What tv show has the best theme song?
Recently started watching old 90s and 80s shows just for the fun of it, because I'm bored with all of the new stuff that's coming out, and I fell into Knight Rider.
My review of the show so far aside, it's got straight up the most banger theme music I have heard in a TV show in a very long time.
It got me wondering what other TV shows have really great theme songs?
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Tank! Cowboy Bebop
I fuck with this hard.
This is the kind of music I would play to psych myself up for some hardcore diamond star level shenanigans.
I feel like now I need to watch Cowboy Bebop because I've never seen it.
It's in my top 10 favorite shows of all time.
And I have REALLY good taste.
Well gee, then go on with the rest of the list. How can you just tantalize us like that and not feel bad?
One of my all time favorites! Well worth the watch. Saw a few episodes of the live action and dug that too.
WATCH IT YESTERDAY FR
You might really like this one then. The show is one of the best ever too.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=66v6q7V26oM
see you around space cowboy.
There's an extended version posted on YouTube last month that absolutely slaps.
Thanks for this! Best video I've seen in a good while. Yoko Kanno and SEATBELTS fucking rock!
Hell yeah.
Umm the duck tales theme song reigns supreme
Have you seen the beat-matched version of the DuckTales theme song where Beyonce is dancing to it from the video Single Ladies?
It's amazingly on point.
Holy crap that's awesome!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MMlwDyURu50
How do people notice that kinda thing?
The vast majority of music is in 4/4 time in consistent groups measures and close enough that it either matches up or can be slightly sped up or slowed down without being noticeable.
May introduce you to this timeless masterpiece?
Perfection!
I need more!
Gummi Bears must be up there too.
Really good, but it doesn't have high adventure that's beyond compare.
The extended version is a fucking banger. Guy makes duck sounds with his guitar. Hendrix might have been able to make a guitar sing, but I never heard him make it quack.
Lolz make that guitar quack 🤣
The YMND translation of the Finnish Ducktales theme is forever ingrained into my mind.
“It cannot avail you taco Nazi
look alive and count on Lassie
knit and dance and bake a cake, oh
UNCA OOOOOOooooo”
Edit: Someone uploaded it a couple years back!
When the Duck Tales theme drops
Game of Thrones has got to be up there. Very catchy and fairly unique, but it really captures the essence of (the best parts of) the show.
The themes to Foundation and Severance are also both really in tune with their respective shows.
But for me, the theme to The Expanse is my favorite. Again, it captures the essence of the show, and also like the show it's pretty underrated.
The Expanse is the only show I've never once skipped the opening credits on, even on rewatch. The song's a pitch-perfect mood throughout the whole series, and a great length, too. Doesn't overstay its welcome.
Peacemaker season one had that effect on me. Season 2 grew on me but first season was one I would never skip, even on rewatch.
Did you guys sing along?
Thrones yeah, game of thrones yeah, game of fucking thrones!
Floppy weiners! Floppy weiners! Floppy weiners! Floppy weiners!
Found Ramsey Bolton’s account
damn that's a deep pull
Also;
🎶 DINKLAGE, PETER DINKLAGE (peter dinklage peter dinklage peter dinklage peter dinklage) 🎶
... and so on
You should check out Scavenger's Reign! The intro music only becomes more haunting and fitting as you learn more about the story. I never skipped it and i typically don't like title sequences
Edit: Intro link
Okay, that music was cool as fuck. Like, there's so many places where that is appropriate music.
If it were played at the denouement of any dramatic thriller where like the hero is outside of the room where the person they were trying to save is being actively killed by the bad guy before they rush in to kill the bad guy in revenge, it would fit flawlessly.
There's something very much about death in that song. Death and helplessness.
Oh yeah, 100%! It also lands a little differently through the show, sometimes despairing, sometimes regretful, and even with a flicker of hope. Absolutely recommend if you'd like a sci-fi survival story that feels like a dark graphic novel. The writing is top notch
My college professor gave me the first book of the Game of Thrones series, and I hated it so much.
And because of that, I just, I've never watched the series. Some friends of mine had it on midway through the first episode, and the only time that it caught my attention was when there were titties on the screen. Like, I do not give the first fuck about Game of Thrones.
