# Favorite television soundtrack?



## Albert7

For me that would be The Wire with The Sopranos coming in close. But The Wire's music just describes Baltimore to a tee.


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## elgar's ghost

I quite like the theme to Inspector Montalbano - a nice kooky little tango.


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## brotagonist

I like the theme for the classic western, Have Gun Will Travel. It's sort of like Beethoven's 5th Symphony... duh duh duh DUH.


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## GreenMamba

You mean full soundtrack (i.e., all the music used) or just the theme song? The Sopranos had a great theme tune and generally good song choices throughout. While I dislike Journey, its final choice of song has become almost iconic. 

I did like the way The Wire used a different version of the same song (Way Down in the Hole) for every season.


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## Albert7

I meant the whole soundtrack for all seasons, not just theme song.


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## Prodromides

THE OUTER LIMITS (first season 1963-1964) by Dominic Frontiere (and Robert van Eps).


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## DeepR

Theme song: Star Trek: The Next Generation (originally from Star Trek The Motion Picture) by Jerry Goldsmith. 
A piece about hope, wonder and discovery and a bright future for mankind.

The best version of this theme appears at the end of the movie First Contact:


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## The nose

I like _Viking_'s soundtrack


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## Albert7

GreenMamba said:


> You mean full soundtrack (i.e., all the music used) or just the theme song? The Sopranos had a great theme tune and generally good song choices throughout. While I dislike Journey, its final choice of song has become almost iconic.
> 
> I did like the way The Wire used a different version of the same song (Way Down in the Hole) for every season.


Yeah, The Wire used the same song just like Beethoven's Diabelli Variations... here you go:


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## SarahNorthman

For me I have to say both Bones and True Blood. As for bones I can see a majority of people liking the episode The Plain in the Prodigy. Beautiful classical music.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

I've recenrly come to really enjoy the classic Doctor Who soundtracks, especially the remarkable works from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop from the 60s!


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## schigolch

I loved the soundtrack written by Angelo Badalamenti for "Twin Peaks":


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## Silkenblack

The Persuaders 1971 by John Barry.


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## Albert7

I could argue that the soundtrack to all of the seasons of "The Sopranos" (of which I have seen only the first two seasons) has quite the variety of music ranging from 80's pop like the theme song by Alabama 3 all the way to some obscure rap instrumental by Xzibit to traditional Italian joints.

It's definitely a wonderful variety to describe all the situations that Tony gets in.


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## Kivimees

I have no favourite television soundtrack, but I do have a favourite theme that I would like to share.

I hope I will be forgiven:


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## geralmar

The Untouchables (Nelson Riddle)

Peter Gunn (Henry Mancini)

26 Men ( ? )


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## Whistler Fred

I've always liked the music used on Mission: Impossible, including the mysterious flute and drums cues for the covert operations scenes.


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## Loge

The Avengers from the 1960s


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## mtmailey

Sorry i have no favorite television soundtrack because i boycott television i think the best stuff to watch is online .I do have a anime soundtrack here though.


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## Prodromides

Loge said:


> The Avengers from the 1960s


The British TV show THE AVENGERS had 2 different themes: the first theme was by John Dankworth (for the video-taped serials between 1961 & 1964). After this series began shooting in film for broadcast in America, composer Laurie Johnson wrote the theme which was used from 1965 through 1969 with variations per season (and yet again in 1976 for THE NEW AVENGERS).

Many folks seem to single-out the episodes with Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) as the only version of THE AVENGERS to consider ... whereas the series as a whole had been done over the years with a variety of styles and leading ladies.


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## Prodromides

Whistler Fred said:


> I've always liked the music used on Mission: Impossible, including the mysterious flute and drums cues for the covert operations scenes.


I realize you are referring to Lalo Schifrin's theme for MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, but some individual episodes were scored by other composers, too. The television industry's 'standard practice' (courtesy musicians unions' regulations) from those decades was to track 2/3 of the season's segments with the show's library cues of stock music.

A typical TV series from the 1960s had about 8 episodes tailored with music specifically composed to underscore key elements of the series' story material. Thus, the style(s) of the dramatic incidental music could be recycled into the remaining segments of the season without further costly recording sessions.


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## Prodromides

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> I've recenrly come to really enjoy the classic Doctor Who soundtracks, especially the remarkable works from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop from the 60s!


I've been admiring classic DOCTOR WHO since the early 1980s (when 'classic' WHO was the only WHO.  ).

My local PBS station aired Tom Baker serials from about '79 through 1983, then in '83 the station began to broadcast the Jon Pertwee series (in between runs of the 'new' seasons with Peter Davison).
By 1985, the surviving William Hartnell segments began to air (very likely for the first ever time in America).

