TVSquad

I could be wrong, but my recollection is that the Frasier theme "Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs" only played over the end credits, and did not play at all in the opening. There was, (I think, it's been a while since I've seen Frasier) a little light piano over the opening credits, but the only singing occurred at the end, this may be what he's talking about.

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I'm sure we all know the reason: ad dollars. Theme songs are what, usually 20-30 seconds long, sometimes longer for hour-long drams? That's a commercial or two. I for one miss the great TV theme songs, sometimes it was the best thing about the whole series (the original Battlestar Galactica comes quickly to mind -- the new BSG theme sucks). I remember when Sci Fi made an attempt to remove the theme songs from SG-1 and Atlantis only to put them back in when the fans started complaining about it.

Of course, when's the last time we had a really great TV theme? Big Bang Theory is probably the most memorable of the new shows this very season. Most of the 1-hour dramas have done away with them -- even those that used to have an opening theme.

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Seems pretty obvious to me that they want more time for more commercials.

Some shows though are great without theme songs...like Lost. I wouldn't want it any other way. And the 30 Rock theme is great too.

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If you want the boring answer to why theme songs are now defunct it's because producers were looking for extra episode time since commercials have cut down actual air time. Several exec producers have cited less air time as the reason for cutting opening credits. The master of minimalist credits IMO is J.J. Abrams with Alias and Lost. 24 also killed opening credits, featuring more movie style name credits during the opening scenes.

Another thing to consider: Most motion pictures don't have opening credits either anymore. I would argue that the rise in the quality of television to motion picture level (Lost, 24, Battlestar Galactica, Rescue Me, most cable series) has also contributed to the demise of opening theme songs.

I would argue that the rise of Tv's golden age and the fall of the death of the tv-theme song (the really long ones with freeze frames of the main characters mainly) highly correlate.

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I think the office theme is one of the best in a long long time

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they are gone because the audience wants to see the show ... not the credits and the networks want to squeeze one more commercial break into the show's running time.

Theme songs are pointless and lame anyway.

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Well, I don't know much about theme songs of the yesteryears, but from the currently playing shows, I like the theme of Psych. Having said that, I have no idea if it is just a regular song adapted for this show, or if it was actually written and composed for Psych. The theme song for the recently expired Charmed was also half-decent, and we all know the success of the theme song from Friends - which played in the same time period as Frasier, and IMO the show was far more successful than Frasier:)

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Liz is right. The Frasier theme never played at the beginning of the show. It was played over the closing credits, and a short piano interlude accompanied the Frasier logo and animation of the Seattle skyline at the beginning of each episode.

I always trace the beginning of the disappearance of TV themes to a couple of unorthodox openings from the late 80s and early 90s. When Murphy Brown began in the fall of 88, it had a different song and photo montage at the beginning of each episode. (Another innovation was that the first act of Murphy Brown usually lasted what seemed like 10 to 15 minutes before going to the first commercial break. Before that, most shows either had only the opening theme and maybe a brief opening scene before the first commercial.)

When Wings debuted in the spring of 1990, it had generic footage of a plane in flight, accompanied by a classical piece. (Maybe Haydn?) It was really a snoozer of an opening, and it quickly disappeared, to be replaced by a more or less cold opening. There might have been a very quick burst of music as it began, but it was the first time that I remember seeing the name of the show and the stars' names superimposed as the show was already in progress.

I always assumed that the disappearance of tv themes had to do with money (selling more ad time by omitting the theme song) and viewer erosion (etting viewers to stick around by starting the action immediately).

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Liz, you've got it. This article misses the point. Frazier "moved" the theme song from the beginning of the show to the end. The opening cut straight to the chase. Dropping it from the end credits would be a minor step from there.

But more importantly, I want to know how people can completely overlook the fact that Seinfeld was the catalyst, with no theme song (at the beginning or over the end credits) years before Frasier even moved back to Seattle. Granted, it took a while till other producers caught on, but eventually everyone in TV tried to copy the Seinfeld magic in one way or another.

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If anyone believes it's because of anything than making room for more commercials, they'd be wrong, and too many commercials are one of the big reasons people don't watch tv as much as they used to. Having 1/3 of every show consist of advertisements is annoying and ridiculous, but it helped the rise of DVRs and the downloading of episodes with the adverts already cut out. So, in essence, the industry is responsible for its own decline and the rise of piracy.

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I can't think of a single show I watch that doesn't have a theme song/tune. HIMYM, CSIs, L&Os, Stargates, Eureka, Simpsons, BSG, Scrubs, 30 Rock, etc. Though I think 30 Rock, and BSG might have the shortest of the ones I listed, but if you hear the tunes, you think of the show.

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It's just for commercial time. A 30 second theme song is 3 10 second spots you can sell. Theme songs are still going strong on premium channels. The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Dexter, Weeds, all have amazing mood setting theme songs and visual intros.

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Although it's a song (great song) in it's own right, the theme for House (Teardrop by Massive Attack) really ties the show into a nice parcel for me. Just the flash of House's face and then the song is so moody and dramatic.

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I think there are a lot of valid points here. I just want to add a plug for the best music and opening credit sequence on TV now: Mad Men.

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Well, here is what I think he means. By pushing the theme song to the credits, Fraiser started the trend of the clean open where we just dive into the show. This was fine at the time, because they still got their jazzy little theme in there at the end with the full credits so everyone is happy.

How often do you see full credits anymore, though? Remember how The Simpsons would do full end-credits musical jokes or have characters mocking the credits? That doesn't work anymore because proper end credits are a thing of the past. Either the show does a closing gag or a commercial appears. Fraiser ushered in the era of a now opening theme and its replacement option was quickly killed off. Thus, no theme at all.

Except, of course, for all the shows that DO have a theme. Yes, they are shorter these days, but shows like Scrubs, The Office, How I Met Your Mother, My Name is Earl... they all have theme songs. And plenty of dramas retain them even if newcomers like Lost and Heroes have preferred to go with simple title cards and the briefest of musical phrases. The theme song is here, its just now the theme line and maybe you'll hear the full version if you're resourceful enough.

And people are. I mean, I can go online and find full versions of plenty of brief theme songs. If "Family Ties" was merely "La Di Da Da", I'd have never known that it was like he started breathing on the night they kissed. But these days, I'll always know how hard it is to... hard it is to wait from HIMYM's "Pa pa pa pa, pa pa pa pa... pa pa, da da da da, da da da da da". The theme song isn't dead. Its just been abridged.

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I tend to think that the need to make better use of time with 8 minutes of ads per half-hour is the primary reason, although there are also artistic reasons which helped the process along. Perhaps a systematic study of broadcast vs. basic cable (which usually have ads but are partially supported by subscriber payments) vs. premium cable would be revealing. My gut feel based on my viewing is that the theme still showing some life in cable series. My favorite open at the moment is "Weeds" on Showtime where the theme song is sung each week by a different artist in his/her own style.

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There is another reason why they won't do it and why shows like WKRP and other won't use the original music: ROYALTIES. When a show wants to cut the budget, the easiest thing for them to do is to remove the music or go to public domain. You also have to remember that early on most of the themes were produced in house so that royalties didn't really leave the confines.

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Anyone else notice that "Shark" ADDED an intro and theme music for its second season?

That seemed really odd and counter to the conventional wisdom espoused here.

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