Today we are shining the spotlight on one of the most beloved shows out there. It is the iconic “howcatchem” detective show: Columbo.
But before we get into the music, let’s take a step back and paint a little picture. So, Columbo , for those of you who are unfamiliar, is a classic American detective series from the '70s, starring Peter Falk as the rumpled, cigarchomping Lieutenant Columbo. He’s not your usual flashy TV cop. He wears the same beige raincoat every episode, drives a battered old Peugeot, and constantly plays the fool. But don’t fall for it because he’s quick and witty underneath it all.
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Show Tunes: Episode 36 - Saved By The Bell
We're taking a trip back to the early 90s, with the tune belonging to none other than Saved by the Bell.
The theme tune was composed by Scott Gale, an american musician, who came up with the main lyric “It’s alright cause I’m saved by the bell” two minutes after rejecting the offer to write the song for NBC.
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Show Tunes: Episode 35 - Scooby Doo 01.08.25
Prepare yourself to be humming just the one tune for the rest of the day, "Scooby-Dooby-Doo, Where Are You?"
Now this theme, written by David Mook and Ben Raleigh, is a brief but unforgettable tune. Its bouncy guitar riff accompanied with the iconic sound of 60’s vocals, sets the quirky and spooky scene for a mystery solving, potentially troublesome gang, that it introduces. Mook and Raleigh were heavily influenced by surf rock bands such as the Beach Boys and the Ventures, and incorporated elements of the genre into the song.
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Show Tunes: Episode 34 - Airwolf 18.07.25
The insistent arpeggiated bassline, soaring synth leads, and jet-engine-like whooshes don’t just suggest flight - they are flight.
Premiering in 1984 on CBS, Airwolf was the ultimate 80s TV cocktail: Cold War espionage, high-tech military gear, a brooding antihero in Jan-Michael Vincent’s Stringfellow Hawke, and most crucially - a helicopter so souped-up it made KITT from Knight Rider look like a rental car.
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Show Tunes: Episode 33 - Doctor Who 11.07.25
We’re traveling through space, time, and sound to celebrate the Doctor Who theme - a true sci-fi classic that rewrote the rules of TV music.
The story of this theme is almost as out there as the show itself. While it was composed by Ron Grainer, the true architect of its iconic sound was Delia Derbyshire, a pioneering woman in electronic music. Working at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, she created the theme using oscillators, spliced tape, and no synthesizers – NONE. Remember, this was years before commercial synths were a thing.
In the TV shows you know and love, music doesn't just play pivotal roles in introducing the episodes, they shape your memory of them. Here, Stephen Steps Lowe takes a look at the stories behind the best and most-loved TV theme tunes of all time.
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