There is an Australian TV show called Neighbors which is ending after 37 years on the air. I’ve never seen the show. I heard about Neighbors on a BBC newscast this week. (The BBC paid the majority of the costs of production for Neighbors.) Every report about the cancellation of Neighbors on the various news broadcasts on the BBC Sounds app included an audio clip of the theme song of Neighbors. I had to hear the song numerous times.
And, just judging from the theme song, I think I would not want to watch the show.
Then I wondered if I were to decide whether or not to watch a TV drama based only on hearing the theme song, which shows would I watch?
Retro TV themes told a story
Below are some shows I did watch regularly. But if my decision to watch had been based on just hearing the theme song of the program, here’s what I think I’d have watched and not watched.
The links in the songs list below will take you to the TV show opening video on YouTube. If you want to hear only the theme without the video, click here to see a list of all the theme songs and play each one individually.
YES
1960s Gilligan's Island, The Beverly Hillbillies, Combat, Mr. Ed, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Monkees
1970s The Rockford Files
1980s WKRP in Cincinnati (I was a radio DJ at that time. Of course I had to watch this show which was totally unrealistic about the radio business.)
2000s SpongeBob SquarePants, Sopranos
NO
1960s Green Acres, The Brady Bunch, Batman
1970s Welcome Back Kotter, Three’s Company
1980s The Simpsons, The Fall Guy, The Greatest American Hero, Bosom Buddies (Tom Hanks starred with Peter Scolari.)
2000s New Girl
What would you watch?
Maybe you watched these shows, maybe not. If you want to hear only the theme without the video you can listen to each theme song here. Would you have decided to watch these shows based solely on if the theme song made you curious about the show?
Related TV theme song stories
These Are Some of the Best TV Theme Songs, Ranked
20 TV Theme Songs You Still Can't Get Out Of Your Head
50 TV Theme Songs Every 50-Something Knows By Heart
Watching TV Shows Due To Theme Song
I watched a lot of those shows (on both lists) and a lot of those theme songs are stuck in my head to this day.
As far as oldies but goodies go the theme music for Taxi and the Ramones Spider-Man theme music stay gold.
I recently wrote about the opening theme music for Midnight Diner. Are you familiar with it? https://occasionallyimpervious.substack.com/p/sweet-and-strong-like-plum-wine