I haven't read the list, but I'm guessing that X Files would be number 1

mortimer | April 20, 15:37 CET

nope.. number 3

Of course it was doctor who

mortimer | April 20, 15:39 CET

I am surprised that Angel or Firefly didn't make the list, imo they had the better theme songs than BtVs.

wilder | April 20, 15:50 CET

We voted on it last month.

http://whedonesque.com/comments/19555

Simon | April 20, 15:54 CET

I love Buffy's theme, but I really appreciate how high the Red Dwarf theme got. I think it should have been number one.

ChampBlankman | April 20, 15:55 CET

I can't remember "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy's" TV theme song, but the radio version's theme song was fantastic! Every time it played, my whole family would start singing (or, rather, bah-bah-bahing) along!

floofypooh | April 20, 16:01 CET

I knew it would be doctor who! I'm glad BSG made it too, and of course buffy made it... but its not strictly sci-fi is it?

dulce_serenidad | April 20, 16:14 CET

Gotta go with Dr. Who. But which version? The Baker years? The 1980- 1985? NOT the current.

I do know that I always feel shorted when the "galloping" bit in the middle gets left out. It evokes adventure, possibility, and hope, tempered of course by the dogged determination and strength conjured by the rest of the theme. For me anyhoo. :-)

BreathesStory | April 20, 16:30 CET

I would have voted for Babylon 5 on be on that list - I always loved how the show had a completely different theme and credit sequence for every year, reflecting the themes of that season. I especially remember how *shocking* the third season opening credits were: "Babylon 5 was our last best hope for peace. It failed."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3fTDKJqyQo

As much as I like the Nerf Herder theme, I do kinda wish that BtVS would have done the same and chanced the music every year - the original theme just didn't seem to fit the post-graduation years after the characters grew up and the show became more mature.

ruuger | April 20, 17:01 CET

@breathesStory

The first season had it, but for some inexplicable reason Murray Gold took it out for the newest version of it. It really doesn't seem that remarkable now.

dulce_serenidad | April 20, 17:17 CET

Babylon 5's Season 3 opener should definitely be on a list like this.

Kris | April 20, 18:15 CET

But what about the Firefly theme? Perhaps not as iconic, but still memorable...or even ST:TNG?

Rune | April 20, 18:32 CET

Darling Violetta's Angel theme should have been on there. I love it!

Shep | April 20, 18:44 CET

"Angel" definitely should have been in the list. Maybe even "Firefly". I can understand why "Buffy" was in there though. Probably has to do with the fact that the show was much more influential and popular, and the theme was more masculine even though it was about a girl (whereas the "Angel" theme was more feminine).

13 | April 20, 19:17 CET

Theme songs can be gender specific?

Doctor Who deserves the number one spot. My least favorite theme song is Farscape, so I'm glad that's not on the list: it sounds like a flu-ridden five-year-old trying to yodel.

Invisible Green | April 20, 19:32 CET

I think Angel's theme was on par with Buffy in setting an atmosphere for the show, but maybe not quite as memorable or catchy. That, along with it the show being less popular, is probably why it didn't get picked. I do love it though - well wroth checking out the full version for those who haven't!

ChromeShark | April 20, 19:53 CET

Okay, it doesn't belong anywhere near the top ten, but I still get that "Brunnen G" bit from the S3 intro of Lexx going around in my head from time to time.

BreathesStory | April 20, 19:55 CET

B5's first three scores were awesome, and definitely belong on there. Angel's score is great too, and Firefly's in a different way... but Buffy's theme is just so hard-wired into me. It's the ultimate pump-up music for me, pure awesomeness in musical form. I can't hear it and not get amped and happy.

ManEnoughToAdmitIt | April 20, 19:56 CET

Yeah, there's this involuntary head bob thing that seems to take over my house every time the BtVS theme comes on. I think the AtS theme was definitively memorable, though I wouldn't call it catchy, and I must admit that lately I've been fantasizing about changing my ring tone to the Firefly theme. Anyone know a good one?

I think that to make the list popularity was imperative, given that it was a vote. That said...Thunderbirds? Come on.

