Missing “Chico & The Man”

November 24, 2022 8:31 PM

The 100 Greatest TV Theme Songs of All Time according to Rolling Stone
posted by The Gooch (128 comments total)

Unsurprisingly, it's just not a very good list.
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 8:49 PM on November 24, 2022 [6 favorites]

If you like the Miami Vice theme song, you can purchase Miami Vice: The Complete Collection from the website of the composer and performer, Jan Hammer. I stumbled across it a few years ago and really enjoy it. (I was spending a lot of time looking for retro 80s music on Bandcamp when I decided to spend a few minutes looking for some of the original stuff.)
posted by ElKevbo at 8:54 PM on November 24, 2022 [2 favorites]

Okay, I'm not getting down in the weeds about what should be ranked where on any list, but this quote captures the zeitgeist of The Match Game perfectly: Gene Rayburn hosted this bizarre day-drinking bitchfest, with a panel full of flamboyant personalities trading risqué quips: Charles Nelson Reilly, Brett Somers, Richard Dawson, Fannie Flagg, and others.
posted by mollweide at 8:57 PM on November 24, 2022 [11 favorites]

That said, is Barney Miller really not on the list at all?
posted by mollweide at 8:59 PM on November 24, 2022 [36 favorites]

Metafilter: It uses “ooky” so that no one else would have to
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:01 PM on November 24, 2022 [2 favorites]

is Barney Miller really not on the list at all?

If it is, I missed it. Which clearly renders the list invalid - as if it wasn't already, but then this is what we've come to expect for RS lists.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:11 PM on November 24, 2022 [15 favorites]

I mean, that bass line...plus, the opening chord has a #9; how could it not be cool??
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:18 PM on November 24, 2022 [18 favorites]

I was just about to say that bass line alone should warrant the inclusion of the Barney Miller theme song, but we should probably leave the rest of this thread to people who have other opinions.
posted by mollweide at 9:22 PM on November 24, 2022 [7 favorites]

Night Court is another one tragically missing.
posted by jimw at 9:31 PM on November 24, 2022 [35 favorites]

The only thing lists like this are good for is starting fights. Also, the Barney Miller theme is fire.

eta: it doesn't have the "Mannix" theme on it either? wtaf?! See? This is what I'm saying about listicles only existing to start fights.
posted by ivanthenotsoterrible at 9:32 PM on November 24, 2022 [9 favorites]

Mike Condello's Wallace and Ladmo theme,"Ho Ho, Ha Ha, Hee Hee, Ha Ha" should get an honorable mention.
posted by Catblack at 9:33 PM on November 24, 2022 [2 favorites]

Believe it or not, George isn't at home
Please leave a message at the beep
I must be out, or I'd pick up the phone
Where could I be? Believe it or not, I'm not home

Also missing: Too Many Cooks
posted by adept256 at 9:52 PM on November 24, 2022 [7 favorites]

Ground floor: perfumery
Stationery and leather goods
Wigs and haberdashery
Kitchenware and food
Going up
posted by clavdivs at 9:52 PM on November 24, 2022 [23 favorites]

Too Many Cooks is #10.
posted by Paragon at 10:02 PM on November 24, 2022 [5 favorites]

Yeah, greatest american hero is 29.

They split the list for an extra click and it breaks ctrl-f.
posted by adept256 at 10:06 PM on November 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

Apparently 99 of the 100 best TV theme songs are from American shows. What are the odds?

No disrespect intended toward "Too Many Cooks", but given that it's not even the theme of a real show, it's baffling that it made the list when "Tank!" and the Doctor Who theme didn't.
posted by teraflop at 10:12 PM on November 24, 2022 [12 favorites]

Metafilter: this bizarre day-drinking bitchfest
posted by ZaphodB at 10:46 PM on November 24, 2022 [12 favorites]

Ctrl-F "Rockford"
0/0 Found

Burn it to the ground.
posted by fiercekitten at 10:50 PM on November 24, 2022 [12 favorites]

Serves 'em right for breaking the list for clicks.
posted by fiercekitten at 10:54 PM on November 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

MetaFilter: Unsurprisingly, it's just not a very good list.
posted by New Frontier at 10:57 PM on November 24, 2022 [5 favorites]

Perhaps I scanned too quickly and missed one, but a list of TV themes that doesn’t include even one Mike Post theme is not even worth picking apart. Shenanigans!
posted by Jon Mitchell at 11:00 PM on November 24, 2022 [3 favorites]

Rockford Files (and Mike Post) are in the top 20.
posted by davidmsc at 11:02 PM on November 24, 2022 [3 favorites]

No Peter Gunn theme

If there ever was a theme song fitted to be able to leap up any number of generational rapids, I’d have thought that would be it.
posted by jamjam at 11:03 PM on November 24, 2022 [12 favorites]

Oh, he does get a nod with American Hero. But catchy as it is, Law and Order / The A-Team / Quantum Leap are all better Post themes.

