OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT – We’ve been together for 199 blogs over two different websites now, so for number 200 I’m taking this to a new level… video!
Starting Thursday at noon EDT/9am PDT, you’ll get to SEE the fun each week! It’s the same excitement you read right here – just a whole lot better!
Take a look at my first launch promo:
THE 411
What: Kicking Back with Jersey Joe
When: new episodes every Thursday at Noon Eastern / 9am Pacific
Where: right here on beenandgoing.com
JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS:
Thanks for checking out my blog each and every week! I’ve learned a ton writing these over the years and I hope you’ll enjoy the new video version even more! Let me know what you think and as always follow me on twitter @JerseyJoe50. See you Thursday!
Remember those care free days of elementary school and those giant, yet great, smelling markers that we all had to color a zillion pictures with? I was walking through Staples the other night and was shocked to find that they’re for sale!
Mr. Sketch markers were first introduced in 1965 and are manufactured by the Sanford office corporation. Sold in packs of 4, 8, 12, and 18, each color features a different fruit smelling tip that kids love to color with. Not only does the marker smell, but so does the ink on the paper! It’s much better than those stinky giant markers that smell like pure gasoline and stain your fingers black. (The only people who love those are the feds, blacking out documents…)
I remember the four pack featuring red (cherry), yellow (lemon), green (mint), and blue (blueberry). When my elementary school had the budget, they would purchase the 8 pack which also contained orange (orange), purple (grape), brown (cinnamon), and black (licorice). Everybody used to get excited in class when we had to color a picture with those big fat markers. We weren’t a Crayola marker school; we were a Mr. Sketch scented marker school! And we were all sniffing these markers left and right!
I was even more surprised to find they now feature a whopping 18 colors and flavors!
There once was an urban legend that says the government put a stop to their manufacture over fears that kids were sniffing them too much, which turns out not to be true.
Now, I don’t color with markers, anymore… but seeing those back in the store brought back some great memories. I was always tempted to taste the flavors, but was more worried about walking around with a big blue streak on my tongue! I’m sure many kids tried, anyway!
Let’s just be glad these things were non-toxic, right? At least that’s what they had pasted all over the box!
It turns out, they were out of production for a while, but now they’re back with a blast — Literally. A new commercial I just spotted on TV, which is the first advertising for the markers in two decades, features farting fruits that supposedly demonstrate how they get the scent in the marker. Genius.
http://youtu.be/xogtneVeflI
It looks like they’re back and here to stay. Here’s to the next generation of kid artists that can get a smell up on their peers!
THE 411
Name: Mr. Sketch markers
What: water color markers with fruit smells
Introduced: 1965
Manufacturer: Sanford
Available: 4, 8, 12, and 18 packs
JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS
I used to love these things and wouldn’t mind coloring a few drawings right now with these. Now that they are back, I hope they become as big of a hit with today’s kids as they were with us!
AND NEXT WEEK — Get ready to see KICKING BACK WITH JERSEY JOE in a whole new way! My blog’s going video!
You’ll get to SEE the fun, so don’t miss my VIDEO PREMIERE – right here, starting next Thursday!
Picture it – America, early 1990’s. Whether you were an adult, child, or a stimulated cell swimming around inside Blanche Devereaux – every American is familiar with the hit TV show, The Golden Girls. The sit-com blockbuster has been off the air since 1992 and not counting the one season spin-off the followed, has been airing in reruns ever since. But, finally – all new episodes came back on the air!
It’s the story of four widowed women, sharing a house in Miami, Florida. Each week, viewers got to join in for their troubles, their stories, or their hilarious schemes. Everybody knew actresses Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Betty White, and Estelle Getty. The show went off the air at the height of its popularity, when lead actress Arthur decided it was time to move on. It reappeared the following season on CBS, as The Golden Palace, with the three remaining cast members managing a beachfront hotel. While still funny, the spin-off was never as popular in the ratings and only lasted a single season.
The show has been seen non-stop in reruns, since it left network television. Not just in the United States – but around the world!
You may remember I listed their theme song as one of my top 100 favorites during my summer count down. It was in doing my research for those blogs, I discovered the show had returned to the air – with new episodes!!!! In fact, versions have aired in 7 different countries with the latest and greatest airing in the Netherlands starting in 2012.
So, what makes their version so great?
I actually found a couple of episodes have been posted to YouTube and thought they were worth a look. What makes the Netherlands version stand out, is the fact they use the same exact music, intro and out cues, and even scripts as our version. Many of their stories have been recycled from American plots, just changed to fit their audience. They also have many original stories of their own!
Now, I have no idea what they are saying, but take I thought it would be great to take a look at an episode. Check out the cast and see if you can tell which character is Dorothy, Sophia, Rose, and Blanche. The similarities are pretty easy to spot!
http://youtu.be/gw8QdzlrfGo
One nice thing about their version – no commercial breaks! I also like the design of the end credits, kind of a credit squeeze like we do here, but with the theme music, and you get to see a little bit more of the final scene continue. That will never happen here… we need room for more promos!
In addition to the Netherlands, original versions of The Golden Girls have aired:
• Greece – Chrysa Koritsia – 2008
• Philippines – 50 Carats, O Di Ba?– early 90’s
• Russia – Bolshie Devochki – 2006 (32 episodes)
• Spain – Juntas pero no revueltas – 1996 (1 season) and Las chicas de oro -2010 (26 episodes)
• Turkey – Alt?n K?zlar – 2009
• United Kingdom – The Brighton Belles – 1993 (10 episodes)
THE 411
Title: The Golden Girls
What: sitcom that aired on NBC 1985-1992
# episodes: 173 – cut to 180 for syndication
Status: airing in reruns in US and globally – Netherlands version aired in 2012-2013
JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS
It may not be manly to admit, but I think this show is freaking hilarious. The jokes were quite adult for what was considered too risqué for TV at the time. Some of them, I can honestly say I missed when the show first aired. (I was also too young!) It’s not one that I will sit back and watch every single episode… but, it’s still good and it does stop me from flipping through channels from time to time. I love seeing classic American TV shows being redone with care overseas. From my understanding, they aired reruns of our version and then decided to proceed with their own, which is why they used our theme music.
