Title Sequence Replacement

Title Sequences are one of the greatest tools in storytelling. They clearly establish what the show is and what's it about. They set the tone, stage, and introduce audiences to characters. Most importantly, they get the attention of audience members, telling you that you should watch the show, instead of turning to another channel.

But what if it fails to do that? Or maybe you need to differentiate syndicated reruns with the original run?

Enter the Title Sequence Replacement. This is when the sequence or part of the sequence are changed, frequently occurring in syndicated reruns or other distributions. Sometimes, only minor elements like a scene or two are replaced. Sometimes, so much is altered you have to ponder if you're watching the same show or not. In anime dubbing, a common version is to select one opening from later episodes, and use it throughout the entire series. Occasionally, an entirely new opening sequence will be created, particularly if a Syndication Title is used instead of the show's original title.

Compare Evolving Credits, when the credits naturally change as the plot progresses.

Anime

 * A variation: During the Adult Swim run of the 2003 anime adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist, only two of the series' four opening sequences were shown, because the bands that performed those songs made a deal with Cartoon Network in order to try and branch out into the US market.
 * Inverted with Hamtaro: the second season opening was only shown once due to an error on Cartoon Network's end in the US. Other times the second season opening was replaced with first season opening even though some fans thought the second season song was better. Outside North America, the second season theme was aired properly.
 * Sunrise usually has a few openings for each show (usually four per 50 episode series), but decided to have just two openings in the English version of Gundam Seed Destiny, the second and fourth.
 * Due to music rights and cost issues, FUNimation's DVD release of the first half of Kodomo no Omocha used the second opening sequence for all episodes. And taking things one step further, they were forced to excise or change references to the song and the band, to the point of completely muting the audio in some scenes (like the previews in the first 16 episodes) where the song or some remix thereof was used. This only affected the Japanese audio track.
 * When Vision of Escaflowne was licensed to Fox Kids in the United States, its original opening sequence, based around a moving love song, was replaced with one assembled from clips from various episodes over blandly generic "adventure" music with vocals repeatedly chanting "Es-Ca-Flowne".
 * The Latin Spanish dub of the 1990s Sailor Moon anime crafted a unique opening sequence by mixing parts of the two first opening for the first season, and tacked it in lieu of the originals (at least they preserved the original song, if in a dubbed mode). Many of the networks that broadcast that dub kept this frankenopening for the rest of the series.

Live-Action TV

 * When you watch a syndicated rerun of a first-season TOS Twilight Zone episode, the odds are 50-50 that the original Title Sequence (with the Bernard Herrmann music) will be replaced by the second season opening (the first one to use Marius Constant's more familiar theme).
 * The Monkees' two openings are similar, but the second season version mixes newer episode clips with older ones. The second season version is the only one used in syndication.
 * Red Dwarf, when The BBC re-edited it to add more special effects (à la the Star Wars reissues), added a new Title Sequence for all the seasons.
 * The Bionic Woman (1976-1978). The main title for the second season was markedly superior to that of the first season, so in reruns they went back and changed the first season's episodes' main titles to those of the second season.
 * I Dream of Jeannie has done it, unfortunately.
 * Bewitched did it, too.
 * Many early sitcoms worked a sponsor into the open credits; these are cut short to remove the plug or (as in I Love Lucy below) replaced entirely.
 * The Drew Carey Show uses only the "Cleveland Rocks" opening on syndication.
 * The rarely seen original title sequence of I Love Lucy had stick-figure cartoon caricatures of Lucy and Desi, ending with them enjoying a Philip Morris cigarette. This was replaced with the now-iconic "heart" opening for the show's syndication.
 * Stargate SG-1's original opening sequence consisted of the camera panning around an Ancient Egyptian statue while the credits displayed (this is Stock Footage from the credits of the Stargate movie). This was used for the entirety of its run on Showtime, with the exception of Season 3. Since moving to the Sci Fi Channel, all subsequent re-airings of Season 1-5 episodes use the Season 3 opening. Oddly, the DVDs use the Season 3 opening for Seasons 1-3, but the Egyptian statue opening for Seasons 4-5.
 * TBS uses a Crowning Music of Awesome-robbing alternate opening when rerunning Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
 * Reading Rainbow did this, to the disappointment of those who fondly remember the trippiness of the original intro.
 * Reruns of 3-2-1 Contact's first season replaced the original title sequence with the 1983-1986 version. The show's Recut, Classroom Contact, used an edited version of the Season 6 & 7 sequence.
 * Buffy the Vampire Slayer used a different Title Sequence for each season as the characters changed and evolved. One episode had Tara in the main credits just before being killed off, and fan speculation abounds over Buffy... as after she died the last shots of her were of the Buffybot and The First Evil posing as her.
 * When they show the junior high episodes of Saved by the Bell, they show an intro similar to the rest of the show. The junior high years were originally aired as Good Morning Miss Bliss and had entirely different music.
 * The pilot of Yes Minister had a different title sequence from the other episodes, which was replaced by the normal one in reruns. (The Unique Pilot Title Sequence is used on the North American DVD release.)

Puppet Shows

 * In the 1990s there was an alternative opening to Joe 90, which was almost identical to the original but inexplicably replaced the original animated logo with an inferior non-animated version.
 * Reruns of Season One of The Muppet Show often used the later title sequence, where all the characters appear in arches, and Gonzo sticks his head out of the "O" playing a trumpet, rather than the actual title sequence, in which a handful of characters appear in rows, and then on a pyramid, and Gonzo bangs the "O" like a gong.

Western Animation

 * The Flintstones' original Title Sequence (featuring entirely different animation and a different, Instrumental Theme Tune) was replaced with the now-familiar "Meet the Flinstones" opening in the show's third season, and was rarely seen until Cartoon Network came along.
 * To match the '80s revival, The Jetsons' first season lost not only its original opening, but also its original end credits and Laugh Track, until Cartoon Network restored them.
 * Darkwing Duck had a different opening sequence when it originally ran on The Disney Channel, but the opening was changed when it went into syndication as part of The Disney Afternoon. The syndication opening is what's been used in airings since, as well as on the DVDs.
 * During Swat Kats' original run, some first-season reruns used the second-season opening.
 * South Park has a syndication-only version of the opening.
 * The original intro sequence to Garfield and Friends, used only in the show's first two seasons, was replaced in syndication by the second intro sequence from seasons 3-5.
 * It then inverted the trope on the DVDs, when the third intro sequence was replaced by the second (the later seasons, which had the third intro sequence, were never syndicated), but kept the first intro sequence intact.
 * An unusual case for The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes: episodes 20-26 broadcast overseas before airing in the US, and boasted the same opening used in preceding episodes. However, Disney XD decided to tack recaps onto the beginning of their broadcasts, which resulted in the theme song becoming replaced by a short expository speech (which doubles as a promo for the Marvel Cinematic Universe). When the show became available for legal download, streaming, and home video purchase, the recaps and expository speeches got removed to make room for the original theme song.
 * North America's Disney airings of Madeline all had it's original "I'm Madeline" opening replaced with the "Hats Off To Madeline" used in The New Adventures of Madeline. Inverted with Disney Asia's airing of the Second Season of The New Adventures of Madeline tho, in which they replaced the third opening, "Oh, Madeline", replaced with "Hats Off To Madeline".
 * Season one of Rocky and Bullwinkle gets the season two opening in syndication... and on the DVD release.