Cold open
A cold open (also referred to as a teaser) in a television program or movie is the technique of jumping directly into a story at the beginning or opening of the show, before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. Shows which air some form of titles before jumping into the story and then running a formal opening sequence are also considered cold opens.
Cinematically, the cold open can last anywhere from less than a minute up to ten minutes (or more in rare circumstances). Perhaps the best known example is the pre-title "teaser" which occurs in all James Bond films since From Russia with Love. Extended cold opens occur in Last Action Hero, The Mummy Returns, Gangs of New York, Lost in Space, and Miami Vice, five films in which the whole movie could be considered the cold opening, with the usual "opening titles" appearing at the beginning of the end credits.
Well known TV shows that begin with a "cold open" are Battlestar Galactica, The X-Files, The West Wing, Xena: Warrior Princess, Babylon 5, Star Trek and its spinoffs, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Saturday Night Live (with a few episodes from 1981 to 1984 as exceptions), the Justice League animated series, House, Law & Order, Desperate Housewives, Gilmore Girls, The Wire, Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Doctor Who, Cold Case, Teen Titans, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, 7th Heaven, Monk, Nip/Tuck, Alias, Father Ted, I'm Alan Partridge, Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, NCIS, and many soap operas (see below). Alias episodes often had a cold open which lasted ten minutes or more (i.e. more than a fourth of the actual episode). Halloween episodes of The Simpsons often begin with a cold open as well. Captain Scarlet possesses two different title sequences, with what one could consider a cold opening sandwiched between. "The Cold Open" was the title of an episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which also begins with cold opens. Family Guy also begins with a cold open occassionaly.
History
Cold opens were not widespread on television until the 1990s, despite having been around on television since The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964-1968). Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969-1974) played around with the concept of cold opens, sometimes having an entire episode before the starting credits, while in one instance (the first episode of series four), having no opening credits at all (Terry Gilliam had not finished the new opening sequence).
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, daytime soap operas became the main user of cold opens, with virtually every soap employing the format. While several soaps experimented with regular opens in the early 2000s, all are currently using cold opens. Typically, a soap opera cold open begins where the last scene of the previous episode ended, sometimes replaying the entire last scene. After several scenes, usually to set up which storylines will be featured in the episode, the opening credits are shown.
Currently, almost all US live-action TV shows do cold opens, while in Britain the practice is not as typical (though increasingly common) and many programs still begin with opening titles. British shows that do use cold opens include the revival of Doctor Who, Life on Mars and Extras.
In the US, TV shows will occasionally forgo a standard cold open at midway point of a two part episode or during a "special" episode. For example, Buffy the Vampire Slayer's fourth season finale lacked a cold open as it was a unusual dream-centric episode. Among the last such shows without a cold open was UPN's Seven Days (1997). Also, the practice of cold opens is becoming more widespread in animation, with the likes of Kim Possible and The Proud Family doing cold opens (incidentally, Beep Prepared used a brief one in 1961). Cold opens are also fairly common in Japanese animation (anime). Even television's longest running cartoon series Scooby-Doo has taken up the cold open in the series' latest installment, What's New, Scooby-Doo?.
Nomenclature
Cold opens were previously known as "teasers". The following memorandum was written on 2 May 1966 as a supplement to the Writer-Director Information Guide for Star Trek, and was authored by Gene Roddenberry, describing the format of a typical episode. This quotation refers to what is now known as a cold open:
a. Teaser, preferably three pages or less. Captain Kirk's Voice Over opens the show, briefly setting where we are and what's going on. This is usually followed by a short playing scene which ends with the Teaser "hook."[1]
The "hook" of the teaser was some unexplained plot element that was alluded to in the teaser, or cold open, which was intended to keep audiences interested enough in the show to dissuade them from changing stations. Star Trek writer David Gerrold, to tweak William Shatner on set, once told Shatner that he was writing a Star Trek episode in which Kirk lost his voice in the teaser (the hook), and didn't get it back until the tag. [2]
In hour-long dramas, a similar hook was often placed at the end of the first half hour. For instance, in Law & Order, this second hook is often the arrest of the suspected perpetrator of the crime committed in the cold open.
Newscasts
Cold opens and similar teases are also used in many television newscasts, including the major United States network newscasts. In news cold opens, anchors begin introducing stories in a brief, tease-like fashion.