Here's an interesting one (and please forgive me if this thread has been made before).

What are some TV shows you can think of that had inconsistent opening credits in reruns?

Here's what I can think of off the top of my head:

Clarissa Explains it All (The opening and closing credits from seasons 2 and onward replaced the original opening and closing from season 1. The original opening and closing can be seen on at least one episode on the season 1 DVD set).

The Flintstones (The more familiar "Meet The Flintstones" song and opening from seasons 3 and onward, replaced the original "Rise & Shine" song and opening from seasons 1 & 2, which has been reinstated on Cartoon Network/Boomerang reruns, and on DVD).

Mama's Family (Aside from the Harvey Korman intros being dropped, syndicated airings of the season 1 & 2 episodes, featured the exterior shots that were used in seasons 3-6, all of which aired in syndication. The exterior shots from seasons 1 & 2, during the shows' original network run, were completely different).

Mr. Belvedere (A truncated version of the opening from seasons 4 & 5 was used on every episode in syndication, with the exception of season 6. Season 1 & 2's opening was originally completely different, and other than the different photo of Tracy Wells, season 3's opening wasn't much different from season 4 & 5's opening).

Boy Meets World has always been a bit screwed up. It seems that they tend to generally use the one with all the characters in the car even when in the actual episode, the characters are much younger.

Sometimes on Friends they just use the season 8 or 9 (not sure which) for all the episodes no matter what season. I've only been noticing this recently so I don't know how accurate that statement really is.

The Golden Girls was another example.

The local syndicated reruns in the early to mid '90s retained parts of the opening credits from the much later seasons. the Lifetime reruns almost always used the condensed opening credits from S2.

The 1st season opening credits used a different aerial shot of a building in Miami over the show's title logo, whereas the S2 and beyond intro used a different locale in Miami w/ the show's title logo.

Also, Rue and Estelle's shots in S5 were different than they were in S2-S4.

Alvin and the Chipmunks (1980s version) - the closing credits from the 1st 3 years (1983, 1984, 1985) had their original editions replaced with the one from 1986(?).

The one used from 1983 and maybe '84 originally ended with just The Bagdasarian Productions in association with Ruby-Spears Productions name as an in-credit logo.

The one used in 1985 had a different version of the Bagdasarian Productions logo on a still yellow background w/ much different shot of the Chipmunks' poses.

And on the 1988 episodes, the DiC logo was omitted and sometimes the Lorimar-Telepictures even appeared in some eps. after the Ruby-Spears logo.



Police Woman - the 1st season didn't feature Earl Holliman's barrel roll and Charles Dierkopf and Ed Bernard's shot in s1 was different than the one used in later seasons and yet syndicated reruns used the one from later seasons.

For a breakdown of the Golden Girls intro credits, watch these intros and you'll see a few jarring differences from the ones Lifetime aired:

The Golden Girls - Season 1 Intro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFl7r2dUmTA)

Seasons 2-4 Intro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sbLeN-dfJc)

Season 5-7 Intro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp9ZEPLBwbQ)

NOTE: For the 5-7 Intro in this video, TGG Intro comes along at the 5:47 mark and you'll have to pay close attention in all of these intros to see some differences in the intros.

"Magnum, P.I." was another show with this issue.

Syndicated and some cable reruns had this issue quite a lot.

The first 3 or 4 seasons and the final 3 seasons had their original opening credits replaced with the opening credits used from Season 4 (1983-84 season). Also, the original theme music used by Ian Freebairn-Smith in the 1st half of Season 1 was replaced with the theme tune by Mike Post/Pete Carpenter in the closing credits as well.

The 1st half of S1 (December 1980-81) didn't use the familiar Mike Post/Pete Carpenter theme song as that was done by Ian Freebairn-Smith. The 2nd half of S1 used the 1st variation of the Post-Carpenter theme tune in a slightly different way.

Also, the 1st 3 seasons or so lacked the comma(,) in the show's title name and the show's title used a different font in the first three seasons as well.

The first 3 seasons didn't use a double-font combo for the cast members' names until 1983.

The final season had some different scenes not used in the S4 intro as well.

The Beverly Hillbillies: Sometimes for the late season episodes (usually for the final season), the story of Jed and the oil is omitted, beginning instead with the Clampetts in the truck.

Cheers: Either the full opening is used, starting with "Making your way..." -- or a short opening is used, beginning with the line from later in the theme, "Sometimes you want to go..."

Cheers: Either the full opening is used, starting with "Making your way..." -- or a short opening is used, beginning with the line from later in the theme, "Sometimes you want to go..."

That's because Paramount TV did that for basically mostly to almost all of their late '70s and '80s sitcoms when they sold them for local syndication.

Family Ties did the same practice "Cheers" did by omitting the first part of the theme song and going straight to the last half of the theme song.

Webster (with the exception of the 1st episode of the ABC-era eps. and some eps. of the 1st-run syndie-era eps.), they always began with "Set in my ways, losing track of the days, never getting caught up, love was never brought up, it's not the thing to do" (omitting the "only me to live for, had no need to give more than I wanted to" portion). And also with the new-style opening credits (which started in the fall of 1986), the also did away with the animated letters playing in the opneing credits, culminating the show's title as well.

Taxi - did away with the middle-to-second-to-last portions of their theme song as well.

Mork and Mindy - if you pay close attention to the opening credits on local syndicated reruns and DVD's, you'll know that the opening has actually been drastically shortened as well.

Bosom Buddies - local and most cable reruns replaced the original theme song "Shake Me Loose" with the "My Life" theme song, though the instrumental version of "Shake Me Loose" remained intact on the closing credits.

While the DVD's reinstated the "Shake Me Loose" theme song for the opening credits.

Also, even when "My Life" was used, some episodes had the theme credits shortened as well.



Family Matters - Local reruns had the original 1st episode theme song "It's a Wonderful Life" replaced with the "As Days Go By" theme song credits from the later S1 opening credits.

"My Life" WAS the original theme song for Bosom Buddies, they only used "Shake Me Loose" in syndication and on the DVD's.

Family Matters - Local reruns had the original 1st episode theme song "It's a Wonderful Life" replaced with the "As Days Go By" theme song credits from the later S1 opening credits.
That's true. ABC Family left the "What A Wonderful World" version intact in the pilot. But it's replace on other networks. However atleast a few other episodes used the "What A Wonderful World" but is replaced with the "As Days Go By" version used later in season one.

Here are the differnt versions:
"What A Wonderful World" pilot version used on abc family
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfcPaMa5yx4&feature=channel_page

"As Days Go By" pilot version used on other networks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3JLqbaJ0AY&feature=related

"What A Wonderful World" version used in a couple of episodes not shown in reruns http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_DWb2pktHM&feature=channel

Grace Under Fire also had an inconsistent theme song. In seasons 1-3 Lady Madonna was the theme song, and it was replaced in season 4 & 5 with a new song and new scenes. Now they show the season 4 & 5 song and scenes in season 1-3 in reruns, even though the older boy was played by a different actor in seasons 4 & 5.

Didn't Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie had some inconsistencies somewhere in their opening credits in reruns?

I do know for a fact that "The Banana Splits Adeventures Hour" definitely had some inconsistencies when they were repackaged as "The Banana Splits" for syndication reruns as well.

Not only did they shortened the opening theme song, but they even replaced the original Season 1 (1968-69) Opening Credits w/ the shortened Season 2 (1969-70) Opening Credits as well.

Didn't Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie had some inconsistencies somewhere in their opening credits in reruns?

As far as the former is concerned, yes.

Originally, the opening had sponsors plugs (like for instance "Chevrolet presents..." and then the rest of the opening would play).

In syndication, these earlier openings were replaced with a shortened gray-scale version of the season 3 opening (season 3 being when the show switched to color, of course).

As far as the former is concerned, yes.

Originally, the opening had sponsors plugs (like for instance "Chevrolet presents..." and then the rest of the opening would play).

In syndication, these earlier openings were replaced with a shortened gray-scale version of the season 3 opening (season 3 being when the show switched to color, of course).

No wonder why those copyright years were so off! :lol:

You'd watch an episode from S1 and the copyright year says "MCMLXVI A SCREEN GEM PRODUCTION" in the opening credits.

The Monkees was another one: they would show the season two credits with the season one episodes. At least on the DVDs, the season one credits are shown with the season one episodes.

Also That's So Raven. It plays it's season 3 intro for season 2 episodes and the season 2 intro is no longer shown.

