So you're getting ready to watch the next episode of your favorite show. You anticipate the theme song, as it is one of your favorite parts of the show. However, when the episode actually starts, it isn't there. You sit in confusion and try to comprehend what has happened.
There are a number of reasons this happens. The most common reason for this occurring is that the episode in question is considered to be a special one by the creators. This is especially common with the Christmas Episode of a show. Another reason is that the show's episode is either the first or last in the series. A case where it's for the first episode is likely because the creators are trying to avoid a Spoiler Opening, while for a finale episode, they're trying to avoid Mood Whiplash by playing the song before or after a crucial moment in the show. Another reason is that the episode would be too long if the theme tune was left in. It might also happen on a Very Special Episode or Unexpectedly Dark Episode.
In modern anime (especially during the 2010s), it's often common for shows to omit the opening in the first episode and/or in the last episode (either season and/or series), usually for having more storytelling time (as both the first and the last episode tend to be the most important). Other episodes that tend to have a strong importance to the plot (such as a Wham Episode), sometimes do this as well. Sometimes, in either the first and/or the last episode, the opening plays at the end of the episode in place of the normal ending.
In some cases, the theme might make a cameo, usually as an instrumental, despite it not being used in the actual episode. This is a common practice for movies that adapt TV shows
If the theme tune is still there, but different, see Variations on a Theme Song. Compare No Theme Tune, when every episode of a show has no theme song.
Examples:
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Anime
- Pretty Cure:
- The final episode of HuGtto! Pretty Cure lacks the usual opening. However, the song used during that sequence does play over the final scene.
- Episode 48 of Star★Twinkle Pretty Cure also lacks the show's usual theme tune, in this case indicating the Darkest Hour by simply opening with the title on a black background.
- This is standard practice in the first episode of each installment of the Love Live! franchise, with the opening not being shown until the second episode.
- The final episode of Dragon Ball Super lacks the show's typical intro, though the theme song played over the credits.
- The first two episodes of Inazuma Eleven: Ares make up a two-part premiere. As such, the first episode skips the outro, while the second skips the intro.
- The very first episode of Naruto lacks the anime's opening theme, instead starting with an Opening Monologue about Naruto's backstory followed by the series' logo.
- Episode 1 of Popotan, although we do see some flashy subtitles of various people who worked on it as it begins.
- There were some episodes in the broadcast of Puella Magi Madoka Magica that closed with credits rolling over the screen and opened without the series opening. The DVD and Blu-ray releases did change this up by adding two new themes.
- Episode 10, in particular, has no standard opening; the show's usual opening theme plays over the closing credits.
- An example similar to Madoka Magica happens with the Love Live! franchise. Whenever an episode is going to end with the idols doing a live, the closing credits play over the last scene rather than that season's ending theme showing up on that episode.
- An extreme case with the second season of Re:Zero as it skips over the opening (and sometimes the ending) for most episodes with only a few of them (episodes 2, 5, 8, 19, 21) actually having one.
Films — Animation
- The Bob's Burgers Movie: Although imagery from the theme song shows up in the movie, the theme song itself doesn't appear.
- Unlike its predecessor, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie does not use the show's theme song.
- The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run doesn't use the opening theme of Spongebob Squarepants. However, the last quarter of the show's theme song is heard over the In Memoriam card of Stephen Hillenburg, which then segues into the first end credits song, "Agua".
- Thomas and the Magic Railroad doesn't use the opening themes of Thomas & Friends or Shining Time Station.
- Both VeggieTales movies lack the show's traditional theme song.
Films — Live-Action
- Barney's Great Adventure doesn't use the traditional Barney & Friends theme tune. Instead, it uses a Bernadette Peters song called "Barney".
- Both Sesame Street movies lack the series theme song, but it plays in Follow That Bird as an instrumental during a chase scene.
Live-Action TV
- Adam-12: The Very Special Episode "Elegy For a Pig" forgoes the opening theme for narration by its creator Jack Webb.
- The two part episode "The Burning" that opens series 3 of Dempsey and Makepeace forgoes the normal opening theme as they deal with Dempsey's New York past coming back to haunt him.
- An episode of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend doesn't have the the theme song - until, at around forty-minutes in, two characters have a Waxing Lyrical conversation that repeats the lyrics of the Expository Theme Tune, and the scene then ends with the title card appearing.
- Subverted with the Season 8 premiere of CSI: NY, "Indelible." The show's format typically features a couple minutes' worth of scenes, followed by the theme tune playing over the opening credits, then the first commercial break. However, this episode cuts to commercial with just a quiet title card after the scenes, as it commemorates the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The regular credits and tune do appear, however; they're just after the commercial break.
- Doctor Who:
- In keeping with the Found Footage theme, the episode "Sleep No More" foregoes the usual title sequence in favor of a brief flash of the show's title.
- The first episode of Series 11, "The Woman Who Fell to Earth", has no opening theme or credit sequence.
- Kamen Rider Kiva: Like many Kamen Rider series, the final episode does not feature the opening credits, only a title card. The theme song does, however, play at the very end of the episode with credits rolling over the finale scene.
- The pilot episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has no opening song.
- One Tree Hill foregoes the usual "I Don't Want to Be" opening for more serious episodes, such as one in the third season involving a school shooting, before ultimately dropping the theme altogether in season 5 due to the Time Skip.
