Here it is, the Top 10 Best TV Opening Titles (according to me, anyway) . Be sure to check out #20-#11 if you haven't done so already. Onward:
10. The Simpsons (1999-present)
Duration: 1:26.
A drum beat leads to a vocal narration of the aerial title ("The Simpsooooons…") and the opening sequence is off and running. It's basically a short story, showing the Simpsons family all rushing to get home from across Springfield. Bart, being punished with lines at school, skateboards home. Lisa, in the middle of a music lesson, riffs on her sax as she leaves for home. Homer, busy at the nuclear power plant, clocks off and gets a rod of plutonium stuck to his shirt. Maggie is accidentally price-scanned at a supermarket, before being taken home by Marge. Eventually, the Simpsons convene at home, ready for another "Sofa Gag" (which changes each week).
A classic opening sequence, so good it's never been changed in 20 years (well, beyond an animation tune up). It’s fast-paced, funny and gives you a sense of the character's personalities (Marge, homely; Bart, rebellious; Homer, stupid; Lisa, responsible and Maggie, cute). Danny Elfman's wonderful theme tune is also one of TV's finest and most recognisable.
09. Quantum Leap (1989-1993)
Duration: 1:12.
Another title sequence that begins in the heavens, perhaps meant as a nod to Sam's "Christ-like" mission to right wrongs throughout time? Well, once you see Sam standing in a crucifixion pose, there's no other excuse. The titles flash past right to left (confusingly) and the rest of the opening is basically clips from episodes with cast credits overlaid, with occasional cuts to historical photos and various dates in 20th-century history.
While the thrifty use of clips disappointing, the scenes are nicely edited to the memorable and uplifting theme tune. Earlier seasons also contained a handy narration that explained the premise, which helped get the juices flowing.
08. Nip/Tuck (2003-present)
Duration: 0:42.
It's a TV show about cosmetic surgery, so the opening titles convey that world's clinical and narcissistic tone in an artistic way. Porcelain white mannequins are marked for surgery with a red pen as the cast credits appear; occasionally making you jumps as these lifeless dummies flash open human eyes! Heading into the final seconds, a background of palm trees subliminally places the show in California and a mannequin is finally transformed into a woman with real, fleshy skin tones.
A clever and artistic piece of work, both interesting and short, ensuring it never gets boring and doesn't overplay its idea. The potentially irritating theme tune also works with the imagery.
07. Millennium (1996-1999)
Duration: 0:48.
A double-drum beat heralds the title, then Mark Snow's maudlin violins guide us the rest of the way, mixed with ominous shots of: a female silhouette, a nuclear blast demolishing a house, naked bodies, open windows, flaming skulls, hands/claws, rainy streets, dark houses and a beautiful sunrise over the Earth. The main actors are named in a formulaic way, before the show's grounding image fades into view at the end: the Yellow House.
This is a stylish, emotive, moody piece of work that saddens, but somehow also affirms, particularly at its end. The use of cryptic messages (THIS IS WHO WE ARE and THE TIME IS NEAR) also works well to tease mystery-lovers; a trick taken from The X-Files.
06. Thundercats (1985-1990)
Duration: 1:13.
The theme tune is the real deal; an exciting little ditty that works well with the opening titles' visual fireworks and slick action moves. The animation is decent and all the characters are introduced in exciting, visual ways. As opening sequences go, it's mainly concerned with showing its target audience (the under-10s) heroes, villains, and vehicles – together with quick examples of the high-octane action they can expect. Its main flaw is that it shows nothing of the premise or back-story to anything… unlike, say, He-Man & The Masters Of The Universe.
05. The X-Files (1993-2002)
Duration: 0:44.
Mark Snow's spooky, bizarre score starts up immediately with the show's title, then accompanies a collection of weird images (UFO photos, weird charts, twisting faces, growing seeds, ghostly footage, etc). The title sequence includes the show's FBI connection with some clever ID cards alongside actor credits, leading to the now iconic slogan THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE.
A clever title sequence that was probably most responsible for filmmakers taking the intro's more seriously throughout the 90s. Snow's theme is rightly celebrated for its uniqueness and the titles do a wonderful job of establishing the paranormal/FBI connection and establishes mood immediately.
04. Six Feet Under (2001-2005)
Duration: 1:40.
A very interesting title sequence, beginning with simple notes and simple images (a bird, a tree) before growing more complex and introducing the link to death most obviously with the corpse toe-tags. A quick camera angle looking up the heavens (us mortals, insignificant to God?), then we're into the guts of the music… moving with a dead body on a trolley into a corridor's own "tunnel of light". Some fluid in jars as the body is prepared for funeral, just as the music downshifts with the death of some flowers… only to resuscitate itself as the hearse arrives at the graveyard. A credit humorously sits engraved in a tombstone, then a crow (symbol of death) takes flight… mixing back to the solitary tree (but this time becoming the show's title, as a graphic draws a coffin-like logo "six feet under" the ground).
