Does the phrase “a Quinn Martin Production” mean anything to you? If it does, that means you probably watched a lot of cop or detective shows in the 1970s. I know I did!
I was surfing a message board last night and saw a thread where someone posted the trailer for the upcoming Hawaii Five-O remake (my take: it looks more like the A-Team than the show I remember). But seeing that made me go to YouTube to find the intro to the original show:
Now see, that kicks ass! And of course, YouTube being what it is, there was a link to other “related videos” that I had to check out… including:
S.W.A.T. – this show kicked all kinds of ass, and has one of the best theme songs ever. I don’t know if this show pioneered “freeze frame credits” (you know, where an actor jumps through a window, and the screen freezes just at the most dramatic moment and his name is displayed), but I always think of this when I see a newer show parodying it:
Streets of San Francisco – Ya know, I think this is a very well done intro. I think if you updated the film stock and changed the music, it’d be hard to tell that it was shot in 1972. And it’s funny to see Michael Douglas as a “lowly” TV actor, too. But what really kicks in this intro is the theme… it makes me want to buy a 1973 Cadillac and drive around the mean streets:
Here’s the final list of all the songs heard on the BBC series Ashes to Ashes, including season 3, the show’s last.
Season 1
Episode 1
Ultravox – “Vienna”
The Clash – “I Fought the Law”
Tubeway Army – “Are Friends Electric?”
The Stranglers – “No More Heroes”
David Bowie – “Ashes to Ashes”
The Passions – “I’m In Love With A German Film Star”
Duran Duran – “Hungry Like the Wolf”
Duran Duran – “Careless Memories”
Roxy Music – “Same Old Scene”
Episode 2
Tenpole Tudor – “Swords of a Thousand Men”
Madness – “The Prince”
Imagination – “Body Talk”
The Flying Lizards – “Money”
Visage – “Fade to Grey”
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – “Souvenir”
Dexy’s Midnight Runners – “Geno”
The Pop Group – “We Are All Prostitutes”
Heaven 17 – “Fascist Groove Thang”
Jon and Vangelis – “I Hear You Now”
Dexy’s Midnight Runners – “Show Me”
Chas and Dave – “Gertcha”
