4w ago

What TV series has the best intro song or sequence? What TV series have the worst intro song or sequence?

156 comments

Take my love, take my land Take me where I cannot stand I don't care cause I'm still free You can't take the sky from me
- I don't think I've ever skipped it in my life.
- Our local Browncoats chapter rents out a theater once a year to watch Serenity, and everyone singing along with the song is so glorious
- This was going to be my answer. I’m so glad it’s the top comment.
- For those curious it's from firefly
  https://youtu.be/osPsUFrvrSQ

I think it's time we blow this scene
- Absolutely top-tier opening theme, certainly in contention for best. Definitely all-time best soundtrack, taken as a whole, no contest.
- I was afraid I was gonna have to say Tank!, but ya beat me to it, ya beautiful bastard.
  Worst is MASH, imho. The intro music is on par with a dose of phenobarbital.
  
  Suicide is Painless
  It brings on many changes
  And I can take or leave it,
  If I please!
- God dammit.

The Cheers theme song encapsulates a whole region of my childhood brain. I still get chills of nostalgia whenever I hear it.
Also, the theme to Trailer Park Boys builds a particular ball of sadness and nostalgia in my stomach.

Doctor Who - lots of variants over the years but it's other worldly and really fits the show.

Knight Rider was a theme I always loved

Seconding Firefly
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' theme was groundbreaking comedy on TV for the time because it took an internet trend and did the thing
Gilligan's Island is cultural bedrock
So was Friends
Greatest American Hero, a song about a guy forced to have super powers that just wants to be boring. Best part of the show was the song.
The Muppet Show
Fresh Prince
- Believe it or not, I'm walking on air -- I never thought I could feel so free
  Flying away on a wing and a prayer -- Who could it be?
  Believe it or not, it's just me
  On the most sensational inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational This is what we call the Muppet Show!

🎶 It's been a long road.... 🎵
- If we're going with Star Trek, I have to say TNG season 3 is the one that gets me the most. That little flute soothes my soul. Although I do also have soft spot for the incredibly chill DS9 opening.
  
  Every trek theme is great. My favorite is Voyager's.
- You have to say whether it's for worst or best
  
  It's too controversial to state either way.
- 🎵 Gettin' from here to there 🎶
- Definitely the worst intro song.
  
  Only surpassed as the worst theme song by the season 2 theme song which was then surpassed by the season 3 theme song. I couldn't believe I'd actually miss that original version.

Game of Thrones, hands down. Different every time and focused on where most of the episode would take place.
If we can't agree on that one, then it's Airwolf.
- Different every time and focused on where most of the episode would take place.
  It took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to work this out. I really appreciated it once I realised.
  
  I had to read that fact online.
- Had the Airwolf game on commodore 64, that tune was an absolute banger

take my love, take my land -- Firefly

X-Men, Batman and Gargoyles all have fantastic openings.
I always loved the fact the Game of Thrones opening showed the specific places we would visit in each episode.
Babylon 5 has a different intro each season, and the season three opening in particular hits really hard the first time you get to it.
Brisco County Jr had a theme that was so inspiring, NBC bought the rights to use it for the Olympics.

The X-Files is iconic

I don't know about best, but I will always watch the intro for the first season of Peacemaker. It is so absolutely ridiculous. The second season opening is good, too, but not quite as classic.
- The second season doesn't have the same "new experience" feel, but I love it.
  Peacemaker season 1 is my favorite intro of all time. Everyone should watch the first ten minutes of the first episode leading into the intro.

Are ya ready kids?!
- aye-aye, Captain!

Twin Peaks must be the best one for me. I never got to see it when it was new (too young), but happened to hear the intro music and opening shots before my parents switched the channel. That minute stayed with me till I was in my late teens and bought the show on DVD.
The worst? Maybe Sex and the City, but that's also because I find the main characters self-centred and morally repulsive, which the intro communicates quite efficiently.

Best: The Expanse Worst: Star Trek Enterprise

Do you really wanna do you really wanna taste it?
- This is an absolute banger, but the most shocking thing to me is that not only is it an actual song by an actual band - it is from 2010 and not the ‘80s!
  It just hits that era’s vibe so well that I initially thought that James Gunn pulled out some obscure track he listened to while growing up..
  
