# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/21 "2014-03-20T20:48:03Z")
There’s also this thing where the cold opening is unrelated to the rest of the episode. If there isn’t a term for that, there ought to be. It was common on Full House, for example, where they were often filmed ahead of the regular episodes, whenever they had extra time with the youngest child actors. ---
**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 20, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/22 "2014-03-20T20:58:56Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > There’s also this thing where the cold opening is unrelated to the rest of the episode. If there isn’t a term for that, there ought to be. It was common on Full House, for example, where they were often filmed ahead of the regular episodes, whenever they had extra time with the youngest child actors. _ **Cheers!** _ did that all the time. Here are some of my favorites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OngCQ32QRHQ ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/23 "2014-03-20T22:17:16Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > There’s also this thing where the cold opening is unrelated to the rest of the episode. If there isn’t a term for that, there ought to be. It was common on Full House, for example, where they were often filmed ahead of the regular episodes, whenever they had extra time with the youngest child actors. I always felt that was a bit of a cheat by giving a segment that could easily be edited out leaving more room for commercials in syndication, the way comics will often have the first panel be a throwaway to accomodate newspapers that compress the Sunday funny pages. ---
**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 21, 2014, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/24 "2014-03-21T21:10:29Z")
[quote=“terentii, post:22, topic:684043”] _ **Cheers!** _ did that all the time. Here are some of my favorites: [/QUOTE] How is it that I just knew that one of these (the first one actually!) was going to be T\*he Blubber-Butts\*! Funniest. Bit. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/25 "2014-03-21T21:31:54Z")
> [@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. **Castle** still does. ---
**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 21, 2014, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/26 "2014-03-21T22:00:44Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > **Castle** still does. So does Person of Interest ---
**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 21, 2014, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/27 "2014-03-21T22:34:39Z")
And _Agents of SHIELD_. And _Mad Men_, although they were notorious for making them not just meaningless but actively misleading, Matt Wiener’s way of getting back at AMC executives who demanded them. I think lots of shows do them. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/28 "2014-03-21T22:43:37Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > And _Agents of SHIELD_. And _Mad Men_, although they were notorious for making them not just meaningless but actively misleading, Matt Wiener’s way of getting back at AMC executives who demanded them. > > I think lots of shows do them. Yeah, I see those on almost all of the shows I watch currently. Not sure where anyone would get the idea that they don’t do them anymore. I’m hard pressed to think of a single show I watch that doesn’t have a preview for next week at the end. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/29 "2014-03-21T23:13:21Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > Yeah, I see those on almost all of the shows I watch currently. Not sure where anyone would get the idea that they don’t do them anymore. I’m hard pressed to think of a single show I watch that doesn’t have a preview for next week at the end. Me either. ABC, CBS, the CW, Syfy, FOX, almost all their scripted shows have them every week. ---
**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 21, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/30 "2014-03-21T23:26:59Z")
Even TAR and Survivor do them. Oh yeah, those are scripted shows… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![emarkp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@emarkp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emarkp)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/31 "2014-03-22T01:52:30Z")
n/m ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/32 "2014-03-22T02:36:44Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > And _Agents of SHIELD_. And _Mad Men_, although they were notorious for making them not just meaningless but actively misleading, Matt Wiener’s way of getting back at AMC executives who demanded them. > > I think lots of shows do them. _Arrested Development_ would always have fake teasers for next week’s show. They’d tease a snippet of a really wacky scene, but the rest of that scene or storyline would not appear next week. Or ever, usually. ---
**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 22, 2014, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/33 "2014-03-22T13:53:30Z")
It would seem there are at least three kinds of “teasers” or “cold openings”: 1. The “straight into the story” type that was used in _ **Star Trek** _. 2. The “preview of what’s going to happen in this episode” type that was used in _ **The Untouchables** _. 3. The “stand alone” type that was used in _ **Cheers!** _ There are four if you count the “Next week on…” previews, though they’d be “advance teasers” for a show that hasn’t even aired yet. I’d like to suggest a fifth type: the “expository” teaser that gives first-time viewers an idea of what the show is about. It can either precede, immediately follow, or be an integral part of the theme and titles sequence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8xT2tW6-Rk ---
**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 22, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/34 "2014-03-22T14:03:49Z")
Just thought of a sixth: the “Previously, on…” recap that’s used regularly on prime-time soap operas and on other shows with story arcs: > **[TV Series online](https://www1.watch-tvseries.net/series313/Dallas/season-03-episode-04-Lifting-the-Veil)** > > Dallas Season 3 Episode 4 [http://www.free-tv-video-online.me/player/divxden.php?id=nd5yhyw8kyq7](http://www.free-tv-video-online.me/player/divxden.php?id=nd5yhyw8kyq7) ---
**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 22, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/35 "2014-03-22T14:15:18Z")
Two more “expository” teasers, filmed for the same series: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DBXb_6-2zOw/hqdefault.jpg ""The Fugitive" Original TV Series Intro") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBXb_6-2zOw) Note that the second is preceded by a "later in this episode" clip. ---
**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 22, 2014, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/36 "2014-03-22T15:05:35Z")
Two more “expositories” for the same series. The first was used when the show debuted in the United States. It preceded the theme music: The second, "minimalist" version was filmed after the series switched to color in 1966: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/GeK3Lkd_XL4/hqdefault.jpg "The Avengers Series 5 Opening Titles and Closing Credits") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeK3Lkd_XL4) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/37 "2014-03-22T18:36:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **BigT** : > > There’s also this thing where the cold opening is unrelated to the rest of the episode. If there isn’t a term for that, there ought to be. It was common on Full House, for example, where they were often filmed ahead of the regular episodes, whenever they had extra time with the youngest child actors. I saw one of those once on MacGyver that was ten minutes long (Mac escaping from some third-world country by using a stolen map in about a dozen different ways). In the credits for the episode, they had “Opening gambit directed by…”, so I guess those things are called “opening gambits”. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/38 "2014-03-22T21:26:24Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I saw one of those once on MacGyver that was ten minutes long (Mac escaping from some third-world country by using a stolen map in about a dozen different ways). In the credits for the episode, they had “Opening gambit directed by…”, so I guess those things are called “opening gambits”. …I think an “opening gambit” is a bit bigger than what BigT was talking about. An opening gambit is “making a statement”, an extremely rare thing on television with pretty big production values: that opening scene of MacGyver that you were talking about could have been fleshed out to take up an entire episode. I would say the pre-credits sequence of a Bond movie would be an “opening gambit.” ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/39 "2014-03-22T21:29:02Z")
[quote=“terentii, post:22, topic:684043”] _ **Cheers!** _ did that all the time. Here are some of my favorites: [/QUOTE] …and my personal favourite: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lvns30-6Lz0/hqdefault.jpg "Cheers - We Will Rock you") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvns30-6Lz0) ---
**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 27, 2014, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043/40 "2014-03-27T06:10:40Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …and my personal favourite: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvns30-6Lz0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvns30-6Lz0) … which was ripped off by _ **Friends** _: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KTyhsuP7n1Y/maxresdefault.jpg "Friends The Odd Couple Theme HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTyhsuP7n1Y) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-tv-show-technique/684043.md?page=1)