Once again, these are all songs that weren't written specifically for a TV show, but were picked up later - we'll save best TV themes for a later time.

California - Phantom Planet (The OC)

WRITTEN (not surprisingly) by a Californian band, this track opened Phantom Planet's under-rated album The Guest - a collection of mostly shiny, Fountains Of Wayne-esque pop songs. While the song elevated the band's status, it also became an albatross around their neck. They were already "the band with that actor from Rushmore in it", but now they were "that band that do The OC theme". It's a shame because their next album (titled Phantom Planet) was awesome and worlds away from the commercial sound of California and The Guest, instead following a down-and-dirty guitar-rock sound, possibly as a reaction to The OC thing.

The Young Ones - Cliff Richard (The Young Ones)

WHILE it was re-recorded by the cast, this track start a long-running link between squeaky clean British pop idol Sir Cliff and the raucous TV show named after his song. Not only was Cliff also referenced often in the show, but the cast of the program joined him for a hilarious charity version of his song Living Doll. It topped the UK charts and just went to show that Sir Cliff had a sense of humour after all.

We Used To Be Friends - Dandy Warhols (Veronica Mars)

A FITTING lyrical choice, given the titular character's ability to fit in with different social groups as a college student moonlighting as a private eye. A different version was used for the third and final season, but the original take is the best. It features on The Dandy's last good album Welcome To The Monkey House, where the band got a member of Duran Duran to produce them and came up with an '80s throwback masterpiece.