Huffy Flounce

I'm declaring Newhart the winner of this tournament.

Go Knight Eider or Go Home.

Are we still nominating? I wanna nominate "Vikings", I love the intro.
It's got a cool song, cool imagery, and that final shot of the three boat rowing viewed from under the water is badass.

Also, what of theme songs from spin-off/re-imagined shows?
Cause I saw the Ninja Turtles theme nominated, but while I know it's pretty vividly iconic I don't think it is very good. It's overly loud and fast, and I feel only really memorable due to the turtle fad and fond nostalgia. The theme for the new series, however, had a scaled back beat and has a nice flow. It's memorable without being abrasive.
So would his just be a nod for "Turtle themes" or individual shows.

The 2000 series theme can suck it. They tried to make "Turtles count is off, 1, 2, 3, 4!" interesting.

Mango wrote: Cause I saw the Ninja Turtles theme nominated, but while I know it's pretty vividly iconic I don't think it is very good. It's overly loud and fast, and I feel only really memorable due to the turtle fad and fond nostalgia.

Here's what today's kids think of it:

Mango wrote:The theme for the new series, however, had a scaled back beat and has a nice flow. It's memorable without being abrasive.

I don't know... the only part of it I remember is the part that revamps the original theme. That part certainly is slowed down, but the rap lyrics themselves are actually performed at a higher speed than the lyrics of the original. Even if I knew the new song by heart, I would have trouble singing along with it because my tongue would get all twisted.

This is what I wrote about the original theme in the "Memorable TV Opening Themes" thread:

Mal Shot First wrote:I also can't leave out the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme. I think I've mentioned in a thread on Corona how I didn't actually understand most of the lyrics to the song when I was a kid, but all you really had to understand was "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (which is easy enough) so you can chant along with the theme. I told this to Goiter once: there's something so primal to this element of the song that it sticks with you right away and stirs some kind of excitement within you, as if you know instinctively that shit's about to go down. It reminds me a bit of how the Rocky theme can pump you up. Maybe it's just me, though.

By leaving the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles chant to merely the frame of the song, the new theme takes away from the excitement that the chant elicits.

Not that this has anything to do with theme songs, but an amazing classic TV channel I get has been doing their own March Madness bracket pitting all of the shows in their library against each other. It's now down to the final four of MASH, The Twilight Zone, The Andy Griffith Show and Star Trek. Here's the full bracket:

http://metvnetwork.com/files/MeMadness_ ... s_0331.pdf

I voted against MASH and Star Trek every step of the way. Shows what I know.

I like all four of those shows.

If it's older than him, Goiter is guaranteed to like it.

There's a greater guarantee of my liking it if I liked it when I was between the ages of three and ten. The Steve Miller Band and Eagles are older than I am. Those guys must have done some serious corn flake pissing to get me not to like them.

The four shows in question are some of the most beloved shows in TV history--hence their making it where they made it in the bracket. It's not surprising anybody would like them.

I'm not a big fan of some of the drama episodes of M*A*S*H's later seasons, and the Andy Griffith Show can be saccharine and preachy to a fault. I love The Twilight Zone and Star Trek pretty unconditionally, though. They can both get pretty goofy, but it doesn't change the way I feel about them.

What's the biggest upset you see anywhere on the bracket? For me there are two glaring ones, but I'd be intrigued to hear what you guys think.

I don't know about upsets, but I wouldn't have voted for The Beverly Hillbillies over The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. I also wouldn't have gone with Emergency! over The Rifleman or Cheers. Emergency!'s success in the bracket is probably the biggest surprise to me. I'm a little surprised The Rockford Files beat Gunsmoke, though I like both shows. (Leigh Brackett wrote an episode of The Rockford Files. That's pretty cool. Brackett. Bracket.) Same goes for Quincy, M.E. beating Get Smart. I'm surprised Rawhide knocked out Taxi in the first round. Again, I like both shows. I probably like Taxi a little more. It's a shame The Man from U.N.C.L.E. got paired with Star Trek in the first round. I probably would have gone with The Abbott and Costello Show over The Andy Griffith Show.

Wonder Woman getting knocked out in the first round was a surprise, but it was against Mary Tyler Moore, so it was probably a close battle.

I'm also kind of surprised about The Brady Bunch getting knocked out by Perry Mason. To me, this suggests that the majority of the people voting is probably quite old. (Same goes for Love Boat and The Rifleman or Emergency! and Cheers.) I'm surprised that Perry Mason made it as far as it did, quite frankly.

The Bob Newhart Show vs. Mary Tyler Moore would have been a tough one to call in advance, but I would have probably voted for Newhart, solely based on the theme song.

Mal Shot First wrote:Wonder Woman getting knocked out in the first round was a surprise, but it was against Mary Tyler Moore, so it was probably a close battle.

I don't know if it was that close. I think Mary Tyler Moore has the broader appeal. Wonder Woman has a bunch of casual fans, but its most vocal fans are women born in the mid-sixties to early seventies and old school female fans of superhero shows. This doesn't mean I think it has no broader appeal. It's a generally well-liked show. It also has the benefit of all those decades of action figures and apparel marketing. Mary Tyler Moore, on the other hand, was a critical and popular juggernaut in its day. It also benefits from being beloved by an even older generation of Dick Van Dyke Show fans.

Mary Tyler Moore also benefits from having a greater rerun presence. More seasons means more appeal for TV stations to buy the syndication rights. Wonder Woman only has fifty-nine episodes and a TV movie. That's under the usual threshold for live-action syndication. It used to be a 100-episode threshold, but I think it's been lowered to allow for shows with four seasons of 22-23 episodes each to get picked up. One of the reasons for lowering it is that seasons have gotten fewer and fewer episodes as years have passed. In the late fifties, the average show was putting out something like 30-35 episodes a season.

Carter is a goddess. There is no denying it.

I bet you were just Diana post that one.

I WILL ACCEPT NO PUNS ABOUT CARTER!!!!!!

It has your Prince all over it.

I will seek solace in her Spanky Pants!

That sounds so wrong.

Sounds pretty Amazon.

If I can get next day delivery, I am in!

The Swollen Goiter of God wrote:I don't know about upsets, but I wouldn't have voted for The Beverly Hillbillies over The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

That was one of the two I saw. And perhaps I give Emergency! more credit than it's due? I've always really enjoyed that show. It's got the perfect blend of 70s cheese and 70s serious drama.

I was also surprised by Brady Bunch getting knocked out by Perry Mason, but the only other one I'd call an upset was Quincy M.E. beating Welcome Back, Kotter.

The Untouchables is another show which doesn't get nearly enough love. It's one I never really seek out on Me-TV, but every time I've managed to catch it, I thoroughly enjoy it. Great storytelling.

Oh, and my apologies to Dalty, but I voted for Mary Tyler Moore over Wonder Woman, followed by Bob Newhart Show over Mary Tyler Moore.

Almost entirely because of the theme song, exactly as Mal said. I did it for you, man!

Carter is sad.