# "Mr. Bean" Opening Shot? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 22, 2008, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-bean-opening-shot/478295 "2008-12-22T10:38:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-bean-opening-shot/478295/1 "2008-12-22T10:38:56Z")
There’s that thin beam of light which broadens, and the next thing you see is Mr. Bean slamming to the street face down, right? I always took this to mean he was an alien being “beamed down” to our planet, but haven’t been able to find this addressed anywhere (or maybe just didn’t look hard enough), but what do **y’all** take this to mean? Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-bean-opening-shot/478295/2 "2008-12-22T10:43:14Z")
As a child, I also took it to mean the same thing, but outside of my family, I’ve never known anyone else to do so. (Although, typing this out, I have a feeling of déjà vu). ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-bean-opening-shot/478295/3 "2008-12-22T10:45:41Z")
This is from the Wiki entry: > [@](#): > > At the beginning of episode two onwards, Mr. Bean falls from the sky in a beam of light, accompanied by a choir singing Ecce homo qui est faba (“Behold the man who is a bean”). These opening sequences were initially in black and white in episodes 2 and 3, and were intended by the producers to show his status as an “ordinary man cast into the spotlight”. However, later episodes showed Mr. Bean dropping from the night sky in a deserted London street, against the backdrop of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Atkinson himself has acknowledged that Bean “has a slightly alien aspect to him”; in the animated series, he was actually shown to be an alien. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-bean-opening-shot/478295/4 "2008-12-22T11:01:50Z")
I also agree with the Alien bit ! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-bean-opening-shot/478295/5 "2008-12-22T11:09:57Z")
I had kind of taken it to mean he had been thrown out of a spacecraft, rejected by the aliens who were studying him. But I also thought it was just some wacky titles sequence they made up for a giggle. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-bean-opening-shot/478295/6 "2008-12-22T15:53:30Z")
While I admit that the Alien Theory makes more sense, I’ve always wanted to interpret it as he’s an angel, cast out of Heaven for being too stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-bean-opening-shot/478295/7 "2008-12-22T20:12:47Z")
Wow. You people are crazy! 😉 I’ve always taken it as a simple opening, with Mr. Bean walking into the spotlight. He’s a bit reluctant, but that’s all. I had no idea anyone thought differently. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-bean-opening-shot/478295/8 "2008-12-22T20:26:06Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Wow. > > You people are crazy! 😉 Card-carrying, bracelet-wearing, full-tilt- **BOOGA-BOOGA** and proud\*\* of \*\*it, **Mahaloth**!😃 (Speaking for myself **only** , of course!) 🆒 Quasi