History Main / ReplacedTheThemeTune

* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'': The later seasons did away with its iconic "Where Are You?" theme song in its entirety. Many fans assert that this change coincided with an overall drop in the show's quality as it preceeded the introduction of [[TheScrappy The Original Scrappy]] by one season.
** The first few episodes of the original cartoon featured an instrumental piece before the "Where Are You?" theme took over for the rest of its run.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'', The show's theme song is titled "I Wanna Be Famous". In the fifth and sixth sesaons, the theme song became abridged, due to [[ExecutiveMeddling Cartoon Network's decision to truncate the theme songs]]. Come ''The Ridonculous Race'', the seventh and final season, the opening theme is replaced with a different and more majestic theme song.

* The theme tune to ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'' was replaced with the "Engine Roll Call" after original composers Mike Donnell and Junior Campbell left the series. Interestingly however, the show has taken to inserting the original tune in cameo form as of recently.

* ''Anime/LupinIII'' shifted the opening of each of its series from time to time, and the movies change it up as well.'' Anime/LupinIIIRedJacket'' used four distinctly different versions of the famous Lupin theme throughout its three-year run.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'' made a point of deliberately doing this every season, to reflect the changing mood of the show. The second season theme was a souped-up revamp of the first season theme, the third season theme kept the same musical style but was a different and much darker theme, the fourth season theme combined elements of the season two and season three themes into a bombastic, militaristic take on the original theme, and the season five theme was something completely different again but with thematic elements of the earlier themes. The TV movies and [[Recap/BabylonFiveTheLostTales01 The Lost Tales]] likewise had their own themes that copied stylistic elements of the main ''Babylon 5'' themes but were themselves original pieces.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'' made a point of doing this every season, to reflect the changing mood of the show. The second season theme was a revamp of the first season theme, the third season theme kept the same musical style but was a different theme, the fourth season theme combined elements of the season two and season three themes, and the season five theme was something completely different again but with thematic elements of the earlier themes.

* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' changed its theme tune between seasons 2 and 3, though like [[Series/BabylonFive ''Babylon 5'']] it kept the same musical style and motifs, just switching the more mysterious first theme out for a darker, more militaristic theme to match the changing mood of the show.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'' made a point of doing this every season, to reflect the changing theme of the show.

* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' changed its theme tune between seasons 2 and 3.

* ''Series/MagnumPI'' had a different theme song for its first year, before switching to the more familar Mike Post/Pete Carpenter tune for the second season premiere. (Nowadays the Post/Carpenter theme has been [[TitleSequenceRplacement affixed to season one episodes as well]].)

* In Series/{{Philadelphia}}, {{Creator/ABC}} station WPVI-6's "Move Closer to Your World" is the station's legendary news theme; which has remained a part of ''Channel 6 Action News'' since 1972. An attempt at a grand recomposition, using the London Symphony Orchestra, in 1996 was universally panned, and after four days of viewer complaints, the old cut was reinstated, and that version with an occasional freshening has remained ever since.

* For the first three seasons, ''Series/TheDeadZone'' used the moody and evocative "New Year's Prayer" by JeffBuckley. At the top of season 4 this was replaced with "Dead Zone Epic" by Blues Saraceno, to the annoyance of many fans. The visuals, originally created for and timed to the Buckley version, remained unchanged, making the new tune feel like a poor fit--at least until you got used to it. The new tune was in place for two seasons; Season 6 switched to a TitleOnlyOpening.

* The first season TitleSequence for ''WesternAnimation/SkysurferStrikeForce'' used an InstrumentalThemeTune as musical backing for the OpeningNarration. The second season retained the visuals, but replaced the narration with an original song by Japanese funk metal band Super Junky Monkey.

* The ''Franchise/Gundam'' franchise mostly follows this to a T bar a few exceptions: all the shows from Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam to Anime/TurnAGundam had two different openings which would change around the halfway mark of the show (the only exceptions to this were the aforementioned '' Turn A Gundam'' and Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing which debut their second openings pretty late, both at Episode 41 of the respective show) and shows starting from Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED would have 4 openings that would change roughly every 13 episodes or so (the exception to this was Anime/GundamReconguistaInG which was a two-cour anime so it only had two openings).

