opening credits

[goldenboy]

OK, this may go nowhere, but...do you guys ever find yourself paying much attention to "opening credits"? I put that in quotes 'cause half of them are now just the title, like "LOST". That simple word, twisting in space with the "SOS" sound, is perfect.

This is just a tiny nit to be picked with Ghost Whisperer but...the opening credits, with the extreme front and side closeups of JLH explaining the show’s premise each week—cringeworthy, heh. Just feels forced, badly conceived, directed, acted...hmm...I’d rather see something like a slow arial pan over the entire town, floating among the treetops, like a ghost hovering or something, as Melinda explains herself. I don’t like watching narrators narrate. I do like the freaky, surrealistic animation stuff later on...

Any opening TV show credits you love, or despise? In terms of music, visuals, etc...

[Black Eye Guy]

I really enjoy opening credits, although I think the no credits work well for Lost. But I love the Buffy and Angel opening credits, they are so good at getting you ready for the show! I LOVE the Firefly opening credits, they are so amazing, the song is just so good! I also love the Point Pleasant the visuals and the Music, they were very cool! Oh and The 4400 opening credits, the song works perfectly and the visuals are also perfect!

[VisionGuy]

I love the Buffy and Angel opening credits also. The music goes so well with the clips they put up. I never skip those. The Veronica Mars are good too and Smallville. There are a few opening credits I could live without but I can't remember them at the moment.

[Black Eye Guy]

Oh yeah I love the Veronica Mars Opening creds too! :)

[prydain]

I'm like...an opening credit whore. :P I love opening credits but LOST is the only one that I like that DOESN'T have any...I'm was upset about Threshold, Surface, and Supernatural not having any. I *really* hope Supernatural gets some soon, I can only imagine how cool they could be.

Some of the best opening credits from shows I've seen:

So Weird
Big Wolf on Campus
The X-Files
Miracles (the music is AWESOME...everyone should try to hear them)
Roar
Tru Calling
Point Pleasant (!!, I love the opening credits for PP)
Hex
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Angel
Charmed (the best part of the show, sadly)

[Black Eye Guy]

Ok I keep forgeting loads :)
I love the Hex Credits, they are so gothic and cool, they suit the show so well! I also love the Charmed Credits, and Tru Calling, I love that song! I have it on my Ipod!

[goldenboy]

Hey, good responses here, alright...


Buffy—classic, sexyfun themesong, good traditional TV credit montages.

Angel—I know it’s blasphemy, but I don’t really like these credits. The cello-rock theme is just too...glum, too earnest, too something. I know they’re going for bleak and punishing...I just don’t like it. The colored frames around the actor shots bother me—though I feel like I should like them, in theory. I do love the last few seconds of the theme, with the chimes or whatever, and the last shot of Angel walking away in the alley.

X-Files—classic theme, good stylized visuals. I like that they kept the nearly exact same credits for years and years, til the last couple of seasons.

I sorta like Medium’s Rorschach test abstract visuals, Hitchcockian themesong. Maybe almost too dramatic for the sort of “mundane” quality of the drama, acting style...

Supernatural’s a bust—should have real credits, I think.

4400—just saw the first season on disc, but very good, stylish credits. Feels very different than a broadcast network show because of those credits.

[VisionGuy]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the Charmed credits. They are very cool also. I really like the song.

Supernatural, I was really hoping would have some credits also. Hopefully, they'll put some in soon.

Bones also has some very cool credits. The song goes really well with the show and I also like how they go from one montage to the other kinda doing like a rewind thing. It's very cool.

[Allycat]

I like the old-fashioned credits best, with pictures of cast members with the names of the actors. But without can work too in the case of Hex and Nip/Tuck.

I also like 8 Simple Rules credits from season 1... with Rory doing something funny at the camera at the end... and how they randomised what he did.

[Black Eye Guy]

Oh I really like the Nip/Tuck credits, and The 8 Simple Rules credits are very cool how they change the ending!
And the Scrubs Credits, the long version, I also love that song and have it on my Ipod!

God! is there andy credits I dont like!!

[Vilandra]

I'm going to say Firefly, Roswell and Hex :)

[eponinethen]

Definitely Firefly.. Also really like the Veronica Mars one, and Angel..