- Some episodes of Portlandia abandon the show's Sketch Comedy format and instead focus on a single story. These episodes drop the Theme Tune opening in favor of a title card saying "Portlandia Presents: [Episode Name]".
- In Red Dwarf, the opening theme for both "Ouroboros" and "Duct Soup" are absent in the broadcast versions but available on the DVD 'X-tended' versions of the episodes, due to the episodes overrunning their time slot. "Duct Soup" retains the title card whilst "Ouroboros" doesn't; however, it does open with the last note of the theme tune.
- The Star Trek: Enterprise episode "In a Mirror Darkly" takes place in a cynical, gritty alternate universe, so there is a different opening montage with a darker, more militaristic theme tune.
Web Video
- Map Men: The episode "The Mystery of the Squarest Country" is a Musical Episode, whose Cold Open leads straight into the titular song, skipping the very different-sounding theme song.
- Downplayed and justified in The Mirror. In the last episode, the only remaining member of the cult is Curtis, and he lacks even the ability to use the usual episode intro. Instead he pulls out a radio and plays some of the theme song, then stops it to present the subject of the video.
Western Animation
- American Dad!: The episodes "Haylias" and "Flirting with Disaster" don't open with the theme song.
- Amphibia has its mid-season and season finales forego playing the theme song, opting instead to show five seconds of the show's title card accompanied by a riff of the main character's leitmotif, "Anne's Theme".
- Animaniacs: "The Warners' 65th Anniversary Special" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo Clock" do not open with the Animaniacs theme song, as the first was presented as a special event In-Universe and the second was a Poorly Disguised Pilot for a Skippy and Slappy spin-off.
- The Christmas Episode of Big City Greens skips the theme song all together and has the title appear right after the opening number.
- BoJack Horseman: Downplayed: the Season 6 premiere, "A Horse Walks Into a Rehab," plays the first few notes of the theme song, but then the image burns away to immediately show the next scene, possibly to illustrate BoJack's effort to break free of his unhealthy habits and bad memories.
- Class of 3000 has the first episode completely skip the opening, rather than having the show's logo superimposed over a black background before it starts.
- DuckTales (2017): The episodes "Woo-oo!" and "Whatever Happened to Della Duck?!" skip the theme song and instead have the show's logo superimposed over the opening scene. In the case of "Woo-oo!", when shown in it's original hour-long format, the theme song plays at the start of the second half.
- Family Guy: "Brian and Stewie" opens with the show's logo appearing silently over a black background.
- Hey Arnold!: The half-hour episodes "Arnold's Christmas", "Arnold's Thanksgiving", "School Play", "Parents Day", and "Dino Checks Out", as well as the two-parter produced Grand Finale "The Journal" have the show's logo and opening credits appear over the first shots of said episodes.
- Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2023)
- The first episode has the show's logo form while a remixed version of the theme plays. The intro proper plays right before the end credits.
- The season 1 finale, "OMG Issue #2" uses a shortened version of episode 1's opening with background noise instead of the usual theme.
- The Loud House: Season 4's story arc focusing on the Santiago/Casagrande family only plays a little bit of the theme tune before cutting to Ronnie Anne introducing her family.
- The Owl House:
- "A Lying Witch and a Warden" completely skips the opening theme and the title does not appear until right before the end credits.
- The first season finale, "Young Blood, Old Souls," completely skips the opening theme.
- "Elsewhere and Elsewhen" introduces a Title-Only Opening created to extend a particularly important episode's runtime after the series was Cut Short. As the last six episodes of the second season are all Wham Episodes, they all use this opening. All 3 episodes of season 3 do this with the show's logo shown in the background after each cold open.
- Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero: "The Pirates, the Parrot, the Puzzle and the Talking Boats" is the only episode to not open with the theme song, rather than having the show's title appear for a few seconds before cutting to the episode's title.
- Robot Chicken:
- "Werewolf vs. Unicorn" and "Fight Club Paradise" do not have the opening sequence, as the first begins with the show's title card leading into the Previously on… sequence and the second is a Milestone Celebration of 100 episodes as the Robot Chicken is finally freed.
- Also, "Hey I Found Another Sock" skips the opening sequence and immediately heads straight into the first segment (with the opening credits rolling over it).
- The Simpsons:
- The first full-length episode, "Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire" does not open with the regular theme song.
- Due to the airing of a trailer for The Simpsons Movie, the original American airing of "Springfield Up" opened with a documentary film maker talking to the viewers, with the credits appearing later and in a different font.
- Downplayed with two Season 1 episodes: "Bart the General" and "Life on the Fast Lane" play the first few notes of the theme tune accompanied by an establishing shot, with the episodes beginning after that.
- Solar Opposites: The Season 4 episode "The Mobile A.I.S.H.A. Emitter" skips the opening title sequence, instead opting for a somber black-and-white title card after the cold open to fittingly end the montage of A.I.S.H.A.’s loneliness.
- Wander over Yonder: "My Fair Hatey" is the only episode that does not play the theme song; instead, it begins with the show's logo in front of a curtain which rises and cuts to the actual show.
- South Park: Both "The Pandemic Special" and "The Vaccination Special" abandon the South Park theme song in favor of a special title card.
