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In addition to the nine years of constant synthesized slap bass, one of the most memorable musical moments from Seinfeld was, of course, George’s answering machine message. Who can forget how he gratingly croons, “Believe it or not, George isn’t at home, please leave a message at the beep…”

Younger fans may not be aware that this particular earworm wasn’t an original composition for the show; the melody belongs to the theme song for the ‘80s superhero series The Greatest American Hero. Of course, the original lyrics weren’t about George Costanza’s inability to answer his phone.

It was composed by Mike Post (with lyrics by Stephen Geyer), the same guy who gave us old school theme song bangers like “Magnum P.I.” and “Theme From L.A. Law.” While people rarely tend to listen to theme songs outside of their TV watching time, “Theme from The Greatest American Hero...

The 1980s are often viewed as a pop cultural wasteland: a post-disco, style-over-substance hellscape where music videos turned vacuous bands and singers into chart-topping titans, blockbuster-chasing executives drained films of personality and artistic merit, and television pandered to a benumbed viewership with hacky sitcoms, formula dramas, and risible nighttime soaps. This was only half-true.

There was a good bit of dreck polluting the multiplexes and the airwaves throughout the eight-year Reagan era (and the Bush I hangover), but you'd have to be a killjoy to have lived through that time and turned up your nose at the bevy of brilliant artists who were working at their absolute peak. Prince, Spielberg, Streep, Selleck ... yes, Selleck. Tom Selleck.

For eight immensely entertaining seasons, Tom Selleck was the handsomest, charmingest, mustachioed-est private detective on television as Magnum P.I. The creation of small-screen hit makers Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson, the...

“Game of Thrones” composer Ramin Djawadi was honored with the BMI Icon Award at Broadcast Music Inc.’s 40th annual Film, TV and Visual Media Awards Wednesday night in Beverly Hills.

The Emmy-winning, Grammy-nominated composer was acknowledged for his “memorable scores and themes inspiring future generations of composers,” BMI president-ceo Mike O’Neill said in presenting the award.

Djawadi’s music for “Game of Thrones” became a sensation during the HBO fantasy series’ eight-season run, which concluded in 2019. He won two Emmys, for his music in the seventh and eighth seasons, and later conducted it with symphony orchestras and choirs during world tours in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

His other television credits include “Westworld,” “Prison Break” and the current fantasy and sci-fi series “House of the Dragon,” “3 Body Problem” and “Fallout.” Among his film credits are “Iron Man,” “Eternals,” “A Wrinkle in Time,” “Clash of the Titans” and “Pacific Rim,” and he has...

Seventeen-year-old Luh Tyler is the reluctant but increasingly confident vanguard of new-school pimp rap. As he explains on My Vision, his Motion Music and Atlantic Records debut, “I wasn’t tryna rap for real, I did that shit on accidental.” For all his natural ability, his lustrous melodies, well-placed bon mots, his feline grace, he started rhyming only last summer. And he certainly wasn’t gunning for the title of hip-hop’s boy wonder. Back then, Tyler was just some Tallahassee kid with curly brown locks who couldn’t be...

Composer Christopher Lennertz was declared a BMI Icon at Broadcast Music Inc.’s 39th annual Film, TV and Visual Media Awards Wednesday night (May 10) in Beverly Hills.

Lennertz, a two-time Emmy nominee, veteran film composer and game-music creator, was honored for his 30-year career in media music-making.

BMI president and CEO Mike O’Neill presented the award, noting that Lennertz was “legendary for his diverse and distinct impact across the worlds of film, television and gaming” and telling the 51-year-old composer, “your captivating scores have taken us on a thrilling ride.”

Added BMI’s VP creative, film, TV and visual media Tracy McKnight: “His compelling body of work, from blockbuster films to hit TV shows and gaming, highlights Christopher’s passion for all styles of music and has made him one of the industry’s most sought-after composers. He is also dedicated to giving back through philanthropic work and advancing the next generation of composers.

Every once in a while you will hear a story that makes you say to yourself “there is no way this is true”. Hearing facts like If you hold in your farts long enough, the gas can be re-absorbed and come out of your mouth or that one point in history, turkeys were worshipped as gods. These are facts that are surprisingly true. But in the world of television, there is one show that many people still think was a myth. That show is called Cop Rock…

Yes my friends, this is a real show. Not a parody, not a fever dream, not a glimpse into television from an alternate universe. No you guys, this was an actual television show that lasted 11 episodes. Let me repeat that ,this is a show that aired….on network television….11 episodes….of dancing and singing police officers

So sit back folks, and let me...

Composer Chanda Dancy had roughly two months to create more than four hours of orchestra music for The Defeated, the Netflix series about life in Berlin following World War II.

She recorded with an 85-piece orchestra in Prague as well as solo elements in her studio in Pasadena. She crafted music of that time but added modern sensibilities. She mixed the sound of a grand, sweeping orchestra with synthesizers and elements of Edm.

