• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Viewpoints Radio

Viewpoints Radio

Award-winning reporting on current issues featuring America's leading experts.

  • Home
  • Archive
    • Full Segment Archive
    • Advanced Search
    • Filters
    • Recent Segments
    • Segment Finder (Sort & Filter)
    • Segment Type
      • Culture Crash
      • Feature Stories
      • Inside Looks
    • Terms
      • Books & Publications
      • Genres
      • Guests
      • Institutions & Organizations
      • Movies, TV & Digital Media
      • Notable Figures
      • Program Numbers
      • Topics
  • How to Listen
    • Podcast & Digital Outlets
    • Terrestrial Broadcast
    • Ways to Listen Overview
  • About
    • About Viewpoints Radio
    • Contact Us
    • FAQ
    • Our Team
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Login
    • Become an Affiliate
    • Benefits of Being an Affiliate
    • More About Syndicated Radio Programming
    • Public Affairs & FCC Requirements FAQ
    • Sample Programs
culture crash - radio segments

Culture Crash: Our Connection to TV Theme Songs (2019)

The opening credits of a beloved television show evoke a certain sense of nostalgia for many. We hear the tune and we instantly connect it to a certain series. How have theme songs changed throughout the years and why do they mean so much to us?

You are here: Home / Archive / Culture Crash / Culture Crash: Our Connection to TV Theme Songs (2019)
Published: June 24, 2019 by VPR Producer


Welcome to Culture Crash, where we examine American culture – what’s new and old in entertainment…

Our senses can trigger all kinds of nostalgia. Maybe the smell of your mother’s cooking reminds you of childhood or the sight of your high school brings back memories of the awkward years. But most things pale in comparison to the sound of an old TV show’s opening credits song.

For you, it may be Full House. If you’re like my dad, it’s the whistling from The Andy Griffith Show, but all of us have some show’s song that got lodged in our heads and stayed there for life.

More recently, the Mad Men opening song had the strange ability to drop us into the 1950s world of Don Draper and HBO’s Game of Thrones takes audiences on an epic journey throughout Westeros at the start of each episode. But have you ever stopped to think about the evolution of opening credits?

They used to be set to cheesy made-for-TV music, feature silly yellow fonts and exist just to credit the cast. Each character would turn, face the camera and smile while their name appeared on the bottom of the screen. Then, shows went mainstream. Who could ever forget the iconic Friends sequence where the characters danced in a fountain to the tune of “I’ll Be There For You” by The Rembrandts? The Friends credits were such a hit that the song, which was written for the show, ended up on the top 20 on Billboard’s Hot 100.

As TV grew more serialized and darker, these sequences grew up with them. They became more artsy and cinematic in shows like Six Feet Under or The Wire. And now shows may not even include opening credits, opting instead for a simple title card. But many shows, especially on Netflix and HBO, have learned to set the tone for their show with beautiful opening credits.

The internet went crazy for Stranger Things‘ simple credits which featured spooky music and a closeup of the retro font coming together to spell out the show’s title. And who hasn’t sang along to Orange is the New Black‘s Regina Spektor opening as picture of inmates fly by?

Whether you fast-forward through them or find something new to enjoy every time, opening credits occupy a lot of time for any TV watcher. I particularly loved the 11-second opening to NBC’s short-livedĀ The Black Donnellys and the various versions Boy Meets World ran through over its run.

TV credits are so simple but have somehow come to mean so much.


I’m Evan Rook.

Program #: 19-25segment type: Culture CrashTopics - Family and Interpersonal Relationships| HBO Max| Media and Entertainment| Music| Netflix| Pop Culture| TV SeriesBooks & Publications - The Black DonnellysInstitutions - National Broadcasting Company (NBC)Movies, TV & Digital Media - Boy Meets World| Full House| Game of Thrones| Mad Men| Orange is the New Black| Stranger Things| The WireNotable Names - Regina Spektortagged with - Evan Rook
  • 11Share on Facebook
  • 12Share on Twitter
  • 7Share on Instagram
  • 3Share on LinkedIn
  • 2Share on Reddit
  • 4Share on Pinterest
  • 20Share on Email

Related Segments:

culture crash - radio segments

Culture Crash: On Ethan Hawke and Oscar Snubs

Culture Crash: A Review of Gemini Man

Culture Crash: “Heat Waves”: A Song That Seems to Never Go Out of Style

Culture Crash 21-11: Are You Team “Harry Potter” Books Or Films?

Culture Crash: Are You Team “Harry Potter” Books or Films?

amazon forward collection

Culture Crash: Exploring the Wonder of Science Fiction

Culture Crash: Remembering the Legend: Kobe Bryant

Previous Post:Inside Look: Domestic Violence
Next Post:The First U.S. Case of the Plague & Its Modern Implications

About VPR Producer

Since 2000, Viewpoints Radio has been bringing listeners the relevant information they crave in current events, literature, entertainment and more. Both Viewpoints Radio and sister show Radio Health Journal are productions of AURN.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay up-to-date on the latest in current events, public affairs, literature, culture, entertainment & more.

Enter your email address to get notifications & instant access to new Viewpoints Radio segments as they are released.

viewpoints affiliation info

Start airing Viewpoints Radio on your platform to satisfy FCC OPIF requirements, including quarterly issues/programming reports.

Become an Affiliate

Connect

Interact with us by sharing comments, favorite segments, questions or even suggest a topic.

  • Facebook link
  • Twitter
  • Instagram link
  • Pinterest link
  • spotify link
  • YouTube link
  • RSS Feed
  • contact by email

American Urban Radio Networks (AURN) logo

Listen

  • Archive
  • Broadcast
  • Guests
  • Podcast & Digital Outlets
  • Recently Aired
  • Terms
  • Topics
  • Ways to Listen

Learn

  • About Us
  • Affiliates
  • Contact Info
  • FAQ
  • Our Team
  • Public Affairs & FCC Requirements
  • AURN.com
  • Sitemap

© Copyright 2023 – American Urban Radio Networks

↑ Return to top

Stay up-to-date on the latest in current events, public affairs, literature, culture, entertainment & more.

Enter your email address to get notifications & instant access to new Viewpoints Radio segments as they are released.