A Rant: Iconic Theme Songs, Bring Them Back

 It's September which means it's time for a new fall TV season. While fall TV is not a big of a deal as it once was. It is a staple in the media and living room landscape. Giving new television shows a chance to reach audiences, while old favorites return to the air for new stories to tell. 

While we gear up for this season, I wanted to touch on an issue Hollywood has had for the last 15 years or so. TV shows today especially sitcoms, do not have noticeable theme songs that one can instantly associate with the show.

I know the economics of the industry likely played a part in this. As a 30 second to minute and some change intro, cuts into time available for an ad. So today you get cold opens that go right into the show, or if you do get a theme song it's a little instrumental jingle. That's all we get. However it is detrimental to the shows branding and particularly for new shows, the ability to grab an audience attention and draw them into the series.

It's time Hollywood, streamers, broadcast  and cable networks get's it's head out its ass. Hire some damn composers to make music with lyrics, spend a couple hours filming intro's and slap them on the beginning of series. Even show's that may not necessarily be considered classics, are still revered today because they had catching theme songs.

Even classic shows the Fresh Prince, Golden Girls, Friends, Martin, Family Matters, Full House, and Living Singles of the world. While they were great shows, the theme songs that were catchy and instantly associated with them. Gives them additional life, making people who weren't even born during these shows original run. Feel connected to them and enamored with them.

Hollywood, bring back TV theme songs. It's way overdue, the industry needs it. Creators and producers need them if they ever want their shows to have longevity decades down the road. And the fans need them, we need some new tunes to hum and sing to.

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How To Make It In America Gone Too Soon

 

This past weekend marked 15 years since a hidden gem on HBO debuted How To Make It In America. The show was one of those very under the radar gritty type shows that catered to a specific audience, with the most famous cast members being the guy who bagged Stifler's Mom in American Pie in Eddie Kaye Thomas, Luis Guzman who is one of those actors you see in movies and go oh him. And lastly rapper Kid Cudi, and the funny thing is these actors all played supporting roles. Two guys you likely never heard of in Bryan Greenberg and Victor Rasuk led the cast.

Set in New York City the series followed Greenberg's character Ben who is one of those guys who can't get out of his own way, he's an artist and is floating through life. Then there's his buddy Cam played by Rasuk, who is another guy floating through life hopping from one hustle to another. After a series of events that lead them to realize things aren't going right, they decide to start a clothing line focusing on jeans inspired by the 1970's that they dubbed Crisp.

What followed in subsequent episodes was a story of friendship, entrepreneurship, drive, hope, and the hustle needed to be successful. It was a relevant commentary on life in the 2010's and the young millennial drive to bet oneself and make something happen. The main characters were ambitious and yet naive, and at times in over their heads but didn't quit. 

The story, the characters and the vibe of the show made you care, but after season 2 ended on a high not both for the characters and the show with things looking on the up and up. HBO decided to unceremoniously cancel the show. And just like that everything it built was gone.

Now 15 years later the show is still relevant, maybe more than ever. Fashion sense and style is probably more ingrained in pop culture more than ever. During the show's run facebook was the most active social media app, now we have instagram and tik tok and the rise of influencers. Social Media influencers have 3 traits the show touched on, entrepreneur spirit, creativity, and the hustle. Most people want to be influencers yet don't know about the hustle and the brand awareness you need to build on your own before getting to that status. They have found a new way to make it in America.

Since the series debut it truly has gotten harder to survive in America, let alone make it. So you need that inspiration to help you push forward when life seems like you're constantly hitting a wall. In just two short season's this hidden gem may have been ahead of it's time and yet has left a profound impact on anyone who has seen it. It truly was gone too soon. 

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5 Shows I Was Late To The Party On

 

In anticipation of the latest season of Amazon Prime's Reacher series, I finally watched the first two seasons. The series has been in my queue in what seems like forever, I just wasn't in a rush to get around to watching it until now. Once I finished season 2, I started thinking about other show's I took some time to watch. With that, here are 5 shows I was late to the party on.

5. Cold Case

Cop procedural's are a genre of television I really don't watch. I'll watch Law & Order SVU here and there, I enjoyed underrated shows like Shades Of Blue and Graceland. Other than New York Undercover, The Wire, and 9-1-1 (although I am a good 3 seasons behind at this point), most cop shows I just never tuned in and can't explain why. When Cold Case debuted in 2003 I was 17 years old, so I definitely wasn't watching it. 

Then around 2011-2012 when cable was still in it's juggernaut era, I caught some reruns and thought damn this show is good. I enjoyed the mystery aspect, along with the different era's and music represented for those era's. I fell off from the show and then during the height of the pandemic watched the show again....fell off again, and now that it is on Max I've been working my way through all 7 seasons.

4.Key and Peele

Key and Peele debuted in 2012 on Comedy Central and to be honest, I just watched and finished all 5 seasons of the series last fall. I've seen the clips online, knew the jokes, and seen the meme's I just never sat down and actually watched the show. Funny enough this Mike Tyson skit which was a play on this wild yet hilarious Mike Tyson video I somehow never saw before in my life until last year, convinced me to give the show a try.

I'm glad I did, the show was very funny clearly taking inspiration from shows like In Living Color, MadTV (where both got their start), and of course Chappelle Show. They perfectly captured that era of politics and pop culture, and actually had some very good commentary on where the world was headed at the time that came true. If you're like me and never saw the show, give it a chance.

3. A Million Little Things

A Million little things debuted in the fall of 2018 on ABC, at that time all my TV in my feelings viewing were reserved for the NBC drama This Is US. A couple of people I know said if I enjoyed that show, I would enjoy A Million little things as well. Then during the pandemic, new things to watch are getting thin so I gave the show a shot. I binged watched the first couple seasons of the show in anticipation of the third season finally being released in November of 2020.

Just like This Is Us, this show will hit you in the feels especially being around the same age as the characters in the show it got real. When it ended in 2023 someone was cutting onions as it ended. 

2. Animal Kingdom

                                                 

Heist films and TV shows are one of my favorite genres in that medium. So I'm not sure how I waited so damn long to finally start watching Animal Kingdom. Debuting in 2016 on TNT, the drama series followed a family that are criminal masterminds in the art of heists, all with their own issues and essentially controlled by their overbearing and ruthless mom/grandmom Smurf (Ellen Barkin). It was a high stakes, tense show with plenty of action and family drama.

My wife started watching the show soon as it aired, and kept telling me check it out and I was on a I'll get around to it mentality. Then probably 2019ish right before season 4 aired, I gave the first season a try and basically every chance I had to watch a episode I took it. That's how good the show was, running for six seasons it finished in 2022 and damn I miss that show.

1. Gotham

For Batman to be my favorite comic book character of all time, I absolutely took my sweet time watching this show. In my defense when it debuted on Fox in the fall of 2014, I was working two jobs preparing for a wedding and to buy my first house. So watching this wasn't a priority, in fact I think I watched a couple of episodes when I could but just fell off from it. A season or 2 later, my wife started watching the show and kept telling me I'm missing out. I wasn't in a rush to watch the show though.

It was always in the back of mind to watch, and I finally did last year thanks to tubi. Gotham is a interesting take on the Batman mythology, giving Batman, Jim Gordon and essentially his entire rogues gallery a origin story. It take's inspiration from the films and The Batman Animated Series in storylines, character presentation, and the city of Gotham itself which is a character in the series. Yet still provides it's own spin on the legendary character and associates. The last season kind of tailed off, but if you are a Batman fan check it out.

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