And she met that incredibly short deadline.

“This was essentially like being asked to swim from Los Angeles to Japan,” Dancy tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Me not knowing how long that distance is — I was like, ‘I can do that in a couple hours. I’m a good swimmer.’ It really didn’t sink in until I was done, honestly.”

“It was wild. I didn’t see my son for a month. I had my parents drive...

The further we get away from the premiere of its pilot, the harder it is to understand how David Lynch and Mark Frost's "Twin Peaks" briefly seized the imaginations of American television viewers. On April 8, 1990, the 90-minute pilot scored what would be the highest single movie rating of the 1989-90 network season. Throughout that month, the show found its way onto the cover of just about every major mainstream magazine, regardless of the periodical's emphasis. People who would've run screaming from Lynch's "Blue Velvet" were enthralled by the series' central "Who Killed Laura Palmer" mystery. They fell in love with Kyle MacLachlan's charmingly idiosyncratic FBI Agent Dale Cooper and Sherilyn Fenn's high school hellion Audrey Horne. They threw viewing parties with coffee, donuts and pie.

After a decade-plus of gorging on nighttime soaps like "Dallas," "Dynasty" and "Falcon Crest," mainstream TV audiences were inured enough to...

Stuart Margolin, who won back-to-back Emmys for his recurring role as Evelyn “Angel” Martin in The Rockford Files and racked up more than 120 career screen credits, died today, his stepson Max Martini said on social media. He was 82.

In an Instagram post (see it below), Bosch: Legacy regular Martini wrote: “A profoundly gifted step-father that was always there with love and support for his family. Rip Pappy. Keep ‘em cold.” He did not provide a cause of death or other details.

Margolin won Emmys in 1979 and 1980 for the respective fifth and sixth seasons of NBC’s The Rockford Files, playing the former cellmate of Jim Rockford (James Garner). Appeared in more than three dozen episodes, including the series’ first and last, his shady-but-endearing character constantly sought Rockford’s help after getting mixed up with former criminal associates.

James Garner and Stuart Margolin in ‘The Rockford Files’

The Rockford Files was an initial hit,...

While producer Stephen J. Cannell’s TV shows were entertaining on their own, the experience of watching was often enhanced by the shows’ theme songs, back in an era when theme songs were commonplace. For many of his shows, Cannell — like several other producers, including Dick Wolf, Steven Bochco and Donald Bellisario — turned to composer Mike Post for their themes. The work Post did for Cannell’s shows accounted for two of his three Top 10 pop hits: the theme from The Rockford Files and The Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not). Though Cannell passed away in 2010, we enjoyed speaking to him several times, and he once described the process of working with Post on those theme songs. (Click on the media bar below to hear Stephen J. Cannell) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Stephen-_J._Cannell_Mike_Post_Music_.mp3

The Greatest American Hero and The Rockford Files...

Tommy Morgan, a harmonica soloist who contributed to hundreds of movie and TV shows including “Roots” and “Dances With Wolves,” died June 23. He was 89.

Morgan played on film soundtracks and record dates going back to the early 1950s. His estimated 7,000 recording sessions, according to statistics on his website, suggest that more people have heard his harmonica work than that of any other player of the instrument.

That’s Morgan’s harmonica on Quincy Jones’ “Sanford and Son” theme, Mike Post’s “Rockford Files” theme and the scores for numerous shows including “Maverick,” “The Waltons,” “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “China Beach,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Family Guy.”

He played on the Emmy-winning score for “Roots” and its sequel, “Roots: The Next Generations.” And his bass harmonica was the signature sound of Arnold Ziffel, the pig on “Green Acres.”

In addition, Morgan played on dozens of classic films including “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,...

Mike Post won his first Grammy Award in 1969 for arranging Mason Williams’ genre-busting hit “Classical Gas,” but his next four Grammys came from composing TV themes. After working as musical director on The Andy Williams Show, Post segued into TV procedurals, scoring many of the iconic cop and lawyer shows of the 1980s and ’90s. In fact, Post’s work became so ubiquitous that English rock band The Who named a song after his small-screen scoring, their 2006 track “Mike Post Theme.” And half a century after his start in the TV business, Post is still working hard in Hollywood, scoring episodes of Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, two shows that kick off with his instantly recognizable L&o theme and even more famous dun-dun musical cue. For the Television Academy Foundation’s Archive of American Television, Post shared the origin stories of many of his TV themes,...