I agree that DOCTOR WHO's early beginnings had an impressive roster of British composers who - in retrospect - were of the highest calibre. The first season alone (1963-1964) had 3 scores by Norman Kay, 2 by Tristram Cary and 1 apiece by Richard Rodney Bennett and Stanley Myers! Could any such line-up of talent every be assembled thereafter?
The '64/'65 season got Francis Chagrin to score one story, and by the '65/'66 season Tristram Cary returned for a mammoth 12-part serial (plus writing a ballad for WHO's western "The Gunfighters") and Humphrey Searle came aboard to score a historical satire called "The Myth Makers".

I doubt that most classical music lovers realize just how many classically-trained modernist composers were doing TV and film music whilst simultaneously composing their 'serious'/absolute musical works.

[P.S.: while we know this thread is about TV music, appreciation for '60s WHO leads to recommendations to explore the music for Hammer Films and Amicus productions from that same era (if one hasn't already begun to explore/appreciate such  )]


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## hpowders

The beginning of Judge Judy: it's a rock version of the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.


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## Morimur

Twin Peaks OST


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## Albert7

I really like the opening credits for The Good Wife:


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## Krummhorn

Favorite is the music from _Foyle's War_ on BBC. My 2nd choice is music for _Downton Abbey_, also on BBC.

Current American TV music ... mehh - nothing much impresses me ... at least not yet. The older shows were much better for music ... St. Elsewhere, Banacek, Hill Street Blues, etc.


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## davidaunes

The Sopranos variety is quite amazing.

Apart from the ones mentioned here, I like "Six Feet Under" soundtrack. Here is the main title:






The composer is Thomas Newman. He wrote many soundtracks (like American Beauty, The Green Mile, Road to Perdition, Cindirella Man...).


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## Kieran

elgars ghost said:


> I quite like the theme to Inspector Montalbano - a nice kooky little tango.


I love the show - and the soundtrack!


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## elgar's ghost

There was a bloke who drank in my old local who was the spitting image of the bumbling sergeant Catarella. I like the series as well, apart from being unable to untangle the plot most of the time!


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## Albert7

The new TV series "Mom" has some classical music for its opening credits:






Guessing game: can anyone guess which piece is it?


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## Vaneyes

The finale of The Sopranos ruined it all for me.

I've soft spots for some of the oldies--Perry Mason, Have Gun Will Travel, Yancy Derringer, 77 Sunset Strip, Surfside 6, The Virginian.

Murder One from the '90's. More recent, True Detective.:tiphat:


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## Albert7

True Detective is awesome. Can't wait for season two.


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## Kieran

elgars ghost said:


> There was a bloke who drank in my old local who was the spitting image of the bumbling sergeant Catarella. I like the series as well, apart from being unable to untangle the plot most of the time!


When he ordered a pint did he throw his head back and shout, "dottore, dottore!" :lol: Great characters in that show, beautiful women and scenery, the food, ah! The stories are fairly good for detective shows, it kinda mixes the seriousness of the genre with great comedy. I never miss it!


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## Badinerie

There was an ITV current affairs program 'This Week' that used the intermezzo from Sibelius's Karelia Suite for its theme tune. 
Also a TV Court drama called 'Crown Court', which used the Allegretto from Janacek's Sinfonia. Both introduced me to the composers at an early age.


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## sharik

*Dashkevitch* - _Sherlock Holmes & Dr.Watson (1979)_











http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes_and_Dr._Watson


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## Josh

http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.7329/.f










http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.8285/.f


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## elgar's ghost

Here's a fave from my childhood c. 1970/71 - a very groovetastic tambourine/organ-driven theme from the late, great Barry Gray (21st Century Productions' house composer). In case anyone's interested/doesn't know, one of the moonbase ladies (with the purple wig and silver lurex catsuit) is singer Nick Drake's sister, Gabriella.


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## PeterJ

I loved the music composed for Battlestar Galactica -- it was exciting, deeply melancholic, and perfectly suited to the subject matter (such as the music of the repeating one note theme reserved for the Cylon Caprica 6)


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## aajj

The Twilight Zone
The SImpsons
Mad Men
The Sopranos (fun to dance to!)
Mission Impossible
Hawaii Five-O (the '60s series; don't know if the current series uses the same theme)
Batman (the '60s series)


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## Tony M

"The Hanged Man" (1975)
Composed by Alan Tew and played by an outfit called "Bullet".
The first ever record I bought that wasn't a pop record.


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## arpeggio

*Combat*

I am going to pick a moldy oldie.

The 1960 war series _Combat_.

Leonard Rosenman composed the music. Although the main theme and parts of it were tonal, the bulk of the score was 12-tone. Rare for TV soundtracks. Rosenman studied with Arnold Schoenberg, Roger Sessions and Luigi Dallapiccola.