I have yet to see either the Expanse or Foundation.
I have them both in my to watch list, but I can't really comment on their themes yet.
But Severance? I've watched every episode of Severance, I could not tell you what the theme song is from that show. Even if it's really good, it's also very, very forgettable, which, admittedly, probably fits with the theme of the show very well.
Huh. I have also seen every episode and I can't recall the theme music at all. I know it had an intro because I remember thinking the visuals were cool but I can't bring back a single snippet of the music. Weird.
edit: I had to look it up because it was bothering me. As soon as it started playing I remembered it, I actually think it's a fantastic theme song. It's spare and unsettling, which is perfect for the show but I can kinda feel why it's hard to recall. I'm glad you pointed it out.
I feel like GoT wins, both for the theme and the intro itself. It's instantly recognizable.
I like the Expanse theme, but I don't think I would know it if I heard it out of context.
Got was very intense and visceral.
I've always loved the X-Files intro, it fits so well and has stuck with me ever since I first watched it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4-GcS1UQyg
Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield.
Definitely the perfect song for the show, but any person that listens to this song on its own in public is someone that you should stay away from
It was composed by Mark Snow. Tubular Bells is the theme from The Exorcist.
Fuck, you're right.
I guess tubular bells is good on its own as the theme for the Exorcist, but I also stand behind anybody that listens to tubular bells in public without a good justification of someone you should avoid.
But that also holds true for people that listen to the X-Files theme song.
Has to be X-Men Animated Series
This is the theme song that plays for an ADHD person the first time the Adderall kicks in.
banger
That was composed by Ron Wasserman! He also created the theme for Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.
My god, it's a crying shame I had to come down this far to find this one.
It's really really good.
Surprised nobody's mentioned Firefly yet. It's really good.
Also Pokemon , duh!
Dexter's is also really good. The video too, not just the song. Fitting and eerie and also makes me hungry every time.
True blood also fun and catchy
Also really enjoy Halt and catch fire for that 80s synth vibe.
Also, peaky blinders! Nick cave's voice is just...yeah xD
Stranger things? Cheers? Friends? Community? Lots of pretty good ones out there. Hard to choose, really.
The True Blood theme is an absolute banger
It is! Also really good for sexy time playlists, imo xD
Dexter's intro is one of those that I never skipped. Oddly mesmerizing. I can perfectly visualize it in my mind even now.
Same same! So good!
I actually prefer the japanese theme more.
Well... Usually with these things, at least in my experience is all about which version you've heard first. Also being able to understand the lyrics helps. So.. yeah, English for me. Not that I mind the Japanese version or anything, still cool.
And apart from the original intro, the Johto intro, the intro for Crystal, and the Battle Frontier opening are also really great.
One of my personal favourites is the Italien intro
Yay for Halt & Catch Fire.
Best of all time?
The Peacemaker season 1 Theme slaps and really sets the tone for rest of the show.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_mrr3UNALww&pp=0gcJCU8Co7VqN5tD&ra=m
Best of the 80’s? The Greatest American Hero.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=72MxOo5koto&ra=m
Peacemaker opening is definitely a good theme.
That's the kind of music you want to wake up for because you're so excited about your life you're gonna go and do something amazing.
Peacemaker Season One. Season Two just doesn’t have the same pep.
Just finished both and thought that at first but season 2 grew on me and fit the season theme better. Choreography for season 1 though was definitely more fun. Just songs though, both slap.
Just posted this same thought on another thread. I get stupid chills on the season one intro.
Had to scroll way too far to find the right answer.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGJAsXX8dJw
Damn, okay, so when it comes to classic legendary anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion is definitely high up there, but I feel like there's a really strong contender in serial experiments Lains "Duvet" by Boa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM8RufZr5lw
If they were to duke it out to the death, I don't know which one would win.
Which one would win is the intro to Gurren Lagann, coming in from stage right swinging a folding chair. (Also from Gainax, for whatever it's worth.)
