"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale" of a time when television shows began with awesome TV Theme Songs. "Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name" and sometimes you want to go back to when TV Theme songs were special. "Here's a story... of a lovely" time when TV Theme Songs served to identify, distinguish and set the stage for the television program that followed. "You take the good, take the bad, take them both and there you have" what unfortunately has become a lost artform. "Believe it or not", sadly it seems no effort or pride is taken in the TV Theme Song ever since Seinfeld proved a short synth-bass riff could be used instead. “Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!” This regular feature may not "make all our dreams come true", but it will remember some of the best TV Theme Songs from years past (with a focus on the '80s decade). "Come aboard, we're expecting you."
This time we will cover the theme song for MTV's Remote Control. MTV's first non-musical program debuted in December of 1987 running for five seasons ending in 1990. Hosted by Ken Ober from his "basement at 72 Whooping Cough Lane" and co-hosted by Colin Quinn, the show also featured some other folks who went on to some notoriety including Adam Sandler, Denis Leary and the lovely Kari Wuhrer. The main part of the show had three contestants sitting in lounge chairs selecting a channel on a big-screen television and had to answer the pop culture questions associated with that channel's subject.
Steve Treccase was the musical director for the show and created the Remote Control theme song. The lyrics to the theme song set up the premise of why Ken Ober supposedly wanted to host this game show in his basement:
Kenny wasn't like the other kids (Remote Control) TV mattered, nothing else did (Remote Control) Girls said yes, but he said no (Remote Control) Now he's got his own game show (Remote Control!)
Here is the opening for MTV's Remote Control featuring theme song...
By 1990, there was Remote Control board game and then even a Nintendo video game version of Remote Control as well. Some blame Remote Control for starting the downfall of MTV, but I always personally enjoyed the show very much and it doesn't deserve any hate because "Music Television" decided to eventually not play music anymore.
Hope you enjoyed tuning in for another "episode" of TV Theme Songs!