The Monkees was another one: they would show the season two credits with the season one episodes. At least on the DVDs, the season one credits are shown with the season one episodes.

UGH! No wonder why I hated all those Screen Gems shows.

I think "Full House" had something inconsistent in the opening credits along the way.

The original 1st season theme tune with the noticeable synthseized '80s drums that was used in the intro of S1 got replaced with the 2nd theme variation on future S1 reruns, I think.

magnum pi had same intro shown for all seasons even season one it from season 3 i think even did it on sleuth

magnum pi had same intro shown for all seasons even season one it from season 3 i think even did it on sleuth

On Slueth reruns, they reinstated the regular Season 1 opening credits, b/c I watched the closing credits of a 1st-half S1 episode heard the original Ian Freebairn-Smith theme song, and not the 1st variation of the more familiar Mike Post/Pete Carpenter theme.

Dunno know about the rest of the other earlier seasons though.

Wouldn't Bewitched qualify as having inconsistent opening credits in reruns?

i wish sleuth did not take it off the air ones i saw was the same ones guess i can buy it on dvd sometime to check it out

I think "Full House" had something inconsistent in the opening credits along the way.

The original 1st season theme tune with the noticeable synthseized '80s drums that was used in the intro of S1 got replaced with the 2nd theme variation on future S1 reruns, I think.
Actually it was replaced with a shorter theme song that was never actually used in the original run. It has the lines "You miss your old familiar friends, but waiting just around the bend". It does match the s2 instruments though. Season 1-5 used this version of the theme song and a shorter intro then its original. Then season 6 & 7 uses an even shorter intro, and season 8's original theme song remains in tact on tv.

Another show is George Lopez. The seasons 1-4 intro is replaced with the season 5 intro.

Another show is George Lopez. The seasons 1-4 intro is replaced with the season 5 intro.

The one w/ the "Low Rider" theme song?

Yes, that's the one.

The original openings are intact on the DVDs, but without the "Low Rider" song. Oddly enough, "Low Rider" is still mentioned in the closing credits.

A few more I just thought of:

The pilot episode to Inspector Gadget originally had a different B/G for the buildings, showed Gadget (with a moustache) entering from the left, differnt sound effects, footage intercut with footage from the pilot, and the logo on a green B/G.

I also read that different end credits were used on the pilot, as well, but I've never actually seen them, and I don't think the pilot end credits ever once showed up on YouTube, or any other video sharing site.

Garfield & Friends had 7 sesons, and only the 3rd season opening was used in syndication.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Aside from the inconsistent use of closing logos, there were also different openings, as well. Originally, the 1988-1989 episodes had 2 different openings (one featured clips from their most recent movie at the time, The Chipmunk Adventure, while the other had the Chipmunks themselves exiting the Mercedes, and both variations featured the 1988 opening theme). Both of them were never used in syndication (although they are on official VHS and DVD releases), and instead, the original opening was used on whatever post-Ruby Spears episodes were being syndicated (only the first 11 from season 6 were syndicated, basically the entire catalog of MWS episodes), but with the 1988 opening theme dubbed over.

The Jetsons: The opening credits from the 1980's version, replaced the opening credits from the original 1960's version in syndication.

A few more I just thought of:

The pilot episode to Inspector Gadget originally had a different B/G for the buildings, showed Gadget (with a moustache) entering from the left, differnt sound effects, footage intercut with footage from the pilot, and the logo on a green B/G.


I found that one online! I had no idea that Gadget was originally supposed to have a moustache!

Wait--George Lopez had a different opening than the Low Rider/everybody is jumping intro? Well, shut my mouth!! I never knew that :D

I found that one online! I had no idea that Gadget was originally supposed to have a moustache!

They shaved the stache, b/c there was a rumor that the producers didn't want viewers to mistake him for Inspector Cluseau.

Wait--George Lopez had a different opening than the Low Rider/everybody is jumping intro? Well, shut my mouth!! I never knew that :D
No the theme song was always Lowrider, but it was replaced on the seasons 1 & 2 DVD set because they couldnt clear the rights for the song. And the show did have a different intro, but it still had them jumping. Look here:

Original Intro:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X2if0CrDYY

DVD Version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chSmMxQ6_I4

When TV Land reran The Addams Family, it only used the credits from the first season. This is noticeable because Jackie Coogan was credited in the opening credits in the second season as "Featuring Jackie Coogan" (which was the same as his first season credit which appeared in the closing credits of first season eps) and was no longer credited in the closing credits. Since TV Land only used the first season opening credits in its reruns, Jackie Coogan ended up being uncredited in second season eps.

I knew the whole time there was something different about the intro credits w/ George Lopez and I was right.

The 1st season had a different font as well as double-fotn combo for the cast members and crew members' names.

Then in S3, Emiliano Diez got added to the opening credits.

And also in the 1st few seasons, George's hair was longer as well.

No the theme song was always Lowrider, but it was replaced on the seasons 1 & 2 DVD set because they couldnt clear the rights for the song. And the show did have a different intro, but it still had them jumping. Look here:

Original Intro:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X2if0CrDYY

DVD Version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chSmMxQ6_I4


oh that DVD intro music is totally weird and once you are used to one song, man, it's hard to get used to something else. why do producers pick a theme song that later on they will have trouble clearing? So stoooooooooooopid!!:rolleyes:

Reviving this thread from the mothballs:

Hunter (1984-91) had some inconsistencies during its TV Land reruns.

TV Land plastered the S2 opening credits w/ the S1 opening credits, which sometimes kept the original S2 theme tune.

And by the way for those of you that want to know what changed from the S1 opening credits to the S2 opening credits, here's an observation:

- There was a much closer shot of Rick handing the towel to Dee Dee (with more lights on, instead of dimmer lights)
- Rick says his catch phrase "works for me!" inside the LAPD station, instead of outside
- Rick busts down a door with a shotgun in hand
- Some of the scenes used in S3's opening credits actually started in S2's opneing credits.
- Rick barges out of the women's bathroom in one scene.
- Stepfanie Kramer's name is bottom-centered, instead of bottom-left-centered.

I never watched it, but Valerie changed it's name to Valerie's Family for the second season and finally, The Hogan Family in the third season, when it was clear that Valerie Harper was not coming back. I assume that in reruns, the first two seasons were retitled The Hogan Family.

Or how about These Friends Of Mine, which was retitled Ellen in its second season? I'm guessing that first season was retitled Ellen as well.

And for those of us who've been around since the seventies, how about when the shows Happy Days Again and Laverne & Shirley And Company made their syndication debuts? I believe the thinking was that they didn't want viewers to confuse the reruns with the first-run episodes that were running on the networks. Weird!

I never watched it, but Valerie changed it's name to Valerie's Family for the second season and finally, The Hogan Family in the third season, when it was clear that Valerie Harper was not coming back. I assume that in reruns, the first two seasons were retitled The Hogan Family.

Then the strange thing is that only one episode of Valerie in most syndicated reruns kept the Valerie title, while the rest of the early seasons not only use the shortened intros w/ the "The Hogan Family" title name in the credits.

And to make matters more confusing was that they plastered the Lorimar-Telepictures logo w/ the Lorimar Television logo at the end of the closing credits during the 1st 3 seasons as well.

what about "The Smurfs?"

All of the episodes from before 1987 got repackaged into the "Smurfs Adventures."

I think the original early credits had a slightly different opening.

And also, the eps. w/ Johan and PeeWee were cut from some reruns as well, I'm not fully sure about this one, though.



Matter of fact, pretty much a vast majority of Hanna-Barbera cartoons from the '60s, '70s, and especially the '80s had some inconsistencies w/ their opening credits and/or even closing credits.

Sorry to bump this thread, but here's another show with inconsistent opening credits in reruns:

Married... With Children: Originally, the opening credits showed footage from National Lampoon's Vacation in seasons 1-3, and also, in seasons 1 & 2, did not have any pictures shown for the cast. In syndication, not only was the opening shortened, but the Vacation footage was put back in (probably to accomidate the shortened syndication length), and in seasons 1 & 2, they used Al from the season 4 opening, Peggy from the pilot episode, Steve and Marcy from the season 3 opening, Kelly from a season 3 episode, and Bud from a season 2 episode. Also, the exterior of the house was originally brown. In syndication, and in seasons 2-11, it was light beige.

