Promotion to Opening Titles: Difference between revisions

m
Mass update links
m (categories and general cleanup)
m (Mass update links)
Line 11:
== Anime ==
* Yun (Kaori Nazuka) on ''[[Simoun]]''.
* Milk in ''[[Yes! PrecurePretty Cure 5|Yes! Precure 5]]''.
** ...and {{spoiler|Bunbee}} in ''Yes! Precure 5GOGO''. Probably also [[School Newspaper Newshound|Mika]]--her face isn't visible, but there's a camera on the table next to her which has no purpose in the scene unless it's there to identify her.
* The JPN Pokemon openings regularly change to effect new captures/releases, and much speculation is made on upcoming captures based on empty space in the titles.
* {{spoiler|Hanyuu}} in ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro Nini]]'', promoted directly from [[The Voice]] to one of the heros. Ironically, Keiichi too. Despite the fact he was arguably the most important character in season one, he didn't appear in the opening to that season.
* ''[[Keroro Gunsou]]'' has done this to numerous characters, the first being The Ghost who was added into the first season credits about halfway through. The trope has also been played in reverse as characters have also been removed from the opening credits.
* When the [[Yu Yu Hakusho]] opening changed at some point in the Chapter Black Saga (it only does in the Three Kings Saga of the English version), it included characters like Kaito, Yana and Kido, as well as arc antagonists Sensui and Itsuki, and the third opening included Yomi, Mukuro and six former opponents from the Dark Tournament. The lineup at the end of the second opening expanded to include Kaito, Yana and Kido, added Shizuru (who was in the first opening, but not at the lineup at the end). In an inversion, [[Demoted to Extra|Atsuko]], who lacked the few scenes she had in the late manga in the anime adaptation, was removed in the second version of the lineup at the end.
Line 26:
 
== Films ==
* In ''[[Galaxy Quest (Film)|Galaxy Quest]]'', the [[Show Within a Show]]'s original cast is accompanied on their for-real adventures by a [[Plucky Comic Relief]] called Guy, who fears he's a [[Red Shirt]] because he has no last name. (It helps that he even played a one-shot character on the show, of the sort that always gets vaped.) He has one, but it's not mentioned until the end of the movie, where the credits to the revived [[Show Within a Show]] read: "[[And Starring|And introducing]] Guy Fleegman as Security Chief 'Roc' Ingersol". The Thermian female who falls in love with Fred also appears in these credits: "Jane Doe as Laliari."
** Which [[Fridge Logic|raises the question]] of how a Thermian handles giving a false "actor" name.
*** Pretty well, based on the comics.
** It's even funnier in the Spanish translation. Her name is given as "Fulana de Tal", which basically translates as "So-and-so Whatsis."
* The ''[[Harry Potter (Filmfilm)|Harry Potter]]'' films don't have "opening" titles, as they save all the credits until the end. However, [[Bonnie Wright]] (Ginny Weasley) has appeared in every film since the first one, albeit with just a [[Mandatory Line]] in two of them, but only got to be listed in the main titles after she got a [[Love Interest|bigger role]] in the sixth movie.
 
 
== Live Action TV ==
* DeForest Kelley as Bones on ''[[Star Trek: theThe Original Series]]'', promoted to the opening credits at the beginning of the second season. The second season also added [[Gene Roddenberry]]'s "created by" credit to the opening titles.
* After having the exact same opening titles for 8 seasons (aside from adding Robert Patrick in season 8), ''[[The X -Files]]'' updated them for the 9th season, since the original titles looked outdated due to cast changes, cast aging, and new developments in the [[Myth Arc]]. This was when Assistant Director Walter Skinner, who was introduced back in the latter half of the 1st season, finally got clips and an actor credit in the opening titles.
* James Marsters, Emma Caulfield and Seth Green in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''. And, because it appears that [[Mutant Enemy]] has a rule that if you're going to do something, make it angsty, [[Amber Benson]] was also promoted in her third season - for one episode, then she was killed off (in a deliberate subversion of this trope). Marc Blucas was a bogus example, as he was marked for promotion from the moment he entered the show.
