Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Poll Results - Which of these TV Shows from 1995-2005 has the best original theme music?

Wow that was interesting. Probably the biggest poll turnout that this blog has ever had (and I know what happened but I don't know why it happened - a little more on that shortly) and still we have a three way tie. Amazing!

We had nine shows listed, mostly dramas. Tied for sixth with one vote each (4%) were the themes from NYPD Blue, Angel, Firefly and Star Trek: Voyager. Big surprise for me from this group was the NYPD Blue theme which I thought would do better. The theme was a real signature piece that really fit the images used in the opening. The other surprise, I guess, was Voyager which always seemed a bit pedestrian to me. The Firefly theme is one of my personal favourites, a mournful little ballad that gives the sense of bitterness and hope that the ragtag crew of the spaceship Serenity faced.

In a tie for fourth place, with three votes each (12%) are the themes from JAG and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. This is a real surprise. I expected Buffy to be much higher and was frankly surprised that the JAG theme got any votes at all. Not that it isn't a good theme, all strong and heroic and all, and it certainly fits the material but it isn't really a challenging piece of music when compared with something like the NYPD Blue theme. I'd say that the Buffy theme should have ranked higher simply because of the popularity of the show.

In a three way tie for first place with five votes each (20%) are the themes from Frasier, The X-Files and The Simpsons. The surprise here is of course Frasier. In all honesty I can't remember the Frasier opening theme music being much beyond the sort of collection of notes that I complained about when I started creating this series of polls. What always stood out for me was the closing theme for Frasier - Baby I hear the blues a calling/ tossed salad and scrambled eggs etc. The Simpsons theme and the X-Files themes are iconic and with the X-Files creates the sense of mystery that was the essence of the show before the show began. As for the Simpsons theme the music has a quality reminiscent of a piece like Raymond Scott's Powerhouse which was used extensively by Carl Stalling for the Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies cartoon series.

This blog had a huge influx of visitors last Sunday. I didn't discover this until last Monday, by which time the evidence disappeared from my stats counting service so I don't know the cause. Still I doubt that the turnout for my next poll, which will be coming out later today and will continue to explore the world of theme music, will have the same sort of popularity.

Oh and by the way, the team that my cousin Larry is an associate coach for, the Powell River Regals, won the Allan Cup beating the Whitby Dunlops 7-1 in the final.

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