The Beverly Hillbillies: Sometimes for the late season episodes (usually for the final season), the story of Jed and the oil is omitted, beginning instead with the Clampetts in the truck.

Cheers: Either the full opening is used, starting with "Making your way..." -- or a short opening is used, beginning with the line from later in the theme, "Sometimes you want to go..."


Also, re: The Beverly Hillbillies:

In reruns, the opening credits show the Clampets riding down a street in Beverly Hills, with Jed and Jethro in the front seat, and Elly May and Granny sitting in the back of the truck. At the end of what they show now in the credits, Jed is seen pointing to something off-camera, and then the opening credits fade out.

What Jed was pointing at was a billboard that advertised the sponsor of the show, which would be Kellogs, the breakfast cereal company. In the show's original run, the billboard would be shown. In fact, there were additional lyrics to the theme song which incorporated Kellogs into the song.




And yeah, Cheers did leave out the whole opening verse of the theme song in syndicated reruns, even though the beginning piano fill is usually played (at least, part of it is).

7th Heaven is another show that totally cuts the opening credit theme song about in half...and they FLY through the cast listing, since there were so many cast members, and they have to show them all in half the time.

All this in the name of more commercials.

And another new inconsistency opening and/or closing credits I discovered was:

Webster - In one episode of S5, they used the regular S5 intro credits...BUT with the S1-S3 variation of the theme song.

New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The - On the DVD Volume Sets versions, the original opening theme tune credits were replaced with the newer ones. But somehow the original closing credits used in the early seasons were retained.

Muppet Babies - Most times in syndication, they use a shortened version of the opening theme, other rare times they would use a longer version of the openign theme (originallly seen on its CBS run). Other instances were that the beginning of the opening credits also used the later versions such as the beginning of the later credits had the kids playing their instruments, while the earlier ones had the kids gathered by the window to read a book all while the camera zoomed in on the window. The other instance of inconsistency was that the beginning of the intro in earlier seasons also had the kids flying through space on the book, instead of it starting w/ Kermit (as Indiana Jones) swinging in the jungle.

Well, now you can't even see the closing credits anymore anyways. They squeeze them off to the side so they can advertise another show. More and more reasons to love dvds!!!!

Well, now you can't even see the closing credits anymore anyways. They squeeze them off to the side so they can advertise another show.

I hate that. Even closing credits are part of the experience.

TBS is one of the worst offenders. They'll run the closing credits for one show scrunched to the bottom of the screen while another show is beginning.

I also hate pop up/banner advertisements during shows. It's bad enough they've cut programs down from around 26 minutes to 22, but to show pop-up ads during the actual show is disrespectful IMO.

oh yes, I HATE it when TBS does that!!!:mad: :mad:

Ugh! TBS sucks for that!

GSN is worse. As soon as the host signs off on most of their shows, BAM! The Credit Crunch. What's even worse is that they'll play only 30 seconds of the closing credits (while crunched and accompanied by those ever-so-annoying promos) and then go to the next show without even finishing the credits.

Even Spike TV has been doing the same crap TBS does 90 to 95% precent of the time with some of their shows, too.

But I guess it's the norm these days us Americans gotta cope with.

For those of us who grew up with full screen closing credits, this credit scrunching really sucks. The worst thing to happen is that an announcer would talk over them, but at least you'd get to see them.

On a show like M*A*S*H, the closing credits with music were part of the experience. Thank God for the uncut DVDs.

For those that were talking about the MWC opening credits, here's a few videos to compare and contrast.

Pilot Episode &/or S1 & S2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twu7NFjG1Ys

S3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2ZdSuAyBeU

NOTE: Apparently, this video uses a sappy, generic theme song over the Love and Marriage theme song.

I remember reading somewhere that the Saved by the Bell opening credits were sometimes inconsistent.

I remember reading somewhere that the Saved by the Bell opening credits were sometimes inconsistent.

Yes, I believe you are referring to the episodes that used to be entitled "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" but then got reworked in the syndication package to include Zack (a few years older) narrating a little bit at the beginning. They used the same song from the regular series but just changed the images of the cast (as opposed to a different song being used in the Disney show with Miss Bliss - 13 episodes only).

Now I remember something being inconsistent about The Smurfs iopening credits:

For syndication and on Boomerang reruns, not only did they shorten the opening credits but they even eliminated all the parts of the opening credits that had The Smurfs singing to the theme song.

Boy Meets World-Disney used the Season 4 opening when they would air Seasons 1-4, and then show the regular openings for Seasons 5-7.

Yeah, I remember when I was like 4 or 5 I would be so confused as to how they could get them to look older in the theme song but be young in the episode lol.

Didn't S1 of Love American Style use the Charles Fox Singers version of the theme? Oddly, the Cowsills version was reinstated on DVD. ODDLY...because the show is part of the CBS "Original Music? What's that?" Paramount library.

Transformers on Sci-Fi used a combination of the S2 opening and the S3 theme for all but the post-movie episodes. Weeeeeeeeeeird...

By the '90s, reruns of ALL the G.I. Joe series used the DiC open.

Didn't S1 of Love American Style use the Charles Fox Singers version of the theme? Oddly, the Cowsills version was reinstated on DVD. ODDLY...because the show is part of the CBS "Original Music? What's that?" Paramount library.

Transformers on Sci-Fi used a combination of the S2 opening and the S3 theme for all but the post-movie episodes. Weeeeeeeeeeird...

By the '90s, reruns of ALL the G.I. Joe series used the DiC open.

Another good call! LaS originally had the Cowsills singing the theme song in S1. But when the series got repackaged for reruns, the original S1 version w/ The Cowsills was replaced w/ the version from Charles Fox.

Another inconsistency intro problem w/ The Smurfs I found:

- For S2 (1982-83 season), the intro featuring the short-lived characters in Johann and Peewit (pronounced as Pee-Wee) was used. On Boomerang reruns, this too was replaced w/ the short intro from "The Smurfs Adventure" repackaged intro.

- Same scenario w/ this intro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADRKvnUi9Yc

NOTE: This intro was one of the only few Smurfs intros w/ a voiceover narration in the opening credits and like many other Smurfs intros, this one was also replaced w/ the Smurfs Adventures Intro package.

I think "The Snorks," the Smurfs rip-off show also had this inconsistency issue as well.

I noticed the original 1st 2 seasons' theme tune, which sounded like a tropical-sounding underwater theme tune was replaced w/ the one used from the final 2 seasons (which was from when the show jumped from NBC to 1st-run syndication), which sounded more like something you would hear from "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh."

The original music bumper used on the episode title displays from the NBC years and the closing theme tune used on the NBC years remained intact, though.

Just like the 1st season of "The Smurfs," the 1st season of the NBC-era of "The Snorks" too had a voice-over in the opening credits as well.

And that original NBC-era opening credits of "The Snorks" had their opening replaced with the 1987-88 opening credits in syndie reruns as well as on Boomerang reruns.

And here's one of the original intros to the NBC-era of "The Snorks" that's not seen in syndicated reruns and it's from the 1984 season and not the "Play Along with the Snorks" version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a13aj6I675o

I didn't feel like going through all four pages, but the one that comes to mind is Full House. The theme song was dramatically shortened for TV. Geez, like 30 extra seconds is going to take away advertising money?

I didn't feel like going through all four pages, but the one that comes to mind is Full House. The theme song was dramatically shortened for TV. Geez, like 30 extra seconds is going to take away advertising money?

yes, that happens with a lot of shows... it doesn't seem to be the case that TV Land does that, but a lot of shows that are rerun on Hallmark of the Family channel seem to have shortened themes. And, you bet it's done in order to get an extra commercial in there.

I remember when "Cheers" was first in syndication, the whole beginning of that theme song was cut out...they'd start the little piano riff, but then skip the whole "makin' your way in the world today... " part, and immediately skip to the "...sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name" lyrics.

So yeah, a lot of shows have their themes cut short... I noticed that on 7th Heaven in Hallmark channel reruns as well.

ABC sitcoms were very guilty of that more than any other network.

Another one:

ALF: The original S1 & S2 theme was in the key of D, syndicated versions were in the key of C.

I didn't feel like going through all four pages, but the one that comes to mind is Full House. The theme song was dramatically shortened for TV. Geez, like 30 extra seconds is going to take away advertising money?

Exactly.

One of the worst examples of theme song shortening is Cheers. It takes away from the mood of the song to eliminate the first verse and go straight to the chorus.

