A while back I put up a three parter about my favourite opening sequences (the first part of which can be found here and it will link to parts two and three). Today - inspired by a day spend playing TV Themes on guitar for no reason other than it was raining I'm going to write about my favourite TV Show themes, while there might be some crossover between the two lists it's more about the music rather than the entire combined credits this time.

They're in alphabetical order by show names rather than order of preference:


Oh come on, seriously - are you even surprised? It's fun, it's iconic, and it even gets people going nuts when it's played in a club. And while you can't dance to the original version you certainly can dance to the Guy Pratt remix as featured on Spaced - there's a full length version of it here, annoyingly Channel 4 haven't released the excellent video of Mike dancing - which is what I originally wanted to put up here. Gits.


Surprise! At least I hope this inclusion is a little bit of a surprise - I love the closing theme to Blackadder II, the entire series has great music but it's the closing ditty for each episode in the second series which seals the deal.


The full version of the song from the most excellent (and difficult to find) Crystal Method is here it's a kind of crappy video but the music quality is good.


It's a great little tune which almost sounds purpose made for the series with it's funky spy like guitar riff but in truth it's a boiled down version of Cake's Short Skirt/Long Jacket. This is the theme which inspired the list and it's an excellent choice for the show, fitting pretty much perfectly into place.

The full music video can be seen here. I think I actually prefer the stripped down Chuck Theme.


Another one which I'm sure won't the least bit surprising to see on here. It was pretty much the TV show theme for a while. But I don't think The Rembrants produced a single other song of consequence apart from this one, pretty much the definition of a one hit wonder.


Filled with energy and punch the theme seems to echo the life and experiences of Tommy Gavin, it's one I find myself huming for a while during and after watching an episode of the show.

You can catch a live rendition on Letterman here.


Using the banjo to great effect the full song is a melancholy tribute to the difficulties of life, the shortened version works well as the opener to Scrubs and served it well for eight seasons. It's the extended version used in the video here - they decided to scale back to the short orignal version after a few episodes. Keep it punchy, more time for gags that way.


The shortened version of this song is so well edited that it almost feels like a complete entity by itself, I know I often find myself surprised with the length of the original version when playing it on RockBand or listening to it on CD.


Say what you like about That 70s Show, the opening theme is pretty awesome.

There's a lowish quality version of the full song/70s show video here.


There are five renditions of the song "Way Down in the Hole" used in The Wire, one for each season. But it is the version from the fifth season performed by Steve Earle (who appears as Waylon in the series) which does it for me. Here's the man performing it live.

Where's Wallace? Where's Wallace? (There he is at 0:55 in the video!)

Honorable mentions go to the themes from Monty Python's Flying Circus, Boston Legal, House (Teardrop - Massive Attack), Top Gear (Jessica - The Allman Brothers) and The 4400 (Amanda Abizaid - A Place in Time) .

Might I just write before I go, these posts might look rather 'filler' but the honest truth is they take longer than written ones. Sigh.
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I'm at home today thanks to mild laryngitis, I might be able to put up the latest Damages episode later, it depends because there is work going on in the hallway outside my flat and it's a little too disruptive for watching TV. But what I can do is write about something I watched earlier this month, and that is the DVD set containing the second season of Rescue Me.

For the first season look here.


Starring:
Denis Leary as Tommy Gavin
Mike Lombardi as Mike Silletti
Steven Pasquale as Sean Garrity
Andrea Roth as Janet Gavin
Daniel Sunjata as Franco Rivera
John Scurti as Kenny Shea
Callie Thorne as Shelia Keefe
Jack McGee as Jerry Riley
Diane Farr as Laura Miles
and James McCaffrey as Jimmy Keefe


The second season of Rescue Me continues the story of Tommy Gavin; now banished to Staten Island and the assorted members of Engine 62, who have now adjusted to the presence of Laura as a member of the team and welcomed Tommy's replacement - Sully - with open arms. Tommy is desperate to return to Engine 62 and also to locate his now missing family, taken by his wife Janet at the end of the last season.

The second season is filled with hard times for the members of Engine 62, over the course of the season some of the members get conned, stalk their ex-girlfriend, lose loved ones, date people, break up and much, much more. This season remains true to the style of the first season, mixing drama and hard times with comedic moments expertly.

