Oh, yeah. Peter Gunn is aces. Mission Impossible and Hawaii 5-0, too.
Twin Peaks
It has to be a list…
Hawaii Five-O. All you have to do is hum the first six notes in a crowded room and EVERYONE joins in.
Mission Impossible - same deal.
Peter Gunn, Bonanza, The Tick (Dup DWEEE dup dup dup DWEE DOW!), and…
Brace yourselves, cuz I’m not kidding…
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. Majestic strings over nonstop brass fanfares. Exciting and stately at the same time. And Starbuck could kick Faceman’s ass any day of the week, so don’t go talking about the A-Team having a great theme song.
And even though they changed it every season, Babylon 5 had a couple of pretty good theme songs.
Also…
Does anyone remember “Roar”? It was a Herc/Xena ripoff that was set in third-century Ireland. It lasted about six weeks a few years ago. Total crap, but the music was INCREDIBLE - all traditional Celtic insturments like Uillean Pipes and Bodhrans, all very moving. Too bad the show sucked. It didn’t even last long enough for them to release a damn soundtrack album. It would’ve been a must-have if they had.
It’s a tie between The Powerpuff Girls and Twilight Zone.
Murphy Brown
It’s gotta be Knight Rider
From the “ran out of good things to sing around the campfire” perspective, Gilligan’s Island is usually number one, then the Flintstones. Brady Bunch sucks, but at least everyone knows the words. Used to have palpitations whenever I heard the music from “Magnum PI.” For obvious reasons. Loved the car.
Kilt-wearin’ man wrote:
Especially their main title theme during the 3rd season, which was a somewhat-more-martial variation of “Requiem for the Battle of the Line” (which was first heard during the first season, I believe – or at least it was on that first limited-edition not-available-in-stores B5 CD).
Oh, and if you want to hear really syrupy strings that are just soggy with overblown romance, nothing beats the theme music to the Beauty and the Beast TV series (the one starring what’s-her-face from the Terminator movies as Katherine.)
** Miami Vice **
Mine would have to be “Dukes of Hazzard” hehe …
Batman: the Animated Series had a GREAT theme song - Danny Elfman expanded on his music for the Batman movies and created exciting, memorable music that really set the mood for an animated drama.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Very catchy TV Themes:
“The Waltons”, “Andy Griffith Show” “Simon & Simon” “Star Trek TNG” and “Star Trek - Voyager”.
The original ‘Mad About You’ theme, before they shortened it.
Opening theme to ‘Taxi’
Ha, Face gets beat up every other episode, so what would that prove, hell, he was the only member seriously injured!
Just set the A-Team loose on Galactica, Hannibal would turn that robo-dog thing into a cannon, and Murdock would just cause some chaos, and B.A, would kick all the pilots and the Old dude (don't remember his name) ass, then turn the Galactica into a ship that could actually destroy those stupid Cyclons. Face would charm all the women, and every one would live happily ever after!Greatest? That sounds so definitive, so final. I don’t want the pressure of that, so I’ll just toss out for consideration the theme from Dallas without necessarily declaring it the “greatest”.
We played this in high school band and it was so fun. I can’t listen to the song without hearing the French horn and trombone parts now.
Well, I may be a freak, but I’ve always thought the theme from “CHiP’s” was pretty cool.
The Quincy Jones penned theme to “The Bill Cosby Show”, circa 1971 (not to be confused with the “Cosby” show of the 1980s). Bill “sings” the theme himself and it is unforgettable. If only I could get my hands on a copy.
“WHOO LORD! GONNA GIT SOME RIGGITS…AND SOME ROLLS…AND SOME REEZINMIZIN, HA HA HA HA!!!”