The lyrics set up the premise of the show. It's almost like reading a novel with the first few chapters cut out.

ABC sitcoms were very guilty of that more than any other network.

YESSSSS!!

Another inconsistency I found was on "Barney Miller."

In the last season or two of BM, there was a slightly longer arrangment (complete w/ more guitar riffs and sax in the theme) version of the theme song used for the final set of opening credits that was replaced w/ the standard BM theme from S3-S7(?) on some local syndicated reruns.

What's even worse was that surprisingly TV Land reruns kept this slightly long extended version of the BM theme on those final opening credits scenes, but on some local reruns, they're placed w/ the earlier version theme tune.

And what happened w/ Full House also holds true when Perfect Strangers was sold to local reruns as well when the theme was shortened as well.


Even Step by Step wasn't that safe w/ escaping the opening credits inconsistent problems as well.

And what happened w/ Full House also holds true when Perfect Strangers was sold to local reruns as well when the theme was shortened as well.

I think the theme songs to both shows were already shortened by the time both shows hit daytime reruns (NBC and ABC respectively, which was when they were first syndicated). Wasn't that short Perfect Strangers opening that Cubz72 has on his YouTube channel from a 1989 daytime rerun of a season 3 episode? (I know it was a season 3 episode, because it was the only season to have lights around the logo for the opening).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M6z3sut118

The pilot episode to Inspector Gadget originally had a different B/G for the buildings, showed Gadget (with a moustache) entering from the left, differnt sound effects, footage intercut with footage from the pilot, and the logo on a green B/G.

I also read that different end credits were used on the pilot, as well, but I've never actually seen them, and I don't think the pilot end credits ever once showed up on YouTube, or any other video sharing site.

Garfield & Friends had 7 sesons, and only the 3rd season opening was used in syndication.

The Jetsons: The opening credits from the 1980's version, replaced the opening credits from the original 1960's version in syndication.


I remembered watching "Inspector Gadget" on some local reruns and even of the former Family Channel, whenever they reran the pilot episode, one of those reruns used the regular S1 opening credits over the pilot opening credits. Plus, both of those reruns had the original pilot episode's closing credits plastered over with either the regular 1983 closing credits (the ones w/ that god-awful teeny-tiny, hard-to-read font) or the 1984 closing credits respectively.

As for Garfield and Friends, not only did the opening credits had inconsistency problems but the closing credits also suffered as well.

The syndie reruns of Garfield and Friends used the 4th season's closing credits over all of the earlier versions of the closing credits.

1). The original S1 closing credits originally had Garfield's eyes blinking on and off at the bottom of the screen on a purple background. Also, the credits themselves flashed on and off.

2). S2's original closing credits used the same closing theme as S1, but this time it features the characters from both Garfield and U.S. Acres, but only on a bright blue background and only on the bottom of the screen.

3). S3's original closing credits were the same as S2's closing credits, but this was when they 1st began using the "We're Ready to Party" theme song. Also, notice that in the closing credits of S3 the instrumental closing theme of "We're Ready to Party" sounded like it has more instruments and chattering over the theme.

The Jetsons - you can easily distinguish the 1962 version from the 1980s version by listening to the drums and picolos. The 1962 version used real drums, while the 1980s version used synthesized tom-tom-like drums.

I've got a new one here:

Punky Brewster - S1 had several versions of the S1 opening credits. The 1st one which was shot on location in Chicago, also used a slightly different version of the theme song only for the 3-part pilot episode. The 2nd version (used from near the beginning to nearly partway through S1) used animations, similar to the animation used on the spin-off PB cartoon. The 3rd version (used in the remainder of S1) used footage from S1 eps.

But on most local reruns, the 3rd version replaced the two earlier versions of the S1 credits.

But on the DVD's, those earlier S1 opening credits were reinstated.

When TV Land reran The Addams Family, it only used the credits from the first season. This is noticeable because Jackie Coogan was credited in the opening credits in the second season as "Featuring Jackie Coogan" (which was the same as his first season credit which appeared in the closing credits of first season eps) and was no longer credited in the closing credits, so since TV Land only used the first season opening credits in its reruns, Jackie Coogan ended up being uncredited in second season eps.


I noticed that too, and it doesn't make much sense. When the show reran years ago, the second-season opening was intact, so I don't know why TVLand had to replace it.

Bewitched was mentioned earlier in the thread and that's my biggest pet peeve. I really don't like the standard Dick York syndication opening music. I much prefer the ones originally used on the primetime airings - it was much more uptempo. During the '70s sometimes you'd still see actual openings (minus the sponsor plugs) in reruns.

The Partridge Family is another that comes to mind. For a while, the "When We're Singin" first-season opening was replaced with the more familiar "Come on Get Happy". Also, they updated a couple of the drawings for season four when it ran in primetime, but I've sometimes seen those turn up on season two episodes.

During the '60s, most shows had sponsor plugs embedded into their openings, so I can understand why some of those might have to be changed for syndication. What I don't get is shows from the '70s onwards whose openings weren't sponsored...what's the point in chaning them around so much especially if they're all the same length? Have the syndicators got nothing better to do?

Re. shows with original sponsored openings...anyone here collect them? I'm always on the hunt for more! :)

Re. shows with original sponsored openings...anyone here collect them? I'm always on the hunt for more! :)

I don't collect them per se, but The Monkees DVD sets have the original Kellogg's sponsored openings with the original ads on some episodes. They even have Kellogg's cereal boxes superimposed over the closing credits.

The Facts Of Life. Most times that i've seen it in syndication the season 1 episodes with Sueann, Nancy and Molly used the revamped season 2 theme song with the season 1 scenes.

I've recently seen the original intros of Garfield and Friends on You Tube and guess what else I noticed right away:

S1 & S2's original opening credits had a theme song that sounded something like "Friends Are There / To Help You Get Started, To Help Give You a Push on Your Way" and that was accompanied by Garfield and the cast of U.S. Acres fighting over the screen.

S3 was when they 1st began using the "We're Ready to Party" theme credits.

Also, the original S1 closing credits had Garfield's eyes moving on a purple background and a different logo for the Film Roman Productions logo.

S2 & S3 had the faces of both Garfield and the cast of U.S. Acres on a bright blue background, with the credits still at the top of the screen.

But S3 used the instrumental closing of "We're Ready to Party" theme.

And the S4 closing credits w/ the characters of Garfield and U.S. Acres on the green background started in S4 and is the version used on syndie reruns.



Even weirder coincidence is that when Garfield went into syndicated reruns in 1992 or '93, CBS was still making new episodes, thus that also caused a continuity problem.

Since the syndie rerun episodes all used the "We're Ready to Party" opening credits and that by S6 Garfield was still had the "We're Ready to Party" opening at the time, CBS wanted the producers to change the opening credits so that viewers aren't seeing the same theme song and thinking that viewers were seeing reruns of past seasons, therefore the new "Hip-Hop Rap Theme" had to be institued for its 7th and final season.

I've recently seen the original intros of Garfield and Friends on You Tube and guess what else I noticed right away:

S1 & S2's original opening credits had a theme song that sounded something like "Friends Are There / To Help You Get Started, To Help Give You a Push on Your Way" and that was accompanied by Garfield and the cast of U.S. Acres fighting over the screen.

S3 was when they 1st began using the "We're Ready to Party" theme credits.

Also, the original S1 closing credits had Garfield's eyes moving on a purple background and a different logo for the Film Roman Productions logo.

S2 & S3 had the faces of both Garfield and the cast of U.S. Acres on a bright blue background, with the credits still at the top of the screen.

But S3 used the instrumental closing of "We're Ready to Party" theme.

And the S4 closing credits w/ the characters of Garfield and U.S. Acres on the green background started in S4 and is the version used on syndie reruns.



Even weirder coincidence is that when Garfield went into syndicated reruns in 1992 or '93, CBS was still making new episodes, thus that also caused a continuity problem.

Since the syndie rerun episodes all used the "We're Ready to Party" opening credits and that by S6 Garfield was still had the "We're Ready to Party" opening at the time, CBS wanted the producers to change the opening credits so that viewers aren't seeing the same theme song and thinking that viewers were seeing reruns of past seasons, therefore the new "Hip-Hop Rap Theme" had to be institued for its 7th and final season.

Did someone mention "Quantum Leap?"

If not, then I'll add "Quantum Leap."