It’s great seeing foreign versions of our programming, but I wish it was available on a broader base than it is in our country. If stations are looking for cheap programming, why not overdub or subtitle one of these foreign shows and air it late night or early afternoon? Maybe, at least, for a programming stunt…? Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune have done that with ratings success. There’s a whole catalog of popular shows that fans would love to see another take on.
At least for now, that’s what YouTube is for, I guess!
Have you been called out yet to take the ALS ice bucket challenge? It’s the new in-thing sweeping across social media. Everyone from athletes to celebrities are recording videos of themselves dumping an ice cold bucket of water over their heads to raise funds to fight Lou Gehrig’s Disease. While the whole thing is based on good intentions, but some of these videos don’t go so well.
YouTube has been flooded with videos of people taking the challenge. Many have tried to one up another by having fire trucks or even helicopters dump the water on them. As you can imagine, not all of these stunts go as planned. Even the basic dumping of water from a bucket has had a few hilarious consequences. Let’s take a look at some of the ALS ice bucket challenge fails…
http://youtu.be/wCisNA4Wbw0
Lou Gehrig’s Disease, known as ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a motor neuron disease, which caused the person affected to lose basic motor control. It causes muscle weakness, trouble speaking, trouble swallowing, and trouble breathing. Most people affected usually die from the disease in about 39 months. More than 5,600 are diagnosed in the United States every year and it affects 2 out of every 100,000 people.
The ice bucket challenge is designed to raise funds for research against the disease. The challenge has so far raised $41.8 million in donations from July 28 – August 21. They raised $10 million on August 21st alone! The fundraiser is smashing all kinds of records. (ALS earned $63 million in donations for all of 2013) and continues to grow.
THE 411
Name: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
What: viral video campaign to raise funds for Lou Gehrig’s Disease research
Suggested cost: $10 if you dump the bucket of ice, $100 if not
Time: participants challenged are to complete their challenge within 24 hours
JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS
The ice bucket challenge is a great idea, but I just hope that it doesn’t take away from other charitable organizations that are trying to raise funds. Whether you choose to participate or not, charitable donation is up to the individual giver. It’s up to you – where you decide your money goes.
Imagine sitting in a theater, enjoying a live performance one second, and then having to run for your life from fire and smoke the next. Thankfully due to modern advances in fire technology and strict building codes, these types of experiences don’t happen that often. But, almost a century and a half ago; a thousand theater goers in Brooklyn had their lives placed in jeopardy and sadly almost 300 of them didn’t make it out.
The Brooklyn Theater opened on October 2, 1871 near Washington and Johnson streets in Brooklyn, New York. Being located close to ferries and mass transportation to Manhattan, the theater was able to bring in big name productions and actors, and featured packed houses on most nights. One of the area’s most elegant and successful theaters, the design featured seating on three levels. Each seating level was partitioned off from the others and featured their own separate entrances, so patrons could not socialize with or sneak into the lower levels with more expensive seats. The parquet and parquet circle seating was on the ground level with seating for 600. The dress circle, which also housed the second level balcony, had seating for 450. The family circle, which featured the cheapest seats, was located on the third level with seating for 450 and had its own ticket booth.
Brooklyn Theater before the fire.
On Tuesday, December 5, 1876, about a thousand theater goers were watching a live production of The Two Orphans, a French show, which was a popular show touring theaters at the time. It was around 11pm and the play had paused for an intermission between the fourth and fifth acts. The orchestra was playing and the curtain was down. The cast had taken their positions.
As the curtain rose, the stage manager noticed a small fire off to the left side of the stage. The fire was coming from a large drop curtain which contained a background image for another scene. Part of the drop had become detached and touched one of the stage’s gas lights and was ignited.
Before electricity, theaters used gas lights to illuminate the stage. Each gas light featured a screen that was designed to keep anything away from the flame. Strict rules governed who could ignite the lights and everything was controlled at a gas table, which is similar to today’s light boards. The table would feature valves that could be opened and closed to increase or lower the flames that would brighten or dim the lights. The lights would be lit there by remote by causing a small spark from a flint (just like your gas stove).
The stage manager noticed the flame and called for stagehands to put it out. While there was a fire hose and water buckets available, both were obscured by sets for Julius Caesar, that were stacked on the side of the stage waiting to be shipped out. Nobody could get to the flames quickly enough and the fire grew.
The curtain goes up and the actors begin the scene, while the crew tried to stay off stage and battle the growing fire. The actors spoke their lines and the crowd became aware of the situation as embers rained down on the stage as stagehands now began to beat the flames out with large poles. It didn’t work.
The actors then fell out of character and tried to calm the crowd. Many were already heading for the exits. As the actors and even the stage manager took the stage to try and calm the panic, a large piece of flaming wood landed in front of one of the cast and it caused people to panic even more.
Some of the cast evacuated the stage and exited the side stage doors onto Johnson Street. A few ran through a secret corridor that ran from their dressing rooms to the ticket office. While two others, returned to their dressing room to grab their coats and became trapped as the flames quickly engulfed the stage.
The head usher tried to open the fire doors at the rear of the lower auditorium, but couldn’t as the doors were locked and rarely opened, leaving the lock was corroded. Eventually, he was able to force the doors open and more people escaped. However, this new inflow of air caused the flames to spread even faster, now out to the seating area.
The second floor patrons jammed their single staircase exit to a near halt. There was a second exit on that level, but it too was locked and no one ever made it upstairs to open it. Several people tried to escape that way, but were forced to turn around and head back to the crowd.
The 400 people that were seating in the third level family circle found themselves, not having to worry so much about the flames at first, but the thick black smoke that quickly filled their level. They only had a single staircase as an exit that featured three stairways and a second floor landing. The panicked crowd immediately jammed that stairs, with the smoke and flames right behind them. Eventually, the gas lights in the hallway went out, leaving this exit a dark jammed mess. People fell and many were trampled in the confusion, while those still at the top began to asphyxiate from the smoke. More than half of the patrons sitting on this level succumbed to the smoke in a matter of minutes.
