Episode names on TV shows

[alg2468]

Why have the specific names of episodes on most TV shows never been mentioned on the onscreen opening credits? For example, shows like Gilligan's Island have their episode names mentioned on sites like IMDB and on any DVD set you but of this (or virtually any other TV show), but never mentioned when the show is shown on TV.

 

[Morgan Wick]

Showing episode titles on screen - or even knowing about them - is a fairly recent thing. I remember reading that the creators of The Simpsons didn't originally think fans would know what the episode titles were, which is why a lot of the early episodes have fairly bland titles.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

I think dramas historically showed episode titles a lot more than comedies. "Perry Mason" was always "The Case Of...", "The Twilight Zone" always had episode titles at the end of the show, and (maybe except for Season 1) at the beginning, and for its first few seasons, "Rawhide" showed episode names which usually were "Incident At/Of..." (the show's scripts were originally based on the actual diary recollections of a trail boss). And of course, there were all the Quinn Martin shows ("Tonight's Episode: Cloudy With A Chance Of Murder.") The one vintage sitcom I can think of that showed episode titles was "The Dick Van Dyke Show".

More recently, I know "Friends" episodes always had names ("The One With..."The One Where"), but I don't think they were actually shown onscreen. "M*A*S*H" episodes had names (not shown onscreen), and the 2 I can think of right now are the one where Henry left, "Abyssinia, Henry", and the finale, "Goodbye, Farewell, And Amen". I'm just one step from asking what stations aired "Duck Tales" in 1991, so I better knock off for now...

 

[ajc_trw]

Star Trek (TOS) had the episode title in the beginning and was famous for it among trekkers who often quote the titles in trivia.

Recently I believe NCIS & its LA counterpart have them as well.

As far as I know every TV show had and has episode titles, Star Trek, Twilight Zone and a few others had them in the opening credits.

 

[rnigma1]

Of the early Simpsons episodes, I can recall only two with onscreen episode titles: "The Telltale Head" and "Bart Gets Hit by a Car."

"Law and Order" only showed episode titles during its first season.

 

[searadiofreak]

I believe the naming of series episodes was for internal use only. (Ever heard that before?) It was a way to access episodes by name rather than by number, which could be easier for network employees. One exception is Conan, who makes a point of naming their episodes in the open. Though, that may just be satire, as much of Conan is.

 

[easttxtv]

The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd always used episode titles at the beginning of shows.
This is a list of all of them: http://www.epguides.com/DaysandNightsofMollyDodd/

 

[ajc_trw]

I believe the naming of series episodes was for internal use only. (Ever heard that before?) It was a way to access episodes by name rather than by number, which could be easier for network employees. One exception is Conan, who makes a point of naming their episodes in the open. Though, that may just be satire, as much of Conan is.

IIRC the Conan titles are reminiscent of the Quinn Martin TV shows which announced the episode title in the same way Conan (er, Andy) does. These shows were (as I've Bing'd them) The Fugitive, Twelve O'Clock High, The F.B.I., The Invaders, The Streets of San Francisco, Cannon, and Barnaby Jones.

For Conan's titles they're here

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Conan_episodes

 

[Jazz_Kat]

Nash Bridges always shown the name of episode after the opening credits. Started with "Genesis" and ended with "Fair Game" I think.