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## DeepR

DeepR said:


> Theme song: Star Trek: The Next Generation (originally from Star Trek The Motion Picture) by Jerry Goldsmith.
> A piece about hope, wonder and discovery and a bright future for mankind.
> 
> The best version of this theme appears at the end of the movie First Contact:


The Deep Space Nine and Voyager themes weren't bad either. The one from Voyager is also from Jerry Goldsmith.


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## Sloe

Falcon Crest:


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## Abrar James

I personally loved all the soundtracks to the tv show "Chuck"! Definitely my favorite!


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## Sloe

Knight Rider:


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## Albert7

Good enough for me.


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## Sloe

Dallas


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## Rudy

geralmar said:


> The Untouchables (Nelson Riddle)
> 
> Peter Gunn (Henry Mancini)


Those old cop/detective show scores were really good--Peter Gunn seemed to be the prototype that others used.

I have both of those Peter Gunn albums (in various forms), along with the soundtrack to Mr. Lucky. RCA also had "Music from M Squad", the cop show starring Lee Marvin, which was musically directed by Stanley Wilson and like Mancini's albums, featured the cream of the crop of west coast jazz musicians, this time in a full big band setting. The theme was composed by Count Basie and IIRC, the Basie-recorded version is what became the single.

Another RCA rarity is Bobby Troup's "Stars of Jazz" soundtrack. Arrangements are by Shorty Rogers and Jimmy Rowles, with Troup's smoky baritone over the top of it all. Great, swinging album if you can find it. The short-lived TV series featured a different jazz artist each week, from what I can tell. (It was before my time, so I've never seen it.)

There are a lot of 50s and 60s TV show themes I like, but the ones I'm thinking of never had a full-blown album.

I had a couple of Partridge Family albums as a kid...can't say I remember any of the tunes on them though!


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## Sonata

PeterJ said:


> I loved the music composed for Battlestar Galactica -- it was exciting, deeply melancholic, and perfectly suited to the subject matter (such as the music of the repeating one note theme reserved for the Cylon Caprica 6)


Yes! I'm discovering this show for the first time with my husband, we have it on BluRay, and the music is fantastic. Actually the opening credit sequence, music cinematography, all of it is top notch .

Game of Thrones also has great music.


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## mtmailey

SORRY i boycott television most shows are lame also i am not going to buy a dtv or hd tv antenna i watch stuff online.Ever since they switched from analog i am not bothering television.


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## Bellinilover

I can't decide between _Agatha Christie's Poirot_ (composed by Christopher Gunning) or the classic _Twilight Zone_ (composed by Bernard Herrmann and others).


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## Dawood

I apologise if this has been mentioned but, seeing as the show has just restarted:


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## Dawood

Loge said:


> The Avengers from the 1960s


I recently watched this show on Bluray and some of the incidental music in the black and white Diana Rigg series was really inspired.

In a side note it only seems right that, for me, the most memorable TV show ever should also have some of the most memorable music ever...






For me it doesn't quite stand up to being removed from it's context, but woven into the TV show the music was sublime. I don't think the haunting pathos of 'Ben's theme' will ever quite leave me


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## DeepR

DeepR said:


> Theme song: Star Trek: The Next Generation (originally from Star Trek The Motion Picture) by Jerry Goldsmith.
> A piece about hope, wonder and discovery and a bright future for mankind.
> 
> The best version of this theme appears at the end of the movie First Contact:





DeepR said:


> The Deep Space Nine and Voyager themes weren't bad either. The one from Voyager is also from Jerry Goldsmith.


And then, along with the entire franchise, it all went completely downhill with the theme song to Enterprise, yuck!


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## SalieriIsInnocent

Cowboy Bebop - Yoko Kanno













Perfect soundtrack for a perfect show. I do find myself listening to the soundtracks fairly often.


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## Orfeo

The Odd Couple I always like.
Hawaii Five-O is darn cool.
The Twilight Zone.
Dallas.
Kojak.
Barney Miller.
Shogun (1980 miniseries, music by Maurice Jarre).
Star Trek (original).
Roots.


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## QuietGuy

I'm watching Route 66 [1960-64] on hulu. Great theme by Nelson Riddle.


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## QuietGuy

I'm watching Route 66 [1960-64] online. Great theme by Nelson Riddle.


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## Vaneyes

QuietGuy said:


> I'm watching Route 66 [1960-64] online. Great theme by Nelson Riddle.


