Sunday Music Vids: TV THEMES

Sunday Music Vids: TV THEMES

: Published on Sunday, September 23 2012; Written by Katie Marzullo

As you all know (or SHOULD know by now, sheesh!), the Primetime Emmy Awards are tonight, and so I thought would be fun this week to pay tribute to some of the memorable music in TV history!

Oftentimes, a TV show’s theme song can outlast the TV show itself. Sometimes, it’s a pre-existing song that the producers are able to get the rights to ("Friends", "Bosom Buddies"), making it a classic as part of the show where it might have been ignored as a stand-alone track; and sometimes, the song is composed specifically for the show, and becomes indelible with the story that the series tells ("The Brady Bunch", "Gilligan's Island"). And, occasionally, a show’s theme is written with lyrics that never actually make it into the final production (“M.A.S.H.”).

What you may not know, since it is never a part of the Emmys telecast, is that the TV Academy does hand out awards every year in at least 5 music categories, including Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score), and Outstanding Main Title Theme Music. The nominees in those two categories this year are:

Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)

“Smash” (NBC)

“Downton Abbey” (PBS)

“Pan Am” (ABC)

“The Borgias” (Showtime)

“30 Rock” (NBC)

Main Title Theme Music:

“Touch” (FOX)

“Great Expectations” (PBS)

“Page Eight” (PBS)

“Homeland” (Showtime)

“Hell on Wheels” (AMC)