The music on this show was laughably bad - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Mace Dolex · 10-03-2014, 04:04 PM

Oh no, I don't mean the theme song especially once the 2nd season kicks off the cold opening with the disco beat.

I'm talking about the incidental background music, was watching the episode "The Volunteers" which is basically the entire episode with minimal dialogue so they have to pad it out with music and it's almost as bad as 70's porn.

Esprit · 10-20-2014, 12:15 AM

Is your criticism aimed at that particular episode, or the series as a whole? It's been a while since I had access to the series, as I do not get MeTV here.

I do not recall that specific ep; I was a casual viewer of it back in the 1990s and/or early 2000s. It seemed that fluctuations in the quality of the writing were more noticeable. Sometimes "CHiPs" was really fun and interesting, other times it seemed like a string of vignettes linked together by cool shots of Jon & Ponch riding from scene to scene on their bikes.

The music wasn't really a deal breaker. It seemed to be what one would expect from the disco era. I always regarded "CHiPs" as a weekly dose of southern California sunshine. The music flowed with that perfectly.

I think the music became closely identified with the show, and the show's success was ultimately affected by the music, both the intro/outro "theme" and the overall musical score. The show, through the music, became closely identified with the disco era. Once disco went out of style, the show went with it. (Not to overlook the cast turnover and some silly stories.)

If there is a "CHiPs" revival, it will be interesting to see how it differs from the original, both in terms of style and creatively.

Mace Dolex · 10-20-2014, 02:16 AM

Yeah I guess I should have been more specific, I didn't mean that all the music was awful just for that one episode because the music carried most of the action on screen.

But yeah the intro theme with the added disco beat is especially cool to hear as the cold opening when it segues to it.

sm95fan · 10-11-2022, 03:15 PM

The music from Season 1 used a lot of brass, more like a mid 60s drama. Very dated sounding for a late 70s show in the heart of the disco era.

It improved a lot in later seasons.

10-03-2014, 04:04 PM	#1
Mace Dolex Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 12, 2013 Posts: 2,660	The music on this show was laughably bad Oh no, I don't mean the theme song especially once the 2nd season kicks off the cold opening with the disco beat. I'm talking about the incidental background music, was watching the episode "The Volunteers" which is basically the entire episode with minimal dialogue so they have to pad it out with music and it's almost as bad as 70's porn.

10-20-2014, 12:15 AM	#2
Esprit Member Forum Hawk Join Date: Oct 19, 2014 Location: Somewhere in the hills Posts: 3	Is your criticism aimed at that particular episode, or the series as a whole? It's been a while since I had access to the series, as I do not get MeTV here. I do not recall that specific ep; I was a casual viewer of it back in the 1990s and/or early 2000s. It seemed that fluctuations in the quality of the writing were more noticeable. Sometimes "CHiPs" was really fun and interesting, other times it seemed like a string of vignettes linked together by cool shots of Jon & Ponch riding from scene to scene on their bikes. The music wasn't really a deal breaker. It seemed to be what one would expect from the disco era. I always regarded "CHiPs" as a weekly dose of southern California sunshine. The music flowed with that perfectly. I think the music became closely identified with the show, and the show's success was ultimately affected by the music, both the intro/outro "theme" and the overall musical score. The show, through the music, became closely identified with the disco era. Once disco went out of style, the show went with it. (Not to overlook the cast turnover and some silly stories.) If there is a "CHiPs" revival, it will be interesting to see how it differs from the original, both in terms of style and creatively.

10-20-2014, 02:16 AM	#3
Mace Dolex Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 12, 2013 Posts: 2,660	Yeah I guess I should have been more specific, I didn't mean that all the music was awful just for that one episode because the music carried most of the action on screen. But yeah the intro theme with the added disco beat is especially cool to hear as the cold opening when it segues to it.

10-11-2022, 03:15 PM	#4
sm95fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 07, 2021 Location: Las Lunas Posts: 1,880	The music from Season 1 used a lot of brass, more like a mid 60s drama. Very dated sounding for a late 70s show in the heart of the disco era. It improved a lot in later seasons.