Hornblower
Forester's naval officer, made not as a series but as eight television films spread over five years.
Hornblower opens with a main title sequence of 71 seconds.
At 71 seconds, it opens well above the 50-second median for drama sequences in this catalogue.
It arrived on ITV in 1998, when Thomas & Friends, Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and Birds of a Feather were also on the network.
The opening titles
Season 1
71sFan upload of the 1998 ITV titles rather than the American cut, which is what the search returns first.
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1 sequence
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James Newton Howard's theme over sliding doors, gurneys and light — the template every medical drama since has either copied or deliberately avoided.
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Paula Cole over a Massachusetts creek — a theme so tied to the show that its absence from the streaming release became a story in itself.
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Oil portraits, flags and W.G. Snuffy Walden's brass — an opening that treats the executive branch as a cathedral, which is the show's entire register.
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1 sequenceBeverly Hills, 90210
Freeze-frames of a cast grinning at the camera over a synth-brass hook — the template every teen drama of the decade copied.
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