Classic TV themes

[Phil Reynolds]

In another thread (concerning the recent death of John Ryan, who made the TV show Captain Pugwash in his unique "live animation" style), I wrote:

John Ryan was also responsible for Sir Prancelot, which apart from anything else had one of the coolest ever closing theme tunes, played on what I can only describe as a rock zither.

You can see the first episode of Sir Prancelot here - if you just want to hear the theme tune, skip to 3:59.

So anyway, this has reminded me of how awesome the theme tune was.

Doesn't do a lot for me I have to say, but maybe that's because I never saw the show.

All of which raises a couple of interesting questions: (a) What are your favourite classic TV theme tunes? (b) Are the themes that you remember most fondly always associated with your favourite shows? Or were there any naff shows that were somehow redeemed by having great theme tunes?

[Matt Morrison]

If you're talking childhood stuff, can't go far wrong with Pigeon Street. Amazing show and amazing theme tune.

[Michael Wallace]

Did somebody mention (the) raccoons?

(also, fwiw, I was being a little tongue-in-cheek with my comment about the you bet theme)

[Phil Reynolds]

There's clearly a generational thing going on here as I've never heard of either of these shows before. I thought the Raccoon song was quite good (in a cheesy 80s way) when it started... but after about a minute and a half it was getting a bit monotonous I'm afraid. I clicked forward to about four minutes in and there still hadn't been so much as a key change.

The last children's series I actually used to make a point of getting home to see was this one. Embarrassingly, I was in my 30s at the time. Crazy series but a brilliant song. I still can't listen to it and keep still.

[Jeffrey Burgin]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5ohUHIjAxI&feature=fvw

Minder FTW. Couldn't find the closing credits tune but that was a party-banger as well.

[Brian Moore]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5ohUHIjAxI&feature=fvw

Minder FTW. Couldn't find the closing credits tune but that was a party-banger as well.

Party-banger.

The music for the 70's classic, I, Claudius is one that springs to mind, working brilliantly as both opening and closing music, raising you up to and bringing you down from the dramatic murderous intrigue of Rome (or at least Robert Graves' version of it.) The end of the Caligula episode where he eats his baby having cut it from its mother is a masterpiece. At least the series made Rome seem a bit more interesting than my study of Latin did at the time, although Caecilius was quite a coolus dudus.

[JimBentley]

I've always thought that the Are You Being Served theme tune was fantastic. Amazing bassline and a really interesting and original arrangement. Ronnie Hazlehurst FTW!

[Sue Sanders]

There's clearly a generational thing going on here as I've never heard of either of these shows before. I thought the Raccoon song was quite good (in a cheesy 80s way) when it started... but after about a minute and a half it was getting a bit monotonous I'm afraid. I clicked forward to about four minutes in and there still hadn't been so much as a key change.

The last children's series I actually used to make a point of getting home to see was this one. Embarrassingly, I was in my 30s at the time. Crazy series but a brilliant song. I still can't listen to it and keep still.

I gave up with that one after about 9 seconds, I'm afraid. But each to their own. Personally, for proper tv nostalgia for those of us who are 40 somethings, this hits the spot for me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICfzqE7d9xg and thanks Phil, because I have been trying to bring it to mind for years and its only just occured to me to youtube search it. Others that are worthy of mention are 'Screen Test', both the 'Ask the Family' ones from the RR days, 'Tales of the Riverbank', all the songs from 'The Herbs', and slightly later 'Sally and Jake'

[Phil Reynolds]

The music for the 70's classic, I, Claudius is one that springs to mind

Ah, absolutely. Rewatched the entire series on DVD about a year ago and it's still one of the finest TV dramas ever made.

At least the series made Rome seem a bit more interesting than my study of Latin did at the time, although Caecilius was quite a coolus dudus.

Haha, yeah I remember being gutted when Pompeii erupted and most of the household were killed. Didn't Quintus the son escape? Unfortunately I dropped Latin at that point so I never found out what happened to him.

[Sue Sanders]

Ooh and this one of course - the fabulous Rhubarb and Custard http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw4wnys1IMk

[Ben Wilson]

Did somebody mention (the) raccoons?

This, this and more this.

Also this, this and this.

[Colin Wood]

My favourite TV theme has to be the one from the BBC arts programme "Arena". The combination of the tune and the iconography of the intro are quite hypnotic. Even though I like the tune, I have never, until now, taken the trouble to find out what it was.

Arena BBC Intro

Brian Eno - Another Green World

[Matt Morrison]

Also this, this and this.

Link descriptions: a good thing.

