Themes tuned out

[Andy]

Themes tuned out

By Bruce Elder

Sydney Morning Herald

November 5, 2007

Blame it on hyperactive viewers and modern technology. The television theme song, the soundtrack to the lives of so many blissful couch potatoes, seems to be in decline. Once it was a full-blown pop song. Now it is little more than a few notes sampled from a slap bass.

There was a time, many would say a glorious time, when TV theme songs were so long Mum would have time to finish the washing up, Dad could get himself a beer, the kids could finish their game of backyard cricket and they could all sit right down ... well, actually, it was "sit right back", wasn't it? The entire story of how the seven characters ended up on Gilligan's Island. It was an indelible, unforgettable audio artefact to be added to the soundtrack of everyone's life. And on it went for 96 seconds. Think also of The Beverly Hillbillies, The Flintstones, Mister Ed and The Brady Bunch. The entire show summed up in a catchy song.

So what happened? John Holmes, executive producer of Home and Away, is in no doubt themes are in decline. "In terms of [Channel Seven's] new dramas, we don't actually have theme music," he says. "That's been a casualty of the accelerated flow which is the abolition of opening credits and having our closing credits condensed to such an extent that they are put on the screen at the same time as we are promoting the next episode.

"We don't have theme music running under the promo and if you don't have an opening tune and credits there's no need to go out and commission a musician to write a theme."

Is it really because viewers will simply flick between one channel and another if given a chance?

"The short answer is, yes," Holmes says. He points out that there has been a cultural change. Families simply do not come together to watch television in the same way they did decades ago.

Holmes recalls choosing theme music in the early 1980s when he was working on Neighbours. "In those days, you would actually go out and ask for submissions for a theme. I remember with the Neighbours theme we sat down and listened to about 10 different cassettes. I remember being totally confused but going out of the meeting ... whistling the Tony Hatch theme and thinking, 'That's the one."'

Has there really been such a decline, though? Art Phillips, an Emmy Award-winning composer recently responsible for the music to ABC's Outback House and Nine's Missing Persons Unit, is not convinced theme music has reached a dead end. "There are some really good Australian themes on TV at the moment. Some really well-crafted, great stuff," he argues. "One of the most interesting themes that I have heard for years is the theme to Andrew Denton's Enough Rope. It is a really cool, quirky, memorable, left of centre, catchy piece of music."

[emmasi]

I like "At The Movies"

I see what they're saying, that people will switch over... It's just a shame that they're marketing more to wandering audiences than the people that actually care about the show and how it's represented. Music is very important, I think, and I've gotten into a few shows because I liked the theme song and decided to see if the show was as good as it sounded. Yu-Gi-Oh, The OC, Veronica Mars, and Smallville come to mind. Even when I hated Home and Away, I'd still happily sing along to the theme song if someone else started it up - it's culturally ingrained . I'm not a big fan of the ones that explain the entire plot of the show (they were good in their day), but some of them are just beautiful pieces of music that get into your head, and you end up realising that you don't really want to get them out. Much like you get addicted to a show itself, and don't want it to end. It's sad to think that that kind of fan is being abandoned for the one who wants to be constantly distracted with something shiny...

[Cal]

I agree with Jem. I think it would be better if they marketed more to the audience who like the show. It could make a difference.

I also tune in to shows if I like the theme tune. I got obsessed with Brat Camp USA - quite possibly one of the best theme tunes and credits in years. Also, Buffy and Angel (Cool theme... got it on the iPod!)

[bttb-rox!]

I think it's sad that most theme tunes are being 'phased out'. I'm sure i'm not the only one that believes a good theme tune, can really start the show off in a good way. Everything seems more complete with credits, aswell. When it's just the recap and then the 'Home and Away' logo, it can seem a bit 'bitty', if that makes sense? I'm all for theme tunes because I think they set the theme of the show, and they're also good to listen too!

[alexx]

I agree also. I really couldn’t imagine Neighbours phasing its theme tune out though in fact they extended there opening credit sequence recently.

I think its an important part of the show to set the tone though, All Saints used to have one of my favourite theme tunes and I liked how it presented the show…now they don’t even have a logo, its just straight into it with titles over the action…it just comes across as mentioned above, messy.

[Drew]

I agree with Jem. I think it would be better if they marketed more to the audience who like the show. It could make a difference.

I also tune in to shows if I like the theme tune. I got obsessed with Brat Camp USA - quite possibly one of the best theme tunes and credits in years. Also, Buffy and Angel (Cool theme... got it on the iPod!)

Same here! Sadly, that's the reason why I tuned into Buffy. I loved the theme song and I could only hear it once a week (due to the times of no downloading ) And after awhile, I just got hooked onto the show. Same with The O.C.

It's sad that the shows are heading in this direction Well it would be sad if hardly any of the shows return due to this writters strike! So many shows have already stopped filming!

[-Andrew-]

I would be absolutely filled with rage if they ever scrapped H&A's theme tune, its iconic, almost everyone has heard it and knows the gist of it and getting rid of it would be criminal, because there just no need to get rid of it!