The Worst TV Show Intros if 2012

A good intro sets the tone for an entire show, and so does a bad one. I’m not saying these are bad programs, but their weird, boring or off-putting intros certainly aren’t doing them any favors. Check out the list I’ve assembled below and see if you agree with any of my picks.

The Newsroom

You know, your opening sequence should really not put your audience to sleep before your show even starts. I recognize that it’s hard to make an exciting opening about the news, but they didn’t need to make it this long or slow. I hope they ditch this for season two.

Homeland

(actual intro not available so here’s a making of)

I know that Carrie in Homeland is bi-polar, but this intro make me feel like I’m the one losing my mind. There are ways to do these bizarre-image-flashing-with-music intros well, but this is no True Blood or American Horror Story. It’s too much going on and is just muddled overall.

Gossip Girl

You have a cast full of some of the hottest people on television, probably the planet, and you choose to show none of them and do a confusing voiceover instead? Take a page out of The OCs book, now THAT’S how you do an intro for a show like this.

Burn Notice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESR2ZsPsO3M

(yes this is in slow-motion, it’s the only version out there. I hate YouTube)

For a show as slick and as smooth as Burn Notice, you really don’t need to have the entire premise of the program explained each and every week in the intro. There’s a way to make this opening badass, but a constant voiceover telling us what we already know if not the way.

The Vampire Diaries

I may get some flack for this from diehard fans, but this is NOT a good intro. I’m not just saying this because this show isn’t aimed at my demographic.