This is a new series dedicated to theme songs, scores, and any type of music featured in film and television that I love, that gets stuck in my head, or that has special significance.
It occurred to me that I’ve been going about this latest list the wrong way. Instead of doing the work and choosing my actual favourite theme songs from the TV shows I watched as a kid, I’ve been posting everything. And because every time I think about it, I remember yet another show to add to the list – making the list quite possibly infinite – I’ve decided to take corrective measures and make this right.
So among all the shows I have and haven’t written about that I watched as a child, I’ll list my favourites and post the opening credits and the full theme songs, if I find theme. Not an easy task, but it must be done, because I’m bored.
Some of the chosen videos have already been posted. I’ll comment on a few, but not all.
Welcome to the clip show of DOOM…
Here we go:
THEME SONGS FROM THE KIDDIE YEARS – PART 3 – THE END
This is how I should have done it all along…
The candidates are (and trust me when I say I watched all of this shows, probably not every episode from every show on the list, but I watched them):
Land of The Giants, I Love Lucy, Automan, Manimal, Airwolf, The Bennie Hill Show, Thundercats, M*A*S*H*, Tour of Duty, China Beach , The Wonder Years, 21 Jump Street, Batman, Street Hawk, Wonder Woman, Mission Impossible, Dallas, Super Force, Knight Rider, Baywatch, The A-Team, The Equalizer, Monsters, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, Alf, Small Wonder, Family Ties, Tales From The Crypt, Doogie Howser,The Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman, V, Starman, Misfits of Science, Looney Toons, Chips, MacGuyver, Magnum, Remington Steele, The Love Boat, Treasure Island, Highway To Heaven, Supercarrier, Silk Stalkings, Parker Lewis, M.A.N.T.I.S., Dead at 21, Eek The Cat… So many more, OH GODS!!!…
Here are my favourites:
Street Hawk
This show was so damn cool! Everything about it was cool: Rex Smith, the bike, the stories, the cool night city shots, the bike, Rex Smith, THE BIKE… I hope this show never gets remade. Ever.
Theme Song: Le Parc by Tangerine Dream.
Airwolf
Theme by Sylvester Levay.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Theme song: The Funeral March for a Marionette by Charles Gounod.
China Beach
Theme Song: Reflections by Diana Ross and the Supremes
Tales From The Crypt
Theme by Danny Elfman.
The A-Team
Theme by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter.
Monsters
Theme by Donald Rubinstein. Unfortunately, I can’t find a clean clip of the theme song. But you can get the gist of it from the intro credits.
Tour of Duty
Theme Song: Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones
Eek The Cat
I think the theme song is by Dee Snider of Twisted Sister. I’m not sure. But it rocks!
And my favourite of all favourites: The Equalizer
Television dramas from the 70s and 80s had a sense of levity no longer used in modern TV, except for the USA Network shows, where characters are welcomed and sunny skies abound.
But in the 80s, The Equalizer was probably the only show I remember being gritty and hardcore. Edward Woodward was stellar in the role of Robert McCall. A film version is in the works and I have high hopes for it only because Russel Crowe will be in it.
The wonderful theme song was composed by Stewart Copeland from The Police.
Listen to the extended version here. It is beautiful.
That’s All, Folks!! … No, wait, let’s do it right: