History Main / OpeningMonologue

* A few ''Anime/CodeGeass'' intros describe how Britannia took over Japan, among other tidbits.
* For a number of years now, the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' movies have started with an opening monologue explaining what Pokémon are and how they co-exist with humans, along with introducing us to Satoshi/Ash and pals.
* The first few ''Manga/WanderingSon'' episodes end and begin with monologues.
* Between the manga, the anime, and the anime's various openings, ''Manga/OnePiece'' has used different styles to describe Gold Roger's final words and his execution. The manga starts off with it, where as the first opening in the anime begins with the "Wealth. Fame. Power." speech. It seems the anime has now settled into using a longer opening, and then cutting to a "gritty old film" scene of Gold Roger being executed before the footage burns away.

* ''Series/BurnNotice'', ''Series/InPlainSight'' and ''Series/RoyalPains'' all have opening narrations. In fact, including ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'', though it's not really a USA original show, a lot of USA Network's shows have opening monologues.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'' has a different one every season for the first 3 seasons (and the PilotMovie). However seasons 4 and 5 started using multiple different characters contributing lines of dialog one at a time to create the effect of an monologue.
* ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' is very fond of this. Every episode, except for the pilot, start with one by Sarah that frames what happens during the episode. Sometimes it's done well, others not so much.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** story [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin "The Deadly Assassin"]] begins with the Fourth Doctor doing a short monologue.
** The Eighth Doctor does a longer one in the TheMovie.
** Rose gets one at the beginning of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E13Doomsday "Doomsday"]].
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E13LastOfTheTimeLords "The Last Of The Time Lords"]] opens with a warning to interstellar traffic that the Earth, conquered by the Master and the Toclafane, has been declared a no-go area.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E4ThePowerOfThree "The Power of Three"]] starts with Amy Pond talking about what life is usually like for her and Rory with the Doctor, and how one time, during the "Slow Invasion" the Doctor came to stay.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E4BeforeTheFlood "Before The Flood"]] begins with the Doctor speaking directly to the camera, talking about a time-traveler who ends up [[YouWillBeBeethoven becoming Beethoven]], describing a Bootstrap Paradox and asking [[StableTimeLoop "Who really composed Beethoven's Fifth?"]]
* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', oh so very much. In the first season it was with Mohinder's [[YouFailBiologyForever incredibly bad biology]] regarding evolution; fortunately they moved to poetry later.
** This was a good move; the use of "The Second Coming" in the first episode of the third season is probably the best part of the season.
* In ''Series/TheInvisibleMan'', the main character, Darian Fawkes, starts and ends each episode with a famous quote, bringing forward the basic theme of the episode.
* Cade Foster, the main character of ''Series/FirstWave'', begins each episode (except for the pilot) with a quatrain from the "hidden chapters" of the prophecies of Nostradamus and spends the episode trying to interpret the archaic wording into the show's reality.
* ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' opens every episode with Dr. K explaining about the Venjix Virus and the domed city or Corinth which leads into the theme song.
* ''Series/{{Shameless}}'' did this with its title sequence, introducing the characters.
* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode Swan Song, there is an opening monologue given by Chuck.
-->'''Chuck:''' On April 21, 1967, the 100 millionth GM vehicle rolled off the line at the plant in Janesville -- a blue two-door caprice. There was a big ceremony, speeches. The lieutenant governor even showed up. Three days later, another car rolled off that same line. No one gave two craps about her. But they should have, because this 1967 Chevrolet Impala would turn out to be the most important car -- no, the most important object -- in pretty much the whole universe. She was first owned by Sal Moriarty, an alcoholic with two ex-wives and three blocked arteries. On weekends, he'd drive around giving bibles to the poor "gettin' folks right for judgment day". That's what he said. Sam and Dean don't know any of this, but if they did, I bet they'd smile. After Sal died, she ended up at Rainbow Motors, a used-car lot in Lawrence, where a young marine bought her on impulse. That is, after a little advice from a friend. I guess that's where this story begins. And here's where it ends.
* PanelGames often start with some sort of opening monologue, usually the host running off a few gags to warm the crowd up.
* ''Series/ItsGarryShandlingsShow'' usually started with an opening monologue by Garry.
* ''Franchise/{{Dragnet}}'': "This is the city. UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, California. My name's Friday. I carry a badge."
* ''Series/VeronicaMars'' opens up with [[BrokenBird "I'm never getting married. You want an absolute? There it is."]] as a voiceover. The narrator (Veronica) then moves on to explain numerous things [[BackStory about the story and setting]], essentially telling you what has already happened while showing what's about to happen at the same time. The narration generally shifts to snarky commentary later on when the viewers don't require as much explanation.
* Mulder and Scully often had a voice-over narrative for ''Series/TheXFiles'' intros. Likelihood increased dramatically for season finales, season premieres, 2-part episodes, and mythology episodes in general.
* ''Series/HappyDays'' has one in the "Love, American Style" {{pilot}}, provided by Richie Cunningham himself:
--> ''"It's pretty hard to be sixteen and growing up. Maybe it was easier when my parents were young, but... now it's [[TheFifties the 1950s]] and the world's really getting complicated. Now don't get me wrong, I--I have a great family. My father's in the hardware business, my mom does volunteer work for the Red Cross, [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome my brother]] goes to college... [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and my sister wants to go to an orthodontist]]. My sister does, however, go to piano lessons and... I always get stuck walking her home. But today I don't mind, because... today's a big day. We're gonna be the first family on the block to get a television set. Heh, my sister has to tell everybody, but... I only told my best friend Potsie."''

