Take a nostalgic trip with forgotten 80s and 90s TV theme songs that still slap! From the funky beats of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to the jazzy vibes of Family Matters and the catchy rock of Perfect Strangers, we’re celebrating intros that defined a generation but faded from memory. Rediscover gems like Charles in Charge, Blossom, and Dinosaurs that deserve a comeback. Which theme gets you singing? Share your favorite below! #TVThemes #80sNostalgia #90sNostalgia #ForgottenTV #RetroTV #Nostalgia #FreshPrince #FamilyMatters #PerfectStrangers #CharlesInCharge #Blossom #Dinosaurs #PopCulture #Throwback #80s #90s #TVHistory #ClassicTV #TVIntros #Nostalgic #Viral #Humor #90sKids #RetroVibes #TVNostalgia #ForgottenThemes #CultTV
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00:00In a world where the it-thing is always changing, sometimes you need a tour guide or two to help you find your way to Pop Culture's Paradise.
00:07If you find yourself reminiscing or in need of a good recommendation, these two have you covered.
00:12And now, here's your hosts, Joey and Jeff!
00:21Welcome back to Pop Culture Paradise. My name is Joe.
00:24And I'm Jeff.
00:25And today, we are talking TV theme songs, but not the TV theme songs you're thinking of.
00:31Jeff, what would you say makes a great TV theme song?
00:35I'd say it definitely has to be catchy, right? It has to be fun, upbeat, and usually you can tell exactly what the show is about the moment the theme song comes on.
00:48Now, back in the day, I remember this being described as, as soon as you hear it, no matter what you're doing in the household, you come bolting back.
00:55Like, you know, you know, your sandwich, maybe you'll come back at, like, the break and finish the rest of it.
01:01But you need to be there because it could go right into the show and you don't want to miss this thing.
01:07Now, what was an iconic theme song to you?
01:10Gosh, there's so many, right?
01:13I mean, for me, Clarissa explains it all.
01:19Na, na, na, na, na.
01:22Alright, alright.
01:23Jumps right out. Family Matters jumps right out.
01:26As days go by, it's the bigger love of the family.
01:33Step by step.
01:35Step by step, day by day. Fresh start over, different hands are playing.
01:43Obviously, Seinfeld didn't necessarily have one, but it had, like, iconic little jingles to it.
01:50Exactly.
01:58Gosh, as soon as you heard it, you were glued to the TV.
02:01You're like, this is about to be good stuff.
02:03You have Home Improvement.
02:04You hear Tim Allen's bark and you're like, oh, I got it.
02:08I got a half hour with the tool, man.
02:10Yep.
02:16Now, you did mention step by step, and I always thought, like, that's the perfect example of a theme song,
02:20because once it plays, you know, they got the kids, the clan, how are the families going to get together.
02:26So if you've never seen this show, there we go.
02:29I kind of know what I'm signing up for.
02:31Yeah, exactly.
02:33So today I wanted to show Jeff this new, I guess, style of music that also relates to TV themes.
02:41These are the ones that, well, they tried for their show.
02:47And, you know, you remember Friends, you remember The Office, but these ones faded away and they have the pedigree.
02:56Some of them match exactly the way a perfect TV theme song is.
03:00And I wanted to see if these theme songs are as good as I think they are.
03:04Do they describe their show without you having actually seen it?
03:09So today, Jeff is going to play a game show where I'm going to play little snippets
03:14and he's going to try to figure out what the show is about.
03:18All right, two things real quick.
03:19Whenever you do a long, drawn out setup like this, I know it's about to be a disaster for me.
03:25And two, to make sure that this is all legit, I got a blindfold with me.
03:29So when you start playing this stuff, I'm going to toss on the blindfold
03:34so I cannot get any type of visual to what the show might be about.
03:39What's going to happen is when Joe plays it,
03:41I'm going to listen and try to decipher what this show is about and maybe even what it would be called.
03:48And for you guys watching at home, try it yourself.
03:51Don't look at the screen. The screen will totally give it away, kind of.
03:56And let's see how well you do.
03:58I guarantee you I'm going to at least 70%.
04:0270%? Wow.
04:04All right, because, you know, if you got 30, I would be impressed.
04:08All right, we're on for our very first video here.
04:11Can you guess this TV theme?
04:13I'm going to give you a couple hints going in.
04:15Early 90s pedigree, some famous TGIF actors, but this did not last long.
04:21Just when you think you've settled down
04:25and you feel like you're almost home.
04:29That's when the wheels stop spinning round.
04:33Love sinks in with the plan of its own.
04:37All right, my first impression.
04:40There's some sort of relative who's been excluded from his family.
04:46He's trying to find them. He probably lives in a van very similar to Cody.
04:51That's my first impression so far.
04:53Love comes in unexpected places.
04:57Life turns in unexpected ways.
05:02I swear we laugh at these days.
05:09All right, whoever this main character is, he's just looking for happiness.
05:13He probably hasn't had a lot of it in his life.
05:16And he needs he needs to he or she rather needs to find their their family
05:24and find their happy place.
05:26So do you still think this is a cousin or you just now you're thinking maybe
05:29it's somebody who's gone through something and needs their happy place?
05:34I think it could be a long lost relative.
05:37It could just be.
05:39It could be any member of a family, brother, sister, cousin, you know, whatever,
05:44somebody that hasn't been acknowledged or somebody that didn't know rather
05:47that they had a family.
05:51Love comes in unexpected places.
05:55Life turns in unexpected ways.
05:59Just when you think you're alone.
06:03Maybe we're almost home.