““This was one of those days I wish I’d listened to my mother and studied to be an orthodontist”

Tom Selleck in Magnum P.I. – The Complete Series will be available on Blu-ray March 29th from Mill Creek Entertainment. Order it Here

Here’s the Season 1 intro:

Buckle up and take a ride with Magnum, P.I. in all 8 seasons of the iconic series that are available for the first time on Blu-ray! Explore beautiful and exotic Hawaii with television’s most beloved and charismatic private investigator (Emmy® Award winner Tom Selleck) as he tackles baffling mysteries and tracks down the bad guys with the help of T.C. (Roger E. Mosley), Rick (Larry Manetti) and Higgins (John Hillerman) plus his four-legged pals, Apollo and Zeus.

Packed with non-stop adventure and featuring iconic guest stars, Magnum P.I. is an unforgettable thrill-ride. Own the legacy today!

Extra Features:

New Interviews...

Bmi announced the winners of the performing rights organization’s annual Film, TV and Visual Media Awards on Monday, with an online unveiling of the recipients substituting for the ceremony that would have been taking place in Beverly Hills under non-quarantine conditions.

The most awards, five, went to Icelandic composer Atli Örvarsson, who won for his contributions to “Chicago P.D.,” “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Fire,” “FBI” and “FBI Most Wanted.” Örvarsson’s overall Bmi awards tally is up to 23.

Winning three trophies apiece were Tyler Bates, Brian Tyler and Mac Quayle.

Quayle won for “American Horror Story,” “9-1-1 ” and the spinoff “9-1-1: Lone Star.” Brian Tyler got his honors for “Hawaii Five-0,” “Magnum P.I.” and “Yellowstone.” With these three, he now has 33 awards from Bmi. Tyler Bates’ trophies came for the theatrical films “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” and “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” along with Netflix’s “The Punisher.

“Dragnet.” “Mission Impossible.” “The Twilight Zone.” “Law and Order.” Odds are even if you’ve never seen an episode of these television shows, you’ve heard their theme songs, and they are now going through your head. These are just a few of the iconic scores from television series that have become ingrained in our popular culture. How does a short bit of music snake its way into our memories, and become a great theme song?

If you have memories of sitting barefoot in front of the television after a hard day of play, or staying home sick from school and snuggling on the couch with a favorite program playing, or gossiping with friends about the “I can’t believe that happened!” moment on a popular series, then it is likely that a familiar tune will take you back to one of those moments in time. A funky disco-infused number...

“Dragnet.” “Mission Impossible.” “The Twilight Zone.” “Law and Order.” Odds are even if you’ve never seen an episode of these television shows, you’ve heard their theme songs, and they are now going through your head. These are just a few of the iconic scores from television series that have become ingrained in our popular culture. How does a short bit of music snake its way into our memories, and become a great theme song?

If you have memories of sitting barefoot in front of the television after a hard day of play, or staying home sick from school and snuggling on the couch with a favorite program playing, or gossiping with friends about the “I can’t believe that happened!” moment on a popular series, then it is likely that a familiar tune will take you back to one of those moments in time. A funky disco-infused number...

Earle Hagen, the Emmy-winning composer who wrote the iconic themes for “The Andy Griffith Show,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “I Spy” and many others, would have turned 100 years old on July 9.

He was one of the most influential composers in TV history, formally recognized for his landmark work when the Television Academy inducted him, posthumously, into its Hall of Fame in 2011. He was only the second musician to be so honored.

Hagen pioneered the creation of original music for television in the 1950s, when most TV music was cheaply recorded mood music licensed from pre-existing libraries. By the 1960s, he was composing, arranging and conducting for as many as five shows a week — “The Danny Thomas Show,” “That Girl” and “The Mod Squad” among them — and set a high standard that other TV composers would aspire to in years to come.

“Earle was a huge influence on us, and really good with the tunes,...

Legendary composer John Williams accepted a new award, named after him, “in recognition of his incomparable status as one of the greatest film and television composers of our time,” at Wednesday night’s Film, TV and Visual Media Awards of Broadcast Music Inc. (Bmi) in Beverly Hills.

The creator of such iconic movie themes as “Jaws,” “E.T.” and the musical signatures of the “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones” and “Harry Potter” franchises had already received the organization’s top honor (the Bmi Icon) in 1999, so the performing-rights society invented a new one, which the 86-year-old composer said he would “humbly accept, with a little embarrassment but a lot of gratitude.”

Speaking exclusively to Variety before the ceremony, Williams acknowledged that “in the last year or two, awards seem to be coming along,” cracking, “It must have something to do with being so old, they must think now is the time.

Composer John Williams will be honored for his 60-year career by Broadcast Music Inc. (Bmi) at its 34th annual Film, TV and Visual Media Awards. The event is scheduled for May 9 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Williams will receive “a special award, bearing his name, in recognition of his incomparable status as one of the greatest film and television composers of our time,” the performance rights organization announced.

Said Bmi Vice President, Creative Doreen Ringer-Ross: “By continuing to create and add to his prolific body of work, he’s made a lasting impression on music lovers around the world, and an entire community of composers who he continues to inspire. Because of this, and for all that he has given the world of music and beyond, we felt it was appropriate to honor John with this special award.”