There were two inconsistencies with the reruns of this show's opening credits:


On USA reruns, they replaced the S5 opening credits (which had a remixed opening theme tune song from S1-S4 on its original NBC run) with the opening credits from S2-S4.

The same fate also happened on Sci-Fi (SyFy nowadays) reruns as well:

- the original S1 opening credits from early 1989 were also replaced with the Season 2-4 opening credits.

- The original S1 opening credits was mostly years flashing on a black background and flying through the clouds. The fonts for the cast and crew names were also slightly different as well.

- The show's title logo during S1 was only supported by blue outlines around the black title logo on a lback background.

Bringing this thread back from the dead...


G.I. Joe
With them getting ready to release another set on DVD, I wanted to point out that the last time the 1980s version was on DVD, they replaced the S1 intro with the S2 opening intro credits.


And also with "The Jetsons," you also forgot to mention that the 1960s eps. had the laugh track (that was originally used in its original broadcasts) muted out on syndie reruns and that the 1980s retro-fitted Orbitty title cards were tacked onto the 1960s episodes, in which the 1960s version never, EVER featured Orbitty on that version.

Bringing this thread back from the dead...


G.I. Joe
With them getting ready to release another set on DVD, I wanted to point out that the last time the 1980s version was on DVD, they replaced the S1 intro with the S2 opening intro credits.


And also with "The Jetsons," you also forgot to mention that the 1960s eps. had the laugh track (that was originally used in its original broadcasts) muted out on syndie reruns and that the 1980s retro-fitted Orbitty title cards were tacked onto the 1960s episodes, in which the 1960s version never, EVER featured Orbitty on that version.

Did all the Hanna-Barbera cartoons used to have laugh tracks that were eventually muted in syndication? I have the Scooby DVDs with laugh tracks included and when it used to be on various tv channels there was no laugh track. Same thing with the Flintstones I believe.

Did all the Hanna-Barbera cartoons used to have laugh tracks that were eventually muted in syndication? I have the Scooby DVDs with laugh tracks included and when it used to be on various tv channels there was no laugh track. Same thing with the Flintstones I believe.

Laugh tracks on cartoons is ridiculous, as very few cartoons were performed in front of live audiences.

Laugh tracks on cartoons is ridiculous, as very few cartoons were performed in front of live audiences.

Yeah, I think The Flintstones was the only one filmed before a live audience!:lol:

Did all the Hanna-Barbera cartoons used to have laugh tracks that were eventually muted in syndication? I have the Scooby DVDs with laugh tracks included and when it used to be on various tv channels there was no laugh track. Same thing with the Flintstones I believe.

Mostly the ones that were produced in the 1960s and/or very early '70s.

The only ones I definitely know for a fact are:

The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Scooby Doo. I think Top Cat, too. I don't know.

I do know the original Johnny Quest didn't have one, since that show was supposed to resemble more of a spy-type show.

Yeah, I think The Flintstones was the only one filmed before a live audience!:lol:

There was a Simpsons episode where Homer was doing a voice over for a cartoon. He asked the veteran voice actress working with him, "Is this live?"

She replied, "Very few animated cartoons are done live. It puts an incredible strain on the animators' wrists."

Ladies and Gentlemen I have a new one here, folks!

Disney's Gummi Bears:

here's a list of inconsistencies I've found with this show's opening credits in syndication reruns:

1). When this show 1st began its reruns on Disney's Afternoon Block, they replaced all of the original intros with one of the ones from a much later season.

2). The Disney logo in the show's title name at the end of the original opening credits was brown and not purple.

3). On Disney Afternoon reruns, they pasted a 1990 copyright over all of the original closing credits.

4). On original NBC broadcasts of the NBC-era, there was a teaser that proceeded the opening credits. Syndie reruns eliminated this.

You know how I know?

Here's one of the original NBC-era intros:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_di8Seo1AC4

Here in this intro, there's an opening teaser voiced by none other than the late Lorenzo Music, better known as the voice of Garfield on Garfield and Friends.

In this intro, there's a scene of one of the Gummi Bears riding through the forest on a wolf and most of them in their home having tea with a dragon.

There's also a different shot of the characters riding on a log rollercoaster and the bad guys chasing them, while stumbling onto some marbles and none of the Gummi Bears are seen bouncing all over the place in this intro.


Here's the one used in syndication as well as a shorter version:

Long syndicated version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghXltx1O4XI


Short Version from what might be from the ABC-era:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9svfKKLtxI


The Gummi Bears/Winnie the Pooh Hour Intro (w/ the Outro) from the original ABC broadcast:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7mUhrgGKNE


Here's the original and the real Gummi Bears closing credits from the 1985-86 season:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skjIyiAtQgQ


Here's the butchered up syndication closing credits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5V2O3Tj18M




And is it me, or does every single long-running '80s cartoon that started on NBC is very guilty of these inconsistent opening credits practice?

I mean look what happened with The Smurfs, Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Snorks (even when this show 1st went to syndication), and even Disney's Gummi Bears.

I know this has probably already been mentioned, but the syndicated Boy Meets World opening used to drive me bats. Every season was pasted over with the main characters riding in the convertable.

I do like the replacement theme for the syndicated version of Grace Under Fire, it seems to fit the show a bit better and it takes me back to the 90s.

I went back through the thread and noticed how everyone is mentioning Cheers. In the WGN prints, they never show the version that credits Kelsey Grammer after he became a regular. Mmmkay, that is a little odd but whatever, WGN.

ABC sitcoms were very guilty of that more than any other network.

A handful of NBC's long-running cartoons are also guilty of this practice, too.

Reviving this thread from the dead:

I'm surprised no one mentioned this one yet:

South Park:

The local syndication reruns seem to have the original 1st season's opening credits played with the later country-banjo version from one of the much later years onto all of the episodes.

I got another one folks:

Dennis the Menace: The 1980s Cartoon

When Program Exchange acquired this show and reran it, both the opening credits and closing credits used a whole different sequence but maintaining the original theme song.

Reviving this thread from the dead:

Hawaii Five-O

There were several inconsistencies when this show was reran:

1). The original opening credits on the original pilot episode were replaced with the standard opening credits from S1 (1968-69).

The original pilot episode opening credits contained a much different shot of Jack Lord as well as even more landmarks fo Hawaii and extended scenes of Kono charging through the bad guys onto a cargo ship at night as well as extended scenes of the dancing Hawaii girl wiggling her hips and the airplane flying from Hawaii.

Even the original closing credits from the original pilot episode got replaced with the standard S1 (1968-69) closing credits.

Thankfully, this is corrected on the DVD's.

2). On Family Channel reruns, they used a customized version of the closing credits over the original pilot episode closing credits with the S2-S3 closing theme tune playing over it.

3). On CBS Late Night reruns in the 1980s when they were re-running S12 (1979-80) episodes, they replaced the "Hawaii Five-O" title name with the name "MacGarett."

4). On standard reruns of the final season, they used the S12 opening credits on all episodes of the final season without Lori (Sharon Farell), even though she originally appeared in some of the episodes through the final season.

Reviving this thread from the mothballs, I have several new ones here, folks:

Baywtach - They replaced the original S1 NBC Intro with one of the intros from the syndie-era seasons.

King of Queens - The original S1 intro, which was merely a bunch of title cards moving in a train-like motion were replaced with the Billy Vera "Home to You" theme song.

ALF - The 1st 2 seasons intros' theme tune was originally in a different pitch than the ones in the U.S. syndication reruns. Even the international reruns play the S1-S2 intro credits as they were on the original NBC broadcasts. Plus, the scene where Kate gives ALF a stern look after slapping him on his hand for trying to steal food from the fridge as well as the closer up shots of ALF's feet and closer-up shots of the kitchen table and the extended barbecue shot were all cut off from the U.S. syndie reruns.



Take a look:

ALF:

The Original Season 1 & 2 Intro used on the NBC Broadcats and on International Reruns (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=defigckV8vs)

Season 1 & 2 Intro (U.S. Syndication Version) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtRJQc6MzLA)

on the pilot episode of "MASH" the opening has been replaced with the same opening that the rest of the season 1 episodes have.

I hate that syndicated ALF opening--ugh.

G.I. Joe
With them getting ready to release another set on DVD, I wanted to point out that the last time the 1980s version was on DVD, they replaced the S1 intro with the S2 opening intro credits.

I am happy to announce(since I own all three volumes) that the first
season episodes on the Shout Factory DVDs have had their original intros
restored. Also these episodes include the original commercial bumpers
("G.I. Joe will return after these messages/Now back to G.I. Joe").

