> A) this is a good thing - watching long drawn-out titles is boring. Some shows have decent intros that, for the lack of a better word, help set the atmospher

> A) this is a good thing - watching long drawn-out titles is boring. Some shows have decent intros that, for the lack of a better word, help set the atmosphere/mood right at the start. You might find it boring, since it is repeated every time, but that is also the reason why shows can put a good amount of production quality and resources into it. > B) was likely partly driven by the US need to put advertising in everything. Which meant time for the actual program was constrained by broadcast schedules. Not only the US and it isn't limited to intros. Over the years I ran into a few broadcasts of movies and shows that ruined the plot by cutting too much of the show itself to make space for ads.