Can't seem to make up my mind about the L Word (season 2) one, everyone hates it but yeah :D

[Black Eye Guy]

Oh yeah and the Roswell Credits :) lol

[prydain]

I guess I'm the only fan of the PP credits, lol.

[Black Eye Guy]

Nope, I love em, I mentioned them in my first post :)

[prydain]

Oh ok, I must've missed that lol. Sorry.

[dashboardprophet]

I really liked the opening credits of Point Pleasant. I also rather liked Tru Calling. Lost has a really effective (very brief) opening credit sequence. It catches the attention of the audience because it's so different to the norm. Buffy and X-Files were both fine, although I must admit that X-Files seems kind of dated now.

[prydain]

I really liked the opening credits of Point Pleasant. I also rather liked Tru Calling. Lost has a really effective (very brief) opening credit sequence. It catches the attention of the audience because it's so different to the norm. Buffy and X-Files were both fine, although I must admit that X-Files seems kind of dated now.

What do you think of ANGEL?

I have to agree on The X-Files, although the credits for the 9th season was kinda cool.

[Wesley]

Angel
Smallville (the new seasons one)
Firefly (i love the song)
That 70's Show (the old one, the vista crusier one)

[dashboardprophet]

What do you think of ANGEL?

They were fine. I probably didn't like them as much as some of the other stuff. I guess I've got mixed feelings about Angel. I liked it and sometimes really liked it - but somehow I never learned to love it, if you see what I mean. I must admit, I still haven't seen the fifth season.

[prydain]

Well I'm personally talking about Angel's music, not necessarily the style of it. :)

[Akasha]

i love the pics from the angel credits

i love the song from the charmed credits

and i loved aboslutley everything about the buffy credits

[goldenboy]

Bones also has some very cool credits. The song goes really well with the show and I also like how they go from one montage to the other kinda doing like a rewind thing. It's very cool.

I like the Bones credits, though they're a bit odd. The music is like "er" for a few seconds, then the Chemical Brothers, then "er"...

And the actual credits don't match up with whoever's on screen, so it's a little disorienting, weird. But, who am I kidding, weird's good!

[dashboardprophet]

Well I'm personally talking about Angel's music, not necessarily the style of it. :)

Ah, I see what you mean... the music is great. Perfectly fits the show.

[Wesley]

I like the Bones credits, though they're a bit odd. The music is like "er" for a few seconds, then the Chemical Brothers, then "er"...

And the actual credits don't match up with whoever's on screen, so it's a little disorienting, weird. But, who am I kidding, weird's good!
I would have to disagree. I don't like them. I perfer a regular style of opening credits. And Bones' opening credits are a little too weird for me.

[Akasha]

i like em ok....not as good as buffy but i liked the layered and transparent pics

[goldenboy]

i like em ok....not as good as buffy but i liked the layered and transparent pics


Yeah, layered can get mucked up and messy really easily, but I like it. It relates to the technology in the show, the forensic hologram thing...

[N4H]

I never cared for Star Trek: Enterprise, but I liked the way it opened.

We've been getting Dead Like Me recently on re-runs. It's the first time I've seen it. The opening credits always make me smile. I always liked the opening of it's cousin Wonderfalls also. Speaking of Dead Like Me, and opening credits though. Did you ever see the episode about the artist? His art appeared to be by the same guy who does those animated things for the opening of Ghost Whisperer. Oh and the song for the opening song of Veronica Mars appeared in an episode of Wonderfalls. As far as opening credits go Bryan Fuller appeared to sometimes get there first.

My all-time favourite opening credits sequence though, would have to be Doctor Who. I've seen it at least a thousand times, and it still give me shivers.

[goldenboy]

I never cared for Star Trek: Enterprise, but I liked the way it opened.

We've been getting Dead Like Me recently on re-runs. It's the first time I've seen it. The opening credits always make me smile. I always liked the opening of it's cousin Wonderfalls also. Speaking of Dead Like Me, and opening credits though. Did you ever see the episode about the artist? His art appeared to be by the same guy who does those animated things for the opening of Ghost Whisperer.

Now that's a Showtime show, right? I'll have to get me DVD's, if it's good enough. Sounds cool though. I like collage-y, animated intros, cool stuff. Is it in syndication?

[N4H]

Damn, I just re-viewed the Ghost Whisperer credits last night, and I'm not sure the art is the same anymore. There's a similarity, but it's vague.