Propane Genesis Evangelion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJdgErAfiRQ
I never really watched it, but the theme from Airwolf is just amazing.
https://youtu.be/ULfmowbNlK0
80s kid here. Have my upvote.
I kind of want to see this rebooted with like one of those stealth blackhawks.
I'll keep it a buck with you. I'm having a tough time visualizing any scenario in my life that would justify playing this music.
Maybe it's something just for helicopter pilots? I don't know.
The time I can justify watching it is when I am watching Airwolf
No theme cooler than Airwolf.
Not a single vote for Cheers?
Madness.
🎶Sometimes you wanna go, where everybody knows your naaaame.🎶
And your husband wants to be a girl.
There's one place in the world where everybody knows your name
It's objectively The X-Men Animated Series theme. All other answers are invalid.
Mission impossible https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pPTCOLbLWxM
and Peter Gunn. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Emg_6ANjWzo
Okay, I feel like Mission Impossible is cheating because everyone's heard it and it's obviously a banger.
And apparently Peter Gunn is one of those things that, at the very least, I've heard it, just never in its original context.
Both very solid contenders.
Highlander https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UyPWpP6w8AA although that's also cheating
Swat Kats https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H0IQBWWabuU
Yeah, Queen is definitely cheating.
Whatever the film company paid Freddie Mercury and Co. to do the music to the original Highlander movie was not enough.
But I don't think I can say the same about SWAT Kats.
If you take out the zwoops and the fwooms and other sound effects that they used to match it to the animation, it's just a really middling 80s guitar track.
Best is not cheating. Is best.
I just remembered some more. MASH, Twin Peaks and X-files.
https://youtu.be/UAO2JBjRRBk
The A-Team
https://youtu.be/yg1Cx26-928
The Rockford Files
Sticking with the 80s theme: The Fall Guy
There’s loads of great 80s themes. Another one I remember the tune but not the show, went along the lines of ‘until tomorrow, I’ll just keep moving on’.
British edition:
The Prisoner
Doctor Who
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Benny Hill
Dr. Who has to be best of the 60s at least, surely
I would say the Doctor Who theme song is the Knight Rider theme song's dad.
There's a lot of similarity, but it's different enough you can see the mom's influence on the kid.
I like how you think
All great, especially how Doctor Who was made--who knew splicing together wave generator tapes could go down in history.
I'd add The Bill as well.
The Bill has an interesting one if you start to analyse it a bit. Some stuff going on.
Fresh Prince
I feel like if you had said this before the Oscar Slap, I would have said hell yes. It's like quintessential 90s TV show theme song.
And it definitely stands on its own, but I feel like it's lost some of its luster. I can't listen to this and differentiate the Fresh Prince from Will Smith the Person.
Still a damn good song, though.
The correct answers were: MASH and The Wonder Years.
+1, MASH has wonderful theme/song. It's also a type of series we probably need to watch today more than ever.
You mentioning MASH made me think of another oddball movie: Kelly's heroes, the 70s one with Sutherland/Eastwood and Savalas. As a young boy in the 70s, this was one of my favorite movies. It still holds a sweet spot in my heart now almost 60 ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0bK-vUlw6M
The Wonder Years theme song is definitely a great song, but also a very heavy, depressing song.
It feels like your uncle is singing to you, and he's drunk, and he's sad that he never had any kids, but he's trying to put on a happy face for you because he doesn't want to share his burdens with you because he knows you're just a kid.
Dude if my uncle could sing like Joe Cocker holy shit
I'm honestly surprised so many people still bring up Mash because, I mean, the actual song is called "Suicide is Painless".
It's a surprisingly adult song for a show that so many millennials grew up to listening to in the womb.
Yet it was written by the director's teenaged son, on the set (of the original movie, not the TV show, which just ran with it).
Ninja edit - the song refers to the final scenes in the movie.
Bojack Horseman comes to mind. It has some similarity to one of my other favorites, Mad Men
Here's the full length version of Bojack's Theme that you didn't know you wanted:
https://youtu.be/UkhHY7U3LwU
The whole soundtrack is up on Qobuz, Spotify, Deezer, etc.
Oh i love the mad men theme so much
Came to post Bojack, it's the only one I sit through every time.
