15 TV Theme’s That Are Also Full Length Songs

You may have noticed something odd in my last theme song article. The Fresh Prince theme was a tad, longer than you may have remembered. That’s because it was written as a full song. However, the full version was used all of once and after that we got the truncated (but still awesome) version.

And this isn’t the only example of this happening. A lot of theme’s have extended, full length versions that were released as singles and even played on the radio. Some actually started that way, before becoming a theme song. Others were created after the show (and subsequently the theme) became so popular that demand for a full version prompted one.



There are a ton of these but to keep this from going on forever, let’s just talk about a few of them today. No specific order and only songs, we’ll get to instrumentals another time.




“Thank You For Being a Friend” by Andrew Gold
Let’s start with this little gem. We all know “Thank You for Being a Friend” from The Golden Girls. Did you know this was first a full length song written by Andrew Gold? It was re-recorded by Cynthia Free when it was adopted by the show.

Top 10 TV Theme’s Sung By the Show’s Stars

Last month I talked about awful Season 1 theme songs I mentioned how Charlotte Rea sang the Facts of Life theme that first year, badly. Thankfully that one was re-recorded but a lot of other theme songs are sung by the stars and the song does work and even becomes iconic.

Here are my ten favorite theme songs sung by the stars of the show themselves.


#10.Frasier
I’ve complained how annoying the lyrics are to this but outing that aside it’s always fun to hear Kelsey Grammar’s bouncy rendition of this theme.

#9.My Two Dads
Most don’t remember this show, and I don’t blame them for that, but it wasn’t that bad really. Greg Evigan starred and of course sang the theme song. And it’s sung pretty darn well, for a silly so like this anyway.

Five Things I Liked in “Hocus Pocus”

Some guilty pleasures are so lame, we can’t stop loving them! I’ve mentioned this movie here and there but never did a real discussion of it. So, since it’s the 25th anniversary this year, this is a good time.

 

I saw this movie in theaters when it came out July 1993. Why did a clearly Halloween movie come out in July? Got me. Maybe Disney was so excited about it they couldn’t wait. They certainly hyped it enough, with horrible ads that didn’t explain the plot at all. Just made it sound like the three sisters were here for wacky hi jinks. And some of the stuff in this movie is definitely silly. Like the stock bullies, big plot holes, and that idiotic zombie nonsense. But what works, really works in my opinion. And in fact it’s grown such a cult following that Freeform shows over and over in October.

 

So we all agree that it’s a guilty pleasure, at best, then what is it that brings us back every year? Well, here are five reasons for me anyway :





The Music

Of course Bette Midler is in the movie so we had to have a song. And “I’ve Got a Spell on You” is pretty good. It’s got a nice beat but isn’t ridiculous. But what is often overlooked is the rest of the soundtrack, which is also damn good. The music is great and really enhances the mood. I discussed composers earlier this year one name I overlooked was John Debney who does good work. The other overlooked theme is the song Sarah sings to lure the children which is, well, mesmerizing.

Five Movies with Way too Predictable Endings

 So this weekend I got to see the movie Small Foot with my little niece. It’s a nice movie, I was surprised with the story as I had not heard about it beforehand. What I was not surprised with was the “twist” in the end. I can’t explain without giving it away, and since it just came I wont do that, but let’s just say it was obvious.

To be fair most movies are a little predictable. I mean do you think we'll ever a movie where Superman doesn't save the day? But sometimes movies will have an ending so predictable it's practically told to you earlier in the movie. Or even worst, all you have to do is see the trailer to guess the outcome. There are plenty of these but I picked five which drove me nuts for their obviousness.







Autumn in New York

Some probably never heard of this one. It’s a romantic movie about a couple played by Richard Gere and Winona Ryder. They fall in love even though he’s a tad older. And that’s basically the hook. Oh, and she has a terminal disease. They reveal this in the trailer for the movie, brilliant choice. Any wild guesses how this one ends? If that’s not enough to keep you away, Gere and Ryder have zero chemistry.

Random Thoughts-Is It Ok To Still Like “The Cosby Show”?

Yeah I wont lie, I was one of those who did not want to believe the truth about Bill Cosby. Not because I think sexual assault or the like should be ignored or not taken seriously. But because I have been a fan of his for years, since before The Cosby Show (anyone remember Picture Pages?) so it was hard to accept. Not to mention the large number of accusers which is just, amazing. But a conviction is a conviction and while that number of accusers still seems large, you can’t deny the facts.

 

 

20 Sitcom Homes That Really Exist

So I spent two days talking about the famous interiors of famous sitcom homes. What about the exteriors? Oh yeah, you knew we’d get here eventually! Those establishing shots which give the home or apartment for our favorite sitcoms are very famous. There are even tours that will take you to them (and sadly I have never done one of them!).

Here are some of them. I decided to focus on the real life structures and not the shows which used homes on their studio backlots. So no Bewitched or Growing Pains, for example. And I tried to pick pictures from the actual series but as we’ll see not all are. Also like the other articles no in depth analysis on the architecture or stuff like floor plans, I’m just a fan.





Happy Days

I never really got why the Happy Days was so iconic since the establishing shots go by so fast we barely see the house. They’re also tight close ups probably to hide the fact the house isn’t in Milwaukee but Beverly Hills. Then I dug a bit and realized that in the early days especially we did see more of the house, and I’ve come to the conclusion I really need to watch these episodes again someday.

20 Notable Sitcom Kitchen’s

So yesterday I did living rooms, it was only fair to discuss popular sitcom kitchens next. And as you may imagine, pictures were even harder to find!

 

Kitchens in sitcoms can be an important room. On TV, these rooms are more than just places for the characters to eat. These rooms are often where the characters share what is going in with their lives, and in some shows we spend more time in the kitchen’s than any other room! Here are fifteen sitcom kitchens which despite their differences in size and decor, are integral parts of their respective shows.

 

Cosby Show

The Huxtable kitchen was always a great place, Cliff loves to cook and it kind of shows in the decor. But why was it pink? It would finally get changed in the final season. And yes I know the cast is in the pic best I could do. We'll have a few more too.