torcan
06-28-2009, 01:10 PM
We all know that in today's TV universe, clever opening title sequences are mostly a thing of the past. I really enjoyed some of the opening titles of classic sitcoms, but one thing I noticed is that there'd quite frequently be two versions per season - one standard length (varied depending on the show, but usually 30-45 seconds) and one around 10 seconds shorter.
You'd usually get the full opening titles near the beginning of the season, then around November usually the shorter version on some (but not all) episodes.
Cases in point:
--That Girl. In the last season they added lyrics to the theme. Some episodes featured an opening with one of the verses edited out (at least one of those is in the trading curcuit)
--Mary Tyler Moore. After the fourth season, sometimes the opening would start right in with "Love is all Around", rather than the instrumental beginning to the song, and feature edited visuals; other times you'd get a completely instrumental opening which was quite a bit shorter than the standard one with lyrics
--Three's Company. At the begininng of the second and third seasons, there was an additional 20 seconds or so of instrumental featuring highlights from the previous season. By around November, this was dropped and IIRC, never even re-appeared on summer reruns of those episodes
--Happy Days. Beginning with the third season, sometimes you'd see a shorter version of the regular opening titles on some episodes
--Sledge Hammer. One of my favorite sitcoms of the '80s, the second season DVD even features one of those openings which ran 10 seconds or so shorter than most of the others.
Those are just a few examples, but I'm sure there are more. It just seems odd to me that they'd edit an opening title sequence, then at certain points of the year run a slightly shorter version. What was the purpose? 10 seconds wouldn't be enough for a full commercial, but do you think the networks did it to run an extra promo? You'd think they'd know how much time they had when planning the first few weeks of the season.
Always wondered...
You'd usually get the full opening titles near the beginning of the season, then around November usually the shorter version on some (but not all) episodes.
Cases in point:
--That Girl. In the last season they added lyrics to the theme. Some episodes featured an opening with one of the verses edited out (at least one of those is in the trading curcuit)
--Mary Tyler Moore. After the fourth season, sometimes the opening would start right in with "Love is all Around", rather than the instrumental beginning to the song, and feature edited visuals; other times you'd get a completely instrumental opening which was quite a bit shorter than the standard one with lyrics
--Three's Company. At the begininng of the second and third seasons, there was an additional 20 seconds or so of instrumental featuring highlights from the previous season. By around November, this was dropped and IIRC, never even re-appeared on summer reruns of those episodes
--Happy Days. Beginning with the third season, sometimes you'd see a shorter version of the regular opening titles on some episodes
--Sledge Hammer. One of my favorite sitcoms of the '80s, the second season DVD even features one of those openings which ran 10 seconds or so shorter than most of the others.
Those are just a few examples, but I'm sure there are more. It just seems odd to me that they'd edit an opening title sequence, then at certain points of the year run a slightly shorter version. What was the purpose? 10 seconds wouldn't be enough for a full commercial, but do you think the networks did it to run an extra promo? You'd think they'd know how much time they had when planning the first few weeks of the season.
Always wondered...