By TeeJay Small
| Published
I recently binge-watched Apple TV’s Shrinking, partially because I was excited to see Harrison Ford appear in something he actually seems to enjoy. His character, Dr. Paul Rhoades, is one of the series’ largest draws, both from a comedic and dramatic perspective. One of the things that shocked me while watching the show, however, was the frequent use of callbacks and references to the Indiana Jones franchise. I figured I might see one or two tenuous connections thrown in by the writers, but at one point Ford enters a room dancing and humming the unmistakable Indie theme music.
Ford Has His Own Unofficial Theme Music
According to a recent write-up in Variety, this wasn’t part of the initial plan for Shrinking. In fact, it seems like Harrison Ford frequently slips into Indiana Jones while on set, without even realizing it. During a recent Apple FYC Event, Ford appeared with his co-stars, alongside series creator Bill Lawrence to answer some fan questions and give a little peak behind the scenes. While doing so, Ford revealed “I actually didn’t know that the melody that I was mouthing was from Indiana Jones … I just thought it was some familiar thing that everybody knew!”
In a sense, he’s absolutely correct. Everybody and their grandmother knows the iconic tune, formally titled “The Raiders March,” whether they’ve watched the action-adventure movies or not. The music has been used in numerous advertisements, video games, and parodies, stretching across every platform in the pop culture zeitgeist. You’re probably hearing it play in your head right now.
For Harrison Ford, it sounds like the music has transcended his experience with the franchise, and taken on a life of its own as his personal theme music. Elsewhere on the panel, he told a story of the song playing in an operating room as he prepared to receive a routine colonoscopy. After this revelation, the rest of the panel chimed in with a few jokes. Jason Segel questioned “You thought you just made it up?” While Bill Lawrence suggested “That’s the tune that Harrison hums whenever he walks in any room.”
Not The Only Indy Reference In Shrinking
The choice to hum the tune was squarely made by Harrison Ford on the day of the shoot, though there were some other intentional Indie references made by the writers and production team. A Raiders of the Lost Ark prop can be briefly glimpsed in the background of Paul’s storage unit, where he keeps old notebooks and memorabilia of a life fully lived. The character also offers a cheeky “choose wisely” to the camera in the season three finale, in a callback to The Last Crusade. Needless to say, Ford didn’t realize that line was an Indie reference either, until someone pointed it out to him.
Unfortunately, we’ll probably never get another Indiana Jones outing again. If we do, it will almost certainly be without Harrison Ford’s participation. On the bright side, fans still get to see bits and pieces of the iconic character popping out on screen, especially in the heart and mind of a grouchy, sardonic therapist. Shrinking is available to stream on Apple TV now.