** Inversion averted: [[Joss Whedon]] wanted Jesse to be in the opening credits to the first episode, despite being killed off in the same (or second, if it's split into a two-parter). They didn't have the money to do two versions of opening credits.
** Across the [[Buffy Verse]] in ''[[Angel (TV)|Angel]]'', Andy Hallett took two and a half seasons to get promoted, and Mercedes McNab was promoted for the final six episodes only. Another ''[[Angel (TV)|Angel]]'' example: Nearly everyone added to the opening credits [except David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter and Glenn Quinn, since they starred in the Pilot] guest starred in at least one episode before they were promoted. A common theme included the character appearing at the end of the previous season and returning in the fall as a new star.
** Parodied in the episode "Superstar" where Danny Strong (Jonathan) is not only added to the opening but prominently featured as the main attraction. {{spoiler|It turned out that he summoned a demon who altered reality to make him the most successful and popular man on earth. While the spell was active, he was a better slayer than Buffy, smarter than Willow, more knowledgeable on demons than Giles and had a strong career as both a rock star and an underwear model. He was even credited for inventing the internet.}}
** Alyson Hannigan gets a promotion along the credits themselves. When Anthony Stewart Head stepped down to Special Guest Star Recurring Alyson moved from third in the credits to the much more exciting final credit with the super neat "And/As" combo.
Line 58:
** Jeff Fahey actually turned down the same regular contract offered to the other actors playing members of the science team (Jeremy Davies, Rebecca Mader, and Ken Leung) but has later became a regular for season 6.
** After guest starring on the series for years, Sam Anderson, L. Scott Caldwell, Francois Chau, Fionnula Flanagan, John Terry, and Sonya Walger finally got their names in the main cast credits...for the final episode. Said episode also added back all of the former regulars appearing, making it so the episode credits an amazing ''twenty-eight people'' as starring.
* For the first season of ''[[Gilligan's Island (TV)|Gilligans Island]]'', the theme song referred to Russell Johnson (the Professor) and Dawn Wells (Mary Ann) as "and the rest." Star Bob Denver personally demanded that those cast members being given full credits in the succeeding seasons.
** The way he did it though was nothing short of brilliance. As the star getting top billing, his name was required to be in the song. His initial request for them to be included was rejected. So he simply demanded his credit be at the ''end'' of the tune, forcing them to put the other two in before his. The network relented and added them, rather than be forced to completely change the song.
* ''[[I CarlyICarly]]'': Noah Munck (Gibby) in season 4.
* ''[[Big Time Rush (TV)|Big Time Rush]]'': Tanya Chisholm (Kelly) in season 2.
* Jamie Farr and William Christopher on ''[[M*A*S*H (TV)|Mash]]''.
* This used to be how everyone except the original main cast made it to the title credits in ''[[Degrassi the Next Generation]]'', being introduced as minor characters in the previous season. This changed in the tenth season, when characters began coming from essentially out of the blue.
* Janel Moloney and Stockard Channing on ''[[The West Wing]]'', both appearing as regular guest stars in the first season. Moloney joined the main cast in the second season, Channing in the third.
Line 76:
** From season 2 on he was, however, listed among the main characters in the credits that appear at the bottom of the screen throughout the beginning of act 1 of every episode, instead of being listed among the guest stars in the end credits like he was during season 1.
* Saverio Guerra on ''[[Becker]]''.
* ''[[MST3KMystery Science Theater 3000]]'' added whatever [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute|Suspiciously Similar Substitutes]] had appeared recently.
* Christopher Marquette and Becky Wahlstrom on ''[[Joan of Arcadia]]'', both of whom were originally intended as one-episode characters.
* The three members of the ''[[Myth Busters (TV)|Myth Busters]]'' build team (the "Junior Mythbusters") are now mentioned in the title sequence alongside Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman. This has the effect of making the slightly pointless introductory titles even longer.
** For an couple of episodes a while back, the build team members were promoted to full Mythbusters in the credits. Also, strangely, the intern is ''not'' in the credits, despite the first one being of equal prominence to the build team.
** Originally the end credits listed only Adam and Jamie as hosts; the others were just credited as just the "build team". But eventually the build team were bumped up to hosts as well.
