Your favorite theme music

[erwinrafael]

Last year, I want back to watching Formula 1 as my I now have a new watching buddy in my son. Fortunately, it was also the season where F1 adopted a new theme music, and we were blown away.

Formule 1 theme by Brian Tyler

My son and I made sure that we watch early so that we can catch Brian Tyler's theme music, which really gets us all pumped up for the race.

How about you? What's your favorite theme music?

[JLa]

Airwolf!


https://youtu.be/l8syGlAMTKA

[The Walrus]

Off the top of my head, my favorite TV theme is Tank! from the anime Cowboy Bebop. But the Game of Thrones theme is VERY close.

But if we're talking movies, it's the Lord of the Rings main theme.

[Architeuthis]

Jurassic Park and Jurassic World themes are really cool!  Jurassic World has a new twist in the themes/score that has a cutting edge and very melodic.   

[Stadler]

Sorry, no joke, no irony here at all, but l LOVE the theme from The Rockford Files.

What I HATE are the cheesy overly-cute theme songs like the one from Friends, or even worse, the one from that show with Puddy, "Rules Of Engagement". 

[T-ski]

pretty much any action show from the 80's but I loved the theme to a very short lived show called "Renegades" starring Patrick Swayze .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEPB4Fitw-c

also loved the theme to the tv show "Due South"...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwIVJXVmAxU

[Adami]

A lot of good ones. Sci-Fi have some great ones for nerds like me.

Stargate SG-1 is one of my favorites (I know it's mostly from the movie too). Also Farscape has a really cool unique one.


As far as movies go, almost anything by John Williams. Dude is a theme song god.

[erwinrafael]

But if we're talking movies, it's the Lord of the Rings main theme.

Yeah, LOTR is great. But I love The Avengers better (as well as my two children). 

[Evermind]

I don't watch a lot of TV shows, but from what I've watched, I'd say True Detective S1 intro theme/song is my favourite.

[Cool Chris]

There is nothing that got my blood pumping more in the mid 80s than the theme to The A-Team. Preceded by the most brilliant narrative intro ever, this theme makes me want to get a mohawk, buy some gold chains, hit the Halloween shop for some cool costumes, learn how to fly a helicopter, and beat the shit out of dirtbags trying to run a racketeering scheme on some old lady to get her to sell her bakery shop to them so they can build a strip mall. 

[Stadler]

There is nothing that got my blood pumping more in the mid 80s than the theme to The A-Team. Preceded by the most brilliant narrative intro ever, this theme makes me want to get a mohawk, buy some gold chains, hit the Halloween shop for some cool costumes, learn how to fly a helicopter, and beat the shit out of dirtbags trying to run a racketeering scheme on some old lady to get her to sell her bakery shop to them so they can build a strip mall.

And you forgot "bang the old lady's hot daughter", because you know Face did. 

"I know, if I have a problem, if no one else can help, and if I can find them, maybe I'll hire... the A-Team."

[pg1067]

There is nothing that got my blood pumping more in the mid 80s than the theme to The A-Team. Preceded by the most brilliant narrative intro ever, this theme makes me want to get a mohawk, buy some gold chains, hit the Halloween shop for some cool costumes, learn how to fly a helicopter, and beat the shit out of dirtbags trying to run a racketeering scheme on some old lady to get her to sell her bakery shop to them so they can build a strip mall.

Damn right!


When I first got a portable cassette recorder sometime in the early 80s, I made a compilation tape of TV show them songs:  Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, MASH, CHiPs, etc.  The A Team was awesome.  Cheers was a great theme.  TV shows now either have no theme or a shitty, short theme.  I dig the slightly updated version of the Magnum PI theme that's used for the reboot, which is surprisingly good.

The "original" (as far as I'm concerned) music they (ABC) used for the Olympics was another great one, as was the opening music for ABC's Wide World of Sports.

[Cool Chris]

The "original" (as far as I'm concerned) music they (ABC) used for the Olympics was another great one, as was the opening music for ABC's Wide World of Sports.

Was that the ".... and the agony of defeat" music where they showed some skier totally wiping out?

On the subject of sports, NBC's NBA theme from the 90s(?) got me ready for some hoops.

