Top 50 TV Theme Songs of All Time - No. 40-31

     TV theme songs are a lost art form. That's not my opinion, that's the genuine reality of the current television landscape. So many series these days think it's enough to display a 5-second title card with a few musical notes and call it their theme song. Back in the day, TV theme songs used to introduce you to a show. Some of them would reveal the entire premise performed by an aging cruise singer. Others would simply use a really catchy melody to reel viewers in. Either way, theme songs have been an integral part of television as an art form and I'm here to give them their due.

     I will be counting down the top 50 television theme songs of all time over the next few days. The rankings and omissions found in the countdown are my personal opinion and not entirely reflective of the common television viewer. However, some themes are so iconic regardless of my own personal opinion that they deserve a spot on the list. 

Click here to view the shows that came in at No. 50-41.      

Featured in this post will be No. 40-31.

Here we go:

40. Batman

"Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na na-na-na-na-na-na-na Batman!" That's literally the whole theme song. And it's brilliant. It's one of the most recognized themes in all of television even for it's simplicity. Accurately matching the campy style of the series, the theme does not take itself too seriously.

Top 50 TV Theme Songs of All Time - No. 50-41

     TV theme songs are a lost art form. That's not my opinion, that's the genuine reality of the current television landscape. So many series these days think it's enough to display a 5-second title card with a few musical notes and call it their theme song. Back in the day, TV theme songs used to introduce you to a show. Some of them would reveal the entire premise performed by an aging cruise singer. Others would simply use a really catchy melody to reel viewers in. Either way, theme songs have been an integral part of television as an art form and I'm here to give them their due.

     I will be counting down the top 50 television theme songs of all time over the next few days. The rankings and omissions found in the countdown are my personal opinion and not entirely reflective of the common television viewer. However, some themes are so iconic regardless of my own personal opinion that they deserve a spot on the list. 

     To begin the countdown, I will reveal the shows that ranked No. 50 through 41 on my list, a YouTube clip of the song and a brief description of why they stood out as iconic themes.

Here we go:

50. Seinfeld

A bouncy, popping, bass-driven ditty, the theme to NBC's wildly successful Seinfeld is one of the most recognized of all time. The song accurately matches the sitcom's zany, erratic style while managing to be stuck in your head for hours after the show is over. Though it could be considered annoying, it deserves a slot on the top 50 list.

The Heat (Feig, 2013)

     So much of The Heat, the latest film by Bridesmaids director Paul Feig, should not work. And yet it does, almost exclusively on the strength of Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy as both comedic and dramatic actresses. It takes a very tired buddy cop premise, in which two very different officers are forced to work together, one by-the-books and uptight, the other crass and street-smart, and even though they butt heads at at first, they eventually learn to find the strengths in both of them! It's a cliched, formulaic storytelling trope used in way too many comedies (Lethal Weapon, Men in Black, Rush Hour, the list goes on and on). What separates The Heat from being just another spot under the "Buddy cop comedies" category on your Netflix Watch Instantly suggestions is how different it feels from the standard buddy cop film. Yes, there is a fair share of outrageous, slapstick-style humor, but there's also a great deal of heart. It's not the kind of "heart" Hollywood likes to awkwardly tack on to the end of raunchy comedies; it's a real, earned sense of female friendship that is rarely seen in a film industry that seems stubbornly committed to pitting females against each other.

Breaking Bad - Episode 5.09 - "Blood Money"

Walt (Bryan Cranston) in Breaking Bad                                      Ursula Coyote/AMC

     Few shows get the luxury of truly going out on top. Even the most classic shows get cancelled too soon (Arrested Development, Firefly, Twin Peaks) or they chug along way past their prime (The Office, Roseanne, The Simpsons). With the help of Netflix and the binge-watching phenomenon, Breaking Bad has become one of those few shows ending at the right time while also having its biggest audience ever. With the record-breaking 5.9 million viewers who watched the premiere of season 5B, Breaking Bad has broken through the culture in a major way. Vince Gilligan and company likely felt a lot of pressure to really deliver for the show's last eight episodes, but you wouldn't know it, given the quality of the premiere. Titled "Blood Money", the premiere episode of season 5B features many of those explosive moments that have turned the show into a mainstream hit while also featuring the understated character moments that made it more than just a modern-day pulp classic.

