What are your thoughts on TV intros?

[feurioo]

I found the article How those opening frames create imaginative worlds to draw viewers into a series pretty interesting, and simply wanted to ask: Regardless of show quality, what are your favorite TV show intros, and why? Do you find them generally important in representing a TV show, or do you actively skip them if you can?

Please feel free:

• to link us to intros that you love and/or love to hate,
• to elaborate on how or why the opening sequence(s) of your favorite show(s) fit it (them) so well or not at all,
• to discuss how opening sequences have drawn you in and built up expectations that the actual show did or didn't meet,
• to advertise your favorite underrated show(s) by telling us why its (their) intro(s) are just as awesome as the rest.

Thank you to wendelah1 for linking to the following article: The art and evolution of TV title sequences.

As a precaution, I'm adding a spoilers tag for discussions about how title sequences do or do not accurately reflect a particular show, its setting, premise, or characters. Therefore: General spoiler warning for the comments!

Mods, if there's anything to fix, please let me know!

Comments

[feurioo]

Don't know whether it's considered rude to reply to your own post but I'm mainly doing it out of anxiety that nobody else finds this topic even remotely interesting. Cutting it due to length in case some people care about that (I've met them).

For me, a very important aspect of opening sequence is the song choice/the title theme. It simply has to hook me.

Absolutely iconic opening theme: The X-Files. It's eerie and distinct. It sets the mood. I also really like The Good Fight's opening theme for being so understated and elegant before everything -- more or less literally -- explodes. Also an interesting choice: Not to bank on the lead actresses' famous faces (Christine Baranski, Cush Jumbo, Rose Leslie) like the very simple title sequence for The Good Wife had done with Julianna Margulies.

Recent show intro that have impressed me: Yellowjackets. I just think it really delivers on the mania of its premise and general plot. Not to mention those '90s vibes. Plus, I think it was really neat that they used an Alanis Morissette version of the opening song for some S2 episodes. Very meta.

That said, I've also noticed that I find some opening titles less memorable, even though they are original, weird, and/or elaborately constructed. Examples: Severance and Bad Sisters. However, that's probably because I didn't quite manage to emotionally connect with both series and, therefore, didn't really give them a genuine chance to impress and intrigue me. That said, I think both really represent their respective shows well: Severance delivers dark, haunting surrealism, and Bad Sisters demonstrates how small, deliberate choices lead to a deadly escalation of events (at least that's my interpretation, never finished it).

Sometimes, it's the sheer simplicity of a title sequence that gives me all I need. The opening sequence of Boardwalk Empire are such an example. A good song, close-ups of a smoking Steve Buscemi in immaculate 1920s attire (vaguely reminiscent of René Magritte?), and a couple of bottles smashed by waves. Bam! We've got ourselves a winner. (This is obviously a very reductive description, not accounting for the meaning behind all those intro choices.) BE's intro is an actual forever-fave of mine despite my generally complicated feelings about the show.

[wendelah1]

The X-Files, definitely. Iconic, memorable, and the music is excellent. too.

I don't think I've actually seen an episode of the other shows you mention.

Edit: I'm not much of a TV person. I think have seen an episode of The Good Wife but it wasn't a good fit for me, so I never continued with it. The other series are streaming, right? I've never gotten into streaming shows because I don't want to pay for them, basically.

[olivermoss]

I don't pay a lot of attention to intros. I find info on what went into them interesting, but I guess they weren't really as much as an art in the shows I watched growing up.

The only one that leaps to mind is the Stranger Things that is iconic because of the music. I also like shorter intros like that, just a single breath, not a longer thing I am going to watch a thousand times and have my mind wander. Pacing-wise for a lot of showers it just works better.

[wendelah1]

Stranger Things has a great title sequence--visuals and music.

[feurioo]

Had to go watch it because I haven't seen Stranger Things. You're right, it's simple yet effective!

[jo]

I don't even know where to start with this topic. There are so many shows that feature opening credits that I love. I'd love to link to them all, but I'm at work and that would take ages, so if anyone's curious, sorry, but you'll just have to google on your own.

Some I love not because they look amazing, but they had damn catchy theme songs. I'm thinking about shows like (going to date myself here) The Partridge Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mad About You, Freaks and Geeks, The Drew Carey Show, Ally McBeal, Community... Not saying the graphics were bad -- some were likely just fine (honestly can't remember all of them in any sort of detail) -- but it was the song that stuck. Those were all comedies, but there were some dramas too, e.g. China Beach, and Tour of Duty to name a couple. Oh -- also The Sopranos, which ironically, I never really watched because I don't like shows about organized crime/mafia, but I did love the opening.

