# What are the best TV opening sequences? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 10, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212 "2010-11-10T19:59:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Flying\_Saucer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@Flying\_Saucer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Saucer)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/1 "2010-11-10T19:59:46Z")
I’m not aiming for a single winner; I’d prefer just to make a list of the good ones. With networks giving more airtime to commercials, TV credit sequences are getting shorter and shorter. We may have seen the last of the great opening sequence for a while. But we can look back on almost 60 years of history and pinpoint some favorites. I’ll nominate two, both from the science fiction genre: [Star Trek: Voyager](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_OylbFmMJU) Between the gorgeous visuals of space and Jerry Goldsmith’s anthem that’s both triumphant and searching, I think this is one of the best title sequences in TV history. It’s a great, two-minute tour of the wonders of the galaxy (real and imagined). [The X-Files](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdmtY0vux30) A creepy score over strange visuals that don’t show ghosts and aliens as much as imply them. The fact that the two stars are shown only on their FBI badges, as if the viewer is finding them on a desk, adds to the sequence’s off-kilter quality. Those are some of my favorites. How about yours? Drama, comedy, even news and sports programs are eligible. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/2 "2010-11-10T20:08:05Z")
Rockford Files TJ Hooker Three’s Company Brady Bunch Gilligan’s Island Lost Miami Vice LA Law Monday Night Football (Heavy Action) Hawaii Five-O Dallas ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/3 "2010-11-10T20:13:07Z")
The best nowadays are mostly on the premium cable shows, presumably because they don’t have to worry about maximizing content to commercials ratio. My first thoughts were _The Sopranos_ and _Dexter_. Worthy of mention, Star Trek: Enterprise: +100 for the visuals, -1000000000 for the music. Shame. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/4 "2010-11-10T20:20:19Z")
Without a doubt-[_Police Squad!_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm_t3g4RhpY) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/5 "2010-11-10T20:24:12Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > The best nowadays are mostly on the premium cable shows, presumably because they don’t have to worry about maximizing content to commercials ratio. My first thoughts were _The Sopranos_ and _Dexter_. > > Worthy of mention, Star Trek: Enterprise: +100 for the visuals, -1000000000 for the music. Shame. I seem to be alone in absolutely loving that song. It was particularly appropriate for _Enterprise_; its sentiment had to be exactly what Archer & Company were thinking when they were first set out. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/6 "2010-11-10T20:24:48Z")
I don’t watch it anymore, but I had always liked the opening to The Amazing Race. It always made me feel like I was going somewhere for an adventure. Oh, and Hubby likes the Big Bang Theory’s opening. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/7 "2010-11-10T20:26:13Z")
I always liked the Scrubs opening simply because it was really brief. Even really well done openings start to annoy me after the forth or fifth episode. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/8 "2010-11-10T20:28:02Z")
Hill Street Blues Cheers ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/9 "2010-11-10T20:46:35Z")
Twin Peaks ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/10 "2010-11-10T20:58:28Z")
I always liked the opening for [The Wild Wild West](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7ThP2VuHRQ). ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/11 "2010-11-10T21:02:35Z")
Ha, your thread is not aptly named. You meant opening titles, not opening sequence (that’s the pre titles sequence). Well, IMHO, there’s one show that had really stunning opening titles (even though the show itself never had one sequence of this level in its entire run): [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uB1NiNKwueE/hqdefault.jpg "The Equalizer intro") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB1NiNKwueE) Apart from that, I could name a shitload of very memorable title sequences in series. Most of the time, it’s got to do with having a very good score. West’s mysteries Black sheep squadron Mission Impossible Knight Rider The Batman ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/12 "2010-11-10T21:05:54Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Ha, your thread is not aptly named. You meant opening titles, not opening sequence (that’s the pre titles sequence). > > Well, IMHO, there’s one show that had really stunning opening titles (even though the show itself never had one sequence of this level in its entire run): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB1NiNKwueE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB1NiNKwueE) Is that The Outer Limits? Cause if it isn’t, The Outer Limits was the first show I thought of. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/13 "2010-11-10T21:07:58Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > Worthy of mention, Star Trek: Enterprise: +100 for the visuals, -1000000000 for the music. Shame. The reworked version for the Mirror Universe episodes was great fun - martial music playing while NX-class ships conquered and pillaged. Though I wish they’d used an except from Holst’s “Mars, Bringer of War” instead. I thought the Battlestar Galactica opening sequence (the new series, obviously) was excellent - set the tone nicely, and had some of BSG’s standard excellent visuals. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/14 "2010-11-10T21:08:19Z")
The Enterprise episode [“In a Mirror, Darkly.”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk1NK8AXepk) I hate you, Mr. Excellent. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/15 "2010-11-10T21:11:04Z")
The Twilight Zone Six Million Dollar Man The Sopranos Dexter (although it’s forever long). ---
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/16 "2010-11-10T21:20:22Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Without a doubt-[_Police Squad!_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm_t3g4RhpY) That was freaking hilarious! I gotta watch that show now. As for Dexter, the intro used to always make me hungry. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/17 "2010-11-10T21:21:36Z")
[Boardwalk Empire.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9DCLv_6e5c) And the show is every bit as good. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/18 "2010-11-10T21:27:56Z")
I wanted to say Voyager, but it was the first pick! DS9 wasn’t bad after season 4. I like Seinfeld’s brief bass and simple logo in the corner. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/19 "2010-11-10T21:28:45Z")
I always appreciated the conciseness and utility of the opening for _My Name Is Earl_. It’s short, it gives you the entire premise of the show in case you’ve never seen it before, and leads right into the episode no matter what the episode is about. ---
**Author:** ![Timchik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@Timchik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timchik)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212/20 "2010-11-10T21:31:30Z")
[True Blood](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxINMuOgAu8) - great swamp-boogie song over images of death, decay, and Southern weirdness. Too bad the series itself is so ludicrous. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-tv-opening-sequences/560212.md?page=2)