[King Postwhore]

I always loved 70's AOR hits so Welcome Back Kotter . 

Even though it's 1981, Believe It or Not from The Greatest American Hero.


Others I loved,

Fat Albert
The Muppets Show
Hawaii Five 0

[Cool Chris]

The Muppets Show

Man when I started watching that new(er) Muppet Movie with the unfunny dude from How I Met Your Mother all I said was "They better include the original TV theme song somehow." I totally marked out when they finally did.

[Zook]

Jurassic Park

[The Walrus]

I always loved 70's AOR hits so Welcome Back Kotter . 

I watched tons of Nick At Nite when I was a kid. Basically the equivalent of TV Land I guess. But it was weird how many 70s and 80s shows I'd watch every night. I never watched too much of Kotter but that theme song has been playing on and off in my brain for the last 20 years. Welcome back...

EDIT: Also I'd like to submit All In The Family's theme song as one of the best sitcom themes ever.

[El Barto]

Sorry, no joke, no irony here at all, but l LOVE the theme from The Rockford Files.

What I HATE are the cheesy overly-cute theme songs like the one from Friends, or even worse, the one from that show with Puddy, "Rules Of Engagement".

Yep. Rockford Files is a good one. Taxi and Barney Miller are both great as well.

I'd probably have to go with Hawaii Five-O. Lalo Fucking Schifrin. Props to The Munsters, as well. The surf influence was a good thing for TV back in the day.

Outside of TV Williams's first Olympic Fanfare is definitely a winner. Dude really captured the spirit of the thing phenomenally.

The OP if theme music rather than theme song, which makes me think of movies. To that end any number of Elmore Leonard scores would do it. I've often said that the theme to Airplane! might be the funniest part of the movie (the white parking is for the immediate loading and unloading of passengers only). For an overall score it's easily Animal House. Every single note of that score improved the movie. I can picture Elmore conducting that incidental music while watching Belushi creep up to Mandy's window to spy on her with a huge shit-eating grin on his face.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

There is nothing that got my blood pumping more in the mid 80s than the theme to The A-Team. Preceded by the most brilliant narrative intro ever, this theme makes me want to get a mohawk, buy some gold chains, hit the Halloween shop for some cool costumes, learn how to fly a helicopter, and beat the shit out of dirtbags trying to run a racketeering scheme on some old lady to get her to sell her bakery shop to them so they can build a strip mall.

Airwolf kinda did same thing for me, although more like blowup dirtbags and badguys with rockets. Kinda wish we had something like this, a mysterious apache just flying around and blow badguys up 24/7. 

[Kwyjibo]

Mike Post did a lot of great TV Themes, Magnum P.I., Rockford Files, Riptide among others.

Danny Elfman has some great movie scores and he wrote the Simpsons theme.

John Carpenter's theme to Escape From New York is another good one.

And I love the german theme to Captain Future: https://youtu.be/dcjhpETolG0

[Cool Chris]

The OP if theme music rather than theme song, which makes me think of movies. To that end any number of Elmore Leonard scores would do it. I've often said that the theme to Airplane! might be the funniest part of the movie (the white parking is for the immediate loading and unloading of passengers only). For an overall score it's easily Animal House. Every single note of that score improved the movie. I can picture Elmore conducting that incidental music while watching Belushi creep up to Mandy's window to spy on her with a huge shit-eating grin on his face.

Listen Betty, don't start up with your WHite Zone shit again. Everything about Airplane! is golden. The seriousness of Rumack trying to console Striker when he's given up, contrasted with the "Win one for the Zipper" story complete with the ND fight song. Brilliant.

Elmer Bernstein did the score to Animal House.

[King Postwhore]

Sorry, no joke, no irony here at all, but l LOVE the theme from The Rockford Files.

What I HATE are the cheesy overly-cute theme songs like the one from Friends, or even worse, the one from that show with Puddy, "Rules Of Engagement".

Yep. Rockford Files is a good one. Taxi and Barney Miller are both great as well.

I'd probably have to go with Hawaii Five-O. Lalo Fucking Schifrin. Props to The Munsters, as well. The surf influence was a good thing for TV back in the day.

Outside of TV Williams's first Olympic Fanfare is definitely a winner. Dude really captured the spirit of the thing phenomenally.