It is now commonly believed that the abominable syndicated opening for I Married Joan is from that show's original network run. The Wikipedia entry for the show suggests as much, and its wording has been repeated many times over. There is a network print of the series' second episode commonly available which has exactly the same title card as the syndie opening. The brief narration merely mentions the two stars by name and informs us that the show is brought to us by General Electric, "makers of the world's most dependable appliances for the home".

There's another episode floating around the net that contains an edited original opening. A brief scene from the upcoming show plays as the Roger Wagner chorale sings the first two lines of the theme, then starts humming. *SPLICE* Announcer: Joan Davis with Jim Backus in... Chorale: I Married Joaaaaaan!

CBN's package also contained at least two episodes with original intros similarly edited. A third started with a ghostly image of the GE logo filling the screen, followed by the same brief announcement and same title fonts as the episodes with preview scenes. All this suggests that it would have been quite feasible to remove the GE sponsorship mentions from the original intros for use in syndication and apparently that was at least attempted at some point. Unfortunately, I suspect Joan's jealousy of Lucy got the best of her and the syndicated opening was her little bid to rewrite history. Sorry Joan, but in the age of not only Lucy, but of Milton Berle, Red Skelton, Jackie Gleason, William Bendix et al, yours was not America's favorite comedy show.

But on the topic of variations, there in fact are two of the syndicated Joan opening, one tightens up the narrated portion so that there is music under all of it and even drops the "America's favorite" line.

on the pilot episode of "MASH" the opening has been replaced with the same opening that the rest of the season 1 episodes have.

I wonder how that could be, as it's the only episode to have a pre-opening credits sequence. And the theme song was incorporated into that sequence as well.

If the pilot doesn't begin with an on-screen title that says "Korea, 1950. A hundred years ago," it's not the real deal.

Reviving this thread, YET AGAIN...

What about Designing Women?

I noticed that on some reruns of this show, the intros from S1-S5 was replaced with a trauncated version that borrowed Seasons 1-2 opening credits scenes and used the opening photo changes for the cast members from S1-S2 and used the fonts from S3-S5's opening credits with the closing shot of the cast from the end of the S3 intro credits.

Anyone else noticed that?

Take a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEBE-wiowts&playnext_from=TL&videos=SKxPhvVawLY

And a series that REALLY had inconsistencies,was "Perry Mason".When they first syndicated the series back in the 1960's,Season one's opening and season one's theme was used in some first season(1957-1958)episodes,and the openings from other seasons and the theme from other seasons,were used in other first season episodes.To complicate things further,later on,the first season theme and opening was used in ALL first season episodes.From seasons 2-8 they used 5 different openings,and the familiar theme ,which I like a LOT better than the season one theme.And in season 9,there was (1965-1966)a theme change.

Reviving this thread from necessitation again....

I have two new ones here, folks: Jem and the Holograms and Unhappily Ever After

Jem and the Holograms

The 1st series episode entitled "The Beginning," and on subsequent S1 DVD episodes, the second theme song "Me and My Friends are Jem Girls" replaced the 1st theme "Jem is My Name" on DVD's and on some reruns.

What's worse is that the original copyright on the early S1 episodes, which were made in 1985 and had both a 1985 and 1986 copyright date on them was replaced with the 2nd closing credits w/ the abbreviated version of the theme song from the 1st theme in the closing credits with dual 1986 copyright dates on them.



Unhappily Ever After:

Although "Hit the Road Jack" was the primary theme song for almost this show's entire run, it was NOT the original theme song for the short 1st season from early 1995.

Instead, the original opening had something like Jack, the father on the show being kicked out of the house and getting ready to move into an apartment and then him being passed a by thief who runs off with a stolen TV before being caught by another guy. Afterwards, Jack finds the TV and remote and moves into the apartment.

Also, the them tune itself was sung by Bobcat Goldthwait and it sounded something like this: singing "We married young, because of Cupid. We had three kids 'CUZ WE WERE STUPID!..."

THAT was replaced in syndication with "Hit the Road Jack"

Reviving this thread from deep down from the dirty mothballs one more time:

THE ORIGINAL JONNY QUEST!

The original Jonny Quest, like The Flintstones and The Jetsons also fell victim to this practice as well.

There were 2 different sets of trauncated opening credits used in its 1970s syndication reruns:

On the 1st set of local syndicated reruns, not only was the opening credits shortened, but they removed many traces of gunshots and violent scenes from the opening credits such as the panther, Race shooting a gun, the guys in yellow and green jumpsuits and they also eliminated the displaying of the characters' names.

In addition, there was also a narrator heard over the opening credits, which was voiced by Mike Road who did the voice of Race Bannon on the 1960s run.

The voiceover was never heard in the opening credits on its original 1964-65 ABC broadcast and on the late '90s-present Turner updates when Turner updated the prints of the original JQ.


On the 2nd syndicated local reruns from the very late 1970s, there was another voiceover narration done by Mike Road and it was just simply the opening credits with the Questor (the Quest's family) airplane with displays of the characters' names.


Even the closing credits weren't spared, either.

According to a JQ fansite, every episode had distinct closing credits production staff members.

When Jq was released on the Tunrer channel stations (TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, etc.), they've used the closing credits from the episode "Pursuit of the Po-Ho" on the majority of the episodes, with the exception of "Double Danger," which was one of the few that retained its original production principals and Doug Wildey's credit name.

Yes, I believe you are referring to the episodes that used to be entitled "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" but then got reworked in the syndication package to include Zack (a few years older) narrating a little bit at the beginning. They used the same song from the regular series but just changed the images of the cast (as opposed to a different song being used in the Disney show with Miss Bliss - 13 episodes only).

Speaking of Saved by the Bell, the theme song on the 1st 2 seasons of the regular original NBC run was done a bit differently as well.

The 1st 2 seasons had a different singer and the theme tune was slightly more different than the version we've often heard.

If you listen to these two versions back to back you can tell how different they truly sound.

Take a listen for yourself:

Season 1 & 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maVR_xOwe6g&feature=related

Season 3 & 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYtaF08ZoTA&feature=related

In syndication they pasted the S3 intro over the earlier S1 and S2 version.

Here's another one I just thought of:

The 1980s Saturday morning live-action classic, Pee-Wee's Playhouse, had three different versions of the opening credits.

The first version was used in season 1, the second version was used in season 2, and the third version was used in season 5, the final season. The first two versions were very similar, the only difference is that in the second season, they moved production from New York City to Los Angeles, hence why the season 2 premiere centered on the playhouse makeover. The final opening featured a new prologue, as well as clips from all the seasons of the show.

When season 5 began airing, they went back and reedited the season 4 episodes so that they would feature the season 5 opening. VHS/DVD releases also have the season 4 episodes presented that way as well.

I have a new one:

The current G4TV reruns of Quantum Leap seemed to have the Season 5 remixed theme replaced w/ the original theme song b/c they just aired the S5 3-part episode Trilogy, 1978 and it has the original theme instead of the remixed theme song.

Speaking of Saved by the Bell, the theme song on the 1st 2 seasons of the regular original NBC run was done a bit differently as well.

The 1st 2 seasons had a different singer and the theme tune was slightly more different than the version we've often heard.

If you listen to these two versions back to back you can tell how different they truly sound.

Take a listen for yourself:

Season 1 & 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maVR_xOwe6g&feature=related

Season 3 & 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYtaF08ZoTA&feature=related

In syndication they pasted the S3 intro over the earlier S1 and S2 version.


Here is how it went:

In 1989 the organic SBTB theme was used and then months later, it was pulled and replaced by an even more upbeat rock and roll version perforned by Michael Damian. When three eps of Good Morning Miss Bliss aired in the summer of 90' on NBC, the Michael Damian version was plastered over the remade opening for GMMB. Michael Damian's version was used for the second season of the show. Season three (1991) went back to the original version of the song and Damian's was gone. In (1991)syndication, the original version of the song was used and still is being used today. As an 11/12 year old, I was there and made mental notes of the changes. LOL.

Home Improvement:

Is it me or does it seem like they replaced the original 1st season credits w/ the one used in S2 and S3?

The music in the 1st season theme had less flutes and more emphasis on the electrical guitars and a different font and there more action shots of Wilson (Earl Hindman) in the intro.

