# TV theme song tourney **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 9, 2007, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381 "2007-12-09T15:05:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/61 "2007-12-10T20:33:53Z")
Some contenders I didn’t see nominated: the Avengers the New, Original Wonder Woman (w/ lyrics) Barney Miller Night Court I Love Lucy ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/62 "2007-12-10T20:46:10Z")
Bah. All very Ameri-centric. _Airwolf_ _Eastenders_ (crap show, great title track…) _Cheers_ _The NFL on Fox_ _The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air_ (Winner!) ---
**Author:** ![muzzynyc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@muzzynyc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muzzynyc)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2007, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/63 "2007-12-10T21:03:11Z")
Taxi Barney Miller Northern Exposure WKRP Hill Street Blues ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/64 "2007-12-10T21:17:15Z")
What, no love for _Welcome Back, Kotter_? Am I the only one? It was a #1 hit and everything. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2007, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/65 "2007-12-10T22:37:51Z")
Lalo rules… Along with Barry. Ahem. Without prefering one over the other Hawaii Five-0 Mission: Impossible The Persuaders\* M_A_S_H_ Dr Who - I haven’t read the whole thread, but - unfortunately - I don’t expect this to get many nominations, even though it’s on par with the James Bond Theme. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2007, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/66 "2007-12-10T23:04:51Z")
[QUOTE=Bayard] What, no love for _Welcome Back, Kotter_? Am I the only one? It was a #1 hit and everything. [/QUOTE] Certainly not from John Sebastian, the author & singer of the theme! He has gone on record stating that he rues the day he wrote it, as it has become his unwanted trademark hit and has felt pressured to rehash it whenever/where-ever he performed. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/67 "2007-12-11T00:30:56Z")
Rockford Files Monday Night Football Dallas Miami Vice Battlestar Galactica (1980s) **Honorable Mention** CHiPs L.A. Law WKRP MASH Match Game Scrabble Buck Rogers TJ Hooker BJ & The Bear Get Smart Battle of the Planets (G-Force) Cheers Emergency! Bosom Buddies All in the Family One Day at a Time Jeffersons Hawaii Five-O Super Chicken Batman (1960s) Spider-man (1960s) Monkees Munsters $100,000 Pyramid Gong Show Benny Hill Show … and probably more ---
**Author:** ![This\_ll\_Do](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/this_ll_do/32/3023_2.png) [@This\_ll\_Do](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/This_ll_Do)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/68 "2007-12-11T00:54:39Z")
The Pink Panther Hawaii Five-0 Star Trek - Original Series High Chaparral Matlock ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/69 "2007-12-11T01:03:10Z")
**Batman** **Twin Peaks** **The Addams Family** **Hill Street Blues** **F Troop** ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/70 "2007-12-11T02:41:27Z")
[QUOTE=The New and Improved Superman] Certainly not from John Sebastian, the author & singer of the theme! He has gone on record stating that he rues the day he wrote it, as it has become his unwanted trademark hit and has felt pressured to rehash it whenever/where-ever he performed. [/QUOTE] That’s interesting, and too bad. He was also the founder of The Lovin’ Spoonful, though. I would have thought he’d be sick of “Summer in the City” by now moreso than “Welcome Back”. I love both tunes, but I associate him more with the 'Spoonful than with the Kotter theme. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/71 "2007-12-11T10:17:05Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Bah. All very Ameri-centric. [/QUOTE] I want to replace my votes for Hawaii Five-O and Peter Gunn (which I’ve not even seen) with: [UFO](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GONeqPxh4d4&search=ufo%20opening%20cre) a parallel universe version 🙂 [UFO](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8RfzkhqBLY&feature=related) our universe version. and. . . Stingray (just beats Thunderbirds because it has bongos). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/72 "2007-12-11T19:22:14Z")
