# Why do TV show episodes have individual titles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 6, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382 "2005-09-06T18:32:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/21 "2005-09-06T23:39:54Z")
During the final season of _Space Ghost: Coast to Coast_ , a string of episodes were named for Allman Brothers albums. ---
**Author:** ![Amok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Amok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amok)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/22 "2005-09-06T23:55:33Z")
> [@thwartme](#): > > I seem to remember a lot of older shows having actual title cards. Of course my work-addled brain can’t come up with any specific examples right now, but I’m sure I saw them. I remember them a lot on the pre-80s dramas that I watched in syndication as a kid. Shows like _Columbo_, _Quincy_, and _The Rockford Files_. Now someone is going to come in and tell me that at least one of those shows didn’t have title cards, but you (hopefully) know the kind of show I mean. I can’t remember if older sitcoms had them though. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/23 "2005-09-07T00:13:24Z")
> [@KJ](#): > > Completely random trivia factoid: There are two episodes of The Simpsons that show the title on screen; “[Bart Gets Hit by a Car](http://www.tv.com/simpsons/bart-gets-hit-by-a-car/episode/1308/summary.html)” and “[The Telltale Head](http://www.tv.com/the-simpsons/the-telltale-head/episode/1293/summary.html).” I think The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular also showed the title. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/24 "2005-09-07T00:41:27Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I think The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular also showed the title. Come to think of it, so did “22 Short Films About Springfield.” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/25 "2005-09-07T00:43:30Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > The entire last season of “That 70’s Show” had episodes that shared titles of songs from the Who. Yet _another_ reason I’d like to see a _That 70s Show_/_CSI_ crossover. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/26 "2005-09-07T00:47:56Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Yet _another_ reason I’d like to see a _That 70s Show_/_CSI_ crossover. The CSI gang can figure out how Red killed everybody else on the show. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/27 "2005-09-07T02:54:20Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > The CSI gang can figure out how Red killed everybody else on the show. “Aw, crap! I’ve been nailed by a bunch of dumbass science nerds!” ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/28 "2005-09-07T03:43:00Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > No answers, but a follow-up question. Before internet fandom had truly spread, were there ways for devoted, hard-core, cultlike fans to find out these titles? For television series before 1970, episode titles would be listed in the book _Catalog of Copyright Entries: Motion Pictures, 1950-1969_, published by the U.S. Copyright Office in 1973. Each episode has a separate copyright registration. The book is fairly common in the reference section of libraries. Episode guides could also be found in these reference books by Larry James Gianakos: • _Television Drama Series Programming: A Comprehensive Chronicle, 1947-1959_ (1980). • _Television Drama Series Programming: A Comprehensive Chronicle, 1959-1975_ (1978). • _Television Drama Series Programming: A Comprehensive Chronicle, 1975-1980_ (1981). • _Television Drama Series Programming: A Comprehensive Chronicle, 1980-1982_ (1983). • _Television Drama Series Programming: A Comprehensive Chronicle, 1982-1984_ (1987). And: Joel Eisner, _Television Comedy Series: An Episode Guide to 153 TV Sitcoms in Syndication_ (1984). All were common in library reference sections. For television shows from Quinn Martin Productions in the sixties and seventies, a stenorian male voice would read the episode title out loud for you; e.g., “_The F.B.I._! In color! Tonight’s episode: _Special Delivery_.” _Police Squad!_ parodied this. ---
**Author:** ![qubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f07891/32.png) [@qubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qubed)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/29 "2005-09-07T03:44:50Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > More idiosyncratic titles: > As for the question in the OP, it never occurred to me that you wouldn’t title TV show episodes. Everything has a title. That’s how you know what you’re talking about. It is a lot easier to remember something by a title than by “season four, episode three” or something. Well, it seemed to me that some random episode number would suffice to be the title. As far as I know, TV shows are the only medium where often the audience _doesn’t know_ the title. So that struck me as odd. And for shows like _The Simpsons_, someone obvoiusly put a lot of thought into some of the titles, and it’s a shame that they don’t have title cards. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/30 "2005-09-07T13:23:33Z")
I think a lot of times, sitcom writers are writing for themselves and their friends. If the general public laughs along, more power to 'em. So, even if it takes a lot of thought and works well as a joke, the title was probably just intended to make the other writers laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/31 "2005-09-07T13:36:13Z")