The OP if theme music rather than theme song, which makes me think of movies. To that end any number of Elmore Leonard scores would do it. I've often said that the theme to Airplane! might be the funniest part of the movie (the white parking is for the immediate loading and unloading of passengers only). For an overall score it's easily Animal House. Every single note of that score improved the movie. I can picture Elmore conducting that incidental music while watching Belushi creep up to Mandy's window to spy on her with a huge shit-eating grin on his face.

How the hell did I miss Barney Miller?  That's my ringtone for my brother who is a bass player.

[pg1067]

The "original" (as far as I'm concerned) music they (ABC) used for the Olympics was another great one, as was the opening music for ABC's Wide World of Sports.

Was that the ".... and the agony of defeat" music where they showed some skier totally wiping out?

Exactly.   

I always loved 70's AOR hits so Welcome Back Kotter . 

Even though it's 1981, Believe It or Not from The Greatest American Hero.


Others I loved,

. . .
Hawaii Five 0

YES!  to all of these.

[JLa]

The European football (or "soccer" as some of you would say...) association, UEFA, has an anthem for their Champions League tournament. The chills when this tune is played over the speakers on a cold autumn evening and the floodlights hitting the stadium. It really defines the mood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qqd6T_A9LY

[El Barto]

The OP if theme music rather than theme song, which makes me think of movies. To that end any number of Elmore Leonard scores would do it. I've often said that the theme to Airplane! might be the funniest part of the movie (the white parking is for the immediate loading and unloading of passengers only). For an overall score it's easily Animal House. Every single note of that score improved the movie. I can picture Elmore conducting that incidental music while watching Belushi creep up to Mandy's window to spy on her with a huge shit-eating grin on his face.

Listen Betty, don't start up with your WHite Zone shit again. Everything about Airplane! is golden. The seriousness of Rumack trying to console Striker when he's given up, contrasted with the "Win one for the Zipper" story complete with the ND fight song. Brilliant.

Elmer Bernstein did the score to Animal House.

Yep. I mixed up my Bernsteins, Leonards, and Elmers. He's at the top of my film score composer list. He played a big role in all the movies he scored. He and Warren Oates were the two best things about Stripes (technically, they're the two things that didn't suck). His themes to The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, and The Ten commandments are all integral to those movies, and immediately recognizable.

[ZKX-2099]

John Carpenter's theme to Escape From New York is another good one.

Also The Terminator.

[Cool Chris]

Yep. I mixed up my Bernsteins, Leonards, and Elmers.

You are actually really messed up because you mentioned Elmore Leonard, who isn't even a composer!

Eli Wallach said he wished the Mag 7 score was playing on the set because he would have ridden his horse that much faster and harder. (I think it was him). Great Escape is one of my favorite films, and the music plays a large part in that. Glad to see someone shares my opinion of Stripes.

[El Barto]

Yep. I mixed up my Bernsteins, Leonards, and Elmers.

You are actually really messed up because you mentioned Elmore Leonard, who isn't even a composer!

Eli Wallach said he wished the Mag 7 score was playing on the set because he would have ridden his horse that much faster and harder. (I think it was him). Great Escape is one of my favorite films, and the music plays a large part in that. Glad to see someone shares my opinion of Stripes.

The genius behind 52 Pick-UP. I was thinking about him earlier because of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which I think will be in a similar vein to a EL story.

Crazy mixed up kid, that Werner. Cracks me up every time.

[Zook]

John Carpenter's theme to Escape From New York is another good one.

Also The Terminator.

INDEED.

[Phoenix87x]

Definitely Terminator. And the theme music for Batman 89 as well

[TAC]

The Incredible Hulk. As in the 70's TV show.

[ZKX-2099]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5wOHIi7xCU

Not sure that counts as a "theme" but DON'T TELL ME WHAT I CAN'T POST!

[Zantera]

Other than the obvious ones (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Back to the Future, so on) I was always a big fan of the music in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy.

[pg1067]

I love the opening theme from The Incredibles.

[RoeDent]

I've never seen any of the anime itself, and I don't understand a word of Japanese, but the opening theme to Neon Genesis Evangelion is such a great great tune!