My favourite TV theme music/openings

• "The Name of the Game" 1968-1971 Dave Grusin composer
• "Search" 1972-1973 Dominic Frontierre
• "The Wild,Wild West" 1965-1969 Richard Markowitz
• "Hawaii Five-0" 1968-1980 Morton Stevens
• "The Father Brown Mysteries" 1974 ITV Jack Parnell
• "The Persuaders" 1971 ITV John Barry
• "The Avengers" 1961-1969 ITV Laurie Johnson
• "Banacek" 1972-1974 Billy Goldenberg music with George Peppard rowing up? down? the Charles River

Late night television gems

Okay, so for some reason you are awake in front of the box (the television) in the wee small hours - say between 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.
 Is there anything worth watching on free-to-air digital? This post pertains to Australian TV. I should have said that first, I suppose.
We pulled the plug on cable once our daughter outgrew Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and the Disney Channel and discovered the Internet (like her parents). Broadband is cheaper than monthly cable. No brainer.

For old farts, things aren't too bad (as long as you can navigate around the mind-numbing, yet weirdly addictive Home Shopping programs). So here are some gems I found in the local TV guide over the last two nights:

Old movies
I was waxing lyrical about The Seven Per-Cent Solution a few posts ago, suddenly the damn movie is on ABC 1 at 12:30 a.m. today!  Haven't seen the movie in 30 years! It's wonderful, by the way.
Last night you had Cool Hand Luke (Paul Newman at his peak), or ....Klute (70's cool thriller) followed by The Lavender Hill Mob (legendary Ealing comedy). At the same time on a rival channel, The Saint Takes Over. Anything with George Sanders is good value. That voice! Followed by The Saint's Vacation (sadly sans Sanders).

Music
The ever-reliable Rage - yesterday's guest presenters, Margaret and David. Go figure. Great music videos all night.

Weird stuff
Horror in the Black Museum, dodgy English exploitation movie. Lurid and atrociously acted.
The Love Boat - I can't watch this without having my mouth gaping ... how did this show stay on for so long? It is so bad, it is addictive. I love the ship's swimming pool scenes.

Nostalgia
Hart to Hart, Dangerman and last, but not least, The Avengers. I am sure many blogs have raved on about John Steed and Mrs Peel, so I won't. All this before the sun comes up.

On a stinking hot night, in an Australian summer, check out the box....

Caution ....family pet photo-bombing my blog.