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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
Aside from omitting The Honeymooners, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Get Smart (and including lackluster intros like Dallas and Miami Vice), to not include the most riveting 30 seconds in the annals of television history, is unforgiveable!
Not only the "Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba" vocal group hook, but the colorful introduction of first Batman, then Robin, then the crooks, then the Gotham City skyline! NOTHING is even in the same league as THAT TV show intro! NOTHING!!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0Si6YLWRS9A
Depicting a normal morning as some sort of violent bondage/murder scene just by exaggerating the details is brilliant. I can't think of an opener that fit its show better than this.
...of ALL TIME (and I mean ever) is without a doubt Sanford and Son.
That terrific countdown, that hard, pounding score...
All served up by a legend who then went by the name of "Johnny Williams." That was, of course, before he started working for Spielberg.
As another honorable mention, the rousing intro to "Rescue Me" is at the top of the current crop of title sequences. The Von Bondies music, the cinematography and editing, definitely get you pumped, "c'mon!....c'mon!
Definitely the best one left off the article list.
The mix of visuals with the song perfectly set up the episodes that followed.
the original TV Mission Impossible that prepared you for impossibly complex convoluted plots (at least my parents alway made me explain "what's going on?")
Perry Mason and Murder She Wrote are also instantly evocative.
There are a ton of great ones missing, obviously Six Feet Under which is one of the finest ever. I'll also nominate NYPD Blue as well.
Actually I love Lost's opening. An actual credits sequence would spoil it.
The familiar "handwriting in the heart" opener was actually created for the reruns when the show began syndication. The original network shows featured stick-figure cartoons of Lucy and Desi. This was repeated in the first season of "The Lucy Show" in which Lucy and Viv were represtented by cartoon characters.
The decision by network execs and producers to cut back on theme songs and opening credits is one of the biggest "shark jumps" in television history!
Doctor Who--Truly, you are a man after my own heart. However, for the "classic" series, I would personally only go with the credits from the Tom Baker era onwards. Even through Jon Pertwee the effects weren't quite up to the task. I would also nominate the "new" Who opening credits as well.
No "Twilight Zone"? Rod Serling's opening monologue is iconic. Oft-parodied, never equaled. And I would also nominate "The Addams Family."
And, frankly, "Friends." Catchy song, good sequence.
I agree completely.
Let's add to the list: Perry Mason, Space: 1999, Night Gallery, S.W.A.T., The Six Million Dollar Man, Good Times, and Twin Peaks.
And yes, The Twilight Zone is, without question, the coolest opening credit sequence of all time.
If someone has already mentioned it, my apologies, but Hill Street Blues definitely should be on the list.
The Bob Newhart Show (the original) -- great music and great shots of Chicago
Maude -- kind of annoying, but so was the show--a perfect match
Good Times -- great song
And one from the 80's:
Married With Children -- terrible show, but opening with Sinatra was pretty funny
You are right on in one respect--the opening credits for Hawaii Five-O were the best ever. I didn't even really like the show, but I watched it many times after being sucked in by that incredible song.
Seconding bwaage's shout-out for Dexter. Best. Opening. Ever. Dexter should totally come after you guys, because you know he only goes after those who deserve it... :o)
Surely, I'm not alone in considering the Deadwood opening sequence to be superb. Art and reality combined.
Gilligan's Island!
Reno 911
#1 Star Trek (the original, please)
#2 Sopranos
#3 Hawaii 5-0
#4 Hill Street Blues
#5 X-Files
#6 Gilligan's Island
#7 The Avengers
#8 I Love Lucy
#9 Reno 911 (first season)
#10 What Not to Wear (later seasons)
Given the diminution of every individual into a faceless consumer category, combined with the seemingly unstoppable losses of privacy and civil liberties, who doesn't mutter, "I am not a number, I am a free (wo)man," and wait for an affirming crack of thunder in response?
I propose that the boring and unengaging opening to John from Cincinnati be stricken from the list and replaced by the incredibly hot Jonny Quest.
And Dead Like Me with its hilarious use of the reapers (in a laundromat--OMG) deserves honorable mention at least.
(Yikes, posted this in the wrong thread - about best TV shows! Folks will have a cow;-/
WKRP, Frasier and... 30 Rock!
What a wonderful topic - one my brothers and I have enjoyed for a long time as our own generation's parlor game.
The only unmentioned one that pops to mind that is a great old-style theme is "WKRP from Cincinnati":
"Got kinda tired of packing and unpacking ... town to town, up and down the dial..."
As for new-era understatedness, "Frasier" is hard to top. Stylish, a hint of pretentiousness...fits the man at the center of the show. Which reminds me, I need to go look for the pilot of Kelsey Grammer's new Fox sitcom I have high hopes for, "Back to You," that offers a LOT of opportunities opening-theme wise.
Oh, and here's another new-era favorite: "30 Rock"! Just a great throwback theme!
I haven't Googled this yet, but curious - what's the best one-stop shop for TV themes? It sounds like YouTube, but not sure I need the video- just the full audio clip would be great!
Another vote for The Six Million Dollar Man: gripping, innovative, and brilliantly edited. You can't be a guy and not think it's cool. The (original) Bionic Woman successfully echoed that sequence while adding warmth: you instantly like Jamie Sommers just from the main titles. I'll be amazed if the 2007 Bionic Woman can pull off the same trick.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century's main titles are far more memorable than the show itself, as a recent South Park two-parter showcased.
The first season of Space: 1999 was a neat mix of shock and awe, cutting from a 70s guitar riff to an orchestra and back, and its rapid-fire preview of each episode, just a few frames of several scenes in succession, inspired similar teases in the credits of Ron Moore's Battlestar Galactica.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