PicturePages
When it was released on video in 1987, there was a different theme made for it, which played over the animation we're used to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBvjniQewsU

But I remember when it first started on "Captain Kangaroo", the opening included a cartoon Captain, and one of the lines was different.

"PicturePages, PicturePages, time to get your PicturePages, time to join theCAP - tainAND - billCOS-byyy..." :crazy:

This didn't last long, and was changed to the more familiar opening very soon.

Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but I was watching FRIENDS today on TBS and noticed that during the season 1 episode "The One with the Blackout" they used an opening from much later in the series and it was clearly edited. It was obvious because Courtney Cox was credited as Courtney Cox-Arquette and none of the actors looked like they did during season one.

"My Life" WAS the original theme song for Bosom Buddies, they only used "Shake Me Loose" in syndication and on the DVD's.

I've only ever seen the series in syndication and the only version I've ever heard is "My Life". Then again I haven't seen the series since the very early 1990's.

I remember when "Cheers" was first in syndication, the whole beginning of that theme song was cut out...they'd start the little piano riff, but then skip the whole "makin' your way in the world today... " part, and immediately skip to the "...sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name" lyrics.


I've been watching a lot of Cheers lately and I noticed that the theme song is a lost shorter. I guess in a way it's good because then the viewers can see the show sooner (wow, a whole 30 seconds sooner!:crazy: !), but I know it's all about advertising and money!

In the syndicated episodes of Still Standing, the theme song, "You Make Me Happy", is shortened to the final two or three seconds of the song and an insrumental version of the song to close the show, while on the cable and CBS airing the full 30 second song is played, starting from "You can read me baby like an open book, etc."

Original Still Standing Intro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCk2WVvNzKk

Syndicated intro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pyh7bdAm7A&feature=related (Go to 2:06 Mark)

Sydicated close http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_E3ziRMrCE&feature=relmfu (Go to 9:39 mark)

Here's a new one:

Scooby's Laff-A-Lympics and probably perhaps all of the Scooby Doo incarnations between 1976-79.

The 1976-77 season originally aired as The Scooby Doo/Dynomutt Hour. In syndication both shows aired as separate shows and new title cards were made for both shows.

The 1977-78 season aired as a segment of Scooby's Laff-a-Lympics. The narration was longer and was voiced by Don Messick (the voice of Scooby Doo) and the title cards were different than when it went into syndication. When Laff-a-Lympics went into syndication, not only was the credits shortened but the narration was now done by Snagglepuss (voiced by Daws Butler).

Can anyone confirm this or is there more to this story here?

Bringing this thread back from the deep dark mothballs:

I have two new ones:

BARNEY MILLER:

There was four variations of the opening theme tune.

Version 1 (Season 1: early-mid 1975)
Version 2 (Season 2: Fall 1975-76)
Version 3 (Season 3: Fall 1976-77 and Season 8?)
Version 4 (Season 4: Fall 1977-81/82)

The 4th version which was the longest length of all the BM themes and had more guitars than the other 3 versions was replaced in local syndication by the 3rd version. Plus the scene with Dietrich (Steve Landesberg) and Leavitt (Ron Carey) looking at and chatting was shortened by 3-5 seconds. But on the DVDs and TV Land reruns, the 4th version was intact.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT:
The Season 1 theme tune and intro credits had several variations to it.

The 1st version ended with a shot of the Golden Gate Bridge
The 2nd version with Henry falling over the girls' bean bag-like chair was commonly used throughout the rest of the 1st 4 seasons.
The 3rd version where Nancy Dussault's credit was changed midway through S1 and also ended with a loud bell ringing sound.

But in reruns, this was all replaced by a shortened version of the Season 2 theme tune w/ a trauncated version of the Season 1 intro credits.

Then Season 3 had the 1st of the 3 updated themes but used a trauncated version of the S4 (which was the 1st season the show began its 1st-run syndicated run following cancellation from ABC) and the closing theme tune from The 1st 2 seasons.

Hazel - When I was a kid, watching Hazel, the only opening I recall, is Hazel holding the football, while the kids cheer her on. And they used the music from the season 5. (I swear, that's the only music score I remember!) Now that I'm collecting the Dvd sets, I'm amazed at how many opening intros, and themes there actually were.

Home Improvement Season 1

In the Syndicated Season 1 episodes they used Seasons 2 & 3 opening intros.

UPDATE:

The Me-TV reruns of Emergency!

The 1st 2 seasons or so originally had the title zooming in and the firetruck careening down the streets in the old smaller truck and that Gage (Randolph Mantooth) and DeSoto's (Kevin Tiche) hair are both shorter than later episodes.

The opening credits seen in later episodes use the now-modern cubed-shaped Fire Trucks and Gage and DeSoto's hair are now longer and the intro has freeze frames and not much music are opposed to the earlier intro credits.

This latter into is recently used on the 1st several seasons of Me-TV's reruns of Emergency!

UPDATE:

Nick at Nite's recent reruns of Hangin' With Mr. Cooper!

S1 - had the theme sung and performed by En Vogue, Holly Robinson Peete and Dawnn Lewis

S2 - had the theme tune sung and performed by Take Ten for their rendition of "Soul Man."

Both of those intros were not only edited but they were also replaced and dubbed over with the "Give It Up" theme used from Season 3-onward.

Possibly due to music clearance issues for the 1st 2 themes.

The Facts of Life -- In the original opening credits, Hugh Gillin (Howard the Chef) and Pamela Segall (Kelly Affinado) received opening credit billing in the episodes in which they appeared. In syndication, this is not usually the case.

I want to add the following:

Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990-2000) had some inconsistent opening credits its 1st season when in syndication. Instead of the familiar John E. Davis theme song (the one with the familiar "I-V-vi-IV" chord progression), an entirely different theme song was used that is still heard on one episode from this season, "Green Room." It was co-written by Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Stacey Widelitz (although their credit is removed from syndicated prints).

The pilot episode, "Class of Beverly Hills," used the usual Davis theme song in syndication, but on DVD that's replaced by the S2-S3 (1991-1993) version.

The theme song, which had been remixed again for S4-S5 (1993-1995), was shortened starting with S6 (1995-1996), jump-cutting from the first guitar stanza to the last stanza of the sax solo.

Can anyone else familiar with BH90210 please shed some light on the syndication treatment of the intros for the pre-1995 episodes?

~Ben

The Facts of Life -- In the original opening credits, Hugh Gillin (Howard the Chef) and Pamela Segall (Kelly Affinado) received opening credit billing in the episodes in which they appeared. In syndication, this is not usually the case.

Hugh Gillin was never in the opening credits.

Another classic TV show with inconsistent openings (and closings) should be mentioned: Star Trek (The Original Series).

Season 1 is probably the most experimental: originally, we heard the late Loulie Jean Norman's vocals be used on the version heard during filming for "The Menagerie." Her vocal part was then replaced with an electric violin; this version can still be heard on the episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before." And then we arrive at the most commonly-heard cello version by Fred Steiner, which was recorded during the scoring sessions for the episodes "The Corbomite Maneuver," "Balance of Terror" and "What Are Little Girls Made Of?".

The 2006 remastered DVDs for seasons 2 and 3 (1967-69) replace Loulie Jean Norman's vocals in the intro and outro with that of Elin Carlson's, a fanatic for the TV series. When LJN did the vocals, this was actually the fourth overall version of the theme song.

~Ben

I Love Lucy, during it's original broadcasts, had a variety of openings and closings, always featuring animated versions of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, and incorporating the sponsor's product. Here is an an example of an original opening and closing (from the original April 16, 1956 broadcast of the "Lucy's Italian Movie" episode):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEFnh7vgrQc

But ever since the show went into syndication, it has had this "satin heart" opening:

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

The syndicated closing has maintained the original audio (although sometimes shortened a bit), but has replaced the visual part -- the sponsor's product and the animated characters -- with the satin heart used in the syndicated opening:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3XuEZVTvmM

For a more direct comparison, here again is the original opening and closing of "Lucy's Italian Movie" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEFnh7vgrQc (opening starts at 0:00, closing starts at 0:32) -- and here this is the DVD version, which has the syndicated opening and closing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9PkSxM3aG8 (opening starts at 0:11, and closing starts at 25:07) Notice that the closing has the same audio, but shortened by about 15 seconds, and has different visuals.

UPDATE:

A different version of the opening to Mr. Belvedere's pilot has surfaced on Antenna TV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFb5jwOq1qk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_66kX7qaGwY

I have no idea if this was an unaired version of the pilot, or if it was, in fact, the version that aired on March 15, 1985.