Brooklyn Theater after the fire and collapse.
The Brooklyn fire company arrived at 11:26pm, but the flames were already out of control. The chief decided to try and contain the fire and save the neighboring buildings, instead of just putting in out. The fireman entered the lobby and assisted who they could to get out. They entered the family circle stairs, but didn’t make it far as they stairs were filled with thick black smoke. The auditorium was now fully engulfed in flames. Those who were still inside never had a chance. They did a quick check of the second level, where there were no signs of life. Whoever had made it out in those few minutes were alive, the hundreds that did not … were gone.
At about 11:45, cracks began to form in the walls and the building collapsed causing the flames to grow even more. The fire company was able to bring it under control by 3am.
The official report is that 278 people perished in the fire. It is currently the third highest amount of fatalities among fire that have occurred in public buildings and theaters in the United States.
A 2013 Google Maps shot of the area, showing a very different Johnson Street and park.
Today, nothing remains of the theater site. Another performance house opened as well as a newspaper on the site, but the entire area was razed in the mid 20th century to create Cadman Plaza. A monument in the park honors those lives lost.
Buildings today are constructed to much stricter codes that require fire doors to remain unlocked, add plentiful fire hoses, hydrants, and alarms. I was once seeing a movie at The Waterfront in Pittsburgh one night and the fire alarm went off and we were forced to evacuate the theater. I remember staring at the screen, being focused deep in the film. Suddenly, the movie quickly went off and two white strobe lights kicked on directly underneath. It took a second for the house lights to come up. It was a disorienting experience and it took me a moment to understand what was going on. In fact, I really didn’t until an automated announcement over the intercom to evacuate. But, I can understand how seconds can come into play during a life or death situation, especially involving a fire.
This story also reminds me of the Station Nightclub fire that happened in Warwick, Rhode Island back in 2003. The entire incident was caught on tape by a news crew, when pyrotechnics caught the stage on fire and burned the entire building in just over 5 minutes. 100 people sadly perished.
Monument to the victims of the Brooklyn Theater fire.
THE 411
What: Brooklyn Theater Fire
Date: December 5, 1876
Location: Brooklyn, New York
JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS:
I found this story surfing the internet one night and it made me stop and think. It’s always a good idea, just to take 2 seconds, and look for the closest exit when you’re at a theater. While evacuations and incidents are rare, it’s just a good idea to know where to go if you must quickly exit. In fact, that’s just a good policy in general. We have disaster drills at work every few months that are mandated by the FDNY that teach us where to go and the several different options we have to exit. Our fire alarm malfunctions every day, but I’m confident that in an emergency, I know several different ways out.
It’s been a great summer counting down my top 100 TV themes. It was a task that was harder than it looked! I chose my top 100 based on theme, style, and if the credits properly demonstrated to viewers what the series was about. There were many more than 100 that I wanted to feature, so here’s a few honorable mentions that came close to making my list.
ENTOURAGE
The Entourage opening credits featured a great theme and cool shots of the actor’s names as neon store front signs in LA. The final overhead car shot was pretty neat, too!
WILL & GRACE
Will & Grace get bonus points for having one of the most unique opening credits sequences I’ve ever seen. Whoever designed this did a great job of interspersing a few funny clips inside layers of the show’s logo, something no one else has really done. The piano theme is pretty cool, too!
MISTER ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD
http://youtu.be/nDjU-BTUY1Q
Everyone who was a kid in the 70s – 90s can probably sing this theme song! When I was a kid, I always wanted that traffic light in Mr. Rogers’ house!
Only people from Western Pennsylvania have probably ridden the Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood trolley at Idlewild Park in Ligonier, PA. Sadly, that ride has closed and will be re-themed as Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and will reopen in 2015.
SESAME STREET
Sesame Street is really much more hi-tech now then when we were all kids, right?
ER
Man this was a big show back in the day… and George Clooney, wonder whatever happened to him?
CAGNEY & LACEY
The saxophone solos in the second version of the Cagney & Lacey credits was the best! Much better than the jazzy theme from the forgetful first season with Meg Foster!
TJ HOOKER
I am so glad they are rerunning this on Universal HD… William Shatner jumping over the hood of cars, YES PLEASE!
THE BRADY BUNCH
Here’s another song that everybody knows. This was taken from an early second season episode. They would have to reshoot the opening each season as the kids grew older.
STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
The second version of the opening credits to this series was the best! I love how they added all the little ships and activity going on around the space station.
THE 411
What: TV Theme Songs
Use: themes used to open a TV series or cartoon
Purpose: introduce main cast and introduce audience to the theme of the series
Numbers reviewed: Honorable mentions
JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS:
So, here are a few that I wish I could have squeezed into my top 100 list. There are loads more that we could have gone over and everybody has their opinion, but these few really needed to be added to the list.
I hope through my top 100 and these bonus additions, that I was able to help you take a walk down TV memory lane. I also hope that I got a few of your favorites on my list! If there’s any you think I missed – I’d love to hear about it!
I don’t own any of the rights to these, nor did I upload them to YouTube. This blog is presented for educational and informational purposes.
Being a young woman in my slighter-later-than-mid-twenties, I have some privileges. I get to make 70 cents on the dollar to my male counterparts (hang on, I think it’s up to 77 cents now–it is! I’m rich!), I get to fear walking alone, going to parties alone, and meeting trusted male friends alone, I get to have second shift of cooking and cleaning and coming home from my full-time job…Hang on, those are the reasons having ladyparts sucks.
What I mean to say is that I have the privilege of going back to Ye Olde Homesteade and changing from an ambitious go-getter of the big city and turning into the bratty ingrate my parents know and love. Soon the day will come when I return home to embezzle their retirement funds, stick them in old folks’ homes, and clean up their various bodily fluids, but that day is not now and thinking about the future is for suckers. (For those of you keeping score at home, dying dog: not dead yet. Which means she’ll never die ever and that’s why she spends her nights communing with nature under the grapevines and who told you I was beating my breast and rending my clothes there last night THAT SOUNDS LIKE A PORNOGRAPHY YOU PERVERT.)
