011-02-25T01:32:04Z")
Airwolf? ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/14 "2011-02-25T01:52:51Z")
I think John Williams was behind the Lost In Space themes. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/15 "2011-02-25T04:31:05Z")
Another current CS thread discusses how “Torchwood Is Crap.” Fair enough (although I’d make exception for the ‘Children of Man’ mini-series), but the [theme music](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vMJa2efG_A&feature=related) was cool. Never thought much of the show **Maude** , but the theme song was [right on!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9NY8R-LmIw) ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/16 "2011-02-25T05:13:03Z")
I used to tune into _Ellery Queen_ just for the theme song. And to watch the black cat knocking over the chess pieces. The show which starred Jim Hutton was forgettable. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/17 "2011-02-25T05:23:58Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I used to tune into _Ellery Queen_ just for the theme song. And to watch the black cat knocking over the chess pieces. > > The show which starred Jim Hutton was forgettable. Well I’ve just watched [this.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8MLfQRJQ40) The show must’ve been far more forgettable than I remembered, because I was dead certain there was a cat walking around on a chessboard, but there isn’t. There’s a chessboard but no cat. I mean, WTF brain? You’re making me look bad. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/18 "2011-02-25T05:34:31Z")
MacGruber! Making life saving inventions out of household materials! MacGruber! Getting in and out of ultra sticky situations! MacGruber! The guy’s a friggin’ genius! _MacGruber!_ ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-unwarranted-kick-ass-theme-song-to-an-unworthy-show/572184/19 "2011-02-25T11:16:04Z")
When I was young, the whole family would turn to [S.W.A.T](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Iwp1d7eKbA) just to listen to the theme song, then change the channel.