Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Forum administrators, Interface administrators, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
116,199
edits
m (categories and general cleanup) |
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (BSG link) |
||
(9 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
This is when a [[Recurring Character]] finally achieves a high enough level of screen time and plot relevance to get added to the show's [[Title Sequence]]. Generally this is the most preferred method for someone new to be added to the main cast; when a character is created wholesale and put straight into the titles, it tends to be contrived to some degree, usually a replacement character or a response to a drop in [[Ratings]], while a
Often marks the [[Jump the Shark|beginning of the character's decline]], possibly into [[Creator's Pet]]-dom. [[Breakout Character
Has the interesting side effect of giving a newly-promoted character a certain amount of Plot Immunity. If you see a new character in the opening credits, chances are high that they aren't going to be killed off any time soon ([[Dead Star Walking|Unless that was the whole reason for the "promotion"]]).
Compare [[Ascended Extra]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime ==
* Yun (Kaori Nazuka) on ''[[Simoun]]''.
* Milk in ''[[Yes!
** ...and {{spoiler|Bunbee}} in ''Yes! Precure 5GOGO''. Probably also [[School Newspaper Newshound|Mika]]
* The JPN Pokemon openings regularly change to effect new captures/releases, and much speculation is made on upcoming captures based on empty space in the titles.
* {{spoiler|Hanyuu}} in ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro
* ''[[Keroro Gunsou]]'' has done this to numerous characters, the first being The Ghost who was added into the first season credits about halfway through. The trope has also been played in reverse as characters have also been removed from the opening credits.
* When the [[Yu Yu Hakusho]] opening changed at some point in the Chapter Black Saga (it only does in the Three Kings Saga of the English version), it included characters like Kaito, Yana and Kido, as well as arc antagonists Sensui and Itsuki, and the third opening included Yomi, Mukuro and six former opponents from the Dark Tournament. The lineup at the end of the second opening expanded to include Kaito, Yana and Kido, added Shizuru (who was in the first opening, but not at the lineup at the end). In an inversion, [[Demoted to Extra|Atsuko]], who lacked the few scenes she had in the late manga in the anime adaptation, was removed in the second version of the lineup at the end.
* ''[[One Piece]]'' often mentions characters long before they appear or play a truly significant role, and leaves them out of the openings until they do. Blackbeard first appears in the sixth opening, despite having appeared in the series and being mentioned several times before that. Dragon, despite appearing in Loguetown and being mentioned on some occasions after that, became important enough to get in the opening after momentarily appearing in the Post-Enies Lobby arc and {{spoiler|being revealed as Luffy's father}}]. He also appeared briefly in the second opening, which began running during the Loguetown arc.
* ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' features a particularly ironic example. During A's, the Devices all received a direct promotion to opening titles. If one watches carefully, one can see Chrono Harlaown's Intelligent Device is among them. [[All There in the Manual|Its name is never revealed outside of supplementary materials]],<ref>It's "S2U", a ''Lyrical Toy Box'' [[Mythology Gag]]</ref>
* In ''Fang of the Sun Dougram'', by the time George and Hackle finally get their places in the opening credits (with George {{spoiler|replacing Festa}}), they're already permanent and indispensable team members.
* After {{spoiler|Kamina's death}} in [[Gurren Lagann]], Nia replaces him in the first season's title sequence. They each get their own place in the second season's opening.
* In [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]] there's an interesting case of this. All five of the girls show up at various points in the OP, but the final shot only shows Madoka, Mami, and Sayaka. After episode ten, they are joined by Homura and Kyouko.
* After Yamada is introduced in the seventh episode of ''[[Working!!]]'', she is quickly added to the end credits of the episode, and then also included in the opening of the following episode.
== Films ==
* In ''[[
** Which [[Fridge Logic|raises the question]] of how a Thermian handles giving a false "actor" name.
*** Pretty well, based on the comics.
** It's even funnier in the Spanish translation. Her name is given as "Fulana de Tal", which basically translates as "So-and-so Whatsis."
* The ''[[Harry Potter (
== Live
* DeForest Kelley as Bones on ''[[Star Trek:
* After having the exact same opening titles for
* James Marsters, Emma Caulfield and Seth Green in ''[[
** Inversion averted: [[Joss Whedon]] wanted Jesse to be in the opening credits to the first episode, despite being killed off in the same (or second, if it's split into a two-parter). They didn't have the money to do two versions of opening credits.
