Doom Tunes

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What theme tune do you absolutely positively detest? What theme tune gives you an inexplicable hollow feeling in your stomach and an overwhelming sense of despair?

For me it was Mooncat, the most hated programme of my childhood. The theme tune merely served to herald the vacuous mediocrity that inevitably followed.

― Trevor, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Name that doom.....

― Trevor, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

"Mastermind", 'cuz it meant THEE WEEKEND IS OVER, BACK TO SK3WL TO-MORROW ie glum.

― Norman Phay, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Blue Peter. "But Mum, I've been at school all day. Don't make me face more of it when I'm at home."

― Jonnie, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

there was a current affairs program on itv probably "World in ACtion" that had a theme tune in the 70s that depressed the hell out of me.it seemed to be saying "we're all doomed, it's ineveitable now, oh what's the point". all i can recall is the montage of clips to suggest "current affairs" included concorde taking off. not even tv cream helped me with this.

― Alan Trewartha, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I forgot about that one! Yes, it had an unsettling undercurrent of hysteria, a pinch of "everything's going out of control". And it was on a Friday night too. Incredible.

― Trevor, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

world in action themetune = karelia suite by sibelius

being in early 80s audience at classical concert when this turned up on the programme = entertaining

― mark s, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Theme tune to Mastermind ACTUALLY CALLED 'impending doom'!

― Will, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

whatever that programme was that they used "Oxygene" by Jean-Michel Jarre as the theme to. cos it always meant bedtime and my mum would sing "up the wooden hill" to the tune and then we had to go upstairs to bed.

― katie, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

ooo, good lead. but there was something about the arrangement/performance (and this is all from feeble memory) it was all low analogue "doooooooo", some simple waveform or another.

― Alan Trewartha, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Mastermind theme = "Approaching Menace" by Neil Richardson, 1970

― Robin Carmody, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

"Weekend World" with Brian Walden sucked the life out of Sundays. Some organ-heavy prog thing?

― Michael Jones, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Eastenders!!!

― james, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

i hated the banjo-heavy "Dukes of Hazzard" theme song because it meant there was an awesome show about to come on that i wouldn't be allowed to watch. i mean, those Duke boys never meant any harm. they couldn't do bad if they tried.

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Possibly 'Neighbours'.

― the pinefox, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

The Dawson's Creek Theme--"I Don't Wanna Wait" by the thoroughly odious Paula Cole. It's very "It's a Small World", too--you just can't get it out of your head for the rest of the night. Although, the idea of James Van Der Beek being serenaded with the song everywhere he goes is pretty amusing.

― Arthur, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Weekend World = Nantucket sleighride by Mountain. Don't ask me how I know, I just do. Brian Walden fills me with a hollow feeling of impending doom.

― Billy Dods, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

The Muppets Show - possibly the greatest programme of my childhood, with one of the most embarrasing theme tunes.

― Matt DC, Thursday, 3 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Embarassing? "It's time to play the music!"

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

um, er, i love the dawsons creek music though!

― gareth, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

but the music to spider (the cartoon) is really bad, like some kind of hippydippy crap

― gareth, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Surely "Karelia Suite" was used for "This Week" rather than "World in Action" (which was always on a Monday in my neck of the woods) which was definitely an Emerson-style prog-organ thing.

Quite liked Nantucket Sleighride being used on Weekend World 'cos it meant that it was time for Sunday lunch yum yum. That or Doodletown Fifers being used

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

for Jimmy Savile's Double Top Ten Show one hour later (also used for Radio Luxembourg Top 30 rundown on a Tuesday).

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

What james said

― Jeff W, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

'Stenders Haters. After 'would you like a drink Emma?' the theme tune to Eastenders is my favourite sound in the world.

― Emma, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I'm now confused. I think Marcello might be right, and it's actually World In Action which has the dirgey prog-organ, whilst the Mountain thing from Walden's show is possibly similar. Both awful anyway.

― Michael Jones, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I detest the music currently in use for BBC TV News (and the even more horrible variation of it used for regional News). Apart from the unnecessarily clumping drums and 'up-to-the-minute' synth pulsations, there are irritating rhythmic glitches when they switch between the two versions at certain points during bulletins.

― David Inglesfield, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

The theme to Life Goes On (which was a hypercheesy version of the Beatles Ob La Di, Ob La Da). It was just completely awful -- faux cheerful family singing and laughing. And my family watched television with the volume so loud (because my father is partially deaf), that no matter where I was in the house I could not escape it.

― Nicole, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Yeah "This Week" = Karelia, sorry bout that: March from Karelia Suite more precisely.

Googling (unreliably) informs me that Nantucket S'Ride was used for "Weekend World" AND "World in Action"...

― mark s, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I'd just like to point out that the theme to "Life Goes On" is NOT a doom tune.

It's a kill everyone in the room tune.

― Trevor, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I like the current BBC TV News music: it was the pompous "We Are Important, Shut Up And Listen" Chris Morris-inspiring music they had previously that stank.

― Robin Carmody, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Robin, I can't remember the old music but I'm rather surprised you don't find the latest version inane...

― David Inglesfield, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Thee orig. tune for world in acktion was not "nantux0ret sleighride", but something from a library music album from the 1970s. It was a slow piece w/hammond organ and acoustic guitar, which I thought was very nice actually, and I'd buy it if I found a CD with it on, esp if it also featured thee small group arrangement of "Sailing By" by Ronald Binge as used on radio 4 shipping forecast (I have a big orch vers on a GRATE CD called "British Light Music Classics vol2" (chandos records, laym0rz) which is v nice. Said CD also features arrangements to Xcellent music from "The Archers" IE Barwick Green (?) from "My Native Heath" by somebody-or-other whose name eludes me @ present and U should all buy it 'cuz it will make U all happy) I digress, the WIA theme music was eventually replaced by a more contemporary version which was rubbish.

― Norman Phay, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

The two Radio 4 themes Norman mentions are indeed GRATE.

I know I don't normally like modern programme music, but I have nothing against the current news theme. Admittedly though I don't think they've ever topped the theme used during the "Chinese lantern" era with "BBC NEWS" forming in a typewriter style on the bottom of the screen.

― Robin Carmody, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Songs of Praise, Antiques Roadshow, No Limits, Windmill, eerie foreign kid's TV series, just about anything shown on a Sunday.... The Money Program excepted. Or themes for programs that were distinctively late and reminded my parents I shouldn't be up.

― K-reg, Friday, 4 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

The Archers theme tune makes me think "Oh shit, I've got to change the channel". In the old days it used to make me think "Oh shit, I've got to sit through this for the next half an hour", cause my mum used to put in on in the kitchen. The omnibus used to be followed by 'Stop the Week (with Robert Robertson) which had this this bonkers 'ba ba ba' signature tune that always intrigued me. Sadly, my mum always turned the radio off at that point.

― N., Sunday, 6 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Sorry - Robert Robinson

― N., Sunday, 6 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Stop The Week theme by Instant Sunshine, involving the dreaded Miles "Franglais" Kington.

― Robin Carmody, Sunday, 6 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Match Of The fucking Day. Or the snooker theme shit which heralds non- appearance of Buffy.

― suzy, Sunday, 6 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

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