Fruitvale Station (Coogler, 2013)

     2008. New Year's Eve. 22-year-old Oscar Grant III and his friends go out to celebrate the new year in the city. 2009. New Year's Day. Oscar Grant is killed at Fruitvale BART Station in Oakland, California. The incident shocked the nation in the aftermath of New Year's Day 2009, and that incident is the ending of director Ryan Coogler's feature film debut, Fruitvale Station. Knowing the ending of a film usually prevents most people from wanting to see it, but Fruitvale Station isn't the typical Hollywood film that leads to an unexpected, unpredictable finale. Much like Titanic, most people going into this know exactly how it ends, but that doesn't lessen its impact or make the ending any less horrifying. Fruitvale Station ultimately becomes about the journey of Oscar Grant's life leading to that incident. 

1st Annual TeleFilmiest Awards - Winners (Part 2)

1st ANNUAL TELEFILMIEST AWARDS - WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT

     Welcome back to the 1st Annual TeleFilmiest Awards. Click here for the first group of winners. I now present the winners for the final twelve categories:

The nominees for Best Comedy Ensemble are:

The cast of 30 Rock

Scott Adsit, Alec Baldwin, Katrina Bowden, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, Tina Fey, Judah Friedlander, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, Tracy Morgan, Maulik Pancholy and Keith Powell

The cast of Arrested Development

Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, David Cross, Portia de Rossi, Tony Hale, Ron Howard, Alia Shawkat, Jeffrey Tambor and Jessica Walter

The cast of Girls

Adam Driver, Lena Dunham, Alex Karpovsky, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet and Allison Williams

The cast of New Girl

Zooey Deschanel, Max Greenfield, Jake Johnson, Lamorne Morris and Hannah Simone

The cast of Parks and Recreation

Aziz Ansari, Rashida Jones, Jim O'Heir, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Amy Poehler, Chris Pratt, Retta and Adam Scott

The cast of Veep

Sufe Bradshaw, Anna Chlumsky, Tony Hale, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Reid Scott, Timothy Simons and Matt Walsh

And the award goes to...

THE CAST OF ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

In my personal opinion, there hasn't been a single comedy ensemble in modern television history as strong as Arrested Development's. Though the fourth season may not have been as strong as the show's first three, the cast undoubtedly brought their A-game to every episode and performed as if the seven-year gap between seasons never happened. I singled out Jessica Walter as the MVP in my review, but the whole cast really does deserves recognition.

1st Annual TeleFilmiest Awards - Winners (Part 1)

1st ANNUAL TELEFILMIEST AWARDS - WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT

     Welcome. This has truly been an incredible year in television. Some of these categories were incredibly difficult to decide. I will now present the best in television in 24 categories.  Let's get right to it.

The nominees for Best Guest Acting in a Comedy Series are:

Maria Bamford as DeBrie Bardeaux in Arrested Development

Melissa Leo as Laurie in Louie

David Lynch as Jack Dall in Louie

Parker Posey as Liz in Louie

Ben Stiller as Tony Wonder in Arrested Development

Elaine Stritch as Colleen Donaghy in 30 Rock

And the award goes to...

PARKER POSEY as LIZ in LOUIE

From the moment I finished watched the incredible Louie episode "Daddy's Girlfriend Part 2", I knew Posey would be my favorite guest star of the season. Representing the archetypical Manic Pixie Dream Girl, Posey expertly meshed charming spontaneity with genuinely psychotic behavior, and created a hauntingly memorable character in the process. Her rooftop scene at the end of the episode gives me chills just thinking about it.