Cold opening

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A cold opening is an opening to an episode before its title sequence. As such, they can often be used to establish the premise for the episode in question or just serve as a joke.

History

Cold openings were mostly popular during season 1, where only "I, Roommate" and "Hell Is Other Robots" did not have cold openings.

However, already by season 2, they disappeared, and "Brannigan, Begin Again" was the last episode to have a cold opening during the original run. Some episodes of season 2 have Sponsors as cold openings.

It would not be until Bender's Big Score before the concept returned. The three other films also had its own small set of cold openings, but no where as true as Bender's Big Score. The Beast with a Billion Backs simply had a "previously on Futurama" feature, while Bender's Game did not have any and Into the Wild Green Yonder's was an introduction of the Chi, albeit small and without dialogue.

The second run premiere "Rebirth" included a three minute cold opening before the opening sequence, including both a recap from Into the Wild Green Yonder and a cliffhanger of the aftermath. Again in the second run, both "That Darn Katz!" and "The Prisoner of Benda" featured season one style joke cold openings.

Production

During the first season, cold openings was primarily used as jokes, and writers would pitch for some of these opening jokes for an episode. However, they soon realised there was no real need for them, and was disbanded.

But the original premise for the usage of cold openings did not come from experience, The Simpsons had never had cold openings, and as such, there had to be a more concrete explanation. The purpose originally grew from "Space Pilot 3000", which is the only episode to have a significant cold opening, and particularly an opening that could not have worked as decent as a regular one.[1]

David X. Cohen, however, felt that viewers should receive a sudden wakeup call, that they were watching Futurama, and as such, the show had to start with the opening sequence and the cold opening had to go.[2]

Cold openings

This list is incomplete.

Image Episode

1ACV01: The Year 1999

Space Pilot 3000.jpg "Space Pilot 3000" (1ACV01)
Episode
Fry is living his stinky life in the 20th century before being frozen, and awaken one thousand years later.

1ACV02: Our crew is replacable, your package is not

Planet Express Commercial.png "The Series Has Landed" (1ACV02)
Episode
The Professor shows his new crew Planet Express' brand new commercial.

1ACV04: Leela's date

Doug Tounge.png "Love's Labours Lost in Space" (1ACV04)
Episode
Leela is on a date, but is put off by the guy's "vile lizard tongue".

1ACV05: Insignifant

"Fear of a Bot Planet" (1ACV05)
Episode
Fry and Leela are in the cockpit of the Planet Express Ship, admiring the view. They're gazing out at a green, ringed planet, which then splatters on their windshield.


1ACV06: Give it a rest, you two!

SpringRobots.png "A Fishful of Dollars" (1ACV06)
Episode
Fry is trying to sleep, but is kept up by a rhythmic squeaking from the next apartment. A pan through the wall reveals a pair of spring-bodied robots playing cards.

1ACV07: Going Through the Bot Wash!

"My Three Suns" (1ACV07)
Episode
Bender goes through an automatic robot wash, much like a typical car wash, while dancing and singing a modified version of the song "Going Through the Car Wash." After he gets out, however, it starts to rain.

2ACV01: Glagnar's Human Rinds

Glagnar's Human Rinds "I Second that Emotion" (2ACV01)
Episode
It's a buncha muncha cruncha human!

2ACV02: Chess

"Brannigan, Begin Again" (2ACV02)
Episode
Fry and Bender play a futuristic version of chess with holograms, Fry take one of Bender's pieces and Bender ask the holograms to catch Fry, to which he replies "Good move".

2ACV06: Arachno Spores

Arachno Spores "The Lesser of Two Evils" (2ACV06)
Episode
The fatal spore with the funny name!

2ACV15: Molten Boron

Molten Boron "The Problem with Popplers" (2ACV15)
Episode
Nobody doesn't like Molten Boron!

3ACV11: Thompson's Teeth

Thompson's Teeth "Insane in the Mainframe" (3ACV11)
Episode
The only teeth strong enough to eat other teeth!

5ACV01: Torgo's Executive Powder

Main article: Torgo's Executive Powder
Torgo's Executive Powder "Bender's Big Score Part 1" (5ACV01)
Episode
Only Torgo's packs the power of five highly paid television executives into every can for maxim odour absorption.
When your toilet smells like faeces,
from some disgusting species;
make it take a powder,
with Torgo's!

Into the Wild Green Yonder: Chi

Chi.png Into the Wild Green Yonder
Film
The concept of Chi is introduced, albeit short and without dialogue.

6ACV01: The Horror Curtain

Rebirth preview screenshot (skeleton shot).jpg "Rebirth" (6ACV01)
Episode
A recap of the ending of "Into the Wild Green Yonder" and a cliffhanger serves as the cold opening.

6ACV08: Cash Bone

Cash Bone "That Darn Katz!" (6ACV08)
Episode
Cash Cash Cash! 4 Your Bones! Too many bones?? Not enough cash?? Call Cash Bone! Ribs! Skulls! Spines! Even certain tiny ear bones! The leg bone's connected to the CASH BONE!

6ACV10: Doom!

Morbo"DOOM".png "The Prisoner of Benda" (6ACV10)
Episode
Linda and Morbo present the next program: DOOM!!

Additional Info

Appearances

These are episodes with cold opening

References