Purpose
The purpose of the music is to establish a mood for the show and to provide an audible cue that a particular show is beginning, which was especially useful in the early days of radio (See also interval signal). In some cases, including The Brady Bunch, Gilligan's Island, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Land of the Lost, The Nanny and The Beverly Hillbillies the lyrics of the theme song provide some necessary exposition for people unfamiliar with the show.
In addition, some theme music uses orchestra scores or original music set mood for the show, such as the Batman: The Animated Series theme song, which was drawn from the theme for the 1989 Batman film created by Danny Elfman and sets the mood for cartoon. Another example is Ron Grainer's theme music for Doctor Who. Other shows use remixes or covers of older songs, such as the theme song of Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994-1998), which featured a reworked cover of the theme song from the classic Spider-Man cartoon from the 1960s. The song was performed by Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry.
Read more about this topic: Theme Music
Famous quotes containing the word purpose:
“Some of my friends spoke as if I was coming to the woods on purpose to freeze myself.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Civilization is a process in the service of Eros, whose purpose is to combine single human individuals, and after that families, then races, peoples and nations, into one great unity, the unity of mankind. Why this has to happen, we do not know; the work of Eros is precisely this.”
—Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
“What if we fail to stop the erosion of cities by automobiles?... In that case America will hardly need to ponder a mystery that has troubled men for millennia: What is the purpose of life? For us, the answer will be clear, established and for all practical purposes indisputable: The purpose of life is to produce and consume automobiles.”
—Jane Jacobs (b. 1916)