# Best TV Series Opening Sequence Ever **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 3, 2005, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396 "2005-08-03T05:28:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/61 "2005-08-04T00:18:14Z")
> [@greenlady](#): > > Oh, anyone love the opening for **Teen Titans**? It’s so cool! I like the one sung in Japanese (rather than English, the language I know) even better. I got excited for the show mostly because of the theme song - I’m a fan of Puffy. The Japanese version of the theme is cool - the lyrics, if you can find a translation, amuse me. (I can’t find one, now, but they’re talking about school and fearing being punished by dad, that sort of thing.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/62 "2005-08-04T01:46:16Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Bah! The Venture Brothers did Johnny Quest’s opening better than Johnny Quest did Johnny Quests opening. Blasphemy! ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/63 "2005-08-04T01:57:16Z")
Anybody else remember the miniseries children’s cartoon from the 80s, _The Mysterious Cities of Gold_? I still find myself humming the song from the intro and thinking about the characters to this day. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/64 "2005-08-04T02:32:51Z")
Speaking of Johnny Quest…a nomination for _The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest_, from the 90s. The show itself: eh. But the OPENING just _sang._ And I probably have to nominate _G.I. Joe_ and _Transformers_, just because they’re supposed to be so iconic. (You know, like how the _I Love Lucy_ episode with the candly assembly line always ranks up with Neil Armstrong in TV Guide’s “Greatest Moments in TV” lists.) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/65 "2005-08-04T02:59:30Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I agree, but how does one get a JuJu (JewJew? :eek: ) in one’s eye and, more importantly, how does one remove it? Ha. Nice mondegreen. It’s “Blue moon.” (ie; he was born during the second full moon in a single month, so he’s _extra_ crazy.) ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/66 "2005-08-04T05:24:34Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > Anybody else remember the miniseries children’s cartoon from the 80s, _The Mysterious Cities of Gold_? I still find myself humming the song from the intro and thinking about the characters to this day. Dude, with the woman who I swore was an Inuit and the bird-shaped plane? And the little redheaded girl? Whatever happened to them? (I loved watching that series, but it didn’t come with captions so I didn’t have more than half a clue about what was going on) ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/67 "2005-08-04T12:09:07Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Speaking of Johnny Quest… nitpick: We were’nt, we were speaking of **Jonny Quest**. There is no ‘H’ in his first name. nitpick over. I second the vote for **The Prisoner**. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/68 "2005-08-04T12:52:27Z")
> [@lizardling](#): > > Dude, with the woman who I swore was an Inuit and the bird-shaped plane? And the little redheaded girl? Whatever happened to them? (I loved watching that series, but it didn’t come with captions so I didn’t have more than half a clue about what was going on) Well, I remember the bird-shaped “airplane” and the Inca girl (I wouldn’t have said she looked Inuit at all, but then again I haven’t met one, but I do see Incas), but no redheaded girl. There were three children: Esteban, the Child of the Sun who was rescued from the sea under mysterious circumstances; Zia, the daughter of the Incan High Priest; and Tau, the last survivor of an ancient and advanced civilization (the Kingdom of Heva?). The flying bird craft was one of the relics of that civilization, they traveled around in it for a while. It was dubbed in English in the US so I’m not sure where you saw it. What language did you see it in? I noticed the credits were in French. [Here’s](http://www.whimsy.demon.co.uk/gold/) a fansite for it, including a link for an audio clip of the intro music. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/69 "2005-08-04T12:53:51Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > Anybody else remember the miniseries children’s cartoon from the 80s, _The Mysterious Cities of Gold_? I still find myself humming the song from the intro and thinking about the characters to this day. [Here](http://www.sfxb.co.uk/other80sstuff/multimedia.html) is tyhe link I post when ever anyone mentions a classic eighties cartoons. It contains a link to the intro of that show. Also, my favorite opening sequence would have to be Beetlejuice: TAS. Unlike any other show I can think of, it was canon to the series, depicting what happens when Lydia travels to the netherworld. That, and it has an excellent theme by Danny Elfman. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/70 "2005-08-04T13:39:26Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > I also thought that the opening titles for The Sopranos (at least Seasons 1 and 2, which is all I watched) were excellent. The opening for The Sopranos has only been changed once, and only slightly then. The short shot of the World Trade Center towers was removed. I believe this was done after season 2. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/71 "2005-08-04T13:46:28Z")
OK, my personal favorites. Mind you, this is just the opening sequence, not whether I liked the show or not. **Hawaii 5-O** as mentioned above by the incomparable **Art Vandelay**. **Teen Titans**. I’m fairly “meh” on the show itself, but I love the intro. **Star Trek** (TOS). OK, so it’s cheesy nowadays. But I still love it. **Babylon 5**. Seasons 3 and 5 are the best intros of the series, and not in that order. **Firefly**. “You can’t take the sky from me”. Goosebumps! ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/72 "2005-08-04T13:52:45Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > **Hawaii 5-O** as mentioned above. Duh! ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/73 "2005-08-04T13:54:52Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Duh! Uh … thanks for the syllable of support … I think. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/74 "2005-08-04T14:02:49Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > I got excited for the show mostly because of the theme song - I’m a fan of Puffy. Hey! P. Diddy hasn’t sampled that song yet. Yet. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/75 "2005-08-04T14:07:05Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > Uh … thanks for the syllable of support … I think. 😕 It was meant as support. “Duh” just happens to be the syllable that seemed most appropriate when I got to the bottom of the first page of this thread and **Hawaii 5-0** hadn’t been mentioned yet. ---
**Author:** ![zenith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zenith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenith)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/76 "2005-08-04T14:14:20Z")
Old shows–“Perry Mason”, “Hawaii 5-0”, “Green Acres” Recent shows–“Rescue Me”, “Six Feet Under”, “Sopranos”, Both openings to “Red Dwarf”. Surprising that nobody has mentioned Perry or Red Dwarf yet. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/77 "2005-08-04T14:18:50Z")
> [@zenith](#): > > Surprising that nobody has mentioned Perry or Red Dwarf yet. Boy, I haven’t seen an episode of that in a long toime. However, last week PBS showed an episode (Polymorph) **after** Doctor Who. Interesting. :Sings: Goldfish shoals, nimbling at my toes. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/78 "2005-08-04T19:50:16Z")
The beginning of the Avengers(Emma Peel era) has a percussion intro that grabs you such that you feel you have to hear its resolve. Credit Laurie Johnson(not the tap dancer) ---
**Author:** ![Baggins111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@Baggins111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baggins111)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/79 "2005-08-05T02:11:22Z")
**M_A_S\*H** ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396/80 "2005-08-05T02:30:00Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Ha. Nice mondegreen. > > It’s “Blue moon.” (ie; he was born during the second full moon in a single month, so he’s _extra_ crazy.) Oh. [New Joysey accent] Who fucking knew?[/New Joysey accent] Thanks for the clarification. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-series-opening-sequence-ever/315396.md?page=5)