Tuesday Tunes: Best TV Theme Songs

It’s like peanut butter and jelly. It’s like red beans and rice. It’s like cookies and milk. It’s like Twitter and hashtags.

Theme songs and TV shows just go together. The right jingle can send a show swiftly on its way — right into syndication heaven, no doubt. The best ones are uber catchy, the kind that stick in your head long after you switch off the television and the kind that you even find yourself humming as you go about your daily activities. At its heart, a theme song should do two things: Set the tone for the show and do a good job of summarizing the show’s plot. All with musical prowess, of course!! And WORDS. I can’t stress this one enough because an instrumental theme song is just plain sad. Who has time for that??

For this special edition of Tuesday Tunes, I give you five of my favorite TV theme songs of all time…

The Brady Bunch: Did you really think this one wouldn’t be on the list?? From those first note (you know, “here’s the story…”), we immediately become familiar with, well, the story. It’s like a Cliffs Notes version of the entire series. I grew up on this show in syndication and I loved humming it. Every. Single. Episode.

Frasier: At first, the lyrics just sound like a hodge-podge of nonsense words strung together, but I think it has a deeper meaning than that. Frasier’s a psychiatrist who is often confused and blue himself. He’s also a radio psychiatrist, so the line, “Hey, baby, I hear the blues a-calling…” just fits perfectly. I read a fun article about the story behind the song recently and it made such sense!

Gilligan’s Island: The story of seven strangers…NO! I’m not talking about that show! The show about Gilligan and company managed to take a single premise — an afternoon aboard a “tiny ship” — and streeeeetch it out over three seasons. Not to mention that the castaways always seemed to have new clothes, even though they only went on a “three-hour tour.” That’s some skill, if you ask me! I’d watch this show while eating breakfast in elementary school and it dazzled me. And that professor…?? Wow…

The Golden Girls: These gals were hip long before that foursome on Sex and the City strutted down the streets of Manhattan. Miami was never the same after Blanche, Rose, Dorothy and Sophia breezed into town. And, I’m sure, none of our friendships were ever the same after hearing said theme song!

The Big Bang Theory: I couldn’t help but throw a more recent show in the mix. The theme song sort of sounds like a prolific genius on speed, with all these thoughts and facts just flowing out in rapid succession. I wonder if that’s how Sheldon Cooper feels all the time.

So…which TV theme song is your favorite, friends? Do you find that some stick in your head and…they…won’t…leave? Any theme songs you absolutely hate?? xoxo

[Top photo via We Heart It]

My Essay on the Berry: Who Would You Date In The Battle Of The ’90s TV Boyfriends?

My second article for the Berry couldn’t have come out at a better time — isn’t it great when things work out like that?

To coincide with TV Week, my article “Who Would You Date In The Battle Of The ’90s TV Boyfriends?” went live this morning!! Oh, those awesome characters! Sure, they can sometimes be two dimensional, but we most certainly can’t rule out the dreamy factor, can we?? After all, they help form some of our greatest binge-watching memories and, especially, made our formative years full of pure joy.

Here’s an excerpt of the essay, which literally had me smiling as I was writing it; I can’t be the only writer who does that, right??

I’m a fierce TV watcher. I take it VERY seriously and was a hard-core binger wayyy before the phrase even became a hot trending topic. I’m also a lover of the ’90s. I fall in love with characters — OK, lots of times as if they were real people! — and my teen years were spent in a haze of TV’s best boyfriends. Thanks to the teen drama boom spearheaded by the WB, there seemed to be a guy for everyone.

So let’s take a little trip down memory lane, shall we? Who would win in a Battle of the ’90s TV Boyfriends? Here are 10 top contenders, known for everything from their keen sense of style to their brooding nature…

You can read the full essay here and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to email me anytime at mellow1422@aol.com and let’s chat! And of course, feel free to share my essay on Facebook, Twitter or even your local refrigerator. If you share on Twitter, be sure to tag me @melissablake so we can connect! I can’t wait to hear from you! Love you all… xoxo

Man Candy Monday.