Ron Grainger, also, should really get a look in.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 11:06 PM on November 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

I'll point out that there is a second page showing entries #50-1, and that many of the shows/songs people have been naming here are actually in that top 50. Most of them, in fact.
posted by ZaphodB at 11:17 PM on November 24, 2022 [15 favorites]

Theme songs that Rolling Stone thinks is worse than the Lost theme song:

M*A*S*H
Seinfeld
The Drew Carey Show
Taxi (TAXI GODDAMMIT)
The Wonder Years
WKRP in Cincinnati
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego (YOU MONSTERS)
The Flintstones
I Dream of Jeannie

and probably a bunch of your favourites too that I didn't call out here.

It's barely even a theme song. It's 15 seconds of atonal ambience. Rolling Stone even acknowledges this. What the hell.
posted by chrominance at 11:22 PM on November 24, 2022 [15 favorites]

I just found the second page, and as far as i can tell there's still no Community, so consider me absolutely out.
posted by ominous_paws at 11:29 PM on November 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

The proper Canadian national anthem.
posted by salishsea at 12:08 AM on November 25, 2022 [7 favorites]

Wot no Doctor Who? Hill Street Blues? Monkey? Oh well.

Of course, TVTropes has a page on awesome music in live action TV.
posted by plep at 12:48 AM on November 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

Hill Street Blues is #27 on the list.
posted by creepygirl at 12:53 AM on November 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

No Angie? “Let the time flow. Let the love grow….”
posted by brachiopod at 1:06 AM on November 25, 2022 [4 favorites]

Yeah, the omission of the Doctor Who theme makes this list utterly, utterly irrelevant.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 1:18 AM on November 25, 2022 [7 favorites]

For anyone who just wants to search for their fave theme song and not otherwise engage with the listsicle, here are the rankings without the video links and explanatory text:

100 WandaVision
99 Terriers
98 Three's Company
97 Rescue Me
96 CHiPs
95 The Partridge Family
94 New Girl
93 I Dream of Jeannie
92 All That
91 Have Gun, Will Travel
90 The Walking Dead
89 The Olympics
88 Stranger Things
87 The Big Bang Theory
86 The Flintstones
85 Dallas
84 The Leftovers, Season Two
83 Pachinko
82 Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?
81 The Dick Van Dyke Show
80 Green Acres
79 Mad Men
78 WKRP in Cincinnati
77 Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
76 Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
75 Buffy the Vampire Slayer
74 Moonlighting
73 Boondocks
72 Malcolm in the Middle
71 Parks and Recreation
70 Phineas & Ferb
69 Full House
68 S.W.A.T.
67 Dawson's Creek
66 Happy Days
65 Peacemaker
64 The Wonder Years
63 Taxi
62 Friday Night Lights
61 The Drew Carey Show
60 The Odd Couple
59 The Andy Griffith Show
58 Frasier
57 Welcome Back, Kotter
56 Seinfeld
55 M*A*S*H
54 Lost
53 Diff’rent Strokes
52 In Living Color
51 Match Game
50 Sesame Street
49 How to Make it in America
48 The Love Boat
47 Orange Is the New Black
46 Bonanza
45 Gilmore Girls
44 Living Single
43 Law & Order
42 SpongeBob SquarePants
41 Sex and the City
40 The Monkees
39 The X-Files
38 The Golden Girls
37 Dragnet
36 Laverne & Shirley
35 Twin Peaks
34 The Dukes of Hazzard
33 The Addams Family
32 Miami Vice
31 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
30 One Day at a Time
29 The Greatest American Hero
28 Good Times
27 Hill Street Blues
26 Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
25 Succession
24 Star Trek
23 It’s Garry Shandling’s Show
22 Peter Gunn
21 Curb Your Enthusiasm
20 All in the Family
19 The Sopranos
18 The Simpsons
17 The Muppet Show
16 The Rockford Files
15 Mission: Impossible
14 The Wire
13 Cheers
12 Hawaii Five-O
11 Game of Thrones
10 Too Many Cooks
9 The O.C.
8 Friends
7 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
6 The Twilight Zone
5 Mister Rogers‘ Neighborhood
4 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
3 Sanford and Son
2 TIE: The Brady Bunch and Gilligan’s Island
1 The Jeffersons
posted by creepygirl at 1:20 AM on November 25, 2022 [21 favorites]

1982: Peter Howell gives the DOCTOR WHO THEME an 80s REMIX | Making of | BBC Archive

Analog goodness! I always thought that glissando part was a theremin though.
posted by adept256 at 1:27 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

For anyone who just wants to search for their fave theme song argue & complain and not otherwise engage with the listsicle
posted by chavenet at 1:47 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

Many of the ones on your list are available for listening here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6sbdyS2xBch259p4bIkvuA?si=1cc1f4c0432f4bf0
posted by reality_is_benign at 2:01 AM on November 25, 2022

Only American shows of course, so not really of ‘all time’.

