A Dozen Favorite TV Theme Songs
(Once I started casting my net, it became harder than I thought it would be to pare this list down. I excluded instrumentals, and I also confined myself to songs that were written expressly for the TV show rather than borrowed from pre-existing material; otherwise, the themes from Bosom Buddies, The Young Ones, Wallander, and The Wire, among others, would be on the list. (I made an exception for the M*A*S*H theme song, which predates the TV show but was written for the movie.) Anyway, here they are, my top twelve, in order of preference and with links.)
M*A*S*H (the link will take you to the non-instrumental “Suicide Is Painless” version from the movie)
WKRP in Cincinnati (the closing theme, with the nonsense vocals)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Season 2 Theme)
* In the summer of 1981, when I was eight and dedicated to superheroes, this was a #2 Billboard hit, and every day, like magic, when my parents picked me up from daycare, our local top-forty station KKYK would play it during the ride home.
— March 26, 2023