* ''[[ER]]'''s revolving door of doctors generally allowed one or two promotions per season, especially in the later seasons. A few that were notably ''not'' promoted included Laura Ceron as Chuny and Deezer D as Malik.
* The cast members deemed important enough to rate the ''[[Seventh7th Heaven]]'' opening credits change too often and too randomly to attach an adequate adverb to.
* Autumn Reeser first appeared at the beginning of the third season of ''[[The OC]]'' as a minor ''villain''. She soon turned into the [[Plucky Comic Relief]] and a friend of the main characters. When the fourth season started she was not only promoted, but ended up as the romantic interest of the protagonist.
** This wasn't the first time the show had done this - Rachel Bilson (Summer Roberts), Melinda Clarke (Julie Cooper) were promoted to the opening credits halfway through season 1, while Alan Dale (Caleb Nicholls) was promoted at the start of season 2. Nor was Reeser the only recurring star promoted at the start of the 4th season; Willa Holland (Kaitlin Cooper) was added to the opening credits at the same time.
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' had no cast listing in the opening credits during its initial run, but upon its revival in 2005 the actors playing the Doctor and his companion were listed. The 2007 series marks the first time a 'secondary' companion has made the titles.
** Jack and Mickey were ignored for their adventures in the first two seasons, but Jack was promoted for his three-episode reappearance in Series 3. Once that precedent was set, Freema Agyeman has been given her due in both series' credits (with [[And Starring|the extra-special "And"]], no less).
** In 2008, "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End" had a total of six actors (compared to the usual two) credited during the title sequence, forcing the names to rush past noticeably faster than normal. You can also see {{spoiler|Gareth David Lloyd and Eve Myles from ''[[Torchwood (TV)|Torchwood]]'' and Tommy Knight from [[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]}}'s names appear after opening titles as a kind of [[And Starring]]. The appearance of secondary roles are only seen in the end credits apart from this circumstance.
** And speaking of ''[[Torchwood (TV)|Torchwood]]'', the writers [[Playing Withwith a Trope|played with]] this one in the season 2 episode "Adam". The plot involved a [[Monster of the Week]] who inserted himself into the team's memories to seem as if he had been with them for years. Shots of him interacting with other characters were spliced into the usual title footage to add a bit of [[Mind Screw]] to the viewers' experience.
** Bernard Cribbins and [[John Simm]] got this treatment for "The End of Time". The latter is the first time in the revival that a villain has shown up in the opening credits, {{spoiler|albeit one who gets upstaged by Rassilon and ends up helping the Doctor.}}
** Rory (Arthur Darvill) finally gets a [[Promotion to Opening Titles]] in the [[Doctor Who/2010 CSA Christmas Carol/Recap|2010 Christmas Special]].
Line 98:
** Another recurring character, Mac (Tina Majorino), also got a spot in the opening titles for season 3. In what might count as a subversion, she didn't actually appear any more often than when she was a recurring guest star.
*** Ryan Hansen (who played Dick Casablancas) started as a non-speaking extra in the second episode and was bumped up to the opening credits by the Season 2 premiere, as was Kyle Gallner (who played his brother Cassidy Casablancas, aka Beaver) who appeared in the last three episodes of season 1. {{spoiler|Note that the latter may not count, as the character of Beaver was introduced specifically to be the Big Bad of season 2, and thus was always intended for regular status.}}
* In ''[[Stargate SG-1]],'' there was a fan movement to get Dr. Frasier in the opening. (She got a [[Dropped a Bridge Onon Him|bridge dropped on her instead]], an offscreen death in an episode that was basically filler, though her memorial was one of the most touching scenes in the show's ten-year-plus-movies run.)
** Dr. Carson Beckett from ''[[Stargate Atlantis (TV)|Stargate Atlantis]]'' fared better, though, making it into the opening partway into season two.
** {{spoiler|... And then got killed by an explosive tumor he was transporting. Not so lucky.}}
*** {{spoiler|However, he returns, though not to the opening.}}
** Season five promotes recurring characters Keller and Woolsey.
** ''[[Stargate Universe (TV)|Stargate Universe]]'' gives us Ming-Na, who was promoted just in time for the midseason cliffhanger (the first part of which featured her character heavily).