But no Get Smart?
posted by jjderooy at 2:22 AM on November 25, 2022 [15 favorites]

Only American shows of course, so not really of ‘all time’.

Yeah put on Bluey and see the reaction to the theme song... kids and adults alike!
posted by Lesium at 2:31 AM on November 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

The proper Canadian national anthem.

Years ago someone suggested that Japan should just admit that the theme to Uchuu Senkan Yamato is their real national anthem.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 3:28 AM on November 25, 2022

Ah, Americans ;)

In alphabetical order:

Ace of Wands
Bluey
Dr Who
The Money Programme
The Moomins
RahXephon
Stingray
Starsky and Hutch
The Sweeney
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
posted by fallingbadgers at 3:56 AM on November 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

No Aqua Teen Hunger Force?
posted by slkinsey at 4:16 AM on November 25, 2022 [5 favorites]

Spider-Man
Batman

And I can’t believe that The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo are the only Hannah-Barbera they have. They were KILLING it in the 1960s.

Jonny Quest
The Jetsons
Top Cat
Magilla Gorilla
posted by 1970s Antihero at 4:35 AM on November 25, 2022 [9 favorites]

The Jeffersons really did have one of the all-time greatest opening songs. Many of the tunes on the list I have never heard, however. But it's just a listicle.
posted by SoberHighland at 4:36 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

The Jeffersons at #1 and Sanford & Son in top 5? I’ll take it!

My favorites would be Miami Vice, Sopranos and GOT.
posted by sundrop at 4:51 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

I'd have had the Love Boat higher. US list of course, so no Professionals.

Also, the Banana Splits.
posted by biffa at 5:05 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

Simpsons theme song at #18?

BURN IT ALL DOWN

ALL OF IT
posted by jscalzi at 5:25 AM on November 25, 2022 [5 favorites]

Perry Mason should be in the top 10.
posted by rfs at 5:30 AM on November 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

The only thing lists like this are good for is starting fights.

They're also good for dismissing without actually engaging with the content.

I would like it if everyone who had something negative to say about a FPP they didn't like took that energy and made a FPP of their own. It's a big internet, show it to us.

(Also, no 'Have Gun Will Travel'? It marries the grandeur of Western themes with the one-minute-explainer lyrics you want to see in a tv theme. This is history's greatest injustice.)
posted by box at 5:32 AM on November 25, 2022 [5 favorites]

Legitimately surprised the Jeopardy! theme isn't listed, yet Match Game is.
posted by Hot Like Your 12V Wire at 5:33 AM on November 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

Gary Shandling Show! Yay!

I fucking HATE the Parks and Rec theme.
posted by tiny frying pan at 5:54 AM on November 25, 2022

Honestly I'd be happy to let this list pass into obscurity as yet another example of Americans only valuing American things, but UK-produced American-run The Muppet Show (which does slap) at #17, three four-ish (?) animated shows, and the paragraph explaining the writers' process (" First, we assembled a massive list of great songs from throughout the entire long history of TV. We then pared that down by looking for diversity in terms of style of music, style of show, and era.") push it over the edge from "here is an article about American pop culture" to "we climbed to the summit of Mount Parnassus, don't ask us why the journey didn't take us out of our home country/continent".

Anyway, I'm in a low-hanging fruit mood this early in the afternoon so here's Hare Hare Yukai.
posted by polytope subirb enby-of-piano-dice at 5:54 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

It's impossible for me to take this seriously without the inclusion of the Doctor Who theme, but it may be even more impossible for me to take this seriously without the inclusion of the American Horror Story theme. I want to give them points for including Peacemaker, but I think a moment's reflection will make it plain that the appeal of the Peacemaker main titles is the dance sequence, not the song.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 6:00 AM on November 25, 2022

I’m happy to see the Succession theme listed because it’s shrieking discordant notes presage what you are about to watch. I also like the Hitchcockian music of Medium, a show that ran for seven seasons without attracting much attention.