** Across the [[Buffy Verse]] in ''[[
** Parodied in the episode "Superstar" where Danny Strong (Jonathan) is not only added to the opening but prominently featured as the main attraction. {{spoiler|It turned out that he summoned a demon who altered reality to make him the most successful and popular man on earth. While the spell was active, he was a better slayer than Buffy, smarter than Willow, more knowledgeable on demons than Giles and had a strong career as both a rock star and an underwear model. He was even credited for inventing the internet.}}
** Alyson Hannigan gets a promotion along the credits themselves. When Anthony Stewart Head stepped down to Special Guest Star Recurring Alyson moved from third in the credits to the much more exciting final credit with the super neat "And/As" combo.
Line 46:
** John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin) was added to the credits beginning in the second season.
* Speaking of ''[[Frasier]]'', Dan Butler got his name into the Opening Credits in seasons four through six, but, ironically, he appeared in ''fewer'' episodes, and after that his character for a long while vanished.
* Near the end of her first run on ''[[Law and Order]]'', Carolyn Mccormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet managed to get mention in the opening credits, however, a photo of her in character was not created, as is L&O tradition.
** B. D. Wong (Huang) and Tamara Tunie (Warner) on ''[[Law and Order SVU]].''
* Michael Emerson was contracted for just a few episodes of ''[[Lost]]'' in the second season as "Henry Gale" (Ben). He was so loved/loved to be hated that he became a cast member in the third season, where he served as the [[Big Bad]].
Line 58:
** Jeff Fahey actually turned down the same regular contract offered to the other actors playing members of the science team (Jeremy Davies, Rebecca Mader, and Ken Leung) but has later became a regular for season 6.
** After guest starring on the series for years, Sam Anderson, L. Scott Caldwell, Francois Chau, Fionnula Flanagan, John Terry, and Sonya Walger finally got their names in the main cast credits...for the final episode. Said episode also added back all of the former regulars appearing, making it so the episode credits an amazing ''twenty-eight people'' as starring.
* For the first season of ''[[Gilligan's Island
** The way he did it though was nothing short of brilliance. As the star getting top billing, his name was required to be in the song. His initial request for them to be included was rejected. So he simply demanded his credit be at the ''end'' of the tune, forcing them to put the other two in before his. The network relented and added them, rather than be forced to completely change the song.
* ''[[
* ''[[
* Jamie Farr and William Christopher on ''[[M*A*S*H (
* This used to be how everyone except the original main cast made it to the title credits in ''[[Degrassi the Next Generation]]'', being introduced as minor characters in the previous season. This changed in the tenth season, when characters began coming from essentially out of the blue.
* Janel Moloney and Stockard Channing on ''[[The West Wing]]'', both appearing as regular guest stars in the first season. Moloney joined the main cast in the second season, Channing in the third.
** Joshua Malina as Will Bailey, first appeared as a guest character in a few episodes in Season 4 before a speedy
** Also happened to Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda as Presidential candidates Matt Santos and Arnold Vinick later in the show, in Season 6. Smits appeared in the opening credits in his first episode; Alda was a Special Guest Star in his first, and in the credits from his second onward.
** Averted with Mary-Louise Parker as Amy Gardner, who Sorkin was interested in promoting to main cast but ultimately had too many other commitments. Didn't stop her from being nominated for a Best Supporting Emmy for the show, though.
Line 76:
** From season 2 on he was, however, listed among the main characters in the credits that appear at the bottom of the screen throughout the beginning of act 1 of every episode, instead of being listed among the guest stars in the end credits like he was during season 1.
* Saverio Guerra on ''[[Becker]]''.
* ''[[
* Christopher Marquette and Becky Wahlstrom on ''[[Joan of Arcadia]]'', both of whom were originally intended as one-episode characters.
* The three members of the ''[[
** For an couple of episodes a while back, the build team members were promoted to full Mythbusters in the credits. Also, strangely, the intern is ''not'' in the credits, despite the first one being of equal prominence to the build team.
** Originally the end credits listed only Adam and Jamie as hosts; the others were just credited as just the "build team". But eventually the build team were bumped up to hosts as well.
* ''[[ER]]'''s revolving door of doctors generally allowed one or two promotions per season, especially in the later seasons. A few that were notably ''not'' promoted included Laura Ceron as Chuny and Deezer D as Malik.
* The cast members deemed important enough to rate the ''[[
* Autumn Reeser first appeared at the beginning of the third season of ''[[The OC]]'' as a minor ''villain''. She soon turned into the [[Plucky Comic Relief]] and a friend of the main characters. When the fourth season started she was not only promoted, but ended up as the romantic interest of the protagonist.
