what's in a title sequence?
in our modern streaming era, where “skip intro” buttons are aplenty and binge watching rampant, title sequences don’t have quite the weight they used to. in fact, some might say they are facing extinction (thank you, economist, for dramatic imagery).
loftily, this is an ode to the title sequence. i’m a complete sucker for them. i’ve often claimed i’ve watched entire shows on the strength of the intro alone - a claim that’s not as far from the truth as you’d think. but this post isn’t for me to wax poetic about them. frames are important1 psychological frames, see: many studies and all that.
so i want to restate the question: what’s not in an intro?
for the average reader, i present to you the S and A tiers. for my fellow title sequence fiend, i give you some more.
the “shivers” tier
opening titles that perfectly blend music, cinematography, editing, etc. with story. it is coexistence at its purest - the title cannot exist without the show, and the show cannot exist without its intro. to lose either would be an equally great tragedy.
almost all these shows have at least 1 excellent season, if not more (although that was not a basis for selection into the tier).
if you’re not convinced to watch these shows after watching their intros, i’m not sure what will convince you.
True Detective
Skins
Dexter
Arcane
His Dark Materials
A Series Of Unfortunate Events
Daredevil
Black Mirror
What We Do in the Shadows (the movie)
Utopia
the Awesome tier
The Office
Teen Wolf
Survivor
Community
Severance
Battlestar Galactica
How I Met Your Mother
the almost-made-it tier
these are titles where someone really tried. they took a risk. they explored the unknown. if these sequences landed, they would have gone straight to the S tier. so i think these shows deserve a shoutout because we need to celebrate risk-takers.
sometimes, they almost made it. but in the game of intros, you win or you fail.3 yes i’ve been rewatching game of thrones.
shogun
the politician
westworld
special mentions tier
American Vandal
Chuck
The Americans
Mindhunter
Pretty Little Liars
“just give me the song” tier
shows with standout music but at most above-average visuals
Postscript
a note to the disappointed game of thrones opening title fan
filed under .
noted.
the game of thrones theme song and i have a complicated relationship, to say the least. i made this PSA during high school for my environmental club before i watched the show. i then started watching, but shortly thereafter had the misfortune of subletting a room in a house that was also sublet by a rather rude, reclusive man who lived in the basement, worked for the defense department, and, in his spare time, was learning (painstakingly) to play the game of thrones theme song on his ukulele for several months. rather than try to place it in my tier system, out of fairness to the creators i have excluded it entirely. but here’s a little icon that you can put wherever you feel it belongs: