WC: Some quick thoughts
There is a lot of dislike towards the new title sequence of White Collar. That's not unusual. People tend to react unhappy when a show gets a new title theme. I tend to connect the music with the show, and whenever I hear it, it bings me in the right mood for the show. Even if I realistically know that the new music is an improvement in some regards, I feel atteched to the original one. Monk is an example of that: I'm still routing for the original, but I see the point of creating a music with text (making it even more memorable) and a visual which allowed to add more scenes of Monk from the episodes themself. I didn't like the change, but I could life with it.
For once, the fans got a choice. They were allowed to vote which title they like more. Sadly, some troll (or trolls) screwed the polls by stacking votes for the new version. Beforehand, it absolutely tanked in comparism (not even a third of the votes the original got). It's disappointing, and I hope that the network will find a solition. I won't waste my time raging about it. But I have done a lot of thinking about the new opening, and I want to put together a list why I dislike it so much once and for all.
1. The music: I adore the score of White Collar in general. I'm not too crazy about the title songs nevertheless. The original works. It has dynamic, it's memorable enough and it fits the show, but I wouldn't count it between my favourite title songs. The new one doesn't, at all. It's very bland (some people call it elevator music), has no drive and doesn't really fit the show.
2. The visuals: The original one isn't terrible creative (perhaps a little bit too much MTV), but it's unique enough. It shows the characters in action, and has the White Collar typical "New York Feeling". The new one has been compared to three different shows so far: Chuck (because of the ending), Royal Pains (because of the symbols) and some old show I've never heard of which also uses the picture idea. You can tell that the new one cost a lot of money, but it looks cheap nevertheless. The pictures look more like flatscreens, the handcuffs, the pistol, the (creepy) foot, everything looks like it's made out of plastic. The "symbol for character theme" is too inconsistent, because they do that with Neal and Peter (twice) but not with the other characters. The pictures from the episodes are very static, and they forget a very important character. No, I don't mean Jones, I'm speaking of New York. New York is an important part of the show, it should be featured in the main theme.
3. The practicability: Well, from the producers point of view, I suspect that the new one is preferable. It's longer (meaning less screentime has to be filled up) and there is no need to update the pictures every season as long as the actors don't change. From a viewers point of view shorter is naturally better because we get to see more from the actual episode. And while I'm not a fan of changing a working title sequences too much, I very much like small adjustments in the visual.
For once, the fans got a choice. They were allowed to vote which title they like more. Sadly, some troll (or trolls) screwed the polls by stacking votes for the new version. Beforehand, it absolutely tanked in comparism (not even a third of the votes the original got). It's disappointing, and I hope that the network will find a solition. I won't waste my time raging about it. But I have done a lot of thinking about the new opening, and I want to put together a list why I dislike it so much once and for all.
1. The music: I adore the score of White Collar in general. I'm not too crazy about the title songs nevertheless. The original works. It has dynamic, it's memorable enough and it fits the show, but I wouldn't count it between my favourite title songs. The new one doesn't, at all. It's very bland (some people call it elevator music), has no drive and doesn't really fit the show.
2. The visuals: The original one isn't terrible creative (perhaps a little bit too much MTV), but it's unique enough. It shows the characters in action, and has the White Collar typical "New York Feeling". The new one has been compared to three different shows so far: Chuck (because of the ending), Royal Pains (because of the symbols) and some old show I've never heard of which also uses the picture idea. You can tell that the new one cost a lot of money, but it looks cheap nevertheless. The pictures look more like flatscreens, the handcuffs, the pistol, the (creepy) foot, everything looks like it's made out of plastic. The "symbol for character theme" is too inconsistent, because they do that with Neal and Peter (twice) but not with the other characters. The pictures from the episodes are very static, and they forget a very important character. No, I don't mean Jones, I'm speaking of New York. New York is an important part of the show, it should be featured in the main theme.
3. The practicability: Well, from the producers point of view, I suspect that the new one is preferable. It's longer (meaning less screentime has to be filled up) and there is no need to update the pictures every season as long as the actors don't change. From a viewers point of view shorter is naturally better because we get to see more from the actual episode. And while I'm not a fan of changing a working title sequences too much, I very much like small adjustments in the visual.