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Has anyone else noticed how nothing kid related is as good now as it was when you were young? Sweets tasted better, games lasted longer, the sky was bluer, the grass was greener and TV programmes had really, really good theme tunes.
OK, most of those are a result of wishful nostalgia, but the last is definitely true. TV shows in the 80s and 90s came with epic theme music, music you wanted to listen to without the shows, music that made you almost unbearably excited for the half an hour that was to come.
After much debate, Gigwise has managed to come up with ten of the best children's TV themes. It's by no means a definitive list, but we think it's pretty good, and it's likely to remind you of some of the greatness you've forgotten.
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
OK, so the puppet fad that gave us Thunderbirds and Stingray was creepy. There's something not alright about a hero with the same characteristics as a ventriloquist's dummy. But that's only with the benefit of hindsight, at the time we were all for it as children able to suspend belief, and Captain Scarlet - a futuristic secret agent who was literally industructible - was the pick of the punch. Not only could he not die, not only was he fighting to save the earth from a martian invasion, but he also had the best theme tune. "They can crash him/His body will burn/They can smash him/But they know he'll return." Damn right.
Pokemon
Possibly the biggest, most dominating childrens' franchise ever, Pokemon is still going strong (turns out 150 was a hasty underestimation of how many there are). Most of us who were there when the craze kicked off don't recognise the TV show (is there still one?) or games anymore, but we're consoled by the fact that the theme tune to the original cartoon will live on forever. An epic tale of friendship, overcoming hardship and symbiotic learning, you can play the original Pokemon theme tune in any university halls now and be guaranteed a sing/dance along.
The Real Adventures Of Jonny Quest
When rewatching the Johnny Quest intro sequence, it's important to remember where we were technologically at the time. We're not talking about the original Hanna-Barbera cartoon, we're talking about the 90s Real Adventures Of Jonny Quest - the one with those green lines in the intro. It was the 90s, computers weren't yet a household standard and for most of us the idea of virtual reality involved some sort of goggles-gloves affair that would transport you at a digital workld and could wreck your brain if removed too quickly. As a child in the 90s, The Real Adventures Of Jonny Quest intro sequence was about as excitingly futuristic as it got.
Sharky & George
Whoever had the idea to set noirish detective story under the sea with a shark-fish buddy cop duo of main characters was a genius. Residing in Seacago (genius) the pair battled all sorts of underwater threats including a mad scientist octopus and a suspiciously German looking lobster (Colonel Klaw). But far and away the best thing about the show was its uber-cool theme tune, full of West Side Story style clicking and the infamous line "Sharky And George, crimebusters of the sea/Sharky and George, solve any mystery."
X-Men
Another huge franchise for children of the 90s, before X-Men were the stylish, made-for-an-adult-audience subjects of a movie series they are today, they were yellow and blue spandex wearing cartoon characters. Doing away with any serious undertones that the Marvel comics might've included, the cartoon was an out-and-out action packed half hour, full of explosions, giant robots and squiggly lines that represented super-powers. As such they needed a theme tune to match, and boy did they get it. Frantically racing strings seemed the perfect match for a epilepsy-inducing intro sequence.
Visionaries
"It is a time when Magic is more powerful than Science, and only those who control the magic, control destiny. They are the Visionaries." Whoa. The theme tune to Visionaries: Knight Of The Magical Light pretty much battered viewers into impressed excitement with the sheer force of harmonic voices. For anyone watching Visionaries for the first time, the theme tune made it clear they were in for something a bit special.
Animorphs
You know the Animorphs theme tune was good because it has its own name. It's not just called 'Animorphs Theme Song', it's called 'It's All In Your Hands'. At filled you with genuine admiration for these brave teenagers thrust into an adventure they never expected, and adventure caused by worms in their ears that turned them into animals. "Hold on/Hold back the darkness/Gotta take a stand/It's all in your hands." Possibly a little heavy for the show's young audience, but guaranteed to get them excited.
Power Rangers
The Power Rangers theme tune would be at home on any number of 80s/90s metal band anthologies. Like Pokemon, Power Rangers has refused to die and has been through multiple reincarnations since those first five teenager got together to battle evil dressed in colourful outfits. Perhaps you had to be there to truly understand how awesome the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers really were, but the theme tune - featuring the line 'No one can take them down' (and you believe it) - is a good hint.
Thundercats
Quite possibly the greatest cartoon ever made, of course Thundercats had a brilliant theme tune to go with it. Perhaps not as intricate as some of the others on this list (large parts of it consist of "thunder, thunder, thundercats" being repeated) the artful simplicity of the Thundercats theme only served to enhance the epicness of the idea of cats with swords.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Not hero turtles, as the name was changed to for British audiences, but NINJA turtles. The idea of mutant turtles learning martial arts and living in the sewers is almost on a par with cats with swords. Many a child woke excitedly to the sound of the TMNT theme tune on a Saturday morning. Apparently the name was changed for British audiences because ninjas were too violent for UK kids, who were too busy watching an indestructible puppet fight martians to notice.
