Hi, all! To me, these are the eight best TV theme songs of the 80s for action-oriented shows. To be considered as the best, the music must set the viewer's anticipation of both the pace and overall feel of the show, and I think these songs accomplished both better than all the others. Some of these songs spanned decades, going from the 70s to the 80s. However, what matters is that each song was in use between 1980 and 1989.

And yes, math lovers, I am aware that decades begin with the number 1 of a series. That means 1981, for example, was actually the first year of the 1980s, but I'm going with the understanding most have regarding the counting of decades, centuries, and millennia starting with the year ending in 0.

WARNING! There are no slow, sedate tunes on the list!

Knight Rider Theme
This remains one of the most identifiable themes of all time. It's often used in car-related commercials and other content. It's a theme with popularity that crosses generations, and deservedly so.

Magnum P.I. (Second Theme)
The original theme was utter trash that failed on all levels. Conversely, this one became a classic. From the opening note, it successfully conveyed that the next 60 minutes was going to contain action, adventure, and truly dramatic moments in an uncommon setting.

Miami Vice Theme
This song just screamed, "1980s ELECTRONICA!" for all to hear while informing the viewer that an hour of action, intrigue, and unprecedented visuals was underway. It was a stylish theme for a stylish show.

Airwolf Theme
This song thoroughly conveyed that an hour of pure action (complete with many, MANY explosions) was underway, but its softer sections perfectly relay the struggle of its protagonist to retrieve his brother, presumed lost during the Vietnam War. The theme was truly epic, but it's often discounted because Airwolf is often judged by its fourth and final season alone. The show actually had 3 well-produced seasons on network TV before the cancellation axe fell. A basic cable channel picked up the show for a fourth season, but the budget was cut, the original stars were removed, and no money was spent on new effects. It was a disaster that sent Airwolf, the fighting helicopter that roared, off the air without so much as a whimper.

Simon & Simon (Second Theme)
This detective series was set in the same fictional reality as Magnum P.I., Diagnosis: Murder and Murder, She Wrote. Yes, Jessica Fletcher met Thomas Magnum and Dr. Mark Sloan, and the Simon brothers also met Thomas Magnum. The second theme is a country song at heart, but with just enough otherness to reflect the city boy/country boy dynamic of its lead characters. As for the original theme, it sounds like something a mariachi band would play on a bad day. The less said about it, the better.

Police Squad! Theme
A high-energy yet anachronistic theme literally set the tone for this parody of old-school police procedural dramas like Dragnet and Naked City. Although the series was canceled much too soon, it led directly to the highly successful (and highly irreverent) Naked Gun film series.

The Dukes of Hazzard Theme
Moonshine? Check. Good ol' boys? Check. NASCAR as a motivation? Check. Rowdy local bar? Check. Confederate battle flag? Uh...check. A car named after a strategic genius with supremacist beliefs? [CENSORED] that guy! I mean, check. Although the show explained away the latter two issues as the Duke boys expressing their Southern pride during an episode in which they saved a Black man, later uses of the car removed the flag from the roof but kept the name of the car. At the time, General Robert E. Lee was still considered more a leader for the cause of Southern independence than anything else, but that belief was proven false years later. Despite it all, the show was basically a weekly demolition derby with a Dixie flair and an orange car that frequently went airborne thanks to some very obvious ramps. The song, performed beautifully by the late Waylon Jennings, was the perfect intro for it.

CHiPs Theme
This show began in the disco era with a much softer and slower theme despite being heavily wrapped in fast-paced, era-specific trappings. The song that replaced it was a hard thumping, fast-paced composition that also began in the disco era, but it continued well into the post-disco years. A simple tale of two California highway patrolmen and their grumpy Sergeant, CHiPs was largely mindless fun punctuated by Erik Estrada's constant grinning and overacting. Accordingly, the second theme was fun, breezy, and utterly California-esque for the time.

-TR