* Jeff Conaway as Zack Allan in ''[[Babylon Five5]]'' got promoted to opening titles in the third season after first appearing the previous year.
** Another slightly different example is Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander: she was in the opening titles of the [[Pilot Movie]], then left the show before returning for one episode of the second season and several episodes of the third season as a guest star, and was then re-promoted to opening titles from season four onwards.
* In ''[[Smallville]]'' Lionel Luthor was a recurring character in season 1 but then was promoted to the opening in season 2-season 7. Similarly Lois Lane was only ever listed as Special Guest Star when she first appeared in season 4 but got promoted the following season oddly enough she appeared in the same number episodes as a guest character as she did as a main. 13 episodes due to restrictions made by DC.
Line 117:
** And a rotating regular position in the cast was open to whoever was the winner of the Rory [[Love Triangle]] that year, either Jared Padelicki, Milo Ventimiglia or Matt Czury.
*** And if any of the five above didn't appear in an episode, they didn't appear in the credits for that week.
* Richard Kline on ''[[ThreesThree's Company]]''. Jenilee Harrison was also promoted for season 6 after being Suzanne Somers' "temporary" replacement during her infamous salary dispute during season 5. Ironically, though, Harrison was seen less frequently in season 6 than season 5, and she was dropped from the show at the end of season 6.
* Sean Murray (Tim McGee) Cote de Pablo (Ziva David), Lauren Holly (Director Jenny Shepard), and most recently Rocky Carroll (Leon Vance) of ''[[NCIS]]''.
* A lot of this is clear on ''[[JAG]]'' - Patrick Labyorteaux (Bud Roberts) and John M. Jackson (Admiral Chegwidden) were merely guest and recurring characters in the first season respectively before jumping to the main cast in the second year. The final season also saw this with Scott Lawrence (Sturgis Turner) and Zoe McClellan (Jennifer Coates). Catherine Bell, however, appeared as one character in the first season, then joined the main cast as another character in the second.
* The second season of ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'' promoted Michael Hurst from guest star to co-star.
* ''[[Iron Chef]]'' Italian Masahiko Kobe was eventually put into the opening title sequence.
* Yin Yang Man appeared in the opening credits of the second season of ''[[WMAC Masters (TV)|WMAC Masters]]'' replacing the injured Panther, however this is also a bit of a subversion as his role did not increase in the show but another master that was not mentioned in the opening Warlock and a new master Tracer had much bigger roles as the (secret) antagonists but were not mentioned in the opening
** Some episodes also featured Lady Lightning, Chameleon, and even the [[Jobber]] Princess but only when the girls were fighting in an episode. Great Wolf, Star Warrior and Ying Yang Man where removed from the opening in those episodes
* ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'': Season 1 recurrers James Kyson Lee and Zachary Quinto were promoted for the second season. Season 3 promoted Cristine Rose, who had been recurring since the pilot. Additionally some have been promoted in the middle of their first season: Jack Coleman was promoted a few episodes into season one, David Anders was promoted around the time his character was revealed as {{spoiler|Adam Monroe}}, and as of "Once Upon A time In Texas" this has occurred with Robert Knepper (though this was hyped up before the season even premiered).
* ''[[Supernatural]]'' introduced Castiel in Season 4 and he was such a popular character that for the first time since the show started, a recurring character got promoted to regular status. Misha Collins (who plays Castiel) was originally contracted to appear in only 6 episodes in Season 4. He officially became a regular in Season 5. This is even more astonishing when you consider the fact that the accumulated screentime he got in Season 4 amounted to less than 3 episodes.
* The final season of ''[[Everybody Loves Raymond]]'' included {{spoiler|Monica Horan (Amy)}} in the opening credits. {{spoiler|After marrying Robert, she appeared in almost every episode.}}
Line 131:
** Recently changed, updating images of cast and including other cast members, though many appear only in group shots.
* The ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]'' opening title credits remained the same for all four seasons, but its list of secondary stars (an intermediate step above guest stars) saw two promotions: Nicki Clyne as Cally Henderson Tyrol in season 2 and Michael Trucco as Samuel Anders in season 4.