** In 1964, when the original studio shut down and ''Creator/DePatieFrelengEnterprises'' took over production, "The Merry Go Round Broke Down" became the theme for both series, not just ''Looney Tunes''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' used [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4qLo_-OS8M a mostly electric guitar piece]] for the first two seasons. Seasons three through five switched to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tGbWyTK8T8 a new theme]] with more of a "Hawaii Five-O meets Adam West" feel.

* The first season TitleSequence for ''WesternAnimation/SkysurferStrikerforce'' used an InstrumentalThemeTune as musical backing for the OpeningNarration. The second season retained the visuals, but replaced the narration with an original song by Japanese funk metal band Super Junky Monkey.

* ''Manga/DeathNote'' had two themes. The first theme was ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2VyTSiEygI The World]]'', and the second was ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bvk3V_yPh4&feature=related What's Up, People?!]]''.

* ''Anime/LupinIII'' shifted the opening of each of its series from time to time, and the movies change it up as well. Anime/LupinIIIRedJacket used four distinctly different versions of the famous Lupin theme throughout its three-year run.

* ''Series/MagnumPI'' had a different theme song for its first year, before switching to the more familar Mike Post/Pete Carpenter tune for the second season premiere. (Nowadays the Post/Carpenter theme has been affixed to season one episodes as well.)

* Taken to extremes in the second cour of ''Anime/MawaruPenguindrum'' where a different end theme was used in almost every episode.

* ''Gatchaman'' interestingly replaced its opening theme, with the ending theme (and vice versa) around episode 20. The "new" opening is much better known than the original (which had a children's chorus in a fairly hard-boiled spies and superheroes show).

* Oddly subverted for anime based on Creator/YoshihiroTogashi's works. Both ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' and the 2011 version of ''Manga/HunterxHunter'' [=OPs=] stayed the same ("Smile Bomb" and "Departure" respectfully) with only the visuals really changing to reflect the current story arc. Played straight with the [=EDs=] which used different songs.

** When ''Anime/DigimonAdventureTri'' was dubbed into English by Toei and Eleven Arts rather than Saban, rights issues led to the lack of the original English theme song again. This time, [[Main/SuspiciouslySimilarSong a new song with a similar feel to the original]] called "Digimon are Back Again" was recorded and used.

* The ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series first used a new main theme for ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' before coming up with another new one for the games from ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'' onward, although the original theme still occasionally appears.

** The English dubs of each subsequent series (''[[Anime/YuGiOhGX GX]]'', ''[[Anime/YuGiOh5Ds 5Ds]]'', and ''[[Anime/YuGiOhZexal ZEXAL]]'') introduce one new theme song per series, but the same theme is retained throughout a series' run.

* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' went through three different theme songs. The first two themes switched back and fourth at times, but the third theme had always played after its debut.

Compare RearrangeTheSong. Related to CreditsJukebox.

** For its first two seasons, ''The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show'' used a montage of clips with narration over them, set to the 1946-1955 rendition of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down. Four episodes into its third season, the familiar "This Is It" theme returned.

* The original ''Series/{{V 1983}}'' changed its theme tune a number of times during its run.

* ''Series/{{Space 1999}}'' got a new composer as part of a general makeover when Fred Frieberger took over as producer in season two.
* ''Series/TheAvengers'' originally had a theme tune by Johnny Dankworth. It also underwent a complete makeover when production was switched from videotape to film, simultaneous with Diana Rigg's arrival, resulting in the more familiar Laurie Johnson theme.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': For much of its run, the series used "We Are the Crystal Gems" as its theme song. For the episode series ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'', the theme is replaced by "Happily Ever After" from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie''.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': For much of its run, the series used "We Are the Crystal Gems" as its theme song. For its sixth and final season, titled ''[[NewSeasonNewName Steven Universe: Future]]'', the theme is replaced by "Happily Ever After" from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie''.

* ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'': All the seasons following the first few, with a couple of exceptions, use theme songs besides the classic "Don't Think I'm Only a Goat", with said song being relegated to an Ending Theme most of the time.