  Oh shit I had no idea! It's like Steel Panther in that it nails the vibe
- Season 2 is dope as well. It's the deadpan faces that does it for me

Best: Avatar the Last Airbender (anime). They got across all the world building you’d need to come in at any point without overstaying their welcome or being cheesy.
Worst: Star Trek Enterprise. Obviously.
- Perfect and succinct work by Mae Whitman. And the music is AMAZING.
  
  It is a great song. It’s an awful choice for this context, though.
- Is that the "been a long road" one with the blonde Vulcan? It took a Long Time to grow on me; thinking back, though, it really works. You have to really watch the show and be into the lore it presents, etc.
  
  Oh, I’ve watched the hell of that show. Didn’t like it at first (not because of the song; because of Trip), but it grew on me, and now it’s amongst my favourite series (Strange New Worlds #1, Enterprise tied with TNG at #2, Prodigy #3).
  That song is fine by itself, but it’s awful as a Star Trek theme. It’s cheesier than ENT’s painfully forced soft-core porn after every away mission.

FRIENDLY FACES EVERYWHERE
HUMBLE FOLKS WITHOUT TEMPTATION

I love the theme song used for MAS*H.
- If you watch the 1970 MASH movie that the TV show is based on, they play the full song with vocals. It's actually a really dark song called "Suicide is Painless" and the lyrics are depressing and sad.
- That song is both the best and the worst. Best because of the style goes well with the theme. The worst when you know the lyrics of the song that weren't played.
- I knew it was bed time when that song started playing.

Buck Roger’s & the original Battlestar Galactica had great orchestral theme songs. I have both as ringtones!
- I still enjoy watching them.

Haven’t seen anyone mention True Detective: S1 yet. Far From Any Road by The Handsome Family
Dexter also had a pretty cool opening sequence. Makes me hungry every time lol

Ducktales is the best. I scrolled for a while and some how didn't see it posted
- WHOO-HOO!
- 100%

House
- As long as it’s the original Teardrop track by Massive Attack, and not whatever bastardisation it frequently gets replaced by (Angry Australian noises).
  
  Agreed that Teardrop was god tier. Unfortunately though, I read that Massive Attack was never asked permission nor received any royalties for its use.
  
  I didn't know that anyone was replacing the original massive attack intro. What a very silly thing to do.
- Luther had a great one too
- Lol I'm rewatching House right now. The intro is alright I guess.
  
  If you're watching it on a modern streaming platform, you're getting the wrong soundtrack. The original is the incredible Teardrop by Massive Attack

There's a LOT of great ones, Firefly, Fresh Prince, Scrubs, GOT, Simpsons etc.
One that I cannot stand for some reason is Dexter. I don't know if it's that I saw it too much but god, I hate it with a passion.
- The only good part is him walking away at the end.
- Dexter's good, though. It's sooo sociopathic. You cringe just a little, admit it.

Since the obvious choice has already been mentioned (Firefly), I’ll add Top Gear to the list of best. I haven’t watched it since the Clarkson, Hammond, May days, so I’m not sure if it’s changed. But that intro was great.
- Oh, it's cancelled. I don't think they ever recovered from the awful stint with Chris Evans as host.

Darkwing Duck and Wonderfalls always get stuck in my head.
- daring duck of mystery.
- darkwing duck was good but everyone sleeps on bonkers

Do musicals count?

Damn, beaten by 6 hours
https://lemmy.ca/comment/18693780

I can't decide between Psych (especially the extended version), Knight Rider, and Airwolf.
Edit: Street Hawk is a banger too.
Edit 2: How could I forget Miami Vice?
- I enjoyed all of the variations of the main theme (especially the SUPER extended version in Viagra Falls), and the other thematic ones such as the fantastic rendition by Boys 2 Men and the Bollywood variant.

When HBO wasn’t run by absolute imbeciles, I honestly believe they greenlit shows based on their intro sequence.
The Sopranos, The Wire, True Blood, True Detective, Game of Thrones, Westworld, Succession, White Lotus. All top tier
- True blood was a really well-matched song. Rural, twangy, sexy, dark. Excellent choice.

