Five Favorites: TV Theme Songs

Sometimes there's no better sound after a long day than the familiar tune of a TV theme song. Whether it's a currently-airing show that you're dying to watch or an old-school show that you used to love, there are tons of memories and happy feelings wrapped up in these theme songs. So to celebrate the almighty theme song, here's a short list of my all-time favorites. [Disclaimer: the "Cheers" theme song is probably the best theme song of all time. But these are my favorites.]


5. Golden Girls


Old lady friends are super cute, are they not? I hope this is how I'm kicking it in my octo-years, with my gals and my gay husbands. And this song is super sweet, too. A great ode to those with whom we've "traveled down the road and back again."


4. The Baby-sitters Club


"Say hello to your friends!" To say I was and still secretly am obsessed with the Baby-sitters Club is probably an understatement. (I'm a cross between Stacey and Abby, FYI.) I own every episode of the BSC TV show on VHS, as well as all of the books and the movie. I even tried starting my own club back in the day, but it fizzled out (probably because, unlike Claudia, I didn't have my own phone line -- damn it, Mom and Dad). I got that CPR certification for nothing! But anyway, this song is sickly sweet and geeky and I love it. My favorite thing is discovering that one of my guy friends knows all the words too.

3. Friends


This song is just iconic. And aside from the fact that I think my life would be better if I were married to Chandler Bing, I have some sort of strong emotional attachment to this tune. I think it's because I really dig the lyrics. (I'm awkwardly obsessed with friendship. My favorite compliment is being called someone's best friend. This weirds people out sometimes.) My favorite line is: "even at my worst I'm best with you". Gives me the warm'n'fuzzies. You?

2. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air


If you can't rap this song from memory, I pity you. That might be a little harsh, but seriously... YouTube it, memorize it, we're all good. Will Smith would like to take a minute, just sit right there, and he'll tell you how he became the prince of a town called Bel-Air. This song was my ringtone in college.

1. Growing Pains


"Show me that smile (ooh, show me that smile); don't waste another minute on your cryin'!" This is 100% MY JAM. I love this song, not even just as a theme song, but as a legitimate song. It's so friggin' good. "As Long As We Got Each Other" by B.J. Thomas and Jennifer Warnes hits the 90s-sitcom spot. (Jennifer Warnes is obviously the shit, because she also collaborated with Bill Medley on "I've Had the Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing.) For some reason I find this song in my head at random times, and I've been known to start singing it with little provocation. Even last summer, when my friend Alex and I were at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, on that sweet spot on stage, the only ditty we could think to sing was this one. A true classic... I should make it my ringtone.

What are your all-time favorite theme songs?

Pilot review: "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23"

I won't try to hide it: I love me some James van der Beek. Whether he's playing Dawson, playing Moxon, or playing himself, I just enjoy seeing him on the screen. I especially enjoy that he can make fun of himself, and that's what he does on "Apartment 23" - he plays a fictionalized, (hopefully) exaggerated version of James van der Beek. But he's not the only good thing about this comedy pilot. Let's dive in, shall we?

I also adore Krysten Ritter, and have ever since she played lovably annoying Gia Goodman on "Veronica Mars". She brings a fun-bitch quality to the character of Chloe, the titular bitch in apartment 23. Chloe lures innocent new-to-New-York girls like dreamy wide-eyed June (played by Dreama Walker) to be her roommate, takes their rent and deposit money, and then scares them out of the apartment. But June won't go so easily - she's tougher than Chloe expects, and for that reason Chloe starts to like and respect June a little bit. They have a rocky first week together, but it seems like they may end up friends; however, I don't think Chloe's purged all of her crazy just yet. At least I hope not!

Walker as June and Ritter as Chloe. Photo: ABC.

Ritter can bring a punchy fun to playing the unhinged roommate, especially if characters like obsessed former roommate Robin and creepy neighbor Eli stick around. Of course, Chloe is also friends with James van der Beek (they used to date but were "genitally incompatible" and now he's her straight gay best friend), who goes along with Chloe's schemes and uses his former life as Dawson to seduce fans. All in all, the pilot episode was fun, funny, and a little sweet. The trick may be how long they can keep up the premise -- how many crazy things can Chloe do? Will storylines repeat themselves? But for now it looks like it'll be a fun ride. I'm excited to see how the season unfolds!

Want to see for yourself? The pilot is on Hulu and you can watch it for free right now! You can also get more information at ABC's official site for "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23".

"New Girl" at PaleyFest!

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the PaleyFest panel for "New Girl" last night in Beverly Hills. The adorable cast was there, along with creator Liz Meriwether and several executive producers, including Jake Kasdan of "Freaks and Geeks".

PaleyFest is pretty much my favorite thing in the world, especially when a show has a cast as cute, sweet, and funny as "New Girl" and its "fab five". The entire night was a blast, with the cast members and creative teams joking and laughing all night. Jake Johnson even danced! You can read a short writeup of the panel here at my Examiner.com TV page.


Highlights:

• Zooey impersonating a turtle and a turtle eating. (She said she and Emily used to do it all the time because they spent a lot of time near turtles while they were growing up.)
• Max Greenfield putting his entire money clip of cash and credit cards in the Douchebag Jar after an audience member called him out.
• Finding out that 99% of the stories on the show actually happened to someone from the cast, creative team, or writers room.
• Zooey and Jake joking about how they have too much chemistry.
• Finding out that Jake Johnson makes that turtle face in real life.
• Of course, the screening of the new episode "Injured". It's incredibly funny and superbly sweet, all at the same time! You know, it's what "New Girl" does so well.
• Cast staying to sign as many autographs as possible before being carted backstage for more professional photos and an after party event. This is one group that I am happy to keep supporting.