Lead Martin Milner recently exited, to that big highway in the sky.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Milner


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## Avey

Nothing to do with favorites, but if anyone watches _Fargo_, specifically season 2 happening right now, there is an instrumental track that plays in the episodes that is purely a rendition of the opening to Mahler's 2nd. I have been scouring the web to find a credit or something of the sort mentioning this, but failed to see it. I will be extremely disappointed if I never see anything mentioning this obvious quotation -- or, worse yet, if the music director/composer for the series fails to even acknowledge that this piece is so clearly developing off that masterpiece. Different notes, sure, but anyone listening to it knows where this music comes from (i.e., that it is not original in any respects).

Update: Ah, found a video mentioning this! I feel relieved (slightly)


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## Sloe

Airwolf:


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## Bayreuth

The Sopranos has by far the best soundtrack I've heard. It has discovered me lots of songs that now I love. The opening theme and credits are awesome, too, only to be topped by True Detective's Season One.






The song in the video is "Far From Any Road" by The Handsome Family, by the way


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## Dr Johnson

The Sweeney

Hill Street Blues

The Rockford Files (not least because of the guitar break).


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## geralmar

Adventures of Superman:






Peter Gunn:






The Untouchables:






One Step Beyond:






26 Men:






The Rifleman:






Wanted Dead or Alive:











War of the Worlds:


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## Guest

Dawood said:


> I recently watched this show on Bluray and some of the incidental music in the black and white Diana Rigg series was really inspired.


Yes, yes, yes...great music and great TV.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> I've recenrly come to really enjoy the classic Doctor Who soundtracks, especially the remarkable works from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop from the 60s!


And I have aptly changed my avatar.


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## Guest

Wot? No _Game of Thrones_? Great theme and an intriguing animation.


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## hpowders

SweetJesus said:


> The Sopranos has by far the best soundtrack I've heard. It has discovered me lots of songs that now I love. The opening theme and credits are awesome, too, only to be topped by True Detective's Season One.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The song in the video is "Far From Any Road" by The Handsome Family, by the way


Everything about The Sopranos was first class. So sorry to see it end and then followed by the death of the great James Gandolfini. Devastating!


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## Guest

Two people mentioned Twin Peaks. These two people are correct.

The rest of the posters did not mention Twin Peaks. These people are incorrect.


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## DeepR

Fort Boyard theme






I watched this as a kid, so there's a huge nostalgia factor involved.


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## Vaneyes

TV died again with the endings of The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Mad Men.


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## Guest

Agree with MacLeod; I am obsessed with the Game of Thrones opening sequence and music, and always disappointed when it ends so soon.

I also like the creepy theme from Dexter (not the opening sequence).


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## CypressWillow

One of my great favorites, the theme for "The Vicar of Dibley." It's a setting of the 23rd Psalm by Howard Goodall. Always gives me goosebumps, especially that final "Forever."


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## Alfacharger

The great Ron Grainer's opening music for "The Prisoner".


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## Larkenfield

I remember the "Have Gun Will Travel" theme very well but could never exactly figure out its rhythms. In fact I'm still trying after all these years! Loved the show. The character Paladin appreciated the finer things of life, including the arts and beautiful women. I noticed recently that "Paladin" means Champions of the Realm - and that he was.


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## Pugg

Using Patsy's voice, this darlings, this is the best ; Theme from Absolutely Fabulous


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## childed




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## Bertali

A great soundtrack by Mike Post to a great TV-show with James Garner.


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## Joe B

I haven't watched TV since 2005 (display only used for DVD/Blu-ray). That said, when I watched TV, these intro's were my favorites:

Jerry Goldsmith, "Star Trek Voyager"






Randy Edelman, "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr."






Strangely enough, I have both shows on DVD box sets.


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## gustavdimitri

Colditz.... one of my favourites


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## LezLee

The BBC's *Last Of The Mohicans 1971*
Very good series. My husband and I were on holiday in Scotland when it was being filmed and driving through a picturesque glen in the Highlands we came across a military 'fort', then entered an area with caravans and assorted 'Mohicans' standing around drinking tea and smoking. Really funny.
Anyway this is the theme tune:


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## Guest

Four of my favorites


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## Animal the Drummer

I liked the theme music to "Cagney and Lacey". It began and ended with nice jagged, jazzy riffs and it knew where it was going all the way through, by contrast with so many of its counterparts which tail off and noodle around aimlessly between appearances of the main theme:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e64B3DCqu1w


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## DeepR

Star Trek inspired show The Orville has a fun intro:


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## Sloe

Traverso said:


>


Think that the music from a ballet about the revolting gladiator Spartacus would work as the theme for a series about a shipping line.


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## bestellen

I remember any of the tunes on them though!


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## Score reader

As far as the soundtrack as a whole is concerned (not just title themes etc.) it has to be Bear McCreary's _Battlestar Galactica_.


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