I could not make it through this song.
I love TOS and the next generation, but that theme song would stop me in my tracks every single time. I kind of understand why you're saying people would leave hate for it.
Like going from the soaring orchestral, grand, majestic themes from the next generation, and even the 60s space-optimistic Mahler-esque theme songs from T.O.S. to that sad sap Bon Jovi knockoff acoustic ballad is such a letdown.
For me, it has the very specific sound of "song my dad would've turned up on the radio" and I think it was aimed at his generation. He was a big fan of TOS and TNG and I am confident he would have loved ENT. But that generation was looking more back than forward by the time ENT was made, and ENTs theme has a really nostalgic, backward-facing vibe, which feels really jarring with my idea of what Star Trek is.
I actually really liked that it wasn't instrumental. It was like Star fleet, rough and new and not established and elegant.
dont
That depends. If you want the old style "explain the show" theme song, it's Bruce Campbell's 90s pirate adventure Jack of All Trades.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8kckp1
If you're talking about Bruce Campbell shows, it's like nothing really holds a candle to the theme song from The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. because everyone has heard that song because it's such a good song that America still uses it in the goddamn Olympics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--2FWpjxhnE
For years and years, I think it was NBC sports, would use a portion of the Brisco County theme during transitions. Every time, the nostalgia bullet went straight to the heart.
Hold the fuck up. How did I not know about this?
It's fantastic, give it a watch. He's a brash American spy who moonlights as pirate Batman, and she's a prim and proper proto-MI6 agent, complete with steampunk Q gadgets. Verne Troyer plays a recurring villain role as Napoleon!
Ok, because of the themes which usage of the word "batman" are they using? Modern day usage is obviously the comic book character. Previous to DC creating that character, the word batman referred to a British Military Officer's Butler.
It lasted a season and a half or so, and never got picked up for reruns. The first time Napoleon shows up is worth it all.
I irrationally love this song, and I know it all by heart. Once a week it pops into my head. I sing it at my cat, who is the scoundrel with a heart.
I'm happy to know I'm not alone in my curse.
Gummi bears, ducktales, airwolf
Twin Peaks
I just put it on to listen to it. I find ep1 has the best intro song.
Golden girls of course!
Thank you...
...for being a friend.
I know the theme of the Golden Girls by heart only because it was on so many late night reruns.
I can't say I would ever jam out to it outside of the show itself, and the most negative I can say about it is It's a good song for what it is.
MASH
https://youtu.be/QOS6kfR9u4s
Miami Vice https://youtu.be/dEjXPY9jOx8
I might edit this later with more.
I feel like as a standalone piece of music, it's too much crammed into too little space.
But from my vague and hazy memories of childhood reruns of Miami Vice, I feel like it fits the show very well.
Easy. Firefly
Pink Panther!
Tank! by the Seatbelts for Cowboy Bebop is probably one of the best openers of all time for anything.
The really old spider man cartoon is a straight up banger.
"Is he strong? Listen bud,
He's got radioactive blood"
https://youtu.be/k4E_AXyc2Rs
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na... BATMAN!
Cowboy Bebop. TANK! by The Seatbelts is peak.
Airwolf for the win.
Inspector gadget had a pretty great one for a cartoon. Also an honorable mention for giligans Island.
The Muppet Show
Farscape
Reboot
One Piece (especially "We Are")
The Simpsons
Futurama
Animaniacs
Star Trek: Voyager. An absolute masterpiece. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, X-files, Baywatch.
I was never a big fan of Voyager, story-wise. But the theme is amazing.
Voyager Theme Song
Gotta be Gravity Falls
Agreed, everyone else is wrong.
Enterprise. It's been a long time.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (S01) OP
It's the only anime OP I can actually listen too other than Tank!. Full song
I thought Dark and Severance had good ones.
Love that the story behind both seasons of severance's opening credits was Ben Stiller finding a guy (extraweg) making weird 3d animations on Instagram and hired him to do both.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
The Sopranos
Hill Street Blues
Dawsons Creek
Original Knightrider, andere Vikings
Greatest American Hero - Great theme song but the show hasn't aged so well IMO. I would love to see this rebooted.
