Classic Sci-Fi TV Title Sequences

Model spaceships rushing across the screen, dramatic music signaling another otherworldly adventure—these are elements that contribute to the infinite appeal of vintage science-fiction shows and their eye-catching openings. While many television programs of the 1960s and '70s tried to lure in viewers with snappy intros, not many excelled at this task as well as these classic sci-fi title sequences.

Star Trek — "Space—the final frontier." Few, if any, words from the opening of a TV show are as resonant as Star Trek's portentous narration, courtesy of the ever-emphatic William Shatner. Add images of the starship Enterprise in flight, the signature series font, and the soaring theme music, and you've got one of the most iconic intros in television history.

Lost in Space — This contemporary of Star Trek, which initially aired in black and white before the latter's 1966 debut, makes the most of its minimal animation—a hovering ship, materializing credits (another great '60s font), moving celestial bodies—to create a memorably jaunty opening. That lively theme music? Composed by a young musician named John Williams, who went on to score Star Wars and Jaws, among countless other Hollywood films.

Battlestar Galactica — Speaking of Star Wars, the original Battlestar Galactica series was a blatant attempt at bringing that movie's space-opera atmosphere to the small screen. Cue the Star Trek-inspired narration and the notably Williams-like symphonic music. To its credit, the show's copycat qualities don't make it any less entertaining. And, of course, the series was later resurrected and drastically redesigned to universal adoration.

Space: 1999 — Who says sci-fi shows can't have rocking openings? Not Gerry Anderson, the British creator who was previously best known for his marionette-featuring adventure series Thunderbirds. The funky theme tune perfectly reflects the show's mid-'70s era, even as the visuals depicted the faraway future of 1999. Recently announced—a reboot of the franchise entitled Space: 2099.

Doctor Who — The patriarch of science-fiction television, England's Doctor Who has morphed considerably throughout the years, but the time-traveling humanoid has always remained fascinating, thanks to an intriguing sucession of actors, including Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. Like the main character, the show's title sequence has transformed throughout the decades, with its oddly haunting title music providing the thread that links the good Doctor's various incarnations.