Tag: Doctor Who

Doctor Who theme tops the charts

To mark the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who, music royalty organisation PRS for Music has revealed a chart of the UK’s top 20 Most Played Sci-Fi TV Theme Tunes. With its distinctive electronic composition, exploring sound art, the iconic Doctor Who theme tune tops the chart.

Based on data provided by PRS for Music, the organisation which represents the rights of over 165,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers, the chart showcases the most popular sci-fi theme tunes that have been streamed, broadcast and publicly performed.

First broadcast on 23 November 1963, the Doctor Who theme has become one of the world’s most recognisable and enduring TV theme tunes.

Originally composed by Ron Grainer and arranged by Delia Derbyshire (both PRS members) at the world-famous BBC Radiophonic Workshop, the work is characterised by its eerie and otherworldly sound. Created using cutting-edge electronic music techniques, the composition was groundbreaking for its time.

The Doctor Who theme has been rearranged and reinterpreted numerous times over the years. Notable composers who have put their own spin on the theme include Dominic Glynn, Peter Howell and Keff McCulloch.

In 2005,award-winning composer Murray Gold captivated audiences with his interpretation by reimagining both the theme and TV series score. Gold became the show’s resident composer for over 12 years, and even filmed a cameo in the 2007 Christmas special, Voyage of the Damned, as a guitarist aboard the Max Capricorn Cruiseliners spaceship, the Titanic.

In 2018, Segun Akinola’s work brought a fresh and modern approach to the show’s musical landscape. Three special anniversary episodes, that are set to be broadcast from Saturday 25 November, see Gold return to score the show alongside the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

PRS for Music’s Most Played Sci-Fi TV Theme Tunes chart includes 20 of the most recognisable and spine-tingling scores on our screens today, from modern cult classics like The Last of Us to animated favourites Rick and Morty, as well as the vintage sounds of Red Dwarf and Star Trek.

PRS for Music: Most Played Sci-Fi TV Theme Tunes

1.       Doctor Who

2.       Red Dwarf

3.       Star Trek

4.       Stargate Atlantis

5.       Rick And Morty

6.       The 100

7.       Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

8.       Heroes

9.       Last Of Us

10.   Fringe

11.   Battlestar Galactica

12.   The Expanse

13.   Smallville

14.   Torchwood

15.   Better Off Ted

16.   Star Wars Rebels

17.   Manifest

18.   Person Of Interest

19.   Killjoys

20.   The Twilight Zone

NB: Chart rank based on UK streams, broadcasts and public performance data provided by PRS for Music for the period 1 January 2023 – 14 November 2023.

Revealed: The Nation’s Most Memorable Theme Tunes

  • The most memorable theme tune in the UK is Friends, followed by EastEnders and Coronation Street.
  • 75% of 16-24-year-olds believe that theme tunes used to be more recognisable.
  • 44% of people find that a good TV theme tune plays an important role in the enjoyment of the show.

From dramatic instrumentals to catchy hit songs, a good introduction sequence to a TV show can live in the hearts and minds of audiences for a long time. But which TV theme tunes do we love the most?

A recent study by Currys uncovered which TV theme tune is the most recognised, which one is most nostalgic and whether we’ve become a nation of intro skippers.

The most memorable TV soundtrack

The study surveyed 2,006 people in the UK to find out what TV theme tune springs to mind when first questioned. It turns out the hit 90s show Friends and its iconic song by The Rembrandts takes the top spot. Here are the TV shows that made the top 10:

 Rank Show   % of votes
1 Friends 23%
2 EastEnders 20%
3 Coronation Street  13%
4 Match of the Day 12%
5 Only Fools & Horses 6%
6 Doctor Who 4%
7 Neighbours 3%
8 Game of Thrones 2%
9 Star Trek 2%
10 Grandstand 2%

Which genres have the most recognisable theme tune?

When it comes to the genre that has the most recognisable theme tune, soaps take the top spot.

It could be why the list of top 10 most memorable theme tunes above has soap shows featured three times. Here are the stats on the most recognisable theme tune by genre and who is most likely to recall them:

·       40% of Brits believe that soaps have the most iconic theme tunes. This is followed by comedies (26%) and dramas (25%).

·   50% of women stated that soaps have the most recognisable theme tune.

·   Twice the number of men (31%) than women (15%) think sport-related TV shows have the most memorable theme tunes.

·   45-54-year-olds believe that the soap genre has the most recognised theme tune.

·   Comedy is the most popular genre with Gen Zs, with 31% stating that these theme tunes are the most memorable.

Do theme tunes conjure up feelings of nostalgia?

The survey found that certain TV title sequences can elicit feelings of nostalgia in viewers, transporting them to their childhood or another time in their past. Here’s what the survey unearthed about nostalgia and theme tunes:

·   75% of 16-24-year-olds believe that theme tunes used to be more recognisable.

·       Boomers completely disagree, with 65% stating that do not think theme tunes used to be any more recognisable.

·       The show that reminds people of their childhood the most is Doctor Who.

Are older theme tunes more memorable?

 It’s easier than ever to skip or fast-forward the title sequence of shows. But has this impacted the recognisability of TV theme tunes? Well, nearly half of the shows on the list of top 10 most memorable theme tunes were first broadcast in the 60s. Here’s what else the survey discovered:

·       The average number of years the top 10 most memorable TV shows and their theme tunes have been running for is 39 years, with 6 of the shows still running to this day.

·       A quarter of Brits state that the least memorable genre of theme tunes is reality TV shows.

·       In second and third place of least recognisable are the News and Politics (22%) and Sci-Fi/Horror genres (19%). 

·       55+-year-old respondents state they are least likely to recognise the theme tune from a reality TV show.

How important are theme tunes to the enjoyment of the show?

Often the title sequence and the theme tune that accompany them are designed to be a part of the episode itself. They tell the audience what to expect from the show and some even change as the story progresses or even add an extra gag for the audience to enjoy before each episode starts. Here are the people who enjoy and don’t enjoy TV theme tunes:

·       44% of people find that a good theme tune plays an important role in a TV show.

·       16% of respondents stated that a theme tune is not important in the enjoyment of a good TV show.

·       Over half (56%) of Gen Zs (16-24-year-olds) believe that a good theme tune adds to the enjoyment of a show, even though they’re also the group that’s most likely to skip it.

·       Nearly a quarter (23%) of 55+-year-olds do not believe the theme tune adds to the enjoyment of their show.

Are we a nation of intro skippers?

Thanks to handy “skip intro” features on streaming services, audiences no longer have to sit through TV theme tunes, if they don’t want to. So, who’s opting to not watch the intros?

·       92% of millennials (25-34-year-olds) say they skip the intro.

·       People over 55 years old are most likely to watch intros of TV shows, with nearly 30% of respondents in this age bracket stating they never skip them.

·       88% of Newcastle residents are intro skippers.

·       Edinburgh residents are least likely to skip the intro to a TV show (23%).