This is a very clever, witty and symbolic opening sequence. It's beautiful, melodic and captivating. It was also the first post-millennium show that made producers really up their game when it came to title design. To see how it was made, go here.
03. Carnivale (2003-2005)
Duration: 1:20.
Another superbly orchestrated title sequence, beautifully blending the worlds of magic and reality. It opens with a twinkling-whoosh onto some windswept Tarot cards, immediately beginning to list its cast (but you'll be too awed by the visuals to notice). We zoom into one card and its 2D surface becomes 3D, taking us into a cloudy landscape of angels, then down into the 1930s countryside, which becomes real archive footage from the time.
Suddenly we're in the world of sepia-tinted newsreel, showing the wonders of the 30s (skyscrapers, blimps, bridges), then the dusty terrains, before pulling back, coming out of another card, then heading back into the "Death" card, to visit the poorer residents of the U.S, not to mention the dictators of the age, and a Ku Klux Klan meeting. The faces of children morph into a Tarot's angel and we enter a third card, this one showing achievements in sport and recreation (100 metres, baseball, dancing). Coming out, we head right back into another card, utilizing some brilliant 3D "pop-up" crowds, arriving at the seat of government… before pulling out one final time. The cards are all blown away, revealing the show's title under a layer of dust.
A fantastic achievement: interesting, entertaining, emotional, but also doing its job of setting up the show's real/fantasy clash. Excellent music by Jeff Beal is the cherry on top.
02. Dexter (2006-present)
Duration: 1:40.
Opening on a mosquito, in sharp close-up, is a fitting symbol for the show's own bloodsucker, Michael C. Hall's Dexter (a serial-killer forensics expert). The music is chirpy fun and the punchline comes when a hand slaps the mosquito dead.
We hard cut to the blood-spattered show title, unnerving you because everything seems quite innocent. From thereon, we follow the lead character's morning routine, but where innocent/harmless events are given a gruesome beauty in extreme close-ups: the violence of a wet shave, the beauty of blood on tissue, flesh-like meat being cut for breakfast, the sickly slop of eggs and ketchup, the destruction of coffee beans in a blender, the "arterial spray" of a sliced blood orange, a cringe as tightened floss turns white fingers red, the "bondage" of tying shoelaces, the near-suffocation of shrugging on a T-shirt… and then Dexter is revealed to us: a handsome guy, who leaves his apartment, heading into sunny Miami, with a musical wink.
This is easily the cheekiest opening title sequence, coming from a deliciously perverse idea that perfectly encapsulates its shows mix of black comedy and dark thrills. It's a real gem of an idea, given added weight from the slightly hypnotic music tinkling. Superb!
01. The A-Team (1983-1987)
Duration: 1:37.
An almost legendary opening sequence for any child of the 80s, this has been lovingly parodied since the moment it was first shown. You know it by heart: military drumbeats as a chopper descends into a Vietnam jungle...
A gravel-voiced narrator speaks: "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."
L.A fades to blood red and a bullet spray paints the show's title, just as the music is cranked up… and we cut to George Peppard (Hannibal) as he pulls an explosive, sending a jeep into a trademark spin-crash. From then, it's entertainment and fun: helicopters, Hannibal dressed as a B-movie monster/old hag/doctor, then about to leap from a helicopter… freeze frame… Dirk Benedict (Face) putting on a hat, a joke for Battlestar Galactica fans, some grins… freeze frame… Dwight Schultz (Murdock) as a chef/pilot/superhero/bride, then fixing his jaw… freeze frame… Mr T (B.A) kicking down a door, smiling and leaning over his car seat… freeze frame… a car smashes through a window, a chopper runs a car off the road into a big puddle, before another jeep sails through the air and crashes -- just as that great theme tune cuts out with the impact!
Phew! For pure, childlike, innocent excitement, you can't really beat The A-Team, can you? Sure, it's basically a series of clips, but they're tailored so well to the awesome theme tune they're taken to a different level. But it's the opening narration and way it delivers the premise so succinctly, before crashing into pure ACTION and MUSIC, that really gets the goosebumps rising.
It does exactly what you need from an opening sequence to an all-action series for sofa bums. In fact, it's so good that most episodes struggled to come up with anything half as exciting and cool. As such, it beggars belief that they changed it and jazzed up the music as the show limped towards cancellation in 1987...
So there you go. Some are guilty pleasures, others are to-be-expected classics, while a few are overlooked moments of brilliance. I think they're all brilliantly entertaining (sometimes than the shows they preceded!) I hope you agree with most of the choices.
Oh, I also think it's worth mentioning how modern TV shows are frequently ignoring opening titles to squeeze more plot into their episodes. Lost, Heroes, Dirt, 24... they're all guilty of this; offering just brief seconds-long titles before starting.
I can understand why they do it... but it's a little sad, don't you think?
