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Which TV programmes, current and past, have the best opening credits?
Here are some of my favourites.
1 - Minder
I actually get emotional and sentimental when I think of the beautiful relationship between Arthur Daley and Terry in 'Minder'. Nothing beats the black and white stills of the opening credits, watching them weigh each other up before coming to an arrangement over the bonnet of a 1980s Ford Capri. Two of life's chancers bonding over a beat up old motor. It's beautiful. The theme, 'I Could Be So Good For You', sung by Waterman himself, fits perfectly.
2 - The Sopranos
Watch mob boss Tony Soprano drive home, and take a whistle stop tour of New Jersey, the most populous state in the US. Accompanied by an incredibly groovy theme by Alabama 3. Beautifully edited, succinct and visually stunning. The TV programme that raised the bar in production values. "You're one in a million because you've got that shotgun shine."
3 - The Fall Guy
I just love this because it reminds me of being 5 years old and starting primary school. You weren't cool unless Colt Sievers from The Fall Guy was your hero and you wanted to be a stuntman when you grew up. It is somehow cheesy but strangely alluring. Cracking action sequences and the first time I ever saw a woman in a bikini, or looked at a woman with anything other than innocent eyes. Hear Lee Majors lament his life as an unknown stuntman in an endearing and catching country and western ditty.
4 - The Equalizer
So scary and intense, I'm surprised it was ever shown. Edward Woodward implicitly saves a young woman from being raped on a New York subway station late at night. God rest his soul. But what about the poor bitch in the elevator?
5. Dungeons & Dragons
THE best kids' cartoon of the 1980s. If you subscribe to the view that the opening credits should function as an introduction to the show, well it doesn't get more effective than this. Those poor kids never did get home. They don't make kids' cartoons like that these days, they all have to have a happy ending. Can't have the precious darlings of today lying awake at night and thinking about being forever trapped in another realm. I digress.
Have a good laugh at my choices and share yours below.
Here are some of my favourites.
1 - Minder
I actually get emotional and sentimental when I think of the beautiful relationship between Arthur Daley and Terry in 'Minder'. Nothing beats the black and white stills of the opening credits, watching them weigh each other up before coming to an arrangement over the bonnet of a 1980s Ford Capri. Two of life's chancers bonding over a beat up old motor. It's beautiful. The theme, 'I Could Be So Good For You', sung by Waterman himself, fits perfectly.
2 - The Sopranos
Watch mob boss Tony Soprano drive home, and take a whistle stop tour of New Jersey, the most populous state in the US. Accompanied by an incredibly groovy theme by Alabama 3. Beautifully edited, succinct and visually stunning. The TV programme that raised the bar in production values. "You're one in a million because you've got that shotgun shine."
3 - The Fall Guy
I just love this because it reminds me of being 5 years old and starting primary school. You weren't cool unless Colt Sievers from The Fall Guy was your hero and you wanted to be a stuntman when you grew up. It is somehow cheesy but strangely alluring. Cracking action sequences and the first time I ever saw a woman in a bikini, or looked at a woman with anything other than innocent eyes. Hear Lee Majors lament his life as an unknown stuntman in an endearing and catching country and western ditty.
4 - The Equalizer
So scary and intense, I'm surprised it was ever shown. Edward Woodward implicitly saves a young woman from being raped on a New York subway station late at night. God rest his soul. But what about the poor bitch in the elevator?
5. Dungeons & Dragons
THE best kids' cartoon of the 1980s. If you subscribe to the view that the opening credits should function as an introduction to the show, well it doesn't get more effective than this. Those poor kids never did get home. They don't make kids' cartoons like that these days, they all have to have a happy ending. Can't have the precious darlings of today lying awake at night and thinking about being forever trapped in another realm. I digress.
Have a good laugh at my choices and share yours below.
