Best & Worst Title Sequences (1 Viewer)

[CraigAllen]

Worst: Gilmore Girls. I really hate that theme song.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

The HBO site has quite a fascinating image-by-image analysis of the opening Carnivale credits, by the two guys that created them. It's well worth a look.

 

[MattHR]

The Six Million Dollar Man
The Rockford Files
The Incredible Hulk
The Munsters

 

[Jeremiah]

Has The Wire been mentioned? I liked both season 1 and 2's intro.

Night Court
WKRP

Can't think of intro's I hated right now.

 

[mattCR]

Matthew-

That analysis is BRILLIANT. I had not seen it before, but it increases my appreciation for the artistry of that intro. Truly fascinating. I still miss that show, the second season of which was one of the more terrifying and spooky shows I've seen in a while

 

[Lew Crippen]

Thanks for the link Matthew. I knew all along that I did not enough about the individual Tarot cards to fully understand the opening (and many of the internal references)—and this confirmed that indeed, I did not.

 

[Michael Harris]

I certainly agree with most of the sequences mentioned above and would like to add "Homicide" to this list of the best. Its fast cutting, the edgy music, and pace told me that this was not going to be some cookie cutter cop show.

 

[Max Leung]

Best ones:

Ergo Proxy (my absolute favorite - love the music, love the haunting images)

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex season 1 and 2 - the music is just incredible. Yoko Kanno is a goddess.

Angel

Babylon 5 (up to season 4)

X-Files

 

[Holadem]

Yeah, the S5 music is definitely a departure from the rest, but I still like it.

What was awesome about S1-4 the fact that they were variations of the same theme, and perfectly matched the mood of the seasons, from the exotic/alien/new-agey S1 to the decidedly militaristic march of S4, while remaining in the character of the show.

Beautiful stuff, I wonder why this hasn't been emulated by other series. They would often chage the images between seasons, yet the music would remain the same.

The Wire is the only recent exception I can think of. 90210 and Quantum Leaps come to mind as well. Along with The Cosby Show, not sure if it was every season though. OK so perhaps more shows do this than I remember. I will be quiet now.

--
H

 

[Scott_Sch]

Man, I can't believe no one has mentioned the A-Team yet...

"In 1972 a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court
for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a
maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today,
still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune.
If you have a problem - if no one else can help - and if you can find
them - maybe you can hire: The A-Team...."

 

[David Williams]

Wow. The Babylon 5 s5 title sequence is the culmination of what came before and a work of art. s4 had the catchiest theme but s5 runs a close second.

Another add to the 'Best Title Sequence' list would be Criminal Minds. I can only hope they add Kirsten Vangsness this year.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

The credits for the first two seasons of B5 are okay, but I usually skip them.

Season 3 was where is started to get great. When I first heard Ivanova say, in an almost matter-of-fact manner, - "The Babylon Project was our last, best hope for peace. It failed", it just really hit me. An absolutely gut-wrenching line.

The season 4 credits, where all the main characters get a say, is stunning. The dialogue perfectly sums up the season - "It was the year of fire... the year of destruction... the year we took back what was ours. It was the year of rebirth... the year of great sadness... the year of pain... and the year of joy. It was a new age. It was the end of history. It was the year everything changed. The year is 2261. The place: Babylon 5." In one of the B5 script books, JMS said that, since they thought this would be the last season at the time, he deliberately wanted everyone to get their place in the sequence.

So, when he came to do season 5, he then had nowhere else to go but in the complete opposite direction. Which was why he went without a new voiceover, instead deciding to go just with the snippets-of-dialogue approach, which I personally find terribly effective. In fact, season 5 would be my favourite of all the B5 credits.

 

[nolesrule]

This is turning into a B5 credits discussion?

Season 5 is my favorite of the 5. In fact, I'd probably just rank them in reverse order.

Shows I like credits for:
Babylon 5
Batman: TAS
Dream On
The 4400
Futurama
MASH
Pinky and the Brain
Sopranos
Star Trek Voyager (and I never watched the show)
Tales from the Crypt

Does From the Earth to the Moon count? I know it's a mini-series, but I think the sequence is perfect. It gets me in the right mood everytime.

I can't think of any that I can't stand at the moment.

 

[Jonathan_Clarke]

Best:

Pinky and the Brain has the BEST theme song ever.

The Twilight Zone has the most iconic opening.

All in the Family's is beautiful. Simple, sets the tone and is funny every episode.

Worst:

Full House. Bad show with a worse opening. The cheesy song and each cast member in the park isn't even the right tone for the show. And every crappy 80's sitcom did the same thing.

I hate the animation on Lucky Louie. HBO gave out preview dvds of the pilot and the original opening was footage of NYC with the Kinks "Better Days" playing. It was much better.

 

[Alex F]

I actually really love the opening to Lucky Louie, though the opening you describe, Jonathan, sounds good. I love the current theme music though. I dunno, it gets me in the mood for comedy, I guess.

 

[Scott-S]

My $0.02

Best:
X-Files
Buffy
Babylon 5
Futurama
All the Star Treks
CSI: (Las Vegas)

Worst:
Lost
Ghost Whisperer

It is really interesting how some of the shows mentioned in all these posts are on some people's Best list and on other people's worst list. Guess beauty is indead in the eye of the beholder.

 

[Hugh Jackes]

Did no one mention Underdog?

 

[david_hu]

These sorts of lists are always subjective.
The 'best' theme/title will not always neccessarily mean the most flashy graphics or even the best music musically.
In the end it's a theme that you immediately can identify within those first few bars and it evokes both a show anda host of pop cultural references.
With that, I'd go with the X Files. You could play a bar of that and near everyone will know know what it's from.

 

[Joe_H]

I actually dislike the 4400 theme.

However, the one theme which I recently saw which I really hate the most is for the show Psych.

 

[Richard_D_Ramirez]

Many of my favorite title sequnces are from shows in the '80s, where they actually spent some time on a title sequence.

- It's hard to beat title sequence to Crime Story, with Del Shannon's Runaway playing to the visuals.

- When I was a teen, I always made sure to catch the title sequence to Miami Vice, so that I could get a glimpse of the "bouncy" female that walked across the screen!

- I always liked the title sequence to Magnum, PI. It was catchy, and got you into the mood.

- Another title sequence where music dominates to great effect is Tour of Duty, with The Rolling Stone's Paint it Black. Too bad you don't get to hear it on the DVDs! :frowning: