# TV Shows where someone gets killed in the opening credits **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 24, 2020, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824 "2020-06-24T19:32:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/1 "2020-06-24T19:32:16Z")
In [this](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-speed-racer-a-demon/240340) 2004 SDMB thread **Master\_Wang-Ka** said, > …there is the matter of the fact that **Speed Racer** remains the only cartoon of which I am aware which features people getting killed in the opening credits. So assuming that’s true, it got me thinking… how many other TV shows (dramas, cop shows, westerns, etc.) show someone getting killed in the opening credits? Or could it be that Speed Racer is the _only_ TV show (cartoon or otherwise) to show someone getting killed in the opening credits? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/2 "2020-06-24T19:34:42Z")
Didn’t the special guest star in each “Police Squad” episode get killed during the credits? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/3 "2020-06-24T19:35:54Z")
Yes they did. The opening credits of _Firefly_ showed a brief flash of the Battle of Serenity Valley. Mucho dead there. An animated James West out-draws a back-shooter in the credits of _The Wild, Wild West._ ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/4 "2020-06-24T20:08:52Z")
The opening of, “Jonny Quest,” has the scene from the Anubis episode where the mummy grabs the bad guy and the ceiling caves in on them; you have to assume the bad guy dies, but not the mummy–he’s already dead. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/5 "2020-06-24T20:12:39Z")
I believe every episode of _Six Feet Under_ began with a death. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/6 "2020-06-24T20:17:13Z")
Matt Dillon has a gunfight with an unnamed somebody in the opening credits of Gunsmoke. I assume the other guy dies. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/7 "2020-06-24T20:37:23Z")
Named somebodies get it at the start of Police Squad! ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/8 "2020-06-24T20:43:04Z")
A lot of episodes of the Law & Order franchises start with a death before the opening credits even start. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/9 "2020-06-24T20:44:39Z")
The Six Million Dollar Man has a man who’s barely alive. The opening of The Fugitive has a shot of Richard Kimball’s murdered wife. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/10 "2020-06-24T21:41:35Z")
NYPD Blue also started episodes with a murder that already happened. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/11 "2020-06-24T22:03:02Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > A lot of episodes of the Law & Order franchises start with a death before the opening credits even start. _Every_ episode of the original L&O started with a death before the opening credits. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/12 "2020-06-24T23:38:25Z")
Been a while, but _Homicide: Life on the Street_ often had the detectives at a crime scene. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/13 "2020-06-25T00:21:01Z")
I have forgotten now. Were the murders in the show _Colombo_ before the opening credits? Or were they after them? Or were the credits played during the murders? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/14 "2020-06-25T01:19:02Z")
And the real pilot who flew the M2-F2 lifting body in that crash, Bruce Peterson, was nearly killed. Like Steve Austen, he lost an eye in that crash. Unlike Steve, no bionic replacements were available. I wonder how many times he watched that crash at the start of the show. ---
**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:** [June 25, 2020, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/15 "2020-06-25T01:28:23Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I have forgotten now. Were the murders in the show _Colombo_ before the opening credits? Or were they after them? Or were the credits played during the murders? Colombo usually took some time to establish the backstory of the murder, including the relationship between the killer and victim, and a look at the actual crime itself. I haven’t seen many, but I don’t think the format allowed for a murder until several minutes in. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/16 "2020-06-25T02:03:56Z")
All the various _CSI_ franchises usually began showing a dead body before the opening credits. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/17 "2020-06-25T03:39:20Z")
Almost none of these replies are actually answering the OP. There are about a bajillion TV episodes where someone is killed _before_ the credits. The OP is asking what shows have someone being killed _during_ the credit sequence. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/18 "2020-06-25T07:08:06Z")
Indeed the OP seems to ask a person getting killed _in_ the credits. I still wonder whether it is intended to be so specific, as credits are very brief and a kill would be almost a throwaway thing (you couldn’t have a prolonged death scene), so you would only see an assault, or the final gasp, but not both. If the question is about a killing at the very beginning (i.e. before the credits), there are of course the countless detective shows (many mentioned above), but also the pilot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/19 "2020-06-25T09:08:24Z")
Many shows these days don’t even have opening credits _per se_. After the cold open, they might have a title card. Then the credits themselves flash while the show itself goes on. If someone is killed while this is happening, does that count? ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824/20 "2020-06-25T10:56:38Z")
Do you guys in the US get “Death in Paradise”? Hugely formulaic, hugely popular British/French comedy cop series, where exactly this happens every time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-where-someone-gets-killed-in-the-opening-credits/912824.md?page=2)