Welcome one and all to the Television Title Sequence Appreciation Society!

Do you like television?

Do you like titles?

Do you like sequences?

Or are you fairly ambivalent about those things as separate entities yet find, when combined, they are enthralling and exciting?

Yeah, I know, me too. In fact I adore television title sequences. I watch them with morbid fascination. It's a bit of a dying art these days, a lot of shows will just, literally, show the titles. This, to me, is proof that studios are now starting to understand the delicate art involved in making title sequences that work. The whole enterprise of the titles buisness is to encapsulate the spirit of the show, make you understand the premise and all the idiosynchrasies that the show represents whilst engaging you for the 30 seconds or so that it takes to tell you the names of the actors and that. A simple enough task and yet one which is rarely done with much aplomb. There are a few shining examples out there which do get it right (and over the coming weeks I will introduce you to them) just as there are some that just get it horribly, abysmally, wrong (and again, get ready to learn all about those) . The ones in between? There's too many to count and these are the greatest enemy of the Title Sequence connoisseur. We will be sure to rally and rail against these over the coming weeks as well.

And then probably go and have a nice cup of tea.

The history of this project can be found here and here. Be sure to read these to baptise yourself into what this really will all be about, especially as I would like this to be a free-for-all, so if there's a particular title sequence that makes you want to punch holes in walls and claw your eyes out in disgust, or indeed makes you weep with joy, then don't feel like you have to hide it anymore. Send an email to sarah_mulholland@hotmail.co.uk with the youtube clip of the titles in question, a little description of the show itself and your thoughts/feelings on how well or how terribly the titles do their job and I will share your thoughts with the world (i.e. me and around about seven other people, four of whom I know in real life and only read this out of a sense of obligation to me).

We've got an important job to do here people: Keeping the spirit of great title sequences alive. Let's snap to it.