** This wasn't the first time the show had done this - Rachel Bilson (Summer Roberts), Melinda Clarke (Julie Cooper) were promoted to the opening credits halfway through season 1, while Alan Dale (Caleb Nicholls) was promoted at the start of season 2. Nor was Reeser the only recurring star promoted at the start of the 4th season; Willa Holland (Kaitlin Cooper) was added to the opening credits at the same time.
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' had no cast listing in the opening credits during its initial run, but upon its revival in 2005 the actors playing the Doctor and his companion were listed. The 2007 series marks the first time a 'secondary' companion has made the titles.
** Jack and Mickey were ignored for their adventures in the first two seasons, but Jack was promoted for his three-episode reappearance in Series 3. Once that precedent was set, Freema Agyeman has been given her due in both series' credits (with [[And Starring|the extra-special "And"]], no less).
** In 2008, "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End" had a total of six actors (compared to the usual two) credited during the title sequence, forcing the names to rush past noticeably faster than normal. You can also see {{spoiler|Gareth David Lloyd and Eve Myles from ''[[
** And speaking of ''[[
** Bernard Cribbins and [[John Simm]] got this treatment for "The End of Time". The latter is the first time in the revival that a villain has shown up in the opening credits, {{spoiler|albeit one who gets upstaged by Rassilon and ends up helping the Doctor.}}
** Rory (Arthur Darvill) finally gets a
** Kai Owens was promoted to the opening credits for ''Torchwood'': ''Children of Earth''
* During the course of ''[[Third Watch]]'''s run, Amy Carlson, Chris Bauer, Tia Texada, Nia Long, Bonnie Dennison and Cara Beuno were promoted to the opening titles.
Line 98:
** Another recurring character, Mac (Tina Majorino), also got a spot in the opening titles for season 3. In what might count as a subversion, she didn't actually appear any more often than when she was a recurring guest star.
*** Ryan Hansen (who played Dick Casablancas) started as a non-speaking extra in the second episode and was bumped up to the opening credits by the Season 2 premiere, as was Kyle Gallner (who played his brother Cassidy Casablancas, aka Beaver) who appeared in the last three episodes of season 1. {{spoiler|Note that the latter may not count, as the character of Beaver was introduced specifically to be the Big Bad of season 2, and thus was always intended for regular status.}}
* In ''[[Stargate SG-1]],'' there was a fan movement to get Dr. Frasier in the opening. (She got a [[Dropped a Bridge
** Dr. Carson Beckett from ''[[
** {{spoiler|... And then got killed by an explosive tumor he was transporting. Not so lucky.}}
*** {{spoiler|However, he returns, though not to the opening.}}
** Season five promotes recurring characters Keller and Woolsey.
** ''[[
* Jeff Conaway as Zack Allan in ''[[Babylon
** Another slightly different example is Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander: she was in the opening titles of the [[Pilot Movie]], then left the show before returning for one episode of the second season and several episodes of the third season as a guest star, and was then re-promoted to opening titles from season four onwards.
* In ''[[Smallville]]'' Lionel Luthor was a recurring character in season 1 but then was promoted to the opening in season 2-season 7. Similarly Lois Lane was only ever listed as Special Guest Star when she first appeared in season 4 but got promoted the following season oddly enough she appeared in the same number episodes as a guest character as she did as a main. 13 episodes due to restrictions made by DC.
** Again with Green Arrow a recurring guest character in season 6 and 7 that became a main titles character in season 8.
** Also Jimmy, who was a guest star throughout Season 6 and then promoted.
* Buy More employees during season two of ''[[Chuck]]''.
Line 117:
** And a rotating regular position in the cast was open to whoever was the winner of the Rory [[Love Triangle]] that year, either Jared Padelicki, Milo Ventimiglia or Matt Czury.
*** And if any of the five above didn't appear in an episode, they didn't appear in the credits for that week.
* Richard Kline on ''[[
* Sean Murray (Tim McGee) Cote de Pablo (Ziva David), Lauren Holly (Director Jenny Shepard), and most recently Rocky Carroll (Leon Vance) of ''[[NCIS]]''.
* A lot of this is clear on ''[[JAG]]'' - Patrick Labyorteaux (Bud Roberts) and John M. Jackson (Admiral Chegwidden) were merely guest and recurring characters in the first season respectively before jumping to the main cast in the second year. The final season also saw this with Scott Lawrence (Sturgis Turner) and Zoe McClellan (Jennifer Coates). Catherine Bell, however, appeared as one character in the first season, then joined the main cast as another character in the second.
