I caught an episode of Roseanne today, and I was reminded of how catchy that damn theme music was.

And because I've watched every single episode in the past week and a half, I have total love and appreciation for the Alias theme. In the episodes they roll the credits over the action, I miss it.

I don't remember if anyone said this yet, but I absolutely LOVE the theme song from Half & Half. I like the song even more than I like the show!

I've got a cartoon theme song that's even catchier than Spongebob. You know why? Because

Timmy is an average kid
And no one understands
Mom and Dad and Vicky
Always giving him commands
("Bed, twerp!")

'K, I'll stop. Others, most of which have been mentioned:

Daria
Disney's Adventures in Wonderland ("Every day there's something new, with music, rhyme, and a dance or two...")
Baywatch
The Adams Family
Angel. I was hooked on this before I ever cared about the show. I'd tune in when it was on just to hear the theme song, then watch something else.
Gummi Bears
Fraggle Rock
The Muppet Show
Mary Tyler Moore
I Dream of Jeannie
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Welcome Back, Kotter
Smallville (which I don't even watch)
Friends
Futurama. As anyone who's been in a school band knows, the first rule is if ya ain't percussion, ya don't touch the percussion stuff. But even now whenever I enter a music classroom I have to sit on my hands to keep from banging out the Futurama theme on the bells
The X-Files, now and forever
Night Court. I taught myself how to play it on the flute. I was quite pleased with my young self.
The catchy little ten-note theme from Good Eats

Nothing can top Cowboy Bebop's. I always conduct my imaginary jazz orchestra when it comes on. At 1:00 AM.

I loved Space Cases (Nickelodeon show) and I can recite every line, to this day.

Some of my faves:

Buffy (Fast, motivating music to kick butt to)
Angel (Haunting and Beautiful)
The Jeffersons (How can you not love classic lines such as: Fish don't burn in the kitchen...)
The Jetsons (Meet George Jetson - so peppy)
The Flintstones (Hanna Barbara knew there themes: I love words)
Moonlighting (Romantic, jazzy)
The Facts of Life (You have to sing along)
Gimme Break (both versions - love Nell Carter's voice)
Good Times (So catchy, made you pay attention)
What's Happening (Instrumental goodness: Boi-ng, Boi-ng, Boi-ng...)
The Smurfs (This still gets stuck in my head: LaLaLa...Can't stand the show)
Inspector Gadget (Again, just watched the theme song didn't like the cartoons that much)
The Thundercats (Aww, the childhool memories!)
Sanford and Son (Another instrumental goodness)
The Drew Carey Show (Though not an original song - it makes me feel happy)

My Personal Faves,

1. Peter Gunn
2. Mission Impossible
3. China Beach
4. Hill Street Blues
5. Thunderbirds! (International Rescue)

What about Airwolf and Miami Vice - you just can't beat those cheesy 80's Jan Hammer chords. Also Audrey's dance from Twin Peaks. Uber-cool.

Also, for kid shows, the end tune to The Raccoons" ,the opening tune to "Mr Rossi", and Pole Positiion. I have them on the computer and they still make me smile when i remember them.

Plus for the Brits, the opening tune to Jim'll fix it - "your letter was only the start of it...." and i almost forgot Rentaghost!!

You know what? It really was.

Yay, Tabbyclaw! I am not alone! Some people STAND in the darkness, afraid to step into the liiight... Okay, I'll stop now.

Hee. Plus, they manage to stretch "tryin'" out into three syllables. Took me years to figure out that part of the song.

I love the themes for both The Jetsons and The Flintstones -- Hanna Barbera knew their stuff -- even though I cannot stand actually watching The Jetsons.

Bweh bweh BWEH doo... It's unmistakable.

Oops! Actually The Jeffersons line is "Fish don't fry in the kitchen" (...Beans don't burn on the grill). Heh.

The theme from Speed Racer is pretty catchy.

I don't know if I would call it "good" exactly, but 90210's "Duh nuh NUH NUH" opening brings back so many memories and general feelings of nostalgia.

... "WHAP.WHAP."

I always loved that high-five clap myself.

Don't get me started, you two! I'll start sniffling. Oh, those were the days.

...followed by Steve's head-turn.

Some of my favorites:

That's My Bush!- The song and the lyrics are so catchy! And the gospel singing at the end is great.
American Idol- Ooooohoooowhoohoo!
Soul Train- SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUULLLLLLL Train!
The Oblongs and Harvey Birdman keep me singing along.

