Talk:Cold open

message: *If most live-action shows start with cold opens these days, why the need for the paragraph-long list of examples? -- nae'blis (talk) 20:03, 15 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Trimmed to about a half-dozen shows, including Simpsons. I perhaps could have included more of the animated shows, but there's no sense in trying to be exhaustive here, as cold opens have gotten more and more common in recent years. -- nae'blis (talk) 01:39, 26 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Needless examples? 

message: The article states that "virtually every soap [employs] the format". This is not true at all. In the UK at least, most of the popular soaps do not include cold opens. EastEnders, Coronation Street and Doctors (BBC soap opera) don't; Holby City and Neighbours do. Tobyink 11:50, 7 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Soaps 

message: When did it stop being a teaser?  Why?  Is there any real sourcable etymology on this?
--El benito 18:51, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Teaser to Cold Open? 

message: Family Guy hardly ever begins with cold openings (I can only think of the first episode that does). There may occasionally be a throwaway gag at the start, before the opening, but the same can be held true for many animated shows (like Futurama). --DK 03:22, 26 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: You imply that there are jokes in Family Guy OTHER than throwaway gags.ZebulonNebulon 19:26, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

text: On the commentary tracks for Futurama and Family Guy, the creators/writers of those shows very specifically refer to the pre-credit gags as cold opens Ja2ke 21:28, 4 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Family Guy? 

message: I realize There's Lots Of Examples, But Isn't Saturday Night Live One Of The Most  Popular - With The Whole "Live From New York..." schtick? Dslawe 05:02, 24 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  SNL 

message: Aren't there a lot of arcane rules for where and how all the titles, credits, etc. have to be displayed. Are any special permissions needed before they can for e.g. put the title at the end of the film? Ewlyahoocom 07:02, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Permissions? 

message: I'm sure that I've seen one show (possibly MacGuyver) refer to the pre-credits mini-adventure as the "Opening Gambit" in its credits. Is this another term for it, presumably taken from chess, or just an oddity of (possibly) MacGuyver? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Brickie (talk • contribs) 09:13, 5 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Opening Gambit 

message: I seem to recall that cold openings were a more recent phenomenon in anime adopted in large part around the mid to late 90s. In the 70s, 80s and early 90s the vast majority of anime TV shows used "warm openings" (included unedited shows direct from Japan). This would (interestingly enough) coincide to around the time where the concept became increasingly accepted on prime time US television. Perhaps the article should be changed to explain that they are "increasingly more common" in anime, or to otherwise explain how this wasn't always the case. Maybe I'm starting to show my age here, but I definitely remember being a bit thrown off guard when I started seeing more and more cold opens in anime TV shows. Prior to that I subconsciously expected an anime TV show to start with the title sequence. Kensuke Aida 07:24, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Cold Openings in Anime 

message: The article seems to state that the cold opens is always a part of the story in the episode it belongs too but some shows, Cheers for example, often have a cold open that features a self-contained comedy bit unrelated to the main story of the show. Thus one could watch a Cheers episode from after the cold open without missing any of the episodes plot. Maybe this should be clarified? --Cab88 15:37, 23 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  self-contained cold opens 

message: I removed this quote:  "Shows which air some form of titles before jumping into the story and then running a formal opening sequence are also considered cold opens."  The reasoning is because this, when added to the rest of the definition, makes the definition far too broad, essentially saying that a cold open is any opening that does OR DOES NOT come before the opening credits -- in other words, every opening is a cold open.  Surely this is inaccurate, or at the very least, misleadingly worded.  Minaker (talk) 04:49, 14 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  misleading info 

message: It's possible that there is an error in the introduction of this article: "...The Departed does not display a title card until roughly thirty minutes into the film." 
I just watched the film viewed the title card only eighteen minutes into the film and strangely, just as the two examples before this sentence (although I have not verified those).
Perhaps I have a different "cut" of the film than other folks. Can anyone attest to this time as well?
: You're right, the title card appears at roughly 18 and a half minutes, during a sequence with the Dropkick Murphys song playing, which shows DiCaprio's character in prison.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.141.110.185 (talk) 16:12, 16 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  "The Departed" Title Card Time possibly incorrect. 

message: I'm not sure why the claim is being made that this film displays no title card until the end. It appears after the Vlad the Impaler prologue at just under 6 minutes.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.141.110.185 (talk) 16:17, 16 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Bram Stoker's Dracula 

message: Alright, I left it alone far too long, to avoid hurting people's feelings, but I finally had to change it.  The introduction, hinting that an entire film can consist of its own cold open, and actually giving examples, was just too misleading.  The term is cold open.  It refers to the opening of a film.  All of this nonsense about the cold opening lasting 20, 30, 120 minutes is ludicrous, and completely misconstrues the meaning of the term.  A lot of the contributers of this article are confusing a cold open with a pre-credits sequence.  They can be the same thing, but it's a mistake to use the terms interchangably.  Minaker (talk) 06:41, 21 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Cold Open ''NOT'' necessarily ''everything'' that comes before the first title card 

