Soundtracks to Copaganda
@copshowtunes.bsky.social
Theme music from police procedurals, mystery series, and adjacent TV programs, occasionally with commentary.
Season 5 featured a revised, disco-era theme with lots of strings and a funkier backbeat. After a promising opening it too drops the tension levels and focuses on Telly's star quality instead of gritty police work.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_e6...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_e6...
Kojak: Season Five (1977) Opening Credits
YouTube video by Shout! Studios
www.youtube.com
January 21, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Season 5 featured a revised, disco-era theme with lots of strings and a funkier backbeat. After a promising opening it too drops the tension levels and focuses on Telly's star quality instead of gritty police work.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_e6...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_e6...
Abby Mann wanted the series to take seriously police corruption and disregard for the rights of the accused (the Wylie-Hoffert case that inspired him included a false confession extorted from a Black suspect); I don't know how long that spirit may have reigned in the writers' room.
January 21, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Abby Mann wanted the series to take seriously police corruption and disregard for the rights of the accused (the Wylie-Hoffert case that inspired him included a false confession extorted from a Black suspect); I don't know how long that spirit may have reigned in the writers' room.
The theme music doesn't sell the intensity, though; it has the big-city vibe you might expect from a show set in New York but none of the grime and funk that '70s NYC had to offer, and there's some tension in it but not *that* much. It's no STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO, that's for certain.
January 21, 2026 at 5:59 PM
The theme music doesn't sell the intensity, though; it has the big-city vibe you might expect from a show set in New York but none of the grime and funk that '70s NYC had to offer, and there's some tension in it but not *that* much. It's no STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO, that's for certain.
Musically, the theme is pretty straightforward action jazz - pleasant to hear, but not super interesting.
January 9, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Musically, the theme is pretty straightforward action jazz - pleasant to hear, but not super interesting.
This show also gave Avery Brooks his breakout role (as Spenser's buddy Hawk), before he went on to DEEP SPACE NINE.
January 9, 2026 at 9:13 PM
This show also gave Avery Brooks his breakout role (as Spenser's buddy Hawk), before he went on to DEEP SPACE NINE.
Robert B. Parker's novels about the literary-minded tough guy detective are set in Boston, and most of the location shooting was actually done there (instead of, say, Toronto), which pushed costs up and contributed to the series' demise.
January 9, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Robert B. Parker's novels about the literary-minded tough guy detective are set in Boston, and most of the location shooting was actually done there (instead of, say, Toronto), which pushed costs up and contributed to the series' demise.
Reposted by Soundtracks to Copaganda
Zuckerberg is Edison, Musk is DW Griffith. Thank you.
December 30, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Zuckerberg is Edison, Musk is DW Griffith. Thank you.
Which means a Canadian production company said, "Tia, we want to build a show around you. What would you like to do?" and she basically said "I wanna be Lara Croft," and they said "sounds great" and all of that is beautiful.
December 30, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Which means a Canadian production company said, "Tia, we want to build a show around you. What would you like to do?" and she basically said "I wanna be Lara Croft," and they said "sounds great" and all of that is beautiful.
One more comment about RELIC HUNTER and I'll get back to Bob Urich's career in crime drama.
According to the Wikipedia article about the show, it was designed "around Carrere, her skills and interests."
According to the Wikipedia article about the show, it was designed "around Carrere, her skills and interests."
December 30, 2025 at 4:26 PM
One more comment about RELIC HUNTER and I'll get back to Bob Urich's career in crime drama.
According to the Wikipedia article about the show, it was designed "around Carrere, her skills and interests."
According to the Wikipedia article about the show, it was designed "around Carrere, her skills and interests."
also forgot the air dates: RELIC HUNTER ran from 1999-2002 in first-run syndication and was produced in Canada.
