History SuspiciouslySimilarSong / LiveActionTV

** The beginning part of KyoryuuSentaiZyuranger'a opening uses some motifs from TotalRecall.

*** Absolutely true — the generally shoddy mid-1970s bootleg ''[http://www.bootlegzone.com/album.php?name=fanbeat1&section=1 Indian Rope Trick]]'' even listed "Cheese and Onions" as a lost Lennon demo. To be fair, Innes' take on Lennon's vocal style is uncanny.

* The fanfare used for the 1990s-early 2000s version of the [[ParamountPictures Paramount Television]] VanityPlate is actually a Suspiciously Similar Song to the ''StarWars'' opening theme.

*** Absolutely true — the generally shoddy mid-1970s bootleg ''[[http://www.bootlegzone.com/album.php?name=fanbeat1§ion=1 Indian Rope Trick]]'' even listed "Cheese and Onions" as a lost Lennon demo. To be fair, Innes' take on Lennon's vocal style is uncanny.

* ''SesameStreet'''s parodies almost always have original melodies, as PBS shows do not have the budget to license song rights.

** In another ''SaturdayNightLive'' sketch, fake soap opera [[http://www.nbc.com/assets/video/widget/widget.html?vid=1396627 The Californians]] uses a poor man's version of America's [[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5J54RVZjYs "Ventura Highway"]] during the between-scene bumpers. For those who recognize what the music is supposed to sound like, it also serves as a nice little in-joke...Since the main theme of the sketch revolves around stereotypical surfer-accented blondes making repeated references to the Los Angeles street grid/highway system.

** In another ''SaturdayNightLive'' sketch, fake soap opera [[http://www.nbc.com/assets/video/widget/widget.html?vid=1396627 The Californians]] uses a poor man's version of America's "Ventura Highway" during the between-scene bumpers. For those who recognize what the music is supposed to sound like, it also serves as a nice little in-joke...Since the main theme of the sketch revolves around stereotypical surfer-accented blondes making repeated references to the Los Angeles street grid/highway system.

* Brazilian TV station Globo reworks songs into opening themes of some programs. The most obvious case is for ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fimv2Zlku2s Video Show]]'', which is the instrumental bridge for MichaelJackson's "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough". Their major news show, ''Jornal Nacional'' started with an already-existing intrumental, "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjqfxIkyu_I The Fuzz]]" but eventually [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtYZUqDzCwc changed to a Suspiciously Similar Song]].

* ''RedDwarf'''s original theme tune was a variant of ''Also Sprach Zarathustra''. Also, Ace Rimmer's leitmotif is a clear version of ''Take My Breath Away''. Meanwhile, the theme tune used from the third series onwards contains a riff lifted straight from David Bowie's "Life on Mars".

** He also did the theme in the theme in the style of "Tubular Bells" for the episode "Give Peas A Chance", which spoofed TheExorcist.

** They did a Suspiciously Similar Song to ''IndianaJones'' theme for "Motorcycle Flip", but Adam also sings a bar from it during the episode.

* The pilot episode of ''BullseyeUS'' used "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by The Animals as the theme. When the show made it to air, a new theme with similar instrumentation was used.

** The 1970s game show ''Blank Check'' used Quincy Jones' "Chump Change" as the theme in the pilot episode. After Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions decided to use this theme for its game show ''Now You See It'', Thicke wrote a theme with a similar melody.

** The pilot episode of ''WheelOfFortune'' used "Give It One", compose by Maynard Ferguson. When the show made it to air in 1975, the first theme that it used was "Big Wheels", a Thicke composition with similar melody.
* The short-lived 1998 revival of ''Match Game'' used a Suspiciously Similar Song to the 1970s theme.

* The opening theme song to ''{{Touch}}'' sounds quite a bit like Radiohead's "Everything In Its Right Place". This similarity is practically confirmed by the original closed captions used on the pilot episode (and still present on the Hulu stream); suffice it to say, apparently the version submitted for captioning ''did'' use the Radiohead track, before it was overdubbed for the final broadcast.

* ''ArrestedDevelopment'' has great fun [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] this trope in the episode "Making a Stand". The narrator muses, over a series of still photographs played in lieu of interesting footage, that no matter what theme music is played underneath, it still isn't very interesting. He comments that they even tried TheBeatles' "Yellow Submarine", but they couldn't afford it. Over a subsequent photo montage, an obviously Suspiciously Similar Song called "Yellow Boat" can be heard.

* Likewise the soundtrack of ''{{House}} M.D.'' in most non-U.S. countries is a Suspiciously Similar Song to the original.

* In the episode of ''[[Saved by the Bell]]'' where Bayside gets a new song, the new song is based on the theme song from ''[[Cheers]]''.

* The broadcasts of ''Newton's Apple'' used {{Kraftwerk}}'s [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIu2Fr2nIhI "Ruckzuck"]] from 1983 to 1989, and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhGRh_Yc5KU&feature=related a remixed version]] from 1990 to 1994, but due to licensing difficulties, the home videos used [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHKydGMCu3s a Suspiciously Similar Song]].

** Example: "Cereal Girl" was a pastiche of {{Madonna}}'s "Material Girl", using the same beat and chord progression with a different melody. "It's Hip to Be a Square" is of course, a near-note-for-note parody of Huey Lewis & The News' "Hip to be Square". Billy Idle - "Rebel L" is a [=JHV=] of Billy Idol - "Rebel Yell". Bruce Stringbean's "Born to Add" and "Barn in the USA" spoof BruceSpringsteen's "Born to Run" and "Born in the USA", respectively.

* A favorite running gag on ''MST3K'' was to sing along to Jimmy Harted (intentionally or otherwise) tunes with the real song's lyrics. The CrowningMomentOfFunny came during the end of the craptacular movie ''{{Werewolf}}'', when Mike and the Bots do this throughout the entire credit roll.

** They Jimmy Hart the ''IndianaJones'' theme for "Motorcycle Flip", but Adam also sings a bar from it during the episode.

** Also, the show used {{Queen}}'s "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" rather frequently. The Jimmy Hart versions on the [=DVD=]s, and in syndication, are lame to say the least.
* Likewise the soundtrack of ''{{House}} M.D.'' in most non-U.S. countries is a Jimmy Hart Version of the original.

* LewisBlack's segments on ''TheDailyShow'' were prefaced with a Jimmy Hart version of [[Music/{{ACDC}} AC/DC]]'s "Back In Black".

* [[http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Spv3WoyQFWo This video]] contains what can be described as the Jimmy Hart Version of the ''Series/DoctorWho'' theme tune.
** A track from early in the first series of ''Series/DoctorWho'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2_1_PD9sjw "Westminster Bridge"]] is an admitted Jimmy Hart of {{Pixies}}' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0R9kFljjv0 "Cecilia Ann."]]

** In turn, it was Jimmy Harted into the "chase theme" in ''InspectorGadget''.

* The FLN showings of ''IronChef'' have had all the music of the Food Network version (originally used in the movie ''Backdraft'' of all things), replaced with royalty-free-to-Universal Jimmy Hart versions. The effect is disconcerting as the opening ''really'' seems less epic.

* AlanThicke has written Jimmy Hart versions of themes for three different game shows:

** After ''TheJokersWild'' stopped using Jean-Jacques Perry and Gershon Kingsley's "The Savers" as its theme, they briefly switched to a Jimmy Hart version of the theme, written by Thicke.

* The short-lived 1998 revival of ''Match Game'' used a Jimmy Hart version of the 1970s theme.
* When the ''{{Pyramid}}'' game show franchise was brought back in 1982 as ''The New $25,000 Pyramid'', it used a theme song that was a Jimmy Hart version of "Tuning Up", the theme that had been used on all 1970s incarnations of the Pyramids. This is actually a subversion, as "Tuning Up" was a piece of stock music that Bob Cobert arranged, and the ''$25,000'' theme was his own composition.
* Brazilian TV station Globo reworks songs into opening themes of some programs. The most obvious case is for ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fimv2Zlku2s Video Show]]'', which is the instrumental bridge for MichaelJackson's "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough". Their major news show, ''Jornal Nacional'' started with an already-existing intrumental, "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjqfxIkyu_I The Fuzz]]" but eventually [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtYZUqDzCwc changed to a Jimmy Hart Version]].

* For the PowerRangers [[PowerRangersOperationOverdrive 15th anniversary teamup]] There was a Jimmy Hart version of the MMPR theme tune for Adam's scenes, as copyright issues prevented Disney from accessing the Saban song library. As the other four retro rangers in the teamup were from the Disney seasons, the actual themes were used for them.

* The ''{{Psych}}'' episode "Extradition: British Columbia" uses Jimmy Hart Versions of the anthem "O Canada", including a rock version and a guitar version.

** He also Jimmy Harts the ''JamesBond'' theme for [[DeadpanSnarker W's]] appearances (Herself a parody of Bond's Q).

* One ''Cake Boss'' trailer used a Jimmy Hart version of Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger".