My favorite part about coming back is seeing my family and blah blah blah parents and stuff blah blah memories blah return to roots, etcetera. My second favorite part of coming back is eating all the fancy food my parents can afford now that all their children are gone and have stopped sucking the teat of family funds.
This is me, lack of ears and all.
They are also environmentally conscious because they care about stuff, I guess, which makes for some winning Slow Food ™ combinations. For example, my father hand grinds fair trade, locally roasted coffee beans every morning in a camping coffee grinder, makes his coffee in a french press with water heated up on the stove in a fifty-year old kettle, and my mother uses the same water to make her coffee (machine ground, but she’ll get there) in a ceramic pour-over with a cloth filter that she washes every day. No drip pot for them! Percolators, ha! Suck it, Starbucks! It’s going to take thirty minutes to make coffee and they like it that way! (It’s also delicious.) They serve it with turbinado sugar (you know, it’s brown and little squares instead of itty bitty white grains, so you can’t pretend it’s coke and have a Wolf of Wall Street theme party), and local cream that comes in a glass bottle, is so thick it looks like paint, and is still lumpy, just like when it comes out of the bull. I may not know where milk comes from, but I know those lumps are pure fat and that is goddamn delicious. It also costs approximately 700 dollars an ounce, but you can return the bottle for five cents, so it’s really a deal.
Stuff of the gods. The sweet, sweet milk gods.
They live in the civilized part of Washington state (Tacoma is civilized compared to Sequim or Forks, probably–a sparkly vampire would either get stabbed or concerned-white-people’d to death), and so there is an abundance of incomparable, affordable seafood. Last night we had salmon on the grill, wrapped in grape leaves from the yard that we did not worry about getting heavy metal poisoning from, and there was nary a siren nor a nutty homeless gentlemen in sight or sound of the meal. There were many hummingbirds, who brought us warm towels and beautiful hummingbird sculptures when the meal was over. (That’s a lie. Hummingbirds are all bastards. It was seagulls, who are fine sculptors despite their fish smell and aggressive need for validation from strangers. Indeed, they are the performance artists of the air.) There were also hornets, who did not sting but rather braided my hair with the delicacy of the child laborer who undoubtedly made my t-shirt.
And naturally, I did nothing. I took a nap in front of their giant tv in a giant blue chair (cable! a Futurama marathon! local commercials!) while they made dinner, fetched me for dinner, poured me a beer, entertained me with their loving marriage antics, and then did the dishes. Being an ingrate is fun.
Such things can’t last, though. It’s imperative that I don’t spend too much time with the people who birthed me, raised me, and ensured I had a decent education and could go to college to be in debt for the rest of my life. I’ll be back to the squalid, sprawling squalor of Los Angeles in a few days, left to forage in ill-kept grocery stores for my meager gruel and water, slaving away in the the insidious non-profit industry (save me, corporate America! you have evil on your side!), making my way through the hard, cruel world like the blind slug that I am…
Fuck it. I’m staying here until they drag me out by my hair. Independence is for suckers. If you miss me, I’ll be instagramming a reasonable cost of living.
Here they are – the top 10 of my top 100 TV theme songs summer countdown. Over the past 10 weeks, I’ve been counting down ten at a time what I think are the best TV themes ever created. The list is not just about the music. It’s also about the editing, the style of the credits, and how well they introduce each series.
Just like David Letterman – let’s get to my top 10 list!
#10 LA LAW
Airdates: 1986-1994 (NBC)
http://youtu.be/uT-Ci3HPftg
I’ve always loved that rocking saxophone intro and hit during the credits. Over all 8 seasons, the only change to the credits was the stars, with both Harry Hamlin and Susan Dey, leaving the series and others coming and going.
This show has finally been released on DVD, with seasons 1 through 3 hitting stores in by the end of 2014.
You could look at this show as the template for which all other legal shows would follow. Each episode featured humor as well as hard hitting drama, usually on a recent topic such as the 1992 LA riots.
This show may have also been America’s first introduction to vanity license plates?
#9 ALL IN THE FAMILY
Airdates: 1971-1979 (CBS) & 1979-1983 (CBS, as Archie Bunker’s Place)
All in the Family is one of the most controversial shows to ever hit TV. The series was way ahead of it’s time with all the off color topics that were handled, especially for the 1970s. Racism, same sex, and bigotry were handled with lots of laughs and that kept viewers coming back for more. You never knew what Archie was going to say or who he was going to insult next? Nobody was safe!
The show took years to develop and was originally titled Justice for All, as Archie and Edith’s last name was originally Justice, not Bunker and was to shot for ABC. Here’s a look at the original, rare unseen pilot. You’ll notice the different characters for Meathead and Gloria, as well as a few different lyrics.
Did you also catch the disclaimer “suggested for the mature audience”? That would remain when the second pilot was shot, now titled Those Were the Days.
There are actually several verses of the song that were recorded, but never broadcast. The main reason behind Archie & Edith singing in the first place, was a cost cutting measure, as there was no more money after the first pilot was shot.
All in the Family also has the most amount of spin-off ever for a TV show including, The Jeffersons, Maude, Gloria, and 704 Hauser.
Although the series ended after 8 seasons, it technically continued on as Archie Bunker’s Place for 4 more. The focus of the show shifted from the Bunker house to Archie’s new bar, after most of the cast had no longer wanted to be part of the series. Here’s an episode of Archie Bunker’s Place:
http://youtu.be/KlLiwrIW2w8
#8 THREE’S COMPANY
Airdates: 1977-1984 (ABC)
Originally inspired by a British show, Three’s Company was a ratings blockbuster for ABC, but was just as famous for the behind the scenes turmoil with the cast.
Three roommates, sharing an apartment – with Jack having to pretend he’s gay in order to stay with two women. You can instantly see where the comedy begins, but that was far from the end of it.
