In your opinion, which TV Series has the best Intro?
Best can be defined as best audio/soundtrack, best animation, best design, whatever you want it to be.
For me, it's gotta be Westworld. The soundtrack and the visual style is so clean and appealing.
Just a sheer masterclass of... everything. I watched it as a kid and knew it was genius. I watched it now and it's still genius.
They blew up the bank for no reason? Doesn't matter, rule of cool.
Even now I'm noticing things that are cool that I didn't appreciate before - like how it's the only TV intro I can recall that doesn't show the title of the series. And to be fair, it doesn't need to. It's BATMAN.
They blew up the bank for no reason?
Insurance fraud.
Batman TAS is the only cartoon I can remember where he the hero beats up white collar fraudsters like this (in one episode a Donald Trump-like businessman tries to trick the Joker into blowing up his bankrupt casino/hotel to collect the insurance)
I was gonna say Sopranos but BTAS is the best
Woke up this morning and I got some gabagool.
Then I woke up the next day and got some gabagool
Keep wakin up and keep gettin different types a gabbagool
Even got some gabagool from-a Scooby-Doo
My favorite part about it is that when Timm and Dini made a reel to pitch the series to WB, it was just this, and they realized how good it was and just remade it as the intro. All that was missing was some slightly better animation to bring it in line with the series bible and Shirley Walker redeveloping Danny Elfman’s 1989 score taking it to another level.
Damn that intro goes hard
True Detective Season 1. Great visuals and music.
So true. Always does remind me of this great Portlandia sketch.
Rewatching it! I never skip the intro.
And it influenced SO many shows after it.
X Files
My favourite thing about this is when the slogan would occasionally change
You know you're in for a crazy episode when the slogan changes
DECEIVE INVEIGLE OBFUSCATE
X-Files, teaching my teenage self the word “inveigle”!
Game of Thrones intro theme is amazing. Westworld as well.
I really like the tapestry intro in the newest HotD season, it’s a similar sort of theme and style to the classic show but has its own unique feel.
I do wish we could’ve gotten a new theme song though. Something that’s clearly related to the classic song but its own unique thing would go great with the tapestry.
The seeping blood along the entire tapestry is sublime art.
I can see why they didn’t want to risk switching up the theme song tbh.
Each GoT and HotD into has been a work of art
I was honestly a little disappointed that HoD didn't get its own intro song.
GoT also changed their intro each time they introduced a new area of the map. So it was based on the episode.
Same composer.
Both done by Ramin Djawadi. If they still do the game of thrones concert and you ever get a chance to see it, go.
Black Sails
I know an intro is good when I’m willing to watch it and I don’t even watch the show.
HIT ME WITH THAT HURDY-GURDY, BEAR
Between Outlander and Black Sails, Bear McCreary has filled a lot of my work playlists (music with no lyrics to get distracted by). His work is fantastic.
It makes you get it, y'know? "Yeah okay Im ready to burn England down now lets do this"
Beat me to it.
The intro was perfect, the visuals were great, but the music was fantastic.
Agreed, that intro made me want to pick up some rum and board a ship for some pilfering
I never skipped Black Sails or Vikings intros
Cowboy Bebop.
The Real Folk Blues is an amazing outro too.
Always reminds me of staying up watching Adult Swim until 3 a.m. lol.
♪I think it's time we blow this scene
Get everybody and the stuff together
Okay, three, two, one, let's jam ♪
🎻🎻🎻🎺🎺🎺
Every music in that show for that matter
Best show ever
The Wire. I loved how each season had a different cover of ‘Way Down in the Hole’.
This totally. The visual element was great too, captured what the whole show was about. Great song. Time for a rewatch maybe. Still best show of all time in my opinion.
I'm ashamed to say I really did not care for it and skipped it often when first watching. By about season 3 though my love for the show had translated to the theme song, now I listen to it for fun
Dexter
Love the remix they did when him & Rita had the baby, think s4 e1, such a brilliant idea
Severance
Paired with the ost, it's one of the more eerie and trippiest intros I've seen in a while.
I don't like you cuz I had a good few months run of not thinking about how much I fucking can't wait for the next season of this show. God damn it that ending has to be the biggest cliffhanger I have ever been interested in.