06:07Maybe we're almost home.
06:11Maybe we're almost home.
06:18First, what's the name of the show?
06:20Just when you think you're alone, we're almost home.
06:25Home is where the heart is.
06:27Okay, that's that's what this show is about.
06:30This is a family program that you would sit down and watch with your parents every week.
06:35What is the name of the show?
06:37I'm going to say almost home.
06:39That is correct. You got it.
06:41You got the name of the show, almost home.
06:45This show used to be called the Torkelsons.
06:47This has a pedigree. It was created by Michael Jacobs,
06:51who was the creator of Boy Meets World and Dinosaurs.
06:55This featured a young Lee Norris who played Minkus on Boy Meets World,
07:00Brittany Murphy and Jason Marsden.
07:04Okay, got all the it's got all your 90s kids.
07:08No, it really does, doesn't it?
07:10Now when you said earlier you said this has to be about somebody
07:13who's trying to find their happy place and they left somewhere.
07:17Having a hard time making ends meet after her divorce,
07:20Melissa Torkelson moves her three children to Seattle
07:23where she becomes a nanny to the spoiled Morgan children.
07:27I'm going to give you 50% on that one.
07:32I nailed it. I don't know you didn't pick that.
07:35It was about a mother leaving.
07:37You did get a relative, but you didn't get the nanny.
07:41I don't know how you would have picked up the nanny,
07:42but yeah, it wasn't it wasn't painted out very well.
07:46So who did this show again?
07:50This was a show for ABC.
07:53Yeah, it ran its first season on June 16th, 1992.
07:58How many seasons it'll just one it went to now they tried to make it a little different.
08:03The second season they retooled this show
08:05because originally it was called the Torkelson's
08:09and then became almost home and you said it was it was by the same person
08:14that did Boy Meets World and dinosaurs.
08:16So what I've what I'm learning here is they're not all home runs.
08:19All right, not for any of us. No, sometimes you just got to go on to the next idea and abandon it.
08:27Now. I did find that this theme song has a little bit of a pedigree to it.
08:31Yeah. Yeah, it was performed by Jennifer Warren's.
08:35Now Jennifer Warren's is the remember the female singer
08:38and the love lift us up where we belong.
08:43No idea. You don't know that song. No, maybe if I heard it,
08:47but your rendition is just not doing it for me.
08:56Well, I wasn't trying to belt it out here.
08:58We're not playing karaoke revolution.
09:00And then this other guy, Joey Scarberry,
09:03who you know that song from the greatest American hero that how could this happen to me?
09:10Suddenly I'm on top of the world and it could have been somebody else.
09:14Believe it or not. And it's in all the commercials.
09:19Who could it be? Believe it or not.
09:25It's just me. That's who helped perform this song.
09:29Wow. So it's actually got some people behind it.
09:32Right? People say it's a tough situation for new faces in the old town.
09:42But every moment is just interpretation.
09:45And somehow it's always a magical round.
09:49Your KW heels can stand your ground.
09:52Ah, man, it's just got I it reminds me of just a lot of those theme songs from that time period.
09:59Right before the hook comes in. You got the double time drums.
10:04I don't know what I'm picking up from this. First things first.
10:08Things aren't aren't what they seem to be.
10:13I don't know. Maybe there's some sort of relationship
10:17that's coming somewhere that from from somewhere you might not expect it.
10:21I don't know. This is it's it's really tough. Like first things first.
10:26So you're saying like probably there's been like an unexpected change or something.
10:30Yeah. And you said this theme song sounds very familiar.
10:33No, it does. It's it almost sounds like waiting just around the bend everywhere.
10:39You I don't know for something like that. That's that's what I'm here.
10:42I'm going to say that you just in figure it out kind of style.
10:45I'm going to say you realize that this was composed by Jesse Frederick
10:50and Bennett Salvey the makers of full house family matters
10:57and all those big hit TGIF shows.
11:00So this actually was pre full house,
11:03but this is their one of the first theme songs. So it's a little forgotten about in gym.
11:06That's so cool. Why didn't we get into that business?
11:09Gosh, those guys are probably rolling in it.
11:12These are my better days. Got an angel on my shoulder.
11:19These are my better days. Like a faithful friend when the lights get colder.
11:26No cloud. No shadow.
11:32Looking for a friend when the nights get cold.
11:35So, all right, this this furthers my suspicion
11:38that there's some sort of relationship coming out of somewhere you wouldn't expect it.
11:43And I'm thinking the show's got to be called better days.
11:49Let's go. This is your final 10 seconds of this theme song.
11:53And then I want you to do a final guess of what you think this show is about.
11:56All right.
12:11Dude damn good theme song though, right?
12:15I'm not mad at it. I like it. I want to like listen again.
12:17That's why I said this is my new genre of music
12:20because some of these are like earworms.
12:23I'm going to say this has to be about a guy or a girl that moved to a new town.
12:29They're in search for better days as the, you know, name of the show pertains to
12:36and they come across those better days in terms of a unexpected relationship.
12:43That's what I think the show is about.
12:44Brian McGuire is a California teenager who moves in with his grandfather Henry
12:49in Brooklyn, New York to ease his parents financial problems.
12:52Helping Brian adjust to his new surroundings
12:55where Luther Cade and Anthony the Snake Johnson two of his street-smart teammates
13:00on the Bronx town the Brock town high school basketball team.
13:05Their cynical no-nonsense English teacher is Miss Winners
13:09and Terrence Dean was their yuppie classmate.
13:12This show was considered extremely offensive at its time.
13:17Oh gosh, and they said that it had racist elements.
