The 30 Greatest TV Show Intros Of All Time

[Warner2BruceTD]

#9​

The Brady Bunch​

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM-0Pwgr7-E[/ame]

Yes, it's incredibly corny. But it's the fucking Brady Bunch, and you can make the argument that it's the most famous show intro ever. Catchy theme? Check. Unique idea? Check. Iconic? Check. What do you want from me? It belongs.

The above is the rare Season 1 open that you never see in syndication, meaning only jeffx saw it live. Peformed by THE PEPPERMENT TROLLY COMPANY. Yes, THE PEPPERMINT TROLLY COMPANY.

The following is Season 2, the first version whene the song is performed by the cast:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt6-p6piM3Y&feature=related[/ame]

Here is Season 4, which is probably the version of the song with the melody people are most familiar with, as this was a popular season in sydication, and for some reason they used this open for other seasons in syndication as well:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_7hm-KQMGE&feature=related[/ame]

Season 5 saw the males starting to grow afro's, making me wish the show continued long enough to see Peter become a hippy, Greg die in 'Nam, and Dad come out of the closet and run off to San Francisco in a Volkswagon Buggy with some twink:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5tWXa8e_bY&feature=related[/ame]


The worst part of "The Brady Bunch" was not the campy storylines, or the awful acting. It was the fact it spawned this total piece of shit ripoff some 25 years later:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9nFkEdROqQ&feature=related[/ame]

What an awful, awful era for sitcoms, especially on ABC, with drivel like this and Family Matters. It always bothered me how fake and cheesy that rollercoaster shot at the end looks, with the lame early CGI ocean waves. WHO THE FUCK BUILDS A ROLLERCOASTER ON A BEACH, ANYWAY?

 

[NAHSTE]

Dude I fucking loved Step by Step and I love the song. But I guess I'm a product of the 90s.

I never realized how blatant of a Brady Bunch rip off it was until you just mentioned it. Thanks for tainting my childhood.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

#8​

The Addams Family​

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFD7KGBUtKI[/ame]

As a child of the 80's, the 60's shows were what was shown in syndication, and this particular intro would scare the shit out of me. I thought John Astin was going to climb through my TV and murder me everytime. Look at the demented look on that man's face. Chilling stuff to a 5 year old W2BTD, peeking with one eye over a throw pillow on his mom's couch.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

#7​

Gilligan's Island​

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfR7qxtgCgY[/ame]

...and the rest!

Season 1 gives a giant middle finger to The Professor and Mary Anne, who don't get mentioned in the credits. This was changed in later seasons. Here is the version most people are more familiar with:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMLkv3uuajQ[/ame]

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Before I do the top 5, there a five shows that I intended to include, two of which have been mentioned by others, and one of which I listed in my 'snubbed' post. They simply got lost in my notes last night. Let's call them 31-35, although all 5 likely would have replaced 5 others that made the list.

Ok, onto #6...

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

#6​

Happy Days​

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMxkMy9JvXI&feature=related[/ame]

SIT ON IT.

Probably the most reconizable version, but not my favorite. Here are some others, starting with Season 1, which used Rock Around The Clock by Bill Haley and the Comets as the theme:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SAqreFLzeM&feature=related[/ame]

Season 2 was the first intro to use the "Happy Days" theme, and notice Henry Winkler is still billed 4th. Fonziemania would soon take over the show, and he would be promoted to second billing, and eventually, first billing:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWiEAXMdbbI&feature=related[/ame]

...and here is the painful final season intro, long after Fonzie literally jumped the shark. Richie Cunningham was long gone, Potsie was a pushed character, and Jefferson Darcy was on the show for some reason. Even Ralph Malph had jumped this sinking ship by this point. My favorite scene has to be the homoerotic motorcycle ride with The Fonz and a now pushing 40 Chachi:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3YEt0fViC0&feature=related[/ame]

LOL@this shit. Worst spinoff ever:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfl_1ndey4c&feature=related[/ame]

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

TGIF FTMFW.

Step by step had two teenage girls I drooled over.

BTW What ever happened to predictability ? The milk man the paperboy even tv ?

Jeffersons is shockingly low.
Xfiles not being on yet has me worried.

May or may not show up but Cosby show had the same theme but in different genres/tempos each season. Always thought that was cool. The87-88 intro was always my favorite.

Curb has a better theme than Seinfeld. Although Seinfeld may be more iconic.
00-10 network themes sucked ass balls.
How I met your mother and 24 are the only "good" ones. 24 is hardly a theme since you only really see it on the DVDs.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

How The Hell Did I Miss These?!​

Before I do the top 5, there a five shows that I intended to include, two of which have been mentioned by others, and one of which I listed in my 'snubbed' post. They simply got lost in my notes last night. Let's call them 31-35, although all 5 likely would have replaced 5 others that made the list.

COPS​

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYuHR3OrSMA[/ame]

The Twilight Zone​

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi6wNGwd84g[/ame]

Law & Order​

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVL0GBunw0A[/ame]

The Flintstones​

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PPf3aaZmUw[/ame]

Who's The Boss?​

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ojc02OvZVo8&feature=related[/ame]

Who's the boss?