What a banger of an episode
Severance 💯
Severance and white lotus easy, most of it is down to the music though
Surely has to be The A-Team?
"In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them....maybe you can hire The A-Team."
Real talk: The A-Team movie was chock full of charisma and I'm MAD it never got a sequel. I think that film right there was one of the first, early casualties of video stores dying and a movie like that not getting a second chance on DVD/rentals.
Neeson, Cooper, and Copley were PERFECTLY cast. And the set piece with the tank was fantastic.
Six Feet Under. Deadwood
The simpsons!!! Ever changing couch bit!!
And chalkboard
And Lisa's sax solo.
And billboard.
Maybe not the best, but I loooove the intro to The Americans.
Battlestar Galatica (2004). It still gives me chills to this day. And while it’s not the theme, Bear McCreary’s cover of All Along The Watchtower is perfection.
Why did I have to scroll down for two minutes to find bsg? That intro was perfect, and I especially loved the little bit afterwards with the drums and teasing clips from the episode.
Dark
Gimme a sign
NEITHER EVEEEER NOR NEVERRRR GOODBYE
If you like that intro, you might enjoy the electronic group Moderat. Apparat does the intro to Dark, and he's the frontman for Moderat (with Modeselektor making up the other 2/3 of the group).
There's even a hauntingly beautiful cover of the Moderat song "Bad Kingdom" in one of the episodes in S3 iirc.
"The final season of Dark just came out last week, so I wanted to find out how the show’s theme music was made. “Goodbye” features vocals from Anja Plaschg, an Austrian artist who makes music under the name Soap&Skin. In this episode, Sascha and Anja break down how the song was created." https://songexploder.net/apparat
Peacemaker
They set the bar really high for season 2
Looking forward to the new dance number for the second season.
Do you wanna do you wanna do wanna taaaste it!??
Missing some reallys but the spirit is there
The GOAT.
Came here for this one.
It works on so many levels, the moves make more and more sense as the season progresses, it started off as funny, and ended up as "previously on" catchup.
The Sopranos or Succession
Sopranos is a good shout.
Whenever I hear the HBO intro, doesn’t matter what the programme is I’m always half expecting to hear the Sopranos intro. I think partly because it was the first HBO series I ever watched.
I always start air drumming during the intro to Succession.
The intro music is the whole reason I even started watching Succession. Turned out a good choice.
Bojack
Especially trying to catch all the small background changes.
Okay so I am about to start Bojack after a million years of having it on my mental "to watch" list. As good as I have heard?
First season is a bit slow but still pretty good. Beyond is amazing.
It’s brilliant
It’s a unique show unlike anything else. It does take half of the first season to establish characters and situate its particular method of story telling but once it does it is fantastic.
Damn, after reading these posts I feel old.
The Sopranos
Sopranos intro is one that I always would let play the song is just a banger. Also I’m a big succession intro fan
Can't believe this is so far down. Everything about that intro is perfect and I'll forever associate the HBO intro with those first few bass lines.
Lot of people going newer but you can’t tell me it’s not Cheers.
Making your way in the world today....
Also MASH has the balls to use a theme song named "suicide is painless"
Toby singing Suicide is Painless on Air Force One in the West Wing is one of the best scenes.
I have a friend who used to be afraid of the Cheers intro because he thought all the patrons were ghosts.
Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Succession
Best theme song for me
Skip Intro? Fuck Off!
Yes, yes, yes! Is the only theme tune I've loved so much, I added as my ringtone!
Definitely Succession and it’s WAY too far down the list
I like the GOT & Westworld themes, but I LOVE the Succession theme. I dont think I’ve ever skipped it.
On a recent video about Billy Joel taking inspiration from other artists, Pat Finnerty discovered something about Succession.
Pat at it again. First he takes Train from me and now this
S U C C E S S I O N
I was seriously expecting this to be the top comment
Narcos, Daredevil
Malcom in the Middle
The cold opens are my favorite. They’re so fucking great and then right into that intro song.
My favourite TV cold open is Hal replacing a lightbulb.
That one is brilliant. I also love the one when he bursts into the boys’ room and offers money for on of the boys to take the fall. “I’ve got him, honey!” always cracks me up.
Christ. I've just moved into my first house where I'm responsible for DIY stuff, and this is real. I used to empathise with the kids, now I'm 30 and I've become Hal. I guess this is growing up.
