Shows with Cool Theme Songs

[richlevy]

Reading the cult TV thread got me to thinking, especially after I overlooked "Peter Gunn". What shows had great theme songs that would grab your attention without even knowing about the show?

In no particular order, my list is:

Streets of San Francisco
Secret Agent
Hawaii Five-O
Peter Gunn
Mannix
12 OClock High (very pretentious orchestrated)
Johnny Quest
Captain Scarlet
Star Trek
Room 222
MASH
Mod Squad
Dr. Who
The Rat Patrol
Battlestar Galactica
Hill Street Blues
A-Team

If you want to check a few out, here is a link

I'll be the first to admit that a lot of the Quinn Martin shows had theme songs that sounded the same, but I just loved the style.

Peter Gunn gets special attention since in 1958, it just seems inconceivable that a TV show from that time could have such a cool theme song.






Honorable Mention

I'll leave Masterpiece Theatre out since it was an existing piece of classical music. Here is an interesting tidbit.

This now instantly recognizable music was originally written for the court of Louis XV, King of France. The blood-stirring piece is Jean-Joseph Mouret's (1682-1738) "Rondeau" from his Symphonies and Fanfares for the King's Supper.

In 1962 my future wife and I went to one of the Club Med villages in Italy. We were in these little straw huts and every morning we were summoned to breakfast by that theme. It was just magic ... I wanted to use it for Masterpiece Theatre but there was no way I could bear to put a French piece of music on something that was supposed to be English. I went through all kinds of English composers and nothing worked. So, it became the theme. The nice little twist on that is that about five years ago someone from the New York Times went to a Club Med in Mexico and commented on what a classy joint it was because they used the music of Masterpiece Theatre to summon people to meals...

Christopher Sarson, founding father of Masterpiece Theatre and its executive producer from 1970 to 1973.
From Masterpiece Theatre: A Celebration of 25 Years
(Courtesy Bay Books, San Francisco, 1999).