13:20Oh man, but I'm going to give you that one.
13:24You nailed it. That's new people new town.
13:27See I thought it was more grown up.
13:31But when you explained it to me, I was like damn I was way off.
13:34This is a kid moving in with his grandpa.
13:37But yeah, I don't know.
13:40It's a new person new place searching for a better outcome rather right?
13:45All right, our next show aired in 1987.
13:49Well, this is the one that I'm telling you start somebody
13:52who had a little success in the last generation.
13:57Are you ready? I'm ready to let's hit it.
14:09I'm back on my feet and you won't get the rest of me.
14:16All right, my first vibes with this one is there was a guy
14:22who had his heart broken by a woman.
14:25She she thought she got the best of him,
14:29but she won't get the rest of him. He's ready to move on.
14:33Busted loose. I got a family now. Busted loose. I got a reason to start off.
14:39Busted loose. What a baseline.
14:43This is great, dude. Okay. He's busted loose, man.
14:48He's he's he's breaking down barriers and and moving on from from this toxic relationship.
14:56Busted loose. Still not perfect, but I'm learning.
15:01I'm feeling good. I'm busted loose.
15:05I'm almost getting a little goof troop kind of vibe or goofy movie kind of sound.
15:11I'm going to say all right. I'm just going to come out and say the name of the show has to be busting loose.
15:15That is correct. Let's go. But again, it could be reversal.
15:21It could be a woman who was heartbroken and feels like busting loose.
15:24But but I think if that were the case, it would be a female vocal on the jingle on the on the theme song.
15:30Yep. Yep. Final guess.
15:43All right. Well, okay. So I got the name of the show, right?
15:45Busted loose. That is that's a pretty damn good theme song.
15:50Yeah, I'm going to say I just sound so typical, doesn't it?
15:54It sounds like, you know, you thought you got the best of me,
16:00but you won't get the rest of me. You're not really going to bring me down.
16:03I'm busting loose and I'm starting over. It's got to be about a person getting out of a relationship,
16:09looking for a fresh start and what's going to await them right in the world.
16:15Wrong. So close. It's not about a relationship.
16:18It's a play on words busting loose because Jimmy Walker.
16:24Okay, as Sonny Burns, a former con artist who had been caught by the authorities
16:30and sentenced to five years of community service.
16:33Oh, he was placed in the home of a social worker who lived with four orphans.
16:39Sonny lives in the basement and tells exaggerated tales.
16:42So he was busting loose from prison.
16:47No, that makes perfect sense. And I'm sure I'm sure with the visual
16:52that would have been a no-brainer. Actually, if you see the visual,
16:57it literally looks like that beginning of The Cosby Show when everybody's out dancing.
17:02You're like, so wait a minute. Is this a good story or no?
17:06It's literally if Bill Cosby busted out of prison to do The Cosby Show now
17:14and wanted to recreate everything for his own little Saved by the Bell,
17:18punky Brewster 2020 remake. Golly.
17:22Well, at least I got the name of the show, right?
17:25I mean, but it's going to say it over and over again in the theme song.
17:29So you kind of just attach to whatever you're hearing multiple times.
17:32Yes, but hey, I'll I'll take it and remember at the end of this.
17:36I need you to give me an overall grade. Now.
17:38This one is from CBS in 1983.
17:48Man, I'm getting I'm getting very Brady Bunch Partridge family Oswald's vibe.
18:06Like this. This is an older older show for sure.
18:11This has got to be like 70s 60s.
18:16There's a whole new world awaiting.
18:19I got I got I got nothing so far rather than very very much Brady Bunch vibes.
18:25There's a house with bright light shining and a party just for me.
18:31Never been there before, but got my foot in the door.
18:36Dude, this is a tough one. There's a party just waiting for me.
18:40It's almost like a man who's going to make the world his oyster.
18:45He's gonna you're not you're not going to believe the things he's going to accomplish this time around.
18:52Would you say this time around makes him what age?
18:57Gosh, he's got to be a middle-aged man who's been through.
19:02I don't know. Maybe maybe a failed marriage or maybe he has kids
19:07and he has three sons and maybe she has three daughters
19:12and when they come together, they're quite the bunch.
19:15I'm getting that same vibe. This is some sort of knockoff to the Brady Bunch.
19:20I was about to make my prediction on what it's called,
19:22but I want to hear one more snippet.
19:46Got my foot in the door.
19:48Yeah, I'm going to I'm going to say that I'm going to say the name of the show is foot foot in the door.
19:56It has to be but the thing is what the hell is it about?
20:01You know, I immediately get you know, middle-aged guy.
20:06I'm trying to find my microphone middle-aged guy.
20:10Look, I don't know. It's that gets that old typical.
20:13I'm looking for a fresh start.
20:15I'm going to get up there and give it my all and make the world my oyster kind of thing.
20:22Not like before. Got my foot in the door.
20:28Foot foot in the door. It's got to be about a dad who's looking to start over with with his family.
20:35I am going to give you that one in full.
20:37Widower Jonah leaves the quiet life.
20:40He had with his wife in New Hampshire for New York City becoming an uninhibited flirt.
20:45This concerns his uptight son Jim and daughter-in-law Harriet.
20:51Wow. So that did that's pretty spot-on.
20:54You're right. So wait a minute.
20:57Wait a minute. Is he is he leaving his wife or is he just like a pretty lousy husband?
21:03So here's what's weird because I try to do research about these shows to to figure out what exactly I was seeing right
21:11and in the video it shows a car driving away that says just deceased instead of just married.
