Best Title Sequences!
This is a category I’ve kinda wanted to add for a while, but given how many shows just have a title card and then run the credits over the next scene, there haven’t really been enough to make it worthwhile. Until now.
Also, I’m kinda done with the “Trends” category, I feel it’s the least interesting, and changing it from “worst” to “best” only helped a little, and this year it was mostly going to be about celebrating that PTSD was being treated more respectfully. Stumptown’s Dex Parios, End of the F***ing World’s Alyssa, Locke and Key’s Kinsey, and arguably The Boys’ Hughie all struggle with PTSD, and maybe they don’t all make great choices, but none of them become raging murder machines or domestic terrorists like anyone from The Punisher.
Anyhoo, let’s watch some opening titles!
Honourable mentions: Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow each introduced a quick title sequence showing off their ensembles. Not sure why it was only those two but it was a neat touch.
Bronze: Pennyworth
The sweeping theme captures the retro-adventure style of Pennyworth, and the graphics, mixed with that minor-key chord at the end, hint at the underlying darkness. Also the silhouette of Alfred being chased by a giant, smoky raven is pretty significant to the first season’s story.
Silver: Preacher
The opening minutes of most Preacher episodes find some appropriately big moment to flash the title card, then drop in the drums and harmonica that open the show’s theme. They also did well at finding a brief second of footage that speaks to who each character is, and sometimes what they’re getting up to this year. And the Dixie-style theme music is basically perfect.
Gold: iZombie
The opening titles of iZombie, using the art of original comics series artist Mike Allred, tell you the show and all of its characters in one simple montage… what happened to Liv, how eating brains helps her solve mysteries (cut for time in season five), who her friends and foes are. All to a tune so catchy that it joins BoJack Horseman and Brooklyn 99 in terms of shows where I will never hit the “skip credits” button, Netflix.
Next time… the Best Characters! See y’all tomorrow!