The Art Of The Title: 50 Of The Best TV Title Sequences
When starting a new television show, the thing I look forward to the most is the title sequence, so it only felt right to devise this list when I heard the theme was favourite television shows this month.
In early television there wasn’t a huge focus on title sequences; their only purpose was to present the names of the cast members but sometimes we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the characters sporting a smile amid transitions like wipes and dissolves. With frequent exterior shots of the setting bestowed, they were often simply clips spliced from the show itself cut to a theme song. Back in the 80s and 90s, theme songs were the main focus but now the title sequence is as important, if not more.
Title sequences are the creators first chance to grab their audience. Good title sequences express the concept of the show, feature the typographic logo as well as presenting cast members and key production. In the early 90s, title sequences became such an impressive and important part of television that an Emmy Category was devoted to them. Now most television shows consist of extravagant, lavishly produced main title sequences that often last more than a minute. Combining conceptual visuals and memorable songs, there are a number of brilliant, complicated and beautiful title sequences out there. So here are 50 awesome main title sequences, ranging from comedies, dramas and even cartoons.
50) Snuffbox
49) Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place
48) The Addams Family
47) Saved By The Bell
46) Family Guy
45) Goosebumps
44) Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
43) Scooby-Doo
42) Wacky Races
41) Top Cat
40) Doctor Who
39) Modern Family
38) Will And Grace
37) Sherlock
36) John From Cincinnati
35) New Girl
34) Peep Show
33) Community
32) The Big Bang Theory
31) Workaholics
30) Arthur
29) Boardwalk Empire
28) How I Met Your Mother
27) The Tudors
26) The Twilight Zone
25) Dead Like Me
24) Charmed
23) Everybody Loves Raymond
22) Moomins
21) Back To You
20) Parks And Rec
19) Father Ted
18) Arrested Development
17) Friends
16) Futurama
15) Daria
14) The IT Crowd
13) Dexter
12) Flight Of The Conchords
11) The Mighty Boosh
10) The Simpsons
9) Buffy The Vampire Slayer
8) The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air
7) Malcolm In The Middle
6) Freaks & Geeks
5) That 70′s Show
4) The Sopranos
3) Mad Men
2) American Horror Story
1) True Blood
Tara is a self-proclaimed sitcom enthusiast and general TV addict who leaves her mark across the internet under the pseudonym Catstello. Some of her favourite shows include Arrested Development, Freaks and Geeks, Mad Men, Bates Motel, Bob's Burgers, The Simpsons, Parks and Rec, New Girl and American Horror Story. Having worked at a number of live events such as the London 2012 Olympic Games and The National Television Awards, Tara has taken it upon herself to start a production company with some others called Toxic Focus. When Tara isn't writing for Sound on Sight, she is writing about a number of other sitcoms over at http://catstello.wordpress.com/ 
