1960s-1970s TV shows whose intros changed more than twice

There were 3 or 4 different intros to "The Odd Couple".
The "Quincy" theme had at least 4 changes in 7 seasons.

 

I always noticed the "jump cut" during his speech in the intro.

 

I forgot, that changed too. It went from "the fascinating sphere" to "the most fascinating sphere". The jump always remained, there was much more cut from the speech. Another change was the sound of Quincy pulling off the sheet was added and the volume was adjusted for that a few times!

 

I agree, season 2 was the best, but I liked the season 3 arrangement as well. The show became much more campy that year and the theme seemed to reflect that. When the camp was toned down the next year, the theme change matched it again.

 

Wally and Beav each had their own Lawn Mower. such was the Babylonian excess of Mayfield.

 

George and Mildred

 

Since others have mentioned post-1970s TV shows I will add one too:

Teen Titans (the animated series on Cartoon Network): There were three different versions of the opening credits used throughout the series. The language/singer of the theme song told you what kind of episode it would be:

• English Language Lyrics: A serious episode (Raven receiving a prophecy that she will lead to the end of the world, Robin continually being confronted by Slade...who only he can see)
  
• Japanese Language Lyrics: A funny episode (Beast Boy saving the world from evil tofu, The Mad Mod deciding to teach The Titans how children should properly behave).
  
• Lyrics Sung By Larry (only one episode): Wacky episode (Larry, a magical sprite, drives everyone crazy with his wacky behavior).

 

The Get Smart intro through the hallway was the same in all seasons, but the arrival in his car changes.
First, he drove up with a Sunbeam Tiger, then later it changed to a Volkswagen Karman-Ghia, and then finally
to an Opel GT (also flashed various Washington DC landmarks).

 

Barney Miller changed a number of times mostly to accommodate changes in the cast but they did not use the shot of Manhattan across the river with the prominent World Trade Center and floating barge in season 1. That came later.

 

I've been reminded by the recent release of LOU GRANT that it had changes in its opening over its run. The first season had two with the cast change from Rebecca Balding to Linda Kelsey, and a font change from all caps to a bolder upper and lower case version of a Courier-type font.

The second season dropped the tree-chopping stuff and focused on the cast doing its work. I haven't seen any fourth or fifth season shows in years, but I think I recall both music and pictures changed (of course by then the show was into the 80s and doesn't fit the OP's query.

Harry

 

And another intro...for when the show was on midday on CBS in the mid to late 1960's: The Dick Van Dyke Daytime Show.

 

Whoa! Haven't seen that since I was about 7 years old. I had forgotten all about that.

 

The old "Perry Mason" had the same basic iconic theme, but performances changed many times over the course of the series. The original has a very prominent drum line -- it fairly rocks for 1957 -- but the drums got lost by season 2. By the end it was practically muzak.

 

The Peppermint Trolley Company did the BB theme the first season and the cast did it, beginning with Season 2. I preferred the former.

 

Interesting title variation. Some shows had their daytime titles changed completely.

 

IIRC somebody on another thread here wrote that Bob Denver went to the producers and insisted that Wells and Johnson get added to the opening credits.

 

I always get a kick how so many movies and TV shows made in the 60's had to show some kind of control room with lots of knobs, lights, switches and meters, even when they added absolutely nothing to the plot or show or were anachronistic, like in the movie Battle of the Bulge.

 

I heard that myself.

 

Right at the top of the second season, AAMOF.

 

What did you all think about the final season intro of Get Smart, with the different abrupt close-ups of Washington landmarks, the more fast-paced musical intro, and the interesting variation on the traditional theme music? On a visit to Washington, I visited the Washington Monument, and looking out each of its four windows, I realized the new intro must have been partially shot from there, as it had the exact same visual perspectives on the landmarks.
For my part, when I first saw the final season intro in syndication, I was quite jolted. I thought it was a fast-paced segue to a scene of the show.
I also really like the way the camera sweeps along the building for dramatic effect. But the gold car is not to my taste.

 

Star Trek: The Original Series, had several changes to its intro in the first season:

1. On the first two episodes, "Man Trap" (9/8/66) and "Charlie X" (9/15/66), William Shatner's "Space... the final frontier" narration is intact. We then hear the theme tune, arranged for electric violin (played by Alexander Courage, the composer). The show's title graphic appears, with "Created by Gene Roddenberry" appearing below that. "Starring" is missing over William Shatner's billing, as is "Also Starring" over Leonard Nimoy's.

2. On the third episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (9/22/66, an edited version of the show's 2nd pilot bearing the same name), Shatner's opening blurb is missing, as is Gene Roddenberry's creator credit under the show's title graphic (his credit was moved to the end of Act IV, before the closing title, and then later to the start of the closing title), but "Starring" is now seen over Shatner's credit. The theme tune is the same "Electric Violin" version as the first two episodes.

3. On the fourth episode, "The Naked Time" (9/29/66), Shatner's narration is restored during the first half of the intro. "Starring" is again seen over Shatner's credit, but now we see "Also Starring" over Nimoy's credit. The theme tune is, once again, the "Electric Violin" version as the first three episodes. This version would continue through to "Dagger of the Mind" (11/3/66).

4. And finally, on the tenth episode, "The Corbomite Maneuver" (11/10/66), a new version of the theme tune is heard, scored by Fred Steiner and arranged for cellos; this version would remain for the rest of the first season run and in later syndication (as well as on VHS and most DVD sets) would also be used to replace the early "Electric Violin" version of theme tune used on all episodes broadcast before this apart from "Where No Man Has Gone Before." All other details same as episode 4.

Seasons two and three would feature Loulie Jean Norman (1913-2005) singing a wordless soprano vocal version of the the theme tune during the second half of the intro; it was extended toward the end in order to play under the additional co-starring credit for DeForest Kelley; on season three the tune was again re-arranged, to comply with union rules. Oddly enough, she previously lent her soprano vocal to the theme tune as heard on the unsold (at the time) early 1965 pilot called "The Cage."

~Ben

 

Not a fan. It's too convoluted, for me.

 

Shout-out... Fred Steiner!
Wendy Waldman is his daughter? Didn't know that.


Fred Steiner on composing the Perry Mason theme.

 

Both the Mary Tyler Moore and Bob Newhart shows changed intros during their runs.

 

The Brady Bunch

Three's Company

Laverne & Shirley

Happy Days

Lost In Space