There was a post last week over at Alan's site which got me thinking about my favourite opening sequences, I sat down. Spewed out my favoutires and ended up with 15 that really stood out on my memory. So I thought I'd post about them here and thanks to the wonder of YouTube I can even provide videos so you too can marvel at the good old days where opening credits could be in excess of ten seconds long.

I'm going to break this one into three parts as other wise this would be one heck of a list. Please, feel free to agree or disagree with any of the opening credits listed here and tell me any of your favourites. I'd love to watch other opening credit videos as well if you want to put them in the comments sections.

If they don't appear to work properly on the main page (which they do not in my browser) click on the title link and they should work in the seperate page.

The A-Team



Actually finding this video was a heck of a task in itself, it seems everyone and their grandma wants to remake their own version of this theme. Not really surprising, it is an absolute classic. Saturday evenings back in my childhood were spent around my Grandparents house and this was the climax of the visit. Sitting down and forcing everyone else to watch The A-Team was just great, I'm still not sure if my sister actually enjoyed watching it as well or just watched because she had too.

Captain Scarlet



Sure Thunderbirds and Sting Ray also had excellent opening credits, but Captain Scarlet is where it's at. Combining just the right amount of creepy mystery with awesomeness it sums up everything you need to know about the show right there.

Darkplace



A complete spoof of the low budget horror genre Darkplace manages to lampoon multiple shows in it's opening credits and sticks with it's style perfectly. It's great fun working out what shows are referenced in the various scenes.

Dead Like Me



A great show with a cracking set of opening credits that really set the tone for the rest of the show. I'm very fond of the off-beat piano that keeps everything light and enjoyable, but I also like the entire "Reapers amongst the living unseen" click this intro has.

Dexter



Highlighting the violence of everyday actions with a series of disturbing camera angles Dexter's opening sequence is always a delight to watch. All scored to a fantastic theme composed by Rolfe Kent (While I'm at it Daniel Licht composes a lot of the other tunes and is worth a listen), the dark humour present in the show is here in spades.

Part 2 is here and Part 3 is here
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Continued from part 1.

Firefly



I love this one so much I learnt to play it on guitar, it's a bit of a party piece of mine - well when there are spades of total TV/Sci-Fi/Joss Whedon dorks around it is anyway. It's a great song and that's the thing which turns this opening from average into something special.

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air



This is the extended version of this classic opening, it also has the lyrics - just in case you didn't already know most of them.

Homicide:Life on the street



This one is just a classic, it sets the tone for the show beautifully with stark black and white images and a dark tune mixed with radio chatter. It just evokes the feel of noir and the show.

Police Squad



While the Naked Gun openers are more commonly known I'm very fond of the Police Squad version. I especially enjoy the Abrham Lincon and Special Guest Star death each week. Now in colour!

The Prisoner



Is it surprising this one has made it onto the list? It's brilliant. I wonder if the remake will have something as good...

This series climaxes in part three!
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Continued from Part 2

Six Feet Under



Along with Dexter I think this is one of the finest on this list. It's stark, beautiful and disturbing, just like the show

Sledge Hammer



This one's on here for the sheer 80s cheese brilliance of it. Sledge Hammer never pretended to be a clever show, but the opening sequence is fantastic. A series of close angle shots of Sledge's gun followed by a delivery of his catch phrase and some poor gun acting. It's just great.

Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister



Not only does this one have exactly the right tune playing, it's also a piece of art as those caricatures of the cast are sketched up while you watch. Great stuff, again one I remember from my childhood as my parents watched it religiously.

The Wire

Season One


Season Five


I've included two of them here, my two favourite renditions of the opening sequence, which are Season 1 and Season 5. Honestly I don't know which version of the intro theme I love more, the Blind Boys of Alabama's one (Season One) is the first one I heard and I own the album it came from but Steve Earl's rendition just manages to feel even bleaker but remains catchy.

The 4400



Was this song made for the show specifically? It just fits so well, it's beautiful, sorrowfull and every single scene in it screams of abduction. It's a real shame this show didn't get the exposure it deserved.

So how about it? Agree? Disagree? Have I missed anything?
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