message: Maybe we should change the examples section to a few lines and make a new page with all the examples? I'll begin work on it and wait to hear some consensus from the crowd before putting live. Yay or Nay? --FeldBum (talk) 14:05, 17 March 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I'd say "nay". Given that "cold opens have been popular on television since the 1960s" and "most American soaps" use them, I don't think we'd end up with a very useful list article if we tried to write them all down. --McGeddon (talk) 14:15, 17 March 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I cut the list again to keep those examples that were actually illuminating as to the variety and intent of cold opens.  I realize J.J. Abrams and Joss Whedon have rabid fanbases, but this isn't a list of your favorite cold opens (I personally like those used in Chuck), but rather an explanation with notable examples. Calbaer (talk) 14:25, 14 May 2009 (UTC)
replies: text:  I agree only notable examples should be used. I think SNL's "Live from NY" open's should be mentioned, because it is a prominent part of the show. Also, the cold opening's on House, which not only are dramatic, but since they rarely contain main characters and settings, one could easy confuse the opening for another show. thus exemplifying a technique. 67.176.160.47 (talk) 08:15, 30 January 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  List of Cold Opens 

message: Could a knowledgeable editor add a section about the conflict between the cold open and the Directors Guild of America?  As mentioned in Opening credits#Recent trends, George Lucas famously resigned from the DGA in connection with their opening credits requirements.  Tempshill (talk) 17:48, 23 July 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  dga 

message: There's been a  trend away from teasers toward "recap" sequences. Can anybody date it, & explain why it's happened?  TREKphiler any time you're ready, Uhura  22:05, 13 March 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  WGA

message: The James Bond reference at the top does not use the term MacGuffin properly. A MacGuffin is a plot element, not a scene or a hook. A MacGuffin drives the characters into conflict -- it does not drive the audience to their seats.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.34.180.54 (talk) 12:08, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: Fixed.  TREKphiler any time you're ready, Uhura  16:22, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  MacGuffin 

message: I have added "citation needed" to the key term "cold open" since I can't find any public and/or academic source which predates the article. Perhaps the article should be changed to "teaser"?AmericanEnglish (talk) 14:29, 5 May 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: I know it's not exactly an academic source, but this outlines what a cold-open is. From what I can read online, cold open is the proper terminology for it, while teaser seems to be more like the viewer's name for it.JoshuaJohnLee talk softly, please 19:45, 13 August 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Citation needed for "cold open" 

message: The 1960s "Outer Limits" series (ABC-TV, 1963-1965) had an unusual "cold open" style.  Many episodes led off with an unedited segment from later in the episode, without context or narration.  The chosen segment was often the most dramatic of the episode.  Though attention-grabbing, this technique was probably confusing to viewers.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.231.125.118 (talk) 16:02, 8 March 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Unusual "cold open" style for 1960s "Outer Limits" series 

message: I am surprised the practical drawbacks of this technique are not listed here. For example, this makes it more difficult to identify a show based upon the first scene, which could lead to viewers zapping away because they do not correctly assess the type of the upcoming show (is that possibly why in some countries, tv channels have started adding an overlay indicating the title of the show right in the first scene?). Furthermore, identifying a show that has been recorded a while ago (so no appropriate tv schedules are available any more) gets essentially impossible without watching significant parts of the show right away (which may not be desirable in consecutive stories such as series episodes). 85.183.209.216 (talk) 22:16, 24 May 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Disadvantages 

message: I regret to inform you that one section in this article is both mislabeled and misinformative.
The section's title is "Current uses in television (2000s-present)", however, F.R.I.E.N.D.S., the first sitcom I ever watched, has been using it since its first season back in 1994 until its end 10 years later (2004). Don't you find that misinformative? If you let me, I'm going to change the title and wording. --Fandelasketchup (talk) 13:39, 2 April 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Correction to one section in the article 

message: Sir --
As you know, "cold open" is experiencing revived currency, thanks almost exclusively to its use in connection with SNL. I have to confess I wasn't sure what it meant, so I consulted your Wikipedia page. An excellent article; however, immediately conspicuous by its absence is "The Rockford Files" which often went for what seemed like 15 minutes before the first credits rolled.
BTW, I'm a Madison grad. Go Bucky!
Thanks.
Mike G.
St. Paul, Minn. Mgottsacker (talk) 16:43, 20 November 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  excellent article! 

message: I corrected the following sentence:
"For example, James Bond films often use pre-credit sequences with little or no relation to the subsequent plot; these are not considered teasers."
Aside for Octopussy, all James Bond title sequences are related to the movie's main plot.
--2001:B07:A13:D97E:6112:691C:6D53:7D20 (talk) 10:41, 30 August 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  James Bond 

message: I cut the declaration that this was an "American" narrative tactic. It was probably first used there, but is very common worldwide. E.g., Doctor Who and many other UK dramas use it frequently. 202.81.249.102 (talk) 17:11, 1 January 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  "American" 

message: :
I've seen that word used more often for a brief scene between the last commercial break and the credits.  What shows put more than a one-liner after the credits? —Tamfang (talk) 07:18, 21 July 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  when is the tag?