Nobody mentioned “Happy Days?” The original theme song was “Rock Around the Clock.”
According to Jump the Shark, “Walker, Texas Ranger” kept its original theme song but switched to having CHUCK NORRIS sing it instead of the original singer. I am dying to hear the second version, though I have never been able to sit through that pitiful show.
Leave it to Beaver changed themes about halfway through the run, going to a more jazzy, syncopated version for the later years.
And of course, Gilligan’s Island changed themes, upgrading the Professor and Mary Ann from “and the rest” to actually mentioning them.
TV shows switching themes is really pretty common, especially if the theme was written specifically for that show. They do this to generate more royalty money.
“MAS*H” is another show that had a small change in the theme, it was jazzed up a bit around the time that Gary Burghoff left the cast.
I think I read somewhere (probably in TV Guide, my only source of enlightenment outside of the SDMB), that Tina Louise’s contract specifically required that her character get special placement by being the last one identified in the song. After her contract was established, but before they started filming, the producers decided they wanted two more castaways on the island. So to get them into the song, and to keep Tina somewhat happy, they were referred to “and the rest” in the song. Contracts were renegotiated for the second season, and the song was redone to make everything right with the universe.
(Ya know, someday I’ll participate in one of those Great Debate threads about the ramifications of quantum mechanic space foam fluctuaions and how it conflicts with General Relativity.)
It was the Foo Fighters’ Next Year on the first season on Ed. Then Clem Snide’s Moment in the Sun for the second season. Then back to Foo Fighters for the third season.
Monk has now completely dumped the cute little tune it had for its opening/closing credits in the first season, in favor of a Randy Newman song. For the second-season opener, they played Randy Newman to open and the old tune on closing, which I thought was a nice compromise, but now Randy gets both slots.
Mind you, I am a huge Randy Newman fan, and I like the new song, but couldn’t they have kept the old one for the closing credits? <pout>
I think you have that backwards. They just ran the last episode of the last season last night, and it had the Next Year theme. Moment in the Sun was the first year. And AFAIK, Ed is starting its third season this fall.
(It’s possible they used Next Year for the pilot, didn’t have the rights, got Moment in the Sun for season one, and then went back to Next Year. I’ve been watching since the beginning, but I may have missed the pilot.)
SoundAmerica.com
I think the one you are looking for is walkr96b.wav.
Glad to be of service,
Pash
Not according to Sherwood Schwartz. He composed both versions of the theme and said in TV Land’s “Top 40 TV Themes” special that it simply hadn’t occurred to him the Professor and Mary Ann would turn into prominent characters.
No, Ed starts it’s fourth season this fall.
The theme song question is answered in this FAQ
I don’t know why I know this, but that Brooke Shields sitcom, “Suddenly Susan”, had at least two different themes. The first was an electric guitar version of “Ode to Joy”, and the second was some awful whiny “on my own, no stopping me” kind of thing.
“Alice” changed lyrics and styles, becoming a little more sultry in later seasons.
“The Brady Bunch” didn’t change lyrics but re-recorded the song with the kids singing it.
Miami Vice used Phil Collins’ In The Air Tonight for it’s first 3 or 4 shows, then switched to the Jan Hammer composed theme.
The initial season of “The Flintstones” had an instrumental theme. The “Flintstones, meet the Flinstones” theme didn’t begin until the second or third season.
Thanks, Petey for straightening me out. I would have sworn it had only been on two years. This is what happens when you get old and senile, children.
Dunno if it counts for this thread, but “The Daily Show” changed its opening music shortly after I mentioned to a friend how similar it sounded to the theme song for “Kids in the Hall”.
I’m not sure, but I think it might have only been a coincidence.
Babylon 5 had 5 different themes, one for each of its five seasons.
“That 70’s show” has changed their opening song at least once, as well. It’s the same song recorded differently. (We’re all alright! We’re all alright!")