Aired: September 30, 1982 â May 20, 1993 (NBC) ![]()
Published 11:36 AM EST Dec 9, 2018
When I heard that actor Ken Berry had died this month, I felt sadness for the passing of an actor whose work I had enjoyed over the years. But that didnât match the words and music that immediately began playing in my head: âThe end of the Civil War was near/When quite accidentally/A hero who sneezed, abruptly seized/Retreat, and reversed it to victory.â For baby boomers, or any fan of '60s sitcoms, those lyrics are instantly recognizable from the opening theme of âF Troop,â a silly ABC comedy that featured Berry as the inept commander of an incompetent frontier military unit. The show is mostly forgettable â except for its self-explanatory theme song. (It's badly dated today. As with the series itself, the âF Troopâ theme contains the kind of insulting reference to Native Americans that was standard then but unacceptable today, unless itâs the name of an NFL team.) The memory of that goofy theme made me smile and think of the whole genre of â60s sitcoms predicated on ideas so nutty â high concept, in today's jargon â that they essentially required directions in the form of theme songs that explained the show's premise. (Theme songs are mostly memories these days, the victims of shows squeezed for time to sell more commercials). More: Ken Berry, star of 'F Troop,' 'Mama's Family' and 'Mayberry R.F.D.,' has died at 85 âJust sit right back and youâll hear a tale/a tale of a fateful trip/that started from this tropic port/aboard this tiny ship â¦â â you know the rest â and youâll know everything about âGilliganâs Islandâ by the end of the opening credits. The theme from 'The Beverly Hillbillies' lays out the fish-out-of-cement-pond story of a plainspoken mountain man striking oil â i.e., 'bubblin' crude, black gold, Texas tea' â and moving his clan to snobby âBeverly/Hills, that is/swimming pools, movie stars.â ![]() And at a time when divorce was becoming more commonplace, âThe Brady Bunchâ theme â another musical explainer from âGilliganâsâ creator Sherwood Schwartz â features lyrics that set forth the concept of a blended family, fairly new to many viewers at the time: ââTil the one day when the lady met this fellow/And they knew that it was much more than a hunch/That this group must somehow form a family/Thatâs the way we all became the Brady bunch.â Combat is a lot less tactical then Origins, but more action oriented. Dragon age inquisition patch 1.12. Overall, a great improvement to DA2, but not perfect. Still recommend. Feb 2, 2018 - MoVie InFo: Transformers (2007). MOVIE NAME: Transformers 2007 Dual Audio Hindi Eng BRRip 350Mb. Avengers Infinity War 2018 Full Movie Hindi dubbed Download Dual Audio BRRip 720p 4th October 2018. Transformers 1 full movie download. Feb 5, 2018 - Transformers 1 Full Movie Download Free in 720p BRRip Dual Audio Hindi English. Download Transformers 2007 in small size single direct. Jul 3, 2007 - Transformers Free Movie Download HD Highest Qulaity and downloading speed Just in single click Small size Movies downlaod from. Oct 10, 2018 - It is the first installment of the Transformers film series. Transformers 2007 hindi dubbed movies download in hd, Transformers 2007. The kooky sitcom trend was popular at a time when broadcast networks were the only game in town, attracting big, broad audiences of every age, including kids who are now adults with theme songs taking up too much shelf space in their brains. Other shows that laid out an entire fantastical storyline in a theme song include: âMr. Ed,â about a talking horse; âThe Patty Duke Show,â which introduced viewers to 'identical cousins'; and âGreen Acres,â the wonderfully off-kilter tale of a country-loving husband (âFresh airâ) and cosmopolitan wife (âTimes Squareâ) that might be worth reconsidering with todayâs urban/rural divide (keep Arnold Ziffel, the pig who was treated like a human boy, but ditch the husband claiming his right to force the wife to move to a farm. Again, a â60s blindspot.). Some one-season wonders, as in âI wonder how that got on,â are remembered, if at all, solely because of their opening songs. How many people have never seen âMy Mother, the Car,â an automotive embrace of reincarnation, but can remember that Jerry Van Dyke's mom had turned into a caustic 1928 Porter? Schwartz also produced the time-travel comedy, 'It's About Time,' which had the distinction of two theme songs, one explaining astronauts who traveled back to the Stone Age, and a midseason reversal that had the astronauts and cavemen returning to the present in an effort to beef up lagging ratings. (Didn't work.) Other â60s shows featured similar, if less explicit themes, including âThe Addams Family;â âPetticoat Junction;â and a couple of primetime cartoons, âThe Flintstonesâ and âThe Jetsons.