Perry Mason is a glaring omission though.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:00 AM on November 25, 2022

Even if you were to put together a list of The Greatest American TV Themes Made By Americans For American Shows On American Terrestrial TV you'd put the Doctor Who theme at number one. It's just that great and important.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 6:10 AM on November 25, 2022 [6 favorites]

I am here to nominate the SportsCenter theme.
posted by goatdog at 6:22 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

I'm not much of a sports fan and I'm not very athletic, but I always enjoyed the whole orchestra blasting away for the opening to ABC's Wide World of Sports.
posted by freakazoid at 6:28 AM on November 25, 2022 [9 favorites]

It comes across to me as a random list of theme songs, made even worse by the nonsensical tie at #2. I nominate the theme from “60 Minutes” for #1.
posted by TedW at 6:36 AM on November 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

Folks here have already rightly mentioned the missing Doctor Who.

Gonna add to that missing the Star Blazers's theme.
posted by kmartino at 6:39 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

No Rawhide?
posted by TedW at 6:43 AM on November 25, 2022 [4 favorites]

B-b-b-b-b-basketball, gimme gimme gimme the ball because I'm gonna dunk it!
posted by cmfletcher at 6:47 AM on November 25, 2022

three four-ish (?) animated shows

Six, I think: Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, Boondocks, Phineas & Ferb, Spongebob, Simpsons.

(I just realized Have Gun Will Travel is on the list, so, in need of a new thing to complain about: how dare they use cast photos from late in a show's run! When I see the cast of Cheers, I want to see Diane and Coach, not Rebecca and Woody. This is history's greatest injustice.)
posted by box at 6:53 AM on November 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

No Lottery! or Silver Spoons?? Welcome Back Kotter way too low.
posted by Melismata at 6:56 AM on November 25, 2022

Thanks for the correction, box. I was feeling too lazy to skim through a second time counting animations.

I am also interested in the demographics of the 12 writers it took to assemble this piece.
posted by polytope subirb enby-of-piano-dice at 6:58 AM on November 25, 2022

The Taxi theme has no right to be as funky as it is. It's honestly astounding for a 70s network sitcom. You know it immediately but then you listen and it's like "Shit, the drummer is right in the pocket. Listen to that base line. How did they figure that out?" It's actual jazz session musicians doing an amazing chill groove. The full version of the song is even better. Nothing tops it in my opinion. Its not just a TV theme song that makes you think of the show. It's a legitimately good song.
posted by downtohisturtles at 6:58 AM on November 25, 2022 [8 favorites]

They missed this one.
posted by Meatbomb at 7:22 AM on November 25, 2022

In a late-night bout of sleeplessness, I was flipping through some free channels on the TV and found old re-runs of Hart to Hart. I don't want to say its theme belongs on any best-of list, but I was immediately transported back to my childhood, from the second we see a jet's landing gear retracting. So much hairspray. So many cigars. So much wicka-wicka in the music.
posted by mittens at 7:22 AM on November 25, 2022

RE the omission of Barney Miller, it can only be missing intentionally, in order for people to scream "look at this stupid fucking list" and thereby get more clicks.

That's the only plausible reason. So, you know, I'm not going to click on it.

Thanks to creepygirl for the transcryption!
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:31 AM on November 25, 2022 [7 favorites]

Perhaps I'm alone but The Price is Right theme song is just plain special
posted by cloeburner at 7:33 AM on November 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

Including The Muppets theme is good, but including the Fraggle Rock theme would have been better -- that bass line!

Also, I have unexpectedly strong moral objections to the entries on this list that re-used existing pop-music -- Sopranos, Welcome Back Kotter, Friends, Big Bang Theory, probably others -- for their themes, even if it's inarguable that those songs are now known widely as "The Theme From ______"
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 7:33 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

It's funny how few themes from really female-oriented shows (i.e. dramas) made the list. I didn't realize it until I saw mention in the write-up (but not in the list itself) of Nadia's Theme (from the Young and the Restless). Now, that's a soap I never watched, but boy do I know that theme. It got radio airplay. It sold sheet music by the truckload, and it was one of those pieces that was always in collected works of popular sheet music.

I'd even say themes from nighttime soaps also got shorted. I mean even to this day, I'm betting there are people who can immediately call up the theme to Dallas in their heads. I mean I haven't thought about that show in ages, but the second I started down this line of thinking, that theme came blaring in. As a contrast, there are shows on that list that I've watched, and watched recently, and I couldn't tell you a single thing about their themes, even if you put a gun to my head.

And of course, the lack of Barney Miller invalidates the list. I don't care how hard it was to pick songs that weren't from the 1970s, that one needs to be on the list. Another obvious missing one (at least to me) is the theme from Roger's Moore's version of The Saint (and yes, I know, not American). And while it probably didn't make the cut because it's not an original composition, I'd be tempted to add the William Tell Lone Ranger theme, as I doubt the piece would have been half as well known if it wasn't for the masked man on a fiery horse of Silver.
posted by sardonyx at 7:38 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

There's that one scene in The Dark Knight, where the Joker says, "there's only one spot open right now, so we're gonna have tryouts."

