IN THE BEGINNING ...
Netflix lets you ‘skip intro,’ but sometimes the opening credits are worth watching
There is no greater tool in the Netflix binge-watcher’s belt than the awesome “skip intro” button, letting you blast past a show’s opening credits and get right to the good stuff.
And the way Netflix will just automagically leap past title credits when you’re watching multiple episodes of a show in a row?
Glorious. But could skipping opening credits actually be a bad thing?
Skipping the appetizer before the main course is wrong. Well, sometimes it’s wrong. There are exceptions to every rule.
There are five Netflix original series you should never “skip intro” on, and five whose opening credits you never need to watch again.
DON’T SKIP
BoJack Horseman: Aside from deliciously summing up BoJack’s bleary-eyed life, there are changes in the background of the title sequence that mirror what’s happening in the show. The justlaunched fourth season mixes things up even more.
Stranger Things: The spooky synthwave score combined with retro ’80s typography could not evoke the era of the two Steves (King and Spielberg) more strongly. It’s mesmerizing every time, and ends with each episode’s chapter title.
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The self-aware intro to this adaptation of Lemony Snicket’s novels changes slightly with every other episode, updating to reflect developments in the story. Plus, you can never have enough of a crooning Neil Patrick Harris. GLOW: You only get the one chance to see GLOW’s title sequence, so best not to skip it. And that’s really too bad, because it’s a fine piece of neonanimated fun, set to Scandal’s The Warrior.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: This title sequence — taken from a scene in the first episode — hasn’t changed in three seasons, and yet it never gets old. It’s a joyous, bouncy earworm that also happens to be nice and short. They alive, dammit.
ALWAYS SKIP
Orange Is the New Black: Five seasons in, there’s no reason to sit through Regina Spektor’s theme song yet again. Unless … you’ve got time. (Sorry.) House of Cards: The slick and stylish time-lapse of Washington, D.C., was cool in season 1. Maybe even season 2. Now it’s just the visual equivalent of background noise.
Fuller House: Whatever happened to originality? This abomination shouldn’t exist, never mind the title credits that ape the original show’s opener.
The Crown: Fantastic series, but the opening sequence feels like a super-sedated riff on Game of Thrones. Without the cool clockwork cities.
All the Netflix Marvel shows: Moody! Stylish! And boooooring! Kudos to Marvel for trying to be artsy, but with the possible exception of Jessica Jones, they’re all a snore.