Best Jeopardy! theme song

[gtbecbp]

What is your favorite version of the Trebek J! theme song?

Ben

[Skynet74]

The current one is my favorite. It has the best instrumentation and some nice guitar work too. Unfortunately we will never get a new revision from Composer Steve Kaplan, so hopefully the show will keep the current version for years to come.


John

[gtbecbp]

I'm really fond the current theme myself.  It's really grown on me since Ken Jennings started his run.  It's a real shamed that the composer passed away.  My other favorite is the 84' original.  Gotta love that opening part.

Ben

[Kevin Prather]

I prefer the current theme and the 97 theme over the 84 theme and 91 theme. I think the collegiate style better suits the show than the spacey style.

That being said, I do fully enjoy the beginning to the 84 theme.

[drmusic_99]

I like the current theme... I just wish they still used the classic think music. The current version is too much of a departure.

[Craig Karlberg]

I like the current theme too, but I prefer the '84 theme better especially the openning sequence.  The '91 theme(featuring bongo drums) was right up there too.

[Frank15]

Does it bug anyone else how they intentionally end the show at the end of the third verse?  I mean, the theme has 4 traditional verses.  Why not end the show at the end of the fourth (and strongest) verse instead?

Anyway, the 1984 version.

[TonicBH]

My favorite was the 1991 version (I'm a sucker for bongos, I guess), but the 1997 and current ones have grown on me considerably.

[whampyl03]

For me, it's the '84 theme, mainly because of the opening sequence in the first :33 seconds, as well as the spacy, ultra synthed up sound of it.  Personally, there's just something about the '97 theme I cannot stand, but I just can't point it out.

The '91 theme was OK too, but in my oppinion, it's just not as good as the original '84 theme.

[Gus]

Honestly, I really have grown fond of the current theme, which I think is kind of in the style of the '97 theme, but with a bit more "oomph," if you know what I mean.

I also think that Jeopardy had done an okay job of updating their theme to match the general feel of the times. 1984, electronic music was "in"; 1991, the bongos were mixed in to give it less of a purely synthesized feel; 1997, the orchestrated theme was brought in, mostly to complement the new set, I think. (Does anyone remember those few weeks [months?] with the sushi-bar set along with the bongo theme? It just didn't fit.)

[Frank15]

[quote name=\'Gus\' date=\'Jul 25 2004, 12:49 PM\'] Does anyone remember those few weeks [months?] with the sushi-bar set along with the bongo theme? It just didn't fit. [/quote]
 If you ask me, the sushi-bar set didn't fit the show well, period.

[Kevin Prather]

I didn't mind the sushi bar set for the most part. The only thing I really disliked were the big Jeopardy! doors. They were unnecessary and, with the dark pink foreground and light pink background, kind of an eyesore, IMO.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Frank15\' date=\'Jul 25 2004, 03:06 AM\'] Does it bug anyone else how they intentionally end the show at the end of the third verse?  I mean, the theme has 4 traditional verses. [/quote]
 No. I don't let things like TV themes bug me.

Why not end the show at the end of the fourth (and strongest) verse instead?

Because then, I am guessing, the track doesn't time out to be an even 1:30, or 2:00, or some other easily-deadrollable time in the event that they wish to hit the end of the song exactly as some episode ends.

[Steve McClellan]

[quote name=\'whampyl03\' date=\'Jul 25 2004, 07:23 AM\']Personally, there's just something about the '97 theme I cannot stand, but I just can't point it out.[/quote][quote name=\'Gus\' date=\'Jul 25 2004, 10:49 AM\']Honestly, I really have grown fond of the current theme, which I think is kind of in the style of the '97 theme, but with a bit more "oomph," if you know what I mean.[/quote]
Yeah, I feel the same way. The '97 theme just seems so forced and sterile. The phrase I usually use is, "they sucked the life blood out of it." Fortunately, they put some of it back in the current version, which I'm surprised to say I actually like. The 30-second piece still sucks, though.

Is the '84-97 FJ! writing cue present somewhere in internet-land? I've begun to forget just how that sounded.

[Robert Hutchinson]

[quote name=\'Frank15\' date=\'Jul 25 2004, 05:06 AM\']Does it bug anyone else how they intentionally end the show at the end of the third verse?  I mean, the theme has 4 traditional verses.  Why not end the show at the end of the fourth (and strongest) verse instead?[/quote]
Um . . . what? I believe that the music starts out with four escalating "verses", yes, but it continues on from there. They end the show now at the end of the complete piece of music.