Theme Song Or No Theme Song - What's Better?

[bigd]

What do you think is better, having a sitcom with a theme song at the beginning or having a couple second opener or even no theme whatsoever at the beginning? Personally, I would rather have nothing than a theme song unless it's a halfway decent theme like Sanford & Son. Some theme songs just sound so lame like Full House, Small Wonder and others. Personally, I like the way Frasier does it, a couple second musical opening and then straight to the show. If there's no theme, you can get up to an extra minute of jokes.

[Brent88]

Well... on longer sitcoms(back in the day when the standard was 24 minutes or greater), I like them, but now, when the show is only 21 minutes long to begin with, I do not. In fact, I also like the fact that on most shows, the closing credits roll while a scene is still happening.

[Stuck In The '70's]

Theme song all the way.

[gidgetgrape]

I like theme songs too.

[Karen*]

I like my sitcoms better with a theme song.

[Number 9 Dream]

I think I like it better with a theme song.

[Riff]

Depends on how lousy the theme song is, and how ill-fitting it is for the show. Remember when "Everybody Loves Raymond" was using Steve Miller's "Jungle Love" as the theme song? What was that all about? On the other hand, when you've got a pretty good theme song, like "Less than Perfect," and you hardly ever use it, well, that just seems like a big waste.

And I thought "Frasier's" closing theme was noise pollution. In that case, I would most definitely have prefered nothing.

[slackermonkey]

I'm on the fence.

On one hand, I like how some shows have a short opening sequence, like Will & Grace. You get into the show faster, and theme songs are getting chopped up in syndication anyway.

But with a theme song, there's a lot of nostalgia there. It brightens your day, and a really good theme song captures the mood and tone of the show perfectly.

[dandelion wine]

With the theme song.

[TJL]

As Brent88 pointed out, TV sitcoms are getting shorter, and even shorter when chopped up in syndication, the more time you devote to the episode, the better. Just flash the opening title and start the show.

[I Love John Ritter]

I prefer the theme song.

[CarJackSnyder]

Theme Song!! :D

[musicradio77]

TV themes songs are just for fun. And it was great!

[barwars]

I'd rather have a short themesong with a longer episode than vice-versa.