December 30, 2025 at 2:38 AM
also forgot the air dates: RELIC HUNTER ran from 1999-2002 in first-run syndication and was produced in Canada.
man, that hooded cape is some serious nun-coding
December 29, 2025 at 5:31 PM
man, that hooded cape is some serious nun-coding
Anyway, the music. Its Indiana Jones roots are definitely showing, but the trumpet fanfares and kettledrums still get the pulse going--with an assist from the costume designers' decision to put Sydney in tank tops as frequently as possible.
December 29, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Anyway, the music. Its Indiana Jones roots are definitely showing, but the trumpet fanfares and kettledrums still get the pulse going--with an assist from the costume designers' decision to put Sydney in tank tops as frequently as possible.
This show is really pretty tangential to the account's mission, I will admit--even MACGVYER is more of a cop show than RELIC HUNTER--but I wanted to get that out of my system.
December 29, 2025 at 5:24 PM
This show is really pretty tangential to the account's mission, I will admit--even MACGVYER is more of a cop show than RELIC HUNTER--but I wanted to get that out of my system.
You don't really get a sense of it in the intro, but I have degrees from three different institutes of higher learning and I have *never* seen a professor's office one-*quarter* as large as Sydney Fox's. And she's not even the department chair!
December 29, 2025 at 5:24 PM
You don't really get a sense of it in the intro, but I have degrees from three different institutes of higher learning and I have *never* seen a professor's office one-*quarter* as large as Sydney Fox's. And she's not even the department chair!
The disco singers are accompanied by strings to heighten that disco feel.
December 27, 2025 at 9:55 PM
The disco singers are accompanied by strings to heighten that disco feel.
*that a couple of other instruments *pick up*, excuse me
December 27, 2025 at 9:54 PM
*that a couple of other instruments *pick up*, excuse me
The music leads off with a nice fat beat, which steps back a bit for a brass riff that a couple of other instruments (tuba, maybe? then a flute).
About midway through we get a crew of disco backup singers singing "Gavilan" repeatedly, which feels a little passe for 1982, but in a charming way.
About midway through we get a crew of disco backup singers singing "Gavilan" repeatedly, which feels a little passe for 1982, but in a charming way.
December 27, 2025 at 9:52 PM
The music leads off with a nice fat beat, which steps back a bit for a brass riff that a couple of other instruments (tuba, maybe? then a flute).
About midway through we get a crew of disco backup singers singing "Gavilan" repeatedly, which feels a little passe for 1982, but in a charming way.
About midway through we get a crew of disco backup singers singing "Gavilan" repeatedly, which feels a little passe for 1982, but in a charming way.
The theme music alternates between action-funk (including an Isaac Hayes-style strings spiral*) and glitzy jazz (also with strings, but here used to signal luxe).
*I'm sure there's a technical term for this, where the violins etc seem to ratchet upward before starting again at their base note
*I'm sure there's a technical term for this, where the violins etc seem to ratchet upward before starting again at their base note
December 27, 2025 at 2:54 AM
The theme music alternates between action-funk (including an Isaac Hayes-style strings spiral*) and glitzy jazz (also with strings, but here used to signal luxe).
*I'm sure there's a technical term for this, where the violins etc seem to ratchet upward before starting again at their base note
*I'm sure there's a technical term for this, where the violins etc seem to ratchet upward before starting again at their base note
Note also the strings kicking in to signal luxe as we cut to Big Shot Rich Guy in his ginormous office.
December 22, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Note also the strings kicking in to signal luxe as we cut to Big Shot Rich Guy in his ginormous office.
I like the opening of the theme, with the bass drums and the trumpet riff, but then it shifts into more generic TV drama mode and stops being interesting until they bring back the riff in the middle. Toward the end we get Big City Horns for the SF skyline shot and Burr in his private jet.
December 22, 2025 at 5:10 PM
I like the opening of the theme, with the bass drums and the trumpet riff, but then it shifts into more generic TV drama mode and stops being interesting until they bring back the riff in the middle. Toward the end we get Big City Horns for the SF skyline shot and Burr in his private jet.