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For every television show that just gives us a title shot and a five-second jingle, there’s another with a poignant title sequence to match it. As TV becomes as artistically viable as films, directors and producers have also returned to taking title sequences a little more seriously. Here are our picks for the 10 most creative intros from current shows.
10. Chuck
The music supervisors at NBC used songs by The National and Bon Iver in the same episode, and they nail the opening credits with an instrumental version of Cake’s “Short Skirt/Long Jacket.” Plus the Bond-esque animations infused with humor perfectly capture the show’s unique tone.—Josh Jackson
9. House
While the intro sequence in House doesn’t necessarily sum up the show in any profound way, it’s extremely visually pleasing—enough to warrant its return season after season and make our list. We can’t image the sequence being accompanied by any song other than the great “Teardrop” by Massive Attack.
8. Boardwalk Empire
The intro sequence for this HBO period drama starts a bit slow with prohibition-era kingpin “Nucky” standing out and looking out into the sea. But after he pulls out his vintage cigarette case, whiskey bottles begin washing up on shore. So perfect for a show about the corruption that stemmed from “The Noble Experiment”.
7. The Walking Dead
As much as we liked the alternate animated intro sequence that paid tribute to the graphic novels, the somber atmosphere of the actual intro better sets the mood for a show that is as emotional and thought-provoking as it is entertaining. Not a zombie in sight—just faint memories and broken picture frames of a group of desperate survivors.
The Walking Dead – Opening from Josip Kostic on Vimeo.
6. Big Bang Theory
Here’s a sitcom which used its hook as an excuse to create a goofy, but epic one-minute intro. The sequence goes through all of history from the creation of the universe up till now before introducing its nerdy characters.
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Absolutely agreed about House; I've burned out a good many brain cells trying to figure out if the images selected for each character are Highly Symbolic or just 'way cool.
If you can't think of something to throw out to make room for the Six Feet Under intro, the list needs to be longer.
The Sopranos intro isn't simplistic, it's simply perfect. Would you believe there are websites that go point to point along Tony's commute and explain everything you see?
Family Guy at least gets style points for earwormiest music, most ironic lyrics, and best tip-off that at any moment the show could get beyond-Seinfeld giddy about theatre and movie allusions (but if you don't care for that, don't worry -- they'll be on to something else in five or ten seconds).
Third Rock from the Sun (especially early on with the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy theme music) was pretty good.
Of course, if we're just talking about music, I'm pretty sure that somewhere on earth, at any given moment, the jazz-ensemble spinoff high school from a high-school band is doing the theme from Peter Gunn. I also seem to recall that the music from Hill Street Blues was an actual hit on the easy-listening stations back in the day, though visually and cinematically it was kind of ordinary. (I'd have to go back to the heyday of the horse opera to think of another time a TV theme became a radio hit.)
You don't have to go far forward for the next time. Miami Vice had one of the most instantly recognizable and (here's the idea) mood-setting intros of its day, just after the ritual introductory killing to set the scene for that episode's story.
A visual from the M*A*S*H intro actually got namechecked in a Travis McGee novel, though I think they ditched the lyrics used in the movie early on, if they used them at all.
Just you *try* to think of All in the Family without having both the opening and closing themes and accompanying visuals going through your head.
Just a few random thoughts, worth what you paid if your ISP is inexpensive...