Others of course were both visually and musically grand (although again, some of these are older shows so they aren't quite as great looking as they might be if they were being done today). Shows like Game of Thrones, Black Sails, Westworld, various Star Treks, e.g. Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Discovery, and Strange New Worlds. Ironically, I really loved the closing credits of Picard more than the opening credits (at least in the case of season 3 -- don't remember if the same closing credits were used in the first 2 seasons).

Shows whose opening credits really conveyed the feel/atmosphere of the show: Dark, Severance, The Staircase, X-Files, Fringe, Twin Peaks, Hannibal, Bron/Broen (the original Danish/Swedish The Bridge), Counterpart...

I also like shows that mixed up their opening credits -- either a different version for each season, or in some cases, even changing it mid-season. That would include Outlander and The Wire, for example.

I'm likely forgetting a million shows, but that's what is coming to mind this early in the morning! I generally will sit through the opening credits each time, unless I'm semi-bingeing. Or in some cases, if the theme song is a major ear worm, I may at least mute it otherwise I might risk having the song stuck in my head for days. This applies to actual songs, not theme music. I don't mind having just music stuck in my head, but the songs can drive me a bit mad -- even when I really like them! I've listed way too many shows to even try to answer the other discussion points you listed.

[wendelah1]

The title sequence for China Beach used "Reflections", performed by Diana Ross and the Supremes. The music was period appropriate and so were the lyrics. I loved that show so much--I'm a retired RN.

Talk about catchy, I think I can still sing the song from the title sequence of The Partridge Family even though I didn't watch it (my brothers and sister certainly did). This is the version I remember: Come On Get Happy.

[feurioo]

Thanks for listing so many titles! Ironically, those that I googled first were the shows I already knew but whose opening titles I couldn't recall quickly: Community, Fringe, Counterpart, etc.

Didn't the opening credits for Fringe change, depending on the episodes? I remember reading something about different symbols on a wiki but I never really looked deeper into the meanings.

It's an interesting choice to me that, apparently, The Wire and Outlander changed their intro song for each new season. I would understand different clips but, personally, an entirely new song practically gives the show a new core identity in my eyes. That said, from what I've seen, both shows have very atmospheric opening credits, so a well-chosen song can certainly contribute to a particular season's artistic vision and message. The only question I've got: What would be the reasons for a mid-season change?

[rionaleonhart]

I don't actually watch a huge amount of anime, so it's interesting to realise that, when I try to think of cool and memorable television intros, the ones that come to mind are almost all anime!

I think my favourite opening of all time is the intro for ERASED. I love it from the very first shot, where the protagonist and his child self sit next to each other in a cinema; it's a cool way to set up the concept of the protagonist going back in time to his childhood! There's a lot of striking motion and symbolism to it, I love the song, and the shots of the empty school at the end give me chills.

I also really like the opening of Revolutionary Girl Utena, and the first Death Note opening, but nothing else has ever quite grabbed me like the intro to ERASED.

Come to think of it, all of these intros are heavy on weird symbolism! Maybe that's just what I'm into.

I don't usually skip intros, unless I actively dislike the song (or I'm watching with others who prefer to skip the intro). The exception is Sense8; I genuinely like the intro, but I tend to skip it because it's two full minutes long!

[feurioo]

I didn't even think about anime intros! Thanks for bringing them up.

The black-and-white beginning of the ERASED opening sequence is really eye-catching. If you hadn't mentioned the time-travel premise, those pocket watches would have seriously confused me. It looks like a really dark, emotionally heavy ride.

Revolutionary Girl Utena's intro is really beautiful. Never watched it because I simply do not recall it being available over here. (Apparently, it aired on a channel I've never heard of?) Always thought it would be similar to The Rose of Versailles but it absolutely doesn't look like it based on the intro. Good to finally clear that up after decades of ignorance. :/

My only thought during that Death Note opening sequence: Love the red-blue/white-black contrasts. So beautifully somber. Might actually give this show a try, simply based on the title sequence. Thanks for reccing it!

[donutsweeper]

It feels like TV intros used to be much more of a thing than they are now. Possibly showing my age here, but remember all of those that gave you the show's premise in an easily digestible voice over or song that wasn't much more than the info being given over the actor's credits? True, sometimes the songs wound up being earworms (to this day I could probably sing along to The Brady Bunch or Gilligan's Island etc) but it was very useful for the ability to just click on a show and learn all you needed to know about its set up in 30ish seconds. For iconic VOs that everyone probably knows, Star Trek TOS comes to mind.

For a VO that worked well, I always liked Farscape's, which not only gave the needed info but also showed all the characters and fantastically different world that Crichton (typical modern day human) was suddenly thrust into.

A typical, here's some info, but not done in a terrible thought out way was 1986's Outlaws (a short lived show that I'm sure no one remembers but me) which was clunky and didn't do much to establish more than the 'here's the basics' with no thought of presenting it in a way to draw you in but still useful since it did provide the info at least.

