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2 October 2007 - The one where Max springs forward and then falls back in one fluid motion

Daylight savings time is kicking my ass. New Zealand sprung forward an hour this past Sunday and my body hasn't caught up. This may have something to do with the fac that my MacBook Pro doesn't recognize this time shift and the clock is an hour behind. But I won't complain about this, mainly since DST was created for the benefit of the American farmer. And I come from a long line of Davison men who worked the land and economically exploited Mexicans.

Either way, with the extra time that I'm awake, I've started to watch TV shows that I never would were I completely cognizant. Last night, I gave "Private Practice" a shot. Basically the only reason I gave this one a shot was because Tim Daly is on the cast, and AM reruns of "Wings" was the highlight of any sick day back in elementary school.
Prognosis? If "Private Practice" were a coma patient (or maybe faking a very deep nap), the plug would have been pulled long ago. The show opened with a scene eerily reminiscent of Troy McClure introducing the Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase. Dr. Formerly Mrs McDreamy opens with a forced monologue introducing each of her fellow doctors, their motivations and her own plan for the rest of her life (slash the next 13 episodes that ABC ordered).
Even Joe Hackett isn't enough to save this terminal case of snoozedom.

The other thing that the show had against it was a crappy theme song. It was one of those nondescript Emo tunes that lulls men to sleep and makes women want to hug their pillow and put "Love Actually" on the top of their Netflix queue.
This got me thinking, and in Rob Gordon/High Fidelity fashion, I put together the list of the top 5 TV theme songs of all time.
Runners up:
Golden Girls, The Facts of Life, Chip n Dale, Rescue Rangers, Growing Pains, Mad About You, Miami Vice, Jeopardy, Laverne and Shirley, and finally NBA on NBC

5. Curb Your Enthusiasm. The bumbling, opening notes perfectly mirror the nebbishy manner in which Larry David comports himself for the next 30 minutes.

4. Happy Days. Upbeat and cheeful, just like the 50s...only, you know, not mentioning Korea or McCarthy or the Cold War. Ehhhhhhhhh!

3. The Greatest American Hero. I highly doubt that anyone reading this actually watched the show. Actually, anyone alive at the time probably never watched it, which is why it only lasted 44 episodes. But believe it or not, the theme lasts longer than the show.

2. Cheers. Don't ask me why I love this one. It's campy, cheap and really has nothing to do with the show. But dear god is it catchy as hell.


1. The Sopranos. PERFECTLY takes you away from your couch and puts you right in the middle of New Jersey. No other song can

So when I no doubt have my own hit TV show, what is my theme song going to be? Easy. Brooks and Dunn's "Brand New Man."

-MGD
Max Davison is a Junior at Claremont McKenna College. After graduating high school, he took two years off to masquerade as Chris Gaines. He finally got his act together and enrolled at CMC.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Sadly, you omitted two of the all time best TV theme songs:

Randy Newman's "Welcome Back" as in Kotter (Travolta's first sit com). And the theme from "Taxi". . . no lyrics, but the best instrumental ever from TV land! You might have to rethink your list.
Or perhaps I'll just make up one of my own starting with those two.

~ Christa ♥
Anonymous said…
Well written article.

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