I don't think I've ever skipped the Expanse intro. The singing always draws me in!

The Leftovers
Dandadan (both S1 and S2 are bangers)
- Dandadan S1 is great, but Creepy Nuts pièce de résistance of intro songs has to be Bling‐Bang‐Bang‐Born from Mashle: Magic and Muscles. That song slaps so hard.
  
  It's feels llegal that they're not a one hit wonder. It's so good that it's unfair the rest of their stuff is just as good.
- I LOVE Dandadan S1 intro song. I came here to post it. S2 is such a letdown in comparison. I skip most Anime intros because they're usually way too long and usually boring. DDD S1 gets me hype every damn time.

Babylon 5. I challenge anyone to listen to that intro and not get curious. Also, I think it was the first series to change the intro from season to season.
King of the Hill is a close second.

For me:
Babylon Berlin intro captures the art, the deco, the decadence and the fear of what the viewer knows is going to come of that time period.
Black Sails just perfect
Raised by Wolves I was hit and miss on this in many ways, but this intro is great - albeit I think slightly misleading as to its overall tone.
Pennyworth I thought S1 was a bit silly, but what an intro.
Warrior
Happiness This is just fun, and fits the show brilliantly
See also isn't bad
Romulus Very vikings-esque
Song of the Bandits The song on the YT video isn't great here imo, but they actually mix it up in the show proper and use different songs. And some really fit the theme.
- Black Sails is so good

Taskmaster's is one of the few intros I watch every time. Gets me pumped for every episode.
Curb Your Enthusiasm also may be the perfect fit for the show. Every time I see the HBO static come up before any other HBO show, I hear the CYE theme in my head.

Someone mentioned peacemaker and I totally agree. But also gangster grass intro to Justified

I get the impression that it's super-obscure these days, but the Perfect Strangers theme is great!
- If like me, you’re old enough to remember Cousin Balki - then it’s probably time to book in a prostate exam. 🥴

Kinda surprised no one here has mentioned the Barney Miller theme, even though it's pretty old. It's a banging jazz fusion tune.
- that makes me think of the krp outro.
  
  That's another good choice!

I don't know about the worse but the best for me Star Trek Voyager. The intro song really makes you feel that you're lost far from home, will live various adventures and will eventually return home.
- Somehow Voyager does have the best "feeling" intro of the Trek series.
  I'll counter that as much as I have learned to accept the reasonings for the theme for 'Enterprise', I still think it might be the worst theme of just about any show ever. And then they added the country twang around season 3...
  
  nothing beats the voiceover in my head to ds9!

thank you for being a friend.
- travelled down the road and back again

I loves the intro of "dead like me" also that show so perfectly captures the early 2000s soft/smooth aesthetic without even trying.

Oh! I have another:
Battlestar Galactica the 2k4 remake.
Not the requiem for a dream one from the miniseries, but the vocal and drums episode intro; although both are good.
I had the drum riff as a ringtone for a while.

141 comments and no one's said Futurama? That song slaps.

Firefly. It's not a great song, but its theme suits the show very well.
Also, although it eludes me now, the opening theme to the Sweden/Denmark Bridge TV series with Sofia Helin. Loved the show, loved the intro, but forget it now.
Edit: https://youtu.be/0A1r9Jk9UC8 'hollow talk'

Many great classics already mentioned in this thread.
Some newer ones for me…
White Lotus Season 1 (2 & 3 are also good, but I just love the first theme tune): https://youtu.be/l2wj6lJtg_8
Severance: https://youtu.be/NmS3m0OG-Ug
- The S1 intro of White Lotus is so good that I did not like the S3 intro because it was so different. But it really grew on me and now it's my favorite. I'm incredibly bummed that Cristobal won't be back for next season. Apparently Mike White is not a fan of the music and they fought a lot.
  
  Damn, didn’t know about the falling out. That’s a massive shame for S4!
  Know what you mean about the S3 theme tune, it really does grow on you.
  Also caught this ad (I think it was actually another version but for the same car) on tv recently & it threw me a bit: https://youtu.be/-N5Kn4-ml8Y