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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Mar 31, 2015 6:00:42 GMT
Do you like a good opening credit sequence for a TV series, or do you consider it a waste of a minute that could be spent on storytelling?
Me, I'm a big fan. Nothing like a good opening to get me in the mood for the rest of the show. Back in my student days, I always thought Babylon 5 had the best opening sequences.
Something odd is going on with some shows that I watch now, though, specifically Gotham and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. They don't have opening credits!!! Why not? Is this the new fashion? If so, I don't like it.
Nevertheless, there are some cracking opening sequences for shows made these days, my favourites being BBC's The Musketeers and Game of Thrones.
What are your favourite opening credits from modern (2010+) TV shows?
Martin
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Post by Toph on Mar 31, 2015 6:44:06 GMT
No openings (or shortened ones) has been a thing here stateside for a long time. They've started phasing them out since the late nineties.
One of the reasons, is it's much easier to make major changes to your main cast. They don't have to change opening sequences to add or remove cast members.
One of the BIG reasons, that I don't think is a problem for you guys, are commercials. A thirty second to one minute intro takes up space for one to two more commercials.
Hour long programs have literally 20 minutes of commercials. We lose almost 20 minutes of Doctor Who when it airs here. BBCA usually airs an extended unedited version for the night the episode premiers, then butchers it for all other showings.
So I think most teams would rather lose the credits and spare an extra minute of actual content time.
We even have commercials over the end credits.
You can even see how bad advertising culture has gotten here, if you watch a late season of Warehouse 13. They almost literally stop each episode dead in it's tracks to have the characters rave about the features of the car they're driving.
Futurama's satire about commercials really isn't far off base.
So... Ummm... On topic.
I like Steven Universe's opening. Cute and catchy little song.
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Post by Shockprowl on Mar 31, 2015 7:09:34 GMT
Yes I like a good opening. And I miss it when one isn't there, like Gotham. Doesn't to be too involved, just something to catch the mood as you said Martin.
One that pops into my mind is the openings from modern Battlestar Galactica.
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Post by legios on Mar 31, 2015 11:00:22 GMT
Those openings weren't entirely on the US airings in the first season of NuBSG, they didn't have the "Space:1999" clip-montage part with the percussion track. They got it for the second season, and the re-airings of the first only because they were able to point to audience demand for it in forums and things.
Crazy Jetty is right that the main reason for it is the demand for commercial time. To compare and contrast - in the first season of Star Trek:The Next Generation an average syndicated hour was 45 minutes of program and titles sequence. The trend has been steadily downwards ever since, until as Mr Jetty observed, we have reached the point where a syndicated US hour is about 39 minutes (and a few sections). The dvd commentary for one of the last seasons of Stargate:SG1 confirms that it was for that reason that they had to drop their plan to retitle the show when Cameron Mitchell was introduced and give it a whole new title sequence.
Me, I love a good openng titles sequence, and even more so I love a good opening music track. As well as doing what US Writer's Rooms call "Saga Sell". (Space:1999 with it's near-subliminal text captions is a wonderful example of that), a good Opening can really set the tone of a show. "La Femme Nikita" had its "style over substance" opening and that "low-rent nightclub" score which really set the "Europunk Cool" flavour of the series in the mind. "Department S" and "UFO" give you the basic set-up of the series right up there in the opening meaning that no-one has to stop things in the middle of the episode to tell you who everyone is and what they are doing. Done well a good opening is a real asset to a show. Of course, done badly uou end up with something like "Gundam Seed"'s dogs dinner of an opening. So like everything, quality counts.
Karl
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Post by Bogatan on Mar 31, 2015 11:34:22 GMT
Theres still a handful of good ones. Game of Thrones obviously and a lot of the other premium tv channel shows (sons of Anarchy, Mad Men, True Blood).
NBC still seems to be sticking with them. The NCIS franchise and Hawaii 5-0. I think NBC also had Chuck which ran after 2010. Unless they are only featuring extended openings on international broadcast.
As for favourites, I'm going to squeeze Red Dwarf in there as the last series was after 2010 and Twin Peaks will hopefully return next year with opening largely intact. I don't know besides GOT a lot of current ones dont really leap out. Mad Men is probably the best of the bunch. Oh and Doctor Who.
Going back I loved Cheers, Friends, TNG, later DS9, Red Dwarf, Twin Peaks and Firefly.
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Post by Pinwig on Mar 31, 2015 11:37:21 GMT
I agree, I love a good opening title sequence and especially a good theme song. You have two of the best current examples there with Musketeers and Game of Thrones. They set the mood perfectly.
The caveat of being 2010+ openings is a tough one, there really aren't many these days that send shivers up your spine like the good old days. Going back a few decades you could list hundreds that really thrill. However one show I've got into recently does have an opening evocative of the mood of the show, and a nicely rendered theme. Outlander:
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Hero
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Post by Hero on Apr 1, 2015 15:14:31 GMT
Really love Musketeers opening.
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Apr 3, 2015 15:26:32 GMT
Mad Men and True Detective are probably my favourites of any opening credits in recent years as they set the tone so splendidly.
Andy
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jul 7, 2015 18:16:22 GMT
No openings (or shortened ones) has been a thing here stateside for a long time. They've started phasing them out since the late nineties. CBS Action has reminded me when the rot began... with season 3 episode 1 of Macgyver, when they abridged the opening theme from its full glory to under a minute. Sheer vandalism! Martin |
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Jul 7, 2015 23:52:04 GMT
Chances are that would coincide with the broadcast time for syndicated programmes being cut, so intros and outros were cut first, before they had to trim the actual show itself.
Andy
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