WKRP in Cincinnati - Great song and really great show.
Dukes of Hazzard - Another great theme song whose show hasn't aged so well.
Cheers
Fairly Odd Parents might not be the best, but it is worth mentioning.
In the 80s I would say either Greatest American Hero or Fame
What about Barney Miller?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roHYXrLhmHc
This theme song inspires in me the desire to wear tie-dyed bell-bottom jeans and go walking through the city streets at noon on a Thursday.
I don't know if it's an all-time banger, but it definitely has a vibe.
I don't know. For some reason, the theme song to the greatest American hero just does not do it for me. It seems very soft, if that makes any sense.
Like, it's the kind of song I would imagine being played when I'm leaving the party early because I've really got to poop.
And the fame theme song was interesting. I have vague memories of it in reruns also, but I don't think I would ever jam out to it on its own.
The Raccoons had a banger of a theme song. https://youtu.be/TyHXPNNjd-I
It's been a long road...
X-Men
Anything by Bear McCreary.
Black Sails is my personal favourite.
https://youtu.be/XFTcA4QLHw0
I’ll throw a couple that haven’t been mentioned
Arcane
Sonic The Hedgehog
Perfect Strangers
I have mixed feelings about this song because I remember watching this show on reruns and it's a good show and Bronson Pinchot is an amazing actor who's definitely undervalued.
I do say I didn't care for his appearance in Langoliers, I don't feel like it was a good match for the concept of Bronson Pinchot, but he did this movie called Second Sight which deserved a much higher place in our lexicon of coolness than it received.
But back to the song, like, my only complaint with it is, I wish it had a little more huevos. I'm not sure what it's missing, but if it had whatever that missing thing is, it would be one of the greats.
This song is perfect, go back to Mypos!
Let's do the dance or joy!
German mindbender series Dark. So broody
That has the loudest bass thumps in tv.
Knight Rider Theme, eh?
I had no idea. Very cool!
It’s been a long road, getting from there to here…
So many really good ones. I’ll add a couple I haven’t seen:
1970s Battlestar Galactica Buck Roger’s Original Brady Bunch (I hate it, but damn if it isn’t catchy) Happy Days You’re The Worst Coupling Better Things
I like a lot of the themes from the 70s.
Taxi, Hawaii 5-o, Benson, MASH, etc.
The theme from SWAT in the 70s is the GOAT of tv themes. https://youtu.be/LHDg96-ZN_U
That one was interesting. I've never seen or heard of this show before.
I'll definitely see if I can't find a few episodes
https://youtu.be/fMl1dwiFiOA
They did a movie reboot a few years ago.
https://youtu.be/hpiyIu-C528?list=RDhpiyIu-C528
"The Men" was a one season wonder. Three different heroes alternating.
Air wolf. Never saw the show, player the NES game, but it slaaaaaps.
NES - https://youtu.be/U2MCKB-s90M
TV - https://youtu.be/pLFqeXm_5X4
One of my favorites is Black Sails
My two favorites are Psych and Alphas.
Night rider or air wolf as an kid from the eighties. Now all anime series have banger openings.
First season of True Detective was superb: Far From Any Road by The Handsome Family
The Leftovers (my absolute favorite show of all time and severely underrated imo) altered its opening theme a few times, but the standard season 2 version was my favorite: Let the Mystery Be by Iris DeMent
Black Sails
Ones I haven't spotted elsewhere:
The A Team
Thundercats
Quantum Leap
Dukes of Hazard
Streethawk
Dangermouse
Doctor Who
when I need a deep hit of nostalgia to get through some bullshit I'll listen to the quantum leap theme and remember what it was like to sit down on the sofa drinking a pepsi and only care about where Sam found himself tonight.
Star Trek Picard's is pretty epic
Absolutely beautiful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXtn4AiIidw
If I had to find a flaw with it, I would say this theme does not scream Star Trek.
If it were on an independent French film about Patrick Stewart being a wine farmer, going through an emotional close to the story of his life, it would fit just as well as it does as this theme.
The wine is almost ripe on the vine.