These Rolling Stone lists are the pool cue he throws on the floor.
posted by mhoye at 7:41 AM on November 25, 2022

No Adventures of Briscoe County Junior!?!?!?

It was so good, they used it for the Olympics for many years.
posted by joe_monk at 7:48 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

Ok no Barney Miller, no Beverly HIllbillies, no Dr. Who. Bah. Anyone remember the wall street week theme?
posted by Ansible at 7:57 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

I know they just make these lists to get people fighting, and I know that by scanning the list without reading their "reasons" and coming in here furious I am just part of the problem, but it is not possible to make a list like this without putting the theme from Wonder Woman at the top. The TOP.

A) It still bangs
B) Starts with an explosion
C) Contains the sound effects of her changing into WW so you can envision the show without even seeing it.
D) "Stop a bullet cold / Make the Axis fold." And that's just a taste of the amazing lyrics.

This whole thing is invalid.
posted by Mchelly at 8:01 AM on November 25, 2022 [4 favorites]

C'mon! You couldn't give Edd Kalehoff just one spot? And a passing mention in the entry for the Match Game theme is an insult.

The Price is Right, ABC World News Tonight, Double Dare... Hell, even the theme to TattleTales can kick the ass of Match Game anywhere, anytime.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:01 AM on November 25, 2022

(Too late to edit but I realized that they didn't include the WW changing spin SFX in the theme until a later version. I apologize. Still belongs at #1).
posted by Mchelly at 8:04 AM on November 25, 2022

For those of you lamenting no anime themes this is the GOAT. OK, not an openning theme, but anyone who watched the 86 has this indelibly tattooed into their brain.
posted by evilDoug at 8:08 AM on November 25, 2022

If we're adding game shows, the Definition theme needs a mention. I know there was a tiny bit of CanCon mentioned in the comments above, but The Littlest Hobo has been burned into the brains of so many Canadians at various points of time. And I think the Beachcombers theme has to get a mention for the sheer number of mood changes it includes. Also, the Night Heat theme gets a nod for the cheesy nostalgia factor alone.

And maybe it's not an official theme, but the World News Polka deserves an honorary mention.
posted by sardonyx at 8:14 AM on November 25, 2022

I tend to hate f***ing TV themes that have words. It's like putting ketchup on anything. So if it's not an instrumental or Too Many Cooks (and the show itself isn't actually good), it shouldn't be considered for inclusion. So in the light of this, a top ten I suppose I could live with:

Sanford + Son
Twilight Zone
Too Many Cooks
Game of Thrones
Hawaii Five-O
Mission Impossible
Rockford Files
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Peter Gunn
Star Trek

except I must wonder why Twin Peaks, Law & Order, Bonanza aren't significantly higher. And where the hell is Wide World of Sports?
posted by philip-random at 8:28 AM on November 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

Missing Animaniacs, Muppet Babies, That 70s Show, Mister Belvidere, Perfect Strangers, Family Ties, Growing Pains
posted by emelenjr at 8:29 AM on November 25, 2022

And where the hell is Wide World of Sports

also Jonny Quest ...
posted by philip-random at 8:30 AM on November 25, 2022

Since we don't need another seconding (fifth-ing?) for Barney Miller, I'll second "Jonny Quest." Which was a prime-time show, briefly, so no excuses, RS.

My kids are in a terrific HS jazz band now, and a couple of weeks ago I sent the band director -- a first-rate trumpet player, btw -- a link to the Jonny Quest theme. His response:

"Wow, so cool! This is beyond our level, in fact even most pro ensembles would struggle with this. These are seriously top notch studio cats."

From an interview with the show's music director: "A regular jazz band, 4 trumpets, 6 [trom]bones, 5 woodwind doublers, 5-man rhythm section including percussion."

