Some songs don't seem to fit the song they're associated with--such as the 70s "Break the Bank".

Any others?

Tic Tac Dough--the 1990 aberration with the Henry Mancini theme. That should've been saved for The All New Romper Room.
By the way, I disagree about the BtB theme, but we'll be men and live with the disagreement.

When Karn Feud tried to use the Combs theme, it sounded horribly out of place. And horribly edited.

Their usual theme sounds horribly out of place, too.

I agree on BtB being not quite right with a comedy show. Joker's Wild's whistling theme I didn't like either--too chipper for a game based on a slot machine.

I always thought the "Split Second" theme (Kennedy version) was an odd one - Vegas showy for the first part (the showing off of the five cars) switching to a rather silly second-half to introduce the show itself. It would have fit better for this fast-paced, hard-question show to have something a bit more dramatic.

I thought most Stan Worth theme songs were pretty strange, esp. "Gambit," and except for "High Rollers," and even that one went into a weird segue.

Mort Garson composed the 70s Gambit theme. Stan Worth did the Las Vegas Gambit theme(that last show to premiere featuring his music, as he died the next year in a plane crash)

Monopoly. Sounded like the lady was having sex with someone.

Well I stand corrected. It doesn't change the fact that the theme was weird. :-P



Which must be where my confusion came from.

I always liked the '76 "BTB" theme and didn't think it seemed out of place. I especially like the intro to the show, and how they used the various passages of the music to set everything up.

What about "Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour"? I've heard people say it's too "bombastic".

I agree that the Combs theme sounds out of place on the Karn set, but what about other shows which have had more than one theme? "Tattletales" comes to mind - I guess I preferred the '74-78 theme. I don't know why they didn't re-use the theme in '82 since everything else about the show was the same.

I kinda thought the Second Chance theme sounded out of place [at least after the intro part].

Kinda like how it doesn't seem to fit with Feud, either.

I think the current Wheel of Fortune theme song is out of place. There's no catchy tune; what they use now seems more fitting for a big money show, not a "solve the puzzle and win about $20,000" show.

Osmond's Pyramid theme I don't fused too well with the show. The theme they used seemed a bit better for a "run around and win a trip" show, not what has always been a semi-big-money show.

The Price is Right, on the other hand, I would like to compliment. They found the best mix for their primetime rendition of the show.

There's a difference between "out of place" and "crap." I really don't think the Osmond Pyramid theme would've fit well on ANY show...

Of course, the Las Vegas Gambit theme is weird because it uses kazoos.

You mean she wasn't?

Well, maybe if they made A Night At The Roxbury into a TV series...

*shudders at the thought*

I really didn't have a lot of respect for the Kaplan theme, until I heard it in the clear and really appreciated what Steve was trying to do there. I think someone at Sony figured "Hell, Merv's already got all the money in the world; why should we keep paying him royalties?"

As much as I love the BtB theme, the instrumentation seems too "grand" for the show. The section used for introducing the celebs is hella groovy, though... :p

I think that the Rafferty Blockbusters theme sounds like it should be leading into a sitcom rather than a game show.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Brown Boy,
Greg Vallejo

The theme did fit a lot better when TJW used it for the $1,000,000 Dollar Tournament in '78.

I was under the impression that it was up to the music director to make sure that the music package fits the show to a glove. (Russian Roulette, for example) For the most part, they hit the mark.

Wha? Too bombastic? They do realize what game show music is about, right? MG/HS screams out "get ready for an exciting fun show."

Or, apparently, "get ready to play Super Ball." :)

IMO, the more I listen to Blockbusters '80's theme music, the more I wonder what in the world was Bob Cobert smoking? I don't think there is a much stronger case of a composer losing control of a song than that one, which probably explains why the show never used more than the first "verse". BTW, is this the theme that Cobert says he hated the most?

Tyshaun

Yes, but I still think it's superb.

Were there any Bob Stewart shows that had "music packages."? For example, I envision Bob Stewart calling Bob Cobert..

Bob S: "Hey Bob, I've got this new show Chain Reaction starting next week, got any music?"

Bob C.: "Well, I've got this disco piece I wrote for that dog Supertrain"

Bob S: "Perfect!"

The $1,000,000 tournament was in 1980. The one in 1978 was for a pittance--$100,000 and won by Frank Dillon in the supreme moment of his life.

I do too. It's one of those themes I think fit the show perfectly. Just for the record, there were one or two episodes where they let the whole them play, rather than repeating the first "verse" after the fee plugs. I remember seeing them during the first couple of years of GSN, but unfortunatly didn't get them on tape. Would that kind of decision be totally up to the music supervisor, or would the director have some input into that?

Then bring back the Thicke theme! (Just kidding... I think)

...And am I right that Kaplan changed *one* note of the "J!" theme (if I could only write music to show you), or if it just me?

(Precedent: Richard Rodgers allowed WABC in New York to use the first line of "Manhattan" in their jingles as "Seventy-seven...", but Larry Hart before he died expressly said that they couldn't use the actual lyric of "I'll take Manhattan..." Some years later, PAMS used "I'll take Manhattan..." in a jingle, the Hart estate got livid and PAMS was ordered to change one note in the "Seventy-seven..." line--later sung as "Musicradio" and maybe today as "Talkradio"--to get the Hart estate out of it.)

At GSC13 last wk, someone said the Pitfall theme sounded better suited to a talk show.

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

Is it just me or does the ending of the 1980 TTTT theme sound like it belonged on a show from ESPN's beginnings?