21:17Oh gosh. Oh wait.
21:21Yeah. Okay. Never mind. It does say widower Jonah widower.
21:24Okay. Yep. So yeah, see like my thing was he it could have been a failed marriage.
21:32I guess I mean if she's dead technically it's a failed.
21:36Well, I don't know it could have but she's deceased.
21:41So I'll yeah, dude. I'll take I'll take full credit on that.
21:44If you're going to pass it over. I'm in our next show is from ABC in 1980,
21:50you know about 1980 ABC television, right?
21:54No, is that like Wonder Years?
21:58No, that's like nine years away from Wonder Years.
22:01Oh gosh, dude. I was young.
22:05I played the games of childhood as a child.
22:11I used to play. I'm a big girl now.
22:19First impression. She's a big girl now.
22:23She's she's no longer no longer a kid and she's a girl growing up.
22:29That's like that's it man. That's all I got right now.
22:32This is the type of TV theme song that would have drove me away from a show like I would have heard this
22:36and I would have said yeah, this one's not for me.
22:39Yeah, same my first like my first, you know, personal like thought we're like,
22:44yeah. Yeah. I don't know if this is something that I'd watch
22:46but I'm like, okay. Look I gotta try to decipher what this is about here.
22:52I like a daydream.
22:56I suddenly realize the years have flown and I have grown a man on my own.
23:09Gosh, no wonder this show didn't last year.
23:11This is not we've had some pretty banger theme song so far,
23:15but this one just isn't it's just sad.
23:19I know it's it's about it's got to be about this girl who's grown up
23:24and now she's out on her own
23:26and she's gonna she's gonna meet some,
23:30you know, wacky best friend
23:32and maybe some sort of relationship along the way,
23:36but dude, I don't know this show just sounds awful.
23:49Like her. I wish I were but I'm a big girl now.
24:03And the name of the show is oh man.
24:07I had I had one in my mind around like clip number two,
24:11but then I changed my mind at the very end and it's big girl now is correct.
24:16I'm going to give you credit for that one.
24:18It's actually called. I'm a big girl now.
24:20Okay. All right. It's a show about okay.
24:23We'll just write in the title.
24:24It's a girl who grows up picturing.
24:31I don't know. Maybe she was some sort of child star,
24:34but now she's grown up now
24:36and she wants to live and lead her real life.
24:40She'll come across, you know, wacky friends and strange people,
24:45but she's just happy all the freaking time
24:48and it's so annoying. That's what I got,
24:51dude. Diana Cassidy is a young divorcee
24:54and mother who along with her daughter Becky moves back home
24:58with her recently single father
25:00and dentist Benjamin played by Danny Thomas
25:03and I see in the video a young Martin short is in it.
25:07So he must be the wacky best friend.
25:09Yeah, I'm going to give you half credit on that one.
25:12Yeah, I think I think that's fair.
25:14It was I mean the whole her being like a child star thing.
25:18I was like maybe that was like a reach.
25:20I was I had no idea.
25:22No, this show is not the type of show.
25:24That's going to be that creative.
25:26No, but what a bad theme song
25:28and then like childhood like a child would
25:31and I guarantee everybody in the room like,
25:33oh my God, that's great.
25:34We're going to it's like no, that's not great.
25:36That's just that's that's terrible.
25:38Stop which is a shame
25:40because I'm looking at the composer of this of the words
25:44by Leslie Bracuse and he's the guy
25:47who created my old one of my all-time favorite musicals
25:51by the only one I really like of Scrooge from the 1970s,
25:55which I watch every year.
25:57That's cool.
25:58The songs from that.
25:59So I'm kind of like wow,
26:00I guess they're not all winners for him either.
26:03No, they they are not all home runs for anybody
26:06and that's what we're learning throughout this throughout
26:09this game here.
26:10This one is pretty infamous is
26:12from what people often like to call one
26:15of the worst pilot seasons for NBC in the 80s think
26:19from 1983 84.
26:32Okay, so what do we get so far?
26:34Well, you get the cheesy.
26:35It's me Jessica.
26:38I got that from the hot chick.
26:40I don't know why it's me.
26:46Jessica.
26:47Okay, this is either a boy or girl
26:50who has a imaginary friend
26:52or it's got to be it's got to be something strange like
26:57you know, what I just want to do right as soon as like
26:59the TV theme song Hannah goes.
27:01Hey, it's me.
27:04John Cena.
27:06John Cena, right?
27:08That'd be amazing.
27:10But yeah, my first vibes is definitely imaginary friend
27:14of some sort.
27:15I just saw the most beautiful ghost in the world.
27:19Wait, what?
27:21I just saw the most outrageous kind of a girl.
27:27Oh my God.
27:29So it might not be an imaginary friend.
27:31This might be in fact an imaginary ghost woman.
27:36This is taking us.
27:37This is a this is a swerve bro.
27:52Yeah, dude.
27:52This is this is some this is definitely this is definitely
27:57a ghost.
27:58This is somebody's relationship with a ghost of some kind
28:04but I can't put my finger on it quite yet.
28:22Okay.
28:22Well clearly the ghost name is Jennifer, right?
28:26She slept here.
28:26She lived here.
28:27She ate here, but she never left here.
28:33So Jennifer's a ghost dude.
28:36Okay.
28:38Family moves into a brand new house a house, which former
28:43said ghost Jennifer used to live at until she died, but her
28:48spirit never left.
28:49So now Jennifer is friends with this family's kid, whether
28:55it's a boy or a girl and and becomes their best friend and
29:00what's the name of the show?
