I looked through every page of the TV Potluck forum before I made this topic. I even looked in the stuff from 2004.

I'm surprised there hasn't been a recent thread on this.

My votes for worst opening credits will have to go to 2 shows in the soap opera genre -- Young and The Restless and One Life To Life. First, One Life To Life:

The last time I watched this show was in 2003 and I remember in the credits they would show the actor/actresss and the kyron (sp?) it would have the characters name (I stress, not the actor/actress real name, but their chracter's name, and just the first name of the character) . I thought that was so cheesy, I had never seen that before in a soap, usually its just the actor/actress and their real name.

The 2nd goes to Young And The Restless for its dated credits. Now I know the show uses revolving credits, some characters are shown, some are not some days. In the credits they always show Lauralee Bell (aka, Christine/Cricket/TheBug) and she's only on the show once a month, if that. And the ancient shots of Ashley (back when she was wearing wigs due to Ashley having cancer and what not) in the opening credits too. The credits don't even include characters that have been on the show for a year or longer such as Gloria or (I think) the new Mackenzie but I think she's leaving the show anyway, so. I don't even think Neil (Kristoff Saint John?) is in the opening credits and he's been on the show forever.

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My other vote would have to go to the shortlived Jason Alexander show Listen Up. I don't remember what it looked like but I still have it stuck in my head. It was the kids voices and the wifes voices, and Malcom Jamal Warner's chracter saying "mom", "dad", "(Jason's characters name)", and at the end Jason would go, "LISTEN UP!". That was just ... stupid.

This is sort of a generic response to the topic. I hate it when they don’t update them as the years go by like Little House and Step by Step for a long time – LHOP’s were terrible when they did too, just floating ovals in the frame. Gag.

More specifically I hated Surfaces credits. How boring, and worse the credits were in the middle of the show, shoot you watched 10 minutes before they were done playing them, I hate that!

Word on not updating the credits. Not every show has to update them three times a year like Friends did, but at least every other year they should do something different. It doesn't make sense--the women on Golden Girls all look older in the credits than in the epsiodes themselves in the latter seasons, making some of their cosmetic surgery EXTREMELY obvious.

I don't like the opening credits on Desperate Housewives. The theme song does nothing for me, either. The credits for The Practice were nausea-inducing.

The credit sequence I've hated the most was The Cosby Show's calypso dance sequence one. The music drove me crazy, and the dancing, waving arms thing annoyed me.

ITA. It goes on far too long, I'm glad they have shorten it. Also call me superficial but I prefer to see shots of the person with their name.

Re: One Life to Live

"I remember in the credits they would show the actor/actresss and the kyron (sp?) it would have the characters name (I stress, not the actor/actress real name, but their chracter's name, and just the first name of the character) . I thought that was so cheesy, I had never seen that before in a soap, usually its just the actor/actress and their real name."

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Ditto on OLTL...that was some cheesy (bleep)! But most soap opening are really cheesy anyway. Speaking of which, I HATE the Days of our Lives closing deal where at the end, the characters freeze and zooms in and it's always some incredibly cheesy and over-the-top effect, usually fire in the background. Ohh, God, one of the reasons I hardly watch that show anymore.

I also hated the opening credits of Saved by the Beel: The College Years. It was just blah..."Standing at the edge of tomorrow...."

The song playing during the end of Charmed. Ugh. The opening song is great (even though it's not original to witches), it great. How they could choose this pablum to end the show is unforgivable. Kind of an indicator of the quality of the show over the last few years.

The Big Love credits are much too cheesy and use waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much symbolism...or at least they try to make it seem like they are.

General Hospital's opening credits are really bad. From opening with the greasy midget mobster Napoleon Bone A Tart, aka Sonny Corinthos, to the closing pan shot of all the male actors. Nothing like that of the women. It's so symbolic of the head writers' misogyny.

I really hate the Grey's Anatomy credits. They just don't seem to fit with the show for me.

LOST's "credit" has creeped me out since Day 1, and continues to do so.

Ditto.

Smallville's season 5 credits are horrible. They use to have decent credits then they had to revamp it for season 5, now it's horrible.

Don't care much for the GA either. It's just too meh for me.

I fucking hated The Rosie O'Donnell Show's opening and theme. It was way too cute, and the last lyric would always change to give a shout-out to that particular episode's guest star. For instance, "She's precious and she's rare, it's the fabulous Cher! It's The Rosie O'Donnell Show!" Gag.

I also hated when Knots Landing changed its opening credits to a mess of watercolors and black and white portraits of the cast that made them all look pretentious. Fortunately, all the viewers hated it and they were forced to change it after only one season.

ConnieVandelay, I once read an article where a soap producer said that it costs thousands of dollars to change just one image in the opening credits of a show. And because soaps are on such strict budgets, that's why the opening credits are rarely updated. Now, I have no idea why it costs so much or where the expense would come in...

Word. I think the song is annoying; and last season when they had the eyelash curler on the tray with the surgical instruments... yuck. At least now they've shortened it.

I don't know that it was ever played on TV, but the music for the end credits of the West Wing on DVD is just awful. It's up-beat and whimsical, and so jarring when the show ends on a sad or angry note.

Huh. Most people could probably do it on their home computer.

While I like The Amazing Race, they have GOT to get rid of that creepy, slow head turn that the couples do. It reminds me of the undead, sloooowly turning to its tasty next victim.

I don't like the Veronica Mars opening credits. The song kind of bothers me, so I change the channel everytime the credits come up.

But it's the only way you see just how rough everyone on the show looks without make-up.

Please tell me they fixed Kristin Kruek's name.

One of the worst has to be Twin Peaks. With no pictures or character names, they listed about 20 performers, none of whom I'd recognize on sight, and concluded with "and Joan Chen as..."

Thanks, that's the one I could figure out for myself!

Nope. Which is very indicative of the lack of attention to detail that plagues this entire show.

lol! Oh my!

Worst theme song to me would have to be the one for What's happening?. It has that dreadful brass accompanied with that annoying "boing" in the background.

One of the worst theme songs was the one for Enterprise. What made matters worse for me was the fact that I felt compelled to sing along with it, despite how horrible it was.

No they did. It was Kristen Kreuk and then they fixed it to Kristin Kreuk. The mistake was fixed after the first episode.

Right on. Except they sorta redeemed themselves with the kick ass evil opening credits.

I really didnt like Alias's season 4 credits. Syd overload with a weird version of the original theme song.

I always thought the Family Matters credits were funny because for every actor it would show them doing some random task and then they would stop and smile at the camera when their name would appear on the screen.

Agreed! I'm so happy it's been shortened. I just found it creepy.

Enterprise did have the worst theme song (the Mirror Universe opening was one of the best opening though).

I'm not a fan of the Amazing Race's opening credits. Not the worst, but annoying.

I found the shot of the feet in bed really offputting.

It's not quite an opening credit but the NBA on ABC opening music blows. They should have kept the NBA on NBC music by Tesh. Stupid idiots.

The L Word opening, it's just so awful in every possible way. Horrible song, ugly montage..

I wondered about this when I caught an ep recently... I haven't been a regular GH viewer for probably 20 years, but I agree it slights the female cast members atrociously.

I personally hate the Lost opening, and I'm only grateful it's so brief. Didn't it win an award for best theme song or something?

I thought the original Fresh Prince of Bel Air was a much better opening Credits than the mom shaking her finger at the camera in the second one, but you barely ever see the original credits anymore. You can catch them once in a rare while on NaNight. I wish I'd taped it, no one believes me.

I can't listen to M.A.S.H without singing "Suicide is painless" anymore.
Same goes for CSI and "Who are you." which they play on the radio about once a day here. I either sit and sing Who are you when the show comes on, or think immediately of CSI when I am at work and the song comes on.
I say all of that to make the point: I am sure this is what the producers and tv guys planned and drat if it didn't work!

I have to agree that The Practice's opening theme was pretty seizure-inducing. The theme I really despise though is the opening to Nip/Tuck. I have to mute it everytime! Hearing that woman's voice is like Chinese water torture.

Heh. My friend insists that the crappy credits are at least partially to blame for the show getting cancelled. I kinda have to agree with her. "I've got faith, of the heaarrrt..."
Just no.
Word.

The song doesn't kill me, but I do tend to skip over it on the DVD (I've gotta be fast, though, because if the 2-year-old hears the first couple of words, it's on for the duration.) The end theme, which you never heard because the UPN promo guy was always talking over it, is quite lovely, though. I wish they had just used that for the opening.

ITA. Some people find it creepy, but I find it absolutely annoying and I hate it almost as much as I hate the actual show. But yeah, the only thing it's got going for it is its brevity.

Dammit!! Now I will be humming that tune all day. ;)

Best: Original Monk

Worst: What they replaced it with

Worst theme song ever:

7th Heaven....
When I see their smiling faces smiling back at meeeeeeee......

Now tell me you won't have THAT in your head all day!

Almost every single show on Food TV.
Trading Spaces
I could never get over my hate of the Carrie dress at the beginning of Sex and the City
Any Cosby Show accept for the second season
Ditto the head turn on TAR

Agreed, it doesn't fit the tone of the show at all. I usually have to go to the title menu before end credits start or it ruins the mood of the ending scene.