Williams, 86, recently received his 51st Oscar nomination, for scoring “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Composer, musician and producer Jesse Novak -- yes, he’s related to B.J. from The Office -- understands what goes into an iconic TV theme. As the mind behind BoJack Horseman, The Mindy Project and Superstore, he’s created distinctive music that expands these TV worlds as well as the whimsical title theme for the latter, which is now in its third season on NBC.

A memorable theme, he says, “has its own life. It feels like a character, in a way, and it’s part of the universe. It gives you a feeling that you associate with what you’re watching.”

While he’s worked on a number of recent TV hits, Novak’s most memorable work has to come from the animated Netflix series, which recently returned for a fourth season in September and released a soundtrack of its score and original songs, including much of the music from the show’s celebrated underwater episode...

The season 24 premiere of Dancing With the Stars was full of sweet surprises!

We've covered all the big moments from Monday's show Here, but now, we're breaking down each piece of choreography. Who had the most difficult dance? Which star executed the best tricks? Which choreographer went above and beyond in the ballroom? The judges locked in their scores, and here at Et, we're doing the same. Keep reading for more!

Watch: Sharna Burgess and Bonner Bolton Address That 'Unintentional' Viral Moment on 'DWTS' Premiere

Simone Biles and Sasha Farber - Tango, "Untouchable" by Tritonal and Cash Cash

Dance highlight: Ummm, the entire dance?! There were high kicks, dips and a beautiful spin towards the end of the number (and we can't forget about that flawless flip Simone executed during the show's opening number!). When it comes to level of difficulty, Sasha's choreography for week one exceeded our expectations, resulting in a well-deserved...

Dancing With the Stars returns to ABC on Monday, March 20, and the contestants are already feeling the pressure!

Ahead of the season 24 premiere, Et caught up with a few of the stars and pro dancers competing for the mirror ball trophy, where they revealed their reactions to their week one dances.

Watch: Maksim Chmerkovskiy Praises Peta Murgatroyd for Returning to 'DWTS' 2 Months After Giving Birth

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne will be making her ballroom debut with a spicy salsa to her own song, "Xxpen$Ive," with Gleb Savchenko.

"It's expensive to be me," Jayne told Et, when asked about the song's vibe in December. "We have some great, new choreography on the way [for the video] that I think is pretty great, we have a drop split, and all kinds of stuff like that."

She's not the only reality star competing this season, however. Fresh off The Bachelor, Nick Viall will be busting out his best...

As Dick Wolf, the prolific TV producer and creator of the hugely successful Law & Order and Chicago franchises, gets settled at our table at the Four Seasons in the Midtown neighborhood of New York City, longtime TV producer Mark Burnett stops by to say hello. During a quick exchange of pleasantries, the two joke that they should create a Wolf-Burnett network.

“We’d have too much product,” Wolf says with a chuckle. While a lighthearted exchange, the reality is that between the two of them, they have more than enough content for a 24-7 channel. For Wolf’s part, he has his two TV franchises, not to mention the many crime procedurals he’s created and produced over the years. Meanwhile, Burnett has The Apprentice, among many other shows. But it’s the reality show formerly hosted by President Donald Trump that sticks out, considering that any moment, around the corner at Trump Tower, he’s about...

Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Re-Animator—these films are as recognizable by their eerie scores as they are by the monsters that haunt their stories. At this year's Comic-Con, Broadcast Music Inc. will bring together composers from the aforementioned films and several others for “The Character of Music: Classic Horror Special Edition” panel.

Who: Broadcast Music Inc.® (Bmi®), a global leader in music rights management, and Krakower Poling PR will return to Comic-Con, to present “The Character of Music: Classic Horror Special Edition" panel, featuring composers Charles Bernstein (Nightmare on Elm Street), Harry Manfredini (Friday the 13th), Laura Karpman (Carrie), Richard Band (Re-Animator), Tyler Bates (Dawn of the Dead), Maurizio Guarini of Goblin (Suspiria), along with special guest actor Douglas Tait (Freddy vs. Jason).

What: “The Character of Music: Classic Horror Special Edition” panel at Comic-Con will be co-moderated by Anne Cecere of Bmi and Chandler Poling of Krakower Poling PR,...

Cinelinx recently had the opportunity to talk with Gregory Tripi about his career composing music for film, television, commercials, and video games. His latest project is the score for the new mystery thriller, Dark Places, based on the Giillian Flynn novel by the same name.

