"I Dream of Jeannie" opening credits In the past, we've highlighted classic TV intros from the '70s to the '80s and from the '80s to the 2000s. It would probably make sense to tackle the '50s and '60s next, but before we do, how about some TV intros that are animated? The '60s actually gave us the best of these openers, the most famous being "I Dream of Jeannie," "Bewitched," "My Three Sons," and (my personal favorite) "Batman." The thing about the "Batman" intro was that it was better than the rest of the show! Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing about the forgotten "Mr. Terrific" -- the show was bad, but so was the intro (even if it does have classic voice actor Paul Frees narrating). There are several other shows from the decade with animated intros, but they're most likely remembered only by either those who watched them during their initial runs or by Nick-at-Nite fanatics. Not everyone knows that Lucille Ball followed up  "I Love Lucy" with another sitcom called "The Lucy Show." And does anyone remember "Bachelor Father" or "The Many Loves of Dobie Gills?" Or how about "My Favorite Martian," starring Ray Walston, the old dude who played Mr. Hand in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." Heck, I didn't even know about "The Wild Wild West" until the Will Smith movie came out (the one that bombed). "The Twilight Zone" opener is a classic, albeit not exactly traditionally animated; it's more of a "special effects" intro, really. In the '70s, there were a few more animated openers, but none were straight-up "cartoon" intros like the classics from the '60s. "Wonder Woman" is probably the closest to those, but also contains live-action footage. Everyone remembers the animated birdies that represented different members of "The Partridge Family" as they warbled the show's classic theme song, "C'mon, Get Happy." And "Rhoda" and "Monty Python's Flying Circus" both featured more artsy and modern styles that used stop-motion animation. Only two come to mind in the '80s: the artistic opening for the PBS series "Mystery," and the popular sitcom "The Nanny," which was a throwback to the classic '60s openings. In recent years, we've been given some decent animated openers, such as the noirish intro to "Mad Men" and the stop-motion credits for "Desperate Housewives" and "The United States of Tara." Reality shows seem to be using more animation than any other type of series, such as the "Anna Nicole Show," "Girls Next Door," and "Scott Baio is 45 and Single." So at least there's one good thing about reality TV: the intros are entertaining. Suggested Sites... Retro Junk - still the site for a flashback into the '70s-'90s TV, with just about every show's intro to watch. TV-Intros - nothin' but the intros. Sorted alphabetically and with a nice screenshot of the title card. retroCRUSH: 100 Greatest TV Themes - hey, we couldn't list them all! So here's about 70 more, including cartoon themes. IGN: Top 10 TV Opening Credits - this list focuses on more recent shows, like "Big Love," "The Wire," and "The Sopranos." Toon Tracker: Classic Animated TV Openings - some really early efforts.

Directory categories: TV Theme Songs and Soundtracks, TV Shows Online, TV Show History

Archived under: 1960s, 1970s, Animation, Entertainment, Music, Sitcoms, TV

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