I have to agree with this. I’m usually sitting down with something to eat and the last thing I need to see is him getting a mosquito bite or cutting himself while shaving. I’m also always surprised when I hit the 30 second skip button twice on my TiVo remote and it’s still going.
I hate Dexter’s intro. Seriously.
On the other hand, I like odd intros. Fear Itself, Masters of Horror, The Ghost Whisper, American Horror Story. All four are far more interesting to me than the ones for Dexter, Big Bang Theory, or Chuck. I do like the intro for Game of Thrones, though.
I love the intro to American Horror Story. Way creepier than the actual show.
On the other side, I hate hate hate the intro to Battlestar Galactica. I don’t want to see spoilers from the show I’m just about to watch. Extremely moronic idea.
HBO’s Rome. It immediately let you know “this isn’t just another hammy actors in fake beards and robes” historical melodrama- it was gritty and extremely authentic considering it was for mass entertainment.
Dexter was mentioned in the OP’s link. My favorite was the episode where he was a new father; it was the same opening but with a twist; there was baby vomit on his shirt, he was unkempt, he was sleep deprived, and it was the same routine but everything was off. YouTube
Also (and I swear I meant to say this earlier and not because it was just on now) I’m surprised Modern Family hasn’t been mentioned. Not only is it creative, it’s only, what, 20 seconds long so you almost have to watch it. It’s (for me) isn’t even worth the hassle of trying to skip it.
How about Police Squad!?
I always liked the endings.
No love for Dead Like Me?
A lot of my favorites have been listed already - Game of Thrones, Dexter, and Dilbert.
I really like The Wire’s intros - all of them are good. Season 2 had the best song (the Tom Waits original) but Season 5 had the best videos and editing.
Weeds and Twin Peaks.
I can never forgive Weeds for that god-awful folk song. The song was so awful even the guest star singers couldn’t make it good.
Somehow it was even worse when week after week different people tried and failed to make it not suck.
I’ll never forget Goosebumps when I was a kid…the music and dog was pretty creepy.
Also, good to see that someone else mentioned Masters of Horror already. Have considered using it as a alarm ring in the past, hah…a good way to scare myself awake.
It was in the linked article but I would second The Walking Dead. It is very evocative without being on the nose.
I was always a fan of the New Twilight Zone’s credits as well (music by The Grateful Dead).