Sorry for bumping up, but Hallmark version of Full House has even new shortened intro (much shortened than Nick at Nite version), and didn't credit Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen (season 1) for some reason.

When TVLand aired George Lopez in May 2016 the theme returned to normal, and Nick at Nite later on in late summer or fall 2016 (with new edits, the theme returned to normal), there are some cases that the theme might be sped up in possibly season 3-6, but season 1-2 is normal.

When Nick@Nite aired episode "Middle Age Crazy", not sure if technical error, but they used season 3 syndicate opening credits instead of season 2

Mary Kate and Ashley were not credited in the opening credits in the original ABC run. By the time they got to syndication, the twins were so popular that their credit was inserted into the opening (note that they were credited in both the opening and closing credits for season 1 in syndication).

An update on all the Hanna-Barbera 60s prime time shows - the early 60s seasons which were shown in black and white on ABC all have closing credits problems. I guess, when remastering in color for later syndication, they were too lazy to go back to the original color negatives of each show, to redo each episode credits, so they chose episodes with generic voice credits, and used those on every episode. This probably affected the the first couple of seasons of The Flintstones (which also had later season openers subbed in syndication), and the single original seasons of The Jetsons, and Top Cat (someone also mentioned Jonny Quest in an earlier post). None of this was changed or corrected on DVD, so the color original color negatives were probably either lost or destroyed., or they're still lazy. Also, the original Screen Gems logos...lost or deleted.

Other shows with opener problems:

Father Knows Best - all openers changed, for all 6 seasons in syndication. A generic version of the season one opener was used on approximately the first four seasons, and a generic, hybrid version (with subbed video from a later opener) was used on approx. the last 2 seasons. Many episodes also have either incorrect or edited closing credits. For the most part none of the openers were corrected on DVD issues (notably, season 6 was corrected on DVD). Most of the original season openers (w/o sponsor info.) exist on misc. episodes here and there. Also, as on most Screen Gems shows, there are a hodgepodge of old logos (except the original) attached to most episodes.

Donna Reed Show - similar to above. Another Screen Gems hatchet job, although some of the later DVD sets made corrections.

Family Ties - virtually all episodes have an edited opener, shortening it considerably.

My Three Sons - all the openers were shortened or altered from the originals. Season 12 opener in syndication (not widely syndicated) was not corrected to reflect cast changes, as it was on the original network versions.

The original closing credits of The Jetsons aired in syndication until 1985. That’s the year HB produced new episodes for the syndication package and created a single set of generic closing credits for both old and new episodes.

I vaguely recall Cartoon Network restoring the original closings to season 1 at some point (but retaining the episode title cards that were created in 1985 for season 1, to make it match the new episodes).

Spin City for season 5-season 6 when it aired on FXX many years ago, the theme open credits music is shortened even more.

The original closing credits of The Jetsons aired in syndication until 1985. That’s the year HB produced new episodes for the syndication package and created a single set of generic closing credits for both old and new episodes.

I vaguely recall Cartoon Network restoring the original closings to season 1 at some point (but retaining the episode title cards that were created in 1985 for season 1, to make it match the new episodes).
Yes, I remember when CN first aired these older Jetsons episodes with their original closing titles. But at the end, the Screen Gems credit, which followed Hanna-Barbera's, was removed.

~Ben

I'm sure the DVD set didn't restore them. I know Top Cat closing credits were not restored.

THE ODD COUPLE (original 1970-75 series)

Season 1: the first 15 episodes all had the series title of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple. But the playwright later requested his name be removed from the series title as he did not have any involvement whatsoever in the TV adaptation of the series (which was done by Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson). The concession was that, starting on episode 16 ("Lovers Don't Make House Calls"), Simon would get a separate credit saying "Based on the Play 'The Odd Couple' by Neil Simon." This revised version also opened with a narrative from William Woodson, which went:

On November 13, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence. That request came from his wife. Deep down, he knew she was right, but he also knew someday he would return to her. With nowhere else to go, he visited the apartment of his childhood friend, Oscar Madison. Several years earlier, Madison's wife had thrown him out, requesting that he never return. Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrA90_o2lVk
(I could swear the original version of the S1 theme, without the narration, ran 15 seconds longer. Does anyone here remember seeing a longer S1 intro on the first 15 episodes?)

~Ben

Does anyone remember how the Growing Pains intros were in syndication?

The full version of the theme song, for the TV version, went:

Show me that smile again (oh, show me that smile)
Don't waste another minute on your cryin'
We're nowhere near the end (we're nowhere near)
The best is ready to begin

Oh...
As long as we got each other
We got the world spinnin' right in our hands
Baby, you and me (we gotta be)
The luckiest dreamers who never quit dreamin'

As long as we keep on givin'
We can take anything that comes our way
Baby, rain or shine, all the time
We got each other, sharin' the laughter and love


Round-up of all versions of this theme song:
Season 1: BJ Thomas singing only
Season 2: BJ Thomas and Jennifer Warnes on vocals
Season 3: (same as season 2)
Season 4: BJ Thomas and Dusty Springfield on vocals
Season 5: (edited version of season 2)
Season 6: a cappella version
Season 7: mix of season 2 and 6 versions

The season 5 version is edited down so it cuts from "We got the world spinnin' right in our hands" to "Baby, rain or shine, all the time." I hint this version was probably used for the second and third season episodes in syndication. Does anyone else who'd watched Growing Pains in re-runs over the years remember this?

Additionally, early on in season 1, before the theme begins, we're treated to a pre-title intro featuring Alan Thicke and Joanna Kerns, who explain to us the premise of the series (similar to the NBC run of Mama's Family where, before that theme song starts, Harvey Korman introduces to us the series' premise). Syndicated reruns drop this and go straight to the theme tune.

~Ben

I'm sure the DVD set didn't restore them. I know Top Cat closing credits were not restored.

If you look closely at the 1962 Jetsons and Top Cat closing credits, they are the same for every episode. This is why a least on the Jetsons, there is a title card at the beginning which give the correct writer (story) credit. But no correct credits for guest voices, or possibly different directors.

The original TV film copies of these shows were black and white. When color films were produced from the negatives later, who knows what happened to the credits? Were they lazy or cost cutting, and just produced one color copy of the credits from a single episode? Or were the credit negatives separated and lost?

I imagine the same situation exists for the first 2 seasons of The Flintstones.

The Jetsons in prime time and on post-1965 or so Saturday morning reruns was broadcast in color, and they had the correct closing credits presumably up until the new shows were produced in 1985; then, the old closing credits on the old episodes was replaced with new credits that showed only still pictures (not animated) of the characters (instead of George walking Astro, etc.)

When the old credits were restored to some of the the old episodes a few years later, the Screen Gems and Color by Pathe credits were missing (replaced by more frames of "A Hanna-Barbera Production"), and most episodes had the wrong credits (most episodes now had the very same credits).

OK, wrong-o, I am, on the Jetsons. Evidently the original credits for most episodes were lost after the changes that were made to the prints over the years. They probably cut them out and tossed them. The end credits as they exist now are the same (generic) for most of the episodes.

The first two seasons on the Flintstones were broadcast on ABC in black and white, and those individual episode credits (restored or syndicated version) are lost, also.

As far as Screen Gems goes, virtually anything that had those varying logos or slides was altered or expunged over the years. Why they go to all the trouble of altering this stuff is beyond me!

The Flintstones' first two seasons have now restored the original animation, but they have the same generic credits on all the episodes instead of the original credits.

I was watching "Hazel" from a recent Antenna TV showing, and they showed the mid-1980's Colex Enterprises credit, instead of the "Dancing Sticks"- and I know other shows on that channel are like that, too. They must have been using a mid-1980's tape. And on my own mid-80's tape, at the end of a 1986 rerun of a last season Hazel episode ("Once An Actor"), I saw the "Coca-Cola Torch Lady."

Colex, Coca-Cola Torch, LBS Comm., Columbia Tristar--you name the old logo, you'll see 'em. Most often, it's everything attached besides the original Screen Gems logo that went with the episode. The Dancing Sticks are virtually never seen on TV.

On the third season Hazel DVDs they restored the dancing sticks. They used them on fourth season DVDs too, but by 1964 I think Screen Gems was using the red S on the yellow background (there's a name for that but I forget what it is.)