June 14, 2011

5 Theme Songs I Can't Skip

I watch almost all of my television on DVDs or Netflix. The only shows I've watched as they aired in the past year have been The Clone Wars and Game of Thrones. When you knock out entire seasons of television in a weekend, listening to the theme song over and over can get old. Fast. Some of them have me poised and ready to hit the next chapter button on the remote. I don't want to risk them getting stuck in my head. A select few never get skipped. Yes, even after I've listened to the same song or music dozens of times. I've limited my list to geeky sorts of shows, otherwise Mad About You would be included (hey - don't judge).


Angel Season 5 Opening by finash
Angel - This one is all about the music. The visuals are the standard character portraits from the current season, nothing flashy. But the sound, oh those violins. They tug at me every time. Note: I think the statute of limitations on spoilers for this show is expired, but I will caution that this video is from the season five opening. If you don't want to see what characters are around then just close your eyes and listen.


Dexter - Do you remember the first time you saw the opening theme for Dexter? Wasn't it the most brilliant frakking opening you'd ever scene? I still feel that way. They made the everyday morning routine into a parade of subtle nods to homicide. The lighting, the nuance, the shapes - it's just beautiful work. If you don't watch the show, you can still enjoy this trailer. It's not gory, and there aren't any spoilers.



Firefly - I want a line from this song tattooed on my person. I don't think I need to say anything else.


Doctor Who Series 4 - I don't skip any of the Doctor Who openings, but series 4 is my favorite arrangement. It's also short, and it's hard to time fast forwarding through it without cutting into the episode. I spend time trying these things out, you know.  For science. The Doctor would approve.


Game of Thrones - This one grew on me. The music grabbed me from the first time I watched (you can pre-order the soundtrack  now).  The visuals - not so much. It felt a little steampunk-y, and as a friend put it, a little too Tim Burton for the medieval setting of the story. The more I see it and watch it repeatedly on YouTube, the more I see the loveliness of the design. From the storytelling on the spokes of the clockwork orrery to the way the theme changes to include new locations - it's impeccable.

What are your favorite television theme songs?
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28 comments:

  1. I'd add True Blood to that list.

    Great combination of music and imagery.

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  2. I LOVE the opening to Angel and Firefly. For some reason, I can't stand to watch the Dexter opening credits. It really creeps me out.

    I haven't yet seen Game of Thrones so I can't comment on that one but I can't wait to watch it.

    I agree with Untrained Monkey. True Blood is a good one and, weirdly, doesn't freak me out like Dexter. I also like Battlestar Galactica (the new one, not the 1978 one). Bear McCreary is a genius.

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  3. Bones theme by Crystal Method!

    And as short as it is, I dig Castle also.

    And any Doctor Who theme is ritual. The whoosh at the end is like it's pulling you into the TARDIS.

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  4. Fast forwarding through the Doctor Who theme is sacrilege!

    My favorite of them all is the fourth Doctor's original theme and opening.

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  5. Loved GoT from the beginning, also Stargate SG-1 and Battlestar Galactica. And I'll occasionally flip on a Sopranos rerun on A&E just for the theme then turn it off again...

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  6. True Blood and Veronica Mars are a couple I never skip (along with all of the ones on this list).

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  7. Psych! I absolutely adore that theme song! I also love how they sometimes do a rearrangement of it based on the episode (holiday versions, a Bollywood version, Boyz II Men and Curt Smith did reinterpretations too).

    Also, a big hearty yes to Bones.

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  8. The haunting strings in the Angel theme give me chills, it's so beautiful!

    I also love BSG, but then again, I'll listen to Bear McCreary's music all day long. I also can't skip the Bones theme, mostly because my husband does a silly dance to it, and The Big Bang Theory theme because we always sing along to it at the top of our lungs. I'm sure the neighbors love us.

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  9. Game of Thrones is awesome. Now I'm going to go watch Firefly because of this....
    My favorite- the opening to Whale Wars on Animal Planet.

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  11. I might be hunted down and flayed for this but after seeing it so many times I tend to skip through the FireFly theme now.

    I still sing it while pretending to do the dishes or laundry or something, but I dunno.

    *ducks down and hides behind giant pile of laundry*

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  12. Stargate SG1 is nice, and I think Atlantis was sweeping and epic. Quantum Leap, back in the day. And Stingray, the Nick Mancuso show, but I'm probably the only person who remembers that show.

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  13. A-Team is one of my big ones, though I whistle the theme unconsciously from time to time

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  14. Anytime I watch my MacGyver DVD's I must watch the whole opening sequence because the images bring me back to my childhood and never fail to give me a big goofy grin.

    True Blood rocks I want to get that song for fun! I actually did the very same thing for the Sopranos because the beat of that song was so neat (A3's "Woke Up This Morning" if anyone's interested).

    Also I know it's not a theme song but I love that song from "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"

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  15. "Burn the land, boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me."

    Enough said.

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  16. 1. Anything by Sid & Marty Krofft
    2. Battle Of The Planets
    3. Star Blazers

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  17. I love the Angel theme song. I never skip the Firefly or Battlestar Galactica opening credits--I have to sing along! But I have to say I skip the Dexter and Game of Thrones ones. They're great, but once it's approaching 2 minutes in length, I just want to get to the show!

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  18. I always watched all of the Weeds intros. I especially liked it when they had different artists doing the theme song.

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  19. The husband and I always feel the need to watch the Chuck theme because it's Cake, and how often do you hear Cake in the wild! I also love Game of Thrones because it changes. B5 was my all time favorite for a long time however, especially Ivanova with "Our last, best, hope for peace ... it failed"

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  20. I agree with all except Dexter, too creepy! If I had to add one, it would be Trueblood. I'm also quite fond of the Hawaii 5-0 theme song :-)

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  21. A lot of the ones already mentioned. Firefly, Game of Thrones and Psych. Another that gets me is ST:TNG but my all time favorites have to be the five season openers to Babylon 5.

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  22. I never did manage to skip Deadwood's opening theme. Could be 'cuz it's about the cheeriest part of any given episode...

    Also, the opener from The Walking Dead, but it could just be that it's so short skipping it is almost more of a chore than sitting through it. I think it sets up the mood really well, though.

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  23. Capria -- because it's such a clever re-use of the repose from the original BSG movie theme. I have found both on Youtube:

    Compare Caprica theme:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gMCNuZANVo
    And the movie (at 2:10): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjbvcZi_nXA&playnext=1&list=PLA9DA08CE43879E53

    Also KnightRider still rocks.

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  24. Wow, so many good songs. I want to make a montage of all these theme songs just to see what would happen.

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