From any information that has come out so far about The CW’s upcoming Superman & Lois TV series starring Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch, the show seems to have quite a bit in common with Smallville, the longest-running Super-series which aired from 2001 to 2011 on The WB and The CW.
But there’s one thing that Smallville had that Superman & Lois likely won’t: A catchy opening theme sequence, setting the tone and the mood for the hour. Yes, Blake Neely has created an impressive score for Hoechlin’s Superman, but the days of opening credits with a pop song of the day seems to be a thing of TV’s past… unless, perhaps, a show is streaming.
It’s a shame, because Superman on TV has always had great opening titles. Lois & Clark with its Jay Gruska fanfare evoked memories of the classic Adventures of Superman with its famous narration. “Save Me” set the mood for what would be coming for the next hour for ten years. The syndicated Superboy series also gave the audience an idea of what is about to start, even if the early Season 1 version is very prototypical and serves best as a look back at what the half-destroyed bridge in Tampa looked like 30 years ago. Even when it comes to the movies, one could argue that Superman II had its own odd way of opening titles in the form of a recap of the first movie.
Greg Berlanti’s DC shows have not really gone for the opening titles thing, though after Crisis on Infinite Earths, both The Flash and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow have exciting and fast montages as theme music plays for what feels like only ten seconds. Black Lightning employs a theme by Godholly that is great, but certainly on for less than ten seconds.
But my wish? Give us a good, 30-45 second opening sequence, complete with the names of the actors when their images show up on the screen. As a child, especially, that’s how I’d know who the casts were in my favorite show, and there are later genre favorites like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and, yes, Smallville that did it so well. Make instant icons out of newer cast members like Alexander Garfin and Jordan Elsass so audiences immediately know who they are (this will also prevent confusion, so people don’t think the actor playing Jordan is the actor really named Jordan).
It’d be something to look forward to every October, to see what new cast members and new clips are thrown in. Please? Just something to think about…
A look at past Superman TV opening title sequences can be found below.