I was in a bookstore in Montreal, browsing for some suggested reads for my sister, when a song started to play over the P.A. system. It was a great tune, very catchy, but my attempts to Shazam and identify it proved futile, so I flagged down one of the floor staff and asked if she recognized it. She seemed downright enthusiastic I’d inquired. “That’s the theme song to Veronica Mars!” Really? How the heck did I miss that?
Anyway, it just reinforces the importance of a great opening theme. I know, I know. The recent push has been away from actual theme songs in favour of those brief single digit note openers –
And who could forget –
As effective as they are, I still prefer the lengthier, more robust themes that ramp up the excitement and really sets the tone for a show, like –
And, of course –
We’re a long way from finalizing a theme song for my new show, but I already have one in mind. In fact, I’ve had one in mind for over two years now and it’s been my iPhone ringtone for the past three months. Of course, there’s no guarantee we’ll be able to license the song, but it’s interesting to note that, as I developed the series, I had two songs I was convinced would be PERFECT for the series – one for the opening (30 second) credit sequence, and one for the heart-stopping sequence that closes the season one finale.
Of course, much will depend on how we’re looking, budget-wise, late in the production schedule. We may get one – or both! Or we may have to settle for me humming a few bars of my own creation, Ship Happens.
But first things first. The writers’ room shifts into gear this Monday and, in preparation, I’ve gone ahead and started beating out stories. Working off my 13 episode game plan, I’ve completed beat sheets for episodes #2-7 and am presently working on episode #8. Nothing is written in stone and all is up for discussion, but at the very least these narrative blueprints will give us a terrific head start. We’ve got 12 episodes to break (the pilot having already been written) over the month of July!
I will, of course, download our prospective theme song from iTunes for inspiration.
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