The first big change to the show was when the Ropers, the downstairs landlords were given a spin-off of their own, The Ropers. Check out the really bad opening to their show:
After The Ropers leave, Don Knots is brought on as new building manager, Mr. Furley.
The show continued to do well with Knotts, but Suzanne Sommers (Crissy) then demanded a pay raise, producers fought back and had her only appear in one minute taped sequences at the end of the episodes during season 4. After her contract was not renewed, a new roommate played by Jennilee Harrison was brought in as her cousin Cindy. She lasted for one season, before Priscilla Barnes took over the third roommate Terri.
http://youtu.be/j95PL1SlRxU
Ratings started to dip after season 8 and ABC wanted something new, so they kept Ritter’s character and developed a continuation of the show under the title Three’s a Crowd. This show has often been packaged with the Three’s Company episodes under the title, Three’s Company Too.
#7 THE GOLDEN GIRLS
Airdates: 1985-1992 (NBC) 1992-1993 (CBS as The Golden Palace)
Three widows and an elderly mother share a Miami house, a whole lot of cheesecake, and big ratings for NBC on a Saturday night. Who knew that these four older women could be so funny? The NBC executives did!
Most people don’t remember, but in the pilot the girls also had a live in cook, Coco who never again appeared after that episode.
The series also created a spin-off show; Empty Nest that aired in the time slot directly after, featuring The Weston’s who lived across the street. The characters and pilot for Empty Nest was actually part of a Golden Girls episode with a different cast.
After 8 seasons, Bea Arthur decided to leave the show and the series was cancelled by NBC. CBS wanted to continue with the characters, so they created a continuation known as The Golden Palace, where Blanche, Sophia, and Rose ran and lived in a beach front hotel. It lasted for only one season. It wasn’t that bad and would have been fine if they had kept it around for another season (which they very nearly did).
http://youtu.be/jvhV0uDx_44
And now the big announcement – The Golden Girls have made a comeback! Well, in the Netherlands! It began airing in 2012 and is using old scripts and music from the original series. Here’s a look at their opening credits!
#6 THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR
Airdates: 1990-1996 (NBC)
Just about anyone who was watching television in the 90’s can sing the theme song to this show. They kept the opening in tact through most of the show’s run, although it too was cut down in later seasons. Unlike, TBS who cut it down to just a few terrible shots and beats for the reruns. Over all the seasons, there was only one minor cast change, with two different actresses playing the role of Vivian, the mother of the house.
There are several other verses to the theme and a few of them have made it to air. For a handful of early first season episodes, the credits were 40 seconds longer, and contained additional scenes. Take a look…
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air was the ultimate rags to riches story, from the means streets of Philly to the post life in LA. Both for the character and actor, Will!
#5 LAVENRE & SHIRLEY
Airdates: 1976-1983 (ABC)
I got in trouble for airing this theme on our high school news. I still don’t know why. Some teachers are just plain mean!
Anyhow, Laverne & Shirley was the story of two Milwaukee roommates who were just trying to make their way in the 1950’s. We all grew up with them, through their jobs, their dates, and their weekly adventures. The series was a spin-off from Happy Days, where both Laverne & Shirley were introduced as love interests for Fonzie (Henry Winkler).
While the show mostly focused on the two title characters, their upstairs neighbors Lenny and Squiggy were also featured. It’s been said that actors David L. Lander and Michael McKean, created the characters while high on pot one night at Carnegie Mellon University. They toured the country with the characters as a comedy duo, before being picked up by the show.
I always loved how Laverne (Penny Marshall) wore an L on all of her clothes. Her favorite drink was milk & Pepsi, a combination I’ve never tried!
After 5 seasons, producers decided to move the characters to Burbank, California. It was explained that they lost their brewery jobs to automation and they wanted to start fresh. The rest of the cast followed. As a result, the opening credits were changed, but the now classic theme song was kept…
Usually, a move like this is a last ditch effort to boost ratings, but the ratings weren’t that bad and the show held on. In season 8, actress Cindy Williams who plays Shirley, became pregnant and after some harsh negations with the network, was let out of her contract. She disappeared after two episodes with a note apologizing to Laverne. The show would continue on as Laverne & Shirley, with Williams name and shots removed from the credits.
But, the show without Shirley just couldn’t make it. Even Lenny was gone by the end of the season. The LA episodes were still good, but they should have kept the series in Milwaukee making beer.
#4 THE FACTS OF LIFE
Airdates: 1979-1988 (NBC)
http://youtu.be/k_GxXRbSFDg
The Facts of Life focused on four girls and their housemother at an all girls school in Peekskill, New York. But, that’s not how the series started.
The head housemaster, Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rea), was actually the housekeeper for the Drummonds on the first two seasons of Diff’rent Strokes. During the second year, NBC executives loved the character and producers sent the Drummonds to visit an all girls school upstate as a potential place for daughter Kimberly (Dana Plato) to enroll. Garrett is offered the job, but turns it down at the end of the episode, only to reconsider and take it during the summer hiatus, leaving her to suddenly disappear from Diff’rent Strokes.
During the first season, there were about a zillion different girls, along with a different headmaster. While the theme song was written by Alan Thicke (who we’ve discussed before), for this season Charlotte Rea herself sings along! Take a listen and look at all the confusion as the editor tries to squeeze the giant cast members into boxes!
http://youtu.be/0TWwFq-z1_4
After the first season was done, producers retooled the show, letting many of the girls go, and reformatted the sets and role of Mrs. Garrett. I kind of wish they would have kept all of the cast, but adding Jo (Nancy McKeon) in season two was pretty cool. The changes worked and the show scored high ratings.
It was during season 6, that the opening credits took on an updated rock version of the theme, but the biggest change was about to happen at the end of season 7, when Charlotte Rae decided to leave the series and passed the torch to her long time friend Chloris Leachman as her sister Beverly Anne to take care of the girls. Check out the updated intro after a retro Saturday night NBC promo.
The show was never as good without Rae and it was cancelled after two seasons in this format. Had she stayed with the show, who knows how long it could have been on the air?
