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The Teaser: Difference between revisions
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* The second season of ''[[Gunslinger Girl]]'' uses cold openings.
* Every episode of ''[[Berserk]]'' begins with its ominous [[Opening Narration]], usually followed by a recap of the previous episode.
* ''[[Darker
* Two of the four Director's Cut episodes of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' feature cold openings (while one of them cuts out the opening credits entirely). What makes this odd is that these are never used in any other part of the show.
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* A classic issue of [[Spider-Man]], promoted as the issue in which [[Tonight Someone Dies|someone would die]], didn't have its title section until the very end: "The Night Gwen Stacy Died''.
** Except that if you look closely at the cover of said comic, there appears to be a spotlight on Gwen's face, practically revealing that she's gonna die.
* In chapter five of ''[[Fables]]: Legends in Exile'' there's a monologue by Bigby before the credits, title and the "[[In Which a Trope Is Described]]".
* ''[[Global Frequency]]'' would usually end each issue with the title in a "closing credits" fashion.
* While not framed as a teaser, each episode of ''[[Watchmen]]'' starts [[In Medias Res]], and the chapter title only appears as an [[Epigraph|intertitle]] several pages in.
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== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* Every episode of ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'' has a 15 minute teaser, so that they can not only recap the story ([["Previously On..."]]), but also have a prologue.
** ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'', with its tongue very firmly in its cheek, decided to take advantage of having the Superbowl as [[Lead In]] in "Phase One".
* [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]] has one every episode, generally setting up the plot and whatnot (some can be a bit deceiving, though). The only episode that lacks one is the season four finale, "Restless", mostly due to the episode being ''that'' [[Mind Screw]]-y.
* ''[[Farscape]]'' had one in every episode, either to set up the plot or theme of the episode, or, sometimes, just to have a joke at the characters' expense. Each one would always end with the crew being attacked, captured, or put in some other form of distress, causing the music to turn into the opening of the [[Theme Song]].
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* Similar to ''[[Law and Order]], [[CSI]]'' does this, often showing a bystanders view of the murder or the (attempted) [[Disposing of a Body|disposal of the body]] or someone finding said body. Like Lenny Briscoe, [[Quip to Black|Gil Grissom]] almost always gets to say the [[One-Liner]] before the opening credits.
* ''[[NCIS]]'' does the same. It works well with crime shows as the introduction of the episode's case usually fits right into the opening segment. (Beware, however, when the cold opening actually shows the main characters or the [[All Your Base Are Belong to Us|home base]] - it means that the case will directly involve them, as seen in ''[[B ête]] noire''.)
* ''[[Sapphire and Steel]]'' actually delivered its teaser in the ''middle'' of the [[Title Sequence]]: a short sequence showing the title and stars was shown, followed by [[The Teaser]], after which the rest of the sequence (with the [[Theme Tune]] and [[Opening Narration]]) was shown. Such a style of opening (title both before and after the cold open) is more common these days.
* ''[[The Tomorrow People]]'' did something similar.
* The US version of ''[[The Office]]'' always has a short, one scene gag before the opening scene.
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* ''[[Star Trek]]''. Teasers could run as long as over six minutes ("Ship in a Bottle") to as short as under 20 seconds ("Impulse", "Scorpion").
** ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' frequently opened with scenes that had nothing to do with the main plot, just some interaction between some characters before they get called to the bridge and the teaser ends with the ''real'' plotline of that episode. ''[[Deep Space Nine]]'' and ''[[Star Trek: Voyager|Voyager]]'' did this to a lesser extent, but ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise|Enterprise]]'' gave up on that practice entirely and featured teasers that were unusually short.
** The TNG Episode "Cause and Effect" is ''particularly'' notable for having one of the most shocking teasers of all time- it opens with the ''Enterprise'' critically damaged, causing it to explode with all hands aboard 45 seconds into the episode. {{spoiler|The episode is about the ship being stuck in a [[Groundhog Day Loop]] which they eventually escape from alive.}}
* ''[[Power Rangers]]'' had one from Turbo to Time Force. It was dropped starting with Wild Force, but has returned in Samurai.
* The first episode of ''[[Pushing Daisies]]'' has a cold opening of ''13'' minutes.
* Every episode of ''[[Bones]]'' has a cold open where the characters discover the body. This is usually done in a dark comedic fashion. (Ex. A teenage couple getting naked in a mud spring where a corpse lies beneath.)
* ''[[Monk]]'' usually begins with the murder being committed.
* ''[[Eureka]]'' often starts with something going wrong. And then goes on for a good period of time after. Probably about ten minutes.
* The teasers on ''[[Scrubs]]'' kept getting larger and larger as time went on, to the point where they consistently ended up as long as any of the other acts of the show.
* ''[[In Plain Sight]]'' shows the Witsec client of the week and how they ended up having to join Witsec in the first place in the teasers.
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* [[BioWare]] has been moving in this direction lately. ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' showed the opening explosive sequence before the title logo showed up, and both ''[[Dragon Age 2]]'' and ''[[Mass Effect 3]]'' ran the tutorial sequence before the opening titles.
* The ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' games start off with Snake performing an infiltration and then cut to a credit sequence between 5-20 minutes into the game, as a [[Satire, Parody, Pastiche|pastiche]] of the ''[[James Bond]]'' movies which spawned the whole idea of them. In more detail:
** In the first ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' you have to wait around in a dock area while the credits play, superimposed on the screen. When they're done you're free to enter the elevator to the next area, where Snake removes his mask and the logo comes up on screen as we see his face for the first time.
** ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 2'' was more circumspect about it. The opening titles roll before the main menu comes up, and you play a mission on a Tanker (where, again, the title pops up as soon as we see Snake's face for the first time). It led many people into thinking it was the proper game - but it was a prologue, and the main meat of the game was later on, with a different main character - and again, the title popped up as soon as we saw Raiden's face for the first time, as he stripped off his diving equipment. There was a [[Mind Screw|reason]] for the blatant repetition.
** ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 3'' was the most blatant. There was a very short, fifteen or twenty minute gameplay segment before the game started for real, heralded by a lengthy [[Cutscene]], an offer to save, and the unlocking of the fantastic opening title movie, which played then and there and would now play every time the game was booted. The style of the opening sequence combined with the [[Cold War]] setting and the timing clearly marked it out as a homage to Bond's delayed starts.
* Incredibly, the small-time web RPG [http://armorgames.com/play/2900/sonny-2 Sonny 2] pulls this off quite dramatically. After beginning the game ''in the [[In Medias Res|middle of a battle]]'', it then proceeds with an opening cinematic and [[Title Sequence|title card]] 5 minutes in.
* The original ''[[Wild Arms 1|Wild ARMs]]'' game has the main characters go through their introductory stories and mutant powers roll call, travel abroad, get forced into working together, the death of one character's father, the end of the world, and then, mid processional, we get a short animatic of the father's funeral procession while credits roll.
* ''[[Gears of War]] 2'' has a playable section teaching players the ropes and "working out the ginks" before the [[Title Sequence]].
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* ''[[Vagrant Story]]'' begins with a suspenseful infiltration and several battles; only after this does the title appear, with the sunrise in the background.
* Similarly, ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]'' begins by asking you to pick your character's name and birthdate, followed by a beautiful [[Scenery Porn]] introduction, with the title appearing midway through the FMV sequence.
* ''[[Fate/stay night]]'' begins with a prologue narrated by Rin. After this, the main game begins with Shirou as narrator. Some scenes are even repeated from his perspective.
* In ''[[X-Men]] 2'' on the [[Sega Genesis]], the gameplay starts ''as soon as you power on the system.'' Only after clearing the first stage do the Sega logo and the title screen show up.
* The first mission and the following cutscenes until the 'ST-Voyager'-intro in [[Star Trek Elite Force|Star Trek Voyager Elite Force]].
* The video game adaption of [[The Chronicles of Riddick]], ''Escape from Butcher Bay'' has a lengthy prologue/dream sequence with introduces you to the gameplay style before Riddick actually enters the prison with the title sequence.
* [[Heavy Rain]] gives you about an hour before the title sequence rolls in.
* [[Seiken Densetsu 3]] has a normal title screen, but when you actually start the game, you play through your main character's prologue. At the climax of the prologue, your character hops on a boat to set off for adventure, and the credits roll over a tour of the entire world map.
* All 3 [[Sly Cooper]] games feature some sort of "heist" prior to the first cutscene.
* Not counting {{spoiler|the whole Desmond recap and setting up a new Animus machine}}, Assassin's Creed II goes through Ezio's birth, then cuts to when he was 17 and is in the middle of a big street brawl. Then he and his brother go around town (it's the tutorial) before having a race to see who can climb to the roof of the church fastest, before ending with a touching scene of them both looking out towards Firenze as Ezio's theme plays and the title drops. It's a potential [[Tear Jerker]].
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* ''[[Ben 10]]'' generally has its first fight before the opening theme, as a way to kick off an episode.
* ''[[Generator Rex]]''.
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' does not use a cold opening, except sometimes for Halloween specials, they do, however, often use a [[Lead In]].
* Several episodes in the first series of ''[[Futurama]]'' have a cold opening. They more or less disappeared in the second, though there were sporadic pre-opening theme joke adverts for futuristic products. So does "The Prisioner of Benda", one of the episode after the series was [[Uncancelled]].
{{quote|'''Linda:''' Tonight, at 11:00.
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* Done quite well in early episodes of ''[[King of the Hill]]'', in which the [[Cold Open]] would transition seamlessly into the [[Title Sequence]].
* ''[[The Secret Saturdays]]'' have this in every episode, to let the viewer know the current situation of the characters.
* The first season of ''[[All Grown Up!]]'' had cold opens, but dropped them from the second season onwards.
* The 2nd season of ''[[WITCH (animation)|W.I.T.C.H.]]'' added a cold open.
* The series ''[[Olivia]]'' does a comedic one.
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* Several prime-time cartoons from 1960s have cold openings. These include ''[[The Flintstones]]'', ''[[Top Cat]]'', ''[[Calvin and the Colonel]]'', and ''[[Jonny Quest]]''.
* ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'' uses cold opens in every episode. In some episodes, they don't even show the opening sequence, though, so it doesn't exactly count. In season one, at least, the [[Cold Open]] would always be drawn in wide screen while the rest of the episode was in full screen.
* ''[[Nu Pogodi]]'' uses these for every episode. Each of these ends with Wolf delivering his [[Catch Phrase]] ("Just you wait, hare!") just before the opening titles blare.
* Here's a rare theatrical example: a lot of late 1950s widescreen CinemaScope shorts from Terrytoons have a teaser before the credits. This was dropped after a while, although the final Heckle & Jeckle cartoon ''Messed Up Movie Makers'' (released in 1966) has a teaser, too.
* ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' uses cold open in every episode.
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