Season 3 CLOSING theme is where it's at
https://youtu.be/MM3QT57d26c
Breaking Bad.
I don't like theme songs...
The soprano's
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJpNmYeooQE&t=89
Obviously Pokemon season 1. I want to be the very best, like no one ever was.
The 80s had amazing TV show theme songs. If I only had to pick one it would be Miami Vice.
Not the best tv show theme, but Voyager has the best ST theme out of all of ST.
It may not have been the catchiest song that you'd catch yourself humming
But I really dug the opening for American Gods
The song is sort of reminiscent of Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin, which is of course very fitting
And all the imagery is also very spot-on
The first season, IMO, was probably one of the all-time best seasons of a show I've ever seen
But man did it take a hard nose-dive after that for a few different reasons.
How I met your mother had a banger of an opening IMO. For anime it's Dan DA Dan season 1. But 321 Contact and the Fraggle Rock themes are the best.
My gf has been rewatching “ER” so i’ve been subject to the theme song, but i really do not mind. The theme song slaps. It feels very unique but maybe it wasn’t so much back then and even though I have only watched it indirectly i feel it sets the tone of the show perfectly.
Just reminded me of Rescue 911 with William Shatner.
Arthur theme song kinda slaps.
Bosch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMWc4Ol7yCM
This theme song evokes in me the feeling of leaving a girl's apartment at 3 o'clock in the morning.
You hooked up, you had fun, but now it's time to go back home to the real world, you have to go to work in the morning.
That series was actually awesome to watch, and the theme hits the spot. Would rewatch if there weren't tons of great series i haven't seen yet.
If the Theme from Hawaii Five O doesn’t get your heart pumping, you should call your doctor
The littlest hobo for sure
Think for me it's probably the expanse for how well suited the opening and theme is to expressing the vibe of the show.
https://youtu.be/aoemQv0LYhk
Other shows I'd rate the theme music/opening vibe favourably include:
The 4400 (2004 version)
Battlestar Galactica
Community
Foundation
Flight of the Conchords
Halt and catch fire
Mandalorian
Silo
Westworld
The Goodies
Monkey Magic
Babylon 5
Trapdoor
I've never seen a single episode of Magnum PI, but I regularly listen to the theme song. I think you might like it if you liked Knight Rider.
Magnum.PI with Tom Selleck
Hardcastle & McCormick Magnum PI The Fall Guy
Raised by Wolves. Not a banger as much as a haunting memory you didn't know you had.
golden girls and i’ll fight you if you say different
Succession.
Sesame Street closing credits
Some of my favorites include:
The Mysterious Cities of Gold
Spartakus and The Sun Beneath The Sea
ALF
Jayce and The Wheeled Warriors
Simon & Simon theme was a banger
https://youtu.be/aClyUL_Amfw
Barney Miller
Also, the theme to Succession always got me hyped up. The part when it's showing the kids riding on the elephant, right after the bridge, the piano subtly changes from previous parts. So good.
Stargate
Lost in Space: Season 3 You'll never guess who composed this one. Go ahead and look it up, I want you to experience the sheer awe I did when I found out.
These answers are a testament to how much better theme songs were before the 2000s, especially for kids shows. You used to get a minute and a half of hype music to introduce new viewers to the show or psych up returning viewers. Now, even the best ones, like Gravity Falls, are less then 40 seconds.
The Expanse
Can't pick just one.
MASH, The Sopranos, Lilyhammer, Berlin Station, Bosch, The Newsroom, Shameless
Trailer Park Boys.
Definitely Unsolved Mysteries (the original one). And honorable mention to Rescue 911.
I second Miami Vice. Also, Airwolf is probably my favorite theme music of all time.
I will go with Boardwalk Empire's theme song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVD8VIuX0bA
American Gladiators has got to be up there.
The German Intro of Mega Man
That was cool, but it's the kind of cool where like, I'm not cool enough to go to the nightclub that plays this on the dance floor.
Shouts to Laverne & Shirley and Happy Days
Well this is my jam.
Gilligans island The fall guy Greatest american hero Original mission impossible Gi joe
If i think of more i wilp edit.
