It is not like The Mandalorian is doing bad over on Disney+ – although as we have witnessed for ourselves – there are fans who feel that the intro could be spruced up a little. That altering has so far been in the form of applying a healthy dose of ’80s sitcom music and altering the clips from the show to look like they were recorded on VHS. But now we have a fanmade intro for The Mandalorian that takes scenes from episode 5 and combines it with the classic John Parker theme for the popular CHiPs television series of the late ’70s and early ’80s. It appears we have Travis William Mosler to thank for this delightful mash-up of pop culture properties – actually the most curious thing is how well the two work together. Of course if you’ve not had the pleasure of seeing the latest episode of The Mandalorian yet you might hold off watching this video before you watch it yourself.
I am not sure what Larry Wilcox and Erik Estrada, the stars of the CHiPs television series might think of this particular mashup – but I personally hope that like us they had a hearty chuckle at Mosler’s video. Considering the actors appeared as themselves… sort of… in 1993’s National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1, I bet they are cool with the CHiPs theme being applied to The Mandalorian. Perhaps in the near future, Mosler might craft another video – using footage that has yet to be released?
By the way, John Parker had a hand in the music for quite a few classic television series – just a few include Gunsmoke, Trapper John M.D., and Dallas. I did not know this until I began to write this article but apparently there is a difference between the first season intro and that used beginning in the second season and lasting until the end of the series in it’s sixth season – that is apparently there are more horns in the first season intro. In addition I was unaware that John Parker released a single in Japan entitled “I Love You CHiPs” – that took his iconic theme and altered it for a disco audience!
I am sure that we have not seen the last fanmade mashup for The Mandalorian – I’ll be sure to share any that I think might strike your fancy.
Pop Culture Retrorama 