In Canada, Dead Like Me is playing reruns on Showtime Monday nights. I don't know what's happening elsewhere. It's available on DVD in boxsets. So's Wonderfalls, but there's just 13 episodes of that one. If you've seen one of those series and liked it, the odds are good you'll like the other. If not, be warned, they're not for all tastes. They weren't mainstream.

[goldenboy]

Actually, I'm about a 3rd of the way into Wonderfalls now on disc—really like the visuals. I bet I'll like Dead Like Me too...

[goldenboy]

This is cool. A section of a site dedicated to film credits (http://www.submarinechannel.com/titlesequences/). You can watch online...

I love the "motion graphics" category, where they take old graphics from a different context and use them as movie titles. Like The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio, Thank You for Smoking, Dead Man on Campus...

[prydain]

The opening credits of Dead Like Me are weird...a bunch of people dressed up as reapers going about doing their daily tasks. No weird visuals like Wonderfalls though.

My favorite opening credits have to be for "Point Pleasant", I think the part where the title melts into birds that fly away is genius, Danny Elfman's music is awesome as well.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TIfPWrUoAL4

I just realized how many of the currently airing shows I watch don't even have opening credits...how depressing.

[Velvet Sky]

Okay, generally, I love some good beginning credits to a show. And there are some that I just LOVE. But I disagree A LOT with those who are complaining about Supernatural, I really don't miss it not having credits, I think the little previously on bit is done in a fun way that changes week to week, and the title card was cool in season one and got even cooler in season two with the flaming and all that. *L*

Okay, now for openings that I love:

Angel - One of the best ever, for me. The music I LOVE, seriously some of the best theme music EVER. Perfect for the show, the clips, like the show have shots of the characters happy, funny, but over all has that dark broody thing, just like Angel. *L* And I'm feeling giggly now thinking of David Boreanaz all broody. *L*

Buffy - Yup, she rocked it something fierce too. I think I liked it best though in the earlier seasons before they made that slight change in that one bit of the music. *L*

Friends - Sorry, but I've probably watched every episode like 25+ times now between the Syndicated reairs and my DVDs and the titles and the music still make me want to smile and dance around. *L* It's just good.

Point Pleasant - Very cool, I actually just rewatched most of the series a couple weeks ago, just because and the music, the imagery everything is very cool. :) Elisabeth Harnois is hot. *L*

The Simpsons - They're always adjusting them a little, and they're always cute. :)

Wonderfalls - That was a cute and fun one, another show I just rewatched the DVDs of like a week or so ago. "Do they ever tell you to burn things or hurt people?" "No, but I bet it's working up to that." *LOL*

The OC - Sorry, I love the song, I love the shots, I love the style on it. Best season ever. Marisa was just a buzz kill. *L*

Veronica Mars - I love the old and new style of them. The song is great either way, and the kind of 'moodier' style with this college season is cool.

My So Called Life - *L* we're going back to the day here, but I remember I adored the credits to this show.

The Highlander - Cool song, cool shots, Adrian Paul without his shirt... All good man. *L*

Bones - I actually enjoy the Bones ones too, and I think this season, the names actually do match up with the images. They just didn't in season one.

Roswell - The credits of this show sucked me into both the show and Dido's music, so it kicked ass. *L*

I actually liked a lot of those WB show credits (Smallville, Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls... they're all good)

[N4H]

My favorite opening credits bar none right now are the ones for Dexter. The music, the colors, the images, the concepts, it's all kind of a spooky yet friendly melange that I never get tired of seeing.

I think the test of good opening credits is do you fast forward through them if you have the thing on tape or DVD? I watch the Dexter credits every time, even on re-watches.

[prydain]

My favorite opening credits bar none right now are the ones for Dexter. The music, the colors, the images, the concepts, it's all kind of a spooky yet friendly melange that I never get tired of seeing.

I think the test of good opening credits is do you fast forward through them if you have the thing on tape or DVD? I watch the Dexter credits every time, even on re-watches.

I always watch the credits for Point Pleasant, Angel, Buffy, Desperate Housewives, Dexter, Veronica Mars, etc. In fact I always look forward to them, no matter how many times I've seen the episode. The only credits I skip are the ones for Medium (ew), Carnivale (cool at first, but then incredibly boring), and Dead Like Me.