Over in this thread there is a listing of people’s favorite TV theme songs/music.
A large number of recent shows have omitted the music altogether or go for just a few notes of intro (Everybody Loves Raymond).
So, is this a good trend overall? Would you rather see a show with no music or one with a catchy theme?
Since this is IMHO, I’ll throw my HO in to start things off: I think original music for TV shows is a good thing. If I say Hill Street Blues or The Bob Newhart Show, Magnum P.I. or even The Brady Bunch I’m guessing that most Dopers can conjur up that music in their minds.
The fact that I can remember a show’s music (and on the other hand hear the music and remember the show) for something that has been out of production for many years has got to mean something!
There are really very few shows with no theme music of any type. The beginning theme is usually shortened so that the show moves quickly, and the end theme is usually replaced by the network with promotions. You have to watch some of the shows in syndication to hear the end themes; for instance, there is a theme song to …Raymond, the reason I heard it is that the local TV station doesn’t run many promos over it.
These two sentences contradict each other. Married…With Children had as its theme not an original song, but the old standard Love and Marriage as performed by Frank Sinatra.
I like the theme music for “The Shield”. Short and sweet, then back to the action w/o a comercial break. Well, maybe not sweet-- short and edgy. They often finish the show with an obscure song as they flash between scenes of the various characters. Works for me!
This is hyperbole, of course, but I practically tuned inot Night Court for the theme song; it was just that cool.
I prefer longer theme songs and title sequences than we have these days. More than that, I think it’s shameful how the networks flash the closing credits at supersonic speed—while of course, splitting the scene and putting a distracting promo on the other side. Surely, the key grips and best boys deserve a clear credit.
IIRC, Sports Night (which I mentioned in that other thread) rarely started with the full theme. It would very often start “cold” or nearly so, meaning they jump right into the episode. It became part of the show’s charm. Only once or twice that I recall, did they play most of the theme at the beginning.
HumanStromboli, I agree. When I visit my friend who plays the bass guitar, the two things I invariably try to play on it are the opening notes to the themes to “Night Court” and “Barney Miller.”
What I’m not so sure I like is when a show changes theme music, though “The Drew Carey Show,” in my mind, pulled it off. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention earlier in the run of the show, but did “Everybody Loves Raymond” always play Steve Miller’s “Jungle Love,” or is that a recent thing? Seems kind of random to me.
nineiron, I believe “Everybody Loves Raymond” changes their opening credits every season. For the first few, it was just Ray talking, and at one point it was “Ode to Joy.”