Review: Television's Greatest Hits: Cable Ready
A look at the more notable themes of the seventh volume of the collection of TV theme songs.
The final volume of Television's Greatest Hits covers the era in which the television landscape evolved, going from the decade of the 1960s in which you had three major networks plus PBS, to the era in syndication grew and allowed more independent TV stations to launch, with some of those independent stations later becoming part of the new Fox Network, and cable TV making its way into more households.
In the 1980s and 1990s (the era covered by Television's Greatest Hits: Cable Ready), you had far more offerings on TV if you were willing to pay for cable and there were more opportunities for creative teams to put their product out to the viewing public.
It shouldn't be a surprise that the seventh collection includes themes from shows that aired on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, Fox, cable networks and syndication. All became destiantions for original programming.
These decades also became the precursor to the current era of television, in which you had UPN and WB launch, then merge into the CW Network, the rise of more cable networks, then the emergence of on demand programming and streaming services.
Back to Television's Greatest Hits, the seventh volume featured a lenticular motion cover (like the fourth through sixth volumes) upon initial release, but later releases didn't have those covers.
This was the final volume of TV themes that TeeVee Toons released. The record label also released a collection of TV commercial jingles from the 1950s and 1960s but turned its attention to other releases, before it went out of business.
Let's look at the seventh collection and what are the more notable themes, for one reason or another.
The Simpsons: The collection starts off with the animated sitcom that arguably cemented The Fox Network's status as a fourth major TV network in the 1990s. A spinoff from another show that we will get to later, Matt Groening's creation focused on a blue-collar family, with Homer Simpson a simpleton who works at a nuclear power plant, Marge as his wife who loves Homer even as she gets frustrated with him, Bart the son who is always getting into trouble, Lisa the intelligent daughter who is happy playing her saxophone and baby Maggie. None of the characters have aged with time, even as the series remains on the air to this day. It goes without saying that the theme song is iconic. Danny Elfman, a composer of multiple movie themes (often for films directed by Tim Burton) is responsible for the show's theme, along with two others on the collection, Tales from the Crypt and Sledge Hammer.
Barney and Friends: Here's a show in which I either rekindle your childhood love or annoy the hell out of you for bringing this show up again. PBS introduced the world to Barney the purple dinosaur, who provided life lessons to children and inspired them to be creative. The theme song goes to the tune of Yankee Doodle and is one of those themes that, when you hear it, it's stuck in your head, and you can decide whether to thank me or curse me for it.
Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?: PBS has another entry that came along in the 1990s and proved popular for its time. The show was based on the video game of the same name, in which older children were contestants who had to track down international thief Carmen Sandiego and her henchmen through answering questions about world geography. The theme song closed out the show each time, and for those of you who remember the song, I'm just gonna leave you with this: "Do it, Rockapella!"
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Will Smith had already hit the music scene with Jeff Townes, the latter known as DJ Jazzy Jeff, the former as The Fresh Prince, and the duo had their first big hit in 1998 with "Parents Just Don't Understand." Then came this TV show that debuted in 1990 for Smith's first featured role in acting and the rest, as they say, is history. Smith portrayed a Philadelphia teenager who was sent by his mother to Beverly Hills to live with his rich relatives, putting a new twist on the premise of an individual moving into upscale society and being anything but upscale. Smith joined Townes in performing the iconic theme song that explains the whole premise.
Home Improvement: Stand-up comic Tim Allen got his own TV series in 1991 in which he portrayed Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor, the host of a TV fix-it show, but his approach to any repair problem ("more power!") often led to disaster. Taylor wasn't much better dealing with family problems, though he always meant well. The show featured Taylor's interaction with his wife, three sons, his TV helper Al and his neighbor Wilson, a tall gentleman whose face from the eyes up was the only part of him seen. The opening credits and theme song "Iron John's Rock" join the list of iconic TV themes.
Seinfeld: Anybody who watched TV sitcoms in the 1990s has to know about this one. Standup comic Jerry Seinfeld portrayed a stand-up comic on the series, in which the premise was taking he, his friends and parents and putting them in all sorts of everyday situations and turning the whole thing into a major plot. By "everyday situations," that means something as simple as not remembering where you parked your car. The show was a huge hit and Jonathan Wolff composed the iconic theme that the collection's liner notes say sounds like it was "played on rubber bands."
Roc: The Fox Network gave a lot of creators the opportunity to roll out different ideas for shows. In this case, it was a blue-collar sitcom featuring Roc Emerson, who worked as a garbage collector and dealt with the usual sitcom shenanigans of putting up with his family and neighbors. A unique aspect of this sitcom was that, in its second season, it switched to live broadcasts, something that few at the time would have ever expected from a show of its format. (For the record, the cast members had a lot of experience performing on stage.) The original theme was "God Bless the Child" but it got a new theme recorded by a popular act at the time: female quartet En Vogue, whose biggest chart hits included "Hold On" and "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)."