It’s a beautiful morning!!! And you’re welcome for me putting that song in your head all day! How are you doing, friends? Welcome to our first TV Week — that fun time of year where we celebrate all the things we love and hold dear when it comes to the small screen! I’ve got lots of fun posts planned! But first, here’s a Man Candy round-up that’s sure to make your Monday sweet. Consider it a veritable smorgasbord of the best and brightest — my top 5 favorite TV characters, of course…

Steve from Full House — simple, lovable and always hungry!

Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl — moody, broody and captivatingly mysterious!

Brandon Walsh — a gentleman, hard worker and sweet!

Charlie from Party of Five — strong, protective and a true leader!

Chandler Bing from Friends — funny, down-to-earth and all-around chill guy!


Who are YOUR favorite guys, friends?? You know I want to hear all about it… xoxo

In Defense of Guilty Pleasure TV

I’m a voracious TV watcher. I make no apologies for this and I also don’t discriminate where my TV choices are concerned — I’ve binged on everything from Keeping Up With The Kardashians to Frasier to House Hunters, and I’ve done it all without one ounce of shame. I’ve never watched something because it was the trendy, water-cooler show of the moment or because I thought it was something I was “supposed” to like.

Translation: I watch what I want, when I want, whether it’s hip at the time or not.

But apparently, not everyone shares this view. That’s probably one of the reasons the very concept of guilty pleasures was born — you know, to try and set some standards for quality TV programming. Or something like that.

TV watching isn’t an objective thing, though, is it? I mean, it’s kind of hard — maybe even impossible — to quantify something that is so subjective. What is quality to one person might be considered pure fluff to someone else. TV shows aren’t always as objective as the Nielsen rating system.

Whoa, I’m getting all sorts of philosophical there, aren’t I? But at the very least, I do think it’s worth taking a step back and realizing TV will never be a one-size-fits-all thing. And that is a beautiful thing — a breath of fresh air, if you will. That’s why I cheered when I read E! Online’s essay about taking the guilty out of our guilty pleasure habits. The argument is pretty undeniable…

This is the side of TV we’re told we should be ashamed of for enjoying, but why? Why does it matter if we find joy in a former housewife navigating a life in front of the cameras, or in a woman choosing a wedding dress, or in a pair of millennials trying to buy a tiny house (because it’s all they can afford)? It shouldn’t, and yet we feel the need to defend ourselves when our roommate comes in and finds us sprawled on the couch, hours-deep into a Degrassi marathon.

The line between a guilty pleasure show and just a regular show is often a very thin one. It also moves around a lot, and sometimes separates not just shows but entire networks, or kinds of networks. Some people consider the CW to be a guilty pleasure network (or at least they did, before the superheroes—but we’ll get to that). Some people think all major networks consist only of guilty pleasures. Some people still consider TV itself to be a guilty pleasure, and take pride in the fact that they don’t own a TV, have never watched TV, and what’s an Ellen Pompeo?

So why do we feel so guilty? When we get together with family and friends, talk invariably turns to the topic of our favorite shows. It’s hard sometimes not to whisper those shows that we don’t want to admit we love, the ones that we spend weekends getting lost in and finding out new favorite phrase is “just one more.”

Because, truthfully, it’s wonderful thing to get lost in your favorite TV show. It’s not a guilty pleasure. It’s one of life’s simple pleasures and one that should be wholeheartedly embrace for its magical awesomeness!

TL;DR: Life is short! Watch what makes YOU happy!


I’m excited to introduce a special week-long TV-themed series next week in honor of the most wonderful time of the year — new seasons of all our favorite shows! But for now, I’d love to know: What shoes do you love? Do you suffer from guilty-itis? Let’s chat, friends!! xoxo

P.S. More TV talk… 🙂

Man Candy Monday.

Happy Monday, friends!! Are you excited for a new week? Ready, at least? I haven’t decided yet which camp I fall in, but while I’m thinking about it, here’s one of my favorite guys. I first saw him in Ugly Betty and again in Six Feet Under, which we just finished over the weekend — whew! What an emotional roller coaster that was! Anyway, he’s incredibly swoon-worthy. He’s got mesmerizing eyes. And he just sort of captivates my soul…

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ!!!!!!!!!!

“I’m drawn more to quality, and so if the quality is in television, I go in that direction. If it’s in film, I go in that direction. But I don’t limit myself or discriminate against any of the mediums.”