Now here’s an episode of 20 to 1 that might be worth a look: All Time Favourite TV Themes.
From comedies to cop shows, these theme songs are so catchy you can sing them in your sleep. But what is the Number 1 TV theme?
Well Sherwood Schwartz would have to configure highly in this. As well as creating both The Brady Bunch and Gilligan’s Island, he composed the theme tunes, both of which perfectly delivered the premise to the show in a catchy, succinct way. If you had never seen an episode before, these theme tunes made sure you knew what the show was within minutes.
Hill Street Blues is another iconic theme, this time instrumental, from Mike Post.
Before I get carried away and rattle off too many more, let’s hear some other suggestions?
This airs at 9:40pm Tuesday March 30th on Nine (which means no double Survivor that week).
The Partridge Family! C mon get happy!
Ok I just watched it, but I only saw the top ten. All pretty good picks, imo, but I was slightly disappointed they only had themes with lyrics. Why?? When some of the greatest TV themes have no words.
Was it so their “celebs” could sing along? After all it is kinda hard to sing along to Dr Who, Miami Vice, X Files etc etc. (sorry if any lyric-free themes did appear, I must have missed them).
The Dukes Of Hazard
Did they show UK family drama/soapie? “Howard’s Way” here? That had a great theme tune with different arrangements. I remember buying it on an old fashioned 7 inch vinyl record as a kid.
Heres a site with over 15000 free theme tunes to listen to . Good to hear some of the old ones again
televisiontunes.com/index.php
Prisoner, Sons & Daughters, Happy Days, Brady Bunch, Gilligan’s Island, Jeannie, Bewitched, Get Smart
HAs anyone mentioned the Wonder Woman theme?
Friends, The Nanny, The Flintstones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill, Scrubs, Sex and the City, True Blood, Tru Calling, Dexter, Angel, How I Met Your Mother, Nip/Tuck, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Raggy Dolls, Captain Planet, Widget the World Watcher, Bear in the Big Blue House, Inspector Gadget, Pinky and the Brain, Mary Tyler Moore, Veronica Mars, Alvin and the Chipmunks…. just to name a few faves!!!
The Odd Couple theme is the best TV theme ever.
How about the greatest American hero. Crap show but great theme! Matlock police for the best Aussie show.
I might be showing my age, but how about Green Acres, The Addams Family, The Beverley Hillbillies, Mr Ed, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Thunderbirds and The Andy Griffiths Show.
Come people. Doctor Who is in my opinon the best. However other notable shows – The Simpsons, Bewitched, I Dream of Jennie, Mission Impossible, Flinstons, Jetsons, Get Smart
I just saw Scooby Doo, where are you? on Go!. Now that was a great theme.
Friends or Full House!!!
Oh man they have to have the Wonder Years Theme, that is so totally addictive. Stuck in my head and it not been on TV for years.
@ nic – agreed,i love 2.5 Men and the theme is catchy but I don’t rate it up with the classics. Big Bang is a great opening but too new and probably won’t be included.
Also totally forgot about the iconic Mary Tyler Moore theme,if that were #1 I wouldn’t complain.
I agree with a previous poster this should have been a 50-1 there are too many great themes for a 20-1.
The Simpsons, Friends, Cheers, Seinfeld, Happy Days, Brady Bunch for sitcoms.
ER, Law and Order, Hawaii Five-O and Dallas for dramas.
The best ever – The Simpsons, easily, how many times has it been spoofed/remade/copied…? Though knowing 20 to 1, it will be Blue Heelers or something Australian, hell Channel 9 will probably try and promote their own shows and go “Channel 9 news is the greatest TV theme of all time” and we’ll all be left picking up our jaws off the ground.
Their are many theme tunes that haven’t been listed here. My favorite has to be F Troop followed by My Favorite Martian, Leave it to Beaver, Whirlybirds, Cannonball, Rescue 8 and Fury to name a few
Um, forget 2.5 men or bang theory. Isn’t this about All time Favourites? Surely it would be Mary Tyler Moore, Taxi, Rockford Files, Dr Who, Hart to Hart, Love Boat, The Waltons, Little House on The Prarie, Cheers, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Mash, I Love Lucy, The Muppets…and the few Australian shows, A Country Practice, Prisoner.
I’m pretty sure the Prisoner theme was actually the end credits, not the opening titles, I can’t imagine a bunch of names is going to be very exciting as fantastic as the song is….
Dallas!
He used to give me roses, I wish he could again, but that was on the outside, and things were different then….. oh who could possibly ever forget the heart wrenching theme song from Prisoner!
Great theme tunes that come to mind include The Nanny, The Simpsons, Big Brother, Friends, Daria, I Dream of Jeannie…
It has to be The Simpsons, then Friends, then X-Files, then 2.5Men, then The Big Bang Theory.