BreathesStory | April 20, 20:08 CET

I agree with B5 being great, and I personally loved Farscape's theme. I liked how it sounded 'different' and had a tribal thing going for it. It set the mood for the show pretty well, and the first time I heard it (I think in the second episode) it actually really helped to hook me into the show itself. Not your standard horns-blaring scifi theme. (Neither was Firefly, although the Ballad of Serenity actually took several episodes for me to like it. Now I love it and usually sing along when it plays. Firefly is one of the few shows that I never ever skip the opening theme when rewatching on dvd.)

AnotherFireflyfan | April 20, 21:26 CET

Farscape did have the "tribal" theme going for it, but I think that's what made it inaccessable for some (I personally loved it). I'm just wondering if maybe Torchwood didn't get in because of its slight lack of years for it; hasn't built a solid fanbase.

I'm assuming that the BtVS song is the slightly re-vamped (oooh, pun!) version after... Was it season 3 that it came in?

Archduke Sebassis | April 20, 22:10 CET

Futurama should be on there.

Septimus | April 20, 22:11 CET

Oh, yes, I loved the Futurama theme so much the first time I heard it. I'd always look forward to the opening every episode I saw. (Now, unfortunately, I've heard it so much it doesn't have the same effect on me. But that is a great theme.)

AnotherFireflyfan | April 20, 22:20 CET

Battlestar Galactica should be number 1 IMO, but all the choices are worthy. The Futurama theme is brilliant with the video but if you had to listen to it audio only more than a few times in a row, you might begin injuring yourself. It's "ironic."

dreamlogic | April 20, 22:47 CET

I probably would have put Twilight Zone a little higher, but I definitely agree with number 1. That doesn't normally happen with poll results, so thats nice for a change.

The Operative | April 20, 22:58 CET

Oddly enough, I've always been under the impression Nerf Herder's theme for Buffy was the least popular. I see it on "worst" lists all the time, but never Darling Violetta, Sonny Rhodes, or even Jonatha Brooke.

John Darc | April 20, 23:07 CET

I agree with rugger about the "Babylon 5" themes being remarkable. They changed every year while still maintaining a core essence. (For fun, I once wrote about the progression through the five seasons' opening credits; it was eye-opening... and I found I had a lot to say about them!)

As for Whedonverse themes, the Buffy theme, I like; it's catchy, and I find myself bopping along to it when I hear it. In retrospect, though, I think changing it up a bit (again, like ruuger said!) might have been interesting, as the tone of the show changed. Sort of like how the folks over at "Veronica Mars" did it - 'cause, you know, love it or hate it, the reworked theme changes the approach to show.

I think the themes for both "Angel" and "Firefly" are fantastic. What I love about the "Firefly" theme is the lyrics, which define the show in a beautiful way. As for the "Angel" theme, I love how it starts with the cello (I think that's what it is), sounding very old and alone, and then it kicks into something more modern and full and pulsing. I think it sets us up musically for what we see, time and again, in the actual show.

I like the theme for "Dollhouse" but, I have to admit, it wasn't until I heard the full version that I started appreciating it.

nanceoir | April 21, 02:38 CET

Does HHGTTG really count? I thought that Eagles or whoever song already existed before it was used for the show.

And while I love the Futurama theme it is astonishingly quite similar to Psyche Rock, a track also used in the cafeteria scene of Mean Girls. As in it was specifically composed to emulate it but I'm still surprised they didn't get sued...

Anyhow, I didn't especially like the Buffy theme even if it is very evocative and I do admire in hindsight that they went with something so genuinely messy alt for a series that's otherwise about a would-be popular blonde suburban high school girl.

As Whedon TV themes go, I actually really dig Dollhouse more than any of the others though. That 30 second snippet with the vocalizing has that dreamy ethereal quality that becomes even more creepy with the tinkly piano as the video shows the dolls going to sleep, but it's so novel to me the idea that there's a full song custom tailored to explain the concept of the series while possibly working as a song unto itself.

orangewaxlion | April 21, 10:23 CET

Angel's theme is probably my favourite because it's so damn pretty and atmospheric. Buffy's and Firefly's I like but they're a little more niche (though as Buffy's is rock/punk that's possibly just because it's iconic). Not sure about Dollhouse's yet, it's definitely pretty, maybe I need to hear the whole thing first.

I do like the BSG theme tune and agree with the love for the old Doctor Who theme, I too feel cheated when the new one changes.

Leaf | April 21, 11:34 CET

I do like most of the themes of the list. But my favourite one hasn't been mentioned yet:
The theme song of Cleopatra2525.

kurna | April 21, 20:02 CET