60s and 70s TV title sequences (aka shameless nostalgia)

[philmophlegm]

My contention is that many of the best ever TV theme tunes and opening title sequences came from the 70s, and to a lesser extent, the 60s. Here are links to some of my favourites...



Space 1999: Series 1 (a better theme tune than the generally inferior second series)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8DF9nDJZrdA

UFO
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8RfzkhqBLY&feature=related

The Flashing Blade (Anyone remember this? And is anyone (apart from Parrot Knight, who I assume to know EVERYTHING Who-related) aware of the Doctor Who connection?
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=z-ZEDNkZ2L4

Marine Boy (This was my favourite telly programme when I was 4.)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9HqSkY4vtVY&feature=related

The Prisoner (Great car. Still in production and, as you'll know if you watched Top Gear last night, the new version is faster than a £1million Bugatti Veyron, which is just astonishing.)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HRPDO63rI1E&feature=related

Noggin the Nog
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Jisqle37uWI

Bagpuss
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga23iSxyXO4

Hong Kong Phooey
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vfeAqlYv2wQ&feature=related

The Flumps
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=T1mMQtk3IUE

Blake's 7 (series 1/2 titles)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pnautWFuEnQ

The Sweeney
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UmUOee7fRRQ&feature=related

M*A*S*H
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5hJdvbbIGzQ

Dallas (series 1 with funkier theme tune arrangement than later series)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kR2USYyzoac

Doctor Who (Hartnell era - still the best version of the music, and judged against visual standards of its day, arguably the most visually effective of Who title sequences)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bKg9tuSbXmk&feature=related

The Goodies
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=raHNSIWOG4k&feature=related

Spiderman
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4o29VoxtsFk

The Incredible Hulk
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=f_wsudLasf4

The Muppet Show (this episode with Mark Hamill!)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AUkCSUMS7Zw&feature=related



And arguably the best of the lot:
Hawaii Five-O
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AepyGm9Me6w

Comments

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Regretably, not only do I have The Flashing Blade on DVD and have named a cat after it... I could sing the theme song before we got the DVD.

Can also 'sing' all the Warner Brothers western themes (and we were playing a 50s compilation CD the other day and sang along with the Rawhide theme) as well as all the ATV historicals - Richard the Lionheart, William Tell, Ivanhoe and The Adventures of Sir Lancelot. In fact, one the whole, I prefer the themes from the late 50s and early 60s, though I love the UFO them - but The Champions is almost as good. Oh, and I can also sing all the early Gerry Anderson theme songs. I'm sad...

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

How are you on the mickey take version of Flashing Blade that came out in the 90s? (and to which I think Philo is referring)

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

Ooh - clever. Are you going to reveal the answer for everyone else?

[parrot-knight.livejournal.com]

I do know the connection and I'm not going to reveal it...

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

no more than that hint ...

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Never heard of it. Mind you, as I have never knowingly and deliberately listened to contemporary commercial music since the early 70s....

Flashing Blade, like White Horses and Captain Zeppos, not to mention The Singing, Ringing Tree is simply part of my childhood.

Being in filk, I have parodies up to my ears, though sometimes they can be forgiven (Tom Smith's Temperature of Revenge if only for the lines, "Give me an anchovy covered in goo/It will go in the ear of young Russian jerk/who will send out a message to James T Kirk") or not (much as I like Jordin Kare, he should never have taken his parody pen to Fred Small's The Heart of the Appaloosa.)

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

The mickey-take version that our aristocratic friend is referring to was a comically redubbed version of the show run as a serial on a BBC Saturday morning kids' show in (I guess the 90s).

The Doctor Who connection we've all been hinting at is that it was written by none other than Russell T. Davies.

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Well, there you go. Isn't surprising I don't know about it (or care very much as I think RTDs work has gone seriously downhill since Dark Season.)

[parrot-knight.livejournal.com]

I'd add Nationwide to my list:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VLfUA3zxUmk

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

I'll see your Nationwide and raise you a Weekend World.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh7Ab8tX590


How many modern ultra-serious politics shows have a hard rock theme tune?

This particular episode is an early 80s one, but I think the theme tune is the same.

[parrot-knight.livejournal.com]

I liked the BBC North East and Cumbria regional interview programme 'Heroes' (c.1979-84) - which used the eponymous Stranglers song as its theme music.

Another BBC NE&C series was 'Looks Natural' - which used Jethro Tull's 'Bouree'.

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

Heroes - good song too.

I don't know 'Bouree', but Random* is a big Jethro Tull fan, so I'll mention this to him.



* Jethro Tull, but only Jethro Tull - no other classic rock or prog or whatever genre you'd put Tull into. Similarly, he's a big Doctor Who fan, but doesn't do any other SF. I think this is a little odd.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

"Medicine Now" on Radio 4 had Dire Straits' "Industrial Disease" as the theme music.

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

"You've got smokers' cough from smoking
and a stroke from drinking beer.
I don't know how you came to get those Bette Davis...knees
But worst of all young man, you've got Industrial Disease!"

Great song!