I may be alone here, but I really don't find the CSI opening song fitting to the show at all.

But it was by Henry Mancini!

What about when The Love Boat canned Jack Jones and had Dionne Warwick belt out the theme song during the last season? I believe that was pretty much the final nail in the coffin for the series.

When I first saw One Tree Hill, I physically recoiled when I heard that ridiculously awful Gavin DeGraw song come on. The most oversung piece of crap ever. I was horrified to return from my year abroad and realize that song was actually popular. Yuck.

When I first heard the Firefly credits, I could not stop giggling. But now, I love them. I mean, I still crack up hard core- "you can't take the sky from me"? Comedy gold- but it doesn't come from a mean place anymore.

Other bad credits:
Ending music on Buffy- Loved it as the opening music, but was so jarring at the end, especially after a sad episode
Grey's Anatomy- Yuck. Just...bad.

Good Credits:
Saved By The Bell- I can still sing this from beginning to end, and with the awesome graphics across the screen? Whoo. That's my childhood, right there.
Veronica Mars
Angel- so pretty, with the cellos
My So-Called Life- Go Now. Go.
C.S.I.

Ooh, fun topic! And now, an animation fan is throwing in her two cents -

Hate:

Rugrats - In ten years, the credits changed once Though originally a cute, unique opening, it was slowly played to death. As the years passed, it was jarring to go from the earlier, low-quality animation and character designs to the newer ones once the episode started. I realize it's expensive to re-do a cartoon opening, but this was Nickelodeon's flagship series - you'd think they could spare the expense to keep it interesting.

Yu-gi-oh! - Chopped up, boring, and repetitive - basically, the producers grabbed a bunch of random shots from the show and crammed them together with a generic, electronic beat. The "lyrics" consisted of repeating the show's name and a dorky catch-phrase.

Digimon - Also felt the need to repeat the show's name over and over and over, until the audience's ears bled. One of the few theme songs, cartoon or otherwise, that sent me lunging for the remote.

My dad thought the title of that song was "Hooray For Suicide."


But she had done such a great job with "Fiiiinder of Loooost Loves..."

I think the "Lost" credits are creepy, but that's why I like them.

The original "thirtysomething" credits bugged me because they just ran the actors names over a running montage of scenes from the show, and more often than not the actor whose name was shown was nowhere to be found in the accompanying image. Took me forever to figure out who was who.

My only problem with the "Big Love" credits is that they're using too many different ideas. They should have just stuck with the ice skating thing and stretched it out more, maybe with closeups of skating feet, the ice, the widening crack, etc. With the jarring transition from ice skating to "lost in a curtain" to the dinner scene, it just makes it look like they don't know what they're doing.

Word. I was so pissed, I quit watching.

I hate the closing on Medium. I rarely watch 'scenes from next ep' teasers, and that stupid little 'end of ep' logo is so easy to miss, I end up watching the last bunch of commercials, thinking there might be more show, and then feeling ripped off.

And that's what makes it more painful. This is the guy who made "Moon River" and the Pink Panther theme.

"Hate:

Rugrats - In ten years, the credits changed once"

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Yeah, I hated that opening too. "Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, do...."

Word. Examples of the worst opening credits on Food Network:

Quick Fix Meals With Robin Miller (the only Food Network show that has a theme song, a theme that makes you want to put a bullet in your brain)

30 Minute Meals With Raytard Ray (this gets stuck in my head all the time beacuse my mom watches this show with the sound blaring since its her favorite show)

Of course you gotta put SemiHomeMade With Sandra Lee on this, too bad Food Network cut her doing a half assed cartwheel in the beginning montage out of the repeats.

Barefoot Contessa is my favorite Food Network show, but the theme gets stuck in my head all the time.

Nooo! I loved the Rugrats theme song! And it was by Mark Mothersburg of Divo fame. (He also did some of the soundtrack to Rushmore).

I love:
Saved by the Bell. It's like the soundtrack to my childhood.

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch-the credits where she's standing in front of the mirror, wearing all these fugly clothes, and then she wears a complete random outfit, and delivers a completely random line, which doesn't tie in with the episode at all.

The OC Sorry. I can't help it.

I hate:
The Sister Sister credits. The song is just so obnoxious and irritating, and the earlier cartoon one was so jarring, even before the Mowry's got all sassy.

I used to like the CSI credits, but the new Seizure!Inducing!Credits make my head spin. Still love the song though.

I only like the CSI credits if the sound is muted.

I also think that the Rugrats opening is really annoying.