29:02The name of the show is either.
29:05It's got to just be called Jennifer.
29:08I assume right wrong half credit.
29:11It's called Jennifer slept here.
29:13See I thought I was like, but they said Jennifer slept here.
29:16She was she ate here.
29:17She never left here.
29:18I was like they should just call it Jennifer, but the good
29:22news is is you are correct on this plot description.
29:26Really Jennifer Farrell was once a popular movie actress
29:29in 1978 who made the unfortunate mistake as we all do of
29:34chasing an ice cream truck near her Los Angeles home when
29:38the ice cream truck backed up accidentally killing her.
29:42Oh my God.
29:44She decided to haunt this house six years later.
29:47The Elliott family moved from New York into Jennifer's home.
29:51So basically Jennifer haunts the household and befriends
29:56the family's teenage son, Joey, who's the only person who
30:01sees her.
30:03That's so interesting that the father that handled the case
30:06it would be that he would move into her old house.
30:10Now, what movie does this sound like?
30:13Man.
30:15I don't know.
30:16I mean what the movie Ghost?
30:19Close.
30:23Think about a family buying a house.
30:25That was a little sketchy.
30:28Amityville Horror.
30:30I mean Poltergeist and his show even had a cameo from that
30:36little woman old woman from Poltergeist playing the woman
30:39from Poltergeist.
30:41Wow, that's that's crazy, dude.
30:43I command you to take your wayward spirit from this house.
30:49200 bucks you paid for this.
30:51And last week I begged you for a dollar.
30:56And a little bit more to this theme song.
30:58It's another one done by Joey Scarberry.
31:01Who's the guy from Almost Home and the Greatest American
31:04Hero.
31:05Gotcha.
31:05So you're only going to give me half credit for this one,
31:07even though I nailed the entire plot of the show.
31:10Yeah, but the show isn't called Jennifer.
31:12That could be a show that Jennifer Lopez starred in in
31:142001.
31:16Jennifer Lopez is starring in a public breakup right now or
31:20in a future video.
31:21I'm going to make there's a TV pilot didn't that didn't get
31:24picked up that has a Jennifer Love Hewitt playing in ESPN
31:28anchor and like Tom Brady cameos in it.
31:31Can we watch that for the show?
31:33Yes, I'm gonna I got it saved.
31:35I got all these pilots say that we got to go over someday
31:39someday next one.
31:41This is an American sitcom from CBS in 1980 80.
31:45Okay.
31:50Women when they don't even know that I exist.
31:54It's my life.
31:57Is it is this a show about me?
31:59Does this feel like if somebody took this on Tick-Tock they
32:02could make this into a trend?
32:03Oh my God without a doubt daily.
32:07I rehearse ladies first up with women still.
32:11I'm at the bottom of the list, you know, the old saying that
32:15you know, nice guys finish last and I think I think that's
32:18never been said more.
32:20I think it's never been said more true for our main character
32:25of this program here.
32:29Should I be polite?
32:30Should I stand up and fight when they don't seem to want
32:34me for my mind guys having troubles?
32:38No, he is they don't they don't seem to want him for his
32:40mind.
32:42So what type of situation do you think he's living in right
32:45now what you need more?
32:46Well, there's got to be a way that I can shine so ladies
32:52step right up.
32:55My time has come.
32:57I'm gonna feel like number one when I take your head.
33:03Gonna be a ladies man.
33:07Okay.
33:07So my thing is this guy is very much not a ladies man in any
33:12way shape or form.
33:14He's almost dreaming about being one but he feels like his
33:21his time has come take my hand.
33:23I'll show you that.
33:24I'm the ladies man.
33:25I'm going to go out on a limb right now early and say ladies
33:28man is the name of the program is the name of the program.
33:32Now, what's his problem with the ladies?
33:34Is he not getting him?
33:36Is he surrounded by them?
33:38Is he does he not like them?
33:42Let me say I think he's always whatever whatever, you know
33:46females.
33:47He's around.
33:48They always kind of, you know, perceived him as the brother
33:53type or the friend type.
33:55This guy's been friend-zoned his entire life and now he's
33:59ready to break out and show all these women what they're
34:03missing and why he is in fact a ladies man.
34:07Schedule it, book it.
34:17Right?
34:19Wrong.
34:19I'm not going to give you credit on that one.
34:22This one is about a divorced dad who's a single father and
34:29at work and at home.
34:31He's completely surrounded by women.
34:33Okay.
34:34So he works at a magazine called woman's life.
34:39Interesting.
34:40Yeah, and you know, he's got other columnist.
34:44We got a researcher Gretchen Susan.
34:46I'm Susan's a militant feminist.
34:49Of course.
34:49It's a great Susan.
34:51You said this is from the 80s.
34:52I love that.
34:54So he has to deal with his home life and his work life and
34:58it's just surrounded by women.
35:01I wouldn't watch this show.
35:03No, I don't think I'd watch the show either.
35:05I think I think the idea I pitched was much better rather than
35:10all right at home.
35:11He's stuck around his daughters and his wife who are women
35:13and at work.
35:13He's stuck around women.
35:15It's like dude, you don't really have it that bad.
35:17What are you moaning about?
35:18It's isn't it kind of amazing how many of these shows are
35:22about divorced dads.
35:24It's it's like that real estate is like, all right, you between
35:2840 and 55 we need you to be divorced widowed or something.
35:34But your life has changed now and these new characters have
35:37arrived, right?
35:38That's the thing.
35:39It's like was that like, okay, what we need a broken family
35:44because people can relate to that and and and and the dad
35:48he's going to move on.