I'm probably a bit biased given how much I love Overlord, but Hollow Hunger is a banger that fits the tone of the show perfectly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkkp3FhDVxQ
I can't really put them in any order but the Transformers theme from Lion slaps hard like an oil tanker.
If we're talking cartoons, I still like the M.A.S.K. theme song.
I feel like I’m the only one that remembers this. Thanks.
Also, Saber Rider goes hard
That solo is brilliant.
It was never on TV in my country and this is literally the first time I've seen the intro. It's so late '80s it's making me cry. What an awesome song for an awesome concept! I'm sold.
White Lotus, any and all the seasons
Tokyo Ghoul, but I feel like anime is cheating here.
The song — unravel — is about going mad, which what the show is about.
Zankoku na tenshi no you ni…
Sniper king mini series in One Piece!!!
https://youtu.be/mEmOVx42uI8
Anything by Ramin Djawadi. Raised by Wolves also has a fantastic theme for both visual and audio. You can tell I've got a preference...
In the 90s it was the Power Rangers theme song.
In the 00s it was the Sopranos theme song.
Didn't see anyone mention the original Attack On Titan theme, which is surprising given how popular it was at the time
To nominate a show I actually watched beyond the first season: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I know it's not a serious intro, but the theme to Aqua Teen Hunger Force has been rattling around in my head for nearly 25 years. Definitely a banger in my mind (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcd6wU86OgI).
Didn’t see Golden Girls mentioned yet so I will nominate that one.
Series: "From" Que Sera Sera https://youtu.be/PDd-180FQ8U
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mighty_Orbots
sanford and son’s theme is a segment from a quincy jones song called streetbeater. the full song has a great solo section
Battle of the Planets, original Battlestar Galactica, Space:1999, Sanford and son, The Jeffersons, Good Times
Blue Thunder
Not well known enough, but HBO’s Sharp Objects has a great soundtrack.
Hawaii five o & Tatort
Either the original French dub or English dub opening to Code Lyoko.
Either one can easily get me pumped to watch an episode or two of the show anytime, anywhere.
Edit:
Full version of the English dub opening. Missed that the one I put was just the short version used in the intro.
I've not seen Code Loyoko, so I'm probably pooping all over it, and I apologize, but for some reason this theme song has strong Christian rock vibes.
I wouldn't know since I don't really listen to that genre. But I'll take your word for it.
Adding an obscure one: Judy Greer did a short-lived sitcom with Chris Parnell in the late 00s called Miss Guided. She played a high school guidance counselor. The theme song was played for all of about 2-3 seconds at the beginning of every episode, but that was enough for me to find the band. The song is Beautiful Possibility by The Lisa Parade.
Good question.
I suddenly couldn't remember what McGyver theme was but I remembered it's quite a banger.
And I wasn't mistaken.
https://youtu.be/yOEe1uzurKo
I think I had it on like my Nokia 3210 as a custom ringtone.
One that wasn't good but definitely an earworm:
But currently I've got the Voyager theme stuck in my head but it's somewhat boring, but all the Star Trek themes are good. Perhaps best is ofc It's been a long road from Enterprise.
Someone said "Buffy" and that was good, yeah. I don't think "Angel" is bad either. https://youtu.be/vpAol_17mO0 sounds a bit like Apocalyptica tbh
Now that I checked quite a few, seems like in the late 90's early 00's lots of openings had barely a theme song, 80% just the main character recapping the premise of the show
Chainsaw Man's opening theme is amazing. I rock that song all the time. It's just a great track.
And also, the French version of the Ulysses 31 anime. Well, from the album, the intro is probably the weakest part of what remains to this day one of the best anime OST. Even more so considering it was supposed to be a young kids TV anime. Link to full album <- this is not your usual anime for kids type of music :)
Not a TV show, but still best theme ever (and the best anime ever maybe too)? The original Ghost in the Shell.
And yes they're all old stuff, like me. Sorry youngsters, you were left out of the loop ;)
The music from Ulysses 31 is interesting. It's some, it's one of those rare melodies that you know exactly what the next note is going to be for every single note. But that doesn't make it weaker.