* ''Gerbert'' had a scene in which the title character gets upset over losing a spelling bee. The very [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TninfNNBws dramatic music]] playing during this scene sounds like a Jimmy Hart version of the ''{{Twin Peaks}}'' theme.
* The game "Safecrackers" on ''{{The Price is Right}}'' originally used the ''{{Pink Panther}}'' theme when introduced, but two different songs replaced it, the latter being a Jimmy Hart version of said song.
* A episode of The UFO Files has a just-off Jimmy Hart version of The X-Files theme.
* Jimmy Hart Versions of the ''Film/{{Superman}}'' movie theme by JohnWilliams show up in the 1988 ''{{Superboy}}'' TV series and ''LoisAndClark''. ''{{Smallville}}'', however, averts this.

* In [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUbGcRJUDu0 this Jimmy Kimmel Live segment]], Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz sings a Jimmy Hart version of "Indeed, I am very glad that I finally am returning home", aka the Trololo song.
* The theme song for [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJgHoSaD3ck&feature=channel this Singaporean drama series]] (starts at about 9:18) is the Jimmy Hart ''Chinese'' version of "I'm Yours" by JasonMraz.
* When the 2000s version of ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' aired a segment on a man spinning 25 basketballs at once, they [[PersonAsVerb JHVed]] the Harlem Globetrotters' whistling theme song ([[StandardSnippet "Sweet Georgia Brown"]]) with footage of the team.

* There's a Hong Kong ''period'' drama that utilises a piece of background music that's really a Jimmy Hart instrumental of "I Dreamed a Dream", no doubt banking on Susan Boyle's popularity.

* ''BetterOffTed'' episode "Secret and Lives" has a Jimmy Hart version of "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" when the magic starts.
* CartoonNetwork original movie ''Scooby-Doo: The Mystery Begins'' has a scene featuring a JHV of [[KillBill "Battle Without Honour Or Humanity"]].

* ''The Edison Twins''' animated educational segments used a quite obvious JHV of the ''LaurelAndHardy'' theme music.
* In ''{{Torchwood}}'', Captain John Hart, appropriately enough, gets the Jimmy Hart Version of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" by TheBeatles as his theme music.
* TLC's ''WhatNotToWear'' occasionally uses a Jimmy Hart Version of DuranDuran's "Rio" for the subject's post-makeover interview.
* The broadcasts of ''Newton's Apple'' used {{Kraftwerk}}'s [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIu2Fr2nIhI "Ruckzuck"]] from 1983 to 1989, and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhGRh_Yc5KU&feature=related a remixed version]] from 1990 to 1994, but due to licensing difficulties, the home videos used [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHKydGMCu3s a Jimmy Hart version]] of it.

* In a segment on ''Series/{{Conan}}'' members of the audience were to guess what songs the band played. The only problem was that, according to Conan, they couldn't afford to play any actual pop songs, and had to do Jimmy Hart Versions instead.

* ArrestedDevelopment has great fun [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] this trope in the episode "Making a Stand". The narrator muses, over a series of still photographs played in lieu of interesting footage, that no matter what theme music is played underneath, it still isn't very interesting. He comments that they even tried TheBeatles' "Yellow Submarine", but they couldn't afford it. Over a subsequent photo montage, an obviously Jimmy Harted song called "Yellow Boat" can be heard.

* Every single ''MadTV'' song parody, ever. Likewise, any time the show parodied a movie or a TV show, the background music was a Jimmy Hart version of the music most associated with the parody source.

* The South Korean drama "Myeongweol, the Spy" has Jimmy Hart Versions of the James Bond theme and the Mission Impossible theme running in the background during scenes.
* In the last episode of ''Series/JustCause'', when Patrick runs in slow-motion down the street to deliver a document on time, the Jimmy Hart version of the theme from ''ChariotsOfFire'' plays.
* The fanfare used for the 1990s-early 2000s version of the [[ParamountPictures Paramount Television]] VanityPlate is actually a JHV of the ''StarWars'' opening theme.

* Whitest Kids U Know- ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QW7gQnWYxpw Let's Wake Up The Neighbors]]'' is a JHV of Daddy Yankee's ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGKrc3A6HHM Gasolina]]'', and rather dangerously close to the original.

* ''BillNyeTheScienceGuy'' featured parodies of pop songs with scientific lyrics for its music videos, in addition to Jimmy Hart versions of several tunes, eg La Bamba, the 007 theme, Wipe Out (the surfing song)...