oz@rlgvax.UUCP (THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ) (08/22/83)
There's a man who lives a life of danger. Everyone he meets, he calls a stranger. With every move he makes, another chance he takes. Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow. SECRET (dramatic pause) AGENT MAN SECRET (dramatic pause) AGENT MAN THEY'RE GIVING YOU A NUMBER, AND TAKING AWAY YOUR NAME. Sorry I can't remember the second verse. This is one of the few tv show theme songs that was a HIT 45 single. Does anyone remember any others that "made it?" OZ seismo!rlgvax!oz
edward@utcsrgv.UUCP (Edward Hsing) (08/22/83)
Does anybody remember Prince Planet? Up here in Toronto we got that show from a Buffalo station and it always played with TOBOR the 8th man. And what about ULTRAMAN. That was the only Japanese kiddie series I've scene that was done with actors and not animation. And you can't forget : LANCELOT LINK, SECRET CHIMP!!! Ed Hsing
asente@decwrl.UUCP (Paul Asente) (08/23/83)
Really getting into an orgy of nostalgia here, aren't we???
Lately I've noticed a real resurgence of interest in Gumby! Remember
him? Sort of a flat, green clay guy? I've seen Gumby t-shirts,
Gumby cut-outs in store windows, Gumby greeting cards. Does
anyone have any idea why this is? I enjoyed Gumby as a child, but
I don't really see why Gumby and not something else.
Still haven't seen any discussion on my all-time favorite cartoon,
Mighty Mouse! ("Here I come to save the day!" Mighty Mouse is on
his way...)
-paul asente
(decvax, ucbvax, allegra) !decwrl!asentejeff@dciem.UUCP (Jeff Richardson) (08/23/83)
Here are the hit singles I can remember that were TV show themes:
Hawaii Five-O
The Rockford Files
SWAT (hit version was done differently by a different group)
Welcome Back Kotter
Happy Days (I'm not counting "Rock Around The Clock", since it was
already a hit before the TV series)
The Greatest American Hero
Hill Street Blues (by Mike Post, same guy who did Rockford)
I think Hawaii Five-O became a hit around the time the series began.
The other series were all on for a couple of years before somebody
saw the potential for a hit song.
I'm sure the westerns of the fifties produced a few hit themes.
I'm pretty sure Rawhide was a hit, and I think Frankie Laine had
another hit from a TV western. My father would know, in fact he
probably has the records, but it's a little before my time.
The "Rock Around The Clock" example produces another question.
Are there any other TV shows that used songs that had already been
hit singles for their themes? There are a couple of movies inspired
by hit songs ("The Gambler", for example) but are there any TV series
so inspired? I can't think of any examples of either.
Jeff Richardson
DCIEM, Torontojohn@hp-pcd.UUCP (John Eaton) (08/24/83)
#R:rlgvax:-102500:hp-pcd:9100001:000:310 hp-pcd!john Aug 23 08:45:00 1983 Swinging on the Rivera one day. then landing into Bomaby on the next day. Ah, he's let the wrong word slip. by kissing persuasive lips. Odds are he won't live to see tommorrow [ Repeat Chorus ] Also I think "Where the Action is" by Freddie BOOM BOOM Cannon was another TV theme made good. John Eaton
eric@aplvax.UUCP (08/24/83)
As for the resurgence of Gumby, clearly you have not followed the latest version of "Saturday Night Live". Eddie Murphy has done several Gumby skits (including the assassination of Gumby, and the Gumby imitators that spring up after his death). This probably accounts for the sudden popularity of Gumby. eric ...!seismo!umcp-cs!aplvax!eric
bernar@uwvax.ARPA (Bernardo Feijoo) (08/25/83)
I'm sorry Eric but you don't have the facts right, SNL's Eddie Murphy has done some skits on Gumby, I agree, but the assasination skit and the thing about the imitators was done by his Buckwheat character and it featured Joe Piscopo as Ted Koppel covering the tragedy. Very well done skit by the way. Bernardo CS Dept. - U. of Wisc.-Madison uwvax@bernar
lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein) (08/26/83)