Yeah always thought Lois was a mega bitch as a kid but her kids are horrible. Like full on criminals most of the time. She’s right to be pissed off at their bullshit.
it just encapsulates the late 90’s early 2000’s so well. Makes me so nostalgic
When Wanda vision did the spoof of it i immediately recognized it, its timeless and captures that period so well
Yes, no, maybe... I don't know
TMBG anything gets my vote
Yep TMBG intros are the best intros. Malcolm, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, whatever
Firefly
Golden Girls yo… that theme song is 🔥
Off the top of my head:
Game of Thrones (and now House of the Dragon)
Black Sails
Westworld
Vikings
The Simpsons
Chuck. It caught me off guard.
True Blood.
The image of that dead fox is forever burnt into my brain
That clip is called "Fox rot" and was produced by textbook publisher Houghton Mifflin. It's also used in the Nine Inch Nails video for "Hurt".
I can’t believe I had to scroll this far down for True Blood. 🩸
Futurama
Bong bong bing bing bong bong bing bing bing
X-Men ‘97
That music kicks soooo much ass.
Carnivàle
Better Call Saul. It's a great, but more importantly short, intro.
I like how as the series progresses, the intro gets more and more distorted (implying that it’s recorded on VHS and Jimmy keeps rewatching it too many times).
Nothing beats Supernatural's two second intro.
Scrubs.
The White Lotus
Raised by Wolves is incredible
This really should be higher. That show was incredible and the intro was so haunting.
theDOOOOOOOR
that fiinally O-pens
The Rockford Files.
Original Hawaii Five-O.
Evil, even though it starts halfway through the episode.
I haven't gone back to check, but at least for the new season, there have been some hilarious "anti-intro-skipping" messages at the bottom a few seconds after the intro starts. Also the music is a banger.
The pop up books are the beeeeest, and so well set up the show's blend of creepy, funny, and weird.
Smallville
I was looking for this comment. I can’t believe there’s only one comment about Smallville. I Ithink Smallville's opening was really great.
🎵 Somebody SAAAAAAAAVE MEEEEEEE🎵
Vikings
Star Trek Voyager. I love the original series and TNG intro. But Voyager’s is just perfect
Love to see that moose walking down the street in the intros for Northern Exposure.
You know, old stuff😀
Halt and Catch Fire
Doctor Who. Just instant classic.
Bluey
Dexter started it all. Digital Kitchen has done most of your favorite intros. My favorite though is Mad Men.
The Expanse is pretty great. Lots of others already mentioned…
Dexter
Baywatch
Psych. I know, you know.
That I'm not telling the truth
Daredevil
Twin Peaks, among the best intros. So many good ones were already mentioned here.
Daredevil or doom patrol
Leftovers Season 1 is good
It’s gotta be Game of Thrones for me.
Epic soundtrack + great visual storytelling and keeping you up to date where and what’s happening in the world.
I'm really partial to the Roswell intro. Dido really sets the tone of the series I think, like it's not the best show ever but the intro really fits.
Game of thrones and House of the dragon
The expanse
Foundation
Dark
Arcane
Xmen '97
True Blood is so good
Thundercats!
The show Legion had some terribly interesting uses of the "intro", including one at the very end of an episode. Also, Dan Stevens and Navid Negahban are wonderful!
Legion is so good. I think about the dance scene from S1E1 more than I should
GOT
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987.
Six Feet Under
X-Files forever and always
Black Sails Daredevil Westworld
Agreed westworld. But also, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt lol because I never skip the intro
Black Sails' was pretty cool.
Air Wolf - how is this even up for debate?
Parks and Recs
The Rockford Files
Band of Brothers
There are better I suppose, but Star Trek TNG is one that I never, ever skip
What we do in the shadows
Night Court
Taxi
Barney Miller
Sanford and Son
Cowboy Beebop
All in the Family
X-Files
Utopia (UK) , and 6 Feet Under
I liked reciting along with the intro to Quantum Leap
The Sopranos
Rescue Me
Jack Ryan
Jonathan Nolans former show - Person of Interest
Weeds
Fringe is pretty fucking good especially a when it changes based on the time/setting of the show.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Airwolf and/or Magnum P.I.
Batman: The Animated Series.
Edit: Just a reminder