[quote name=\'Neumms\' date=\'Dec 4 2003, 12:42 AM\'][quote name=\'Card Shark\' date=\'Dec 3 2003, 07:04 PM\'] I'd have to say one that was semi cool was the J! '84 intro of the contestants with the really tense music. I guess they kept this as in practice until they switched the theme in 1997. [/quote]
I say very cool. There was nice drama to what can be a dull part of a show. It was even great on the Nintendo version. I was also a big fan of how the audience murmured then suddenly hushed up when Johnny said "This. . . is. . . Jeopardy!"
The current opening, besides the multi-color televangelism-looking backrounds for the player shots, seems dorky by comparison. Despite them trying to pull the demographics younger, the music (on this and WoF) seems to get less modern and more old fogey-ish every time they redo it. Not that they shouldn't freshen it--they just need to do it better.[/quote]
In the case of "J!", I'm on two minds about this. I've always preferred real live instruments over synthesizers, partially because I'm of that age that grew up before the Yamaha DX7 was invented. And I always felt that "J!", of all shows, deserved an orchestral rendering of the theme music instead of a synth over a rhythm track (with a sax joining it on the last modulation). On the other hand, there was something about that version of the theme that still resonates with me in a way that the current version doesn't--I can't really put my finger on it, though.
On the other hand, "Wheel"'s been up and down over the years (and you have to remember that the theme went from "Big Wheels" to "Changing Keys" because Merv didn't want to pay anyone else music royalties other than himself and Mort Lindsey). The current theme seems to have both a classic (with the real brass) and contemporary feel (with the rhythm track) that wears well with me--much more than the late 90s big band version of "Changing Keys."
And of course the late 80s-early 90s "smooth jazz sax" version of "Changing Keys" was the best version of "Wheel"'s theme.
