The 20 greatest TV theme songs of all time 11) M*A*S*H (“Suicide is Painless” by Johnny Mandel) (1972-1983)

The lyrics to “Suicide is Painless”, omitted from the television title sequence but so married to the melody that they hang over it like a ghost, are heart-wrenching. They draw out the tragic, underlying nature of M*A*S*H, a comedy at heart, with their absence only highlighting the repression of this sadness. It’s unique and unprecedented in the sense that, each time it plays, it forces you to reconsider what it is you are about to see.

REX/TM & copyright 20th Century Fox.