Truncated Theme Tune: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
A show's [[Theme Tune]] is the way it gets the attention, and hopefully is good enough to get people [[Ear Worm|Earwormed]] and singing it to get others watching the show.
Once a show has gone into syndication or jumped channels, though, the [[Theme Tune]] is one of the first casualties. It will get edited, shortened, or otherwise truncated so as to leave room for more commercials. Occasionally, if the show is on the air on its original channel more than a few years, they'll maim the theme tune for more commercial space while it's still in its original airing. Also, the lyrics of the theme song, where present, may be changed a little.
The title sequence and opening credits, since they often appear simultaneously with the playing of the theme tune are often collateral damage. Shows dating from [[The Eighties]] and [[The Nineties]] are the first to display this trope; older shows' [[Theme Tune
Related to [[Credits Pushback]] as the end credits usually scroll in the background while the next show or ad for other stuff on the channel plays instead. It comes back full size just in time to hear the last note or two of the closing credits' song and see the studio's [[Vanity Plate]].
This is basically a greed-invoked version of the [[Second Verse Curse]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* When shown on [[Adult Swim]], ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' and ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood]]'''s opening and ending themes are shortened significantly when compared to the show's original subtitled version on [[FUNimation]]'s website.
** [[Adult Swim]] has done this with most of their anime openings and ending, with the exceptions of the openings of [[Bleach]] and [[Code Geass]]. Most of them get shortened.
* ''[[The Big O]]''. When it first appeared on [[Adult Swim]] it had full opening credits and theme tune, as seen [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdA6iRk94Hc here]. When it was run later the opening credits were cut down to a couple of seconds and a brief musical phrase. This is a particularly egregious example, as the opening credits for this show were [[Homage
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* ''[[Happy Days]]'': when the show dropped off ABC and began showing up on syndicated TV, the song was shortened and the lyrics changed.
* ''[[Cheers]]''
* ''[[Two and A Half Men]]'': To the point where [[Neil Patrick Harris]] made a joke about it while MC'ing the Emmies. He played the show's original
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMV8L8Jl-cw Superman], the ''[[Scrubs]]'' theme, is a casualty of this. The full version is 3:40 and goes from already being fairly short at fifteen or so seconds to a mere echo of the theme at about a second. Fortunately, that doesn't last long.
* ''[[Wings (TV series)|Wings]]'' (from the creators of ''[[Cheers]]'') used to have a title sequence with a tune by Chopin, but that later got ([[Incredibly Lame Pun|ahem]]) chopped.
* ''[[Blood Ties]]'' has a full theme song and opening sequence, but (at least on Lifetime Real Women where it's currently being rerun), the theme is cut down to a title card and brief musical clip, and the credits are all shown during the next scene.
* In syndicated reruns of ''[[Soap]]'' both the opening and closing credits were cut off early. In the opening it'd fade out just after the announcer says "and this is...''Soap''," cutting off the visual joke; and the end credits are faded out either right after the list of actors, or occasionally even before them. (Neither of these are going on right now in the reruns shown on Antenna TV.)
* [[
** ''[[Eureka]]'' used to have a theme song that lasted about forty-five seconds, and showed Carter walking through town seeing the [[Mad Science]] applications to mundane tasks. Now it's five seconds long and has just the Title Card and the names of who created it.
** ''
** For Season 9 of ''[[Stargate SG-1|Stargate SG 1]]'' and Season 2 of ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'', the intro credits were cut to a 10-second clip, followed by the credits rolling over the next scene. After the fans rioted, the full intros were replaced halfway through the season. However, the next spinoff, ''[[Stargate Universe]]'', had only a brief title card and no full theme song.
* ''[[Smallville]]'' averted the trope for its entire run, using the same, uncut [[Theme Tune]].
* ''[[Fraggle Rock]]'' had a much longer theme song and opening credits sequence (in which the titular Fraggles got to introduce themselves by name) than the one currently showing on The Hub.
* The US version of ''[[The Office]]'' features this in syndication, truncating most of the theme song beyond the first eight bars and the final chord.
* HBO's ''[[Curb Your Enthusiasm]]'' has had its theme song reduced to a single phrase.
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* [[TBS]] goes back and forth between airing the full ''[[Friends]]'' theme including the verse, and a version with just the chorus.
** They do the same thing for ''[[King of Queens]]''.
* ''[[The Outer Limits]]'' had its title sequence shortened twice during the original series' run on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]].
* When ''[[The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air]]'' is shown on TBS, it has just the background audio to the theme song played over a sped up version of the opening.
* ''[[The Golden Girls]]'' often has the 'And if you threw a party...' part cut out when it airs on Lifetime, though not every single time. It's easy to tell the difference right away by whether or not the shot of a plane landing is the opening shot of the theme or not.
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== [[Western Animation]] ==
* ''[[Ben 10]]'' is the only show from the franchise that has a [[Theme Tune]] with lyrics, so it's particularly noticeable when the second verse of the song is omitted in the Boomerang airings. The [[Theme Tune
* ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'' lost a verse of its theme song when it moved from The CW to [[Disney XD]].
* One infamous example is when ''[[Animaniacs]]'' was put on syndication for Nickelodeon. The lyrics for one of the opening gags "Shirley Mclaney" was shortented to "Nick-a-laney" in order to fit with the blatant "It's on Nickelodeon now" message (complete with the Nickelodeon logo obnoxiously included in nearly every shot during the opening credits). Also, other parts were cut down even further, and one part was even sped up slightly to keep it all in the same key. More details [
* The theme tune and opening credits to ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' exists in its full form, but there are several diferent cuts to adjust for show length, and extended couch gags to fill time.
* An interesting variation: sometimes the opening theme is ''sped up'' to save time rather than truncated. This happened noticeably, for example, in ''[[Justice League (animation)|Justice League]] Unlimited''.
* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' has at least two other verses of his [[Theme Tune]], the musical riff usually played over the title card, and the bridge played at the end credits right before the Billionfold logo. Both were cut before the show went to production to leave the opening credits as we know them today(at least in the US - this may differ for other countries). See the variant [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiokCOOL1CU here].
* In the [[Comedy Central]] revival episodes of ''[[Futurama]]'', several seconds of music toward the end of the theme have been cut out. The original episodes remain unchanged.
* The
* When several episodes are strung together for a block or marathon, ''Nickelodeon'' will usually lop off the entire title sequence for ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''.
* Around its fifth season, ''[[Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends|Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends]]'' had its theme song shortened and sped up. The original theme came back for season six.
* ''[[
* In syndication, the closing theme to ''[[Scooby-Doo (animation)|The New Scooby Doo Movies]]'' would sometimes cut from the gang yelling "Hey Scooby!" to the final chord, omitting Shaggy's "Where are you?" and Scooby's "Over here!", while the Hanna-Barbera "Swirling Star" logo appeared.
* ''[[Ed, Edd 'n'
* ''[[Young Justice (animation)|Young Justice]]'' came back from its second season hiatus with a 3 second riff and its title card, but this was at least in part to make room for the [[DC Nation]] shorts.
* ''[[Green Lantern:
* Midway through its run on [[Fox Kids]], ''[[Beetlejuice (animation)|Beetlejuice]]'' had its opening shaved
* ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man (animation)|Ultimate Spider Man]]'' has a full theme song but because of Marvel Mash-Up, Marvel Master Class and the Fury Files portions of Marvel Universe on [[Disney XD]], it never once got to play as the opening of the show.
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Theme Tune]]
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