Re-dropping the link, because we all need something to get our Thanksgiving feast-logey selves moving today:
posted by martin q blank at 8:34 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

Since no one else has mentioned it, the theme from the original animated version of The Tick should be near the top of any such list.
posted by tdismukes at 8:38 AM on November 25, 2022 [8 favorites]

Putting LOST on this list is so funny. The theme song, if you can call it that, is just an "EEEEEEAAAAUUUUOUUGHHHwomp" noise.
posted by twelve cent archie at 8:38 AM on November 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

I have unexpectedly strong moral objections to the entries on this list that re-used existing pop-music -- Sopranos, Welcome Back Kotter, Friends, Big Bang Theory, probably others

I agree with your general point but I am not sure you’re bang-on the particulars. Welcome Back, Kotter first aired in September 1975, and John Sebastian’s recording of “Welcome Back” was released in March of 1976. Friends starts in September 1994; The Rembrandts were hired to record the theme and later expanded it to a full three-minute single in 1995. I have never seen The Big Bang Theory but Wikipedia suggests that BNL was commissioned specifically to write the theme (although the initial pilot did use “She Blinded Me With Science”).
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:39 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

They would typically make musicians try to sight-read Jonny Quest during auditions if they wanted to quickly wean the number of candidates for the gig.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 8:43 AM on November 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

The Jonny Quest documentary is worth some of your time if you're a fan (and maybe even if you're not). I seem to recall they get deep into the music at some point, including the revelation that the time signature of the theme song changes gradually at some point. Which given how rhythm-driven it is, makes for yes, complex stuff.
posted by philip-random at 8:59 AM on November 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

Northern Exposure may not have made the cut, but I’ll be damned if it won’t be in my head for the rest of the day.
posted by armeowda at 9:02 AM on November 25, 2022 [6 favorites]

What does it mean for a time signature to "gradually change"?
posted by polytope subirb enby-of-piano-dice at 9:08 AM on November 25, 2022

I think they have a thing where they rate the theme song too high because the show is critically acclaimed.

'Got Yourself a Gun' is a pretty mediocre song that just happens to sound like it was written about Tony Soprano--in a show with a lot of great music choices, the theme isn't quite that. (The RS writer who handled that one is Alan Sepinwall, who literally reviewed The Sopranos for the Newark Star-Ledger before writing a book about the show.)

And 'Down in the Hole' is a great Blind Boys of Alabama song, a good Tom Waits song, a below-replacement-value Neville Brothers/Steve Earle song, and, as a song sung by the Baltimore teenagers DoMaJe, it's terrible.

(About the demographics of the twelve writers who worked on this piece: David Browne is 62, Rob Sheffield is 56, Alan Sepinwall is 49 (to be fair, these are some of the more famous names in the group, and I couldn't find ages for all of them). Two of them are women. If a couple minutes Googling can be trusted (I'm not going to sign into LinkedIn for this), all but one of them are white.)
posted by box at 9:16 AM on November 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

No Gilligan's Island theme?
Riddiculous.
posted by yyz at 9:34 AM on November 25, 2022

While we're doing non-US TV show themes, let me add Tatort representing Germany.

BTW the one opening song I NEVER skipped was from the new She-Ra just saying.

BTW I think I may be able to help with funding again, man: Sorry about that.

BTW how many times can I repeat and edit myself?
posted by flamewise at 9:49 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

No Gilligan's Island theme?

It is inexplicably tied for number 2 with the Brady Bunch theme. Not that I agree or disagree with the rankings (by the time I got that far I had long accepted that they made no sense at all), but I just wonder why they didn’t call it “The 101 Greatest TV Theme Songs”. But you can always enjoy this.
posted by TedW at 9:49 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

The Money Programme

Yep and I'll counter with the one-two punch of Ski Sunday and Grandstand.

I also dislike the implicit "US" missing from the title because c'mon: you could probably populate a quarter of this list with British sitcom themes alone.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 9:54 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

'Got Yourself a Gun' is a pretty mediocre song that

Woke Up This Morning is a great song from a great album that I was well acquainted with before The Sopranos showed up. Seriously, give the whole thing a listen some time. One of the best damned albums of the 1990s. And they could bring it live.

Which still doesn't argue for it being a top TV theme. Because as I indicated earlier -- it's got too many words.
posted by philip-random at 10:12 AM on November 25, 2022

One more omission; Elmer Bernstein’s National Geographic theme.
posted by TedW at 10:16 AM on November 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

No.
No A-Team? No Knight Rider? No Transformers?

I honestly thought for a second at WKRP wasn't on there, but at least it is, but sure, OK, "OC" has a better theme song than WKRP.

But Too Many Cooks (which yes, it's AMAZING and I love it) should NOT be on this list. It's a joke "sketch"/video/piece, and not an actual TV Show theme, so they throw that in and cut legit AMAZING tracks (and I know I'm missing some off the top of my head besides these).
posted by symbioid at 10:21 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

OK guys please help this is driving me nuts:
70s US nature (Africa) focused documentary show, I think on PBS. Not Wild Kingdom. The theme was a semi-authentic sounding African flute and drum thing with scanlines forming images of animals tribespeople etc.