Gregory Tripi has made a name for himself composing and contributing music for a variety of different high-profile entertainment and advertising projects. His credits include the films Drag Me To Hell, Contagion, Drive, Priest, and Spring Breakers, among many others. Gregory's compositions have been featured in national advertisements by Adidas, Lincoln Motor, Miramax Films, Ghost House Pictures, The Coca-Cola Company, and many more. He has been recognized with many awards including the Georges Delerue Film Scoring Award and the Thomas Dolby Production Award, and is the owner of eSonic Productions. Gregory is a frequent collaborator with composer Cliff Martinez.

Gregory created the score for the upcoming film Dark Places.

Guy fondly revisits Scott Bakula-starring time travel series Quantum Leap, the closest we’ll ever come to a live-action Mr Benn…

Throughout the 90s, Starfleet’s Captain Archer bounced around time meddling in other people’s lives, aided and abetted by the third-tier villain from Beverly Hills Cop 2 in holographic form. No, this wasn’t a fever dream – this was Quantum Leap: possibly the lowest-key sci-fi show ever televised (and all the better for it).

I’d argue that Quantum Leap was one of the best sci-fi shows that really didn’t need that much in the way of fictionalised science. Indeed, when the plots began to lean on this aspect more heavily, the show seemed to lose sight of what made it great in the first place. The internal logic started to unravel, the plots became increasingly far-fetched, and it even started to become a little (whisper it) naff…...

There have arguably been bigger stars in television history than the late James Garner, but none who ever made it look quite so easy. Garner, who reportedly died in his home on Saturday at the age of 86, first hit it big in 1957 with "Maverick," a comical Western in which he played Bret Maverick, a Wild West cardsharp who was as quick on the draw as he was with a quip. At a time when TV was dominated by Westerns — and very solemn ones, at that — Garner was happy to play the same material lighter, to occasionally be the clown or the guy who gets punched in the face, and yet always made it clear that Maverick could easily kill you if he wanted to — it just wasn't his preferred way of doing things. Garner left Maverick after only a few seasons (and had spent much of that time alternating episodes...

Late in the DVD commentary for the pilot episode of "Hill Street Blues," actor Joe Spano marvels at the show's impact on the medium. "It's extraordinary," he says, "the repercussions of this 48 minutes of television." The cop drama's co-creator Steven Bochco follows by suggesting, "It's sort of a family tree, and if you look at the branches of the tree, you'll see 25 years of television." Bochco is, if anything, underselling the importance of "Hill Street," which is on the short list of the most influential TV shows ever made. Whether through shared actors, writers, directors or through stylistic and thematic complexity, its DNA can be found in nearly every great drama produced in the 30-plus years since it debuted. The show was only occasionally interested in the legal trials of the criminals in its unnamed fictional city, but the complete series DVD set (it arrives in stores on Tuesday, for...

(Cbr) Fans and members of the press entered the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood for a special screening of Marvel Studios' newest One-Shot short, "All Hail The King," in advance of its official release as an extra on the "Thor: The Dark World" Blu-ray and DVD.   The evening's event kicked off immediately with the short film, written and directed by "Iron Man 3" scribe Drew Pearce and starring Sir Ben Kingsley. For 15 minutes, viewers get a glimpse into the life of fake Mandarin, Trevor Slattery (Kingsley), after the events of the third "Iron Man" film. In lock up at a high security prison due to his part in the Aldrich Killian/Mandarin plot, the story unfolds as a documentarian with access to Trevor attempts to dig deeper into the apparently shallow actor, digging up footage of Trevor's first big acting break on a CBS '80s TV show called "Caged Heat...

Superhero fans were out in full force Monday night as Hollywood’s Arclight theater played host to a special premiere screening of Marvel’s latest one-shot, All Hail the King, starring Ben Kingsley, who reprised his role as Iron Man 3’s Trevor Slattery for the 13-minute short.

EW senior movies writer Anthony Breznican moderated the event, which also included a brief Q&A with Sir Ben Kingsley, screenwriter Drew Pearce, and producer Kevin Feige. The surprise of the night, however, came at the end when fans were treated to a very special screening of the first 10 minutes of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Neil Patrick Harris attends A Snow White Christmas in Pasadena

Birthday shoutouts go to Steve Buscemi, who is 55, Jamie Foxx is 45, and NeNe Leakes is 45.Nikki Finke is no fan of the Golden Globes. "It’s a completely meaningless awards show from a scandal-riddled organization aired by a production company desperate for money on a network praying for ratings. And even though the entire entertainment industry ridicules the awards, it props them up because they’re a useful marketing tool for the studios and networks." Okay, but who didn't already know that? Yes, it's a sham, but I'll still watch ... because it's a lot of fun. In ratings news, Modern Family tied its season low, while Arrow dipped a bit in its midseason finale.If Gays Are Boycotting Straights' Weddings, It Must Be the Mayan Apocalypse When Your Favorite Childhood Films Are A Little More Homophobic Than You Remembered. Most...

