# TV shows that didn't/don't have a theme song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 7, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-didnt-dont-have-a-theme-song/817471 "2018-07-07T15:12:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Textual\_Assault](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@Textual\_Assault](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Textual_Assault)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-didnt-dont-have-a-theme-song/817471/1 "2018-07-07T15:12:29Z")
Thought of this while watching 60 Minutes. While music has certainly been a part of the show via interviews and pieces about various musicians, as far as I know there has never been ANY theme music or a them song for the show, just the ticking of the stopwatch. Which if one wants to be a nitpicking dickbag about it, does constitute music, but for the purposes of this thread it doesn’t. Any other tv shows that don’t have any theme music? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-didnt-dont-have-a-theme-song/817471/2 "2018-07-07T15:15:52Z")
If I remember right, LOST just had a single “THUMM” sound over the title card. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-didnt-dont-have-a-theme-song/817471/3 "2018-07-08T00:12:20Z")
_ **Medical Center** _, which debuted on CBS in 1969, did not have an opening theme, at least in its first year. Each episode opened with a montage of surgeons performing an operation, accompanied by the beating of a human heart. Over this was dubbed a woman paging on a hospital PA system: “Medical Center … Medical Center … Paging Dr Gannon … Paging Dr Lochner … Medical Center …” I believe the show did have a closing theme, a very stirring but understated tune in march time, sort of like a subdued version of the old _ **Highway Patrol** _ theme. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-didnt-dont-have-a-theme-song/817471/4 "2018-07-08T00:44:17Z")
_Black Mirror_ and _The Handmaid’s Tale_ don’t have theme songs. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2018, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-didnt-dont-have-a-theme-song/817471/5 "2018-07-08T01:18:37Z")
I don’t think _The Closer_ had one. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-didnt-dont-have-a-theme-song/817471/6 "2018-07-08T01:26:52Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > If I remember right, LOST just had a single “THUMM” sound over the title card. [I wouldn’t call it a THUMM, but here it is. No theme song.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LDh8DefWpI) ---
**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:** [July 8, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-didnt-dont-have-a-theme-song/817471/7 "2018-07-08T01:31:26Z")
_Murphy Brown_ didn’t have a theme song. Each episode would open with a different Motown song. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-didnt-dont-have-a-theme-song/817471/8 "2018-07-08T01:32:46Z")
TV Tropes has a page called [No Theme Tune](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NoThemeTune). ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-didnt-dont-have-a-theme-song/817471/9 "2018-07-08T01:37:28Z")
24 ---
**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:** [July 8, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-didnt-dont-have-a-theme-song/817471/10 "2018-07-08T16:03:19Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **Medical Center** _, which debuted on CBS in 1969, did not have an opening theme, at least in its first year. Each episode opened with a montage of surgeons performing an operation, accompanied by the beating of a human heart. Over this was dubbed a woman paging on a hospital PA system: “Medical Center … Medical Center … Paging Dr Gannon … Paging Dr Lochner … Medical Center …” > > I believe the show did have a closing theme, a very stirring but understated tune in march time, sort of like a subdued version of the old _ **Highway Patrol** _ theme. Similarly with, “Emergency!” (At least, Season 1?) ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-didnt-dont-have-a-theme-song/817471/11 "2018-07-08T17:57:24Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I don’t think _The Closer_ had one. Neither did spin-off _Major Crimes_. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-didnt-dont-have-a-theme-song/817471/12 "2018-07-09T01:33:17Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **Medical Center** _, which debuted on CBS in 1969, did not have an opening theme, at least in its first year. Not originally, but [it got one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8GNXVJhQGA&index=4&list=PLutP2y0nEHMzh8i7ckElGkVqSQzjSZTeZ)pretty quickly. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-didnt-dont-have-a-theme-song/817471/13 "2018-07-09T13:57:04Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > 24 True only for opening credits. There was a closing credits theme. FWIW. ---
**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:** [July 9, 2018, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-didnt-dont-have-a-theme-song/817471/14 "2018-07-09T22:06:29Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Not originally, but [it got one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8GNXVJhQGA&index=4&list=PLutP2y0nEHMzh8i7ckElGkVqSQzjSZTeZ)pretty quickly. Yes, it got revamped in the second season to make it more “hip.” IIRC, the opening and closing themes were now identical.