Instead of going to a movie to "celebrate" the rejection I received yesterday, I bought two CD's: The When Harry Met Sally soundtrack and All-Time top 100 TV Themes. Listening to the latter brings a smile to my face. It's broken up into 2 discs; here's my breakdown of the first one.
Six Feet Under: Haunting, yet lively. The only part of this show I saw was the last five minutes of the series finale on YouTube.
Sex and the City: Jaunty. This sounds like 1962 to me. I feel like I need to be eating off of pink-and-brown plates.
Ally McBeal: overplayed. Nice tune but it's too mainstream for me.
Will & Grace: I hear this and I see Jack. Just Jack! He went to Illinois State University, ya know.
Everybody Loves Raymond: Understated. I've really only ever watched this in reruns.Somehow the theme doesn't fit the show.
Frasier: Funny tune. Kelsey Grammer wrote and sang it, I think. I miss that show, sometimes. Niles ruled.
Friends: Jesus, talk about overplayed. Uck. Fast-forward.
Late Show with David Letterman: Interesting. I don't think I've ever really listened to this before. The world is divided into the Leno's, the Letterman's, and the people who are asleep. I am a sleeper.
Mad About You: This makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I think of late high-school and college. I took a break from moving out of my last college apartment to watch the series finale. I still think about that episode sometimes. I wouldn't mind owning it.
Melrose Place: I didn't actually watch this much. I do remember that some bars had "Melrose Mondays" where they had drink specials while the show was on.
Beverly Hills, 90210: I watched this show before it was cool to watch and I stopped right after they began college.
Law and Order: Jeez, what can I say about this? So iconic. I don't think you'd have to try to hard to watch an episode of L&O or one of the spin-offs for 24 hours straight. Somewhere there's an episode playing right now.
Northern Exposure. Fun song. I didn't watch this show very much, but I seem to recall there being a hot doctor. Every drama needs one.
The Simpsons: Another iconic theme. If you're not in the mood for L&O you can watch The Simpsons. I like the "Lisa plays the sax" part the best.
Thirtysomething: I was too young for this show. I can't remember if my mom watched it or not. The only thing I remember about it is people fighting alot.
For some reason this makes me think of that show with Claire Danes, her name was Angela, she kissed Jared Leto and her best friend was a drunk ... "My So-Called Life." Now there's a show.
Full House: How embarassing to admit I used to watch this show. Even more embarrassing is admitting I used to like it. I need to rent The Aristocrats to see Bob Sagat be crude.
21 Jump Street: Two words: Johnny Depp.
L.A. Law: Very 80's. Don't remember much about this show.
Pee-Wee's Playhouse: I can't listen to this without seeing a seedy porn theater in my head, which isn't really fair, but there it is.
Perfect Strangers: Ah, Balki. Who didn't like Balki? That guy was one of Tom Cruise's friends in Risky Business.
Growing Pains: Big smiles with this one. I may have had one or twelve Teen Beat pictures of Kirk Cameron on my wall back in the day.
Moonlighting: Nice tune. My mom and I used to watch "Moonlighting" and "Remington Steele" when I was an impressionable youngster.
Who's the Boss: More smiles. I was a huge fan of this show. I so wanted to be Samantha Micelli--a girl that could beat up a boy but lived in a kick-ass house.
Miami Vice: This is about as '80's and you can get. Synthesizers, drumbeats, horns. I liked that show, too. This makes me think of Don Johnson testing cocaine with his tongue.
Night Court: Loved this show! I especially liked Bull.
The A-team: I didn't watch this all that much, but I need to make Ken listen to this. I bet it'll make him smile. Then I can say, "See? It was worth twenty bucks."
St. Elsewhere: Now we're beginning to edge into the shows that I was a bit too young to really get into. Any show that has Denzel Washington and Howie Mandel as alumnus has street cred, though.
Cheers: Oh, this makes me feel safe and happy and sad inside all at the same time. I watched this show alot. Another iconic one that everyone one knows. "How I Met Your Mother" did a play on the "Norm!" business at the end of an episode a few weeks ago.
Knight Rider: Ah, Kitt. I remember this being so cool but I bet if I watched it now I wouldn't be able to stop laughing. Is David Hasselhoff still huge in Germany?
Cagney & Lacey: Didn't watch this at all. Didn't this play around the same time as "Kate and Allie?" I'm too deep in the nostalgia pool; I've lost all perspective.