(and then there's the original Battlestar Galactica which put the VO over the end credits for some reason which was a bit weird. Helpful, but weird.)

Others have mentioned many openers that used music and images well, instead of repeating them I'll just add Kolchak: The Night Stalker to the list, it's short, but still gives the premise via showing the newsroom setting and that he doesn't report on normal things via what they show him typing along with the lighting etc choices)

[dickinsons]

I came here to mention Farscape's intro! Such a good example.

[feurioo]

Thanks for bringing up this narrative aspect! It's something I hadn't even considered.

Possibly showing my age here, but remember all of those that gave you the show's premise in an easily digestible voice over or song that wasn't much more than the info being given over the actor's credits?

My knee-jerk response was a "no" until I remembered Seven Days and Early Edition. The Pretender had a very inelegant solution: a text-voice combo at the start of some clips (unless other shows did this, too?).

The Battlestar Galactica closing narration is an interesting case. In some ways, I can see it being iconic. In others, it's a bit confusing. Do you know other shows with a closing narration? Never thought about it for single episodes of TV shows. Always struck me as more of a movie thing.

Re: Kolchak. Does this tonal shift between coming into the office/getting coffee/whistling to reporting represent the series well? It really intrigues me and makes me wonder about the actual tone of the show. (I know absolutely nothing about it!)

[knave_of_swords]

I love anime OPs, but that feels like its own separate beast, since anime OPs have become fairly standardized with lengths of 1:30. While most modern live action TV openings I've seen are shorter than that.

So, only considering live action TV openings, I think my favorites are Good Omens and Daredevil. For animated TV that isn't anime, my favorite is probably Gravity Falls.

For anime, though... man, I just have so many favorites.

[feurioo]

I love the Good Omens opening titles! There was a really insightful video about the S2 intro in the bonus material for the new season. So much stuff I didn't spot or didn't even think about.

Never watched Daredevil and I know very little about it in general, but that's absolutely stunning. Reminded me a bit of Hannibal at the beginning but it's way more haunting and intense. As for Gravity Falls, I didn't remember that they introduced the characters in the intro. Packs a lot of info and atmosphere into barely 40 seconds.

If you want to list some of your anime favorites, be my guest!

[wendelah1]

Monk had a great title sequence, with a perfect song and lyrics by Randy Newman: "It's a Jungle Out There.". They have the video clips perfectly times and matched to the lyrics, too. "People Think I'm crazy, to worry all the time. If you paid attention, you'd be worried, too." That's Monk in a nutshell, no pun intended.

I think the title sequence for Doctor Blake Mysteries is stunning, the music, the visuals, it all works for me: Doctor Blake Mysteries. It's an Australian TV series I found on the Ovation Channel that I then watched via DVDs from my library.

If I can think of anything else that hasn't already been mentioned, I'll add it.

All of the early TV westerns had iconic music and visuals. Here's Rawhide. This is from 1959 so I was six when it first aired. Please note there's a very young Clint Eastwood riding a horse.

The Gilmore Girls had a perfect title sequence, featuring a hit song by Carole King: Where You Lead. It shows the setting, introduces characters. Nailed it.

The ER title sequence is fast-paced, edgy, introduces the characters and setting quite well. Very memorable, too, though not the kind of tune you would whistle. ER.

I love the title sequences for Mystery on PBS: Mystery, with animation from artwork by Edward Gorey.

[donutsweeper]

Oh yes, Mystery!!! That's a good one

[feurioo]

Monk and ER are both great choices I would have never even thought of despite knowing and loving them. Is it my screen or was the Gilmore Girls intro always so heavy on the red and brown tones? Why did I never realize that it looked so dark?

Never heard of Mystery but the opening sequence sure looks like some wacky fun!

[wendelah1]

This article from Australian media mentions some other examples, complete with clips: The art and evolution of TV title sequences.

Here's the "blocked for copyright" bullshit" opening credits for Twin Peaks. I'd forgotten but it's hauntingly beautiful while telling the audience nothing about the content whatsoever. But then, how could it?

[feurioo]

Thank you for linking this article! I will add it to the main post.

I remember that the original song of the House intro, "Teardrop" by Massive Attack, was blocked in Germany. That's how we ended up with this intro music.

[feurioo]

Sidenote: I almost put a gif of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air at the bottom of this post. It was meant to be funny. But thinking about it, it's an opening sequence I actually thought -- and still think of -- as original and memorable because it was so catchy and clearly set the scene for the show. Same with The Nanny!

Edit: As a more serious example, Turn: Washington's Spies.

[misbegotten]

The Nanny opening really did work, didn't it?

[dickinsons]

So many great intros have been mentioned already! I want to add Babylon 5's intro to the list. iirc each season had a different one, but for me the season 1 intro is still the best. Michael O'Hare's voice really suited the epic tone of the text and the music. His reading of all alone in the night still gives me chills.