Birthday shoutouts go to Ryan Carnes (above), who is 30, Tom Hulce is 59, and Ryan White would have been 41. Gabriel Mann says that a deal is almost in place for an "iconic TV actress" to play his mother on Revenge. But who could it be? I like the idea of Donna Mills or Judith Light. The Grammy Nominations have been announced, with Frank Ocean up for a number of big awards, including Best New Artist and Album Of The Year. Also, Kathy Griffin is nominated again for Comedy Album, and Rachel Maddow, Ellen Degeneres and Janis Ian are up for Spoken Word Recording Meanwhile, Justin Bieber was shut out, and his manager is pissed.Good riddance to an asshat.Del Shores talks about bringing Southern Baptist Sissies to the big screen.Below you can see the first teaser trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness. Please ... no lens flare this time.

Below...

When I went, aged 7 or 8, to audition for Music College, I was asked to sing “the first song that came into my head”. That song was the A Team theme music, by Mike Post. My older brother, in his audition, apparently sung the same thing. My mother chastised us afterwards, but clearly our renditions of this truly inspiring piece of music were acceptable, as we were both accepted.

There are some themetunes that beckon us to the television, signalling our favourite show is about to start. There are some that we find ourselves humming merrily as we go about our day. And then there are those we shudder through, mute, or fast forward. Here are ten of the most annoying – I’m sure you have your own particular list of those which grate your nerves and become unwanted earworms.

10. Walker Texas Ranger “Eyes of the Ranger”

I know it’s...

Universal is developing a big screen redo of the 1970s NBC series "The Rockford Files" for star Vince Vaughn. "Rockford," which starred James Garner as the titular private eye, aired from 1974-80. The show, with its popular theme song co-written by Mike Post ("Law & Order," "Quantum Leap") took a humorous look at a slovenly, fast-talking ex-con-turned-p.I. who worked out of a shabby mobile home in Malibu. It's not hard to picture Vaughn in the role, although fans of the show will likely miss Garner. David Levien and Brian Koppelman ("Runner Runner") will pen the feature version's script, with Vaughn producing, according to...

The Last 10 Emmy Winners for Best TV Theme Song

2010 -- "Nurse Jackie" (Showtime)

2009 -- "Great Performances" (PBS)

2008 -- "Pirate Master" (CBS)

2007 -- "The Tudors" (Showtime)

2006 -- "Masters of Horror" (Showtime)

2005 -- "Desperate Housewives" (ABC)

2003 - 2004 -- "Monk" (USA Network)

2002 -- "Six Feet Under" (HBO)

2001 -- "Gideon's Crossing" (ABC)

2000 -- "West Wing" (NBC)

The same person, Russ Landau, composed the theme songs for "SeaQuest Dsv," "Survivor," and "Fear Factor."

Alan Thicke, known to some as Jason Seaver in "Growing Pains," and others as Robin Thicke's Dad, composed the theme songs for "The Facts of Life" and "Diff'rent Strokes." He also performed the theme song for "Diff'rent Strokes." Moreover, he also composed themes for the game shows "Celebrity Sweepstakes" and "Joker's Wild" in the 70s.

In addition to writing the theme for "The Simpsons" and "Tales from the Crypt," Danny Elfman also wrote the theme song for "Desperate Housewives."

Andrew Gold...

It took them a year, but the Society of Composers and Lyricists has come out in support of the proposed Composers Union, spearheaded by the Association of Music Composers and Lyricists (Amcl) and the Teamsters Union Local 399.

As Jon Burlingame first reported in Variety, the decision came down when the Scl board recently voted to endorse the effort.

The Amcl is expected to formally announce the Scl’s endorsement at their next organizing meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15, at the Writers Guild Theater.

Since last April’s addition of several Amcl steering committee members (including composers Mike Post, Sean Callery, Rick Marvin, Richard Gibbs, and others), the Scl is the most recent organization to come out in support of the Amcl’s retooled campaign for a “benefits only” union for composers. Earlier this year, organizations including WGA, SAG, AFTRA, Afm, and the Recording Musicians Assn. (Rma) formally endorsed the effort by the Amcl.

On Friday, October 1, 2010, veteran television show creator, producer and screenwriter Stephen J. Cannell passed away from complications arising from melanoma. He was 69 years old.

Throughout the 1980s there wasn't a mainstream television viewer that didn't know his name. If you watched The A-Team, 21 Jump Street, Hardcastle & McCormick, Hunter, Wiseguy, The Commish, The Greatest American Hero, Silk Stalkings, Street Justice, Stingray, Tenspeed and Brownshoe, Booker, Black Sheep Squadron, and you watched the show through until its end credits, you saw his name and face appear on your screen. His production company's credit block was him working away on a typewriter and then pulling out the page, tossing it into the air and watching it resolve into the C. for Stephen J. Cannell Productions.

Cannell's TV shows were based in the action genre, but that's not to say that each of them were the same. The A-Team and Hunter could be seen as less based in reality,...