If I did have a complaint about the show it's that the plotting is a little obvious, you'll quite often correctly predict what's going to happen in advance because the show tends to be a little transparent and very keen on karmic justice. Even when you do accurately predict what's going to happen it doesn't diminish the enjoyment, you'll continue to watch rooted as the train wreck unfolds.

I'm trying to avoid talking about specific spoilers here, but I can say that the second season contains some huge moments for the characters in the show, moments which will excite or sadden you with equal measure. The second season takes the foundation the first season laid out and builds on it beautifully. There's a reason FX have renewed this show for a sixth season before the fifth one has even aired, and that reason is this show is brilliant.


The Packaging:
As I mentioned previously this set is produced in the same packaging style as The Shield, which means each season looks very similar when you have them on the shelf. There's no Fremantle Homicide: Life on the Street shenanigans here, the sets look good on the shelf next to each other and the look good when you take each one out.

The cover art is very stylish and evocative while the back manages to be both informative and attractive to look at. Just about the only complaint I have about this set is the positioning of the Rescue Me logo on the spine of the set. Oddly it's not in the same location as the first season, it's higher placed, which means they look a little off when you have them on the shelf next to each other. But this is a problem which occurs in most DVD sets, you'd think they'd have a quality control man to avoid something like this.

The Extras:
There is a pretty average smattering of extras on the discs, the deleted scenes are good and the featurettes are excellent:

-- Deleted Scenes
-- Season Three Trailer
-- Audio Commentary for the First and Last episodes
-- Featurettes
-- Blooper Reel

The Details:
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Wide screen
Languages: English, Spanish, French
Region: 2
Runtime: 9 Hours 11 mins
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English - HOH, Arabic, Dutch, English, French, Hindi, Portuguese, Spanish

The Price:
Just like the first season of Rescue Me, it's Sendit who have the best price right now. Offering the set for £12.89, which is 2.3 ppm. A great score in any book.


If you've watched and enjoyed the first season of Rescue Me then this is an absolute no-brainer, the second season improves on the first one in almost every aspect. There is one issue with watching Rescue Me here in the UK, only the first two seasons have been released so far.
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Starring:
Denis Leary as Tommy Gavin
Mike Lombardi as Mike Silletti
Steven Pasquale as Sean Garrity
Andrea Roth as Janet Gavin
Daniel Sunjata as Franco Rivera
John Scurti as Kenny Shea
Callie Thorne as Shelia Keefe
Jack McGee as Jerry Riley
and James McCaffrey as Jimmy Keefe


Written by Denis Leary and Peter Tolan, Rescue Me has been a staple flagship show on FX since 2004. It stars Denis as troubled firefighter Tommy Gavin, a man quite literally haunted by the events of 9/11. Since his cousin Jimmy was killed during events on that day Tommy has suffered with visits from him and other deceased people. Tommy is an exceptionally troubled man; he's going through a divorce, suffering from alcoholism, dealing with an exceptionally dysfunctional family and the rigours of life as a fireman in New York.

With a framework like this you'd be forgiven for thinking that Rescue Me is a dark show filled with bleak despair, sadness and haunted by the ghosts of the dead. Fortunately for us Rescue Me is far removed from that, Denis mixes his comedy brilliance (see No Cure for Cancer for an example) with solid drama to result in a show which mixes up the 'supernatural', the action, danger, drama and comedy with effortless ease.

When I first read that Tommy was haunted by ghosts I was worried that it would detract from the show and make it feel unnatural; but Rescue Me takes a page out of Six Feet Under's book, not really making it clear if Tommy is being visited by ghosts or hallucinating them out of his own guilt and as such it avoids going to exceptionally weird places. Also bringing a great deal more depth to the show are the other members of 62 Truck, each of them dealing with their problems in their own (often hilarious) manner.

Through the course of the first season the men of 62 Truck have to come to terms with gay firemen, unexpected family, a female firefighter and in a particularly brilliant episode they compare their "little firemen" and wager on the outcome. Every episode is well crafted and holds on it's own while also building the ongoing story lines. Also the action sequences are just top notch and there will be at least one firefighting sequence that will have you holding onto the arm of your chair for dear life.



The Packaging:
The packaging comes from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. This is a group who've figured out the standardised design they're going to use and stick with it (with one annoying exception) as such this means each and every season of Rescue Me is identical in style not only in region but also when comparing DVD sets from different regions. The design is so distinctive and standardised that you can even place Rescue Me next to The Shield and they match up well.