* The second season of ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'' promoted Michael Hurst from guest star to co-star.
* ''[[Iron Chef]]'' Italian Masahiko Kobe was eventually put into the opening title sequence.
* Yin Yang Man appeared in the opening credits of the second season of ''[[
** Some episodes also featured Lady Lightning, Chameleon, and even the [[Jobber]] Princess but only when the girls were fighting in an episode. Great Wolf, Star Warrior and Ying Yang Man where removed from the opening in those episodes
* ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'': Season 1 recurrers James Kyson Lee and Zachary Quinto were promoted for the second season. Season 3 promoted Cristine Rose, who had been recurring since the pilot. Additionally some have been promoted in the middle of their first season: Jack Coleman was promoted a few episodes into season one, David Anders was promoted around the time his character was revealed as {{spoiler|Adam Monroe}}, and as of "Once Upon A time In Texas" this has occurred with Robert Knepper (though this was hyped up before the season even premiered).
* ''[[Supernatural]]'' introduced Castiel in Season 4 and he was such a popular character that for the first time since the show started, a recurring character got promoted to regular status. Misha Collins (who plays Castiel) was originally contracted to appear in only 6 episodes in Season 4. He officially became a regular in Season 5. This is even more astonishing when you consider the fact that the accumulated screentime he got in Season 4 amounted to less than 3 episodes.
* The final season of ''[[Everybody Loves Raymond]]'' included {{spoiler|Monica Horan (Amy)}} in the opening credits. {{spoiler|After marrying Robert, she appeared in almost every episode.}}
Line 130:
* Mid season 6, the US version of ''[[The Office]]'' added Ed Helms to the opening credits, which had been unaltered since episode one (save for one isolated episode that had an extended opening featuring all the characters), and aside from that addition, remains ridiculously out-of-date, featuring some characters working jobs at the office that they've been promoted out of for a while.
** Recently changed, updating images of cast and including other cast members, though many appear only in group shots.
* The ''[[Battlestar Galactica
* Subverted in ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'', where the opening credits remained the same from season 1 to 6, despite the fact that by season 4, Peter Jacobson (Taub), Olivia Wilde (Thirteen), and Kal Penn (Kutner) have comparable "face time" (if not more) as any of the named stars and Jennifer Morrison shifting to guest star status in all but name.
** As of season 7, the intro has finally been updated to take out Morrison and add Jacobson and Wilde.
*** And then Wilde disappeared for the first half of season 7 to film ''TRON''and has been replaced in all but name by [[Amber Tamblyn]].
* Voice actors Jonathan Hardy and Lani Tupu in ''[[
** As was Paul Goddard as Stark. In Season 2, Gigi Edgley got promoted. Wayne Pygram also got promoted in Season 4.
* While it doesn't have opening titles as such, ''[[Greek]]'' added Tiffany Dupont (who played [[Alpha Bitch|Frannie]]) to the "Starring" credits midway through Chapter 2. Given that the show is being cancelled at the end of the 4th season, she will likely hold the somewhat unusual honour of being the only character to be promoted to regular status and the only regular character to be written out during the entirity of the show's run.
* ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'' promoted several recurring characters to the opening credits over the years, specifically [[The Dragon|recurring villain]] Sark (David Anders) at the start of season 2, [[Plucky Comic Relief|wise-cracking CIA agent]] Eric Weiss (Greg Grunberg) at the start of season 3 and Sydney's [[Long Lost Sibling|long-lost sister]] Nadia Santos (Mia Maestro) at the start of season 4 and [[Dark Action Girl|Shed operative]] Kelly Peyton ([[Amy Acker]]) midway through season 5. While Maestro was introduced late in season 3 specifically to serve as a regular character the following season, the others were promoted due to fan popularity. Grunberg is particularly notable as, despite featuring in more than half the episodes in season 1, he wasn't even credited as a guest star until the start of season 2.
* Garcia gets bumped up to the credits when Lola Glaudini left the ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' cast.
* A
* Rico From ''[[Hannah Montana]]'', Staring in the 2nd Season.
** In the same way, Tinka from ''[[Shake It Up]]'' got it too in the same season as Rico's.
* Ron Glass, Jack Soo, Steve Landesberg, and Ron Carey in ''[[Barney Miller]]''.