* Subverted in ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'', where the opening credits remained the same from season 1 to 6, despite the fact that by season 4, Peter Jacobson (Taub), Olivia Wilde (Thirteen), and Kal Penn (Kutner) have comparable "face time" (if not more) as any of the named stars and Jennifer Morrison shifting to guest star status in all but name.
** As of season 7, the intro has finally been updated to take out Morrison and add Jacobson and Wilde.
*** And then Wilde disappeared for the first half of season 7 to film ''TRON''and has been replaced in all but name by [[Amber Tamblyn]].
* Voice actors Jonathan Hardy and Lani Tupu in ''[[Farscape (TV)|Farscape]]'' were never credited in the main title. In season three, however, recurring character Crais, also played by Tupu was promoted to lead status.
** As was Paul Goddard as Stark. In Season 2, Gigi Edgley got promoted. Wayne Pygram also got promoted in Season 4.
* While it doesn't have opening titles as such, ''[[Greek]]'' added Tiffany Dupont (who played [[Alpha Bitch|Frannie]]) to the "Starring" credits midway through Chapter 2. Given that the show is being cancelled at the end of the 4th season, she will likely hold the somewhat unusual honour of being the only character to be promoted to regular status and the only regular character to be written out during the entirity of the show's run.
* ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'' promoted several recurring characters to the opening credits over the years, specifically [[The Dragon|recurring villain]] Sark (David Anders) at the start of season 2, [[Plucky Comic Relief|wise-cracking CIA agent]] Eric Weiss (Greg Grunberg) at the start of season 3 and Sydney's [[Long Lost Sibling|long-lost sister]] Nadia Santos (Mia Maestro) at the start of season 4 and [[Dark Action Girl|Shed operative]] Kelly Peyton ([[Amy Acker]]) midway through season 5. While Maestro was introduced late in season 3 specifically to serve as a regular character the following season, the others were promoted due to fan popularity. Grunberg is particularly notable as, despite featuring in more than half the episodes in season 1, he wasn't even credited as a guest star until the start of season 2.
* Garcia gets bumped up to the credits when Lola Glaudini left the ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' cast.
* A strange--and probably planned--one occurs in ''[[Mad Men]]'', wherein Kiernan Shipka, the 10-year-old child actress who plays Sally Draper, was promoted to opening titles in Season 4. From interviews and the general course of the show so far, we'll be getting a lot of [[Character Focus]] on Sally in episodes that include the Draper family arc {{spoiler|(which isn't all of them now that Don and Betty are divorced)}}.
Line 144:
* Ron Glass, Jack Soo, Steve Landesberg, and Ron Carey in ''[[Barney Miller]]''.
* Rex Lee (Lloyd) got promoted to opening-credit status on ''[[Entourage]]''.
* Greg Proops (Mr. Madigan), Ron Butler (Oscar) and Rob Arnell (Jimmy) on ''[[True Jackson, VP]]''.
* Jon Cypher finally got promoted to the opening credits about midway through season 2 of ''[[Major Dad]]''.
* Edward Platt as the Chief was added to the opening credits for the second season of ''[[Get Smart (TV)|Get Smart]]''.
* Richard Genelle as Ernie, who had been a recurring character since ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'' season 1, and Gregg Bullock as Lt Stone, who first appeared in season 3, both got added to the titles for the fourth season, ''[[Power Rangers ZEOZeo]]''. And in season 2, Steve Cardenas as Rocky, [[Johnny Yong Bosch]] as Adam, and Karan Ashley as Aisha, were added to the titles only after becoming rangers, even though they debuted 7 episodes earlier.
* [[Mary McDonnell]] as Captain Sharon Raydor in the final season (7) of ''[[The Closer]]''. She will lead a [[Spin-Off]] show with at least one other (yet undisclosed) cast member from ''[[The Closer]]'' after that series ends.
* Jim Rash (Dean Pelton) has been promoted as of Season 3 of [[Community]].
Line 155:
* ''[[Taxi]]'' added Christopher Lloyd (Jim Ignatowski) to the opening credits in the tenth episode of season 2, while Carol Kane (Simka) was added at the beginning of the fifth and final season.
