My terms: the intro must include a song as well as credits list, so a show like "Lost" got disqualified immediately. The reverse is also true, so the intro must display its credits in a unique way, rather than just listing the cast. "Wonderfalls," "Psych," "Veronica Mars," and "Firefly" have excellent theme songs, but the credits are really no more than a cast list. The point of this Top 10 is to have the whole package. Here, we're talking about my favorite opening credits, not just my favorite theme songs. If it was just theme songs, rest assured, those previous four would definitely have been included.
I watched many intros from many shows I don't watch, and tried to include a wide variety. The problem is, though, that without watching a show, it's sometimes hard to grasp the opening theme's significance. However, upon further contemplation, I realized that a great opening theme tells you all you need to know and sets the mood for the show. I am only including modern opening credits, from about 2000 onward, because there are far too many classics to give due credit to. Unfortunately, that disqualifies "ER," which I hoped to include, but cannot. But there are plenty more excellent opening credit sequences from recent times that had to duke it out for a spot on my list.
10. "Desperate Housewives"
I've long since dropped the show and the show has long since dropped the opening credits sequence, but their intro was clever when it didn't really need to be for a primetime soap. Scorned housewives throughout art history along with the whimsical theme introduce a sense of humor and scandal right from the start of the show.
9. "Mad Men"
(Embedding was disabled on this one, so here's the link)
The silhouette of a man. The jazzy yet dramatic music. The dissolving office. The American Dream according to advertisements surrounding a man floating down, down, down until we pull back from the same silhouette lounging in a chair, cigarette in hand. This intro is the definition of suave, and wins bonus points for evoking classic James Bond opening credits.8. "Chuck"
Yes, call me crazy, but it wasn't until the end of season 1 of "Chuck" that I realized the theme song was actually a shortened version of a real song. I had heard a number of great Cake songs before, but had never heard Short Skirt/Long Jacket, which is used as the show's theme. The intro plays like a cartoon version of Bond movie credits, thereby perfectly setting up this spy comedy.
7. "True Blood"
I've never watched "True Blood," but I've always heard about its excellent opening credits. Down and dirty Southern sleaze has never looked so good. If I wasn't generally OD'd on vampires, I might pick this show up just because of its fabulous intro. The imagery is deliciously provocative, filled with sex, religion, and death. It's unsettling, in a good way.
6. "Justified"
It would have been the predictable thing to do a simple credit sequence with a standard country song, but "Justified" embraces a modern Southern tone right from the get-go in the show. It sets the rural scene without feeling painfully outdated or cliche, which is quite an impressive feat in my opinion. I love the down-to-earth realism of the setting, in the show as well as the intro, which can seem like something straight out of a novel while also seeming like a town you could easily drive through wandering through the South. Sometimes shows set in rural locations get a little too entrenched in the mythical tranquility of small-town life or the mysterious danger of unbridled nature, but "Justified" and its opening credits sit firmly in reality, albeit a very kickass reality.
5. "Batman Beyond"/"Justice League"
(Embedding was disabled on "Batman Beyond," but the link is here and very worth the view)
I normally wouldn't classify cartoons with regular, adult programming, but I make the exception in this case. (Hey, I counted two cartoons as one point on this list, I think that makes up for the inclusion.) While they are animated series, they are definitely not cartoons in the way that, say, "Spongebob Squarepants" is a cartoon. These two are dark series from the very beginning of the 2000s that are like what I imagine superhero stories would be if a director like Christopher Nolan made cartoons instead of movies. They were absolute staples of my late childhood and, upon revisiting them a few months ago, I have to say they hold up quite well. There's a lot of scripted programming on these days that wishes it could have opening credits as badass as these two.
4. "Southland"
"Southland"'s intro immediately steps into the authenticity it strives for, showing a series of old-school LA crime scene photos. The music is intense and serious to match the raw, visceral crime footage. It all introduces us to a show that is dark and gritty, but deep as well. "Southland" isn't just a standard procedural - it has something to say and it's not afraid to aim for the gut with every plot twist and character development. The intro tells you everything you need to know about the show in less than 30 seconds. Job well done.
3. "Six Feet Under"
The theme music and imagery evoke the surreal nature of this show. Life, death, imagination, dreams, love, time, fulfillment, loss, tradition, humanity...the opening credits quickly and neatly encompassed the big themes the show spent five seasons examining.
2. "The Wire"
Five seasons, five different versions of the opening credits. I'm not just talking about different clips - they re-recorded the same theme song with five different artists. The song is called "Way Down in the Hole" and is originally by Tom Waits, whose first version is used to open Season 2. But my heart will always belong to the first season's credits, sung by The Five Blind Boys of Alabama with raw gospel funk. Much like "Southland" and "Justified," "The Wire" above all strove for realism, and did a better job of scripting real life than 99.99% of reality shows. Watching the show, you forget you're seeing a fictional program. The same characters and dialogue could play out on a security camera on a streetcorner and not feel forced or unauthentic. Likewise, the opening credits look less like a TV show ready to start and more like a very artistic person filming random scenes of crime and justice around urban Baltimore.
1. "Dexter"
Rather than go with an on-the-nose sequence of standard serial killer imagery (bodies, blood, knives), "Dexter" finds the violence in everyday life as the titular character goes about his morning ritual. Creepy and catchy, morbid and mundane, horrifyingly familiar, you won't look at your morning routine the same way again. Right away we're greeted with the Dark Passenger in normal, rote life events. We must face the evil hiding behind the innocuous. Welcome to "Dexter," where not even breakfast is safe.
Honorable Mention: "House," "Lie to Me," "The 4400," and "The Walking Dead" (only the music is linked on the last one, the actual credits aren't posted on youtube)
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