by Donna Reynolds

Created on: January 08, 2009

Though while growing up I most certainly had exposure to some of the greatest shows of my mother's generation, the likes of which included Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch, the majority of my television watching experiences were shows of the mid-eighties to current. There are still times when I find myself running from the computer room to the living room, a mere 20 feet, just to catch a snappy tune that takes me back to my childhood. I did the same thing when I was younger. Some things never change.

In the eighties I was mostly watching cartoons so the majority of the themes I remember were from animated programming.

I learned to spell by reciting one such theme. C-H-I-P-M-U-N-K...we're the Chipmunks! By the time that little number had been played it was stuck in your head for hours and you found yourself walking around saying 'do do...do do do do' for no apparent reason. I looked up 80s cartoons just the other day and found that I still knew every single word to the Chipmunks theme which is amazing since it's been about twenty years since the pajama clad kid in me was jumping up and down screaming the lyrics on Saturday morning.

I always loved cats even though I later found out they were the cause of most of my allergies. I wanted so badly to own Garfield. That is another theme I, undoubtedly, still remember. From the three taps of the baton and the deep voiced introduction, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Garfield and Friends!", the rest of the lyrics were short, sweet, and catchy. Forget watching the show near lunchtime because Garfield's theme in itself had a way of making you hungry, much less the fat cat himself. With mentions of pies and spaghetti and even the big guy's favorite, lasagna, by the end you were ready for a nice big Italian lunch.

One of the themes with the fewest words and the catchiest themes was Inspector Gadget. "Do do do do..Inspector Gadget...do do do do...whoo oooh...do do do do Inspector Gadget..." Even if you were adults in the eighties you're probably finding yourself singing the rest of that tune. I've heard the tune on cellphones as ringtones for people's children. And thanks to the many wonders of Hollywood reproductions, the generation born after me was able to experience a live action version starring Matthew Broderick. Though the movie wasn't quite top notch, especially since Brain didn't speak, it did bring back one of the greatest cartoon themes of all time.

There was a family from the future whose theme song gave them their introductions

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