â âThe Monkeesâ turned a theme that introduced the rock band at the center of the show into an actual chart hit. By the â70s, the crazy concepts started fading away, along with the need for detailed theme-song explanations. Some great shows, such as âMaudeâ and âThe Jeffersons,â explained themselves to a degree with opening numbers, as did some less great entries, such as âThe Love Boat.â While the 'Cheersâ theme didnât lay out the story of friendship at a neighborhood bar, millions can identify the phrase âwhere everybody knows your name,â which is synonymous with the '80s sitcom. And, âItâs Garry Shandlingâs Showâ had the meta-theme of all time to match the showâs matter-of-fact genius: âThis is the theme to Garryâs show/The opening theme to Garryâs show/This is the music that you hear/As you watch the credits.â ![]() In the â90s, budding superstar Will Smith, in collaboration with DJ Jazzy Jeff, rapped an explanation of how he became âThe Fresh Prince of Bel Air,â creating one of the catchiest and most popular themes of all time. If broadcast networks no longer have time for theme songs, pay-cable networks and streaming services have no such restrictions. HBO's 'Silicon Valley' offers a funny, detailed visual explanation of its tech-heavy address, while Netflix's 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' features a creative opening theme that plays off tabloid-style reporting about the kidnapping and release of the title character. And, thereâs at least one current show, âCrazy Ex-Girlfriend,â that pays homage to TVâs crazy past. The easiest way is to establish an internet connection, either wirelessly or through another Ethernet port, then plug in the USB2-E1000. Hp network adapter driver windows 10. In its Season 1 theme, the series, which finishes its CW run in early 2019, laid out the story of how lawyer Rebecca Bunch gave up her high-paying New York legal job âto move to West Covina, California/Brand-new pals and new career/It happens to be where Josh lives/But thatâs not why Iâm here!â And, âCrazyâ has brilliantly rewritten its theme over four seasons to reflect its changing story. So, thanks, âCrazy Ex-Girlfriend,â for keeping a fun, sometimes witty and always pleasingly goofy tradition alive. And thanks, Ken Berry, for memories of a time in TV that we might as well embrace, because, as the âF Troopâ earworm attests, it's going to be with us forever.
Published 11:36 AM EST Dec 9, 2018
1994-2004 | NBC
Added to the database on May 14, 2004
Rate
Friends is a sitcom created that aired on NBC for ten seasons from 1994 to 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan going trough the humorous trials and tribulations of relationships, work and personal life.
A television phenomenon and genuine American cultural artifact, Friends chronicled the misadventures of six twentysomethings navigating their way through the not-so-fast lane of Manhattan life. Like all great sitcoms, Friends featured unforgettable characters we all could identify with: self-absorbed but sweet-natured Rachel; hypercompetitive siblings Monica and Ross; daffy but street-smart Phoebe; insecure and soulful Chandler; and self-styled ladies' man Joey. Like Seinfeld and Frasier, Friends captured the heady zeitgeist of the roaring '90s. Cast & Characters
Broadcast HistoryFirst Telecast: September 22, 1994Last Telecast: May 6, 2004 Original Network: NBC Number of Seasons: Friends Tv Show Theme Song10Number of Episodes: 236 Original Primetime TV Schedule:
Theme Song Lyrics & Opening Credits{videobox}/media/video/friends.mp4{/videobox}'I'll Be There For You' by The Rembrandts
Friends on DVD
Comments are closed.
|