Favourite opening titles to a TV Show
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What are your favourite opening and closing title sequences/graphics to TV shows past and present
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Present: True Blood.
K
I used to love Buffy, but it#s annoying to me now lol.
Space 1999 (series One).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyIA26sFi_g
And here is said logo. Brilliant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogNHLmZc2Xg&NR=1
Pity the programme was rubbish.
(For those who don't want to follow the link it's Crossroads made by the old ITV region ATV.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KON3jFr7dg
Changed every year and they were all great.
Oh my God! I knew that Victoria Wood's Acorn Antiques took the mick out of Crossroads, but never realised that the exaggerated wobbly 'credits' were based on an original facet of it too!
In terms of graphics, my rather sad favourite is 'Dynasty'. This is the remarkably pristine intro sequence from the original season, dating back to 1981; in that pre-computerised age, I'm still in awe of how they so seamlessly achieved the intricacy of those 'shooting bars' and image-wipe effects against the backdrop of also-moving images. I would imagine that the explanation is something relatively simple to do with standard animation, but I don't really want the 'magic' dispelled.
In terms of the overall 'feel' of credits, nothing will ever beat Twin Peaks for me. It's the combination of the music, the serenity of the images, and the feelings it evokes which are inextricably tied up with my formative youth, when the series originally wove its indelible magic into my psyche. I also love the unique font, which no-one seems able to identify/replicate.
I always liked the rather mournful closing theme of The Sweeney as well.
How on earth did Dennis Waterman get top billing over George Cole in Minder ?
Airwolf and Knight Rider were pretty good too, although nowhere near as strong theme tunes.
Closing titles of the Sweeney - yep.
The Persuaders, great theme and clever opening titles.
Callan.
Porridge - no music but very strong opening titles.
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin - a man's naked bum on telly!
Present: I think Dexter has to be my current favourite. It makes the simple act of making breakfast look like a scene from a Saw movie.
Present: True Blood and Dr Who.
For present Last of the Summer Wine and Star Trek TNG
They're definitely the best two.
Minder was created as a vehicle for Dennis Waterman following his success in The Sweeney, which made him a household name.
Arthur Daley was only supposed to be a support character to Terry McCann initially, but such was the popularity of George Cole that the dynamics between them soon became more of a double act.
I love TV title sequences and theme tunes. I think a TV programme’s title sequence is almost as important as the actual show. It gets you excited about the show and puts you in the right mood. There are countless title sequences that I love, and equally countless that I think are really terrible. (I hate programmes that don’t have proper title sequences. It’s like a book with no cover.)
Don’t know if I could choose an overall favourite, but here are some of my favourites, in no particular order…
(These are chosen based on the combined strength of the theme music and the visuals together).
Blockbusters (1983)
Possibly my favourite title sequence. It’s incredibly slick considering it was made in 1983. My favourite bit is when the camera flies into the studio and the lights come on. How awesome is that! It was a great gameshow, too!
Inspector Gadget (1983)
I must admit I’m heavily biased as I love this show so much, and I love Shuki Levy who wrote so many of these classic 80s theme tunes. But surely this is a great title sequence by anyone’s standards?
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qd_IsxgAf8[/url]Thundercats (1985)[/url]
TV themes don’t get more exciting than this — especially if you were a child in the 80s.
The Simpsons season 2 (1990)
Has to be mentioned as it’s such a classic.
20 years ago, this show (and intro sequence) was one of the most exciting and strikingly original things I’d ever seen. These days, the show is awful and the intro is just about all we have left of this once-great show.
Strangely, I couldn’t actually find the classic title sequence for The Simpsons on YouTube! :eek:
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990)
There’s no other TV theme quite like it! I never got tired of hearing this song every week for, what, seven years or something?
Doctor Who (2008 version)
I love all the Doctor Who themes, but I guess this one was my favourite.
The Flintstones (1960)
Both the opening and end titles were great.
Terrahawks (1983)
Looking back, I can’t say it was a particularly great title sequence, but believe me, I used to get very excited when this came on!
Chocky (1984)
Scariest children’s programme title sequence ever.
Babylon 5 season 3 (1996)
Each of its five series had a different theme tune and this was the best. The visuals aren’t exactly outstanding, but the music really makes this a terrific intro sequence to a terrific TV series!
Blossom season 3 (1992)
Mainly just a great theme tune, written by TV theme maestro Mike Post. But I used to love the show, and the two girls… especially the gorgeous Six (which was probably the main reason I watched it).
Knight Rider season 3(1984)
This series (and theme tune) were sooo much better than any of the dreadful re-make series.
Alexi Sayle’s Stuff, series 2 (1990)
Allegedly featuring a very young Cheryl Cole, this title sequence is memorable to me because it was just so funny and irreverent, especially if you were a kid when you watched it.
The Day Today (1994)
All the Day Today titles and idents were hilarious beacuse they were so overblown and had a satirically exaggerated sense of self-worth.
Star Trek, series 2 (1968)
One of the most famous TV theme tunes and title sequences ever, and rightly so!
Watch (unknown date)
I can’t find a clip, but Watch was one of those 1980s educational programmes for schools. The theme tune was just really lovely, featuring a flute, acoustic guitar and piano. For the best part of 30 years, the tune has had a fond place in my memory (and my whistles), despite me not being able to hear it!
Every 80s cartoon (particularly those written by Shuki Levy)!
Yeah, I guess I’m biased as I grew up then, but I don’t think they make them like this anymore. The above link features 10 classics: Visionaries, Dinosaucers, Spiral Zone, Mighty Orbots, Galaxy Rangers, M.A.S.K., Defenders of the Earth, Pole Position, Jem, Jayce & the Wheeled Warriors. (Half of these were written by Shuki Levy.)
Other Shuki Levy classics include:
He-Man
Punky Brewster
Ulysses 31
The Mysterious Cities of Gold (Anyone who loved the music from this show: there are 3 soundtrack CDs available!)
Heathcliff
The Real Ghostbusters
Dennis The Menace
Dragon Ball Z
Kissyfur
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0YkXmebAGM[/url]Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers[/url]
X-Men
Digimon
C.O.P.S.
Finally, a few shows which didn’t exactly have amazing intro sequences, but they had great tunes:
Mr Benn (1971)
The Littlest Hobo (1979)
The Addams Family (1964)
Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds (1981)
Danger Mouse (1981)
Grange Hill (1978)
Ah… I could go on doing this all night but have to go now!