Outside there is a clear and well designed dust sleeve which has a stylish and distinctive front cover and a back cover which clearly presents everything you need to know. The interior is the same two page book that is used in The Shield's packaging, it holds all four DVDs cleanly and is easy to use.

The Extras:
There are a selection of extras spread across the four discs.

-- Commentary for the first and last episode of the season with Denis Leary and Peter Tolan
-- Blooper Reel
-- Four Behind the Scenes Featurettes
-- Deleted Scenes

It's not a massive amount, a few cast commentaries would have been nice. The episode 'Inches' would have made a great episode for cast commentary. But there is at least a few things to keep you entertained if you enjoy extras.

The Details:
Aspect Ratio: 1.78.1 Wide screen
Number of Discs: 4
Rating: 15
Region: 2 (But region 1 is identical to region 2 as far as I can tell)
Runtime: 9 hours 13 mins
Soundtrack: English Surround
Subtitles: English - HOH, Hindi

The Price:
Sendit have the first season available for the rather ridiculous price of £12.89, this works out at 2.3ppm.


The first season of Rescue Me is a superb piece of modern drama mixed with a healthy dose of black comedy and a smidgen of sex appeal (there's plenty for both the men and the ladies to ogle). As such I have no hesitation when it comes to recommending it highly.
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The previous post in Filling the void dealt with the two shows I felt had the most depth and realism to genuinely fill the gap left by the passing of "the two best shows to ever air on television ever".

Today I'm going to be offering a slightly lighter pair. One of which is well established, but I don't hear too much about these days and the other I've honestly had a sort of on again off again relationship with - but I'm definately 'on' with it these days.

Rescue Me:
(Currently 4 seasons have aired, the fifth is due in March 2009 and will be 22 Episodes long)

Rescue Me (Which I keep typoing as Rescume) first aired on FX in 2004, it's been on my radar for quite a while - it stars Denis Leary as Tommy Gavin a New York firefighter still haunted with the repercussions of 9/11 where he lost his best friend and cousin Jimmy Keefe. Tommy is a somewhat haunted character, both figuratively and literally. In a Six Feet Under style twist he often has conversations with the now deceased Jimmy and sometimes even the phantoms of other desceased people.

It's hard to truely suggest that Rescue Me will give you the same level of satisfaction as watching The Shield and The Wire does, but I can honestly say that it's about as entertaining as Weeds, Burn Notice and Six Feet Under, it seems to operate in around that level of depth. Semi-realistic characters, slightly unrealistic situations and a large dollop of somewhat black humour. Kind of semi-light entertainment with an edge.

Now I've only seen the first season so far, but I very much enjoyed watching it and I fully intend to pick up the other three seasons on DVD with the plan of being up to speed by the time the fifth season airs. It's pretty enjoyable overall and will pass the time decently enough while you're waiting for the next dickensian masterpiece to arrive on our small screens.

Plus it has Callie Thorne in it!

Life:
(Second season currently halfway through)

Now Life is something I really have had a somewhat tumulous relationship with, I loved the first season and was very disappointed that the writer's strike cut it short. But the last few episodes of that season were just so amazing I couldn't wait for it to come back.

Then season two arrived and the show was all over the place, Damien Lewis was just as fantastic as always - but one man does not make a show alone. The plots were exceptionally stand alone and apart from the occasionally brilliant macabre image or sharp joke many of them fell flat. A couple of the episodes were so annoying that I just couldn't stand to watch them (especially the one with the rich kid and the motorbike, I hated that one). So I shelved the show and decided to not try watching it until both Dexter and The Shield had finished.

After putting a little distance between myself and the start of the season I then sat down to marathon watch the back six or seven episodes that ran up to the Christmas break. I don't know if the time away helped, but the show had certainly returned to form. The characters were clicking better the plots were interesting and there was a large amount of the very interesting conspiracy moments. The show just began to work and Damien wasn't the only horse carrying the cart anymore.

By the time the mid season mini-finale aired the show had returned to the same level of quality it held this time last year. Life has managed to be fast, fun, clever and witty before now but once Trapdoor arrived everything hit another level beyond anything the show had previously demonstrated. I'm really looking forward to Life returning and I've already forgiven it for it's rocky start this season.

You can also read my Why You Should Watch... feature on the show for an earlier take on things and some additional information about the cast and so forth.

More potentially filling shows soon!
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