Will Smith raps TV theme song on British TV show - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

(RNN) - Now the world don't move to the beat of just one drum, so you have to take the good and take the bad – take them both and there you have television show theme songs that everyone knows and loves.

TV theme songs have been stuck in our collective heads for a million years, and I'll bet they'll be stuck in our heads for a million more.

Will Smith – one of the biggest movie stars (and rap stars) in the world, unabashedly and joyfully rapped along with the audience of a British talk show the entire theme song to his '90s hit sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

It's not clear if the audience or Smith enjoyed the moment more, and the show's host, Graham Norton, was surprised to see that Smith still knew every word.

Well, he did get his start as a rap artist – won some Grammys for it, so he's not going to forget his bread and butter. But Smith thinks it's deeper than that.

"There's something about TV that's different than movies or music," Smith said. "There's something about television – you're in your underwear at the house, you don't get dressed up to go, and people come into your house. Television really attaches you to people that is extremely powerful and humbling."

Before people watched TV shows on their DVRs or through online streaming, audiences had to be sitting in front of their TV set at the appointed hour, week after week, to see their favorite shows. It was our weekly dinner appointment with our ‘Friends,' who were there for you when the rain starts to pour.

We claim these songs – they have even become part of our cultural short hand. How many of you have sung the X-Files theme song with something mysterious happened, or the Mission Impossible theme song when trying to be sneaky?

Yes, Mission Impossible was a show before it was a movie franchise, just like Charlie's Angels, Starsky & Hutch, Scooby-Doo ... see? Even Hollywood execs want to feel closer to their favorite TV shows by making horrible movie remakes. (We're sure that's the reason.)

When an insurance company used the ‘Cheers' theme song in their commercials, people were mad, as if they expected to be comforted by Woody's adorable cluelessness and instead were assaulted by the possibility of lower insurance rates. Not since Nike used a Beatles song in their TV spots were people that outraged.

As television has evolved, theme songs that were written specifically for the show (and informed us about the plot) are now sometimes replaced by actual pre-existing pop songs. There's a whole new generation who knows about The Who thanks to the various CSI shows, and are a little surprised when they pop up in 4-minute versions on the radio.

But because of Netflix, Hulu, DVD rentals, reruns Nick at Nite and TVLand, even the younger generation knows theme songs to shows that were popular when their parents – or even grandparents - were teenagers.

These ditties unite us, cheer us up and break the ice - even in other countries. Smith himself said Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is the one thing he consistently is recognized for no matter what country he's visiting.

TV theme songs, thank you for being a friend.

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