It's kind of like you've done something really stupid and you're about to get your ass beat and you hear dads car pull into the driveway. You hear every step he's taking on his way to your room. You know every single thing that's going to happen, and yet you're powerless to do anything about it.
For a counterpoint, the Ghost in the Shell music that you linked, I imagine, not that I know first hand, but I imagine that this is what it feels like the first morning that you wake up after an ayahuasca trip.
The Persuaders is the music that plays in all of your co-workers' heads when you, the very important person that's been doing way too much work in order to keep the business running, tells your boss to go fuck himself and you walk out the door. That music is what they're about to be going through in your absence.
If you're ever in a situation where the Avengers is your background theme music, you need to take some dilaudid and calm the fuck down. You've been working too hard and hearts are not meant to beat in that pattern.
Space 1999's theme song evokes in me the kind of music that would play in the background when you clog the toilet at your girlfriend's uncle's house on your first visit, and there is no plunger.
Off-topic: Is this the only post across all of Lemmy whose comments are nearly 2x as many as its upvotes?
Xam'd always had what I consider the most catchy theme song. It's been over a decade and I still get it stuck in my head randomly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aco7m9yIkSU
That was interesting.
Like, the music could have been in the Matrix. It could have been in any early 2000s leather jacket and guns movie, and it would have fit.
Battle of the Planets
321 Countdown or Sesame Street. Let's be real
Every now and again I find the Ulysses 31 intro playing in my head for no reason, and I'm ok with that.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ4c1X5ene8
Actual song starts ~40s in
the most late 80s theme
the most early 90s theme
Some great responses so far.
I'm going to go with The Day Today. It perfectly captures the tone of early nineties news and current affairs shows, and it's unnecessary grandiose, bombastic, urgent and it just keeps on going for far too long. It couldn't be more well-suited to the show.
Barney Miller
Yessss, I thought I'd be the only one
I like Superjail (dont know if it was a song already or if it was made for the show)
A lot of ranma 1\2 songs are also really good
Petter Gun
Can you provide a link? I'm not finding anything.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Emg_6ANjWzo
Ironside - Quincy Jones
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fdXoDwGQT78&pp=ygUPaXJvbnNpZGVzIHRoZW1l
Magnum PI
Jeopardy! (2001-2008)
Suite "Pythagora Switch" · Kuricorder Quartet
Chalk Zone.
Vikings theme song is a short version of If I Had A Heart by Fever Ray. I listened to Fever Ray (and The Knife) long before Vikings came out, so was pleasantly surprised. It does fit the show very well.
Pokemon
For me:
Babylon Berlin intro captures the art, the deco, the decadence and the fear of what the viewer knows is going to come of that time period.
Black Sails just perfect
Raised by Wolves I was hit and miss on this in many ways, but this intro is great - albeit I think slightly misleading as to its overall tone.
Pennyworth I thought S1 was a bit silly, but what an intro.
Warrior
Happiness This is just fun, and fits the show brilliantly
See also isn't bad
Romulus Very vikings-esque
Song of the Bandits The song on the YT video isn't great here imo, but they actually mix it up in the show proper and use different songs. And some really fit the theme.
Let Me tell you, unfortunately you are all wrong on this one.
Luckily I am here to guide you towards the truth: Mystic Knights Of Tir Na Nog
The version for German TV got an alternative intro. It's the best.
Duck Tales.
Gladiators.
Tru Blood
Maybe it’s a weird late-set form of nostalgia, but the one for Wakfu always got to me.
What We Do In The Shadows
Mega Man german intro
Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place, hands down the best there ever was.
Edit: I take that back. Lupin The III Part 2, hands down the best there ever was.
In the Heat of the Night
Easy.
Rescue Me and the Norwegian 330 SAR Sea King theme.
I was gonna say wonder woman but that was 70's although the end theme of the incredible hulk is just so classic. mash has an interesting interaction with the r rated movie but again 70's.
Life is a hurricane...
Carnival row
Off the top of my head, Ted and Welcome to Derry are two I never skipped
The Ted one I've listened to tons of times, actually
Mysterious Cities of Gold