I will agree with you there. It made me jealous that I was not at that time a pouty-lipped perky-breasted bad girl so that I, too, could have an awesome theme song of my own. Sadly, I am still not a pouty-lipped perky-breasted bad girl. Maybe I should work on that.

Ah, the Twin Peaks theme - so calm yet creepy at the same time (I thought.) In fact the entire music on that show; it kinda had this 50s vibe (especially during those dream sequences...!) and the Laura Palmer death theme manages to sound both sad and scary at the same time.

True story. We had a parakeet that could whistle the theme song to Night Court.

Tell me about it. I remember once i was all alone in the house and that music came playing over the stereo and I had to flip the track as it was scaring the willies out of me. The music still sends shivers down my spine.

Word to Midnight Creeper. I also wanted to look like Audrey. Hell, i would have settled for looking like the Log Lady. Instead i tend to resemble Bob, on a bad day ; )

I wish my cats could do that.

Love the Jem! theme song, especially when the Misfits basically hijack it halfway through.

This is my first post ever, and I have been reading TWoP for a long time. Apparently this topic moved me. I just wanted to say that when I was about 5 years old SWAT came on right at my bedtime, but I got my mom to let me stay up and listen to the theme song, because I loved it so. I don't even know if anyone watched SWAT after I went to bed, but I knew what night the show came on, and I knew that I got to listen to it. Kids are weird.

Heh, emmasmom. When I was little I used to sneak out of bed on Saturday nights to watch The Carol Burnett Show just for "I'm so glad we had this time together" at the end. Loved the happy-sad feeling it gave me.

There is only one song that really has an effect on me. I guess it really doesn't count as a theme, per se, but kinda sorta, since it was an episode theme. I don't know. Innyway, it's from an episode of X-Files, with the house of freaks. All I really remember was them killing that black family and that song playing in the background. I seriously can't hear that song to this day without getting truly freaked out. "blah, blah, blah, wonderful, WONDERFUL!Oh so wonderful my looooove"----Eep, now I got the heebies! Aaaaaaaaah! *runs screaming into the night*

Amberosia, that was the show was called Home, about the very close-knit family where Mulder found Mama (or really what was left of her) underneath the bed. That show really gave me the hee-bee-jee-bees. What was worse was that I truly love that song, but it took me a while to be able to listen to it again without thinking about that family driving off with Mama in the trunk.

My vote for one of my favorites is Mary Tyler Moore's Love is All Around, especially Joan Jett's version.

Don't think these have been mentioned in the "worst" category, but the themes from HGTV's House Hunters and the "new-n-improved" Weekend Warriors are annoying as all get out, and the same goes for Clean Sweep on TLC. I know these shows are fighting to keep production costs down, but geez, there's gotta be a better solution. Makes me think of the music used in the wacky news music pitch in the movie Broadcast News.

Y'know what theme I hate? Well, 'hate's' a strong word. Hmm. A theme I think doesn't work with its show? Ground Force. That British show where 2 blokes & a bra-less bird landscape a backyard behind somebody's back. Not a bad show. But, the little trumpety theme kinda bugs me. I dunno why.

I love Taxi's theme song, always makes me nostalgic for some reason. Same with The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the original Happy Days theme song which was "Rock Around the Clock". The other theme song was shit. I also loved the Bob Newhart (the original, with Emily) and, of course, The Jeffersons.

Hate, hate, hate, hate the Enterprise theme song. I cannot listen to it without experiencing violent thoughts. And for some reason, and it was probably Alan Thicke, I hated the theme to Growing Pains. You know, "Show me that smile aga-a-ain." Blech.

I dont know if its up here, and dont want to go through 28 pages, but I love Dukes of hazzard 2 good ol boys. I always have and always will. in 1981 I had it played on radio for my 4th bday

of course some will always be famous some good some bad. like cheers all in family brady bunch gilligan's island andy griffith friends.
I like cheers a lot too

Hi Halfpint Ingals. You might want to take a look at this recent announcement from Glark here. Even if you don't want to read a lot of pages, it's probably not a good idea to announce that fact.

Also, you may want to check the FAQ regarding TWoP's views on capitalization and such. Thanks!

Oh, and I agree with you about the Dukes of Hazzard theme...there just aren't enough goofy narrative tv theme songs on anymore.

That's cute. I used to make my mom leave the channel on for a few extra minutes, even though she didn't watch Cheers, just so I could hear the theme song and play air piano.