[feurioo]

Thank you for posting this intro! I think it was a great choice not to post clips of the characters alongside the credits. For me, that really added to the epicness of it all.

[misbegotten]

(Apologies for not including links -- just had shoulder surgery so am typing one-handed)

The original Cowboy Bebop opening will always be at the top of a TV openers list for me. It set the funky tone and action well, plus great music.

The Love Boat theme song was perfect for the theme of the series and the little pictures of the guests told you whether to bother watching that week (because it wasn't for the writing of the episodes!).

How I Met Your Mother's opening pictures captured well the theme of hanging with friends and pretty much only reluctantly maturing while getting older.

Human Target had beautifully grand and adventurous opening music that they inexplicably ditched in the second season.

Constantine's opening titles really captured the magical, horrific content! You knew what you were getting into.

Ditto Highlander's pulsing Queen music, effective lyrics set to clips from the show. You didn't need to be familiar with the premise to know it was going to be action sequences and trips through various time periods. The voiceover wasn't really necessary, in my opinion, but it saved having to do a recap of the show's mythos (pun intended) at the top of every episode.

Which reminds me, kudos to the campy '60s Batman series for having punny recaps! And how could I forget Jane the Virgin's funny, apt recaps?

The Newsroom had its misses in the writing, but the opening of the first season established firmly that it saw itself as discussing serious issues in a broad historical context, plus nostalgia of the "how did we end up so far from our heroes?" kind.

And, of course, The Muppet Show opener was singalong fun!

[donutsweeper]

Oh yes, Highlander!! Excellent intro for giving a sense of the show.

(And the muppet show!!! That's such a fun one)

[michelel72]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was effective, for me. A moment of creepiness and then shrieking guitars slam into you. They refreshed it with new seasons but kept the same approach ... and then, in season 4, subtly changed the opening sequence as part of the story, which was very cool (and meta).

I remember when Stargate: Atlantis trimmed its original opening sequence down. Some were annoyed because they thought the sequence was really effective -- spaceships! guns! serious people! monsters! more sci-fi! -- but this was an era when all opening sequences were getting trimmed down to fit more ads -- I mean, because sliptime viewers were skipping them anyway.

[feurioo]

I simply read Buffy and those guitars are right back in my mind. If I'm being honest, I didn't even remember the S4 intro change. But you're right, that's so clever!

Now I wonder if they ever showed those trimmed-down opening sequences over here because I don't remember ever noticing anything different about any of them.

[e_k_braveman]

I actual recently found out the House M.D. intro music wasn't written for the show and is in fact, a late 90s trip hop song called Teardrop, which even has vocals! I also didn't know what trip hop was until I looked it up. :P

In terms of iconic intros, the ones that stick in my own mind are from children's TV, whether live action or animated, and anime. One of my favorites is from H2O: Just Add Water. It really fits the fun girls' adventure vibe the show has and does a good job of showing off the charactersaand their personalities+powers through choice clips. I also remember feeling really excited when would see the clips in the actual episode lol.

One of my favorite from an animated show is the original Ben 10. It has a really cool visual style that's very different from the show itself and instantly gets on board the premise, even if you haven't watched a aingle episode. Also, it changed due to a big plot twist within the show itself. From season 3 onwards Ghostfreak is replaced by Cannonbolt because well, let's say Ben had to stop using him and leave it at that. It's just a nice touch I really like.

My favorite anime intros are from Naruto. I tried rewatching them to pick one particular fave, but I straight up can't. Each of them does something cool with the visuals, vocals, and/or tone that I want to gush about so here's a playlist of all of them.

Also fun fact, in my home country they always read out the names on screen in opening credits, so some openings soound very weird to me in the original because they're missing the random dude telling me the name of the actors. Similarly, closing credits would have the same guy telling you what you just watched, who the dub actors were and who directed the dub, so my brain always expects those to show up as well.

[feurioo]

Personally, I remember that Massive Attack song because, over here, the music video got a little press coverage.

Thanks for listing those title sequences! Ben 10 stands out the most to me because, simply based on the intro, I wouldn't be sure which art style is meant to represent the actual show.

[dine]

there are lots of shows which qualify, but for some reason the one which immediately sprang to mind was Get Smart (I'm dating myself, aren't I?)

it was weird and a great send-up of spy movies of the era - all the doors made kid!me happy (and amuses adult!me still)

[feurioo]

Very stylish intro with an unexpected ending, thanks for posting it! I thought to myself that they probably wouldn't use such a sequence today because nobody walks through a number of doors anymore without eyeball/fingerprint/what-have-you scanners and/or without having to type in a long string of secret access codes. However, in my mind, it's exactly this perceived simplicity that elegantly and effectively sets up the surprise at the end.