Dammit, show the episode titles!

[M'Sharak]

Seems more and more shows don't show their episode titles anymore. I don't know if its a "prestige" thing or whatever, but I generally like to know the title of the episode I'm watching.
[...]
Do you like it when a show starts their episode with the episode title revealed, or do you just not care?
[...]

Thinking about this, I remember that most shows when I was growing up didn't show episode titles. Star Trek did, The Wild Wild West did, Batman (I think) and a few others, but I'm pretty sure that those were the less common examples.

I think I'd be annoyed if a show I knew displayed titles suddenly stopped doing so without explanation, or if the network affiliate edited it out for broadcast, but if they don't put the title on the film/tape in the first place, eh, it's not going to cause me to lose any sleep.

 

[Star Treks]

With digital cable/dvr they aren't necessary from an informational standpoint, but on-screen as part of the episode they can be valuable in setting a mood and tone, and it also makes it easier for fans to communicate with each other about an episode, especially a recent one.

Bringing this to Trek, I will say that I hope if there is a new series that they will continue to use on-screen titles.

 

[Smiley]

I much prefer seeing the title onscreen. I think the original Star Trek had the right idea with onscreen information. Put the episode title right after the main title sequence, and put all other information at the end. I do like knowing the writer and director of an episode, but I find my attention split between the credits and the onscreen action when they are placed in the first post-titles scene.

 

[DeafPoet]

I don't really care either way. Lost has never aired an episode title, but I know them all just through general online obsession.

 

[captcalhoun]

i hate not knowing what an episode is called.

as for putting guest cast at the end: bad idea. more and more in the UK broadcasters are crunching the credits into a smaller window of the screen in order to show a trailer for the next programme. which is annoying as hell. the only sshow where i tolerate that is T:SCC since they're actually trailing next week's ep.

as for great titles...

Gnothi Seauton from TSCC

Inter Arnum Silent Leges from DS9

Trials and Tribble-ations from same

There's Only One Sydney Bristow from Alias

City of... from Angel

If They Lay us Down to Rest/Tell Our Moms We Done Our Best from S:AAB

 

[doubleohfive]

I much prefer seeing the title onscreen. I think the
original Star Trek had the right idea with onscreen information. Put the episode title right after the main title sequence, and put all other information at the end. I do like knowing the writer and director of an episode, but I find my attention split between the credits and the onscreen action when they are placed in the first post-titles scene.

That's a different story.

Credits and their placement are tied to how much a given member of the production is paid. Sometimes, if a particular person can't be paid their asking rate, they'll compromise and have their title placed somewhere every week -- I suspect this was the case for Jerry Goldsmith, who was credited every week for composing the theme for Voyager.

So while the episode titles being shown is largely arbitrary to most showrunners, it doesn't affect how much a writer is paid for having written it.

But I agree -- TOS did it well: Title, writer, director. Though, I do enjoy the listing of the principal guest cast as well the way shows do it today.

 

[Ethros]

I would say its annoying, but then again shows I like such as Buffy, Angel, BSG, Firefly don't have episode titles, and I know all of them off by heart anyway. So I guess if it's a show I like I'm not really bothered

Maybe the exception would be the X-Files, but that's mainly because it often seems half of its episode titles aren't even in English

 

[Trekker4747]

Also, though this probably depends on your cable company, titles are usually shown in the episode/show's summary on the guide.

 

[ToddPence]

Traditionally, situation comedies tend not to show their episode titles onscreen while straightforward dramas do. Don't know why that is.

 

[Rowan Sjet]

Traditionally, situation comedies tend not to show their episode titles onscreen while straightforward dramas do. Don't know why that is.

Don't know why you think that is.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Traditionally, situation comedies tend not to show their episode titles onscreen while straightforward dramas do. Don't know why that is.

Don't know why you think that is.

Maybe because there's a lot less variety in most sitcoms (i.e. it tends to be the same stories over and over) so it doesn't even matter what their titles are.

 

[A beaker full of death]

This irritates me, too. It makes it hard to reference the episodes if they don't tell you the bloody titles.

Friends got cute with that. All their episodes were titled "The One Where..."

 

[Trekker4747]

This irritates me, too. It makes it hard to reference the episodes if they don't tell you the bloody titles.

Friends got cute with that. All their episodes were titled "The One Where..."

You never struck me as Friends watcher, beaker.

 

[A beaker full of death]

This irritates me, too. It makes it hard to reference the episodes if they don't tell you the bloody titles.

Friends got cute with that. All their episodes were titled "The One Where..."

You never struck me as Friends watcher, beaker.

Couldn't help it. I'm a nipple man.
Even I gave up, though, when Phoebe got pregnant by her brother.

 

[Trekker4747]

Friends got cute with that. All their episodes were titled "The One Where..."

You never struck me as Friends watcher, beaker.

Couldn't help it. I'm a nipple man.
Even I gave up, though, when Phoebe got pregnant by her brother.

Wow. Dropped out early. Well, to be fair, they had to do *something* when the actress got pregnant without changing the dynamic of the show (by saddling one of their quirky, funny, 20-somethings, with a child.) And she did do it for a good cause and it was done artificially. And he as a half-brother, and they didn't grow up *as* sibblings, so...

 

[Holdfast]

Friends got cute with that. All their episodes were titled "The One Where..."

You never struck me as Friends watcher, beaker.

Couldn't help it. I'm a nipple man.

Friends was great fun, as was watching Jennifer Aniston (early seasons version) and Courteney Cox (later seasons version).

The TOW episode title thing was cool - but only when the TOW was followed by what you'd actually say the episode was about. Some of the TOWs were a bit too random.

 

[Trekker4747]

You never struck me as Friends watcher, beaker.

Couldn't help it. I'm a nipple man.

Friends was great fun, as was watching Jennifer Aniston (early seasons version) and Courteney Cox (later seasons version).

You thought Cox was better looking early on? When she lost about 90% of her body weight and was just a skin-bag with bones? I promise you if you held her up to a strong light during some of those later seasons you could tell what she had for breakfast (likely not much more than a single "grain" of Rice Krispises.)

I'd personally take either the earlier seasons Anniston or Cox, though Anniston still looked darn good through the show's run. Didn't like her hair in the last seaons/episodes though. Looked like she just woke up, straightened it with a brush and then said, "Feh!" and went out.

 

[Holdfast]

Cox had great hair in one of those later seasons, can't remember which. Gorgeous.

Her weight varied a fair bit, but I don't think she became too skinny. Besides, I'd say very slender suits her in a way it doesn't Aniston (who always looked cuter in the early seasons before she lost the weight). YMMV, but that's how I view them. Of course, I'd need to judge them naked, and in person, to be sure. But somehow I keep getting refused the research grant funding?

 

[BigFoot]

^ It's exactly the same story with me and Kate Beckinsale. I wonder why that is.