c4countdown

Most of us are quiz show nuts in one way or another, and recently some idle youtubing made me realise that that 'gameshow themes' is a surprisingly rich seam of musical awesomeness. Particular exciting are the 'extended' versions you can find, such as Going for Gold, which is everything you'd expect if you asked Hans Zimmer to write a game show theme.

So, what are your favourite game show themes from past and present? And are there any from, say, the last 10 years that aren't really boring? (I'm thinking of things like Eggheads and Weakest Link, which are just ugh.) I mean, we used to have shows that could make reading out the names and locations of 15 contestants sound pretty cool, what now?

It's gotta be Big Break. Although this longer version is a bit annoying in that they never actually say Big Break when you're expecting them to.

Mark James wrote:It's gotta be Big Break. Although this longer version is a bit annoying in that they never actually say Big Break when you're expecting them to.

Serious nostalgia right now.

Michael Wallace wrote:Most of us are quiz show nuts in one way or another, and recently some idle youtubing made me realise that that 'gameshow themes' is a surprisingly rich seam of musical awesomeness. Particular exciting are the 'extended' versions you can find, such as Going for Gold, which is everything you'd expect if you asked Hans Zimmer to write a game show theme.

I'm actually one of the sad people who bought the WWTBAM music CD, which has 76 tracks and contains every single music sting used on the show so you can play your own games at home. Also included are two extended versions of the theme - a 3:19 "radio edit" and a 5:23 "club mix". Really. I can't find the club mix on YouTube but the radio edit is here. It's really rather good. The section beginning at 1:57 is my especial favourite.

At the cheesier end of the spectrum, I have a certain nostalgic fondness for this. Dig that walking bassline.

Phil Reynolds wrote:

Michael Wallace wrote:Most of us are quiz show nuts in one way or another, and recently some idle youtubing made me realise that that 'gameshow themes' is a surprisingly rich seam of musical awesomeness. Particular exciting are the 'extended' versions you can find, such as Going for Gold, which is everything you'd expect if you asked Hans Zimmer to write a game show theme.

I'm actually one of the sad people who bought the WWTBAM music CD, which has 76 tracks and contains every single music sting used on the show so you can play your own games at home. Also included are two extended versions of the theme - a 3:19 "radio edit" and a 5:23 "club mix". Really. I can't find the club mix on YouTube but the radio edit is here. It's really rather good. The section beginning at 1:57 is my especial favourite.

At the cheesier end of the spectrum, I have a certain nostalgic fondness for this. Dig that walking bassline.

The Wipeout one is a complete abomination.

The Millionaire one is actually pretty good.

Come on - let's not piss about! Time for the classic.

Gavin Chipper wrote:Come on - let's not piss about! Time for the classic.

Aha, yes! I refound this a few months ago and had totally forgotten about it until now. Awesome stuff.

Also, I'm with Phil on the Wipeout theme. That was in fact the theme that inspired this thread, after I ended up watching some Wipeout thanks to one of Ryan's quizzes.

Wow. Amazing sometimes what unexpected treasures Google leads you to. After posting that WWTBAM remix, I found myself wondering what became of my fellow contestants from 2002. Turns out the dentist that won £64,000 was, at the time, making fraudulent claims to the NHS, subsequently prosecuted and sentenced to four years in prison. Where's the "Schadenfreude" emoticon?

Gavin Chipper wrote:Come on - let's not piss about! Time for the classic.

Yes, serious nostalgia fest! Just watching some old footage of this, Bob Holness is such a classy host. Also, I'd completely forgotten about this

Paul Howe wrote:

Gavin Chipper wrote:Come on - let's not piss about! Time for the classic.

Yes, serious nostalgia fest! Just watching some old footage of this, Bob Holness is such a classy host. Also, I'd completely forgotten about this

I remember when I first found out that that dance wasn't invented by Blockbusters and that it was an established thing. I was devastated.

Gavin Chipper wrote:I remember when I first found out that that dance wasn't invented by Blockbusters and that it was an established thing. I was devastated.

Haha, same.

I love the original Krypton Factor music, by Art of Noise.

Turnabout had quite a good theme:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaV1ZUZj6jk

Jojo Apollo wrote:Turnabout had quite a good theme:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaV1ZUZj6jk

Haha yes! Another one that inspired me to start this topic which I promptly forgot.

Gavin Chipper wrote:

Paul Howe wrote:

Gavin Chipper wrote:Come on - let's not piss about! Time for the classic.

Yes, serious nostalgia fest! Just watching some old footage of this, Bob Holness is such a classy host. Also, I'd completely forgotten about this

I remember when I first found out that that dance wasn't invented by Blockbusters and that it was an established thing. I was devastated.

RIP Bob Holness.

Phil Reynolds wrote:RIP Bob Holness.

Wow, oh yeah.

I'll have an R.I.P. please, Bob.

Jon Corby wrote:

Phil Reynolds wrote:RIP Bob Holness.

Wow, oh yeah.

I'll have an R.I.P. please, Bob.

The Blockbusters production team phoned me today about dates for auditions. I resisted the urge to mention the death, I suspect she's heard it about fifty times today already...