What really would freak me out was peeking in on some _Simpsons_ discussions on usenet or listserv and seeing people refer to the episodes _by their production codes_: “But what about Krusty’s appearance in 3G023?!!” and so on. Now _that’s_ some hardcore geekery. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/32 "2005-09-07T14:04:53Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > For television shows from Quinn Martin Productions in the sixties and seventies, a stenorian male voice would read the episode title out loud for you; e.g., “_The F.B.I._! In color! Tonight’s episode: _Special Delivery_.” _Police Squad!_ parodied this. I recall Quinn Martin Productions also had each episode broken up into “Acts” like a play, which was something else that Police Squad! spoofed. “Act II - Gesundheit” ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/33 "2005-09-07T14:19:52Z")
Except for 3 episodes that do not center around JD, the title of every episode of **Scrubs** starts with the word “My”. Examples from Season 1: _My Mentor_ _My Best Friend’s Mistake_ _My Old Lady_ ---
**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:** [September 7, 2005, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/34 "2005-09-07T16:39:38Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > I think a lot of times, sitcom writers are writing for themselves and their friends. If the general public laughs along, more power to 'em. And I’m sure that the millions of dollars at stake have nothing to do with this in the slightest. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Thrillhouse15](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@Thrillhouse15](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thrillhouse15)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/35 "2005-09-07T19:26:04Z")
> [@thwartme](#): > > Newsradio had a whole string of [episodes](http://www.tv.com/newsradio/show/179/episode_listings.html&season=0) named for Led Zeppelin albums, for no apparent reason. I have nothing to add, except that that is outstanding, especially episode number 41. ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/36 "2005-09-07T19:49:45Z")
What strikes me as strange is that when Star Trek **fans** are parodied, they are always referring to episodes by their _number_, (example: Futurama, “Where No Fan Has Gone Before”) instead of their names, like _every_ self-respecting fan does. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/37 "2005-09-07T20:36:20Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > What really would freak me out was peeking in on some _Simpsons_ discussions on usenet or listserv and seeing people refer to the episodes _by their production codes_: “But what about Krusty’s appearance in 3G023?!!” and so on. Now _that’s_ some hardcore geekery. In episode 8F06, Itchy is playing Scratchy’s ribs like a xylophone. He hits the same rib twice in succession, but produces two clearly different notes. Are we supposed to believe that this is some sort of “magic xylophone” or something? I hope someone got fired for that one. P.S. In the Itchy and Scratchy CD-ROM, is there any way to get into the dungeon without using the wizard’s key? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/38 "2005-09-08T00:23:10Z")
I used to make up my own episode names for shows I liked, and I was always really happy when I learned a real title, either from a listing in the paper or because the episode was nominated for an award. When I recently received several seasons of MASH episodes on DVD, I was pleased to find my two favorite episodes listed by the titles I remembered, but shocked to see that the episode I was positive was called “Radar Is Wounded”, is in fact titled “Fallen Idol”. I must have been remembering a title I thought up (and a fairly obvious one, at that) rather than the real episode title. NYPD Blue, which never showed its titles on screen, had some hysterical ones, many of which were bad puns and/or slightly off color (“Honeymoon at Viagra Falls”, “Better Laid Than Never”, “Tain’t Misbehavin’”, “Healthy McDowell Movement”, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/39 "2005-09-08T00:37:49Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > . > > NYPD Blue, which never showed its titles on screen, had some hysterical ones, many of which were bad puns and/or slightly off color (“Honeymoon at Viagra Falls”, “Better Laid Than Never”, “Tain’t Misbehavin’”, “Healthy McDowell Movement”, etc.) Or my personal favourite, “Nude Awakening”. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382/40 "2005-09-08T02:03:47Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Except for 3 episodes that do not center around JD, the title of every episode of **Scrubs** starts with the word “My”. > > Examples from Season 1: > > _My Mentor_ > > _My Best Friend’s Mistake_ > > _My Old Lady_ And those 3 are _His Story_ _Her Story_ _His Story 2_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tv-show-episodes-have-individual-titles/320382.md?page=3)