And the all-time favorite show theme song is.....

Wait, George isn't at home? I don't believe it.

 

Those Were The Days - All in the Family.

Not so much for the song itself, but the way it was used to open the show. O'Connor & Stapleton, in character, sitting at the piano singing it live to the studio audience. Effective and unique, and I loved that they re-did it for each season.

 

"Suicide Is Painless" - Johnny Mandel for "M*A*S*H"
"WKRP In Cincinnati"
"Angela" - Bob James for "Taxi"
"Knight Rider" - Stu Phillips
"Believe It Or Not" - Joey Scarbury for "The Greatest American Hero"
Mike Post gets a lot of run here: "The A-Team," "The Rockford Files," "Magnum P.I." and "The White Shadow"

Already written:
"Reflections" - The Supremes for "China Beach"

 

St. Elsewhere

 

Costanza sort of changed that dynamic.

 

Boy, the way Glen Miller played. Songs that made the hit parade.
Guys like us, we had it made. Those were the days.
Didn't need no welfare state. Everybody pulled his weight.
Gee, our old LaSalle ran great. Those were the days.
And you know who you were then, girls were girls and men were men.
Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again.
People seemed to be content. Fifty dollars paid the rent.
Freaks were in a circus tent. Those were the days.
Take a little Sunday spin, go to watch the Dodgers win.
Have yourself a dandy day that cost you under a fin.
Hair was short and skirts were long. Kate Smith really sold a song.
I don't know just what went wrong. Those Were The Days.

 

It worked well with Archie Bunker's racism, too.

 

Greatest answering machine message, real or fictional, in history.

 

The answering machine message is one of the great things ever. The actual song is terrible, schlocky and oversung. I've never seen the show, though, so maybe it fit.

 

WKRP

 

"Greatest American Hero" is my favorite. And I loved Costanza's rendition of it. Absolutely classic.

My other favorite themes (most mentioned by others already):
"Dukes of Hazard"
"Magnum PI"
"Miami Vice"
"Simon and Simon"
"Rockford Files"

I also thought "Mad About You" was great.
I'll also throw in a vote for "Monk."

 

Hard to find a better bass line than the one for Barney Miller.