Aw, dahlia, I think you might be my evil theme song twin. (You know, "evil" 'cause we're opposites.) I like the schmaltzy Enterprise theme, even though I don't watch the show. And I loved the Growing Pains song.

I briefly liked the "Enterprise" theme song, mainly because I was in that maudlin, post-9/11 type of mood. I grew to despise it. They played a different version of it (different singer) every hour in the Publix near my apartment, and it made me quit watching show alltogether.

Hated the show, but loved the theme! And the Misfits songs were better!

"Wanda at Large" sucked, but that theme song was cool.

On the other hand, the "Eve" theme blows. I can't understand any of the words, there seems to be sound distortion or something, and you would think that, on a show starring a rapper, the rapper herself would do the theme. But no, Eve is too busy badly acting; so she gets Missy to guest badly rap.

I loved the 21 Jump Street theme song. Holly Robinson singing, lots of action shots of the boys, hot young Johnny Depp. Good times. "I said, JUMP. Down on Jump Street."

JUMP!

So Eve doesn't do the own rap for her show? That's just weird.

I always liked the parts of the Cheers theme that weren't sung on the show, especially:

You roll out of bed, Mr. Coffee's dead,
The morning's looking bright.
And your shrink ran off to Europe
And didn't even write.
And your husband wants to be a girl.

Be glad there's one place in the world
Where everybody knows your name...

Watching "Brilliant but Cancelled" - my absolute favorite show in the sixth grade is on: "The Night Stalker" Whee! I still have a crush on Kolchak, in spite of the toupee.

I always loved the Night Stalker theme - starts with the jaunty whistling and then the scary cellos start.

I think I'm going to see if it's down-loadable anywhere. It would make good start-up music.

I couldn't resist bopping along to the theme from thirtysomething and I also loved My So Called Life.

I must have a thing for W.G. Snuffy Walden.

(whispering) "Go. Now, go."

I loved that part.

The David The Gnome theme song made me tear up when I listened to it. Probably because it reminded me of carefree times... but I love that song.

I also liked Fraggle Rock, Duck Tales, Gummi Bears and Charles in Charge.

My favourite cartoon theme has to be the signature instrumental theme from Batman TAS. Dark and booming and fuckin gorgeous. I especially like the bit before it goes into the "ominous crack of lightning" sound. It's pure Gotham. The new Batman Beyond theme is also pretty darn good although it took a while for me to get used to the techno-esque-ness (Look Ma! I made a new word!) of the music. Very, er, schway. Heh.

And word to all the love for the Angel theme. I don't even like Angel, but I was tempted to watch the show, just coz the music was utterly beautiful.

There's a car commercial that features the theme from "The Jeffersons". It's not a very good commercial - and it plays a lot on Animal Planet and Discovery Channel, which TudorPrince watches a lot, so he's heartily sick of it - but whenever I hear it, I stop whatever I'm doing and start singing and dancing around the room, "Oh, we're moving on up - moving on up - to the East side - to the East side - to a deeluxe apartment in the skyyyy..."

And I'm happy again.

Ooh, yes. The "ominous crack of lighting." I am a musical moron; what's the main instrument in that theme? Some kind of horn?

*lol* Unfortunately, I'm a musical moron as well. I think the main instrument is definitely some kind of brass horn though.

I used to like Mission Impossible and Peter Gunn (showing my age )

My absolute favorite though was Airwolf...(why? I have no idea)

Oooo....Peter Gunn. Good one.

Personally, I don't know anyone who doesn't get down and funky to the theme from "Hawaii 5-0". But I think the world of T.V. themes reached it's apex when Joey Scarbury lent his dulcet tones to the immortal "Believe It Or Not" for the classic series "Greatest American Hero".

Angel-it is just purdy music

Charmed

The Fairly oddparents- that show is way cooler than sponge bobany day!

The first drew carey theme- The last line is "Move over Parma tonight" it always reminds me of my mom's reaction when her hometown was mentioned on tv.

Smallville- i just like the song.

And last but not least FIREFLY!!!! I miss that show so much

I would boogie to this when I was really little, even though I couldn't stand the show.

Maybe there should be a category for "Themes That Were Better Than The Shows They Were Part Of". The Perry Mason theme would qualify for that in my book, though I could understand if some people found it a bit melodramatic for their tastes.

Hawaii 5-0 fits too. The show was blah most of the time but that tune was anything but!

One Life To Live's '80s theme, before they added words to it, was funky. Bow-wow-wow-wow-wow. It was all like porno music in the afternoon.