Creating a strong first impression is a perfect opportunity to hook the audience, that’s why the producers of many classic TV series benefited from the element of surprise in the opening scenes.
Whether it’s the disturbing and dramatic child-zombie shooting scene of Rick in House of Cards; these opening scenes remain surprising, even rewatched. They can be directly and instantly shocking with monsters and blood or equally appalling with what they represent, sinking in slowly.
“Pilot” – Californication
Opening with the Rolling Stones tunes, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, Hank Moody’s ironic reality gets revealed: He can’t write what he wants. He goes to a church for his writer’s block and gets intimate with a nun in his dream.
Californication's opening comes as a shock because it instantly announces its authenticity, compared to cliché LA dramas of the mid-2000s. It stands out with its unexpected directness about sexuality and the deep existential tone. Although this becomes a pattern in the next episodes, Californication’s opening remains surprising even rewatched, because using such strong themes while making the audience laugh is still unorthodox in this genre.
“Pilot” - Breaking Bad
When Walter crushes the van in the opening of Breaking Bad, he grabs the video camera, covers the objective with his hand for a second to pull himself together, before he speaks to his family.
Among Breaking Bad's many unforgettable episodes, the pilot's opener is very special: It quickly announces that this is not just another TV drama, by using the power of different emotions to surprise the viewers, alongside all the action that’s going on. No one expected to see a crime series filled with an emotional roller coaster from the first minutes. The opening proved that the series was promising a deep story, with a lot of potential.
“Chapter 1” - House of Cards
In the opening of House of Cards, Frank sees a dying dog outside and goes full political with his monologue, as he strangles the dog without hesitation.
This is certainly a traumatic way to start a TV series because normally, political narratives on TV tend to benefit merely from the power of speech, but House of Cards' opening uses the element of rhetoric and physical violence at the same time. This may be the first time for a political series to use violence towards an animal, to convey a message in the opener. The concept of “someone has to be the leader to make a difference” may be seen before in other series but House of Cards took it to next level for a guaranteed shock.
“Pilot” - Six Feet Under
A series that’s full of morbid elements, Six Feet Under opens with the absurd “luxurious funeral coach” commercial and the tragic death of the father.
The opening surprises the viewers with an intentional cinematographic style and dark humor, both symbolizing the ironic nature of mortality. This is a rare path to follow for TV and no one was expecting a very dark-themed TV series to be this intriguing from the very first sequence. Six Feet Under favors a darker tone compared to other popular productions.
“Dexter” - Dexter
Killing seems like a twisted comfort zone for Dexter: He hunts down and kills a child ab as an act of justice while satisfying his thirst for blood in the opening scene.
Dexter’s opening announced a series that influenced the “charismatic and handsome serial killer” category forever. Thanks to Michael C. Hall’s excellent performance, the audience instantly falls for Dexter’s character and it comes as a shock when the show almost makes the audience ire his “smoothness” as a murderer. Dexter’s opening marks the peak in Hall’s career while the viewers quickly get attached to the story.
“Natural Selection” - Orphan Black
In the opening scene of Orphan Black, Sarah sees a mysterious woman at the train station, and moments before she steps off the platform to her death, Sarah realizes that they are identical.
The opening comes as a shock because it benefits from the two normally-separately-used elements of surprise, the twin and the suicide, at the same time. This is a rare choice for TV and it seems safe to say that Orphan Black has a one-of-a-kind opener in this sense. The audience is almost forced to feel the urge to click on the “next episode” button, thanks to the hauntingly impressive performance of Tatiana Gabrielle as the main character.
“Winter Is Coming” - Game of Thrones
The opening scene of GoT starts with the Northern men in the woods, soon to be disturbingly introduced to the white walkers and get killed.
The opening of GoT sures the expectations when a little child zombie with gore details shows up. No one expects a “child” to be a killer, plus, the representation turns out to be very different compared to examples in an authentic way, thanks to George R. R. Martin’s lines from the books and the successful visual production. GoT inspired the fantasy genre with excellent special effects and makeup, to creep out the viewers even more from the opening to the final.
“Days Gone Bye” – The Walking Dead
The series sets the bar high for itself and the other post-apocalyptic narratives, by terrifying the viewers with such unexpected drama from the start: This scene makes it very clear that the show has a strong potential to keep surprising the audience. The hyper-realistic zombie makeup also makes this sequence unforgettable, setting an unofficial standard for the other fantasy/sci-fi TV productions.
“Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers” – Stranger Things
Stranger Things’ opening horrifies the viewers with the scientist getting attacked by a monster and the little kid holding a rifle, waiting for the unknown.
Stranger Things’ well-deserved and current popularity owes a lot to this opening because it not only uses the element of gore to shock the viewers but announces a unique reinterpretation of the 80s style horror. This instantly becomes a powerful statement for TV: Being a tribute to vintage scare while having an excellent visual and auditory direction seems to be the exact thing the audience needed as a fresh alternative to binge-watch.
“Pilot” – Lost
Lost’s opening gives the impression of a calm atmosphere for a second, just to create a shocking twist: The aftermath of the crash starts the nightmare within seconds.
The opening’s fast-paced transition from “heaven” to “hell” surprises the audience because it instantly announces the allegoric nature of the show: Normally, the viewers would expect to see a cliché surviving story, but Lost changes the game for the “post-accident” narratives by constantly indicating there is more to come. The classic take on “island survival” is so originally-reinterpreted, from the first moments, that there’s not a competitor on sight after nearly two decades.