TV Soundtracks

[Prof. Sky Alton]

A while back, Netflix introduced a ‘skip opening titles’ button. I can see the point for people who find they just get in the way of the good stuff but I quite enjoy them: at least the musical part. There are some TV intros that I will sit and listen to, even if I don’t have any intention of watching the show when they finish. And then there are some from shows that I love that I could literally give you an acapella rendition of write now (don’t worry, I won’t…). There are also pieces of music that crop up in the shows themselves that can make my heart pick up: Rose’s theme from Doctor Who, Sky/Daisy’s theme from Agents of Shield and pretty much anything in The Musketeers.

We talk a lot about movie themes and scores but less about those from TV shows, even though statistically we hear them far more often. Do you think there’s something about exposure to them that keeps us from getting as invested in music composed for the TV? Do you have any absolute favourite TV themes/opening sequences? How about pieces of in-show music? Is there a scene you remember particularly vividly because of the music?

[Shiloh Adlar]

There are certain pieces from TV shows that I absolutely love and have even choreographed to. If you have seen Daredevil, the opening theme to that is beautiful for a dance piece and I have a little bit of it fleshed out already. There is also all of the Battlestar Galactica music composed by Bear Mcreary. The opening theme to that is extraordinary. There is also a piece later on when the final five are revealed that I can remember that scene very vividly specifically because of the music. I have also choreographed to that piece back in high school for one of my dance classes I took. I'm sure there are plenty of others but Battlestar has always stood out to me, and Daredevil more recently simply because I watched it more recently.

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

A thing of vivid remembrance ...

The Twilight Zone theme song immediately comes to mind. There are a couple of folks, one of whom maybe being the person who started this topic, who keeps coming up with things that I'm writing or am going to write, or have just written and that music just starts up in my head!

[Shadow Gaunt]

The only TV show I ever really watch is a Russian question show “Chto Gde Kogda” or “what who when” and the opening title for it is very vivid and easy to remember, and quite impressively made.

[Prof. Amy Lupin]

Yesterday was quite an intense day for me, so I decided to treat myself to an episode of Blue Bloods (which I'd previously decided to ration due the possibility of there only being a handful of seasons left). As soon as the DVD menu loaded and the theme music started playing, I felt myself immediately relax and had a sense of "all is right with the world". Some other favourites of mine include the theme music from Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which is very upbeat, and the The Musketeers as well. I also remember the theme music from Downton Abbey quite fondly.