#3 CHEERS
Airdates: 1982-1993 (NBC)
Who wouldn’t want to pull up a stool at the bar where everybody knows your name? If this thing was in my neighborhood, I’d be a regular!
Cheers was a staple of NBC’s Thursday nights, but was almost cancelled after a low rated first season. The producers worked out the bugs and kept the laughs coming with this great group of barflies week after week.
The opening theme has become a TV classic and is featured prominently on the new Cheers slot machine on casino floors!
The show underwent many cast changes, starting in season four with the off-screen death of Coach (Nicholas Colansanto). He’s replaced by Woody (Woody Harrellson) as head bar tender for the rest of the show’s run. Shelly Long, who plays Diane decides she wants to leave the show to pursue an ill fated movie career and is replaced by Rebecca (Kirstie Alley), who first manages the bar, then burns it down. Kelsey Grammer as Frasier and his wife Bebe Neuwirth as Lillith would eventually join the cast as main characters as well.
Though all the changes, America still loved to tune in and see former Red Sox player Sam Malone (Ted Danson) keep everything together, no matter what.
Here’s a look at a later set of opening credits, with the awesome song and classic pictures, and the cast changes.
#2 STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
Airdates: 1987-1994 (Syndicated)
This show has one of the best musical scores in the history of television. Not only did it have excellent writing, excellent acting, it also had a full orchestra that gave every episode an epic feel. I was glued to the TV each week and would sit there for the end credits, just to see the promo for what was coming next week, hoping it would be a new episode.
Star Trek: The Next Generation was a spin-off of the original 1960’s Star Trek series and an earlier version almost made it to the air in the 1970’s as Star Trek: Phase II, using many of the same elements such as the Riker – Troi romance.
The show has been in reruns, non-stop since the series left the air and every episode is now being remastered and released on Blu-Ray.
I’ll still stop and watch every time it’s on. I put in on in the background just about every day at work.
The cast stayed mostly intact, throughout the seven year run with only Denise Crosby as Tasha Yar and Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher, leaving the series.
This show also launched two official spin-offs, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. Another spin-off Star Trek: Enterprise has loose connections to this show as well.
Check out the opening credits for the original pilot… notice anything different?
#1 DALLAS
Airdates: 1978-1991 (CBS) & 2012-present (TNT)
So, here’s my pick for the best ever TV theme – Dallas!
The show was must see TV for anyone with a set on Friday nights. It’s the story of Ewing Oil and the crime, corruption, and family battles for the empire.
At the center was tycoon J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman), who was the only character to appear on every episode of the original CBS run. The classic Who Shot JR? cliffhanger episode left America gasping to know who pulled the trigger and would the character survive during the six month summer hiatus of 1980.
Through the 14 seasons, there was a large turnover in the cast that is far too many to go into in this countdown blog. Here’s a look at the opening as it appeared during the final CBS season. One mistake they made was getting rid of the iconic three way boxes that were featured on every episode, except for the last two seasons. But, the iconic theme was there in all its glory!
I was too young to fully understand this show during the early seasons, but I know how much I loved the theme. My grandmother would watch the show and I would make sure to stick around for the opening credits, before running away to play with Matchbox cars or whatever I did as a kid.
Most of the main characters stayed including Ewing, Duffy, and Gray, all of which would return for the TNT remake that launched in 2012. It’s awesome that they still kept the music, although they have shortened it a bit for modern audiences. Hard core fans of the show should be able to tell where the music edit is. Take a listen and see if you can spot it…
One thing you can definitely spot is the changes to the Dallas skyline over the two decade hiatus.
Sadly, actor Larry Hagman passed away last year during season two of filming. His character JR was also killed off the show, using some unused takes that had already been shot. The producers paid homage to Hagman with a special orchestration of the theme and special opening credits featuring Hagman, that are nothing short of poignant, touching, and absolutely respectful.
THE 411
What: TV Theme Songs
Use: themes used to open a TV series or cartoon
Purpose: introduce main cast and introduce audience to the theme of the series
Numbers reviewed: 1 – 10
JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS:
So, here they are… the final 10 of my top 100 TV themes! Did you find any of my choices shocking? Again, these weren’t chosen just for the music, but also for the editing style, and how well they introduced the series and characters.
Next week, I’m going to do a special HONORABLE MENTION blog. I have a few shows, that didn’t quite make the list that we should take a special look at. Let me know what you thought of the countdown. I hope that many of your favorites as well as a few surprises made the list.
I don’t own any of the rights to these, nor did I upload them to YouTube. This blog is presented for educational and informational purposes.
We’re at the top 20 mark of my 100 favorite TV themes summer countdown. I hope you’ve enjoyed this as much as I! These top 20 opening themes are some of the best that ever appeared on television. Let’s check out 11-20 and see if you were a fan of these shows, too…
#20 THE JEFFERSONS
Airdates: 1975-1985 (CBS)
They’re movin’ on up!
What started out as a spin-off from All in the Family, The Jeffersons took on a life of its own. Anybody remember George Jefferson as on of Archie Bunker’s neighbors?
After hitting it big in dry cleaning, George and his wife Weezy purchase an apartment in New York City’s Upper East Side. The mismatch between not only the couple, but also their neighbors, and smart mouth maid kept this sit-com on the air for 11 seasons.
The first set of opening credits perfectly set the tone of the series. You see the Jeffersons leaving their Queens home, driving over the 59th St. Bridge to the Upper East Side and entering the front elevator door to their new life. Later versions of the credits kept the same song, but used hilarious b-roll shots of the series.
http://youtu.be/R8aSSqBRvZc
The Jefferson’s apartment building is a real life apartment building in the Upper East Side. I know, I work around the corner, and pass it all the time!
I also found this unusual version of their opening credits when the show was aired in Italy. I have no idea why it was edited this way, but the retro shot of Manhattan is kind of cool… the still shots of the actors are not!
You know a game show is good when it is still on the air after 35+ years! Originally developed as a spin-off to Match Game, Family Feud has kept the pulse of America since the 1970’s. You ask 100 people a question and contestants have to guess their top answers for cash. It’s a pretty simple concept.
