While music isn\u2019t necessarily an integral part of any of these three cartoon shows, I thought it at least deserved a mention due to the musical genius of creators Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Seth McFarlane, especially in regard to Seth McFarlane. Plenty of memorable, albeit comedic and in some cases just plain vulgar, songs have come out of these shows, from the opening tunes to random episodic musical numbers, including Chef\u2019s uncountable numbers of adult-themed educational tunes. Also, I guess it\u2019s less likely that people will be offended by your show\u2019s raunchy, politically incorrect humor if you put it to some cheerful, catchy music. So there\u2019s that.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sure, you might not be listening to this on repeat on your iPod or anything, but nobody can deny that music was one of the things that made The Twilight Zone<\/em> so memorable. I mean, who doesn\u2019t know that creepy steel-guitar opening jingle when they hear it? And while it may not play as important a role as in some other shows on this list, The Twilight Zone<\/em>\u2019s soundtrack provided an appropriately startling, sinister background for the dark, twisted, and just a bit humorous morality tales the series thrived on. Really listen the next time it\u2019s on, and you might see what I\u2019m talking about.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ah, BSG. The show to end all sci-fi shows. How we miss you. And, more specifically, how we miss your music. While the show really only had three main tunes and infinite variations thereof, it was just the kind of powerful driving force this drama-laden series needed to drive the message home. First, there were the string serenades and dream-like symphonies that always accompanied the Cylons. The Colonials had their bagpipe-infused anthem that just screamed brotherhood and military pride. And, of course, the battle scene music, full of drums, wood blocks, and percussion that underscored the tense and choppy nature of the silent space dogfights perfectly. Stellar composing work all around.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While I can appreciate a homebrewed soundtrack, I also love it when classic and contemporary music is blended into a show to make it work, as shown by the next few shows on this list. Lost<\/em> is the first, given that its tunes are predominantly voiceless in nature, from discordant, meandering melodies for the dark and scary jungle to the calm, relaxing beach tunes for the rare moments of happiness the crash survivors enjoy. But when the songs do come on, boy do they work. I cite in particular the use of Cass Elliot\u2019s \u201cMake Your Own Kind of Music\u201d in the first scene of season two where Desmond and the Swan station are introduced. If there was ever a character\u2019s theme song, that would be it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Okay, so I\u2019m kind of going back on my own rule here. Doctor Who<\/em> rarely ever uses popular music in its repertoire of sound, but it really doesn\u2019t need to that much. The score of the show perfectly captures the madcap, zany adventure and just downright fun and adventurous spirit the show embodies, with tunes that are exciting, urgent, and grand in sound and scale. Also, props to the composers for giving each individual Doctor his own distinct theme, from David Tennant\u2019s sad, somehow nostalgic one to Matt Smith\u2019s whimsical and epic sweeps. And of course, let\u2019s not forget the haunting drumbeat and fading scales that signify the Master\u2019s madness. Plus, a healthy inclusion of the pop-punk \u201cVoodoo Child\u201d that he jams out to as his alien army slaughters the world. That was some scene, all right.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yes, when it comes right down to it, I\u2019m just a sucker for the classics. It probably won\u2019t come as much of a surprise to anyone, but a show that takes place in the 1970s pretty much had a soundtrack to match, with almost every major artist from the time period being given a song or two at one point or another. Heck, the show is even named after a David Bowie song. There was also, on occasion, some minor incidental orchestra music thrown in, mostly jarring, mysterious pieces meant to illustrate Sam Tyler\u2019s confusion and the bizarre circumstances he finds himself living. But Life on Mars<\/em> just had a thing for perfectly choosing the right song to capture whatever moment was on the screen, from the sentimental finale courtesy of Elton John to the teasing tones of Simon and Garfunkel for all those awkward near miss encounters. I enjoy it way too much. I guess maybe like Sam Tyler, I was just born in the wrong time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Channel Chaser is written by Kyle Robertson. You can check out more of his work on his\u00a0<\/span>website<\/a>. Check back every Wednesday\u00a0for new articles.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Welcome back to Channel Chaser! One of the things that can really make or break a series in my experience is the clever use of music. Whether it is a simple orchestral soundtrack or an addition of popular music into the story and drama of a TV series, music has lead to some truly magical [Read more…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1891"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1891"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1893,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1891\/revisions\/1893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"SouthParkSong\"](\"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/SouthParkSong.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n5: The Twilight Zone<\/em><\/h3>\n
4: Battlestar Galactica<\/em><\/h3>\n
3: Lost<\/em><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n2: Doctor Who<\/em><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n1: Life on Mars<\/em> (U.S.)<\/h3>\n