[Phil Reynolds]

Unlike I, Claudius, some TV shows that seemed heart-stoppingly exciting in the 1970s now look positively banal - the DVD releases of The Tomorrow People are best watched now for the hilarious audio commentaries. But Dudley Simpson's hypnotic theme music still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It would normally fade out before the end - I can still remember waiting every week with bated breath as the end credits rolled, hoping that it would be one of those rare episodes where the music would be heard in its entirety, right through that long, mournful sustained note to the final rumble of the kettle drums. Brilliant.

[Jeffrey Burgin]

Ah cheers for that Brian, got to love a bit of gruff old Dennis 'Write The Feem Choon' Waterman. Kudos to Jim as well, forgot about that, although I love the little changes in tune after the "going up!" bit.

Got to give a shout-out to the Only Fools and Horses opening and closing sequences as well, to be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiYYVeBdqaM and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lac8xyi- ... re=related. Still remember the words despite having not watched it for a couple of years. And if you ever wondered what Eminem vs Only Fools and Horses would sound like, here's the answer. It's surprisingly good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLaX-Rbt ... re=related

Gladiators also brings back memories of sitting round the box on a Saturday night as a young 'un, before running the gauntlet in our hallway with a couple of beanbags whilst shouting "Do you have the will?! And the skill?!". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBjXjzML ... re=related

[Phil Reynolds]

At least [I, Claudius] made Rome seem a bit more interesting than my study of Latin did at the time, although Caecilius was quite a coolus dudus.

Haha, yeah I remember being gutted when Pompeii erupted and most of the household were killed. Didn't Quintus the son escape? Unfortunately I dropped Latin at that point so I never found out what happened to him.

Just remembered that Caecilius, his wife Metella and son Quintus were all featured in the Fires of Pompeii episode from the last series of Doctor Who. Presumably James Moran (who wrote it) also did the Cambridge Latin Course at school.

[stanthewiseman]

Good day!
I have one classical theme tune The Theme from "Softly Softly" goes back to the 60's

[Adam Dexter]

This was one of my faves

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu0o6u1V ... re=related

WE'RE OFF TO BUTTON MOON!

[Lesley Hines]

This was one of my faves

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu0o6u1V ... re=related

WE'RE OFF TO BUTTON MOON!

Wicked - that was written and played by Peter Davison (the very same timelord), you know

[Adam Dexter]

Lesley... YOU LIVE IN WORCESTER? Wow.. I thought I was on my own out here. We'll have to organise CoVern woooo.

[Lesley Hines]

Lesley... YOU LIVE IN WORCESTER? Wow.. I thought I was on my own out here. We'll have to organise CoVern woooo.

Lol - bring the hat - it'll help no end (NB - everyone's on their own in Malvern - it's the altitude )

[Allan Harmer]

My all-time favourite theme tune was 'This Week' which used the Intermezzo from Karelia Suite by Sibelius:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... type=&aq=f

I have always enjoyed it since the 60's, although I think that the new version of the programme with Andrew Neale has a different tune now.

The Nice also did a version of it on The Five Bridges Suite, as Keith Emmerson made a lot of classical music covers their albums.

[Derek Hazell]

I had been holding off responding to this, because my answer (coincidently?) seems to be the same as my one in the "Children's Programmes" thread. But I still haven't been able to remember any of my other favourites, so The Littlest Hobo and Dogtanian. I also like the Casualty and Brookside theme tunes.

[Phil Reynolds]

I also like the Casualty and Brookside theme tunes.

The Casualty theme was written by synth maestro Ken Freeman, who was also responsible for all the music for the ground-breaking 1980s TV adaptation of John Christopher's cult sci-fi trilogy The Tripods. You can hear faint echoes of the Casualty music in the haunting Tripods main theme.

[Derek Hazell]

I also like the Casualty and Brookside theme tunes.

The Casualty theme was written by synth maestro Ken Freeman, who was also responsible for all the music for the ground-breaking 1980s TV adaptation of John Christopher's cult sci-fi trilogy The Tripods. You can hear faint echoes of the Casualty music in the haunting Tripods main theme.

Thanks Phil, that is a great piece of music. Definite pre-echoes of Casualty in there. Even more so in fact than the echoes of the original The Bill theme tune in its new theme (Not anymore, Jason).

[Phil Reynolds]

Thanks Phil, that is a great piece of music.

I'm glad you agree. Scoring The Tripods was a real labour of love for Ken Freeman - he put enormous effort into creating what at the time was a hugely rich and varied score for, essentially, a kids' programme. Have a listen to another track off the CD; it's essentially a slowed-down version of the main theme, which creates a totally different mood - really epic and grandiose. Makes me want to go and dig out the DVDs right now and watch the whole thing all over again.