What was that show and song?
posted by Meatbomb at 10:37 AM on November 25, 2022

Thanks TedW.
I looked for Gilligan, but missed the tie.
posted by yyz at 10:49 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

Meatbomb, was it this?
Link
posted by houlihan at 10:50 AM on November 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

and this just showed up in a Youtube sidebar:

The Streets of San Francisco Theme
posted by philip-random at 10:57 AM on November 25, 2022

Putting LOST on this list is so funny. The theme song, if you can call it that, is just an "EEEEEEAAAAUUUUOUUGHHHwomp" noise.

Yeah. Writing as someone who generally likes and appreciates the music of Lost, calling that noise a "theme song" and then putting it on a list of the top 100 theme songs of all times is ridiculous.
posted by grouse at 11:47 AM on November 25, 2022

My mom was a Masterpiece Theatre addict so I heard this a lot as a kid.
posted by freakazoid at 11:49 AM on November 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

Thanks so much houlihan, itch has been scratched! The outro part was what was in my brain. Aha, it was actually Canadian.
posted by Meatbomb at 12:03 PM on November 25, 2022

Yeah. Writing as someone who generally likes and appreciates the music of Lost, calling that noise a "theme song" and then putting it on a list of the top 100 theme songs of all times is ridiculous.

I dunno, I think it is actually pretty brilliant - J.J did fantastic work on that intro imo, it’s suspenseful, atmospheric, and fits the show perfectly. My quibbles with the intro are really :

* He messed up something with the 3d text rendering - there’s some glitches on the text as the text gets closer. Fine, he’s not a 3d professional, these things happen, but not fixing it for 10 seasons or whatever it was: inexcusable.

* The soundtrack is literally a patch from a sample CD. I’m working on Homeworld 3, and while looking at the source files to the previous games’ music, was surprised to hear the lost Stinger in its entirety in one of the music tracks.

But, as a concept - great. It’s kind of of a piece with his “get the feeling you want, don’t sweat the details” approach, really.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 1:11 PM on November 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

The Count Basie theme from M Squad is kind of awesome. As is the strongly reminiscent Ira Newborn theme from Police Squad! The theme from Vega$ is 70s-tastic, easily as good as any one of a number of '70s shows on the list.
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 1:24 PM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

I feel like this list keeps confusing iconic with good. They are not the same thing. For example, the theme for The X-Files is iconic, but it is not good.

Northern Exposure may not have made the cut, but I’ll be damned if it won’t be in my head for the rest of the day.

Written by David Schwartz, who’s a superstar in the theme song world. He also did the themes for Arrested Development, The Good Place (okay, barely a theme song), Beverly Hills 90210, and Deadwood, the latter of which absolutely deserves a place on this list.

I would like to nominate the theme song for Beakman’s World, which is both charming and perfectly suited to the show, written by Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo fame.

I also have a soft spot for the E.R. theme. It’s very 90’s, but it works. You can imagine the producers saying to the composer “Okay so we want a song that is tense, but with a tonal shift that evokes hope, and also it sounds vaguely like ambulances.” A good theme song tells you exactly what you’re getting into.
posted by dephlogisticated at 1:54 PM on November 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

speaking of Mark Mothersbaugh ...

Pee-wee's Playhouse: Opening Theme ... before the silly stuff kicks in.
posted by philip-random at 2:01 PM on November 25, 2022 [4 favorites]

Seconding 'Cowboy Bebop'. Also 'Samurai Champloo'. Omission of 'Dr Who' is definitely a crime. A lot of UK classics seemed to have a very definite melancholy vibe - 'Last of the Summer Wine', 'Open All Hours' with the occassional upbeat laddish tune like 'Minder' or 'Auf Wiedersehen Pet'. Kind of missing the apocalyptic stuff like 'Edge of Darkness' too. Stuff like Magnum PI, Airwolf were pretty great and absent.
posted by phigmov at 2:07 PM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

ok if we're doing anime bangers I got some favorites off the top of my head:
Phi Brain season 1 opening - Brain Diver
Bodacious Space Pirates opening - Moretsu Uchu Kokyokyoku Dai Nana Gakusho «Mugen no Ai»
Bodacious Space Pirates ending - Lost Child
Romantic Killer ending - Ren ai shimasen ka?
Brave 10 opening - Seirei Hirai
Yakitate!! Japan ending - To All Tha Dreamers
it is impossible to choose a favorite JoJo's Bizarre Adventure opening so here is a medley
posted by taquito sunrise at 2:13 PM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

What does it mean for a time signature to "gradually change"?

