Friday, September 20, 2024

You can't skip the overture



It's another old man complaint, but I will not stand for the streamers that automatically skip past the opening credits of a TV show. 

Most of them are actually quite skippable, especially when you are binge watching the shit out of something, and see the same starting sting over and over again. But sometimes it feels like it's almost disrespectful to skip past - I wouldn't feel I've watched a proper episode of Twin Peaks - either series- with rolling in through Badalamenti's slow groove, and the camera soaring over those trees and waters. 

I never skipped past any of the opening credits for Game of Thrones, both because Ramjin Dwivedi's theme is always a thrustingly powerful beat to kick off on, and because it always helped to to get the head around this world, through the map of the original series, or the tapestry of the latest series.

Sometimes it's just a smashing piece of music that never fails to get you going, like in the credits for Warrior. That's all you need.

A lot of shows don't even bother with credits, or hit you with a quick sting, like Breaking Bad or Lost, or even the Venture Bros (although when they did do the full Venture Bros opening, I never skipped it). 

But The Sopranos without a morning wake-up just doesn't feel like proper Sopranos. It's essential.

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