I’ve talked about opening credits which are memorable., Of course, they have to be since the idea is to make you want to keep watching. They have tell you about the show, tell who’s in it, and give you incentive to stay tuned. Some TV openings are so well done they are as popular as the show. But what about when the show is over?
Now some may be confused since closing credits are kind of a dying art in TV. Yeah of course they still have them but back in the day they would play take time to actually show the credits clearly, not have it so quick you almost miss them. And you could read them! It’s one thing to have opening credits that make you want to stay tuned, but I argue closing credits are just as important. Not only do they keep you from changing the channel, but there have been lots of times when I ran into the closing credits for some show and was so curious I wanted to find out what it was I had missed. More than that, they gave us a break to relax for a bit before being rushed into the next program. Imagine a time when the credits came before and after commercials, rather than it is in today’s world of bing watching and network’s afraid to lose your attention for a second. I miss the days when you could breathe between shows.
Ok true most closing credits just have the names go over stills or scenes from the show. And there’s nothing wrong with a reminder of what you just watched. But once in awhile a show will do something a bit more. Seinfeld gave us more stand up for example, in the earlier days anyway. Here are some of my favorite’s for being so memorable.
The Muppet Show
I always loved the end credits to The Muppet Show. Not sure why, I guess it’s because it;s the band playing it. It’s very upbeat, and of course we can’t leave without one last insult from Waldorf and Statler. The Muppet Show is one show I have to watch from the very start to the very end! And they did mix it up like the time the band went on strike forcing Rowlf to carry the closing all by himself.
Sesame Street
This is what I grew up with watching Sesame Street. When they rolled the credits anyway, it was the soft version of the theme song while Barkley ran around with children. Is Barkley even around anymore? Anyway this still brings the memories back especially those Public Broadcasting chimes at the end.
The Brady Bunch
There is nothing remarkable about this except the fact that the instrumental theme is playing which is kind of cool. But I always love these anyway.
Just Shoot Me
I just love the song that plays here. The credits couldn’t be more dull but since the network cut them for promo’s I guess it didn’t matter.
Little House
Kids shows and sitcoms are one thing, but drama’s are pretty boring when it comes to closing titles. Because while kids shows and sitcom can often do something clever and memorable, drama’s very rarely do. Here’s one that is kind of iconic, and I always loved it. You may wonder how since I never watched an episode, ever. Well you see Benson was on after it, and we;d change the channel every night and see the end credits of Little House. Always stuck with me. Can’t just be me since Family Guy homaged it.
Closing credits have changed over the years. In the 60’s credits were a little smaller, since it didn’t feel necessary to list every name on a program. Some would have endings on par with the closing, either book ending the opening or literally having the cast wave goodbye.
We all know the Beverly Hillbillies, right? The family is here to thank you folks for kindly dropping in. And we’re invited back to that locality. It’s silly and stupid but hey it’s also memorable!
Even better is this from The Flintstones. Yeah we all know this one too. I loved this because not only does it bookend the opening credits, but it’s just so upbeat. Usually the song played during the end credits is a somber version of the main theme song, not here! The theme is great and almost makes us sad the show is over.
And yes The Jetsons too..
For some reason in the 70’s we got a lot of instances of the end credits reminding us who starred in the show, even if the opening credits told us! Never understood that, or why showing all the stars names at the beginning was never done. The term co-star always bugged me. Glad this didn’t last forever. One of my favorites from that era is this one from Taxi. Gotta love that soft theme music.
Mary Tyler Moore was another which was afraid to list the names of its stars in the opening.
And here we see as the 70's became the 80's we got the more traditional credits all shows would have that decade
Yeah in the 80’s the credits were pretty standard. Just the names rolling over clips from the episode, with that aggravating voice over promoting something new talking over the music. I always hated that. Here are a few examples :
Sometimes there would be a tag before the credits began, but not over them like in the 90's
And here is one with the voice over promo just in case you are to young to remember. I know it was nitpicky but I hated these I wanted to hear the music and or dialogue the stupid promo’s were talking over!!
As the 90’s started and networks began being more concerned with viewers changing channels, they began to doing tags during end credits. Fresh Prince did something so cool that a lot of shows copied it (like Home Improvement). That is, showing bloopers from the episode we just watched.
Bloopers weren’t good enough? Then do a silly tag that ties into nothing
Or just resolve a plot point with one final joke
Once upon a time I criticized Frasier’s closing theme for making no sense whatsoever. And it doesn’t. But you gotta admit, those final credits scenes are pretty clever. It’s usually a gag tied to the episode, and required paying attention most of the time. I admire the way they did these credits, with some actually effort.
And of course in 1994 we started the split screen credits. Networks realized they could save time by speeding the credits up and airing them to the side.
Hey maybe we can jam a commercial in there on the one's that have no tag or anything? Of course we can!
Hey, we can make the text even smaller to run promo’s over them right? Sure! So what if no one reads them.
And heck, why stop there? Let’s not only make the credits impossible to read, but let’s begin the next episode right over them so no one has to bother reading these credits!
(yeah seriously these are the credits for Married..with Children! Ok it was a re-run but still!!)
Now to be fair the network's do all of these, the credits for these show's are very much intact and viewable if you watch a DVD or streaming version. But it just really irks me!
While it is true that end credits get no respect, once in while a show will surprise you. I never heard Bob’s Burgers until I caught a few of their silly end credits, and wanted to learn more.
Plenty I didn’t mention, is there a closing credit sequence from a TV show that you love watching over and over? Comment and let me know.
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