DAILY DIRT: Remember when those TV theme songs were as good — or better — than the programs?

Daily Dirt for Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022

While putting this piece together, it dawned on what great theme songs we used to have for many of our favorite TV programs. Why isn’t that true today? … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 414 of The Daily Dirt.

1. What is the first thing that attracts you to a particular TV show?

Well, it HAS to be the theme music, since you’re going to hear that before you get to any of the plot or dialogue, right? With that in mind, this week we’re going to select the top theme songs from comedies and dramas. Today, we start with the comedies:

• 1. “Cheers” (NBC): Gary Portnoy’s “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” remains as iconic as the show itself. Few know that Portnoy was also responsible the theme for “Punky Brewster.”
• 2. “Friends” (NBC): I was torn between this theme and the one above it for No. 1. I basically flipped a coin and “I’ll Be There For You” by the Rembrandts was the loser.
• 3. “Happy Days” (ABC): Pratt and McClain’s classic sing-a-long was actually much better than this show.
• 4. “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (CBS): If you’re old enough to have grown up watching Mary toss that blue beret in the air at the end of the opening, you probably realize what a great song the theme provided. Sonny Curtis was the artist responsible.
• 5. “The Monkees” (NBC): Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart had several hits on their own, but they’ll always be best remembered for writing this song for the Monkees. Each Monday it would ready us for the latest hijinks from Davy, Mike, Peter and Mickey. Granted, the show was pretty much terrible, but the music was great, especially that theme song. Sadly, Mickey Dolenz is the last living member of those lovable moptops … but we’ll always have the music.

Honorable mention: “The Addams Family” (ABC), “WKRP in Cincinnati” (CBS), “The Andy Griffith Show” (CBS), “Green Acres” (CBS), and “All in the Family” (CBS).

2. This week’s happy birthday wishes go to:

• Singer John Mellencamp turns 71 on Friday. Favorite song of his? How about “The Authority Song?”
• Russian leader Vladimir Putin will be 70, also on Friday. Here’s hoping he gets sick from eating too much birthday cake. He’s truly one of the world’s most disgusting human beings.
• Actress Sigourney Weaver is 73 on Saturday. Her best role? Has to be Ripley in the original “Alien” movie.
• Sharon Osbourne turns 69 on Sunday. The wife of Ozzie Osbourne deserves some sort of medal, doesn’t she?
• Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre turns 53 on Monday. Will he or won’t he avoid jail time for that monetary scam he’s been linked to?

3. This week’s Daily Dirt college football rankings:

• 1. Alabama (5-0): Tide Nation will be closely monitoring the health of quarterback Bryce Young this week.
• 2. Ohio State (5-0): Buckeyes are still a couple of weeks away from being at full strength on both sides of the ball.
• 3. Georgia (5-0): What the heck was going at Missouri last Saturday?
• 4. USC (5-0): Lincoln Riley is in the early stages of building a powerhouse in the Land of Troy.
• 5. Michigan (5-0): Wolverines’ first real test will be Oct. 15 vs. Penn State.
• 6. Clemson (5-0): Somehow we knew Dabo’s club would begin an ascent up the rankings.
• 7. Ole Miss (5-0): Those baBy blue jerseys are suh-weet!
• 8. Oklahoma State (4-0): Cowboys are still undefeated, but there are some major questions on defense.
• 9. Utah (4-1): Don’t sleep on the Utes. These guys are legit, despite that early 3-point loss to Florida.
• 10. Kansas (5-0): Oh why not?

Steve Thought O’ The Day — “Hey, hey we’re the Monkees … and people say we monkey around … but we’re too busy a singin’ to put anybody down …” That was a great time to be a music lover and an aspiring TV addict.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He’s getting ready to lick his chops at today’s Kohl’s Food Show.