Letters posted here are associated with the following article:

65
Letters
Saturday, September 15, 2007 12:00 AM

Credit check

TV's best opening credit sequences celebrate the essential spirit of the shows they introduce. Check out some of our all-time favorites.

The letters thread is now closed.

View:
Friday, September 14, 2007 07:50 PM

Those are great but....

How could you leave out "Get Smart"?

Friday, September 14, 2007 07:37 PM

DS9

Speaking as a professional with nearly 50 years of musical experience (and TV), the opening theme music from Deep Space 9 is my all-time favorite. And the graphic design was pretty near too.

Friday, September 14, 2007 07:20 PM

First one that popped into my head...

The Jeffersons

Friday, September 14, 2007 07:07 PM

Were you all born after 1980?

Better than many of the openings you had:

All in the Family - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hO239D5ljs (Honestly the most iconic opening of any American show)

Welcome Back Kotter - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMyC9dKjkrI

Mannix - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_1Ax4vliO8

The Saint - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phvZf6EHac4

Batman! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQBobrCBTNI

Magnum, P.I. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VIPlG8Xtq8

Police Squad - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLXyC1cuN3M

Three's Company - (Couldn't find online, but come on!)

Quincy - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08cXyrDewlQ&mode=related&search=

Odd Couple - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2be6jGwLoJ0

Laverne and Shirley -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mVKUpT4g5k (wave bye bye to the beer)

Star Trek

Doctor Who (any season, any Doctor)

and of course, the best opening credits ever - Twilight Zone - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzlG28B-R8Y

Friday, September 14, 2007 06:57 PM

Law & Order, Buffy

I first got hooked on Law & Order because of the opening credits. I'd never heard of the show, just caught the opening sequence, thought it had potential, but... I was teetering on turning the dial, and then the opening credits came on. That convinced me to watch the first segment, until the second commercial break. And the segment convinced me to watch the whole show.

Now, isn't that just what an openinig credit sequence is supposed to do? Draw you in and sell you?

Buffy, well, what can I say? What needs to be said? It was thrilling and inspiring, sprinlked with tiny little flakes of the Buffyverse inside, and at its best when it had the footage with Buffy's hammer and sickle homage. Every time I saw it, it made me feel like a kid again--a kid on Christmas morninig, about to open the best present ever.

The opening credits for Homicide, Life on the Streets weren't too shabby, either.

Friday, September 14, 2007 06:50 PM

Cagney and Lacey

That hot saxophone duet! I liked it better than the show!

Also, "Seventy-Seven, Sunset Strip"! (You meet the highbrows and the hipsters; the call girls and the phony tipsters. You meet most every kind of girl and guy, including a private eye!)

And as an artifact of the primordial music video age, don't forget "The Monkees".

And finally, two words: "Perry Mason". that was such a powerful opener, that as a little kid of about 5 or 6, long before I was old enough to enjoy the show, I would "mime" Perry's actions to the music.

And I may as well throw in "Peter Gunn".

Friday, September 14, 2007 06:50 PM

Too short

Way too short. Should have had at least another 10 clips in it.

For a near perfect mix of visuals, music, mood and foreshadowing, what about Twin Peaks? Also, the credits for Rome - fantastic concept, stunning execution, and it summed up the character of the show about as well as I've ever seen it done.

And of course Green Acres goes without saying. Just remember, it's not goofy, it's surreal!

Friday, September 14, 2007 06:37 PM

Other candidates

I can agree about Six Feet Under but the best of the bunch was Hill Street Blues. The gentle theme, playing against the shots of cops in action was a perfect setup for the mix of humanity and violence that followed.

I also think the old -- ancient? -- opening to the U. S. Steel Hour was a stunner.

Friday, September 14, 2007 06:26 PM

addition...

"Six Feet Under" - nearly perfect opening... music and images both.

Friday, September 14, 2007 06:07 PM

Where's

The Dick Van DYke SHow? THose pratfalls (the one he makes and the one he avoids) are great. And that was a great show, too, especially the office episodes and sequences.

Most Active Letters Threads

361

I'm thankful I'm not President Obama

Backers deride Katrina-style negligence, haters hate him more each day. Can this presidency be saved? Of course
332

The extreme secrecy of the federal courts

Judges are not only permitted, but required, to conceal anything the government declares to be secret.
317

Greg Craig and Obama's worsening civil liberties record

A new Time account of the fall of Obama's White House counsel sheds much light on rule of law issues.
222

Praying for Obama's death

Pastors are invoking Psalm 109 -- "May his days be few" -- in hopes of saving our country, and our souls
202

Tough-guy John Bolton, hiding under his bed

As usual, right-wing pseudo-warriors are drowning in extreme cowardice.

View all »

Letters Help

Currently in Salon