The A-Team.” “The Rockford Files.” “21 Jump Street.” All of those shows had one thing in common: they sprang to life from the mind and typewriter of Stephen J. Cannell, who died today at the age of 69 from complications associated with melanoma.

Aside from producing iconic television shows, Cannell was a best selling author. He wrote 17 books, including the Shane Scully series. The last of the 10 Scully novels, The Prostitutes’ Ball, will arrive in bookstores October 12.

Over the years, we got to know Cannell well. When we walked into his Hollywood Blvd. offices, it was like being transported back in time, because his walls were covered with one-sheets from his classic TV series. And when we entered his private office, the first thing to catch our eye was that typewriter — the one you’d see him rip a sheet of paper from at the end of every show he produced.

When we interviewed him,...

If you read the title "Law & Order: Los Angeles," you know pretty well what to expect from the TV show, right?

And you'd be right, because while the original "Law & Order" is no more and the new show -- which debuts at 10 p.m. Et Wednesday -- is set on the opposite coast, it's still part of the "Law & Order" brand, which means the cops are smart, the prosecutors dogged and the perps doomed. That, and you'll hear the "chung-chung" sound several times per episode.

On all those counts, "L&O: La" delivers. There's a baseline of quality -- well-produced, plot-driven, generally smartly cast and acted -- to all the "L&O" shows, and it's evident here as well. Starting from there, we're going to look at the individual elements in the new show and how well they measure up to the standard set by 40-plus previous seasons of the various "Law & Orders.

NBC canceled the original "Law & Order" series in May but there was talk of AMC picking it up or it possibly returning as a TV movie. Alas, the verdict is in on Dick Wolf's flagship series and the sentencing is final. "We were extremely disappointed that 'Law & Order' is not coming back for a record 21st season, but that's business, that's life," Wolf told Digital Spy. "Everything on television is born under a death sentence, they just don't tell you the day of execution."

The show may be over, but it leaves us with that ubiquitous scene changing sound effect that is still used in all the spinoff's. You know that kind of scary, gavel smacking sound that's got to be the current title holder for Most Recognizable Sound on TV. Actor Dann Florek (Captain Donald Cragen from both the original and spinoff "Svu") dubbed it the doink doink.

High on action and satire, low in fibre, the latest summer blast-fest comes our way...

Let me warn you now, if you have even the slightest aversion to the words deus ex machina, if disbelief brings with it a taste of bile, if it’s realism you’re after in a film then forget it. The A-Team is a thinking man’s enema. It is, though, without a doubt the world’s greatest spoof film.

Smart, intricate, a step ahead of the game Stephen J Cannell and Frank Lupo’s television series was none of those things. Instead it was humorous, vain, unashamed and explosive. It was cool. The pre-cursor to films such as Die Hard, where a barrage of bullets always just seem to miss its target, The A-Team was one of those TV shows which was so much a part of the public consciousness that even those who abhorred its cigar-chomping,...

Let me warn you now, if you have even the slightest aversion to the words deus ex machina, if disbelief brings with it a taste of bile, if it’s realism you’re after in a film then forget it. The A-Team is a thinking man’s enema. It is, though, without a doubt the world’s greatest spoof film.

Smart, intricate, a step ahead of the game Stephen J Cannell and Frank Lupo’s television series was none of those things. Instead it was humorous, vain, unashamed and explosive. It was cool. The pre-cursor to films such as Die Hard, where a barrage of bullets always just seem to miss its target, The A-Team was one of those TV shows which was so much a part of the public consciousness that even those who abhorred its cigar-chomping, gratuitous violence could recount the names of all four of its ‘soldiers...

Groucho Marx famously said, “I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member.” I tend to agree with that sentiment, and it’s a good thing I do… because I don’t think that the Amcl wants me very much.

Although the actions of the Amcl Steering Committee—the eleven men who have taken it upon themselves to spearhead the effort to unionize composers in Los Angeles under the Teamsters Local 399 banner—have run a somewhat confusing gamut from ill-prepared to scatter-brained to misinformed to moderately victorious, one thing is particularly clear: The Amcl and the Teamsters Union have zero intentions of unionizing All composers. They only want the “working ones”.

What does that mean? Amcl Steering Committee member Mike Post, one of the most successful (if not The most successful) composers in television history, said at the last Amcl meeting...

Tuesday night, April 19, 2010, the Association of Media Composers and Lyricists' (Amcl) presented their second public meeting concerning the effort to unionize composers and lyricists under the umbrella of the Teamsters Local 399.

Held in Beverly Hills at the Writers Guild Theater, the official proceedings began with a welcome message from Amcl spokesman Bruce Broughton, who outlined that the new focus of the Amcl unionization effort would be to secure "benefits only" for composers and lyricists—a message quite different from November's initial meeting, where the committee announced that "wage minimums and working conditions" would also be included in the negotiations.

