Top 10 TV Credits Sequences

I know most of these are also some of my favorite shows, but I didn't feel like doing research into the credits of "Rockford" or "Dallas" or "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (although I am reasonably fond of the credits to "Laverne and Shirley" but that's probably just because of Wayne's World) in order to find THE BEST. And to be fair, there are plenty of shows I love that didn't make the cut credits-wise ('Sex and the City", "Grey's Anatomy", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Queer as Folk") or just don't have real credits ("Gossip Girl", "Lost", "Sports Night", etc.) These are the ones I'd be most likely to watch every time I pop in an episode, and I know it's due mainly to the music.

• 10 - "Everwood" (2002-2006): Love the small-town charmyness of those painted stills, and the violin music is acutely schmaltzy - in other words, perfect for this show.

• 9 - "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993-1999): This is probably the weakest series in the "Star Trek" franchise, but the music that accompanies the opening credits is just beautiful. I probably would have been just as happy with the music from "The Next Generation" with the whole "SPACE! The final frontier..." schtick, but I felt like being a little less obvious.

• 8 - "Gilmore Girls" (2000-2007): Yes, Carole King's "Where You Lead" is just too precious for it's own good, but somehow is perfect for this show. From the 5th season to the end, I always made sure I was home, freshly bought 44oz. in hand, to sing along to the opening credits.

• 7 - "Cheers" (1982-1993): To be honest, I've never seen more than a handful of episodes of this show, but how can you deny that warm feeling that comes over you whenever you here the opening tune? I know I wanna go where "everybody knows your name." Plus I like the ragtime saloon photos.
  

• 6 - "Firefly" (2002-2003): This short-lived show had it's roots in both sci-fi and western genres, and the credits song, written by Joss Whedon himself, is fine-tuned blend of futuristic spaceships and sweet/sad violin tunes.

• 5 - "My So-Called Life" (1994-1995): This show so rocked! I love credits full of scenes from the show, and these do a great job of showcasing what a great ensemble cast this show employed. The music is upbeat and part of the show's actual score, and I love that the cast is listed in alphabetical order and that no one's name appears over their own face. That's rare.

• 4 - "The Office" (2005-present): Shockingly, I couldn't find these credits on youtube - at least not as they appear on the show, so these will have to do; they're very close to the actual thing. How can anyone resist these catchy tunes? I'm singing along every time.
  

• 3 - "Veronica Mars" (2004-2007): These ones have grown on me so much! First of all, the lyrics of the song ("A long time ago/We used to be friends/But I haven't seen you lately at all..") are disturbingly acute as the show's heroine has been ostracized from her old friends and is a social outcast in high school, but the poppy, upbeat tune is also starkly different from the dark and crime noir-ish aspects of the show, which creates a nice ironic imbalance. So great!
  

• 2 - "How I Met Your Mother" (2005-present): These credits are only 15 seconds long but make me long to have a usual bar I regularly frequent with my oldest friends! Not only is the "Ba ba pa pa" tune awesome, but the candid shots of the cast at the bar look so real-world that I get all nostalgic for hanging out at bars in college! Which I never really did much! And I certainly don't have any great, candid, photographic evidence of those amazing nights! Boo! But !YAY! credits!

• 1 - "Freaks and Geeks" (1999-2000): The most amazing and accurate and funny credits sequence ever! To the incredible tuneage of Joan Jett's "Reputation" each of the main cast comes in for an awkward and funny yearbook photo where the essence of their character is nailed down in like 3 seconds. I NEVER skip the credits when I'm watching these DVD's. Sadly, I can't find the credits anywhere on youtube, nor can I embed a clip from the show containing the credits, so to see them, click here and wait until the 3:21 minute mark to enjoy! Or just watch the entire first scene - so excellent. Sorry I can't do any better.

Bonus - while searching for "The Office" credits that apparently do not exist, I came across a fanmade set of Office credits done to the "Friends" theme and style. They were well-done and funny and I can't get enough of good fanmade credits. ("Gossip Girl" doesn't have a credits sequence and I am addicted to finding the perfect ones, so I frequently stumble across "Gossip Girl as Veroncia Mars credits" packages and they crack me up.