The John Larroquette Show: Perhaps best known for his role as Dan Fielding on the sitcom Night Court, John Larroquette got his own series in 1993 and it had modest success. The premise of this sitcom was that Larroquette played the manager of an inner-city bus terminal in St. Louis and interacted with the people who either worked or hung out at the terminal. One wouldn't have expected such a premise to work, but the actors and writers made it work. The theme song doesn't have lyrics but does feature the vocal talents of somebody who was on another TV series in a previous collection. The individual in question: David Cassidy, one of the lead actors in The Partridge Family.
It's Garry Shandling's Show!: The pay-TV network Showtime, a rival to Home Box Office (HBO), presented theatrical movies around the clock when it first launched but, over time, offered some original productions, too. One of them was this sitcom created by Garry Shandling, who portrayed a single man dealing with his friends, his relationships and his nosy neighbors. But this show had a twist: Every character was aware they were in a sitcom, to the point that they would wander into the studio audience, interact with people and even invite them onto the set. It took "breaking the fourth wall" to a whole new level. Even the theme song is self aware, sometimes complete with the neighbors complaining it was too loud. Just listen to it for yourself.
Davis Rules: A short-lived series that features a notable musician who composed the theme. First, the show: It starred Randy Quaid as school teacher Dwight Davis, whose three children were sometimes trying to find their father somebody to love, and whose father Winters (played by Jonathan Winters) was a bit eccentric. The show lasted just one season on ABC, then another season on CBS, before ending its run. The man behind the theme is Mark Mothersbaugh, a member of the alternative rock band Devo, and the theme could certainly pass for a Devo song. Mothersbaugh has another entry on this collection, Liquid Television.
The Heights: We have another entry under the category of TV shows that didn't last long but the theme song made it big. The Fox Network put a dramatic take on the rock and roll band in a TV series, in which the group of the same name as the series title agonized over everything. Shawn David Thompson portrayed the lead singer but it was Jamie Walters, who portrayed a song writer who was considered a rival to said lead singer, who did the lead vocals on the theme song credited to the fictional band, that song being "How Do You Talk to an Angel?" The series was gone after 13 episodes but the theme song made it all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
In the Heat of the Night: Quincy Jones has another entry in the collection of TV themes, this time for a show in which Carroll O'Connor proved there was life after Archie Bunker. O'Connor, whose most notable role was in All in the Family and the show that followed it, Archie Bunker's Place, also showed he could make the switch from a sitcom to a police drama. He portrayed Bill Gillespie, a police chief in Sparta, Mississippi, who was paired with a new chief of detectives, Virgil Tibbs, by order of the mayor. The two, however, worked well in dealing with criminal activity. The show did explore some racial themes and lasted six seasons. Bill Champlin of the band Chicago provided the lyrics for the show's theme song, which Jones co-wrote.
Twin Peaks: One of the biggest cult classics ever, filmmaker David Lynch presented a soap opera that focused from the start about who killed 17-year-old Laura Palmer. The show focused on FBI agent Dale Cooper investigating the case in the town of Twin Peaks and encountering the town's eccentric residents. He eventually solved that case but others would follow, often dealing with the supernatural. The show lasted 48 episodes but is fondly remembered today by its loyal fans and even got a revival in 2017. If you were a fan of the series, you certainly know the theme song that does a perfect job of setting the mood.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: The original Star Trek series didn't last long but found new life in syndication. After multiple Star Trek did well at the box office, a new TV series was created, but none of the networks were interested. The show, starring Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, went into syndication and became a major hit, arguably the series that paved the way for a host of science fiction shows to make their way to TV in the 1990s. The theme song was a medley of the original TV theme and the theme from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." It joins the original TV theme as an iconic TV theme song.
HBO Feature Presentation: We already talked about Showtime but it was Home Box Office that started the concept of airing theatrical releases before they made their way onto TV screens -- the difference was the movies were shown as they originally aired, rather than being cut for TV for length and content reasons (in other words, no editing to R-rated movies to make them family friendly for the network TV execs). HBO launched in Wilkes-Barres, Pa., in 1972, went national in 1975 and only grew in popularity. While TV has evolved a lot since that time, HBO was considered revolutionary in its time. In the 1980s and 1990s, the cable network always accompanied its newest major motion picture acquisition with this theme music.
The Tracey Ullman Show: Remember The Simpsons? We now come full circle to the show from which it spun off — and to one of two shows that officially launched The Fox Network (the other was Married... With Children). British comedian Tracey Ullman was the star of this half-hour sketch comedy series that featured two of the eventual actors for The Simpsons: Dan Castanella and Julie Kavner. (The Simpsons started as animated shorts on this series.) Ullman always ended every show coming out onto the stage in a bathrobe and telling the studio audience to "go home!" The theme song that sets the mood was performed by George Clinton of the funk group Parliament.