the 'TV Series with unforgettable music' Thread
POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Monday, March 30, 2026 18:46
VIEWED: 13706
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ATeam and Airwolf are two of mine. I'll never forget those theme tunes. Some of the best parts of a lazy weekend day watching tv as a kid.
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For title music, do I even have to say it? Hawaii Five-O
For series score, Lalo Schifrin's music for Mannix
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ECGordon wrote:
Quote:
But for a show that was perfect in using music to set the theme and structure of all the episodes, none compares to Cowboy Bebop.
Spot on! I would pick this as my absolute favourite.
The other show that had the theme that suited the show was Mark Snow's theme for X-Files. Now I was never a fan of the show but that introduction absolutely found the essence of the show. Absolutely brilliant piece of music.
Other good ones....
John Barry's theme for the Persuaders,
Nerf Herder for Buffy
Cartoons - http://cirqusartsandmusic.blogspot.com
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If we are sticking to TV shows then for main themes the most common is pobably Airwolf for me. That pops up into my head more often than others.
But I also get the themes from Cheers and MASH in there as well. I have tendancy to whistle The Twilight Zone theme whenever something weird happens.
If it's something sadder then it's either The Lonely Man theme from The Incredible Hulk, Close Your Eyes from Buffy or Laura Palmer's theme from Twin Peaks which I consider one of the most beautiful pieces ever composed. In fact all the Twin Peaks music suited the show perfectly.
And as we are talking scores here I have to mention the new Battlestar Galactica. Not so much for it's theme or other music (although it was good) but for the way Bear McReary took Hendrix's All Along The Watchtower, then disguised it and wove it into the show as the awakening theme for 4 of the final five. McReary then took the main sequence of notes which, when turned into the numbers on a toned keypad, gave them the coordinates to (our) Earth. A brilliant way of not just having music playing over the scene but have it become part of the scene itself and in an extremely important way.
"The greatest invention ever is not the wheel. It's the second wheel." - Rich Hall
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I like the opening song in Cleopatra 2525. It's what got me to watch this great, underrated series.
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Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
You all make a list; I'll check it twice...
Sorry, but there can be only one, and it was made in 1963 by cutting up bits of tape and splicing them together:
...the modern versions don't really cut the mustard.
However, I'd also second U.F.O (and add most of the Gerry Anderson shows to the list).
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The A-Team
Mission: Impossible
Battlestar Galactica (the original)
Firefly (of course!)
On a lighter note:
Friends
Three's Company
www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."
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Cheers (totally agree on that theme song)
Fresh Prince of Bel Air (if you can't sing that theme song right now you fail at life)
Looney Toons (can't really forget that music)
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Ignoring main themes and out-of-show "source" music 'cause otherwise we'll be here all year:
There is a bagpipe arrangement of "MacBeth's Theme" in the Gargoyles series, but I can't find it on Youtube.
It's basically the last minute or so of this:
Where that "rolling" fanfare kicks in, just done in bagpipes instead of horns. It's one of the only tunes in existence that actually sounds good on the pipes.
Then there's the "Jaffa March," which still sends chills down my spine:
The Klingon Theme which has been with us since TMP:
It's not exactly reused in any series, but "Unicron's Theme" has become my go-to "Cosmic Horror" music.
There's also "Inca Rose" from El Cazadore de la Bruja
For the utterly sweet, there's Beast Player Erin's "lalalila."
Of course, Yoko Kanno's "original" music for Macross Frontier, which is just a pastiche of all of her favourite soundtracks. (Because she's the goddamn Yoko Kanno, that's why.)
Then there's "Dance of Curse" from Escaflowne, again by Kanno-sama.
And I have to give a shout-out to Wreck-55's "The Demon in Me" and "The Will to Love" from W.I.T.C.H. (both were written by Producer Greg Weissman especially for the show).
(Sorry, but there are no "clean" versions. Damn people talkin' over my music.)
An oldie: the "Thundertank" BGM from Thundercats:
The rock/jazz/gospel "impending beatdown music" from Bleach, that plays whenever Ichigo's about to deliver a truly Epic ass-whuppin':
And of course, the four words that can stop any monster, dispell any nightmare, bring down any evil empire, and save the world from total annihilation:
"I. Am. The. Doctor."
And a whole bunch of background music from Oban Star Racers that isn't on Youtube.
. . . Y'know, I'm gonna break my "no main themes" rule and add "The March of the High Guard" from Andromeda, because it's just so damn alien and cool:
Lyrics:
Heaven burns, the stars are falling,
As the enemy draws nigh.
Sound the call, fleet and Lancers,
"Commonwealth" our battle cry.
Face the foe, never waver,
Summon fire from the sky.
From a million sovereign planets,
Scattered through the endless night.
Bound by blood and High Guard honour,
Hold the line until the light.
Hold the line against the Night.
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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.
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