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Post by williammcgregor on May 1, 2021 18:06:45 GMT
Hi Folks,
Just for a laugh I thought it would be fun to have a poll of forum members top 10 favourite TV themes
My favourites would probably be
1. Original 1963 Dr Who theme (Way ahead of it's time as befits a Time Lord!)
2. White Horses (A personal favourite)
3. Bonanza
4. Randall & Hopkirk Deceased (My Favourite TV show)
5. This Week (The programme used the Intermezzo from Sibelius's Karelia Suite as a signature tune.) this show always seemed to be on in my home when I was wee.
6. Fireball XL5 (For sentimental reasons)
7. Robinson Crusoe (Always seemed to be during the school holidays)
8. The Saint (Classic)
9. Blue Peter Original theme (Great Show in the 60's with Valerie, John and Peter)
10. Hector's House or (La Maison De Tou Tou) (Who's a silly old Hector !)
What are your choices ?
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Post by Ronnie McDevitt on May 1, 2021 21:00:00 GMT
Freewheelers (Teenage Carnival) must surely be in with a shout William?
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Post by John Wall on May 1, 2021 21:36:26 GMT
What about “The Prisoner”? That Ron Grainer theme with the opening sequence is a story in itself 👍
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Post by John Wall on May 1, 2021 21:37:59 GMT
Howsabout Dangerman? Dangerperson…..
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Kev Hunter
Member
The only difference between a rut and a groove is the depth
Posts: 605
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Post by Kev Hunter on May 1, 2021 21:57:33 GMT
Randall & Hopkirk Deceased, for sure (and now voted for, thanks William), and I always liked the end theme to Sir Prancelot (starts here at around 0:56):
And in a similar (but not as groovy) vein, how about the theme to Ask The Family ("Acka Raga")?
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Post by John Wall on May 1, 2021 22:23:42 GMT
What about the ITV film series from the late 50s, early 60s - as seen on TPTV?
Robin Hood
William Tell
Sir Lancelot
All have wonderful themes 👍
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Post by John Wall on May 1, 2021 22:30:58 GMT
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Post by John Wall on May 1, 2021 22:51:30 GMT
Looking/thinking back it’s noticeable how different themes were from today - imho.
They were almost an integral part of the “experience” because, in those days, there was no squeezing of the end credits and very little talking over.
When you heard the original Dr Who theme which survived largely intact until the end of Season 17 it was always a prelude to something good, and the “experience” didn’t finish until the last second of the end credits. It was largely the same with many of the series on the “other side”.
On the radio the best example was the 1981 adaptation of Lord of the Rings - another theme that “primed” you for a treat.
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Post by John Green on May 1, 2021 23:38:05 GMT
The first DVD releases of Married With Children had a dire mishmash of a theme attached which parodied, non-vocally, the proper Sinatra Love and Marriage soundtrack (and the bring-it-all-down-to-reality thunk added at the end). It highlighted just how well chosen and effective the proper opening was, and the skill that had gone into putting it together.
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Post by timmunton on May 2, 2021 3:19:00 GMT
Pogle's Wood -
Vernon Elliott's opening themes (& his music in general for it) are ethereal, striking, memorable, other-worldly; yet organically evocative of nature & woodlands & so on.
Melancholy with a frisson of the unknown but comforting & joyous all at the same time - a call to a pastoral idyll, released in a cloud of wonder, from a golden treasury of folk memory.
The frisson is in part or more because the opening themes were mainly originally written for the slightly earlier The Pogles series, with it's more scary story elements, but to me these opening themes & other music find their real fulfillment in the later more sublime, cosy and exquisite Pogle's Wood.
I say themes in the plural because the specific musical sequence used at the start of an episode varies. Off the cuff I'd say there's probably at least 3 different ones, used as an opener, over the 26 Pogle's Wood episodes.
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Post by richardwoods on May 2, 2021 5:42:31 GMT
No one has Mentioned UFO. To my mind the theme perfectly mirrored the gung ho attitude taking on the aliens, glass of scotch in one hand, cigarette in the other....... Bloody marvellous!
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Post by williammcgregor on May 2, 2021 6:07:56 GMT
Randall & Hopkirk Deceased, for sure (and now voted for, thanks William), and I always liked the end theme to Sir Prancelot (starts here at around 0:56): And in a similar (but not as groovy) vein, how about the theme to Ask The Family ("Acka Raga")? Wow ! thanks Kev if I had remembered the Ask The Family Raga that would have been in my top 10. I also liked the end theme to Sir Prancelot as well but I don't recall ever seeing that series as by the time of the first series as a 16 yr old I had other things on my mind |
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Post by richardwoods on May 2, 2021 6:11:17 GMT
Right here goes in no particular order including imports
UFO
Mission Impossible
The Virginian
Emergency
Dr Who (Ist slight tweak for Pat’s Era)
Randall & Hopkirk
Who Pays The Ferryman?
Public Eye
The Prisoner
Robinson Crusoe
A couple of Gerry Andersons of course. I think the yanks were good at themes, bigger budgets & perhaps more conscious of marketing the next hour by the theme, just look at Mission Impossible & Emergency. Public Eye was just perfect for Frank Marker’s world. Robinson Crusoe was an out & out classic.
Anita wants to add The White Horses, Follyfoot & the High Chaparral
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Post by williammcgregor on May 2, 2021 6:56:35 GMT
I forgot the Virginian Richard that was a class theme tune and thank Anita for suggesting White Horses !  |
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Post by John Green on May 2, 2021 11:01:23 GMT
The way the DW votes are going to pile up, you're going to have to get another Timmy...sorry, another grid. The "Gotta get another Timmy" is a catchphrase from a show-within-a-show of Disney's Dinosaurs TV series. Speaking of which: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kpL73mLdgAOther classics? The original Postman Pat and Fireman Sam, Tots TV, Henry's Cat (there are at least two of these. I prefer the non-vocal one, I believe). Joshua Jones: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LlNB7NWuAYAlias the Jester: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsxdK6Ps6WoMelissa (the Francis Durbridge series) has a very catchy, simple theme which is heard in full (?) in the first scene which opens on a record-player. A bit disconcerting! Married With Children (have a feeling the cast are watching TV at one point and the MWC theme comes up, and they turn it off. (One episode has a network take up the idea of the Bundy family as the basis of a sitcom...and ruin it. And Woof! www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqlUki0EOV0 |
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