# TV Series with Story-Telling Intro Songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353 "2009-10-19T17:02:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353/21 "2009-10-20T00:23:53Z")
What about Greatest American Hero? I’m not sure if they give a backstory or not, but I have a vague recollection that they do. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353/22 "2009-10-20T00:30:47Z")
_The Big Bang Theory_ has a story-telling intro, albeit one that has nothing to do with the show or any of it’s characters… ---
**Author:** ![YWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6f9a4e/32.png) [@YWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YWalker)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353/23 "2009-10-20T01:23:28Z")
Welcome Back, Kotter. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353/24 "2009-10-20T01:43:59Z")
[The Lost Islands](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnfZVk7sdk8), an Australian series about five kids who end up stranded on some remote islands. I’ve always thought the composer of the theme song had been listening to too much Pink Floyd ([Cymbaline](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLw0C7CvL_8&feature=related).) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353/25 "2009-10-20T13:16:26Z")
Well, duh… **WKRP in Cincinatti**. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353/26 "2009-10-20T16:26:46Z")
_The Cleveland Show_ My name is Cleveland Brown And I am glad to be Back here in my hometown With my new family …etc. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353/27 "2009-10-20T16:32:05Z")
**The Nanny** ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353/28 "2009-10-20T16:56:34Z")
“The Fresh Prince” was the first one I thought of (heck, the first line is “this here’s a story all about how . . .”) but since I was beat to that punch I’ll mention “The Partridge Family”. No explanation in it about what happened to Mr. Partridge, though. I always liked the theme to The Gary Shandling Show. It’s more the story of how the singer came to be singing it (Gary called him up and asked if he would write his theme song! ) but it always made me sing (and whistle) along with it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353/29 "2009-10-20T17:03:25Z")
A horse is a horse, of course, of course And no one can talk to a horse of course That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed Heck, not only does that set up the premise of the series, it pretty much tells you everything there is in the whole series. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353/30 "2009-10-20T17:19:02Z")
Maverick–_“Luck is his companion, gamblin’ is his game.”_ ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353/31 "2009-10-20T18:17:54Z")
When asked why the theme songs to _The Brady Bunch_ and _Gilligan’s Island_ explained the premise to the show in their theme songs, Sherwood Schwartz (who co-wrote the songs as well as created the series) responded, “Because the confused cannot laugh.” Animated series, particularly those intended for children, seem to be a big offender in this category: _Pinky and the Brain_ (and its Elmyra spin-off), _Animaniacs_ (which in typical fashion commented that “now you know the plot” after hearing the theme song), _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ (written by Chuck Lorre, of all people), _SpongeBob SquarePants_ (maybe)…probably one of the best in this category was the theme to the short-lived _Weird Al Show_, which, in typical Weird Al fashion, told a backstory to the show that made absolutely no sense nor had any bearing on the premise of the actual show itself (which was basically “Weird Al and a bunch of goofy friends do silly things and also shoehorn a lesson in because the FCC forced them to”). ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353/32 "2009-10-20T19:49:57Z")
How about **Have Gun, Will Travel**? “Have Gun, Will Travel is the story of a man, A knight without armor in a savage land.” ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353/33 "2009-10-20T21:17:01Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > [It’s About Time](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_About_Time_%28TV_series%29), which was a fantasy show about two astronauts who traveled back to prehistoric times and encountered a group of cave-people. It lasted for 26 episodes from 1966-67 and was created by “Gilligan’s Island” producer, Sherwood Schwartz. The first half of the season had the astronauts living among the cave-people and attempting to repair their spaceship. In an attempt to improve ratings mid-season, the show was retooled so that the astronauts repaired their ship and returned to the 20th century, dragging a caveman and his family forward in time with them. > > I’m going to link to the lyrics of the theme, so that I don’t get in trouble posting too much of them. There was one version of the theme for the first half of the season. The lyrics were rewritten to explain the events of the second half. > > [Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1G-TsdNWGg) are the opening and closing credits from YouTube and [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_About_Time_%28TV_series%29#Theme_Song) are the two versions of the lyrics, side-by-side. And [Mr. Terrific](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llY1rvs31Ps), around the same time. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353/34 "2009-10-20T21:28:19Z")
> [@](#): > > And Mr. Terrific, around the same time. > > Regards, > Shodan > Reply With Quote Actually, Mr. Terrific had a spoken rhyme, not a song, and I salready posted it in the “spoken intro” thread a while back. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353/35 "2009-10-20T22:14:16Z")
One of my favorite cartoons when I was a lad, **Fantastic Voyage** had a very long spoken intro setting up the series. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SLzXlCPx49U/hqdefault.jpg "Fantastic Voyage (1968) - OPENING") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLzXlCPx49U) ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353/36 "2009-10-20T23:24:23Z")
Anyone else remember [Far Out Space Nuts](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtERZW63jF8), with Bob Denver? “I said Lunch, not Launch!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-with-story-telling-intro-songs/514353.md?page=1)