TV Poll: Your Favorite Credits Sequence

Hands down, the Firefly Intro. Love the song, loved the show And the graphical introduction of each character lovingly intertwined with a good introduction to the genre - its everything you could ask for in an intro...

In the premium cable category, I'll go with Carnivale, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Dexter, and John from Cincinnati (in that order).

In the network category, the first two that come to mind are The Wonder Years and of course The Twilight Zone.

Well, the idea behind the Sopranos opening sequence was brilliant, immediately setting it apart from all those other mob movies we had seen 'til then set in large urban environments. Here we see the mobster leave the city (really early in the morning after god knows what criminal activity/debauchery the night before) return home to his McMansion in the NJ 'burbs and thus immediately bring focus to what the show would eventually be about - family.

I absolutely adore the Flight of the Conchords opening credits and can't get that little ditty out of my head. I love the dancing salt shakers.

Another one great for its music and mood-setting is Battlestar Galactica which is though also my least favorite because of that unconscionable decision to show clips from the upcoming show in the opening credits.

A great opening sequence for a horrendously crappy show would be the one for the Black Donnellys with that quickfire display of the actors' name (to the sounds of gunshots).

But my all-time favorite, and one that I NEVER fast forward through, is the opening sequence to Freaks and Geeks. The Joan Jett song, the yearbook picture-taking gimmick, the gorgeousness of Linda Cardenelli at that time, the scruffy fake-smile of James Franco, the weird confidence of Samm Levine, and of course seeing Jason Segel at the edge of the screen rubbing his eyes with his palms to give himself more of a 'stoner' look were all brilliant just like the rest of that amazing short-lived show.

Thanks for reading and thanks for asking, James.

Freeks and Geeks was definitely one of the best ever - I hadn't thought of that one yet. I will pick a current favorite, the theme to Dexter. WOW! How better to introduce a show about a serial killer than by showing him taking murderous pleasure in the activities of daily life! Slicing open an orange and watching the juice squirt out, tightening his shoelaces as he would, say, a piano cord, smashing a mosquito, and then walking out the door with that tiny smile on his face. It is up for an Emmy this year - totally my favorite opening sequence ever.

However, I loved the Buffy one, too - with the howling and the organ, and then the uptempo kicking in for the credits montage. I love the Veronica Mars theme, too - before they made it all slow and dramatic. . .

Firefly is my favorite overall, with Buffy a close second. The music fits the shows perfectly, the opening montages do a good job of showing you what the characters are about, and they're not too long. But I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for some of the shows I grew up watching - Happy Days, MASH, the Twilight Zone. WKRP also makes the list, but mostly because of the theme song.

A few -
The Deadwood open always seemed right - different than the look of the show, beautifully shot, great music.

Hill St. Blues is one I remember from a very long time ago. It's so appropriate and of-the-era it almost seems like a parody thinking about it now.

Shara -

Great call on the Dexter opening. I totally forgot about that one but loved it whenever I saw it.

It's even better in HD.

And of course, how could I have forgotten the opening to the Muppets?

Hmm -- it may not be my favorite, but I was always impressed with how much information Arrested Development packed into its opening sequence. In ~16 seconds, you get the show concept and *all* the family relationships. (Plus they introduce the Ron Howard voiceover.)

In my books, nothing beats Six Feet Under.

It's funny that I was watching the Firefly sequence on Sci Fi channel as I was reading the other posts. Anyways, Carnivale, big surprise HBO again, has to be one of my favorites. Showing memorable moments from the '30s and mixing them together with Tarot cards was genius.

I also like was Weeds did with their "Little Boxes" during Season 2 when they had a different musician perform the song for every episode. I hear they are doing that again this season.

I actually liked Vernonica Mars Third Season opening better that the original. I know I am in the minority there but I think it fit the tone of the show better that the upbeat version of "We used to be Friends."

Oops, also Big Love...a little obvious with the four of them skating on thin ice but it does sum the whole thing up.

Six Feet Under and X-Files come to mind.

Firefly absolutely! But lets give credit to some other short lived series, Wonderfalls, Karen Sisco and EZ Streets.In the oldies but goodies, let's remember Hill Street Blues and Taxi.

Prison Break's is great. Totally conveys the mood for the show and sets the stage for the upcoming ep.

I've always enjoyed the Doctor Who credits and like the fact that they are still using the same basic theme song they've had since 1966.

Also Buffy and Angel had great credits. Dexter, House and The Tudors I also like.

Weird, my comment was "held for approval by the blog administrator" (possibly because I included YouTube links?). Besides the HBO series and Dexter that were already mentioned, I always liked The Wonder Years and The Twilight Zone.

I like the opening to The Rockford Files, because it tells you everything you need to know -- there's this dude who looks like Jim Rockford, he drives a Firebird and has an awesome themesong!

Plus the little answering machine bits were sometimes funny.

Alright, I'll be the geek. I liked the credits to Enterprise because of how it showed the progression of travel and exploration over time. Also because it had an actual song with vocals instead of the usual Star Trek fare.

Although Keith Jr. does not remember it, I have to tell you his favorite credits from when he was a tike in diapers. He would be playing happily with his toys and then The Nanny would come on with its catchy tune and animated sequence and it was like the ice cream truck coming down the street. He was mesmerized by the credits and would dance to it. He would even come running from another room if he heard it come on. It was the only show he ever had a reaction like that to.

What about 24. The few notes they play and the clock frittzing out pretty much sums up the urgency of the show.

Oh yeah.....Land of the Lost and H R Puffinstuff.

@beerbaron: published yr comment. Apparently our spam filter picks up posts with a certain number of links.

On the Firefly credits: One thing it also did was was to use both Western and Chinese musical motifs in the theme song, which also helped economically establish its 'verse.

The West Wing has a great opening. The theme was marvelous and the images were great. I miss that show.

Some of my favorites are:

Veronica Mars - I did not start watching it until season 3 and I loved the slow Dandy Warhols tune.

Farscape - he's in a space ship, he's lost, he's trying to get home! Love it - I knew what I was getting.

Alias - all the identities, the cool music! It made me happy when I heard it!

I love the Law and Order opening if only for the sheer refusal to bow to time and changing traditions. I think they've had the same picture of S. Epatha Merkson and Sam Waterston for 10 years! ER too. It's the same formula and it's soothing and familiar like an old security blanket.

I love M.A.S.H because I can so clearly see the opening and hear the music in my head and I wasn't even alive when it was on. It's kind of sad really, that modern day openings seem to be getting shorter and shorter (Example: Heroes and Lost.)

OH! I forgot! HOUSE! Love that one.

There aren't actually any credits in these credits, but no discussion on this topic can be complete without including the opening from The Simpsons. Danny Elfman's terrifically frantic score punching up introductory vignettes of the Simpsons family (and Springfield), bookended by the chalkboard and couch gags (the latter often 5 or so seconds of the best comedy on TV any given week) -- brilliant!

"Twin Peaks"'s credits, with that achingly slow theme song and mysteriously compelling sawmill footage, did a pretty good job of setting the mood for the weirdness that would follow.