Loading...We’re coming up on the half way point of my top 100 TV Themes summer count down. I’ve never done a countdown show before, maybe we should do this more often! So far, we’ve focused mostly on oldies, now we’re going to start moving up towards the 21st century.
Sadly, as TV progressed into the 21st century, the new style was for shows to shorten or drop their theme songs all together to slam in more ad time. The standard sitcom now runs only 19 minutes without commercials!
Anyhow, I’ve got a few police show themes on my list this week… so let’s take a look!
#60 THE SMURFS
Airdates: 1981-1989 (NBC)
It’s a bunch of little blue people with giant white hats that live in a mushroom village. These little blue guys skyrocketed into popularity when they first aired on NBC Saturday mornings. Originally from a comic strip in Belgium, the show grew so popular that the Peacock Network expanded it to 90 minutes!
The cartoon regularly featured magic potions and stories set more in the medieval times, that’s until the last season when they started to add more time travel stories in an attempt to boost ratings.
In the end, it wasn’t low ratings that killed this show, it was The Today Show. NBC had plans to create a Saturday morning version of Today, however that didn’t happen for two more seasons after they pulled the plug on Papa Smurf.
Now, fans of the show can enjoy the two live action blockbuster movies, with a third planned to hit theatres next year.
#59 COPS
Airdates: 1989-2013 (FOX) 2013-present (Spike TV)
COPS was another of those early shows that helped put FOX on the map. What a simple and cheap concept to put on TV. It was essentially, TV’s first reality show. A camera crew rode around with police officers as they went on patrol and then edited the best action of the night down to 30 minute episodes.
This show was a staple of FOX Saturday night until last year, when new episodes moved to Spike TV. This series made it to air thanks to the 1988 Writer’s Guild of America strike. FOX needed new programming for their developing network and this reality show was it.
The theme song changed very little over the years with only the voice over slightly rewritten starting with season 3 to add “all suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.” As with most shows, FOX cut down the theme in the later years, dropping the entire second verse. Here’s the intro to one of the last FOX aired episodes with the revised voice over:
http://youtu.be/FLvH-2d6ruY
#58 CRIME STORY
Airdates: 1986-1988 (NBC)
When Miami Vice became an instant hit for NBC, they wanted another big blockbuster show to follow in the footsteps and the execs came up with Crime Story.
Crime Story followed the a big time crime boss from Chicago, who escapes to Las Vegas, and takes over organized crime there. This show was unique in that it changed cities from Chicago to Vegas in the first season. Season 2 takes place almost entirely in Vegas, except for the very end, where our crime boss escapes to Mexico, had there been a season 3.
Here’s a look at the awesome season 2 Las Vegas intro.
The show did a great job of turning 1980’s Chicago and Vegas into their 1950’s counterparts. If this series were on the air today, it would be all computer animation and green screens. That couldn’t be done back then, so they brought in vintage cars, changed street signs, and shot in older parts of the cities that could easily represent their old school theme.
The series featured 50’s music, cool 50’s cars, and lots of guns and violence. The show was one of the more violent on TV at the time. One scene used the nuclear testing in the Nevada desert as a plot to knock off a bunch of gangsters.
This series did great in the first season, but was killed in the ratings by CBS’s Dallas and Falcon Crest on Friday nights.
#57 HILL STREET BLUES
Airdates: 1981-1987 (NBC)
http://youtu.be/bABk47MVyug
Another of NBC’s gritty 80’s cop shows, Hill Street Blues opening credits put you right in the middle of the action. I love the dirty, raw shots of the city interspersed with the awesome piano theme. You know exactly what kind of cop show you’re getting into with this.
And when is the last time you saw an actor smoking in the opening credits?
#56 FAME
Airdates: 1982-1983 (NBC) 1983-1987 (Syndicated)
As you can see with the last few themes, NBC was the powerhouse of television in the 1980’s and they tried for another hit idea with this series dealing with high school kids in a performing arts school. However, a tough Sunday night time slot killed it on the network. When the show was sold into syndication for local stations – it became a hit.
Fame showed the lives to high school kids in a New York City performing arts school as they tried to make big names for themselves in show business. Looking back on these credits now, I don’t think many of them actually did!
#55 CSI: NY
Airdates: 2004-2013 (CBS)
Gary Sinise was the prefect choice to star in the third CSI spinoff, CSI:NY. I work in Manhattan and wish my office was as cool as the lab CSI was!
Over the years, the series survived a number of cast changes, including the departure of the show’s second star Melinda Kanakaredes. When CBS moved this show to Friday nights, I knew the end was near, but somehow it still managed to survive for several more seasons.
I actually like this series better than the original CSI or the first spin-off CSI: Miami. The streets of New York gave this series more drama and mystery as our detectives tried to piece together the weekly list of murders. Sadly, the show wasn’t always shot in the Big Apple and at times it was obvious to see when Los Angeles streets were being used, instead.
Baba O’Reilly really rocks here, though. Don’t you think?
Here’s a look at one of the final show opens and the cast changes are obvious.
#54 I LOVE LUCY
Airdates: 1951-1957 (CBS)
It was TV’s first mega-hit and it probably the most well known TV theme of them all. Everybody tuned in each week for Lucy’s next sit-com misadventure. The show made Lucy and Desi millionaires and has been on the air in reruns, ever since the original broadcast.
#53 FAMILY TIES
Airdates: 1982-1989 (NBC)
Another of NBC’s powerful 80’s sitcoms, Family Ties dealt with two 1960’s hippies that went on to raise a family, while tackling politics and liberal/conservative government debate on a weekly basis.
I always thought the second version of the opening credits with an artist painting a family portrait was cooler. No other show that I can think of has ever tried this style of credits, since.
As the kids grew up over the years, producers added another kid, as most do when they try to keep a show relevant in the later years.
Besides the sha-la-la-la at the end of the credits, most will remember the production company’s title card after the end credits that featured the famous dog, Ubu.
http://youtu.be/b21JjtknZ-Q
#52 EMPTY NEST
Airdates: 1988-1995 (NBC)
A spin-off of The Golden Girls and aired immediately after on Saturday night’s, Empty Nest told the story of Harry Weston, a pediatrician that lived across the street with his giant dog, Dreyfus. The characters from both shows crossed over so much that in the final seasons after The Golden Girls was cancelled, Sophia was brought in as a main cast member.
This show was freaking hilarious and was a great companion to The Golden Girls and it showed with big ratings! Remember when people watched TV on Saturday nights? NBC had such strong Saturday shows, people would tune in starting at 8pm and stay on through the local 11pm news.
In the earlier seasons, Harry worked in a Miami hospital as a pediatrician, but in later years, he was reassigned to a local clinic. The first concept was better, as it allowed him to interact with more kids, which added to the comedy.
In the later seasons, a more upbeat version of the main theme was introduced, which in my opinion was a great upgrade!
http://youtu.be/tazTm3e98ew
#51 TWO & A HALF MEN
Airdates: 2003-present (CBS)
I never really watched this show and I didn’t care for the premise or (worse) Ashton Kutcher, but for all the trouble behind the scenes, this show has a great theme.
While the credits really don’t introduce anything about the show, the barber shop singing theme is unique. It’s a popular show and I know I’m missing the bus on this one, somehow.
http://youtu.be/65_W6vezUx4
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: 51 – 60
JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS:
We’re nearly half way done with the summer count down. I hope you’re enjoying this trip down TV memory lane as much as I am!
Check back next week when we take a look at numbers 41-50. Next week we’re going back to the 60’s, the most awesome car ever, and the scariest show I’ve ever watched on network TV!
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.
Image credit – Draconiansleet