Well, I didn't know we had some Western fans out there. Pardner, if you wanna see old Westerns, you gotta mosey on over to (oh no, not again!) CBN on cable! What? That same Christian Broadcasting Network? Yeah. During the week they run all the old sitcoms ... but on Saturdays, it's Westerns! You gotta admit, their programming is pretty damn strange for a religious outlet! Actually, they bill themselves as the "total family entertainer for today's total family". Uh huh. Apparently they feel that only the old shows are "wholesome" enough to show. Well, who cares? If they'll show 'em, I'll watch 'em. I just ignore the Bible commercials. Currently on Saturdays, CBN runs (gotta reach over for the list on the table here...): The Westerners, Wild Bill Hickok, Saturday and the Westerns (I'm not too sure what this title actually covers, probably several programs), Call of the West, Western Classics (another umbrella title, I believe), Wyatt Earp, Wagon Train (90 minute version, at least part of the time!), and The Monroes. Enough for you? Some of these are 1/2 hour, some are an hour, and at least one is 90 minutes. A variety of other old Westerns run regularly here in L.A. on the various independent stations. One of my all time favorites is "Maverick", by the way. --- Continuing in the pattern of bizarre religious stations that run old TV programs, it's time to discuss a relatively new entry here in the L.A. area -- KDOC (56) in Anaheim. The majority interest in this station is owned by (can you believe it?) Pat Boone! Yes, wholesome is the name for Pat. But once again, we get some interesting programs. These include several hours a day of Dr. Gene Scott (the guy who lost his license for KHOF (30) in the L.A. area -- more on him some other time), and such favorites as "Secret Agent" (yes, the show that led to "The Prisoner"), and, much to my original surprise, The Leonardo Lion (cartoon) Show. When this latter program popped up, I could feel old memories rapidly buzzing around. I hadn't seen the program for at least 15 years, but suddenly details came flooding back. This is the program that featured King Leonardo, who ruled a country called "Bongo Congo". Starting to sound familiar? Remember Tutor Turtle who used to go visit Mr. Wizard the Lizard in his little box? Tutor always wanted to be something he wasn't, or go back in history and do something important, or ... Mr. Wizard always obliged, but Tutor always got into trouble and ended up yelling for help -- leading Mr. Wizard to chant: Tweezle Tuzzle Twussle Twone Time for this one to come home... Come on! Some of you gotta remember this! --- Here's a couple that haven't been mentioned (I got lots of them). A very unusual animated program involved a humanoid robot with a human brain who normally pretended to be human, but became a more obvious robot when needed to perform various heroic tasks. The program had a very strange feel to it, and I haven't seen it for many years. It was called "8th Man". He was the "8th Man" because (rather like the M5 from Star Trek, I guess), robot versions 1 - 7 were not "entirely successful". In one episode of "8th Man', we meet number 7, and find out about some of the problems. The theme: There's a prehistoric monster, Who came from Outer Space. Created by the Martians, To destroy the human race. The FBI is helpless! It's twenty stories tall! What can we do -- who can we call? Call Tobar: the 8th man! Call Tobar: the 8th man! Faster than a rocket. Swifter than a jet. He's the mighty robot. He's the one to get. Call Tobar: the 8th man! Quick, call Tobar the mightiest robot of them all. --- I must look pretty silly sitting here singing these songs out loud to myself so that I can remember the lyrics... Of course, Jimmie Sparks might disagree with the last line of the previous song, since he had his *own* robot of which he was very proud, called (bongos needed for this one): Gigantor. Gigantor. Gigaaaaaaaaaaaantor. Gigantor the space age robot. He's at, your command. Gigantor the space age robot. His power is in your hands. Bigger than big. Taller than tall. Swifter than swift. Stronger than strong. Ready to fight for right, against wrong. Gigantor. Gigantor. Gigaaaaaaaaaaaantor. --- Enough for this installment. Get back to work, kiddies. --Lauren--
eric@aplvax.UUCP (08/26/83)
You are absolutely right. They have done Gumby skits, but the other skits were Buckwheat. Oh well, just shows how much attention I have been paying to the show in recent seasons. (Anyone out there want to name their favorite skits from SNL, past or present?) with egg on my face, eric ...!seismo!umcp-cs!aplvax!eric
esj@ihuxl.UUCP (08/26/83)
Didn't the theme song from "Hawaii Five-0" get a lot of air time a few years back? ihnp4!ihuxl!esj