I talked earlier this year about how a TV show opening will be kind of lousy in a show’s early years. So lousy it gets chucked and replaced. Some shows never change their opening, it’s the same year after year. And then there’s that third category of TV show opening, when the opening music and even some of the visuals remains the same, but evolves as the show progresses. Maybe the music is jazzed up a bit or the graphics improved, but it’s not a replacement as much as an improvement to what had been. For example, The Brady Bunch was basically the same opening every year but the music was re-recorded as the kids grew and they updated the visuals to reflect the fact the kids were growing.
You can see this in Friends, Saved By The Bell, and countless other shows where it was the same opening they just replaced some of the clips.
Some shows do a little more than simply replace the visuals however. Here are a few examples of what I mean, TV openings that weren’t changed because they sucked as much as they took an opening theme that was just fine and improved on it to evolve with the show.
A Different World
This is one of my favorite examples. This was of course The Cosby spin-off starring Lisa Bonet (at first). Here is the Season 1 version:
Pretty..awful. It really looks like “The Denise Huxtable Show”, which I guess is what it was at first. Thankfully when Debbie Allen came in she retooled everything, even the theme. So we got the same theme, re-sung, with this interesting concept:
This was sooo much better. The same song but it gave the feeling it was more of an ensemble show than the other opening did. It got a couple minor tweaks until the final season when it was revamped with a jazzier theme (sang by Boyz II Men) and was a lot faster. No disrespect to Aretha Franklin of course who turned that boring theme from Season 1 into something memorable.
Oh and yes, that is Jada Pinkett, Cree Summer and Ajai Sanders in the credits.
Empty Nest
For those who don’t know this was the Golden Girls spin-off starring Richard Mulligan as a widowed doctor with two grown daughters. Here is the original theme:
Yeah pretty lame. Not so much the song, which wasn’t great, but the visuals. What was this show about, a man walking his dog? What did the faces going back have to do with the show? So around Season 2 the opening was jazzed up with visuals to help explain the characters.
Ok better, but that song…..can’t we do better?
Funny what a difference adding some background singers make.
Three’s Company
Here’s how this show started in Season 1 :
What’s wrong with it? Nothing, it’s great. But when you have a show like this with massive cast changes, you gotta re-do your opening. And they tried a new gimmick, since they did a beach scene why not an amusement park? Or a zoo?
Laverne and Shirley
Here’s a little tribute to Penny Marshall, who deserves a much bigger tribute. This is the classic season 1 opening we all know:
But when the final season had no Shirley at all, how do you have an intro that shows these changes but also tries to show the spirit is still there? Well they tried…..
Boy Meets World
Ok I am cheating a little with this since the theme’s were fairy different from each other. But I still wanted to discuss it. Here is the bouncy, kid friendly and really awesome season 1 intro:
Fantastic opening! But as the show, and the characters, grew that opening really did not fit. It was changed almost every year, the season 3 one being plain awful. Finally we settled on this version:
Hard to believe it’s the same show. Clearly no longer family focused it’s more about Cory and his friends. Also it’s short, this is when TV theme’s were being phased out. We don’t even see Mr.Feeney! But the thing I think every time I see this opening is that they obviously filmed it on the New York street Seinfeld always used.
Actually the TGIF shows all kind of went through this. Step By Step had the opening trimmed until it was just a title screen, Sabrina changed every year showing how that show was growing, and of course Family Matters would eventually lose their opening entirely.
ALF
Another favorite, here is the Season 1 & 2 opening which worked for someone not familiar with the show. Seeing everything from ALF’s POV via a video camera, we don’t even see him until hat final shot.
This is one of my favorite TV openings ever, quintessential 80’s. Buuttt…after two years it was kinda dull. Can’t we see more of ALF? Get the actors some more screen time and maybe even show some clips? And while we’re at it, take that music and jazz it up a little??
Family Ties
Here’s the awful Season 1 theme:
Still pictures, yay. Though to be fair the pictures do give us some insight into the characters. So fair enoygh. Then we got the painting opening :
I wonder if someone was a Bob Ross fan on this show? Anyway, this opening is a classic. But when Andy came around they had to include him, so we got a new opening with pictures but at least they’re nice pictures. The funny thing is that while the photos of the cast were new the clips they showed were pretty much the same as the previous intro.
Perfect Strangers
The original opening was perfect for the pilot, as it showes Larry and Balki leaving their homes for bigger things.
Problem is, that after the pilot this opening is rather dull. That's it? The the two arrviing in Chicago? The two are barely even on screen together! Why not let the awesome song tell the story while the visuals give us something else to look at? You know like the two getting into antics while seeing beautiful shots of Chicago?
Yeah, like that :)
Home Improvement
Here is the classic Season 1 opening which is long, but you’ll notice more Tim centered than later openings
Besides being short, the best part of the later years, aside from Richard Karn and Debbe Dunning getting due credit, is the way they acknowledged the kids growing up in that last shot.
By the way this can be true for cartoons also. This awful opening to Garfield and Friends :
was upgraded to this much better version :
Beverly Hills, 90210
I wanted to talk about this one for a long tine. After seeing the show for awhile I went back to the Season 1 opening, and couldn’t believe it! Here is the clunky Season 1 version which makes it feel more like a TGIF show than a teen drama.
Well that missed the mark. Let’s improve the music and make it clear that this show isn’t a family friendly sitcom shall we?
Thaattt’s better
Man I could go on all day, but will end here. With one more you all know is coming since I’ve brought it up before.
Full House
Yeah yeah we all know I liked the short an sleeker theme from the final season. Here is the classic from Season 1:
And the final season which is mercifully shorter and better sung
By the way technically Scrubs did this very thing, and effectively, but the replacement wasn’t around very long so I decided not to mention it. You could argue Roseanne but they never really added anything, until the horrible final season anyway. And no Big Bang Theory updating the final shot of the group on the couch also doesn't count. Did I miss your favorite? Comment and let me know.
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