Could it be that the advent of shows on DVD in full season format is the reason for the shortening/eliminating of long themes? Maybe I’m just one of those short attention span folks mentioned earlier, but I watch a lot of TV on DVD rather than on original broadcast, and the themes get really old about 3 episodes into the season. Especially when the DVD transfer does not include a chapter break immediately after the credits to allow quick skipping…just my thought…
Rome on HBO had a very long musical credit opening.
I think the theme to The Office is great.
Two of the great instrumental themes from yesteryear were Barney Miller and the original Battlestar Galactica.
The masters of TV theme songs are/were Mike Post and Pete Carpenter. Check out somewhat-forgettable shows with great music like Hardcastle & McCormick or Riptide.
I was going to link to each of the above, but couldn’t find a non-crappy version of original BSG in a clip by itself. You can see episodes with the theme on nbc.com, if you want to hear a great orchestral theme.
My three favorite openings are Quantum Leap (I swear, that goes on forever. It’s very jarring when I watch it now), HBO’s Carnivale, and Angel. With honorable mention to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The one from Charmed is actually pretty damn cool. The fourth one makes me want to hurt people.
Does 51 seconds qualify as long?
True, but I was thinking about prime time shows. My bad: I didn’t make that clearer.
I remember being told that Spanish language television does old-school credit announcements because it was assumed a good portion of their viewership was illiterate, and thus couldn’t read the credits.
When I lived in New Mexico, I remember coming across The Simpsons on one of the Mexican stations, and hearing the familiar theme song accompanied by a deep baritone voice …
LOS SEEMPSOHN … CON BART SEEMPSOHN … Y HOMER SEEMPSOHN … Y MARGE Y MAGGIE SEEMPSOHN … Y LISA SEEMPSOHN …
My prayers have been answered as there will be no “Little Boxes” anymore!
No love for The Sopranos and The Wire? They were pretty recent and they both had really great opening scenes.
Of course all of Joss Whedon’s shows had good opening themes.
Another good one from the the 90’s was Freaks and Geeks. “I don’t give a damn about my reputation…”
I always liked the opening bit from Northern Exposure. Funky song, and a moose!
Only in posts 5, 7, 13, and 37…
House–The X-ray of the skull that turns into the face of House says it all.
Watching reruns of Quantum Leap, I realize how I love that intro. The music and the actions match up perfectly. And it was done before computers.
Well I see them there now. :smack:
I love you and I love this post and I love the world right now. 
(Didn’t Grey’s Anatomy use have to a longer intro? I mainlined the second season for the Denny episodes, and I swear there was this whole fuzzy-white thing with scrubs and lockers and scenes of people dating. Then they just flashed up the title card for the ‘serious’ stuff–the bomb going off, Denny dying–and now that’s all they do.)
When we got a set of Disney themes on CD for MilliCal to listen to on long car trips, I was surprised by the theme to The Mickey Mouse Club – that iconic 1950s TV show. I’d seen it in its first syndication in the early 1960s, and even after all that time, I could SWEAR that the theme on the CD was a LOT longer than I recalled.
I tracked down a copy of the special edition Disney DVD on The Mickey Mouse Club, which has several copies of the opening (including one in color, which was never broadcast), and confirmed my suspicions. There was a LOT more opening animation than I’d recalled. As often happens in syndication, opening sequences are cut (it allows more time for commercials), so I’d never seen the full opening before.
It’s pretty impressive. The full-color version is full animation, no shortcuts. It’s the first time Scrooge mcDuck was animated (he was a creation of the comic books, not the cartoons), and the theme is lengthy and orchestrated. It’s credited to Jimmy Dodd, who also hosted the show (and wrote much more of its music) – truly a multi-talented individual.
Most of my favorite ones have been mentioned, but the opening to Deadwood was just about the perfect marriage of theme music and establishing imagery that I’ve ever seen.
I must also mention the opening to Mork & Mindy. Mork’s departure from Ork. “Nanoo-nanoo. Shazbot!” And check out Elizabeth Kerr rockin’ out on electric guitar.
Of course, MNF also has the famous “Heavy Action” instrumental (which is a stock cue, not an original composition).
Speaking of sports themes, there was a bit of controversy recently when the CBC lost the rights to the “Hockey Night in Canada” theme to rival CTV. Stephen Colbert had a funny bit about this recently. (Punching beavers in the face!)
Speaking of sports, what about ABC’s Wide World of Sports?
Classic intro: Babylon 5, third season. After the first two years of emphasizing the station’s role as the “Last, best hope for peace,” Ivanova adding
“It failed.”
…is chilling.