Big Bang Theory Creator Chuck Lorre Created A Major Part Of TMNT's Pop Culture Footprint

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These days, Chuck Lorre is best known for churning out hit sitcoms. His long resume of hits include the 1990s comedy series "Cybill" (a vehicle for Cybill Shepherd that ran four seasons) and "Dharma & Greg" (a quirky dream girl series that ran for five seasons), as well as the 2000s bachelor comedy show "Two and a Half Men" (which ran an absurdly long 12 seasons). Of course, his biggest success remains "The Big Bang Theory," which lasted 12 seasons and has birthed multiple spin-offs, among them the prequel series "Young Sheldon" (which lasted seven seasons unto itself). Even his relatively lesser-known sitcom "Mom," starring Anna Faris and Allison Janney, steamrolled through eight seasons. Whatever mysterious alchemy TV shows need to become culture-rippling phenomena, Lorre knows it.

It may be surprising to learn, then, that TV was Lorre's secondary passion. When he was only a teenager, he dropped out of high school to focus on a songwriting career. In the mid-1980s, he penned a tune called "French Kissin," which was eventually recorded by Debbie Harry for one of her solo albums. All the while, Lorre tried his hand at screenwriting and turned out a few scripts for animated shows like "Heathcliff," "Pole Position," "M.A.S.K.," "Muppet Babies," and "My Little Pony." In 1987, he was even hired to compose the theme song and music for the popular "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cartoon series. He penned the theme with Dennis Challen Brown and provided vocal interjections like "We're really hip," "Gimme a break," etc. 

The details of Lorre's songwriting are discussed at length in Andrew Farago's biographical tome, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Visual History." The book also features an interview with "TMNT" story guru David Wise, who shared everything about Lorre and his skilled songwriting capabilities.

The 1980s "TMNT" TV show theme is one of the more impressively written theme songs in TV history, as it made the absurd and multisyllabic phrase "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" seem musical, hummable, and memorable. Lorre may be well-known for his sitcoms, but for kids of a certain age, co-writing the theme to "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" is the more impressive feat. Like the greatest TV theme songs (and I'm thinking specifically of "The Ballad of Gilligan's Island" and the "Brady Bunch" theme song), the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" theme not only sings out the title multiple times, but it also explains the show's characters and premise. 

As Wise explained: 

"Remember when they sing, 'They're the world's most fearsome fighting team!'? [...] And then a voice goes, 'We're really hip!' That is Chuck Lorre. 'Get a grip!' 'He's a radical rat!' That's all him. Chuck's geek cred runs deep." 

Many might have assumed that the vocal interjections were provided by Townsend Coleman, who played Michelangelo on "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." I always assumed it was him or one of the show's other lead actors, like Rob Paulsen, Cam Clarke, or Barry Gordon. Turns out, however, it was Lorre all along. 

It seems that Lorre was also once asked to be one of the show's story writers, but he had to turn down the job, presumably to focus on writing and creating other sitcoms. Wise only got the job because Lorre passed on it and recommended his colleague. Lorre went on to write for live-action sitcoms like "Charles in Charge," "My Two Dads," and "Roseanne" before creating his very first series, "Frannie's Turn," in 1992. The rest, as they say, is history.