The best part of Family Feud’s theme was the original opening where the families would pose behind the large yellow door. When the show returned in 1999, the producers got rid of the doors, but the families still had that freeze frame moment. Sadly, they have abandoned the big family intro in the past couple of seasons and they really need to bring it back.
Everybody knew Richard Dawson as the original and probably the greatest host ever for this series. He kissed every woman and even married one of the contestants!
When the series returned in 1988, it was with a new host Ray Combs, who was never as good as Dawson. After a few years of ratings decline, they brought Dawson back with a new version of the original theme and a new set. This only lasted one season, as the ratings took a major hit during the OJ Simpson trial that caused the show to routinely be preempted.
The show was brought back again in 1999, this time with Louie Anderson as host. He got the job after Dawson turned it down. Louie was hilarious during his first season, but during his second and third seasons, he seemed to lose interest. With Louie as host, the original theme song was abandoned and a cheesy new theme was created. The little riddles to introduce the family are absolutely embarrassing.
http://youtu.be/JQH99_421PQ
After three seasons with Louie, the producers hired Richard Karn (Al from Home Improvement.) He was terrible! I went to a taping once while he was hosting and he lost his place and they had to retape part of the round. He also made a ton of mistakes. For a brief time during his hosting, they brought back the original theme, but then returned to the Louie Anderson music. After three seasons of Karn, producers hired John O’Hurley (Mr. Peterman from Seinfeld) as host. I think O’Hurley was the best behind Dawson. He was funny, personable, and easy to understand. It was during his run that they finally brought back the classic music and had the families pose again!
Since 2010, Steve Harvey has been the host of the show with Joey Fatone as announcer (although he only reads one line that they use over and over again at the opening, so that kind of doesn’t count as announcing.) Production of the show moved first to Orlando and now to Atlanta, where Harvey lives and hosts his radio show. The latest version keeps scoring high ratings, but many of the questions are now quite sexual in nature. I’m not sure I would let my kids watch the latest version of the show.
But, no matter what… Family Feud is still an awesome game show and I hope to see this one on the air for many more years to come.
#18 LAW AND ORDER
Airdates: 1990-2010 (NBC)
Dun… dun…
While the awesome theme and the style of the opening credits to this show haven’t changed during the 20 seasons, the cast sure did. None of the cast from season 1 made it all the way through to the end.
Law & Order detectives take on the hardest criminals in New York City’s mean streets. The series has also spawned four spin-offs including, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Trial By Jury, and Law & Order: LA. The latter was an attempt to continue the series, but it was a massive ratings flop. Each version of the show used an opening credit theme similar to the original, except for the LA version, which then changed to the classic style credits once the ratings were already in trouble.
http://youtu.be/kP85px_tZ10
Law & Order takes full advantage of the NYC streetscape and really can’t work anywhere else (see LA flop version). There’s always crime and there’s always a story on the streets of the Big Apple. You also get to see the gentrification of the city as each season passes.
I love the theme song, I love the color palette, and I love the editing style of every version of the credits. There’s still lots more stories to tell. Even though SVU is still on the air, I think they could bring back the original with a new cast.
#17 ROSEANNE
Airdates: 1988-1997 (ABC)
Roseanne was the working class family that everyone could relate to. At least they did until the weird last season where the family hit the lottery. Anyhow, this show was a ratings blockbuster that I’ll still watch if I catch it flipping through the channels.
Roseanne’s opening credits were also quite original. For the first few years, it featured the cast sitting around the kitchen table and would be reshot every season as the kids got older.
In the later years, they switched to morphing headshots in a photo frame, but kept the sax. The kitchen table shots were still the best.
For the final season, most of the cast and producers wanted to end the show, but ABC threw a boatload of money at them, so they pressed on for one more. This was where we got all the fantasy episodes… remember Roseanne as a super hero saving a train that was taken over by terrorists? The last season’s intro was pretty cool and that’s where we finally get words to the theme song! Thanks John Popper!
#16 THE BIG BANG THEORY
Airdates: 2007-present (CBS)
Four geeks trying to make their way in the world is the theme behind one of TV’s current ratings leader. The Big Bang Theory has been renewed for several more seasons and can give anyone hope that they can make it in the real world, no matter if you have common sense or not. While these guys may be geniuses, they have very little life skills… and that’s where the comedy comes from. I would love to challenge them to a round of rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock!
The original pilot for the show had a much different set of opening credits and featured the 80’s rock song “She Blinded Me with Science.” I like how the song and the look of the credits take us quickly forward from the Big Bang to the present.
#15 THE SIMPSONS
Airdates: 1989-present (FOX)
I thought for sure there would be a zillion different Simpsons opening credits uploaded to YouTube, but it turns out that’s incorrect. They too, most police for their videos.
The Simpsons has broken just about every TV milestone and can be considered America’s favorite family since they made their debut on The Tracy Ullman Show back in 1987. Remember those shorts?
I love the opening credits and they really haven’t changed much over the years. The biggest was when the show finally went to HD a few seasons ago. With the upgrade, the credits were reorganized with more sight gags added.
The best part has been Bart’s funny lines he’s writing on the chalk board and the couch gag, which are reworked for each and every episode. It’s not every show that does something unique for their credits each time!
I’m a huge Simpsons fan, but the comedy has gone down hill in the last few seasons. I’m not sure if we’ve done all that we can do with the characters, but the writing and jokes just aren’t on par with the earlier seasons of the show. It almost feels like they’re trying to be too much like The Family Guy. The show did better when they focused on one character and went for the little sight gags. I hope they can do something to boost the creativity and keep this show on the air for many more years. The movie was hilarious, but the weekly series is now lacking.
#14 MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Airdates: 1970-2005 (ABC), 2006-present (ESPN)
http://youtu.be/4A_oBNPeHIo
So, what ABC affiliate general manager is not kicking himself in the butt for letting this big money show go to cable?
