That being said, I have to say some show intros suck. A lot. They're too long, or too abstract. While others hit it right on the spot. I'm going to go over a few intros to some of my shows I'm currently watching: Heroes, Scrubs, The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, and The O.C. Now, I know some of these shows are off the air, but I am re-watching them because to me, these shows are awesome.
First I'll start with The Walking Dead as it's the only show I haven't seen every episode to-date. I need some logic in this blog, right?
The Walking Dead, for those of you who have been living as a hermit, is a show about a zombie apocalypse adapted from a graphic novel. I started watching this show because, simply put, I love zombies.
The Walking Dead's intro clocks in at about 35 seconds according to a video I found on YouTube. The intro catches the erie mood of the series by using a sepia tone and cracked picture frames of some of the main characters. While I like the song they chose, nothing too cliche, I think the intro is a little too long. It's not as bad as one of the other contenders, but seriously, I don't need a 30-second recap of characters and creators every time I watch a show. I like to not have the feeling that I need to fast-forward through the intro because it drags on. Like I said, it's not that bad though. Considering the average episode length hitting the one hour mark, I can let the 35-second length slide on this one. My only wish is that it was a little shorter because I have A.D.D. and don't want to get distracted by a shinny object every time a show's intro plays.
Bottom Line: 5/10
Next up is Scrubs.
Scrubs is one of my all-time favorite shows. While I usually don't like doctor drams besides House, this show manages to have me go from laughing my bum off to crying like a menstrual teenager in 20-some-minutes flat.
Scrubs' intro is a whopping 12 seconds long, which consequently is how long my attention span can hold when it comes to intros. The 12-second clip shows various doctor's and nurses from the series all doing the same task by transposing each character every second or so. It's hard to explain. I think I failed at doing so. Regardless, the intro is pretty spiffy. I find myself wondering what this show's intro would be like to someone on some serious drugs. That fact aside, I really like this intro. I like the song they chose. The lyrics go: "I can't do this all on my own. No I know, I'm no superman. I'm no superman." These lyrics really portray how a hospital's staff relies on each other, and how the main character J.D. is in constant need from those around him. I think the intro is a good length and not too plain. I could be biased, since this is my favorite show and all, but I don't care. I like it.
Bottom line: 9/10
An oldie but goodie: The O.C.
The O.C. was a pop-culture phenomenon back when I was in high school. I remember some of my friends watching the show religiously. But like all things of pop-culture, the show eventually labeled "uncool" and the show was thrown to the curb.
What I like about this show's theme song is that it's one of the most catchy songs I've ever heard. Even before I started to watch this lovely show, I knew the theme. Still to this day, I can be found singing "California! Californiaaaa!! Here I coooooomeeee!" from time to time. The song is a little long, but this is a longer show. I would have liked them to shorten the theme at some point during the show's four seasons, but that's life. All-in-all, I think the song they picked portrayed the show rather well: catchy and worth your while.
Rating 7/10
And for my least favorite into of all time we turn to one of my favorite current shows: American Horror Story.
There's nothing like a good old horror story every once in a while. Even though I never found this show "scary" per say, I did enjoy the horror elements. It's one of the shows that I'm most looking forward to start up . . . in October.
While I do think that AHS is one of TV's best new dramas, I also think that the intro is awful. While the creepy dolls and dismembered body parts do set the tone for the show, a one-minute intro is ridiculous. That's not only a good chunk of time, it leaves the viewer bored seeing the same introduction week after week. Now, if the intro changed, or was even fifteen seconds shorter, I might be okay with it. However, as this intro stands, I can honestly say I severely dislike it. I cringe each time I watch this show only because I know I have to endure the worlds-longest-and-worst intro. Luckily, intro aside, I love the show. So, I guess I would sit through anything they throw at me.
Rating: 2/10
Last but definitely not least is a good show from my college days: Heroes.
My goodness I love this show. I say that a lot, but I really enjoy anything supernatural, so this show is up my ally. Mixing drama, comedy, evil and superheroes: Heroes lasted a great three seasons and a questionable fourth.
I have to give a round of applause to Tim Kring, the creator of this magnificent intro and show. Clocking in at around 5 seconds, Heroes' intro is something that I believe every show can learn from. A simple fade-in of the logo followed by the creator's name with some erie music. It's great. It's about as long as my attention span and never gets old. I don't feel like I need to fast-forward or that I can check Facebook in the time this show takes to introduce itself. Heroes just gives the viewer the information they need and moves back into the plot. I honestly wish all shows' intros were like this, at least after a season or two. I get bored seeing the same, long intro every week. Keep it short and sweet.
Rating: 10/10
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