15 Best TV Show Intros

By Real TV Addict Team on November 25th, 2009

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They’re a dying breed these days; sadly, more networks than ever before are beginning to kill the iconic opening sequences to their TV shows. The extra thirty seconds to one minute of airtime is now often repurposed to earn more advertising dollars, and a veritable art form is lost in the process. These opening sequences are more than simply a title card and some cheap music, they’re an ad’s length sum of the entire show. Most were meant to be thrown away, but many were masterpieces in their own right, and we’re celebrating those here today. These are the 15 greatest TV show openers we could dredge up; new and old alike, they’re all classics.

Six Feet Under

Six Feet Under has spanned five seasons, won massive amounts of critical acclaim, and touched millions of viewers worldwide since it hit HBO in 2001. The show’s intro grabbed those viewers from the outset; the cheery, 50′s era going to work in the morning hustle and bustle music set the tone as they watched a recently deceased woman maker way from the morgue to the grave.

The clever use of some excellent camera work polished it off to be an excellent opening sequence.

Dead Like Me

Dead Like Me is another show about death, to put it bluntly — that being said, it’s intro is downright cute. The show itself takes a very playful and ironically live-life approach to the subject of death and the afterlife. That’s its appeal, and the opening sets the scene for all to come. Watching numerous reapers go about the daily lives of normal human beings is enough to catch our attention — doing it to music that reminds of a shopping spree in a 60′s era mall does it even better.

Dexter

Dexter is a much-loved show, and for good reason. It’s dark, it’s funny, it’s human, and most of all it’s surprisingly multifaceted. The intro to the show chooses a narrower route; they wanted to show the core of the show, that Dexter himself is a normal guy, living a normal life that borders on the mundane. It shows that people, despite the gloss and polish, aren’t very pretty when watched extremely closely, and that we are just animals, after all.

Weeds

Weeds has an intro that tells a story through song, and not just any song, either. The song they chose for this introduction is no other than “Little Boxes,” written by Malvina Reynolds in the 60′s. The intro’s absolutely perfect, since the show itself is about a suburban housewife turned single-mother, who turns to drug-dealing to maintain the cookie-cutter lifestyle that her family had enjoyed prior to her husband’s demise. What makes this intro particularly special is that while the first season used Reynolds’ version of the song, the second and third seasons used covers done by over 30 artists, including Death Cab for Cutie.

Nip/Tuck

Playing A Perfect Lie by The Engine Room, Nip/Tuck goes the sexy route with its opening sequence — perfectly matching the rest of the show’s MO. The metaphorical use of manikins and models is genius in that it makes for seamless transitions, and tells a story at the same time. The show may be about plastic surgery and the evils that come with its existence, but it goes pretty deep in doing so, and this intro sarcastically portrays that dynamic. This version is especially interesting; it’s subtitled in Portuguese with The Stroke of a Scalpel. Our American version has no subtitle to the name.

Bored to Death

A rarity these days, Bored to Death‘s intro is an animation. Aside from being a throw-back to the shows of yesteryear, this allows for much more creativity than can be afforded by actual actors and cameras; in this case, they’ve used some clever typography influenced by old-school film noir to make an excellent opening sequence. The intro, like the show, also makes for a great ode to all the private eye novels of the past.

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

Not much needs to be said about the introduction to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, since it’s one of the absolute most iconic opening sequences in television history. Low-budget and kitschy as it is on the surface, it’s actually quite genius; It was meant to be catchy, and tell a background story to set the show — both of which it accomplished with relative ease. The intro was so successful that now, nearly 20 years later, its song is still sung verbatim by countless fans at the mere mention of the show.

Fringe

Typography and word-placement play a huge role in the introduction to JJ Abrams’ Fringe. The intro is short and to the point, but it’s made to take the viewers symbolically through the show’s concept as they see what Fringe is composed of. This all happens with crystal clarity and speed, while the music builds to crescendo on a final, spartan screen showing only the show’s title and key production team. It’s genius in that it’s to the point, and also keeps with the show’s theme of hidden messages and hidden meanings. For a split second, the phrase “Observers are Watching” are visible near the center of the screen, just before you see the words Dark Matter.

House

In the US, the intro to House is set to the tune of Massive Attack’s Teardrop, while licensing issues caused a mock version of the song to be used elsewhere. The intro grabs viewers attention, soothes them and prepares them for a show far more cerebral than many airing today. It’s also visually in tune with a medical drama, which only further sets the scene.

The Sopranos

The introduction to The Sopranos grew to be such a favorite while the show aired that the song, Woke Up This Morning became a popular ringtone, and residents of New Jersey rejoiced that their state was finally shown a bit of respect. Mafia shows and movies have always been traditionally set in New York, with New Jersey being nothing more than an afterthought. The opening sequence shows the lead character, Tony Soprano, making his way through New Jersey on his way home to a house in the suburbs.

Twilight Zone

Originally airing in 1959, The Twilight Zone changed television forever. The show’s introduction, narrated by none other than Rod Serling himself, took viewers from the comfort of their home into the unknowns of whatever strange adventure the show was about to embark upon. It was new and genius, and at the time it was even known for its special effects, laughable as they are today. Coupled with the eery music, it’s no wonder this intro has lasted fresh in memory for decades to all who’ve seen it.

The Outer Limits

Taking cues from The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits made waves by pretending to hijack viewers television sets, taking them seemingly by force into a bizarre, scifi world of wonder with every episode. Even today, this introduction brings a smile to every nerd’s face.

Gilligan’s Island

With an introduction sporting a song so cute, so catchy, and so iconic, Gilligan’s Island not only made waves when it aired, but continues to do so today. The song’s actual title was, believe it or not, The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle, and it told the entire story of how the wayward cast came to find themselves lost on a desert island. The song has probably started playing in your head already, and considering it was first sung in 1964 — you do the math.

The Muppet Show

Another musical masterpiece, the introduction to The Muppet Show touched the hearts of millions when it first aired, and anybody who watches it today immediately feels the same way. Undeniably cute, the intro started off with the familiar trap-door equipped wall showing the title, and our favorite muppet popping out to announce the show and its special guest of the evening. It then erupted into full show-tunes muppet-mayhem, to an order that only muppets could accomplish.

Star Trek

Of all introductions to all shows in all of television history, only Star Trek is so amazingly iconic that it could not only be easily recognized, but easily quoted in about as many countries of the world as Coca Cola or Pepsi are sold. This intro, simple and short as it is, burns into the memory of any who watch it. Considering it was made in 1966 on a shoestring budget, the special effects weren’t half bad, either.