Title sequences which don’t exist anymore possibly because of flow of channel and idents

[Torpido1]

Just watched a new simpsons episode and noticed the opening sequence has been discontinued is this to enable accelerated flow running of us channels which in my view means the channel presentation and the programme have to grab your attention at the right time which for me is quite confusing. Is this because the uk doesn’t usage largely speaking in the same way

[Ballyboy]

I saw a Simpsons episode. The sky police one???. the titles were discontinued on that too

[James Martin]

Home & Away deserves a mention, the title sequence was phased out starting in 2006, and went completely by the end of 2009.

I actually think it's really harmed the identity of the programme.

I hate nothing more though than the same 3 minute montage being pasted onto the start of every episode of a show, however, rather than a quick preview and then a proper title sequence.

[Steve in Pudsey]

I'm pretty sure they've always had a cut down version of the Simpsons title sequence, often used for the second installment of a double bill?

[Neil Jones]

Just watched a new simpsons episode and noticed the opening sequence has been discontinued is this to enable accelerated flow running of us channels which in my view means the channel presentation and the programme have to grab your attention at the right time which for me is quite confusing. Is this because the uk doesn’t usage largely speaking in the same way

Quite ironic really, the concept of a long title sequence for The Simpsons was to reduce the amount of animation work required for the episode in the first place. That's why there is the blackboard and the sofa gag change every episode to make up for it, though that decision was made back in the day when it was done locally I believe, but much like Family Guy and American Dad animation is farmed out elsewhere now.

There always has been the shorter version of the titles, in the classic era going from establishing shot to Homer nearly getting run over in the garage, and the so-called "circus act" variation which was stuck on episodes running short to pad it out a bit.

[This is UTV]

Home & Away deserves a mention, the title sequence was phased out starting in 2006, and went completely by the end of 2009.

I actually think it's really harmed the identity of the programme.

I hate nothing more though than the same 3 minute montage being pasted onto the start of every episode of a show, however, rather than a quick preview and then a proper title sequence.

At least we still get 30 seconds of the H&A theme song on the end credits, while the Aussies get no theme song at all, start or end of the show. I do agree though, since they removed the opening theme, it feels like the show has lost its identity.

Just imagine Neighbours with no theme song. Will totally strip it of its brand identity.

[Si-Co]

Popping my TV Live Forum cherry! ?

All the examples so far are imports. Totally valid to the discussion, of course.

However, have any local (ie. British) programmes had their opening credits substantially shortened in recent years? I think the opening sequence of Casualty, for example, is shorter than it used to be, but accelerated flow isn’t really a thing here (thankfully) except on some of the pay-tv channels like Discovery.

When it comes to closing credits, there are now limits as to how long they can run (dependent on the duration of the programme/episode itself). I think this started around the early to mid 90s on the BBC and ITV - compare the current length of the credits of shows like Corrie and EastEnders compared to the 1980s - sometimes they ran for nearly two minutes back then - I think 35 seconds is the longest a 30-minute show is allowed these days (and often the credits are even shorter than that).

Some of the 15-minute schools programmes on Channel 4 in the 90s/00s only had one or two very “busy” frames of credits and no proper opening sequence. Not sure if that was down to following a rule, or just to fit more content into the programme. I’ve also noticed that documentaries like Air Crash Investigation or Africa’s Deadliest on Discovery or Nat Geographic now run the credits over the final scene (even re-editing older episodes), and often don’t really have an opening sequence as such. These aren’t produced locally though, in most cases.

[Jamesypoo]

Some British shows which immediately spring to mind are Saturday Night Takeaway, BGT and The X Factor but I’m sure there are others too.

[Brekkie]

Home & Away deserves a mention, the title sequence was phased out starting in 2006, and went completely by the end of 2009.

I actually think it's really harmed the identity of the programme.

I hate nothing more though than the same 3 minute montage being pasted onto the start of every episode of a show, however, rather than a quick preview and then a proper title sequence.

Completely agree with Home and Away - even if they just made it for an international audience. The theme was the hook into the show, far more so than a "Previously" montage.

That said the show has really moved away from it's roots in recent years - more Cops & River Boys than based around Foster Families now. Indeed I believe currently the show not only has no character in the role of Principal at Summer Bay High but no characters attending the school either.


I do find it somewhat ironic that the demise in the network TV title sequence, whether for being something they think viewers won't sit through or something that steal valuable commercial time, has co-incided with increasingly long "Previously" montages.

[VMPhil]

Home and Away is a weird one though, it went from having quite a long title sequence to within a few years having no title sequence at all. It is a shame that there's seemingly no middle ground.

As far as I'm aware, The Simpsons haven't dropped the full title sequence. What tends to happen is the sequence is either shortened or lengthened (long couch gag) to accommodate the length of the actual episode. So sometimes you just get the logo at the start, and then other times the couch gag can go on for several minutes (which is annoying). Though I must admit I finally stopped watching new episodes a few years ago.

[johnnyboy]

I love the 5-second-or-so opening titles to The Blacklist on Sky One.

This is an example of these types of titles done very well.

[Flux]

Home and Away is a weird one though, it went from having quite a long title sequence to within a few years having no title sequence at all. It is a shame that there's seemingly no middle ground.

As far as I'm aware, The Simpsons haven't dropped the full title sequence. What tends to happen is the sequence is either shortened or lengthened (long couch gag) to accommodate the length of the actual episode. So sometimes you just get the logo at the start, and then other times the couch gag can go on for several minutes (which is annoying). Though I must admit I finally stopped watching new episodes a few years ago.

There was a short period where Home and Away played the full opening titles (I say "full", they were already shortened by then but the regular cast were still credited) on a Monday and a sting for the rest of the week. Then they replaced the full opening with a version not including the characters, and from there it slowly got phased out. A shame, because as Brekkie says the opening was a hook into the show, and was synonymous with the show in the same way the Neighbours theme is. I think it's reached the point of no return now in opening and content, unless a future showrunner decides to re-revamp and take the whole thing back to basics.

Of course, in general, opening titles have been making a slow comeback due to streaming and the lack of "limit" on running times. I remember it being a bit of a novelty when Mad Men first launched and they'd gone to the trouble of creating something animated, relatively long and elaborate as an opening sequence as it hadn't really been done in recent times, but now it seems there's an art in making title sequences in that fashion - especially for true crime documentaries like Making a Murderer, Unsolved Mysteries and the ilk.

[Brekkie]

Home and Away did have a short version of the titles for a brief period but they didn't last long.

https://youtu.be/Ws8yXCNguDM

[Rdd]

HBO and Showtime never really ditched opening titles in the first place, and have been responsible for some of the best work of recent times - Game of Thrones being a standout, of course. And Netflix and Prime Video have made them an art too, though you can skip them if you want to.

U.K. shows that truncated their titles don’t seem to have become so commonplace. ISTR 2point4children cut its opening titles to a few seconds in its last series, but that’s over 20 years ago now.

[JAS84]

Some British shows which immediately spring to mind are Saturday Night Takeaway, BGT and The X Factor but I’m sure there are others too.

Dancing on Ice as well.

And yeah, The Simpsons hasn't axed it's opening titles. They have at least five different lengths available - just the titlecard and the credits on the TV, cutting straight from blackboard gag to the family arriving home, cutting to the family arriving home after the Marge at the supermarket scene, the full titles, and the full titles with an extended couch gag.