It's easy to point a finger at television and blame it for the cultural downfall of society. After-all, turning on practically any channel in the middle of the day and finding such shows as "The Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious" - in which a group of plastic, air-brushed teenage tramps swagger around in hot pants performing dance routines that would turn a hardened prostitute to the Bible for a chance of becoming a member of a crap, semi-successful spinoff girlband of another crap, more successful girlband - it's hard to wonder that human society is actually capable of anything deep, meaningful or beautiful.
But I believe that good television (just like good anything, really) can be an artform. It's hard to watch shows like The Wire and Firefly without realising just how much potential this, sad, misunderstood little box in the corner of our rooms really has. Of course, for every Deadwood or Curb Your Enthusiasm, there are thousands Hollyoaks or Deal Or No Deal's to clutter up the schedule and make us lose faith in the medium altogether, but that's to be expected with practically every other artform. In music, you have to trawl through acres of screechy, whiny emo bands to find one true jem, and television has exactly this same rule.
And so I bring your this thread to share with you what has always been my favourite parts of my favourite shows: the intros. In the days when real intros are becoming a lost art form, mostly due to the combined efforts of shows such as Lost and Heroes (well, I say "shows", but they're really more "severe tests of patience and your ability to keep your palm away from your face long enough to change the channel"), but I remember the days when a good intro was the calling card to a stonking great episode of another stonking great show. So, here are some of my favourites, along with a completely needless commentary from myself:
Cowboy Bebop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqvsUs-iQvg
The undisputed king of intros, and undoubtedly the coolest, smartest and most stylish one and a half minutes in television history. Cowboy Bebop is the proof that Japan doesn't just produce over-elaborate and exceptionally cruel gameshows (though those are good too), and that anime can be as cool as Clint Eastwood sharing a limosine with Gregory Peck. It ticks all of the right boxes - it has the memorable, almost subliminal, intro hook that lets you know you're watching something awesome, a runthrough of the characters which makes them each look like the sexiest, coolest people this side of James Brown's grave and it bundles it all into a perfect little package of light entertainment, firmly grabbing your eyes by their balls and gluing them to the screen. If you haven't watched Cowboy Bebop already, you damn sure want to now.
Angel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hC0tcX4gM0&feature=related
Maybe I just have a thing for the violin (or David Boreanaz's superhumanly manly face), but the intro to Angel moved me in ways that Joss Whedon's other intros didn't. Not that the intros to both Firefly and Buffy didn't kick several shades of arse, but out of the three I chose this as a personal favourite.
The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LokxUx_kpR8
Every now and then, there is an intro that just makes a programme, and this is one of those. Watching the intro to Johnny Quest was, in many ways, far more exciting than the actual episodes themselves, but every time I saw that intro I had to watch everything that followed.
Batman of the Future
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcwXnqGlMKo
The third cartoon on my list (for reasons of my desperate yearning for childhood) is this neat, power metal driven kick in the eye sockets from Batman of the Future (Batman Beyond if you're in the states and don't need the entire premise of the program labelled for you in title). It paints the perfect portrait of the dystopian future the new Batman inhabits - a seething world, bubbling with corruption, greed and dancing teenagers. Admittedly, it's literal spelling out of these issues feels incredibly forced, but who's complaining when there's Batman on the screen?
Dad's Army
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKsMrKVxPiQ
Partly to keep my dad happy, and partly because I noticed a distinct lack of British television on my list, I decided to chuck in this classic late 60's sitcom as a prime example of British televisual artistry at it's best. The graphics may have dated, but that does nothing but add to the sense of time and place that are integral to the show. Simple, straightforward, but funny, memorable and completely iconic.
Now, to throw open the floor, please use this thread to share some of your favourite (or least favourite) intros from the world of television.
But I believe that good television (just like good anything, really) can be an artform. It's hard to watch shows like The Wire and Firefly without realising just how much potential this, sad, misunderstood little box in the corner of our rooms really has. Of course, for every Deadwood or Curb Your Enthusiasm, there are thousands Hollyoaks or Deal Or No Deal's to clutter up the schedule and make us lose faith in the medium altogether, but that's to be expected with practically every other artform. In music, you have to trawl through acres of screechy, whiny emo bands to find one true jem, and television has exactly this same rule.
And so I bring your this thread to share with you what has always been my favourite parts of my favourite shows: the intros. In the days when real intros are becoming a lost art form, mostly due to the combined efforts of shows such as Lost and Heroes (well, I say "shows", but they're really more "severe tests of patience and your ability to keep your palm away from your face long enough to change the channel"), but I remember the days when a good intro was the calling card to a stonking great episode of another stonking great show. So, here are some of my favourites, along with a completely needless commentary from myself:
Cowboy Bebop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqvsUs-iQvg
The undisputed king of intros, and undoubtedly the coolest, smartest and most stylish one and a half minutes in television history. Cowboy Bebop is the proof that Japan doesn't just produce over-elaborate and exceptionally cruel gameshows (though those are good too), and that anime can be as cool as Clint Eastwood sharing a limosine with Gregory Peck. It ticks all of the right boxes - it has the memorable, almost subliminal, intro hook that lets you know you're watching something awesome, a runthrough of the characters which makes them each look like the sexiest, coolest people this side of James Brown's grave and it bundles it all into a perfect little package of light entertainment, firmly grabbing your eyes by their balls and gluing them to the screen. If you haven't watched Cowboy Bebop already, you damn sure want to now.
Angel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hC0tcX4gM0&feature=related
Maybe I just have a thing for the violin (or David Boreanaz's superhumanly manly face), but the intro to Angel moved me in ways that Joss Whedon's other intros didn't. Not that the intros to both Firefly and Buffy didn't kick several shades of arse, but out of the three I chose this as a personal favourite.
The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LokxUx_kpR8
Every now and then, there is an intro that just makes a programme, and this is one of those. Watching the intro to Johnny Quest was, in many ways, far more exciting than the actual episodes themselves, but every time I saw that intro I had to watch everything that followed.
Batman of the Future
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcwXnqGlMKo
The third cartoon on my list (for reasons of my desperate yearning for childhood) is this neat, power metal driven kick in the eye sockets from Batman of the Future (Batman Beyond if you're in the states and don't need the entire premise of the program labelled for you in title). It paints the perfect portrait of the dystopian future the new Batman inhabits - a seething world, bubbling with corruption, greed and dancing teenagers. Admittedly, it's literal spelling out of these issues feels incredibly forced, but who's complaining when there's Batman on the screen?
Dad's Army
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKsMrKVxPiQ
Partly to keep my dad happy, and partly because I noticed a distinct lack of British television on my list, I decided to chuck in this classic late 60's sitcom as a prime example of British televisual artistry at it's best. The graphics may have dated, but that does nothing but add to the sense of time and place that are integral to the show. Simple, straightforward, but funny, memorable and completely iconic.
Now, to throw open the floor, please use this thread to share some of your favourite (or least favourite) intros from the world of television.