* ''[[Blossom]]'' is a partial version. While the core cast never really changed, the opening titles of the third and fourth seasons had the rest of the characters appearing onscreen with Blossom, instead of just having Blossom dancing by herself.
* ''[[Twenty Four|24]]'' has done this for numerous recurring characters with each successive season. It happened with Xander Berkley, Penny Johnson Jerald, and Carlos Bernard for season 2; Reiko Aylesworth for season 3; Lana Parrilla and Roger Cross midway through season 4; Mary Lynn Rajskub, Carlos Bernard (again), Gregory Itzin, James Morrison, and Louis Lombardi for season 5; D.B. Woodside, Jayne Atkinson, Carlo Rota, and Eric Balfour for season 6; and Bob Gunton for season 7.
* ''[[Game of Thrones]]'': Jon Bradley (Samwell Tarly), James Cosmo (Jeor Mormont), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), Conleth Hill (Varys), Sibel Kekilli (Shae) and Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) are promoted in Season 2.
* ''[[Person of Interest (TV)|Person of Interest]]'': Kevin Chapman was always a series regular, but his character, Detective Fusco, is finally included in the opening titles during the last few episodes of season one.
 
 
Line 167:
** Sonic and Snake both have to be unlocked but are shown in the opening, though in game play shots.
** ''Melee'' only has one opening that doesn't change. Ganondorf, Pichu, and Jigglypuff are the only ones to show up (Ganondorf pokes his arm in during the ''[[The Legend of Zelda|Legend of Zelda]]'' segment to help form the Triforce, while Pichu and Jigglypuff leap in front of the other Pokémon during the ''[[Pokémon]]'' segment).
** In Marvel vs. Capcom 2, hidden characters are in the form of silhouettes when the game is in [[Attract Mode|attract mode]] until you unlock them.
 
 
== Western Animation ==
* Although ''[[The Simpsons]]'' has no cast list in its title sequence, [[Hank Azaria]] was eventually moved from the "also starring" part of the closing credits to the main cast.
* Similarly [[Maurice La MarcheLaMarche]] in ''[[Futurama]]'', although series regulars Lauren Tom, Phil La Marr and Dave Herman were not promoted until [[The Movie]].
* Similarly, Toby Huss got promoted to "Starring" on ''[[King of the Hill]]'' once Kahn became a regular character. However, Lauren Tom, who voiced both Connie and Minh, never made it.
* ''[[Ben 10 (Animation)|Ben 10]]'' replaced original alien GhostFreak (who turned out to be sentient and {{spoiler|escaped the Omnitrix to become Season 3's [[Big Bad]]}}) with Cannonbolt, an alien discovered in the second season.
* William Dunbar got this treatment in ''[[Code Lyoko (Animation)|Code Lyoko]]'''s fourth season credits... right after his instant [[Sixth Ranger]] [[Face Heel Turn|Heel Turn]].
* Blaster in ''[[Transformers Generation 1|The Transformers]]'' was promoted to an appearance in the opening for season three despite being a recurring character throughout season 2 and playing a prominent role in the first half of [[Transformers: theThe Movie|the movie]].
* Many recurring characters on ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'' began appearing in the second season opening, including [[Drill Sergeant Nasty|Molotov]], [[Crazy Awesome|Saffi]] (though she does have a blink-and-you'll-miss-it apperance in the first), [[Rich Bitch|Jez]], and a few [[Recurring Extra|Recurring Extras]].
* In ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'', a number of side- and background-characters got added to the intro starting with the third episode of season 2, including Big Macintosh, [[Ensemble Darkhorse|Derpy Hooves, Berry Punch]], and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
** This trope also got inverted with the same episode. The Big Macintosh [[Palette Swap]] that appeared in the Season 1 opening finally appears in the show proper.
* On ''[[The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron]],'' Libby is eventually in the title lineup at the end of the opening credits.
* For the second season of ''[[Duck TalesDuckTales]]'', a few different episode clips were used than the ones from season 2 to prominently feature its two new major characters, Bubba Duck and Fenton Crackshell/Gizmo Duck.
 
{{reflist}}