I always loved the theme for Taxi - I even had the album it came from.
For the OP, Peter Gunn is a wonderful theme song. On the second Sopranos soundtrack CD, they mashed up that theme with Every Breath You Take. It’s brilliant!
Damn you! Now I’m seeing a cartoon Elizabeth Montgomery (complete with those crazy spiral eyes) in my head!
My faves:
Doctor Who (any version)
Mission: Impossible
Hawaii Five-O
The Rockford Files
Hill Street Blues
Bonanza
Star Trek (both TOS and TNG)
Wow, no love yet for NYPD Blue? Or am I the only one who sat on the couch playing “air drum” to it? 
And no discussion of cartoon instrumentals can be complete without Jonny Quest or Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Other favorites:
ER
Gomer Pyle, USMC
MAS*H
The Honeymooners
Oh, and re the OP: Much as I love the theme to Alien Nation, don’t the vocals count even though they’re in Tenctonese?
[quote=“want2know, post:23, topic:496251”]
Other favorites:
ER
Gomer Pyle, USMC
MAS*H
The Honeymooners
/QUOTE]
Does MASH count since it has words (even though they’re never heard on the TV show)?
My hands down favorite is the theme from Barney Miller
WARNING: File plays as soon as link is opened****
Not trying to hijack, but does anyone know what the name of the lead in song is from Boy Meets Grill (FoodTV - it’s a Bobby Flay Show)? It’s also been played on one of those Flip This House shows (not as a lead in but as fill in).
Most memorable? The theme from Monster House.
I like all the ones folks have been mentioning - that’s my growing up era…
However, I came in to post a link to this CD - Crime Jazz: Music in the First Degree (Amazon link)
It has Peter Gunn on it, but lots of other cool stuff, too - I had no idea how much I loved the theme to* Richard Diamond*…
IIRC, the Crystal Method song which opened Third Watch was vocal-free, and I love their stuff. Never got to watch an episode because of my own third-shift work, but at least I got hyper dance music to start my night out.
And to repeat from the cartoon music thread, the instrumental stuff from Robotech.
(And on the opposite end, for some reason the opening theme to Taxi always depresses the hell out of me, which is odd since I love the show and you’d think I’d have some kind of positive reinforcement thing going on.)
“Unsolved Mysteries” is hard for me to hum along with, though I try. The theme to “Wings” is not original to the show but that particular arrangement has always stuck in my head. Ditto “Top Gear”, who for that matter used the theme from “Dallas” for a segment a few series ago so it has been stuck in my head… roughly ever since, I would venture to say.
Whatever may be said for the merits of the shows themselves, I also like the original “Battlestar Galactica” theme better than the new one. Also, so long as I’m thinking about cheesy sci-fi, “Quantum Leap”.
I have to give some love to the theme song to Night Court. Love that bass line.
Sanford and Son
Night Court was the 1st theme I thought of…
Really is a catchy little riff.