TV Guide's 60 Greatest TV Themes Of All Time

[BrandonFG]

\"Success\" is very subjective. Regardless of whether it becomes popular in syndication, I still wouldn\'t sneeze at a show that gets a 6 or 7 season run, but fizzles in reruns (Mad About You comes to mind), or consistently won Emmys. The cast and crew got 7 years out of it and they took home awards, so they did something right.

 

Honestly, there\'s so many TV options right now that I can\'t even think of a show that aired for several seasons (say 5+), and hasn\'t aired on at least one cable channel within the last decade. It used to be Nick at Nite aired mostly black-and-white shows, and now they air sitcoms that I remember watching brand new 10-20 years ago.

 

Okay I thought of one...NYPD Blue. Very controversial, but it ran for years and won quite a few Emmys, but I haven\'t seen it in reruns in quite some time. I\'d still consider it a success. For sitcoms, maybe Perfect Strangers?

[clemon79]

For sitcoms, maybe Perfect Strangers?

 

Don\'t be ridiculous.

[PYLdude]

Mad About You I think is a little different case because it did have a decent life in reruns. Although I believe that was in large part to the show being still in first run when they started.


I seem to remember Unhappily Ever After doing so poorly in syndication that the stations carrying it dropped it before the end of the television season and it has not been seen on television since. I know it wasn\'t in syndication long.

[Jimmy Owen]

A lot of what I think might be viable syndicated shows are relegated to overnight in my market. Seinfeld, The Office, Old Christine, 30 Rock, shown twice every overnight on the Fox affiliate.  6p-8p, they show Big Bang and 2 and a Half Men twice.

[ChrisLambert!]

I\'ve always said that successful TV shows are those which are still regularly rerun 10+ years after the last first-run episode on non-niche channels.

 

Seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[BrandonFG]

Chris Le. - Well played. :-)

 

Chris P. - True on Mad About You...IIRC, in my market, it aired at 6:30 pm or so. When the show was canceled in 1999, the reruns moved to a late night time slot, then fell off altogether. Similar thing happened to 3rd Rock From the Sun.

 

I also remember Unhappily Ever After going into syndication, then immediately falling off like you said. Around 1999 or 2000 there were a bunch of mid-90s WB/UPN sitcoms with 100 episodes, and they all got thrown into syndication. The only two I can think of that still get any airplay nowadays are Moesha and The Jamie Foxx Show. IIRC, even as late as 2000, there were still markets without WB or UPN affiliates, so I wonder how many people saw those sitcoms for the first time, wondered what the hell they were watching, and turned to Judge Judy instead?

 

ETA: I\'d like to add Brett Butler\'s Grace Under Fire to the list. I remember it being in syndication for a split-second, but I don\'t think that one has aired anywhere in about 15 years, and that was an ABC show.

[Dbacksfan12]

I don\'t think that being written for a purpose other than being on TV should disqualify a tune from being on a list.

It seems like a cheap way to qualify.  By this standard, any show could take a current pop hit the editors happen to like and qualify.  That diminishes the quality of the list.

[BrandonFG]

I was thinking of the right way to phrase it, but Mark summed it up. When I think \"theme song\", I think of a tune specifically composed for the show, and usually runs about :30-1:30. Not just an edit or rendition of a pop single...unfortunately, it eliminates a few songs (in general, not from TV Guide); The Golden Girls, The Wonder Years, any of the CSI franchises, or Mad Men. For the former two, that used to be the exception rather than the rule.

 

Nowadays, since most theme songs rarely exceed :30, it\'s the norm to play the chorus of someone else\'s hit single. Meh. That doesn\'t mean they aren\'t great songs on their own, but I don\'t consider them as \"theme songs\" in the traditional sense either.

 

(looks at list) Okay, it\'s not as bad as I thought, although Dallas goes in the top 5 for me. IMO, it seems like the writers simply yelled out shows with popular themes, with no idea as to whether or not the song already existed.

[TLEberle]

It seems like a cheap way to qualify.  By this standard, any show could take a current pop hit the editors happen to like and qualify.  That diminishes the quality of the list.

You are certainly free to create and publish your own list. I eagerly await same.

[Matt Ottinger]

I don\'t think that being written for a purpose other than being on TV should disqualify a tune from being on a list.

It seems like a cheap way to qualify.  By this standard, any show could take a current pop hit the editors happen to like and qualify.  That diminishes the quality of the list.

 

Yes, because the first thing on every showrunner\'s mind is, \"How can we completely redo our opening sequence with a pop hit on which we\'ll spend tens of thousands just for the rights, so that we can officially qualify for a meaningless TV Guide list that\'s already been published?\"

[Dbacksfan12]

It seems like a cheap way to qualify.  By this standard, any show could take a current pop hit the editors happen to like and qualify.  That diminishes the quality of the list.

You are certainly free to create and publish your own list. I eagerly await same.

I\'ve got far better things to do with my time. 

[Yes, because the first thing on every showrunner\'s mind is, \"How can we completely redo our opening sequence with a pop hit on which we\'ll spend tens of thousands just for the rights, so that we can officially qualify for a meaningless TV Guide list that\'s already been published?\"

Forgive my poor wording; I simply meant that a shows producers could use a pop song and qualify, not that they would specifically do so to qualify for the list.

[TLEberle]

Forgive my poor wording; I simply meant that a shows producers could use a pop song and qualify, not that they would specifically do so to qualify for the list.

So what? If somebody decides to use a recognizable, hummable song that neatly sums up the idea for a television show, and some hacky writer on a deadline says \"hey, I think that song should be on the list because I like it and it meets the criteria set forth,\" there\'s nothing to be done about it. All that\'s left to do is complain and you\'ve put down dibs on complaining in perpetuity, so I shrug and go about my day.

[clemon79]

Qualify? You realize that the only necessary criteria to \"qualify\" for this list was that it popped out of someone\'s head around a mouthful of a large Meat Lover\'s, right?

I *promise* you that you guys are putting more thought into it than they did, and you\'re giving them all of the clickthroughs they want. So, um, good job, I guess.

[TLEberle]

I have yet to click on any such list; I\'m registering my own opinion at the opinions expressed herein.

[bossjock967]

In my opinion, the theme from \"The Ropers\" is the greatest theme ever written.

 

Discuss.