"I pity the fool who doesn't know the theme to The A-Team!"
What ever did happen to the TV themes we grew up with? I was reminded of this the other day as I was humming the theme to The A-Team with my five year old son. (He has committed most of it to memory now.) In fact, this is such a great theme, when you listen to the new movie trailer, you can pick out the theme from the original TV series. A classic.
It struck me as odd to see only a five second musical chord build and a big letter “V” for the TV series V. In fact, one of the only theme songs I can remember from more modern TV shows is the Law and Order theme. “Who wrote that?”, I thought to myself. Wikipedia credits the theme and most of it’s soundtrack to Mike Post.
I dug deeper into my more formative TV watching years of the 1980s and early 90s:
How about The A-Team?: Mike Post
Hill Street Blues?: Mike Post
Greatest American Hero?: Mike Post
Magnum P.I.?: Mike Post
Prolific Composers Wear Short Shorts
Mike Post, composer of the TV theme song to Magnum, P.I., pictured here with Tom Selleck on a 45 RPM album cover. Permission by R. Masters.
The same goes with LA Law, Quantum Leap, Doogie Howser, MD, NYPD Blue, and just about every successful TV show over the last 30 years. Even if Mike Post didn’t write the opening theme music, he’s scored literally thousands of the soundtracks to many of the TV shows we still watch today. In fact, Mr. Post is also good friends with Stephen J. Cannell, the creator of over 40 TV series.
So my question is this: Without Post and Cannell, would the extinction of the TV theme song have taken place even sooner? Perhaps, but in today’s world where networks forgo the intro theme to fit in another :30 TV commercial for profit, I believe there is still a place for a TV theme song, the kind that you can remember and hum along with your five-year old son. Perhaps TIVO and DVR technology will help, and the true value of the intro theme music will be appreciated once again. Until then…
Thanks for the memories, Mr. Mike Post.