Perhaps it should have been a 50 to 1, try to encompass nearly every decade of television, starting from the 50s go right up to last year. There will be some great themes missed out (Doctor Who, Dad’s Army and Frasier just off the top my head) because they would have tried to shoe horn in reality shows themes, like Big Bother I mean Big Brother.
@ Ja’mie,
haha, I was gonna say that! I know every word to the theme song – including the extended verse!
C’Mon, No love for Melrose Place?!
I hear this is a great episode with heaps of our favourite themes including some very iconic Aussie favorites!
Fun for the whole family!
Bring it on 20 to 1!
I don’t think variety shows like Hey Hey will be looked at. Ditto Countdown which has one of the greatest intros ever.
For oz shows(aside from the above) I’d nominate A Country Practice,The Restless Years,Matlock Police,Sons & Daughters & perhaps a few more recent ones like Underbelly and Water Rats.
I can’t see more then a few oz shows being included though.
Some great Aussie ones. Rush (ABC ), Hey Dad, Kingswood Country, A Country Practice, World of Sport (HSV), The Flying Doctors, Prisoner, Seven’s AFL mid 1990s – That’s the thing I like about Football, Five Mile Creek, The Sullivans, Countdown, Paul Hogan Show…
X Files is my number one theme.
I think it’s a bit of a shame that lots of current shows don’t even have an original opening theme tune.
Oh, how could I forget, Dallas and Bonanza also had great themes.
I Dream of Jeanie had a catchy theme. Bewitched and The Partrige Family were good too. I think the Brady Bunch was top of the 20 to 1 top 20 tv families. It could be number one in this as well. Yes Gilligan, Hawaii FiveO and Lost in Space should all be up there. Only newer show from this century whoe’s theme I would nominate would be CSI.
You’d think The Simpsons, Bewitched, I Dream Of Jeannie would have to be there. From an Australian point of view there would be Neighbours, Home and Away, A Country Practice, Hey Dad, even Hey Hey It’s Saturday.
without question the greatest ever Australian theme song has to be Blue Heelers. the original (before they tried to make it ‘funky’ after the bomb) was so good it stuck in your head for days. while on the local front both Neighbours and Home & Away need to get props, then there is the theme tune every Australian grew up on Play School! but no one quite does theme tunes like the Americans. staying on the kids tv theme Sesame Street is brilliant. shows like Law & Order, Mission Impossible, The Twilight Zone, Sex and the City, Survivor and all the CSI’s are great (could help that i’m a massive Who fan!), but it is sitcoms where they get it right. early shows like Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie have unforgettable themes right up there with the Sherwood Schwartz shows. moving into the 80s im convinced all sitcoms of the time were written simply for the theme music (perfectly parodied on Family Guy with ‘My Black Son’) The Golden Girls has to be my favourite though. in the 90s there were classics like Mad About You and Friends. these days theme music seems to be disappearing but the shows that do have good themes are definitely The Big Bang Theory and, as much as it pains me to say it, 2.5 Men.
or maybe i’m just obsessed with TV themes!
Mission Impossible! Especially since this is the week that Peter Graves passed away.
cant belive no one has mentioned Prisoner that must be there but then again it is 9 isnt it my other choices are
a country practice
the sullivans
neighbours
home and away (the original)
beverly hills 90210!
GuanoLad, I have fond memories of watching The Lost Islands on Ten in my childhood. I often think of this show when watching Lost.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air!!!
MASH, Survivor, Seinfeld, Get Smart, The Simpsons.
All of those should be there.
Doctor Who Theme
Hawaii 5 O has got to be in the top 5 lol
Yes this is one of those 20-1s that is worth watching.
Either The Brady Bunch or Gilligan’s Island would be worthy #1s.
Others..Star Trek,Family Ties,X Files,Cheers will all figure somewhere you’d think.
The best Australian theme is “The Lost Islands”.
My favourite theme is possibly a little obscure. There’s no singing.
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd.
Doctor Who Has to be on this list, but knowing Australian’s it would not even be considered.
Skippy must be on the list. Star Trek (original). X-Files. Lost in Space.
$100 on 2.5 Men to be number one.
Oh wow, what a great episode that will be!
It’s hard to beat the 80′s sitcom themes, Perfect Strangers, Growing Pains, Greatest American Hero and Full House are all great.
Gilmore Girls!
I think the Doctor Who theme is pretty iconic, and the original version is certainly…uh…original.Plus it was composed by an Australian
.
Mike Post-wise, I’d also nominate his Law & Order theme, which has fronted (in various forms) no less than five different programmes.
Mike Post is a legend. I wouldn’t be surprised if Law & Order managed to squeeze in there. Would be cool to see Survivor there too but I wouldn’t count on it; there probably will be a focus on older shows.
The Flintstones where we can still have a gay ol time and Cheers where everyone knows your name or they have heard the rumours !
I’m a big fan of 80s theme songs – Family Ties, Perfect Strangers, Different Strokes … can’t beat them!
The Cirtcuit #2–
Underbelly–#3–
Haiwaii Five-0!!! #1–:D