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Explanations at the start of TV shows

Started by Icehaven, February 27, 2020, 03:00:00 PM

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Icehaven

A cheesy voiceover at the start of each episode explaining the premise, e.g. Quantum Leap, The Incredible Hulk, Star Trek, The A Team, Dungeons and Dragons, Knight Rider, and probably loads more. Was it just an American thing or did any British shows do it? Do any still do it or did it peter out in the 90s/2000s once you could just look the concept up online if you hadn't seen it before?

Gulftastic

The Prisoner, Sapphire And Steel and Captain Scarlet spring to mind immediately.

Sin Agog

Monkey had the best one.  Genuinely love the lighting, effects and moist design of the Monkey egg in that intro.  People talk about its naff half-arsery, but that intro is genuinely visually beguiling.

"In the worlds before Monkey, primal chaos reigned. Heaven is good. But the phoenix can fly only when its feathers are grown. The four worlds formed again and yet again, as endless aeons wheeled and passed. Time and the pure essences of Heaven and the moisture of Earth, the powers of the sun and the moon all worked upon a certain rock, old as creation. And it became magically fertile. The first egg was named "Thought". Tathagata Buddha, the Father Buddha, said, "With our thoughts, we make the world." Elemental forces caused the egg to hatch. From it then came a stone monkey. The nature of Monkey was irrepressible!"

Captain Planet.

"Fire! Wind! Water! Heart!  By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!"

Mister Six

Did they ever explain why they didn't just summon Captain Planet at the start of each episode and let him sort it out?

The Monkey intro is great, yeah.

letsgobrian

I suspect the petering out of it in the US was due to people realising that time could be filled with more adverts.

My Name is Earl and Arrested Development were still doing it though in the 21st century.

Cerys


dissolute ocelot

You maybe only get this on kids TV these days, such as the voiceover intro to Henry Danger (a rare straightforward case of this) and "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea...?"

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt explained the show's concept in the brief intro sequence, although by images and snatches of dialog not by a voiceover.  And there's things like the opening songs to South Park and Family Guy, both of which are sort of expository.

Obligatory Fresh Prince of Bel Air reference.

Alberon

Sapphire and Steel is indeed fantastic, though I'm not sure it actually explains anything.

It's a dead art these days. Network shows often have very short opening titles and cable/online don't need to explain the premise to casual viewers because there are very few of them.

Gulftastic


beanheadmcginty


Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse

THUNDERING ACROSS THE STARS to save the universe from the MONSTER MINDS

Gulftastic


Icehaven


Bad Ambassador


NurseNugent

The Champions would always begin with a little scenario explaining how the trio got their powers.

Mantle Retractor

He was a cop and good at his job...

I remember watching this late at night on ITV during my first year at uni. Featuring the characters of Reno Raines, Bobby Sixkiller and Donald "Dutch" Dixon. Happy days:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F_Tk3Ep8oU



jamiefairlie

Quote from: Gulftastic on February 27, 2020, 03:17:20 PM
The Prisoner, Sapphire And Steel and Captain Scarlet spring to mind immediately.

"Transuranic heavy elements may not be used where there is life!"

Wise words that I keep close to my heart.

Consignia

Wasn't this largely down to syndication in American Shows? Like they'd produce shits loads that could be farted onto random channels in random order, and to make sure they could standalone, the premise was baked in. That's also why there were so few serial shows of any great length.

petril


Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse

IT IS THE 31ST CENTURY. Ulysses killed the giant Cyclops and saved the children, including his son Telemachus. But the Gods of Olympus are ANGRY, and threaten a TERRIBLE REVENGE.

"MORTALS! You dare to defy the gods?! I sentence you to wander among unknown stars. Until you find the Kingdom of Hades, your bodies will stay as lifeless as stone!"

"Ulysses, the way back to Earth has been wiped from my memory."

"Father! Oh, Father!"

"You are alive, my son!"

bgmnts

Buck Rogers
The A Team
The Six Million Dollar Man
Kung Fu

Cant remember if Quantum Leap did it.

Alberon

Quantum Leap definitely.

The Brady Bunch did it with a song as did The Fresh Prince of Bel-air.


JesusAndYourBush

Space 1999 (Season 2), although the explanation came up on the screen as text rather than as a voicever.

mojo filters

The most jarring example of this I recall, is Larry Gelbart's insertions at the end of episodes of season finales, during early seasons of M*A*S*H.

They'd use that Tannoy'd-style Radar O'Reilly voice, to remind viewers that next season they would continue to see all the major characters.

As if there was an absurdly sceptical audience out there, who didn't think all these characters would return, if/when an established series returned on the same major network for a new season?!?

This started in the era of Walter Cronkite, who also presented news on the same CBS network. He attained the title of "the most trusted man in America" but those broadcasts never added that in, it was organically derived from his honest reportage ranging from Watergate to Vietnam.

I suspect if some promotional puff bookended the CBS News of that era, it might have undermined his legacy in the journalism business!

Zero Gravitas

Cleopatra 2525, has the double whammy of spoken narrative followed by a lyrical summary.

https://youtu.be/e2ZRSwul7cE

Mister Six

Quote from: Zero Gravitas on February 28, 2020, 04:38:21 AM
Cleopatra 2525, has the double whammy of spoken narrative followed by a lyrical summary.

https://youtu.be/e2ZRSwul7cE

I love everything about this intro.

The Incredible Hulk one was great because of the music.  Beebleeebleboobleooblebeebleeebleboobleooble-doo-doo-dooooooooo.  One of the most tense orchestral intros ever.

notjosh

As mentioned above, Superted has to be the best cartoon intro ever. No explanation as to who the spotty man from outer space is, or why he chose this bear to bring to life, or where and how Mother Nature's cloud exists. It just does mate. Also, he's always ripping his bear skin off to reveal the super suit underneath, but he never holds on to it or puts it back on. Does he just take off the super suit and there's more bear skin underneath? Does it go bear, suit, bear, suit all the way down?

I also like Battlestar Galactica's stripped down onscreen primer.

MAN CREATE CYLON

CYLON KILL MAN

CYLON LOOK LIKE US NOW

notjosh

Actually, this reminds me. I was watching Vincent and the Doctor on Netflix the other day, and it has a little intro beween the cold open and the titles which introduces Amy Pond and her 'imaginary friend who came to life'. Was this an American thing to promote series 5 as a reboot? Don't think I've noticed it on any other series.