[QUOTE=Small Clanger] I want to replace my votes for Hawaii Five-O and Peter Gunn (which I’ve not even seen) with: [UFO](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GONeqPxh4d4&search=ufo%20opening%20cre) a parallel universe version 🙂 [UFO](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8RfzkhqBLY&feature=related) our universe version. and. . . Stingray (just beats Thunderbirds because it has bongos). [/QUOTE] Are we talking about the opening “Stingrayyyyyy, Stingray! dun da dah dah dah dah” one or the closing credits “Marina, aqua Marina, why won’t you whisper the words that my heart is longing to hear?” one…? ---
**Author:** ![RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RancidYakButterTeaParty)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/73 "2007-12-11T19:43:45Z")
Greatest American Hero Rescue Me The Jeffersons!!! All in the Family Fat Albert ---
**Author:** ![NailBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/74 "2007-12-11T19:59:22Z")
The Muppet Show (it’s the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational song around!) Doctor Who (even people who don’t watch it can hum it) Pinky & the Brain The Addams Family Fresh Prince of Bel Air (I’ve been known to sit in front of the TV and sing along with every single word) ---
**Author:** ![Einmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Einmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Einmon)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/75 "2007-12-11T22:38:47Z")
I’ve purposely not read the thread so as not to influence my vote. 1. Moonlighting 2. Greatest American Hero 3. Twin Peaks 4. Doctor Who 5. Perfect Strangers (guilty pleasure, don’t judge me) Wow, talk about being stuck in the past. Somehow I couldn’t really remember any intros of series I watch these days. Well, maybe apart from “House”, and I think that shouldn’t count since it’s a Massive Attack song that I knew beforehand. [sort of hijack] When I was looking for the Doctor Who intro to think about whether it could be classified as a “theme song”, I found [Doctor Snuggles](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8g5MHlUHb0), which is one heck of a weird theme song in German (link is NSFpeople who are afraid of ultrasonic voices). And then I found different theme songs for that cartoon that were used in other countries, which is kind of strange. I never stopped to think that cartoons seem to have had different theme songs depending on the country they were broadcast in! I started looking for other examples. Do you know “Captain Future”? Here’s the [German intro to Captain Future](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq-QBPATey0). Eeexcellent. (This was even in the charts over here some time ago, everybody liked it so much…NO! Please do not invoke the spirit of David Hasselhoff at this point!) The [Spanish/Arabian one](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leQC1lC9z3c) is also quite nice. Also the [Japanese one](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPncFh_sR0Y). But I’m afraid to say the US version, oh dear…[complete suckitude](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_57XARGmFQ). [/soh] ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/76 "2007-12-11T23:05:40Z")
The Bill Cosby Show (1969-71) The Simpsons The Avengers Sanford and Son Hawaii Five-0 I’d love to nominate the ‘60s kids’ show [Shrimpenstein](http://www.shrimpenstein.com/), but no one outside of southern California would ever have heard of it… ---
**Author:** ![hawksgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed655f/32.png) [@hawksgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawksgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/77 "2007-12-11T23:09:11Z")
M_A_S\*H Pinky and the Brain Psych Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Monk ---
**Author:** ![Shawn1767](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shawn1767](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shawn1767)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/78 "2007-12-11T23:46:29Z")
My only nomination is: Jonny Quest ---
**Author:** ![Ferd\_Burfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@Ferd\_Burfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferd_Burfel)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/79 "2007-12-12T03:01:53Z")
**Mickey Mouse Club** (M-I-C, see you real soon…K-E-Y, why? Because we like you!) **Patty Duke Show** (But Patty loves to Rock-n-Roll, a hot dog makes her lose control) **Ironsides** **Dragnet** (Dum-de-dum-dum) and, if we’re including closing themes… **Roy Rogers** (Happy Trails to you, until we meet again…) ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381/80 "2007-12-12T03:07:03Z")
This is great! My five are: Cops Addams Family The Twilight Zone Laverne & Shirley Andy Griffith Show ETA: Changed Star Trek to Cops [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-song-tourney/429381.md?page=5)