I found a CD at the library last weekend that was the 100 greatest TV theme songs. They weren't ranked or anything, but it was favorite TV themes from the 50s until the 90s. This collection was released around 2005, but the most recent theme song was from 2001 for "Six Feet Under." The 90s tunes included "Friends," "Frasier," "Seinfeld," the original "90210" and Melrose Place," and "Sex and the City." After that, it drops off into favorites from the 80s that rolled into the 90s before they went off the air, like "Growing Pains." But there was nothing after 2001.
That got me to thinking, whatever happened to great TV theme songs? I think about some of my favorite shows or most memorable shows of the last decade, and they either had theme songs that were previously popular (CSI uses The Who, Freaks and Geeks used Joan Jett), or they skipped the theme song altogether in order to squeeze three more minutes of story time into the program. There are so many programs that I associated with their theme songs, that I would remember the show the opening title segment of the show in order to remember its name. We all remember the slide-boxes of "The Brady Bunch" or the jukebox and the Fonz in "Happy Days." It later evolved into the actors turning to the camera after a mini-montage of their scenes. But I will remember the silouette of "Charlie's Angels" or the life preserver of "Love Boat" before I will ever remember the cast standing together. But I can't think of that without thinking of the theme song.
I also started to think about the various websites that have lists of gone-too-soon TV shows, and how they would have fared if they had great theme songs. While Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation" was a good choice for "Freaks and Geeks," would it have fared better with a different, catchier song? After all, that song had already been around for 20 years before it was used as the show's theme, so "Freaks and Geeks" would not be the first thing we thought of when we heard that song. What about "Firefly," or "Pushing Daisies?" This isn't to suggest that these shows would have had guaranteed success with a great original theme song - "Beverly Hills, 90210" almost didn't get picked up beyond the second season, but they changed their theme song from a kitschy, "Dynasty" club mix to an edgier, 90s-style tune, and it helped. But if Kristin Chenoweth, whom I love, had recorded a theme song for "Pushing Daisies," the show might have reached a broader audience. The shows that don't even make it to 5 episodes - did they have theme songs? Did they have stock music? Did they even try anything ironic, like "Married, With Children" did by using Sinatra's "Love and Marriage?" Sometimes the previously released song works well - I love the use of Jace Everett's "Bad Things" as the theme song for "True Blood."
I wonder if we will ever have great TV theme songs again. I wonder what the first thing we think of will be when we think of what it takes to rule the world ("Diff'rent Strokes). I wonder if my favorite four bars of music will always be followed by two snaps ("The Addams Family"). Will any song give ample background as to how our characters ended up where they are today ("Gilligan's Island"), without having to drag a series on with endless montages that inevitably lead the show to an early retirement? I actually won a trivia contest once by naming all of the Jetsons because I remembered the song. I can't name all of the characters on "Lost," but I can absolutely tell you what happens when you take the good, you take the bad, you take them all and there you have....you know.
