# Name for This TV Show Technique? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 19, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043 "2014-03-19T00:39:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/1 "2014-03-19T00:39:08Z")
Is there a term for a piece of a sit-com that introduces the plot BEFORE the theme song and opening credits runs? I don’t mean an opening, spoken statement made again and again at the start of every episode. Rather, it is an intro to the plot that will resume after the theme and opening credits. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/2 "2014-03-19T00:41:52Z")
[Cold open](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_open) ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/3 "2014-03-19T01:02:31Z")
Nobody was better at cold openings than Star Trek IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/4 "2014-03-19T01:05:31Z")
Also known as the [Teaser](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheTeaser). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/5 "2014-03-19T01:09:49Z")
Pre-credit sequence (also used to refer to movies that use the technique). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/6 "2014-03-19T02:55:22Z")
It was being done on _Burke’s Law_ in 1963. I wonder how much farther back it can be traced. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/7 "2014-03-19T03:04:13Z")
Since no one has said it yet, it’s a teaser, like in Star Trek TOS :dubious: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/8 "2014-03-19T03:46:20Z")
I always think of it as a cold open. To me a teaser is when they show a \*“Next Week on…” \*clip at the end of the show (and throughout the week in ads leading up to it airing). Nobody really does those anymore though. I find that today a show either does a cold open or, if the credits run first they no longer go to a commercial in between them and the start of the show. Same goes for the endings, the lead-in show’s credits end and the next show (either credits or a cold open) begins immediately. Keeps people from changing the channel. It also often annoyingly makes your DVR miss the first or last few seconds (I think they do this on purpose!) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/9 "2014-03-19T15:22:46Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I always think of it as a cold open. To me a teaser is when they show a \*“Next Week on…” \*clip at the end of the show (and throughout the week in ads leading up to it airing). Nobody really does those anymore though. Nope, that’s a preview. The idea behind a “teaser” is to entice the audience with a promise of things to come, so they won’t tune out before the theme music and first commercial are over. > [@](#): > > I find that today a show either does a cold open or, if the credits run first they no longer go to a commercial in between them and the start of the show. Same goes for the endings, the lead-in show’s credits end and the next show (either credits or a cold open) begins immediately. Keeps people from changing the channel. It also often annoyingly makes your DVR miss the first or last few seconds (I think they do this on purpose!) You’re also deprived of a toilet break, like we had in the olden days. Damn! :mad: ☹ ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/10 "2014-03-19T16:54:03Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > It was being done on _Burke’s Law_ in 1963. I wonder how much farther back it can be traced. Definitely on _ **The Untouchables** _ in 1959: https://www.youtube.com/embed/vQT2Y76vAto?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PLOmURPZ5b237PQNVNtrv7BE-6E7alb5j5 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/11 "2014-03-19T17:14:14Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Also known as the [Teaser](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheTeaser). All due respect to TVTropes, I prefer the term _cold open_ to _teaser_, because _cold open_ doesn’t presuppose the narrative purpose of the scene, it merely describes the structural function. That is to say, there might not be anything “teased,” it could simply be a prologue to the story that fits better before the opening credits. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/12 "2014-03-19T18:32:36Z")
I always thought the difference between a cold open and a teaser was that the latter was a showing of some “exciting” scene from later in the show to tempt you to watch to see how it’s resolved. A cold open, on the other hand, was the beginning of the story. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/13 "2014-03-19T18:36:43Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > I always thought the difference between a cold open and a teaser was that the latter was a showing of some “exciting” scene from later in the show to tempt you to watch to see how it’s resolved. A cold open, on the other hand, was the beginning of the story. Yeah, that’s what I thought too. I was watching an old episode of _The Outer Limits_ (a cheesy _Twilight Zone_ ripoff) and it reminded me that they always did that, showed a scene from later in the story at the beginning before the credits. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/14 "2014-03-19T18:48:55Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Yeah, that’s what I thought too. I was watching an old episode of _The Outer Limits_ (a cheesy _Twilight Zone_ ripoff) and it reminded me that they always did that, showed a scene from later in the story at the beginning before the credits. Right: _Star Trek_ had cold opens; _Hawaii Five-0_ had teasers. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/15 "2014-03-19T18:52:45Z")
Another vote for “cold open”. Teaser would be “Tonight on Super Secret Spies…” with scenes of Super Secret Spy jumping from exploding helicopters and cracking safes. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/16 "2014-03-19T20:45:31Z")
_Get Smart_ was big on cold opens, too. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/17 "2014-03-19T22:15:27Z")
Stephen E. Whitfield’s 1968 book _The Making of Star Trek_ supports “teaser.” In fact, that’s where I first encountered the term. I’ve never heard of a “cold open” before just now. > [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > a \*“Next Week on…” \*clip at the end of the show (and throughout the week in ads leading up to it airing). Nobody really does those anymore though. CBS has revived the practice. Most of their shows this season have had preview clips at the end. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/18 "2014-03-19T22:17:44Z")
Pp 1 and 6: > **[Star\_Trek\_Writers\_Guide.pdf](https://www.bu.edu/clarion/guides/Star_Trek_Writers_Guide.pdf)** > > 148.59 KB ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/19 "2014-03-19T22:23:02Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > I’ve never heard of a “cold open” before just now. The most memorable cold opening that I can think of was “Wolverines” on the very first episode of _ **SNL** _: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdWAGFLnOUg&list=PL36-XSLNkBGtTxZQkf5Thy\_hmtOeQ0EBo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdWAGFLnOUg&list=PL36-XSLNkBGtTxZQkf5Thy_hmtOeQ0EBo) \* \*My apologies if you’re trying to watch this in Canada. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/20 "2014-03-19T22:26:13Z")
Although it’s possible that the terminology has changed over the years. I know that in comic books, before 1990, a “splash” was the panel on which the story title and credits appeared, often (but not always) a full page in size. But since then, the term has come to refer to any full-page panel anywhere in the story. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043.md?page=2)