From worst to best:

#6: The Fresh Prince of Obama

In a way, it’s the worst; in a way, the best. I remember making videos like this way back when and being so pumped about how good they were. It’s that energy and excitement that I know was a part of the making of this…

Reblogging this because GUESS WHAT it’s relevant to this blog right here. I thought I’d also step on Dave’s toes and comment on the theme song to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. I was listening recently to the pretty excellent podcast TV on the Internet, and they mentioned that the two most recent TV shows to have theme songs explaining the premise are The Nanny (1993, I will get to it eventually) and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. What’s especially notable about this is that the theme song is rap, which was famously the worst thing in the world according to the president. But rap is pretty perfectly suited to premise-explaining TV theme songs, as what kind of music is better at laying out a story in a straightforward manner than rap (don’t say Springsteen)? Luckily, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air had something that would make the whole of white America okay with rap: the most charismatic person ever born, Will Smith. Watch how thoroughly likable he is throughout this song, and especially the moments where he breaks the fourth wall.

These moments were described by Ricky Gervais, when discussing Laurel and Hardy, as being the primary reason for making The Office a mockumentary - you can really relate to somebody who looks at the audience for a moment and says (as Gervais puts it), “You see what I have to deal with?” It was a savvy decision to pick a super-charming man and have him win over the audience in the opening credits.

The other thing that makes this great is that I love shows and movies that have the actors singing over the credits. I’ll discuss TV examples of this later, but in movies, think the end credits of “Down with Love” or “Monsters, Inc.” Enjoy.