Thursday, March 25, 2021

Thursday Movie Picks #350: Opening Title Sequences (TV edition)

This being Thursday, it's time for another edition of Thursday Movie Picks, the blogathon run by Wandering Through the Shelves. This being the last Thursday of the month, it's time for a TV-themed edition of the blogathon. This week, the theme is "memorable opening title sequences". I've always thought that a lot of TV nowadays doesn't have such memorable themes, as the (closing) credits are something taken out or squeezed to create more time for advertising. That, combined with the fact that I don't watch much episodic TV any more, led me to pick three older shows:

Dallas (1978-1991). A memorable theme song plays out over images of the city when it had a third fewer people than today, never mind how much smaller the rest of the Metroplex was. It's how I knew of Barbara Bel Geddes before seeing movies like Vertigo, and how I knew of Larry Hagman before seeing I Dream of Jeannie. Oh, and there's the ample bustline of Charlene Tilton.

The Prisoner (1967-1968). Groundbreaking TV series about Number 6 (Patrick McGoohan), a secret agent who gets abducted and winds up in a strange village where he wants to find Number 1. Unfortunately, this intro doesn't show Rover, the killer balloon:

ABC's Wide World of Sports (1961-1998). In the days before 24-hour sports channels, ABC's Wide World of Sports brought many lower-interest sports to American television screens on weekend afternoons. Host Jim McKay tells us in the opening that sports brings us the "thrill of victory" (lots of different sporting events used), and "the agony of defeat" (one image always used from 1971 on). More on that clip here.

4 comments:

joel65913 said...

The Wide World of Sports!!! I was never that much of a sports on TV watcher but I usually would watch that intro just to hear the whole "The thrill of victory...and the agony of defeat" and see that poor bastard wipeout week after week.

I was more of a Dynasty follower than Dallas but I do remember that opening and how they were pimping out Patrick Duffy from day 1 as the stud muffin of the show.

Love The Prisoner! A very clever and well-acted show with Patrick McGoohan perfect in the lead.

I didn't plan it but all three of mine come from the 60's. The openers are just memorable enough to have stuck in my head.

Bewitched (1964-1972)-Clever animation of the lead couple-witch Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) and human Darrin (first Dick York, later Dick Sargent) plus troublesome mother-in-law Endora (Agnes Moorehead) represented by a cloud of black smoke set to zippy music that hints at the magical theme of the show all in under 40 seconds!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p2Q7vs4bQk

Gilligan’s Island (1964-1967)-Imagine a small boat, a storm-tossed sea, a spinning captain’s wheel and a lonely isle then sing along!
“Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale
a tale of a fateful trip,
that started from this tropic port,
aboard this tiny ship. The mate was a mighty sailin' man,
the Skipper brave and sure,
five passengers set sail that day,
for a three-hour tour,
a three-hour tour. The weather started getting rough,
the tiny ship was tossed.
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
the Minnow would be lost.
The Minnow would be lost.
The ship's aground on the shore of this
uncharted desert isle
with Gilligan,
the Skipper too.
The millionaire and his wife,
the movie star,
the professor and Mary Ann,
here on Gilligan's Isle!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoGahnlFEqY

The Brady Bunch (1969-1974)-Over the background of a tic-tac-toe board filled with the faces of the cast all mobile and smiling at each other we hear:
“Here's the story
Of a lovely lady
Who was bringing up three very lovely girls
All of them had hair of gold
Like their mother
The youngest one in curls

It's the story
Of a man named Brady
Who was busy with three boys of his own
They were four men
Living all together
Yet they were all alone

'Til the one day when the lady met this fellow
And they knew that it was much more than a hunch
That this group must somehow form a family
That's the way we all became the Brady bunch

The Brady bunch, the Brady bunch
That's the way we became the Brady bunch.”

And then Alice pops into the middle square!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZhhUdc_Vt0

Sara said...

Dallas! That's a great pick.

Brittani Burnham said...

Oh man that Wild World of Sports intro. Dated in the best way.

Birgit said...

I watched Dynasty a lot more because I couldn't stand smarmy Larry Hagman even though I enjoyed I Dreamed of Jeannie. I never realized Larry was in Jeannie until much, much later. It was huge when he got shot-big news back then. I loved Mr. Atlantis, Patrick Duffy with his mane of hair.

I love...love The Prisoner and that opening but the big ball was quit funny although they did show it in the intros later...didn't they?? I love that car! Oh My Gosh, The Wide World of Sports! I always loved that intro and felt bad for the skier made famous for wiping out. I will double check your link but I think he was aok. Great one to choose!