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:
“Whoever considers morality the main objective of human existence, seems to me like a person who defines the purpose of a clock as not going wrong. The first objective for a clock, is, however, that it does run; not going wrong is an additional regulative function. If not a watch’s greatest accomplishment were not going wrong, unwound watches might be the best.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)
“To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers, may at first sight appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers. It is, however, a project altogether unfit for a nation of shopkeepers, but extremely fit for a nation that is governed by shopkeepers.”
—Adam Smith (1723–1790)
“Along the journey we commonly forget its goal. Almost every vocation is chosen and entered upon as a means to a purpose but is ultimately continued as a final purpose in itself. Forgetting our objectives is the most frequent stupidity in which we indulge ourselves.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)