I’ve played with a drummer or two who inadvertently shifted time signature mod-song now and again.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:47 PM on November 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

I've shifted time signature a lot of times, but never gradually.
posted by polytope subirb enby-of-piano-dice at 3:32 PM on November 25, 2022

I'm not a musician so I'm guessing "gradually" is the wrong adverb. I watched that doc a few years ago but it is in there somewhere -- the extreme difficulty they had in getting the rhythm right
posted by philip-random at 3:48 PM on November 25, 2022

Any list like this that doesn't have Perry Mason at or near the top is just lazy. To leave it off entirely invalidates the entire effort.
posted by cccorlew at 6:33 PM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

But whattabout The Death Valley Days themesong. I hum it every morning as I brush my teeth. And 77 Sunset Strip!
posted by a humble nudibranch at 8:38 PM on November 25, 2022

"Terriers": like the show, it's rated too low.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:19 PM on November 25, 2022

But whattabout The Death Valley Days themesong. I hum it every morning as I brush my teeth.

Pfeh - amateur! I challenge you to brush to the Magnificent Seven theme! Scrub, scrub-skra-scrub, scrub skra-scrub-a-scrub...
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:48 PM on November 25, 2022

Including The Muppets theme is good, but including the Fraggle Rock theme would have been better -- that bass line!

Spoilers for Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock








So the first thing you notice when you watch Back to the Rock is that they changed the theme song. It's fine. It's not bad. You think you might be able to get used to it. Then, at the end of the episode, they go into the original theme song and you thing "Oh, thank God." They use the original for the rest of the episodes.

I have never been trolled so hard by a children's program.
posted by Quonab at 10:49 PM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

BTW the one opening song I NEVER skipped

Oddly (given my agreement with The Pluto Gangsta above that reusing existing music is kind of lazy), the one intro I have never yet skipped is the one opening song I NEVER skipped is Peacemaker. That is much more to do with the visuals, though; the song itself is uninspired (albeit perfect for the show).
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:23 AM on November 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

The list is fine, but if we're talking personal favourites, I have a few additions to suggest:
The Bill
Magnum PI
Perfect Strangers
Paddington
posted by threecheesetrees at 4:53 AM on November 26, 2022

>No Knight Rider?

Knight... erm Rider
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 6:50 AM on November 26, 2022

I can still hear the slide guitar of Simon & Simon in my head.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:46 AM on November 26, 2022

but I just wonder why they didn’t call it “The 101 Greatest TV Theme Songs”.

Indeed, they list 101 songs.

If there are two themes tied for 2nd, then the next theme needs to be ranked #4. Can these people not even math correctly?
posted by Ayn Marx at 9:02 AM on November 26, 2022 [2 favorites]

Hmm. Maybe "Lacking" would have removed ambiguity of "Missing", because I do remember title show theme fondly. Ya pulled me in, though.
posted by filtergik at 1:19 PM on November 26, 2022

My favorite theme tune, and unfortunately, only the end credits are on YouTube, is from the 1976 PBS show Rebop that encouraged multiculturalism. Apparently LeVar Burton hosted the show in its last season in 1979, because of course he was that cool that young. The theme was by Quincy Jones, who re-recorded it for his album I Heard That! the same year and titled it "You Have to Do It Yourself".

That Q was just tossing off stuff like this in the 60s and 70s is remarkable. I had Ironside in my head the other day, and when I heard it again, thanks to good ol' YouTube, it was as badass as I remembered.

With regard to this... list, how do they NOT have Reading Rainbow on it? I guess they're too old? But I'm 53, and I remember it! With a singer, Tina Fabrique, who I originally thought was Chaka Khan. I would make sure to turn on a TV if I was home or babysitting when I knew this was starting just to hear the theme. I was too old to watch the show itself, because I was a teenager, but I just love this theme (and I'm partial to the original, even though Chaka's version is also lovely.

I'm also surprised at the lack of Chico & The Man, Barney Miller (!!!!!), Doctor Who and Are You Being Served?. The Money Programme's theme is amazing, but it's originally Elmer Bernstein's theme to a 1964 film called The Carpetbaggers. The version Brits and Python fans like myself love was done by a fellow named Jimmy Smith and arranged by the legend Lalo Schifrin.

And no theme to Baretta/"Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow"! SMGDH! The disrespect!
posted by droplet at 9:11 PM on November 26, 2022 [4 favorites]

If other countries had TV (imagine that!) I would expect Attack on Titan's absolutely outrageous first two theme tunes on there
posted by BinaryApe at 1:37 AM on November 27, 2022

Just so's you know, the No. 3 theme from Sanford & Son is Quincy Jones' "The Streetbeater." Killer lineup and no question it's the #1 best jam of the bunch.
posted by whuppy at 6:48 AM on November 27, 2022

As long as we live,
it's you and me Baby.
Ain't nothin' wrong with that!
posted by whuppy at 7:07 AM on November 27, 2022