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A 'cold open' (also referred to as a 'teaser') in a television program or movie is the technique of jumping directly into a story at the beginning or opening of the show, before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. A well-known example is the pre-title "teaser" which occurs in all James Bond films since ''From Russia with Love''. Shows which air some form of titles before jumping into the story and then running a formal opening sequence are also considered cold opens.
Cinematically, the cold open can last anywhere from less than a minute up to ten minutes. In rare circumstances it can be even longer: for instance, in ''The Departed'' and ''Leaving Las Vegas'', the title is not displayed until 18 and 15 minutes into the respective films.
Some films, including many by Michael Mann do not show the title card until after the film is finished. In effect, the entire movie becomes itself a cold open.

Contents

History

Nomenclature

Newscasts

See also

Notes

History

Cold opens were not widespread on television until the 1990s, despite having been around on television since ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (1964-1968). ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (1969-1974) played around with the concept of cold opens, sometimes having an entire episode before the starting credits, and in one instance (the first episode of Monty Python's series four) having no opening credits at all (Terry Gilliam had not finished the new opening sequence).
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, daytime soap operas became the main user of cold opens, with virtually every American soap employing the format. While several soaps experimented with regular opens in the early 2000s, all are currently using cold opens. Typically, a soap opera cold open begins where the last scene of the previous episode ended, sometimes replaying the entire last scene. After several scenes, usually to set up which storylines will be featured in the episode, the opening credits are shown.
Currently, many US live-action TV shows do cold opens, while in Britain the practice is not as typical (though increasingly common) and many programs still begin with opening titles. British shows that do use cold opens include the revival of ''Doctor Who'' and ''Life on Mars''.
In the US, TV shows will occasionally forego a standard cold open at the midway point of a two-part episode, or during a "special" episode. For example, ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer's fourth season finale lacked a cold open, as it was an unusual dream-centric episode. Many episodes of ''MacGyver'' began with a cold open that was unrelated to the main episode and created by a separate director.
Throughout its history, the US TV show ''Saturday Night Live'' has employed the cold open --
typically a sketch that ends with a character unexpectedly saying, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night."
Also, the practice of cold opens is becoming more widespread in animation, with the likes of ''Kim Possible'', ''Danny Phantom'', ''The Venture Bros.'', ''Extreme Ghostbusters'' and ''The Proud Family'' doing cold opens (''Beep Prepared'' used a brief one in 1961). Cold opens are also fairly common in anime, such as ''Fullmetal Alchemist'', particularly in the first or last episode of a series. Even television's longest running cartoon series ''Scooby-Doo'' has taken up the cold open in the series' ninth installment, ''What's New, Scooby-Doo?''.
Starting with Metal Gear Solid, the Metal Gear video games have had cold opens, primarily as a way of imitating cinema. The games have one level before displaying the title sequence.
The American version of the hit BBC sitcom/mockumentary "The Office" began employing cold opens in its second season. The cold open allows the writers to focus the audience on the oddball humor that popularized the show, in order to devote more "actual" show time to developing the increasingly more complex plots and characters.
In Malcolm in the Middle there's always a cold open unrelated to the main story, except in part 2 episodes where it's a summary of part 1.

Nomenclature

Cold opens were previously known as "teasers". The following memorandum was written on May 2 1966 as a supplement to the Writer-Director Information Guide for '', and was authored by Gene Roddenberry, describing the format of a typical episode. This quotation refers to what is now known as a cold open:
:a. Teaser, preferably three pages or less. Captain Kirk's Voice Over opens the show, briefly setting where we are and what's going on. This is usually followed by a short playing scene which ends with the Teaser "hook."^[1]
The "hook" of the teaser was some unexplained plot element that was alluded to in the teaser, or cold open, which was intended to keep audiences interested enough in the show to dissuade them from changing stations while the titles roll. ''Star Trek'' writer David Gerrold, to tweak William Shatner on set, once told Shatner that he was writing a ''Star Trek'' episode in which Kirk lost his voice in the teaser (the hook), and didn't get it back until the tag.^[2]
In hour-long dramas, a similar hook was often placed at the end of the first half hour. For instance, in ''Law & Order'', this second hook is often the arrest of the suspected perpetrator of the crime committed in the cold open. Many shows mark each act break (which is typically followed by commercials) with minor hooks as well. This is to keep the viewers from changing the channel during the break.

Newscasts

Cold opens and similar teases are also used in many television newscasts, including the major United States network newscasts. In news cold opens, anchors begin introducing stories in a brief, tease-like fashion.

See also

★ Title sequence

Notes

1. Star Trek Creator: The Unauthorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry, Alexander, David, , , Penguin Books, 1995,
2. The Trouble with Tribbles, Gerrold, David, , , Bantam, 1977,