DANZA, bitch.​

EDIT:How the hell did I miss this?!



[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_PZPpWTRTU&feature=related[/ame]

 

[jags224]

fresh prince didnt make the cut? that is one of the catchiest intros of all time.

 

[NAHSTE]

Daaaamn at Law and Order not being there, that shit gives me chills.

 

[Senser81]

Wow, I never would have thought "The Greatest American Hero" would be top 5!

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

#5​

The Andy Griffith Show​

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RsX2lFbI1o&feature=related[/ame]

Undeniable lock for the Top 5, and I wouldnt argue with anybody who would put it at #1. This was the best version I found, complete with not only a cool sponser tag at the end, but also the only version i've ever seen where you see Opie's rock land in the water.

 

[Maynard]

flinstones FTW

 

[NAHSTE]

I just re-read your Step by Step rant. No you did not just call out Family Matters...Damn, man, why don't you just shit on my whole generation? The Family Matters theme is one of my all time faves:


"It's a rare condition, this day and age,
that you read any good news on the newspaper page,
but love and tradition are even harder to find,
it must be some part...of a grand desiiiiiiign
well, there must be some gentle truth, insiiiiiide these gentle walls
because all I see, looking back at me, is REAL LOVE burstin out of eevverrrry seam...

DAYS GO BYYYYYYYYYY
it's the biggest part of a family...."


you may now commence this awesome countdown.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

#4​

The Wonder Years​

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ob59hsRaFU[/ame]

I didn't even grow up in the 1960's, but this intro still makes me feel nostalgic. Another example of an intro that would never, ever work with any other song. In fact, when I hear any Joe Cocker song, I instantly think of Winnie Cooper's ugly face (you cant convince me otherwise) and Kevin Arnold's New York Jets varsity style jacket.

As a kid, growing up lower middle class and watching this show, I often thought about how I hoped I could raise my own kids in the suburban middle class utopia that the Arnold's were a part of. A world my family was this close to being a part of, but always slightly on the outside looking in. Maybe that's why this show resonates with me so much. I don't know.

Here's when they changed it up slightly, after Kevin, Winnie, and Paul graduated high school:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjTdXsIa1Yk&feature=related[/ame]

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

#3​

All In The Family​

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znrjbo9QRLk&feature=related[/ame]

They filmed the original intro in front of a live audience, which is why you hear the laughter at Edith's atrocious singing. Just awesome.

What I love about this intro, is that it makes the stubborn, abrasive, racist, curmudgeon Archie Bunker into a more human, well rounded character. At his core, Archie is just a harmless, ignorant man from another time. He may not always respect Edith in a traditional manner, but he loves her. I've seen every single episode of this show, and my three favorite moments are the intro, the episode where Edith gets sexually assaulted, and when Edith dies. Why? Because you see the real Archie. That character depth is what seperates great shows from average shows.

Here is a version they did a few years later without the studio audience:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F9vRVyV914[/ame]

This show always reminded me of my grandmothers house in the early 80's, when our big italian family would get together on Sundays, with the men watching football, and the women cooking Sunday dinner. The muted tones, outdated furniture, etc. Even Edith's clothing. It all reminds me of my father and my uncles yelling at the TV, Chuck Noll's Steelers, and Jimmy The Greek. It's weird what triggers memories sometimes.

 

[Juggernaut]

Damn, they'd be my number 1. Well, i still need to see who you put at 1 and 2. maybe im forgetting some shows.

 

[stevsta]

I have never seen half the shows on this list

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

#2​

The Sopranos​

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLxSUKA--Dg&feature=related[/ame]

People love The Sopranos, but the reason people from New Jersey really love The Sopranos, is because of how authentic the show was in terms of details. When Tony picks up his morning newspaper, it's an actualy copy of The Star Ledger, not some fictionalized nonsense. When the crew has the radio on in the back room of the Bada Bing, they are listening to classic rock on WNEW, or "Mike & The Mad Dog" on WFAN. When Tony talks about going to a boat show in Edison (W2BTD's hometown), he isnt kidding - there is an annual boat show at Raritan Center in Edison.

That's why this awesome intro is even better if you're from Jersey. Tony emerges from the Lincoln Tunnel, grabs his ticket, and heads down the New Jersey Turnpike. This is a route anyone from northern New Jersey has driven hundreds of times. The landmarks are all real, from the abandoned "Hydro P up" building in Carteret, to the oil refineries, to the graveyard near Exit 13 (Elizabeth).

Tony winds his way through the rough north jersey neighborhoods, into the suburbs, eventually making his way into his upper class Montclair-esque neigborhood, and into his driveway.

David Chase often talks about how important music is to the series, and he supposedly listened to thousands of songs before hearing the obscure "Woke Up This Morning" by Alabama 3, and deciding at that point that it was the song meant for the open. Like many of the songs on this list, it's literally impossible to imagine any other song being used for this show. It's just perfect.

 

[stevsta]

I'm either going to be really surprised by #1 or known what it was the whole time