35:49But what if he works at this publication, which is a female
35:53magazine?
35:53Well, what if he works with only women and he has a daughter
35:56and a wife and he's always surrounded by women write this book
36:00it send the pilot.
36:01It's like no.
36:02So this next show aired in syndication in 1986.
36:07There's a lot of 80 stuff in here.
36:19What are we thinking?
36:21All right.
36:22Um, I'm thinking two people that didn't expect it but they
36:26were somehow brought together under what circumstances?
36:30I don't know yet.
36:41So it's going to take time for them to get to know each other.
36:44What do you think the kink is to this show?
36:47What do you think the twist is?
36:49All right.
36:49Well, my lady sometimes has me watch the show called married
36:53at first sight and it's these people that agree to get married
36:57without ever meeting each other and I'm getting I'm getting
37:00that same kind of strange vibe here is going to take us time
37:04to get to know each other, but we're already committed to
37:06each other and we just need to figure it out.
37:09Like that's what I'm getting off the bat here.
37:23You gotta love on these TV themes.
37:36It's always about dreams coming true.
37:38No, I gotta say that's a damn good TV show theme song.
37:41I liked it.
37:44But gosh, I don't I almost wanted to call it step by step.
37:49There's no way you're going to get the name of this show based
37:52on based on the lyrics.
37:54Okay, just make a wild guess.
37:56What is it?
37:56I don't know what it's called.
37:57What is it called?
37:59I'm going to call it dream dreams come true.
38:02I guess I don't know me and mrs.
38:05See ya.
38:06Okay, that is nowhere in this theme song.
38:11But again, I think it's about two people that were thrown together
38:15like, you know how back in the days like different royal families
38:19would oh, you know, you're a princess is going to marry our
38:21prince and then we'll be one big like that, you know, predetermined
38:25marriage arrangements kind of thing.
38:28I think it might be something like that and they just they
38:32have to why am I still wearing this blindfold?
38:35They have to try to figure it out along the way like that's
38:38that's kind of what I'm what I'm getting from this.
38:43You should have thought of some other 80 shows where an old
38:48white couple or white person gets a black child like Webster
38:53or because this one is a show about a young black female ex-convict
38:59named Jerry who becomes a border with an old white woman Miss
39:04Conkle in an effort to turn her life around the show is how it
39:09chronicles their life adjusting to each other.
39:13That's so interesting.
39:14See I listening to that and not being able to view it.
39:19I didn't even pick that up at all.
39:22I just thought it was just about a couple but no it makes it
39:26makes perfect sense.
39:27Now that you explain it it does.
39:30But I still don't know where the name of the show came from
39:33quite honestly.
39:34Well, it's me who's probably the ex-convict and Mrs.
39:38See Mrs.
39:41Convict.
39:41This one is a late addition, but it was so amazing that I needed
39:46to include it.
39:47Let's hit it.
39:51Miss Banana
40:09What are we thinking?
40:11I'm thinking this is amazing.
40:12Keep it going.
40:14Do you have any thoughts based on the lyrics?
40:16It was there's quite a bit thrown at you right there.
40:18Yeah, there's a lot coming at you right in the beginning.
40:20I'm thinking there's there's a girl and she's all of a sudden
40:25having these feelings that she's never had before and this
40:29is a very banana Rama record and I'm into it.
40:41You wait right here for 10 seconds.
41:05Hold on.
41:06I gotta find something.
41:11Oh my distribution Turner International.
41:21What is more time?
41:23Yes, absolutely.
41:41This is a banger.
41:53Oh my distribution Turner International.
41:55Just the clips from the video is amazing.
41:59I want you to guess what the name of the show is.
42:02Give me the thoughts of what you think this is about and then
42:05I'm going to break down why I need to find all 13 episodes
42:09Hey for me.
42:11It's the show's got to be called going bananas.
42:14I'm going to say, okay, dude.
42:17I it could be some girls relationship with a pet monkey, which
42:23I just brought out.
42:24I don't know.
42:24I'm crying right now, dude.
42:27I don't know.
42:28I think she's why why why is she going bananas?
42:33That's what I want to try to find out and and why are these
42:36are they speaking French in the beginning in the end?
42:40This is a Mexican television rip of the show.
42:43It aired 1984 for NBC was made by Hanna-Barbera.
42:48I can't give you credit for the description because you missed
42:53some of the early lyrics where it talked about a close encounter
42:56gave him ESP because Roxanna banana is an orangutan that escaped
43:01from the zoo and was adopted by the Cole family one night a
43:06mystery spaceship came down from the sky and gave him super
43:10powers with a lightning bolt.
43:13So now he's being pursued by people who want to take advantage
43:16of his powers and it stars James Avery.
43:22Turkey with pillowy mounds of mashed potatoes.
43:30No, it does not James is not it's not in this show.
43:34So our next show I just I don't think you're going to be able
43:38to understand at all.
43:39It's very not self-explanatory.
43:42How are we supposed to top going bananas?
43:44They did their we've already reached the peak of this program.
44:05You show you the very best.
44:07I don't know.
44:08I'm thinking I'm thinking James Brown.
44:10That's all I'm thinking about right now.
44:11I it's it's it's kind of funky.
44:14It's I could be at the risk of sounding ignorant.
44:20I'm definitely picturing a black family and but I don't know
44:26the premise yet.
44:34She's got a knack for closing the deal.
44:41It's the only thing that's real.
44:43This place is worth its weight in gold.
44:45Change that for sale sign.
44:47I sold all right.
44:48That should give you a little bit more.
