Anyone who has ever gotten so immersed in a show so engaging that he put off healthy living for a few weeks, knows the feeling when you hear that opening tune or that opening shot in the show's title sequence -- when you give into just one more episode before rejoining society.
Show intro themes are a genius tool that have helped shows maintain their watchability. It’s familiar, comforting and reliable. Of course, a show with excellent content like "Game of Thrones" can carry its own weight without a powerful intro, but I am willing to argue that a strong, catchy title sequence can come a long way in boosting a show’s overall popularity.
Here’s my top 10, in order.
13. Louie
The slowness, laziness and dryness in this one as Louie nonchalantly walks down a New York sidewalk perfectly fits his dark, lethargic sense of humor as well as the offbeat, slow cadence of the show.
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12. Fairly Odd Parents
A hilariously catchy old timey show tunes jazz song with the same kind of thing going on as Family Guy’s theme.
11. Fresh Prince of Be Lair
It only seemed fair to include this Will Smith 90's hit series since just about everyone I know 30 and under (including myself) knows at least 75% of the opening rap song.
10. Freaks and Geeks.
This comedy cult following set in 1980 America launched so many careers: Jason Segal, James Franco, Seth Rogen… As the group takes turns for their yearbook shot, each pose and smile perfectly represents their character. And as the viewer gradually gets to know each of their quirks better, their goofy yearbook shots, accompanied by Joan Jett’s 'Bad Reputation,' make more and more sense.
9. Friday Night Lights
I loved this show when I was like 14. Now, I still think it contains some relatable, likable characters, but it's melodramatic tone makes it easy bate for sports soap-opera parody. There is something about the intro though that keenly matches the show’s sentiment and suspense.
8. Spongebob Squarepants
The pirate chant accompanied by children has graced our ears, unedited, since 1999. The show and Nickelodeon have changed so much since then, yet the title sequence remains, unchanged. I think I could stop anyone on the street, black or white, young or old, ask them, “who lived in a pineapple under the sea” and probably have a positive success rate of “spongebob square pants” in the correct tempo. It may go down as the greatest children’s show of all time.
7. The Simpsons
It would be sinful to not include this legendary adult cartoon. The score is excellent and fits the hectic tone of the show. The ever-changing of Bart’s detention chalkboard writing and the ending scene in the living room are unique features that give this intro strong re-watchability.
6. Game of Thrones
I could not imagine a more creative, efficient way to set up the complex world that inhabits "Game of Thrones." It guides you through which towns and kingdoms we will visit on today’s episode, with an accompanying composition that matches any orchestral score I’ve heard.
5. Family Guy
I’m a big fan of the sarcastic jazzy show tune thing. "Family Guy" does this so well on so many episodes. And this is an tune that truly never gets old.
4. Lost
I know it is only a 5 second clip of the word "Lost" in giant, bolded white letters flying through the screen on an eerie tilt. But the disorienting music, and the odd movement of the letters as they look like they will come through the screen creates a feeling in the viewer that perfectly matches whatever f*cked up shit is about to happen in that episode. May not be the best show of all time, but certainly the best cliffhanger show in my book.
3. Hey Arnold
Aside from the weird animation glitch where there’s only four dudes in one shot and like 6 in another when Arnold and his friends are meeting up with their girl counterparts, this theme is nearly perfect. The urban jazz theme song is an instant 90's Nick classic. Easily their strongest score.
2. The Sopranos
The greatest show of all time, with the second greatest intro of all time. I find myself singing along to the mob boss anthem “Woke up this morning, got myself a gun,” as I begin my first cookie and wiggle for comfort to settle in to an hour of TV cinematic genius. Driving around the bleak, greyness of the New Jersey turnpike, at face value, is a boring, monotonous reality of a working class American Italian.
But the close shots of Tony taking a puff of his cigar, the far out shots of planes flying across camera and distant buildings, and the final scene of Tony closing his door with force as he enters his illegally obtained mob mansion of a home all assemble into the most badass intro in the history of television.
1. Mad Men
Hands down, the greatest intro of all time. Generally agreed as Don Draper, the falling man, for me, literally illustrates suicide (which gained some controversy with connections drawn to the horrifying news photo of the “Falling Man,” from the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001). Figuratively, this figure illustrates the anxiety of a high-strung American businessman, tied to the uncertainty of a constantly changing culture.
The score seems to match the traditional, buttoned up early 1960s, and takes on a whole different meaning as the show enters the radical second half of the 60s. The falling ad man will forever remain a mystery in the history of television. As the camera patiently zooms toward the silhouetted Don Draper looking figure in the big chair, my excitement for the show’s game changing ad creativity, capitalistic vanity and middle aged alcoholism is at its peak.
