he vulture culture of endless TV reboots relies on the lure of familiarity, enticing viewers with the promise of something they remember fondly from the past. A big part of that nostalgia can be a memorable theme tune, which presents producers with a sonic dilemma: bring back the beloved track wholesale as a respectful hat-tip to history? Risk giving it a modern spin that may alienate hardcore fans? Or is it time to abandon the creaky old version and try something new? ITV’s recently rebooted Van Der Valk with Marc Warren went the remix route, which makes it the first of these valuable case studies. Van Der Valk If you set aside Barry Foster’s wondrous golden curls, the one thing everyone remembers about Van Der Valk is the theme tune. Eye Level was an appealing nursery-rhyme melody with an oompah strut, lavishly rendered by the Simon Park Orchestra. Originally written by Jack Trombey (a pen name for the Dutch composer and trombonist Jan Stoeckart), it started life as a piece of library music, but in 1973 was abruptly elevated to the status of platinum-certified No 1 smash thanks to Van Der Valk’s success. Wisely, it was revived intact for the 1990s continuation. But the 2020 version – with episode one now available on ITV Hub – takes a much more tentative approach, favouring a soundscape of moody strings while piping in the merest whisper of Trombey’s melody, as if a child is picking out Eye Level on piano in the next room. If this new incarnation is killed off after one season, the wishy-washy theme will be the prime suspect. Dynasty If you go back and watch any of the glitzy turbo-soaps of the 1980s – such as Dallas, Dynasty or the winetastic Falcon Crest – it feels as if their title sequences are as luxurious as the affluent families portrayed, stretching to a minute or even longer. How best to honour these lush, full orchestra mini-suites in the time-poor 2010s? A Dallas revival in 2012 attempted a subtly nipped and tucked version of the classic theme, but was cancelled after three seasons. The current Dynasty reboot takes a more aggressive approach, filleting the memorable middle eight from Bill Conti’s rousing original and remixing it into a savagely brief but club-ready banger. It’s an inspired workaround. Doctor Who When Russell T Davies rematerialised Doctor Who in 2005, it was 16 years after the last Sylvester McCoy-led season and almost a decade since Paul McGann’s ill-fated TV movie. Rebooting is built into the sci-fi show’s DNA, but there was probably some nervousness among fans that the relaunch might ditch the classic Who theme, composed by Ron Grainer and brought to otherworldly life by Delia Derbyshire and her BBC Radiophonic Workshop synth sorcery. In the end, the new composer Murray Gold stayed pretty faithful to the original, ramping up the percussion and adding a restless violin counter-melody. Like the Doctor themselves, it’s a timeless theme that keeps coming back in subtly altered forms. Battlestar Galactica With its magisterial brass fanfares, stately pace and strident melody, the original theme for Battlestar Galactica – credited to composer Stu Phillips and show creator Glen A Larson – would have been the perfect overture for an epic, galaxy-spanning space opera. Unfortunately, the short-lived 1978 series about a devastating star war between ruthless robots and space-refugee humans was laden with hammy acting and a confusing mythology. Ronald D Moore and David Eick revived the brand in 2003 for an apocalyptic miniseries and by the time it morphed into a TV drama, it had a thrilling new theme by Bear McCreary. Characterised by keening singing and Stomp-style drum freak-outs, it was a useful signpost that this gritty reboot would be a million light years from the garish old BSG. Blockbusters First broadcast in 1983, the hexagon-heavy student favourite has proved to be a surprisingly durable format, with a whooshing, futuristic theme to match. After an initial decade-long run with suave Bob Holness at the helm and an audience hand-jive on Fridays, it has been variously revived by the BBC, Challenge TV and Sky (twice). Perhaps the short-lived BBC Two version hosted by Michael Aspel in 1997 would have lingered in more people’s minds if it hadn’t swapped out the original banging theme tune for a tinny Casio parp-a-long. Much better is the current Comedy Central series hosted by Dara Ó Briain, wisely revisiting the original with some added Stranger Things synthwave vibes. You can run the whole gauntlet here. Hawaii Five-O The sun-kissed 1970s procedural Hawaii Five-O had an impressive innings first time round, racking up 279 episodes over 12 seasons. The slick but bland 2010 reboot couldn’t quite match that record – it wrapped-up a decade-long, 240-episode, run earlier this month – but can still hold its head up high. Would it be reductive to suggest the modern version would have run aground far earlier if it had messed with the rollicking original theme by Morton Stevens, a track that instantly inspires anyone in the surrounding area to mime a canoeing motion? Perhaps, but embracing those exuberant retro vibes helped give Hawaii Five-O V2.0 some much-needed personality.