44:50Okay.
44:50Okay.
44:51Um, all right.
44:52So this this this family moves to a new town.
44:55They buy this new house and the name of the show was open house.
44:58The show is called open house.
45:00Let's go.
45:02Now, now, I'm not so sure.
45:05Is it a white family or is it a black family or is it a I can't
45:09I still can't tell yet.
45:12This won't help you out at all.
45:13But do you want to know who somebody playing a minor role as
45:17very famous celebrity?
45:18Yeah, Ellen DeGeneres plays Margot Van Meter the sassy man
45:23hungry secretary.
45:25Okay.
45:26So gosh, I don't know that what?
45:32If you want to call it mine.
45:49That is really funky.
45:51Oh, it is open house.
45:53Keep it real baby.
45:54Close that deal.
45:56I don't know if he's a real estate agent or she is a real
46:00estate agent or did he just move his family to a new house?
46:05So what are you going with you thinking?
46:06This is about a family in a new house or a real estate agent.
46:10I think this is about a guy who sells homes.
46:13That is open house start Allison LaPlaca as Linda Phillips
46:17a former studio exec who now started a business where they
46:23sell homes.
46:25Aha, and it's all about their sassy workplace.
46:29So my my like again, my initial thought like initial thoughts
46:35when I heard this I thought family matters like right away.
46:40I was like, okay, this kind of this seems to me just like your
46:45typical American black family, but I was way wrong.
46:48But at least I got the name of the show and what it's about
46:51right, right?
46:54And now if you want that 90 style we are going on to our next
47:01one. This one deals in one of your favorite fields.
47:07I just hope people don't think that I'm a racist of any kind
47:10for trying to decipher what nationality the family is in these
47:14TV shows.
47:15Yeah, you know what?
47:16Because I listened to the Scrubs podcast and like you have
47:18Donald Faison talking about, you know, black sitcoms, white
47:20sitcoms and right.
47:22Hey, as long as you're not not watching them because of something.
47:26Oh, no, it's a great theme.
47:28I mean, I there's there's there's literally I think there's
47:30there's only been one I haven't liked so far Bobby.
47:34How many times have I told you to leave your father's radio
47:38alone?
47:42Radio.
47:52How awesome is the new Jack swing theme song?
48:06I'll do this is this is this is dope and I love that.
48:09It's a I it might be about radio, which would be super cool
48:13for me.
48:13And do you have any kind of other clues what you thinking
48:16so far?
48:18I don't other than there's a mother a father and a son and
48:21don't touch your dad's radio.
48:23That's what I'm picking up so far.
48:25But this kid loves music.
48:52So what is the name of the show?
48:53And what are you thinking name of the show?
48:56Rhythm and Blues is rhythm and blues.
48:59What's the hook?
49:00Why am I watching this show?
49:03Gosh, maybe maybe the kid's dad is a radio DJ, which would
49:08be freaking sweet because I would want to watch this.
49:11I only know one other show that's about radio broadcasting
49:14and that's the WKRB.
49:17Yeah, so that's that's a great one.
49:20I thought turkeys could fly.
49:22Um, gosh, I don't know.
49:24This kid just loves loves music.
49:26He wants the rhythm and blues and and I'm not talking about
49:30the WWF tag team short-lived tag team.
49:35Yeah, I don't know.
49:36I'm just going to say this this dude is a radio DJ and his
49:42son loves music radio DJ.
49:44Yeah, and his eat.
49:46I don't know.
49:46Maybe sometimes he brings his kid to work with him and the
49:50kid loves music.
49:51I think the hijinks just happen because the kid gets him
49:54in trouble at the radio station.
49:56Yeah, I'm thinking, you know, he obviously has relationships
50:00with all these people at work.
50:02Maybe he's just the radio DJ or maybe he's the boss but his
50:06kid gets him into some, you know gets him into all these
50:09wacky sits, you know situations and at the end of it.
50:12They all laugh about them.
50:15Well, here's where NBC had to worry about coming off as a little
50:19bit of racist.
50:20Yeah, because this show is about this guy in Roger Kaebler
50:27who gets hired on to a rhythm and blues radio station because
50:31they think he's a black guy when he's really just a white
50:35dude and that's the premise.
50:38He's a white guy running a black radio station.
50:42That's so funny.
50:42Canceled after five episodes and people got mad that it was
50:45racist.
50:47That's no that's that's real life though.
50:49Like I've had I've had so many people hear my voice and just
50:54think that I was black.
50:56That's so wild that they were like, no, we got to pull the
50:59plug after five at like we can't we can't risk this sponsors
51:03are pissed.
51:06Wow, that's crazy, man.
51:08I bet half the humor is probably being like every artist
51:12that comes into the station being like, oh, I only know you
51:14because of your voice.
51:15Oh, well, I'm waiting for that guy.
51:17No, I'm the guy.
51:19No, no, no, you can't be kind of thing, dude.
51:23I'd watch it.
51:24I think I don't know.
51:25It's about radio.
51:26So I'm just fascinated about that.
51:28So I don't know.
51:29I'd watch it and see what all the hoopla was about.
51:32And finally, if you're playing along at home, this one stars
51:38two people that would go on to become mega famous.
51:41Why can't Hulu have a section?
51:43Why can't Hulu have a section?
51:45Of failed TV shows.
51:47I have said for years like these things brought in a vault
51:51somewhere.
51:52They have all the rights.
51:53People love terrible films.
51:56Why?
51:57I see no, no reason not to put the five episodes of Rhythm
52:02and Blues out.