The Greatest American Hero: Now, I did watch this. Around 1981, which would have been first grade for me. That I still know the words to this theme song speaks highly about the spong-like qualities of the young human brain.
Hill Street Blues: Didn't watch this, but I remember mom and dad watching it. Hearing this song makes me think of dark, rainy streets and big Ford cars. Was that the opening montage of the show?
Dynasty: Didn't watch this at all. I get this show and "Dallas" mixed up in my head. "Dynasty" had Joan Collins and "Dallas" had the whole "Who shot J.R." business, right?
Magnum, P.I.: Tom Selleck with a 'stach. He's got nothin' on MacGyver.
The Facts of Life: Aww, yeah! I remember there was an episode in one of the later seasons where Tootie loses her virginity. There was a little "This episode contains adult themes" thingy just before the episode, and of course my mother walks into the room just in time to read it. "What was that about?" she says. I give her the TV guide, because even though I know I don't want to have this conversation. She looks at the descriptions, decides I can watch it, then proceeds to leave. It wasn't as bad as it could have been; at least she didn't want to have a Meaningful Conversation about it afterwards.
Diff'rent Strokes: There was an episode of this where the older sister washes her hair with NYC rainwater and it turns green. Good times.
WKRP in Cincinnati: I remember watching this show a bit, but I was young enough that I didn't get the jokes about sex or drugs. Come to think of it, I didn't get this show at all.
Taxi: I think my dad like this show. We've been in the "3 stations to choose from" era for the second half of this disk, which is probably why I remember the themes even if I don't really remember the show. Odds are good that I've seen at least one episode of all them at one time or another.
Dallas: Ah, here it is. Yeah, still can't tell the difference.
Fantasy Island and The Love Boat: I'm combining these two because last Friday night Ken and I were bumming around the house, and at 8:00 he says "Fantasy Island Love Boat!" and I say, "What are you talking about" and he says "That's what you watch on Friday nights. At least, I did when I was a kid." and I say, "Yeah, that sounds familiar, but I don't remember it being on Friday nights." Wasn't on ABC?
Soap: Billy Crystal as a gay guy. Love that. I remember my mom watching this sometimes and I didn't get some of the jokes. Although, I did understand the whole soap-opera-satire business about it. My mom watched a lot of soaps, so I was totally down with it.
Eight is Enough: Too young for this, really. Or maybe we didn't really watch it.
Three's Company: I liked this show a lot as a kid. Sometimes I watch "The Class" now just to support Jason Ritter (that's Jack Ritter's son).
Wonder Woman: Didn't really watch this. It makes me think of Underroos, though. Remember those? I remember really wanting a set of "She-ra" Underroos.
Charlie's Angels: Didn't really watch this, either. Nice touch with the narration throughout the theme, though. Because we're too stupid to remember the conceit of the show from week to week, right?
The Muppet Show: Awww, yeah! Huge favorite of mine as a kid. I'm playing this one twice. Okay, three times. I loved the hecklers--I always forget their names--and Animal and Gonzo and ... hell, I loved it all. It's muppetational!
Alice: Watched this sometimes. Mel's diner, baby. Mel's diner.
What's Happening!!!: Never saw this.
Laverne & Shirley: I remember watching this alot in reruns. When I went to camp in second grade I told people I like Pepsi and milk. They never made me prove it, thank God. When I first started dating Ken, he had a murphy bed much like L&S's in the living room of his studio apartment. Yeah, I was totally creative and called it the "Laverne and Shirley" bed. I think in my friendships I tend to be the Laverne.
Okay, that was completely awesome. What rejection? I'll do the second disk some other time. The laundry is calling to me.
2 comments:
Okay, now I feel old. Part of that is that I stopped watching TV when Laura started grad school in '95 and part of it is that my peak TV viewing years were in the late 70s before I hit my teens.
the hecklers on the mupppet show were named Waldorf and Statler. I only know this because the twin thermocyclers at my old job were named after them to tell them apart. i DID love the muppet show though.
i still watch reruns of Three's Company when I'm upset and I need to fall asleep. It switches my gears. When I was a kid, I didn't get the jokes (mostly sex and gay references). It's cheesy but still funny...and John Ritter was cute back then. :) I always liked him. RIP, dude!
Post a Comment