I have noticed on several occasions that some TV shows run the credits at the beginning of broadcast in a piecemeal fashion, so that it is ten minutes or more into the story and they are still flashing producers’ names and so forth on the screen.
Why do they do that?
Because they are afraid that someone watching credits will get bored and switch the channel to one of 250 other choices. Same reason the end credits run in a bar with a come-on for the next show.
I understand why they run the credits over the content. My question is why do they drag it out so long? They could do them all in less than two minutes, but instead they space them out so as to last up to ten minutes or more.
There are a lot of credits to cover: regular actors, guest stars, producers, writers, and the director. You’re contractually obligated to include them all.
Also, if you run the credits over the content, you need to show the names one at a time so they’re less obtrusive. Instead of ten seconds of five secondary guest stars at once, you have five seconds for each of the five with an individual credit.
Saw it this week on SCORPION at the twenty-two minute mark. I was impressed.
It doesn’t help that there are usually all sorts of producers, associate producers, executive producers etc., and that unlike writing or directing there’s no industry definition of who gets a producer credit so a lot of them are just rewards (or sometimes bribes) for people that never did any actual producing but did some other thing for the show.
Nowadays, people read credits on their ipads.
It’s a conceit that credits appear at all, but its an entrenched tradition.
What other product can you think of where the names of all the people involved in the production are even available, let alone interweaved into the product in a way that detracts from the product?
It’s not a conceit, it is part of the contract. And for TV shows, it is definitely not the case that all people involved get credits. Movies are more inclusive. As Kermit said, the lower level people have families too.
It is part of the contract because it is a conceit. These things are not immutable. Those in the movie and TV industry could stop being such precious wankers and stop demanding in contracts that their names be plastered across their product.
The sound engineer working on a music recording doesn’t insist on having his name read over the top of songs he’s worked on. His family seems to cope OK.
The main credits are for the actors, which would analogous to the musicians, and those do get read in contexts where that would not be known ahead of time.
I wouldn’t know who pretty much anyone was on TV if not for credits. That’s why they exist. The others considered as important as the actors get credited, too.
My wife loves Grey’s Anatomy, and I like to mock them for showing the opening credits about fifteen minutes (one quarter) into each episode. It strikes me as pretentious – they’re pretending that each episode has the dramatic and artistic weight of a single major motion picture.
Does anyone read the credits? Why have them ‘disturbing’ the show, or are they there to distract you from how bad the show is?
I read them. I like noting who’s credited as writer (though that can be misleading on shows with a “writing room”) and director (which can actually be a big deal in how the episode was made; directors have a lot of control).
I usually ignore producer credits, though.
You inadvertently answer your own question in the OP. Why do TV shows run credits so late into any given episode? It’s to get you to notice them.
It’s the same reason why fewer and fewer TV shows have an opening credits sequence. That used to be a very specific gimmick to grab the audience and get them to pay attention. But over time, the audience became used to it as being some dead airspace and used that time for bathroom breaks, to get snacks, etc. So credits - especially the top brass credits like “directed by” “executive producer” got shoved into the first few minutes of an episode. But even in those first few minutes, a show doesn’t always have the audience’s full attention, so the credits get spaced out and placed further into a show to a point where the show has “grabbed you.”
Just pay attention at any random show and you’ll notice that the credits are VERY deliberately paced to appear when you are definitely settled onto the couch and definitely watching the screen. They’ll even space them out so that they appear when there is relatively little action occurring onscreen (which might divert your attention from reading the credits.)
Not anymore. the credits are by percentage mostly all producers, and “producers”. Producer used to mean something specific. An old school producer used to be analogous to the current “show runner”, responsible for the tone, theme, style, direction, etc., of the show. The executive producer was the money guy. He didn’t have day-to-day control of show content. Usually this person was a studio executive rather than part of the show’s staff. (for example, executive producer Herb Solow was a Desilu executive, where Gene Coon did the day-to-day production work on Star Trek.)
Now the “producer” credits are mostly patronage, as alluded earlier in this thread. Plus, producer credits for the lead actors increase residuals. You get a cut of the money as producer as well as acting, even if you do no actual producing. It’s bonus money. Double dipping.
I wouldn’t have an argument against that, if the “producers” credited actually did anything. But, they’re just trying to fool us older people, who read credits back in the day when there were three (writer, producer, director), into thinking the 30 “producers” listed in the opening credits actually are essential to the finished product.
I’ve recently noticed something new that is tangentially related to this… Some shows don’t show an opening song or introduction anymore. For example Two and a half men don’t have any kind of opening anymore; just the sing-songy “mennnnn” when they break to commercial.
Well there’s always this Han Chinese lacquer cup from 4 A.D. with an inscription that reads “The wooden core by Yi, lacquering by Li, top-coat lacquering by Dang, gilding of the ear- handles by Gu, painting by Ding, final polishing by Feng, product inspection by Ping, supervisor-foreman Zong. In charge were Government Head Supervisor Zhang, Chief Administrator Liang, his deputy Feng, their subordinate Executive Officer Long, and Chief Clerk Bao.” But I’m not sure that all of that Chinese lettering around the base detracts from the product. It does go to show that wanting to take credit for your work goes back a long way.
When you have to go back to 4AD to find a counter example, I think you’re making my point for me 
But in any event even your example probably there was actually an assistant lacquer-maker whose name doesn’t get mentioned. In the movie business, his name would be listed in the credits at the end.
Really, I don’t much mind the credits at the end since they are unobtrusive. It’s the placing of credits over the product itself that I think is incredibly egotistical since it shows you place your own fame above the quality of your product.