* Rex Lee (Lloyd) got promoted to opening-credit status on ''[[Entourage]]''.
* Greg Proops (Mr. Madigan), Ron Butler (Oscar) and Rob Arnell (Jimmy) on ''[[True Jackson, VP]]''.
* Jon Cypher finally got promoted to the opening credits about midway through season 2 of ''[[Major Dad]]''.
* Edward Platt as the Chief was added to the opening credits for the second season of ''[[
* Richard Genelle as Ernie, who had been a recurring character since ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'' season 1, and Gregg Bullock as Lt Stone, who first appeared in season 3, both got added to the titles for the fourth season, ''[[Power Rangers
* [[Mary McDonnell]] as Captain Sharon Raydor in the final season (7) of ''[[The Closer]]''. She will lead a [[Spin-Off]] show with at least one other (yet undisclosed) cast member from ''[[The Closer]]'' after that series ends.
* Jim Rash (Dean Pelton) has been promoted as of Season 3 of [[Community]].
Line 154:
* [[Rufus Hound]] got this in ''[[Celebrity Juice]]'' after two series of being a regular panellist.
* ''[[Taxi]]'' added Christopher Lloyd (Jim Ignatowski) to the opening credits in the tenth episode of season 2, while Carol Kane (Simka) was added at the beginning of the fifth and final season.
* ''[[Blossom]]'' is a partial version. While the core cast never really changed, the opening titles of the third and fourth seasons had the rest of the characters appearing onscreen with Blossom, instead of just having Blossom dancing by herself.
* ''[[
* ''[[Game of Thrones]]'': Jon Bradley (Samwell Tarly), James Cosmo (Jeor Mormont), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), Conleth Hill (Varys), Sibel Kekilli (Shae) and Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) are promoted in Season 2.
* ''[[
* After Shamier Anderson leaves the show following the death of Xavier Dolls early on in the third season of ''[[Wynonna Earp]]'', Katherine Barrell (Nicole Haught), who'd been an important recurring character in the previous two seasons, gets a spot in the opening titles.
== Video Games ==
* As progress is made in the 10th [[Fire Emblem]] title the Greil Mercenaries and the [[Black Knight]] will appear in the intro.
** For the series as a whole, if left to sit at the title, various games in the series will detail classes. Additional classes are shown after extra playthroughs.
* After being unlocked, hidden characters in the original ''[[Super Smash Bros.]].'' and its sequels appear in the opening.
** Specifically, the four unlockable characters are originally silhouettes in the first ''Smash'' game, and in ''Brawl'', unlocked characters are added to the line of characters standing over a cliff near the end of the opening (though [[Fire Emblem|Marth]] and [[
** Sonic and Snake both have to be unlocked but are shown in the opening, though in game play shots.
** ''Melee'' only has one opening that doesn't change. Ganondorf, Pichu, and Jigglypuff are the only ones to show up (Ganondorf pokes his arm in during the ''[[The Legend of Zelda|Legend of Zelda]]'' segment to help form the Triforce, while Pichu and Jigglypuff leap in front of the other Pokémon during the ''[[Pokémon]]'' segment).
** In Marvel vs. Capcom 2, hidden characters are in the form of silhouettes when the game is in [[Attract Mode
== Western Animation ==
* Although ''[[The Simpsons]]'' has no cast list in its title sequence, [[Hank Azaria]] was eventually moved from the "also starring" part of the closing credits to the main cast.
* Similarly [[Maurice
* Similarly, Toby Huss got promoted to "Starring" on ''[[King of the Hill]]'' once Kahn became a regular character. However, Lauren Tom, who voiced both Connie and Minh, never made it.
* ''[[
* William Dunbar got this treatment in ''[[
* Blaster in ''[[Transformers Generation 1|The Transformers]]'' was promoted to an appearance in the opening for season three despite being a recurring character throughout season 2 and playing a prominent role in the first half of [[Transformers:
* Many recurring characters on ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'' began appearing in the second season opening, including [[Drill Sergeant Nasty|Molotov]], [[Crazy Awesome|Saffi]] (though she does have a blink-and-you'll-miss-it apperance in the first), [[Rich Bitch|Jez]], and a few [[Recurring Extra
* In ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
** This trope also got inverted with the same episode. The Big Macintosh [[Palette Swap]] that appeared in the Season 1 opening finally appears in the show proper.
* On ''[[The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron]],'' Libby is eventually in the title lineup at the end of the opening credits.
* For the second season of ''[[
{{reflist}}
|