Have you noticed that there are a lot of different programs on TV these days?
I'm not talking about sitcoms or dramas. I mean, it's a thing. Case. material. material. Particularly in the TV series' opening title sequence, the magic of CGI causes all sorts of bubbles to flow, bend, and reshape to form shapes and symbols that reflect the show's themes.
In Tolkien's prequel, The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power, the theme is the forging of the titular magical jewelry, with gold dust transformed into images of circles, tree branches, and other symbols that resonate with the story. It's swirling.
In “The Last of Us,” the fungus responsible for turning humans into zombies spreads across the screen, creating landscapes and images of the central characters.
“The Wheel of Time” features threads, the medium through which magic is “woven” in the fantasy series.
“Foundation” features more dust, or rather colored grains of sand, used to create works of art in the culture of science fiction empires.
do you understand? It's very unlikely that you won't. Whether it's sand or spores, all these opening titles choose heavy-handed metaphor as the real material. The series vary in genre and tone. But they all seem to have collectively decided that the best way to convey the feeling of an epic television event is through the overtures of shape-shifting, literal-minded screensaver art.
To understand how television titles came to this pattern, it helps to understand where they started. In the early days of television, it served to welcome viewers and keep them from changing the channel. They may set the mood, much like the “Let's Go Fishing” whistle on “The Andy Griffith Show”…
…or literally tell a story and establish the premise for a series for the uninitiated, like the evocative themes of “The Beverly Hillbillies” or “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
For decades, as ad-supported television's commercial hours became longer, credits for network sitcoms were crammed into a few seconds of musical “stings” and a title card, like a blink-and-you-miss-it intro. Things have become more frequent. “Happy Ending”
But cable, especially ambitious channels like HBO, FX, and AMC, went in the opposite direction. These stations wanted to attract attention by being, as HBO's slogan goes, “not TV,” or at least not regular TV. Their famous dramas aspire to literary breadth and cinematic scale, with grand, scene-setting opening titles that evoke this, like the rugged North Jersey journey of “The Sopranos.” We advertised ourselves.
Or the scene-setter from “Mad Men,” a sophisticated, period-appropriate design that imagines its protagonist falling from the cold heights of a midtown Manhattan skyscraper.
This mode of opening sequences probably reached its zenith in 2011's “Game of Thrones.” The title was an ingenious combination of form and function. The series is based on George R.R. Martin's complex, multi-volume novel, and the action unfolds between dozens of characters across countless lands on multiple fictional continents.
The scope of the series often stuck in the minds of viewers. So, like the cover of a fantasy book, the opening title gave us a map. Westeros and its surrounding lands, as well as its various fortresses and citadels, appeared like the workings of an amazing medieval machine.
The images were meant to suggest the atmosphere of this world, but they also served a practical purpose, telling the viewer, “This place is here, this place is here, and how far these characters are from those places.” I was able to do that. (Cleverly, the titles change each episode to depict the specific locations where that episode's action took place.)
When HBO followed up Thrones with a prequel, House of the Dragon, it essentially spun off the credits as well. Does it look familiar?
Again, the shape has some meaning. A river of blood flows out, connecting various royal symbols and reflecting the series' focus on family tree and lineage. But really, especially when it comes to repurposing the theme music from “Thrones,” the main message is: “Another series from that world you love is here, and there will be even more murders.”
This approach reaches its ultimate farce in the title of the gladiator series “The Dying Ones,” which promises bloody fun by dropping a tsunami of absolute red matter on a collection of Roman artifacts. I might have.
While you grab your towel, please note that, fortunately, there's still plenty of creativity in recent TV titles, including those that follow this popular “borrow an image from a series” format.
For example, the opening screenscape of Netflix's Decameron is a visual metaphor for the bubonic plague, specifically rats, inked rat bodies swarming over the credits, a chalice, praying hands, and a skull. is forming. Granted, this isn't for the rodent-phobic, but it's stunningly beautiful animation that conveys the series' dark comic sensibilities.
In Michelle and Robert King's recently concluded “Evil,” the title follows the pattern of the surprising sequence of King's “The Good Fight.” “Evil” is a drama about a Catholic church investigation team that balances faith and skepticism while investigating possessions and other phenomena, including black and white objects (decorated with tasteful splashes of red) ) collide like a ballet of heaven and hell.
Why is this important? (And why shouldn't you skip the credits?) Because the opening title sequence is more than just pretty footage. It is a means of distilling and concentrating the spirit and ideas of the series.
The best titles, like the best series, promise original concepts, compelling turns, and unique voices. Like the otherworldly visuals of “Severance,” it can captivate you with its playfulness (I won't spoil the new sequence for Season 2, which starts Friday on Apple TV+, but it's very jarring) .
A good title sequence prepares you to be entertained, but it's also a work of art in itself. That makes me happy. I'm fascinated. Best of all, you'll see that you're not just sitting and watching the same thing.
Video via Prime Video (“The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power”); HBO (“The Last of Us,” “The Sopranos,” “Game of Thrones,” “House of the Rings”); The Dragon”). Amazon Studios (“The Wheel of Time”); Apple TV+ (“Foundation” and “Discontinuity”); CBS (“The Andy Griffith Show” and “The Dukes of Hazzard”); ABC (“Happy Endings”); AMC (“Mad Men”). Peacock (“the dying”). Netflix (“The Decameron”); Paramount+ (“Evil”).
Produced by: Tara Safi and Jolie Reuben
