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TV Music themes, is it me?

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  • zebrafishzebrafish <°)))< in Octopussy's garden in the shade
    Posts: 4,312
    TV show melodies are the soundtrack of a generation. When I was 10-16 years old, I spend a lot of time in front of the TV, being flooded with children shows from the 60s and 70s (Flintstones, Jetsons, Pink Panther, Looney Tunes), nature shows (Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, in German: Im Reich der Wilden Tiere), Westerns (Bonanza, The Virginian) and adventure/crime and spy series (The Avengers, The New Avengers, The Persuaders, Charlie Chan, later on the Rockford Files, Streets of San Francisco, Kojak, Petrocelli, Vegas, The Professionals). All this music is the soundtrack of my younger life and has heavily influenced my musical taste (John Barry, funky 70s music).

    Anyway, in terms of the typical rousing music for the Western genre, there are a few outstanding movie themes (e.g. Bernstein's The Magnificent Seeven, Morricone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), but it is this gem from the TV show The Virginian composed by Percy Faith that even today gets my full attention and pushes the right buttons for me:

  • j_w_pepperj_w_pepper Born on the bayou. I can still hear my old hound dog barkin'.
    Posts: 8,680
    Oh yes...The Virginian! Haven't heard the theme for the last forty-some years, I suppose, and remember every note.

    Here's one that German Boomers will certainly remember, and probably some other Europeans as well.



    The series had only seven episodes (filmed on 35-mm b&w stock), which were first aired from 17 September 1966 (nine days after Star Trek came out) until December, but there have been at least twenty re-runs over almost six decades.
  • DwayneDwayne New York City
    Posts: 2,619
    To update (after the 1st round):

  • GerardGerard
    Posts: 5,802
    I'm guessing Mission : Impossible will win hands down. But there's some strong competition nonetheless.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited May 2023 Posts: 2,925
    Out of those, I'd vote for The Avengers every time. But where's Thunderbirds, the manic rush of Roobarb and Custard or the early hours world-weariness of The Sweeney end titles? Or this:

  • zebrafishzebrafish <°)))< in Octopussy's garden in the shade
    Posts: 4,312
    Just out of nostalgia, can a TV theme be more beautiful than this?
    Eye level, the "Van der Valk" theme:

  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,787
    Venutius wrote: »
    Out of those, I'd vote for The Avengers every time. But where's Thunderbirds, the manic rush of Roobarb and Custard or the early hours world-weariness of The Sweeney end titles? Or this:


    I can't believe they didn't include Tales of the Unexpected. It's surely one of the most iconic TV theme tunes ever?
  • mattjoesmattjoes Kicking: Impossible
    Posts: 6,718
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Venutius wrote: »
    Out of those, I'd vote for The Avengers every time. But where's Thunderbirds, the manic rush of Roobarb and Custard or the early hours world-weariness of The Sweeney end titles? Or this:


    I can't believe they didn't include Tales of the Unexpected. It's surely one of the most iconic TV theme tunes ever?

    Yeah, I must say its omission was unexpected. This could almost be an episode of the show.

    (Just listened to it, nice little waltz.)
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,787
    mattjoes wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Venutius wrote: »
    Out of those, I'd vote for The Avengers every time. But where's Thunderbirds, the manic rush of Roobarb and Custard or the early hours world-weariness of The Sweeney end titles? Or this:


    I can't believe they didn't include Tales of the Unexpected. It's surely one of the most iconic TV theme tunes ever?

    Yeah, I must say its omission was unexpected. This could almost be an episode of the show.

    (Just listened to it, nice little waltz.)

    Yes, it's great. You should try to get that series. Well worth a watch, especially those earlier episodes penned and presented by Roald Dahl.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Kicking: Impossible
    Posts: 6,718
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    mattjoes wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Venutius wrote: »
    Out of those, I'd vote for The Avengers every time. But where's Thunderbirds, the manic rush of Roobarb and Custard or the early hours world-weariness of The Sweeney end titles? Or this:


    I can't believe they didn't include Tales of the Unexpected. It's surely one of the most iconic TV theme tunes ever?

    Yeah, I must say its omission was unexpected. This could almost be an episode of the show.

    (Just listened to it, nice little waltz.)

    Yes, it's great. You should try to get that series. Well worth a watch, especially those earlier episodes penned and presented by Roald Dahl.

    I'll certainly consider it. I find it easier getting into series that tell isolated stories each time rather than one long continuous story. Same reason why I might watch Orson Welles' Great Mysteries.
  • GerardGerard
    Posts: 5,802
    An old favourite from my childhood :

  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited May 2023 Posts: 17,787
    mattjoes wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    mattjoes wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Venutius wrote: »
    Out of those, I'd vote for The Avengers every time. But where's Thunderbirds, the manic rush of Roobarb and Custard or the early hours world-weariness of The Sweeney end titles? Or this:


    I can't believe they didn't include Tales of the Unexpected. It's surely one of the most iconic TV theme tunes ever?

    Yeah, I must say its omission was unexpected. This could almost be an episode of the show.

    (Just listened to it, nice little waltz.)

    Yes, it's great. You should try to get that series. Well worth a watch, especially those earlier episodes penned and presented by Roald Dahl.

    I'll certainly consider it. I find it easier getting into series that tell isolated stories each time rather than one long continuous story. Same reason why I might watch Orson Welles' Great Mysteries.

    Yes, as you like vintage TV I think you'd love it. There are a few Bond links too which is nice including one story called 'Lamb to the Slaughter' that Ian Fleming came up with the idea for. They're only 25 minutes long each so perfect for a relaxing quick viewing you don't have to get too invested in. I prefer isolated stories too and not something you have to watch ten seasons of to get the full story arc!
  • GerardGerard
    Posts: 5,802
    Here's an old one, but I loved that series when it aired in France :

  • DwayneDwayne New York City
    Posts: 2,619
    This comes as a bit of a surprise to me: The theme for "The Twilight Zone" beat "Hawaii Five-O" in the final.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited May 2023 Posts: 2,925
    Both greats, no doubt. Still thinking of the gaping omissions, though. Here's one:

  • DwayneDwayne New York City
    Posts: 2,619
    @Venutius. Yes, there were a lot of great TV themes missing from this tournament. Bear in mind, however, that it was limited to just the top 16 nominations and (due to the nature of the twitter site) somewhat shewed to US TV programs.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 2,925
    Ah, right, got you. Yes, the US slant would certainly exclude most of the classic '60s and '70s UK tv themes. Makes sense now.
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