[Jojo Apollo]

Loads of old TV tunes here:

http://www.televisiontunes.com/

I particularly like the old Rugby Special theme: http://www.televisiontunes.com/Rugby_Special.html and the old BBC Athletics theme tune: http://www.televisiontunes.com/BBC_Athletics.html

[Derek Hazell]

Thanks Phil, that is a great piece of music.

I'm glad you agree. Scoring The Tripods was a real labour of love for Ken Freeman - he put enormous effort into creating what at the time was a hugely rich and varied score for, essentially, a kids' programme. Have a listen to another track off the CD; it's essentially a slowed-down version of the main theme, which creates a totally different mood - really epic and grandiose. Makes me want to go and dig out the DVDs right now and watch the whole thing all over again.

Also good, thanks! I'd never heard of that series before, but if it's as good as the music then maybe I should dig it out too.

Actually though, I feel the music is probably often the main defining factor in whether you like a series or film or not. I don't think we realize this when we are watching something, but looking back would the "Dollars trilogy" of films for example, be regarded as classics if it wasn't for Ennio Morricone's amazing soundtracks?

[Stuart Arnot]

The last children's series I actually used to make a point of getting home to see was this one. Embarrassingly, I was in my 30s at the time. Crazy series but a brilliant song. I still can't listen to it and keep still.

My sister was so frightened by that show that I could give her nightmares just by singing the theme tune before she went to bed. Good times. However, in the realm of antipodean kids' show theme tunes from the early nineties, there's only one winner

[Phil Reynolds]

You'll have gathered by now that I have a fondness for music from classic TV sci-fi. The daddy of them all is of course Ron Grainer's theme for Doctor Who, which has undergone several mutations over the years but for which Delia Derbyshire's original radiophonic realisation remains definitive. Predating samplers and synths, the recording took weeks to make, using natural sounds and electronic oscillators recorded at different frequencies onto lengths of tape to make the differently pitched notes and then physically cut up and stuck back together to produce the tune. Her version was subtly revamped a few time during the 60s and 70s, with some swirling arpeggio and reverb effects added to the original; my favourite version though is this one used from the beginning of Season 8, marking the first appearance of Jon Pertwee as the Doctor and the first episodes to be made in colour - the distinctive 'stutter' start was dropped after the beginning of Season 10. Enjoy.

[Derek Hazell]

Today's IMDb poll is about TV theme (yes, they have a DAILY poll on there!):

What is your favourite TV theme song for a drama, written specifically for the show in question?
"Moonlighting"
"Miami Vice"
"21 Jump Street"
"The X Files"
"Midsomer Murders"
"Six Feet Under"
"Beverly Hills, 90210"
"Peter Gunn"
"Hill St. Blues"
"Hawaii Five-O"
"Knight Rider"
"Airwolf"
"The A Team"
"MacGyver"
"Mission Impossible"
"Dexter"
"Dynasty"
"Dallas"
"Star Trek"
"Star Trek: The Next Generation"
"Star Trek: Voyager"
"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"
"Enterprise"
"Lost in Space" (Seasons one and two)
"Lost in Space" (Season three)
"Bonanza"
"Rawhide"
"The Big Valley"
"Melrose Place"
"Law & Order"
You left my favorite TV theme off of this list! Harumph.

Also, I heard the start of a Graham Norton show on Radio 2 - he is standing in for Steve Wright from 2-5pm - and apparently he is giving people the chance to hear complete versions of rare or forgotten TV themes all this week.

[Phil Reynolds]

Today's IMDb poll is about TV theme (yes, they have a DAILY poll on there!):

What is your favourite TV theme song for a drama, written specifically for the show in question?
[snip]
You left my favorite TV theme off of this list! Harumph.

Where's the option that says: "Most of those aren't songs, you idiots. Harumph."

[Marc Meakin]

Quick quiz
I vaguely remember that 2 British tv programs once had the same theme tune
Can anybody remember which ones

[Phil Reynolds]

Quick quiz
I vaguely remember that 2 British tv programs once had the same theme tune
Can anybody remember which ones

Give Us A Clue and Grange Hill.

[Marc Meakin]

Quick quiz
I vaguely remember that 2 British tv programs once had the same theme tune
Can anybody remember which ones

Give Us A Clue and Grange Hill.

I presume Grange Hill had it first cause Give us a clue changed it by season 2

[Phil Reynolds]

I presume Grange Hill had it first

That is so according to Wikipedia. And guess what? It was composed by Alan Hawkshaw, which makes it an on-topic reference in the off-topic forum.