Speaking to SCOREcast just prior to the start of the meeting, Bruce Broughton told us, "I'm happy. This is a great turnout and we have a solid plan. I think we are ready now to really get something done. We finally know what we are doing."

A statement was presented by...

Here's some advance news of tonight's 2nd informational meeting of the Association of Media Composers and Lyricists, hosted by Teamsters Local 399 and located in the Writers Guild Theater. This composers' movement towards unionization with the Teamsters for better benefits is gathering momentum and tonight there'll be a progress report on efforts since the 1st get-together last November.  Presently, the Amcl Organizing Committee consists of: Bruce Broughton, Sean Callery, Alf Clausen, Ray Colcord, James Dipasquale, Richard Gibbs, Christopher Klatman, Vivek Maddala, Richard Marvin, Mike Post, and Snuffy Walden. And I'm told that, at tonight's meeting, big names like James Newton-Howard, Hans Zimmer, Tom Newman will be [...]...

The Association of Media Composers and Lyricists (Amcl) has announced its next organizing meeting on April 19, 2010, to update composers and lyricists on its progress in regards to unionizing the group under the Teamsters 399 banner. The message, sent via email to its mailing list members, also reflects last week's resignation of the group's founder, Alan Elliott (his name is now absent from the list of participating committee members), and indicates that three new members have joined the committee—composers Richard Marvin, Sean Callery, and Snuffy Walden.

The announcement reads as follows:

You are invited to attend an important event: an organizing meeting of the Association of Media Composers and Lyricists, hosted by Teamsters Local 399 on April 19, 2010 to be held at the Writers Guild Theater.

On November 16, 2009, an informational meeting was attended by 350 composers and lyricists, half of whom signed cards indicating they wished to be represented by Teamsters 399 in negotiating a...

I just received official notification that, on April 1st, Alan Elliott is resigning from the Organizing Committee of the Association of Media Composers and Lyricists "after four years of dedicated service in advancing our unionization efforts" with Teamsters Local 399. "The Organizing Committee, in recognition of his many contributions in helping to bring composers and lyricists together with the Teamsters, thanks Alan for his devoted service. Signed, Bruce Broughton, Ray Colcord, Alf Clausen, James Dipasquale, Richard Gibbs, Christopher Klatman, Vivek Maddala, Mike Post."...

This morning, a mass email went out to the mailing list of the Association of Composers and Lyricists announcing that the group's founder, Alan Elliott, would be resigning from their organizing committee effective April 1. The email also denotes that a few more participants have joined the Organizing Committee, namely composers Ray Colcord (a past president of the Scl), Richard Gibbs, Mike Post, Vivek Maddala, and orchestrator Christopher Klatman.

The following is the exact text of the memo:

On April 1, Alan Elliott is resigning from the Organizing Committee of the Association of Media Composers and Lyricists after four years of dedicated service in advancing our unionization efforts with Teamsters Local 399.The Organizing Committee, in recognition of his many contributions in helping to bring composers and lyricists together with the Teamsters, thanks Alan for his devoted service.Bruce Broughton/Ray Colcord/Alf Clausen/James Dipasquale/Richard Gibbs/Christopher Klatman/Vivek Maddala/Mike Post...

Last night in Burbank, approximately 435 people from the film composing community turned out for the Composers Unionization information meeting that was hosted by the Teamsters Local 399, and moderated by composers Jim Dipasquale, Bruce Broughton, Alf Clausen, and Alan Elliott. Teamsters union rep Steve Dayan was also on hand to answer questions about the proposed Teamsters/Composers relationship.

Online, in print, and in the private circles of our community, there is no shortage of opinions on this issue, and in some cases the battle lines have already been drawn. Up to now, I have personally held off on making my own ruminations public or offering my own opinions on this issue of composer unionization. In addition, the values that were the impetus for me creating SCOREcast in the first place have also motivated me to stay temporarily neutral in an effort to help to facilitate a complete and all-encompasing conversation amongst this community.

As we come to the end of our month-long focus on workflow, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite quotations on the subject. They're not all from composers, but I think they're all relevant. Enjoy, and hit me up with some of your favorites in the comments…

"Half of composing is staring out the window." —Jack Smalley"I told my personal trainer I wanted a workout designed for the Olympic sport of sitting on my butt for 12 hours a day." —Ron Jones"There's a thin line between hard-ass and dumb-ass." —Eric Haney, Inside Delta Force"Clockpanik [definition]: Not enough time to a) finish the score, b) record the score, c) become a star in this lifetime." —Charles Bernstein, Film Music and Everything Else! Music, Creativity and Culture as Seen by a Hollywood Film Composer"It would appear that the Muse is a recycler." —Richard Bellis, The Emerging Film...