Well that can't be fair - the outcome was already known by some people!

No love for True Blood? and how about the Simpsons?

There are some truly great shows already listed, but I thought I'd add a couple of my favorites from my childhood (I grew up in California, but loved British TV ):

The Prisoner (I love the X'ing out of his file card)
The Avengers (the Emma Peel years)

And as for Dick Van Dyke, well, the mere fact that they had such a clever idea about using the ottoman the way they did (and that it was so popular that people actually bet on it in Vegas) automatically puts it in the top 5 of any list .

One thing I've always wondered about the True Blood credits is, did they shoot most of those bizarre, nasty, and just plain odd stuff for the show or is most of it stock footage.

Looks like the brunt of the worst offenders are cable shows. I'll add two to that list; Californication and Psych(at least the early seasons, not sure if they changed it).

As for best, I'll stay recent and say Friday Night Lights.

No mention of Chuck yet?

Best:
Dexter
Six Feet Under
Star Trek/Star Trek: The Next Generation
The Sopranos
Batman: The Animated Series

Worst:
True Blood- I don't like the theme song and when I watch an episode I always skip the opening.

Best: Game Of Thrones
Awesome in every way.

Worst: Boardwalk Empire
Doesn't fit with the time period of the show. Also badly written and horrible performed.

BEST(my faves):
Comedy
1) The Drew Carey Show, Season 2 "Five O'Clock World"
2) The Munsters
3) Blossom, Season 3
4) In Living Color, Seasons 1+2 "paint cans"
5) The Cosby Show, Season 5

Drama -
1) Dexter
2) PBS MYSTERY! animated opening sequence by Edward Gorey
3) True Blood
4) The Avengers, Emma Peel era
5) Alias, Seasons 1-3

Animated
1) The Simpsons
2) Tiny Toon Adventures/Animaniacs ("there's baloney in our slacks" )
3) Batman: The Animated Series
4) The Jetsons
5) Arthur

WORST:
Queer as Folk
Roseanne, last season w/ the framed morphing images, the Blues Traveler lyrics (annoying)

It would be a better opener with Laura Linney's character drowning the husband and brother - those two drag the show down in the current season.
Seems to be a mix produced by Digital Kitchen - same people behind the Six Feet Under sequence.

Cable has really raised the art of the intro to a whole new level (rivaling the famous 007 title credit sequences).

Game of Thrones & Deadwood are probably my two favorites. Just hearing the theme music & seeing the first few frames could get me salivating like one of Pavlov's mutts.

True Blood & Dexter are two highly creative productions that always make me watch. I also loved The Wire (1st season) and always end up watching the entire credit sequence for Hung (love The Black Keys song combined with the sly glances the ladies give Thomas Jane as he sheds his clothes while walking home).

Sixties shows often stretched the medium. The animated sequence in Wild, Wild West, photo montages in The Avengers, and the effective recap & theme music of The Prisoner are good examples. The Monkees, although derivative of Lester's Beatles films, still managed to combine catchy music with fast-moving images (and tongue-in-cheek mislabelling of the actors).

Other memorable sequences include Rat Patrol (the opening images of the jeeps hurtling over sand berms got the adrenaline flowing), Batman (great theme & comic images), X-Files.

Lots of comdies used very effective retelling of the origins of the show combined with memorable theme songs. Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, Real McCoys, Petticoat Junction are good examples.

As for worst...have to agree that The Big C, Boardwalk Empire, and Californication are pretty horrible.

My all time favorite is Sledge Hammer! It was basically a sex scene for the gun. There's the gun on a satin pillow, there's the long gleaming shaft, the pearly white handle. Then Sledge says his famous catch phrase "Trust Me, I know what I'm doing" and he shoots the camera. The music was awesome too. Perfect opening to the show.

The worst: shows that don't have them. Also, that Cosby Show opening from Season 5 where they wore the loud colors and had an elaborate dance number.

Other faves:

Married...With Children (Poor Al)
The Adventures Of Superman
Police Squad! (Great in Naked Gun as well)
The Love Boat
The Dukes Of Hazzard
My Name Is Earl (Full opening)
Psych (love how they change up the music to match the episode sometimes)

Also, I like The Big C, not one of my all time faves, but not bad. Game Of Thrones is a bit too long for my tastes.

Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea-the sonar scan going around for each star. The cool underwater looking font for the titles.
12 O'Clock High-the clock ticking around to 12.

Haha, I always wondered the exact same thing!

My favorites have already been mentioned - Six Feet Under and The Drew Carey Show's 'Five O'Clock World' opening.

Some good ones:

Cheers, Moesha (so chill), Saved by the Bell, The Wonder Years and X-Men are all bland in visuals but have great music to bring them to another level.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - did anyone not join in when classmates started singing this song on the bus going on a field trip?

Worst:

*The Big Love opening music change - shite.
*Sabrina the Teenage Witch - Melissa Joan Hart just looks awkward - especially in the college credits - where she's running, skipping, dancing down the street.
*Sister, Sister - cringe-worthy.

Best:

Fringe
Battlestar Galactica (new)
Deadwood
True Blood
Archer
Workaholics

Worst:
Nip/Tuck

loved this opening as well when I was young. This was on Nickelodeon I believe...

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Psych's is one of my favorites. The song isn't particularly good but them constantly changing it for the theme of the episode has always been a high point for me.

for example:


I really like the True Blood and Mad Men openings as well.

I think Covert Affairs has the worst.

Anything less than 10 seconds (The Shield, Lost, etc) works for me. TV show openings are like animated DVD menus...pretty cool the first few times, but annoying after awhile. It's not like I have an attention deficit; I'd just rather get an additional minute of show than a drawn-out opening.

Probably the only exceptions for me would be The X-Files and Millennium, just because I love the music. Twin Peaks almost made the cut too, but damn...that opening is longer than most movie trailers.

I am suprised that Magnum P.I. hasn't been mentioned as a best. I love the theme, always got me ready for an adventure.

Some of my favorites:

Twin Peaks
Dexter
True Blood
Tales From the Crypt
Game of Thrones
Freaks and Geeks
Family Ties
Firefly
Cheers

I was never a fan of the Dollhouse opening. Na na na naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, ugh...

Best- Hawaii Five-O(Jack Lord version, of course)

Best:

M*A*S*H - probably the best theme song for a TV show

Game of Thrones - lays out the geography, subtly establishes the back story (thorugh the engraving on the rings) and looks cool. Also, it evolves as the show goes on

Freaks & Geeks - introduces each character concisely and accurately without words and uses a rocking song, while also being true to the experience of school picture day

Cowboy Bebop- great animation, great song, just a kick ass open

Dexter - cool sound and visual editing (like the title sequence for "Seven"), very disturbing and icky but you can't quite put your finger on why.

Miami Vice - the definitive 80s pop-culture document. Also, it still works today.

Worst (there are lots of innocuous ones, but it's hard to find one that's just bad)
Seinfeld - can't effing stand the logo, the popping bass of the popping vocal

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Faves:
It's Gary Shandling Show
The Wonder Years
My So-Called Life
Ally McBeal
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Mystery Science Theater 3000

Least Faves:
Everybody Loves Raymond - Love the show but none of the various title sequences. Season One's Building the Toy House or Conveyor Belt, Season Two's Defying Gravity, Season 3-5's Action Film Spoof. I haven't watched Season's 6-9 yet.

The Golden Palace - I watched this series on YouTube. The show's not too bad just not as good as The Golden Girls. But that theme song was unbearable. They should have come up with a new song and done it in the style of the original instead of remaking the original in an awful new style.