S01E09: Out of This World – Science Fiction Themes (Part 1)

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In this episode, I explore some iconic theme music from science fiction series set (as a whole or in part) within the outer reaches of space. I’ll leave other supernatural shows such as THE TWILIGHT ZONE, THE X-FILES and even LOST to a future episode of TUBE TUNES. In this episode I’ll be looking at six well-known TV space dramas, one representative series from each decade from the 1950s to the 2000s; I’ll explore their stories, their stars, their impact on the science fiction canon, and of course their theme tunes. Here are the series included in this episode:

The 1950s:
CAPTAIN VIDEO AND HIS VIDEO RANGERS (1949-1955) [opening theme]

The 1960s:
STAR TREK (1966-1969) [opening & closing themes]
Also included in this segment:
STAR TREK (The Animated Series) (1973-1975) [opening & closing themes]
STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (1993-1999) [opening & closing themes]
STAR TREK: VOYAGER (1995-2001) [opening & closing themes]
STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE (2001-2005) [opening & closing themes]

-Commercial Break-

The 1970s:
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (1978-80) [1978-1979 opening & closing themes]
Also included in this segment:
GALACTIC 1980 (1980) [opening & closing themes]
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (2004 revival series) (2004-2009) [opening & closing themes]

-The Mystery Tune-

The 1980s:
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1987-1994) [opening & closing themes]

The 1990s:
BABYLON 5 (1994-1998) [1994 opening theme] [1995 opening theme] [1996 opening theme] [1997 opening theme] [1998 opening theme]

-Commercial Break-

The 2000s:
FIREFLY (2002-2003) [opening & closing themes]

I’ve included  vintage commercials for Dr. Pepper and Oscar Meyer Bologna. And you’ll also have fun listening to some ads that my podcasting friends provided to me to promote their own great podcasts; be sure to check them out.

Note also that I’ve included a The Mystery Tune segment for my intrepid listeners to test their TV theme tune memory. It’s a complete theme for a series which ran on network television (hint: it was a CBS sitcom during the late 1960s). Let me know what your guess is, and if you’re correct I’ll mention you on the air during the next episode of TUBE TUNES.

Many, many thanks to Zerbinator for his continued support. His encouragement and expertise are very much appreciated by me. You can find all of his fun-to-listen-to podcasts here. And I’d also like especially to thank him for providing the opening and closing theme music for Tube Tunes; all of his fantastic music can be found here. And, again, thanks are in order for him for providing TUBE TUNES with the “We’ll Be Right Back” drops heard during the podcast. Thanks, Burford.

I would also like to again thank Rob “Flack” O’Hara and Sean Johnson for adding TUBE TUNES to The Throwback Network. It’s a great place to find just about any retro-themed podcast you can think of. Please check out the network here.

Finally, my thanks to Ferg of The Atari 2600 Game by Game Podcast. His inspiration and dedication to covering every game cartridge ever made for the Atari 2600 (I think over 1000 of them!) is what gave me the courage to begin this podcast. And his continued support and promotion of TUBE TUNES on his excellent podcast is greatly appreciated by yours truly. Please, check out his podcast, even if you’re not an Atari 2600 collector; or at least visit his website here.

Next Episode: “S02E01: Go West, Old Man – Adult Westerns of the 1950s (Part 2)” (available November 2016)