TV Themes and Title Sequences Trivia Quiz

The introduction to "The Big Bang Theory" is the song "The History of Everything" which was written and performed by Barenaked Ladies. At the start of the title sequence, there is a graphic representation of the Big Bang for the universe followed by a tour through the Solar System.

As the introduction continues 109 images flash faster and faster showing the history of human civilization. The images flash so fast it is impossible to process them all. One of the images is of a disco ball while another is of a subdivision.

It may be surprising that "The Big Bang" intro only plays the first part of the song "The History of Everything."

"NCIS" was a difficult show to find a good image as the show changed the intro video over a dozen times. However, most of the intros have a clip where Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard is viewing an X-ray image of a broken arm and a skull. "NCIS Theme" written by Numeriklab is the title song which remains the same across all the different title sequences.

While the show is clearly a police drama, some may be surprised to learn that "NCIS" stands for "Naval Criminal Investigative Service." The show was actually a spin-off from the crime show "JAG." "NCIS" has spun off the shows "NCIS: Los Angeles", "NCIS: New Orleans", and "NCIS: Hawaii."

In nearly every episode of the TV show "Blue Bloods", there is a scene with the Reagan family eating dinner at the dining room table. The table makes a brief appearance in the short title sequence about halfway through. Tom Selleck plays the Police Commissioner Frank Reagan and his children play other roles in the legal system.

Interestingly, two of the brothers on the show, Jack and Sean, are actually brothers in real life, Tony and Andrew Terraciano.

The title sequence most commonly used for "Breaking Bad" is very short and uses a periodic table of elements highlighting "Br" and "Ba" for the first two letters of each word of the title. On the periodic table "Br" is the symbol for bromine and "Ba" is the symbol for barium.

The premise behind the show is that chemistry teacher Walter White is diagnosed with terminal cancer and is worried his wife and son will be left destitute since he has no life insurance policy. So he decides cooking up crystal meth would be a fantastic way to build a nest egg for them. Oh, and his brother-in-law is a federal DEA agent.

The intro sequence for "The Sopranos" has the main character, Tony Soprano, driving his car on the New Jersey Turnpike while smoking a cigar. The sequence shows the original Goethals Bridge and the Lincoln Tunnel. Towards the end of the long intro, there is a frame with the Twin Towers. Most TV intros are 15 to 30 seconds long but "The Sopranos" clocks in at 90 seconds. Most episodes of "The Sopranos" ran for 55 minutes.

Like "The Sopranos" the opening scene for "The Wheel of Time" is a long 90 seconds. It starts with a piece of thread that is stretched to the point of breaking. The sequence then shows a pattern of threads and eventually a loom to make the cloth resemble the image of the world.

The weaving of time is one of the main symbolisms in the series with time being represented on a great wheel. The lives of the individuals are the threads in the great fabric of life. The TV series "The Wheel of Time" is based on a mammoth long book series spanning 4.4 million words! The audio version would take over 19 days of nonstop listening to complete the whole series...wow.

The show "Survivor" has more title sequences than many shows have episodes! However, usually towards the end of each one, a torch appears. This is symbolic of the torch used for the tribal council at the end of each show when usually one participant is voted off of the island. To show the end of the council the torch is extinguished with the words spoken by show host Jeff Probst saying, "The tribe has spoken." Several of the rituals carry over from season to season.

The first season was done on Borneo with the majority of episodes taking place on Pacific islands. Australia, Africa, and Asia have also served as locations for the challenge.

The title sequence for "House of Cards" is an impressive stream of time-lapse video clips. The sequence was created by Andrew Geraci who took his crew six months to shoot. About 30 locations made the intro with all of them being around Washington DC. As the 90-second intro progresses the time of day goes from morning to night.

The series "House of Cards" is about the dubious lives of a few fictional US politicians who seem way too similar to real life.

Three things are prominently seen on the "Friends" title sequence; a fountain, dancing, and a couch. Specifically, the couch that is seen in the intro is seen in most episodes at the main hangout coffee shop Central Perk. Interestingly, the intro was not filmed in New York where the show is set but at Warner Bros. Studios in Los Angeles. Apparently, the names of the friends are tied to the characters of "All My Children". One refreshing fact about the series is each of the six actors who played the friends made the same amount for every episode.

"SpongeBob SquarePants" intro shows the pineapple that SpongeBob calls home along with lots of bubbles, a talking pirate painting, and talking fish. The intro finishes with SpongeBob using his nose as a flute. The intro song is sung by Painty the Pirate voiced by Patrick Pinney.

The creator of the show, Stephen Hillenburg, started as a marine biology teacher and even had educational videos with a cartoon sponge. One random fact that an observant watcher may know is that Squidward was an Octopus with only six legs while actual squids have 10 legs. Of course, this is not the only liberties creators took with marine life.