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01-24-2007, 11:56 AM
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#1 of 25 
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Curt
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Location: Twin Cities, MN. USA
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Local Date: 12-02-2008
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Scoring for television or: "they don't write 'em like they used to"
I got to thinking of all the memorable theme music and cues created for television in the 1950s and '60s and wondered: what's happened to all the grandeur? Fred Steiner's music for "Perry Mason", the "Bonanza" theme (even a hit record for Al Caiola), "Have Gun Will Travel" and "Twilight Zone" with Bernard Herrmann and the jazzy "M-Squad" theme by the magnificent Count Basie Orchestra. What's happened?! 
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01-24-2007, 12:23 PM
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#2 of 25
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Member
Location: Dallas, TX
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Local Date: 12-02-2008
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Re: Scoring for television or: "they don't write 'em like they used to"
"Time" is what happened. Different time, different era. "They don't make 'em like they used to".... I seem to remember another thread here about favorite TV show themes but here's a few of mine:
Barney Miller
Bewitched (all seasons)
Bionic Woman
Cheyenne
Dallas
Dick Van Dyke Show
Flintstones (3rd Season)
Get Smart
Gilligan's Island
Gunsmoke
Hill St. Blues
Honey West
I Dream of Jeannie (1st Season)
Jetsons
Jonny Quest (60's show)
Leave it to Beaver ('62 season)
Love Boat
Mannix
Mike Hammer (80's version)
Mission:Impossible
Rawhide
Rifleman
Rockford Files
Secret Agent Man
Star Trek (TOS)
Taxi
Time Tunnel
Voyage to the Bottom Of the Sea
- Jeff Willis (Mainly a late 50's - mid-90's TV/DVD Collector)
"Combat! A Selmur Production"
"Two American scientists are lost in the swirling maze of past and future ages during the first experiments on America's greatest and most secret project...THE TIME TUNNEL! Tony Newman and Doug Phillips now tumble helplessly toward a new, fantastic adventure...somewhere along the infinite corridors of Time."
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01-24-2007, 01:27 PM
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#3 of 25
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Steven
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Location: New Jersey
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Local Date: 12-02-2008
Posts: 149
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Re: Scoring for television or: "they don't write 'em like they used to"
Also commercials eating up air time.
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01-24-2007, 01:35 PM
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#4 of 25
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Bob Gudera
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Re: Scoring for television or: "they don't write 'em like they used to"
Didn't some modern shows actually do away with theme songs entirely? There is a good book on TV scoring by Jon Burlingham, but I don't recall the title.
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01-24-2007, 02:03 PM
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#5 of 25
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Re: Scoring for television or: "they don't write 'em like they used to"
That would be "TV's Biggest Hits: The Story of Television Themes from 'Dragnet' to 'Friends'". An indisepensible guide to not only TV themes and their composers but also to the underscoring of many episodes in dramatic television. Firm favorites such as Herrmann, Goldsmith, Stevens, Frontiere, Steiner, Courage, Schifrin and many others are covered in depth, composers that greatly enhanced the TV shows of the 50s - 70s.
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01-24-2007, 02:50 PM
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#6 of 25
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Curt
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Location: Twin Cities, MN. USA
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Local Date: 12-02-2008
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Re: Scoring for television or: "they don't write 'em like they used to"
Thanks for the tip, Michael, this looks very good.
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01-24-2007, 03:08 PM
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#7 of 25
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Member
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Re: Scoring for television or: "they don't write 'em like they used to"
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Originally Posted by Steven_J_H
Also commercials eating up air time.
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Exactly, shows like Lost and 24 have very short themes (although both are more like noises as opposed to themes) because they want to use their time for the show. Even The Simpsons, which used to have about 1 minute to about 1:15 opening theme, now has less show time so they cut the opening to about 15 to 20 seconds. |
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01-24-2007, 03:28 PM
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#8 of 25
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Re: Scoring for television or: "they don't write 'em like they used to"
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Bob Gu
Didn't some modern shows actually do away with theme songs entirely? There is a good book on TV scoring by Jon Burlingham, but I don't recall the title.
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Yes, some current shows seem to be doing away with a main title sequence altogether, and consequently doing away with the need for theme music, or use a main title sequence only sporadically. What's substituted is usually a brief snippet just showing the name of the show -- reminds me of the title card networks used to show regularly at the half-hour mark of an hour-long show.
Although I do sometimes skip title sequences when I'm watching on disc -- particularly if I'm watching several episodes in a row -- I miss 'em when they're not there on the network broadcast.
I second the endorsement on the book. A very entertaining and informative read. |
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01-24-2007, 09:18 PM
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#9 of 25
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Join Date: Jun 2005
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Re: Scoring for television or: "they don't write 'em like they used to"
I can accept the shortening of opening themes, although quality shows like the Law and Orders, which are among the few new things I watch, still have full opens. What's worse to me is the absence of underscore. It's been almost completely replace by awful, treacly alt-rock garbage. Besides shaky camera shots, nothing causes me to discard a series quicker than the shows that use the lazy method. But hey, thanks to tape and now disc, I have options.
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01-24-2007, 11:12 PM
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#10 of 25
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Member
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Re: Scoring for television or: "they don't write 'em like they used to"
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Originally Posted by Michael Alden
What's worse to me is the absence of underscore. It's been almost completely replace by awful, treacly alt-rock garbage. Besides shaky camera shots, nothing causes me to discard a series quicker than the shows that use the lazy method. But hey, thanks to tape and now disc, I have options.
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I couldn't agree more with this, although I don't believe it's laziness that has caused the change, I think it's economics. It's probably too expensive to hire a composer to score shows these days. The few that do (Desperate Housewives comes to mind) really stand out as excellent, IMO. There's nothing I abhor -- or fast forward -- more than the garbage montages that shows want to stick in nowadays. Those are absolutely horrid and suck the life-blood out of the show. |
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01-25-2007, 01:06 PM
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#11 of 25
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Re: Scoring for television or: "they don't write 'em like they used to"
I think a great theme song can actually make a show. It just shows a great degree of professionalism and sophistication--like the producers take the show seriously and want it to succeed. Great themes are just another way to get people talking. I think the Drew Carey Show greatly benefitted from its lively and memorable opening. Then again, lack of a theme sure never hurt Frasier, so who knows--
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01-25-2007, 01:36 PM
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#12 of 25
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Member
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Re: Scoring for television or: "they don't write 'em like they used to"
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Originally Posted by Ethan Riley
Then again, lack of a theme sure never hurt Frasier, so who knows--
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I don't know...
Wouldn't be the same without those 'tossed salads and scrambled eggs'.
Speaking of themes and Frasier, remember the episode where he wrote and conducted his own massive pompous theme for his radio show? (the trombone scared Niles)
That was great. |
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