52:04Well, there's like 13 and then they pull it after five and
52:06that's what happens with a lot of these shows.
52:08Okay, they fail and then you have all these ones that never
52:11air in America or remember Life on a Stick.
52:14Yeah, it's a good show and it only had five in America.
52:17And then like if you went to certain sites, they give you
52:22the South American rips which were in English and you get
52:25the last seven episodes, right?
52:28I have the full run from you.
52:30Yeah.
52:30So I think you're right.
52:32I think like you have your Peacocks, you have your Paramounts
52:34and it's just like exactly just throw the full things on
52:37there.
52:37They can't be take out that much other than the no transfer
52:40exactly.
52:41I would kill this shows.
52:42There's one called the fishbowl or the fish tank that Drake
52:46Bell starred in the year after Drake and Josh.
52:49Yeah, it could suck terribly and it probably wasn't that
52:52good, but I'd like to see it and now now was that supposed
52:56to be like a CBS show and then Blake was it a major I want
53:00to say CBS.
53:01I want to say and it also had a few other kids that were
53:04relatively famous as well.
53:07Nice.
53:08See why not?
53:09It can't like literally you have all the server space in
53:12the world.
53:12Like why not?
53:13I've told Peacock.
53:14I said you guys filmed a coach reboot and you decide not
53:18to go forward with it.
53:19Just throw it on there.
53:21We'll watch it.
53:22Yeah, I think I think I think one of the things people do
53:26with streaming is they spend more time trying to find something
53:31to watch then they do the duration of what they're actually
53:36watching.
53:37Yeah.
53:38So why not just have more like you just come across this.
53:42Wait a minute.
53:43What the heck was this show and then you go to your hey,
53:46hey Siri.
53:46What was this show?
53:47There?
53:47Don't start going off and you you kind of do that and it's
53:53like oh and then it's like what this show got can't let's
53:56see what this is all about.
53:58So would this show last in your mind?
54:02Get up each day.
54:05That's what life's all about.
54:08Okay, waking up.
54:14Get up get up and go to work.
54:16That's uh, yeah, that's the American way.
54:18I suppose I mean I hear this song and it hits me.
54:23It just hits me see when I first heard the bell.
54:26I thought okay.
54:27Maybe this is school related but then it's like no I'd wake
54:30up and I go to work and I work and so I can work and I'm like
54:35well, we can't lay in bed.
54:37No, you can't but it's too tight.
54:41It's too tight.
54:42You gotta go work and we work and we work and we hope that
54:45it works out, right?
54:47So you're just a hard-working American person who's who
54:51thinks that their hard work is gonna make everything work
54:55out. This sounds like a terrible show.
54:58I sort of pick it like they're working just to work more.
55:03They're not getting anywhere.
55:05No, but they're just they're just hoping it'll work out.
55:22Okay.
55:22So now this is about a hard-working couple rather than just
55:26a one hard-working individual and they're just they're just
55:30trying to you know, they're trying to make make make ends
55:34meet.
55:35Well money is nice.
55:38Money's tight, but easily spent.
55:42Spends too fast pretty soon.
55:44We just shaking our heads wondering where it all went.
55:49That just hits you.
55:50I know the feelings TV show.
55:55I still I think the title has something to do with work, but
55:58I'm not quite certain yet.
56:00Only love can buy life's lasting years.
56:04The work instead.
56:08The work instead.
56:12Wait, what the heck is he saying work instead?
56:15Stay work.
56:18The work instead.
56:21Why is her gunshots at the end of that work working working
56:27steers?
56:28Like think of a phrase that you've heard of what do they
56:31call people a working a working man working stiff a working
56:37stiff.
56:38Oh, I've never heard that expression.
56:40Oh, you're just a working stiff.
56:42No.
56:44All right.
56:45So you got working in your title.
56:47What are you thinking?
56:48Well, then you mean you just gave it to me as shows got to
56:51be called working stiff, which is what the Legion of Doom
56:54did, but I don't think it's that kind of working.
56:59I think they're just regular people hoping for more.
57:03This sounds like a boring show to pals who were late.
57:08So it's not a couple.
57:09It's just friends.
57:11It is not a couple.
57:12It's an American sitcom, which starred James Belushi and
57:15Michael Keaton as brother James Avery.
57:18Not James Avery.
57:19He's working with a monkey.
57:21He's working with the monkey.
57:23You know, it's James Belushi and Michael Keaton.
57:27So Batman is a working stiff.
57:30Beetlejuice is a working stiff.
57:32Oh my God.
57:33And they work in an office building owned by their uncle
57:36their roommates in the apartment over the cafe.
57:39And you know, every day is just slapstick comedy because
57:44they're working stiff.
57:45They got to go to work.
57:46They're going to work.
57:47So for Jeff, I'm Joe.
57:49This is no, no, no, no.
57:50Hold on.
57:51You SOB.
57:52I need to know on a scale of one to a hundred.
57:55Where do you grade me on blind literally blind reacting
58:00to these theme songs?
58:01What's my overall grade?
58:03Your favorite homies final score ended up being a which
58:08makes him exceed the percentage.
58:12He guaranteed.
58:12Congratulations.
58:15I just want to thank the Academy first and foremost.
58:18I just want to thank myself as well for the just countless
58:23hours of television that I've I've I've, you know, watched
58:27throughout my life a lot of time wasted but a lot of lessons
58:32learned.
58:32So that's what I'd like to say.
58:35Because those were your better days.
58:37Yes Paradise.
58:38I'm Joe that Jeff and if you like this video, like click
58:43and subscribe.
58:48Bye.