Top Ten 90s TV Themes - Number 1

So here we are – the number one theme of the 1990s.  However, before entering into our last and greatest entry, I present to you the previous nine entries:

10. “Second Time Around” from Step by Step

9.  “I’ll Be There For You” from Friends

8.  “Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs” from Frasier

7. “I’m Always Here” from Baywatch

6.  “The Simpsons Theme” from The Simpsons

5. “Theme of Law & Order” from Law & Order

4.  “As Days Go By” from Family Matters

3. “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

2. “Theme from Beverly Hills 90210” from Beverly Hills 90210

Quite a list huh? We’ve certainly come a long way baby. In looking back at the top ten, I can say that my only regret would be the uncreative titles many of the theme writers gave their moving works of television nostalgia.  Seriously, 4 of the last 5 on the list include the show title in their theme name.  Of course, I guess that’s my fault for choosing mostly instrumentals and a referential theme that directly addresses the main character of the show as four of the top six. Thankfully, the number one television theme song of the 1990s breaks this mold.

It’s no surprise to anyone who grew up in the 1990s:

Top 10 90s TV Theme Song #1 “Everywhere You Look” from Full House.

Note: You need to click the link above as for some reason none of the Full House intros are able to be embedded.

Having originally started in 1987, Full House was one of those shows that toed the line of the 80s/90s so closely that I had to debate whether or not to include it on the original list or this current one. However, as the majority of the show (and its highest success) occurred in the 90s, we have placed it here. 

With that explanation complete, here's why "Everywhere You Look" is the greatest television theme of the 1990s.

1.     I always like an electronic drum intro coupled with some harmonizing voices and what does Full House go and do? Couples it with a great shot of the family driving across the Golden Gate bridge.  No green screen or set, Miller Boyett productions understood the importance of getting actual location shots of the city where the show was set.

2.     The opening line. “Whatever happened to predictability - the milkman, the paper boy, evening TV?”  How awesome is that? Right from the start we know that this family is going through something significant.  They’ve been uprooted from their previous lives and thrust into a new situation.  It often gets forgotten when remembering Full House, but this was a sitcom born out of a heartbreaking situation – the loss of the kids’ mother in a hit and run car accident.  Of course I thought the line was “even MTV” until about three months ago and was never quite sure how it made sense, but now I’ve seen the light and can enjoy it more fully.

3.     The confusing individual introductions of each of the main cast. Much like was discussed in our Family Matters theme review, it seems like the director here wasn’t sure where he wanted cast members to look. Some folks are staring straight at the camera (like Bob Saget faux-cleaning his car) while others have the off to the side of the camera look (see John Stamos rocking on the acoustic guitar).  Dave Coulier, on the other hand, is having a whole conversation with someone off camera.  These staged shots always cracked me up. I also wondered why the adults (Lori Laughlin as well, who will be discussed in-depth later) got to shoot their intros in San Francisco while the kids had to stay on the set for their personalized intros.  Oh well. Sucks for them.

4.     You may have noticed that I’m using the full version of the song as opposed to variations developed later on in the shows run.  Where we have two verses running through the original casts’ introductions, I distinctly remember the line “you miss your old familiar friends, waiting just around the bend” before going into the familiar chorus.  Though I definitely heard the “waiting just around the bend” version more; I enjoy this longer version more.  The lyrics are a bit melancholic but prove a stark contrast to the uplifting chorus that’s about to follow – creating a greater overall effect for the listener.

5.     The use of the video from previous seasons when introducing the child actors is quite effective at helping the audience re-establish their connection to the characters every single episode.  Not only are they reminded of previous seasons of the show, but the viewer also remembers that they’re watching people grow up right in front of their eyes on television. That type of emotional connection is important and often overlooked in today’s credit sequences. One caveat – though I watched Full House damn near close to its end, I always disliked Michelle (or really, the Olsen twins). No show has ever featured a kid(s) that cannot act like Full House did for Michelle.  It was almost fitting that the last episode of the show was that acting “tour-de-force” by both Olsen twins where Michelle falls off a horse, suffers amnesia, and has weird visions.

6.     That great moving shot up the hill as the family runs over it.  Look, it’s cheesy as all hell, but I think that it’s timed perfectly with the chorus and is truly complimentary to the song.

7.     Lori Loughlin.  Aunt Becky has only grown better with age but she was always the primary babe on the show. Uncle Jesse did well for himself when you consider that (outside of Japan) his greatest musical success came from writing jingles and hosting a drive-time talk show with a comic who specialized in Popeye voices.  

8.     The classic hair brushing shot.

9.     The shot of the three guys on the pier that cuts immediately to the picnic in front of their house. Those are the two iconic shots that have stuck in my mind over the years more than any other.  When coupled with the last verse, “when you’re lost out there and you’re all alone, a light is waiting to carry you home;” it really drives home how important the family is to one another.

10. “Shoo-bee-doo-bah-bah-da!”

“Everywhere You Look” is what all other television theme songs should strive to be – memorable, funny, infinitely catchy.  There is also a cheesiness factor that, while anything but subtle, is incredibly humorous in retrospect.  The show was saccharine sweet, but the theme song was near perfection.  Number one with a bullet.