# The Three Greatest TV Theme Songs Ever **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 9, 2016, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970 "2016-06-09T21:48:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/121 "2016-06-11T17:21:22Z")
I already have \*\*\*Combat! \*\*\*and _ **Rat Patrol** _, so one more WWII series: _ **12 O’Clock High** _ With Gen Frank Savage, of course. I close my eyes when I listen to this and can see formations of B-17s and P-51s cruising at 25,000 feet! :cool: ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/122 "2016-06-11T17:55:35Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I once saw the “lyrics” to the _ **Star Trek** _ theme in some local rag back in Minneapolis in the '80s (probably _ **The Twin Cities Reader** _). All I remember is > > _Space guys > in a starship, > oh-oh-OHHHHHHH-oh-oh-oh-oh-oooooooh! > Kiirk, and Spock, and McCoy-oy. > And Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura, toooooo…_ The real lyrics aren’t much better. There, I said it! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/123 "2016-06-11T17:57:01Z")
I \*\*loved \*\*the first season of this show. It transported me back to the summers I spent in the Joliet/Chicago area when I was in grade school: _ **Crime Story** _ [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/WhBM9xxkiFA/hqdefault.jpg "Crime Story ~ Runaway (Make America Great Again)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhBM9xxkiFA) ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/124 "2016-06-11T21:05:11Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > The real lyrics aren’t much better. There, I said it! 😉 The only line I remember for certain (for some reason), is _'Love–strange love a star woman teaches…_.’ Groovy, man! > [@terentii](#): > > Funny you should mention it. This was on [MSN.com](http://MSN.com) this morning: > > [MSN](http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/11-fun-facts-about-my-three-sons/ar-AAgNGBP?li=BBnb2gh&OCID=mailsignoutlc) For all we know, the editors of that site get ALL their article-ideas from reading SDMB threads. (They could do worse!) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/125 "2016-06-11T21:13:51Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I once saw the “lyrics” to the _ **Star Trek** _ theme in some local rag back in Minneapolis in the '80s (probably _ **The Twin Cities Reader** _). All I remember is > > _Space guys > in a starship, > oh-oh-OHHHHHHH-oh-oh-oh-oh-oooooooh! > Kiirk, and Spock, and McCoy-oy. > And Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura, toooooo…_ I wrote some lyrics to the Voyager theme song. Here right now is their world debut: Voy-a-ger is lost in the Delta Quadrant. Oh how sad Oh that’s too bad Oh how sad For you Voy-a-ger is lost in the Delta QUAAAA-drant. Oh that’s too bad Oh I’m so sad Fooooor Youuuuuuu. ---
**Author:** ![bobo\_blesinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecae2f/32.png) [@bobo\_blesinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobo_blesinger)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/126 "2016-06-11T21:31:51Z")
Three’s Company Benson Diff’rent Strokes ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/127 "2016-06-12T02:25:31Z")
[The Tick](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNiHKghM3ek). Already mentioned, [Cowboy Bebop](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw3fN3OPk3A). And finally [The Jetsons](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTq6Tofmo7E). Something about jazz and animation that let them work well together. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/128 "2016-06-12T03:32:36Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I once saw the “lyrics” to the _ **Star Trek** _ theme in some local rag back in Minneapolis in the '80s (probably _ **The Twin Cities Reader** _). All I remember is > > _Space guys > in a starship, > oh-oh-OHHHHHHH-oh-oh-oh-oh-oooooooh! > Kiirk, and Spock, and McCoy-oy. > And Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura, toooooo…_ > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > The real lyrics aren’t much better. There, I said it! 😉 The real reason Roddenberry wrote lyrics to the ST theme was so that he could claim 50% of the royalties every time the theme was performed. Alexander Courage thought Roddenberry’s conduct of writing the lyrics, for which he had not been consulted, was unethical, although he didn’t choose to take legal action. Roddenberry was quoted as responding, “Hey, I gotta get my money where I can.” > **[Theme from Star Trek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_from_Star_Trek)** > > The "Theme from Star Trek" (originally scored under the title "Where No Man Has Gone Before") is an instrumental musical piece composed by Alexander Courage for Star Trek, the science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that originally aired between September 8, 1966, and June 3, 1969. > The theme plays over both the opening and closing credits of the original series; the opening credits begin with the now-famous, "where no man has gone before", monologue recited by series st... ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/129 "2016-06-12T05:37:56Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > The real reason Roddenberry wrote lyrics to the ST theme was so that he could claim 50% of the royalties every time the theme was performed. Alexander Courage thought Roddenberry’s conduct of writing the lyrics, for which he had not been consulted, was unethical, although he didn’t choose to take legal action. Roddenberry was quoted as responding, “Hey, I gotta get my money where I can.” > > [Theme from Star Trek - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_from_Star_Trek) Forgetting for the moment that Roddenberry, as creator and producer of the series, had creative control over it and could write lyrics if he damned well pleased, that Wiki article is seriously flawed. It was the third season version of the theme that was renowned for having the soprano accompaniment “like a bitch in heat,” as one writer put it. Having watched every original episode in syndication five days a week from 1969 to 1973, I can attest there were at least four versions of the theme, and I can match them to each season (and the pilots). Having read Solow’s account of things in _ **Star Trek: The Real Story** _ (1996) and compared it to _ **The Making of Star Trek** _ (written in 1968, as the series was being filmed), I’m suspicious of many of his recollections. If there was a soprano accompaniment in the early versions, it definitely was not audible to my teenage ears. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/130 "2016-06-12T18:04:15Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > Cowboy Bebop, “Tank”: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWk-VpK4hJo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWk-VpK4hJo) I like the ending song better: “The Real Folk Blues” By Yoko Kanno [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nftxDrStny8) ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/131 "2016-06-12T18:26:36Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Johnny Quest is kick ass. There should be a thread just on great cartoon songs. I have so many favorites-- not all theme songs. Finally! I read somewhere, certain parts are basically unplayable. It’s tough. ---
**Author:** ![Tinker\_Grey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tinker_grey/32/8136_2.png) [@Tinker\_Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinker_Grey)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/132 "2016-06-12T18:33:41Z")
[The Jeffersons’ Theme Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L09qnRfZY-k) ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/133 "2016-06-12T18:47:26Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > Finally! I read somewhere, certain parts are basically unplayable. It’s tough. Ever hear it by The Reverend Horton Heat? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/40FsKwX-K8U/hqdefault.jpg "The Reverend Horton Heat - Johnny Quest/Stop That Pigeon") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40FsKwX-K8U) ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/134 "2016-06-14T21:47:25Z")
The Addams family theme song Secret Agent The Flintstones ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/135 "2016-06-15T01:32:15Z")
Non-Cartoon: The Addams Family: [The Addams Family Origional Theme Music - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3CH0tN515M) Twilight Zone: [Twilight Zone Intro - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If3SXJeZzMQ) The A-Team: [The A Team Season 1 - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1HMCArgqWM) Cartoon: Jonny Quest: (already on the thread) Sonic the Hedgehog: [Sonic The Hedgehog- Opening - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1f0qVeLcpo) Galaxy Rangers: [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMf2OXJcvhI) ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/136 "2016-06-15T16:35:21Z")
> [@Sefton](#): > > Blast from the past: [George of the Jungle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrSUZPek-to) > > _Watch out for that tree!_ 😃 (You beat me to it!) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/137 "2016-06-15T16:44:08Z")
> [@Find\_Friends](#): > > 😃 > > (You beat me to it!) Why did _George of the Jungle_ make _Tom Slick_ pop into my head? ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/138 "2016-06-15T16:57:39Z")
[This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq6Kgf6Tnus) was my “first love” – before Superman or even Popeye. I had already developed feelings of being an underdog (HMMM!) of sorts, so I identified with Donald Duck, as much as I loved Mickey, whose mask I wore for Halloween. I had no idea at that age who Dumbo was, and the same with many of the others not of the immediate “Mickey Family”. But it didn’t matter. I loved the music and the images. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/139 "2016-06-15T17:44:41Z")
> [@txtumbleweed](#): > > [Hill Street Blues](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pThIeuKD6uM) > > [The Fall Guy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeau4zBZgZg) > > [The Dukes of Hazzard](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6fSEf6tnG4) This past weekend, I was in a barbershop that had the radio set to a country-music station; the theme from The Fall Guy came on, because, hey, why _wouldn’t_ it? That said – Taxi, Greatest American Hero, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970/140 "2016-06-16T01:23:16Z")
Hawaii Five O. When I played in a band (briefly, a millenium ago), that was one of our covers. Gilligans Island. MASH. Best cartoon theme -[Amazing Three](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vskm4V8DZbE)- ‘Spacemen with a mission’!. [Prince Planet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QDlkj302tA) a close runner-up One from the UK - [Minder](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylKK-iB_mZI) - went to No 2 in the charts. And the worst - you’ve probably all heard of the legendary _Heil Honey, I’m Home._ Well, a full episode exists on the Tube - with theme tune. It’s hard to believe that the worst thing about a sit-com about Hitler, Goering and the Goebbels could be the theme tune - but[there it is](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf9jJx0NSjw). (starts at 0.50) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-three-greatest-tv-theme-songs-ever/756970.md?page=8)