This selection in my countdown may shock a few people, but it earned its place for two reasons. It has kept the same general opening theme music for decades and also has featured the Monday Night Party intro as well, which is changed each week and reshot each season.
While I love the FOX Sports theme music, ABC’s football theme was first, and I’m glad that they still use it on the ESPN broadcasts.
When Monday Night Football was on regular broadcast television, local stations earned big bucks by selling their share of commercial ad time that was provided by the network. However, many affiliates complained that the long length of the games would delay their 11pm newscasts and cause a drop in ratings. After hearing so many complaints, ABC moved the series to ESPN, where it’s been airing ever since. Sadly, the ratings these stations got back for their 11pm news was short lived. Ratings for all 11pm newscasts are down, now that people get their info off the internet and none of ABC Monday night programs have earned the same ratings. This really was a horrible move on the part of ABC affiliates, who have no one to blame but themselves.
I’m not sure of the exact year ABC started using their now iconic football theme, but check out the game open from 1970 – that’s brought to you by CIGARETTES!
http://youtu.be/8Ldg292epdg
While football on Sunday is awesome and the occasional Monday night matchup is great, both the league and network TV are doing themselves a disservice by adding games on Thursday and Saturday nights. It’s too much football, spread out during the week. NFL games should be more of an event. I, like most people, have to get up for work on Friday… (even some Sunday night games can be painful!) Let’s keep the party where it should be… to two nights a week.
But, let’s check out on more ABC themed MNF open… this one from Halloween 1994!
#13 PARTY OF FIVE
Airdates: 1994-2000 (FOX)
I have to admit, I was not a major fan of this series – but I thought the short opening credits sequence rocked!
Party of Five was a teen drama, which focused on five siblings who had to find a way to live together after their parents are killed by a drunk driver. The show barely escaped cancellation due to low ratings after the first season, but FOX kept it on, and it eventually found an audience.
They must not have been able to secure the rights to use “Closer to Free” internationally. Check out the overdubbed opening credits as seen in Mexico!
#12 DIFF’RENT STROKES
Airdates: 1978-1985 (NBC) 1985-1986 (ABC)
http://youtu.be/iAwagCwJj-g
Does anybody have any real idea what the lyrics to these opening credits mean? I get it’s the story of two orphans from Harlem who go to live with a rich guy in a New York City penthouse… but is the word Strokes a metaphor for a painting on a canvas and that no two are alike? I guess so, because everybody’s got a special kind of story.
Does the voice behind the song sound familiar? That’s actor Alan Thicke, the eventual star of Growing Pains. Thicke actually created the theme song for a number of sit-coms and game shows.
The video shoot from the first season, is similar to The Jeffersons, as it shows their journey from poor to rich in about one verse.
As the series went on, the opening would change to feature new cast shots and b-roll. The kids grew up after each season, Mrs. Garett the original housekeeper left for The Facts of Life, and finally Mr. Drummond gets married and a new woman and her son move in.
Here’s a look at the last NBC season opening:
http://youtu.be/ct5qf3yQHWo
After NBC cancelled the show, ABC picked it up for one more season. Dixie Carter left after fighting with Gary Coleman on the set, so they brought in a lookalike. Since the show changed networks, a new remixed version of the theme was required. Since there are only a handful of episodes of this version of the music, you could say it’s a little rare. It was a cool idea to use all the picture frames, which was high tech at the time!
http://youtu.be/Ubgx8WH84jw
And I found this awesome clip of a Diff’rent Strokes / Knight Rider crossover! I don’t ever remember this… it was clearly a very special two part episode!
http://youtu.be/l3ykuBTVNWo
#11 FRIENDS
Airdates: 1994-2004 (NBC)
http://youtu.be/sLisEEwYZvw
Another show that I wasn’t a big fan of, but I clearly get they’re a group of friends, trying to figure out life in New York City.
The theme song became so popular, it was rewritten with extra verses added, so it could be played on radio. The show lasted for 11 seasons, but the credits were shortened to just the main verse in the later years. Sad, the playing in the fountain opening was kind of unique to this show.
Another big ratings show for NBC, but the time had come to say goodbye. The network was eager to keep some form on this show alive, so they spun-off Joey and sent him to LA to become an actor in his self titled series, Joey.
The show was awful, but yet somehow got renewed for a second season. It was so bad, Family Guy made fun of their character Cleveland when he was spun-off into his own show, wishing him better luck than this. I think we can all say we learned something from this blog this week. It’s not a good idea to send shows from NYC to LA. Just ask Law & Order, that’s a tough change for audiences to handle!
THE 411
What: TV Theme Songs
Use: themes used to open a TV series or cartoon
Purpose: introduce main cast and introduce audience to the theme of the series
Numbers reviewed: 11 – 20
JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS:
Well, some unusual choices for my top 20, don’t you think? Next week, I finally reveal my top ten. No spoilers this time, though. See if you can guess who I picked for my number one theme!
I don’t own any of the rights to these, nor did I upload them to YouTube. This blog is presented for educational and informational purposes.
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[Kicking Back with Jersey Joe] My New Video Blog Launches Thursday
Category: Archive, Columns, Going, Kickin' Back with Jersey Joe, Topics, Travel
Tags:beenandgoing.com, blog, comment, commentary, discussion, entertain, entertaining, Firefly Entertainment, JerseyJoe50, Kicking Back with Jersey Joe, new adventures, update, video, vlog, weekly
OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT – We’ve been together for 199 blogs over two different websites now, so for number 200 I’m taking this to a new level… video!
Starting Thursday at noon EDT/9am PDT, you’ll get to SEE the fun each week! It’s the same excitement you read right here – just a whole lot better!
Take a look at my first launch promo:
THE 411
What: Kicking Back with Jersey Joe
When: new episodes every Thursday at Noon Eastern / 9am Pacific
Where: right here on beenandgoing.com
JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS:
Thanks for checking out my blog each and every week! I’ve learned a ton writing these over the years and I hope you’ll enjoy the new video version even more! Let me know what you think and as always follow me on twitter @JerseyJoe50. See you Thursday!