* Several Zelda games, including ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap''.

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* WebVideo/EatYourKimchi: All of the videos start with Simon and/or Martina introducing the subject.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Raf from ''WesternAnimation/AngelsFriends'', explaining a topic either the angels and devils or the humans will go through in the episode. OnceAnEpisode.
[[/folder]]

* Both ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'' and ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2'' begin with Hiccup's introduction: "This is Berk..."

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E4BeforeTheFlood "Before The Flood"]] begins with the Doctor speaking directly to the camera, talking about a time-traveler who ends up [[YouWillBecomeBeethoven becoming Beethoven]], describing a Bootstrap Paradox and asking [[StableTimeLoop "Who really composed Beethoven's Fifth?"]]

* Both ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'' and ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2'' begin with Hiccup's introduction: "This is Berk..."

Compare OpeningScroll. Not to be confused with OpeningNarration.

* Ben's classic monologue in ''FullThrottle''.
* The narrator's monologue in the third installment of ''StarControl''.

* Raf from ''AngelsFriends'', explaining a topic either the angels and devils or the humans will go through in the episode. OnceAnEpisode.

* ''Terminator: Series/TheSarahConnorChronicles'' is very fond of this. Every episode, except for the pilot, start with one by Sarah that frames what happens during the episode. Sometimes it's done well, others not so much.

* ''Terminator: TheSarahConnorChronicles'' is very fond of this. Every episode, except for the pilot, start with one by Sarah that frames what happens during the episode. Sometimes it's done well, others not so much.

* ''GundamWing'' begins with a narrator explaining that the year is After Colony 195 and humans now live both on the Earth and in Outer Space. He also summarizes the causes of the ongoing war at the beginning of the series and occasionally provides in-episode explanation of terms the viewer might not be aware of.

* The first few ''WanderingSon'' episodes end and begin with monologues.
* Between the manga, the anime, and the anime's various openings, ''OnePiece'' has used different styles to describe Gold Roger's final words and his execution. The manga starts off with it, where as the first opening in the anime begins with the "Wealth. Fame. Power." speech. It seems the anime has now settled into using a longer opening, and then cutting to a "gritty old film" scene of Gold Roger being executed before the footage burns away.

* In ''TheRoadWarrior'', the elderly man delivering the opening monologue is revealed to be [[spoiler: the mute savage child all grown up.]]
* ''{{Equilibrium}}'' starts with a short opening monologue vaguely explaining the events that caused TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and the start of the world "not as we know it", coupled with some historical documentary footage and reused footage from the film itself.

* [[TheFilmOfTheBook The movie version of]] ''[[strike:[[HisDarkMaterials The Golden Compass]]]]'' ''Northern Lights'' does this.

* The intro to ''Film/WingCommander'' pans over space charts while playing a recording of JFK giving a speech about the Space Race, which segues into other radio broadcasts delivering exposition about the Pilgrams, mankind's invention of FasterThanLightTravel, and the disasterous FirstContact with the Kilrathi.

* ''Series/BurnNotice'', ''InPlainSight'' and ''RoyalPains'' all have opening narrations. In fact, including ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'', though it's not really a USA original show, a lot of USA Network's shows have opening monologues.

* ''FearAndLoathingInLasVegas'' memorably begins: "We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold..."

* ''Series/BurnNotice'', ''InPlainSight'' and ''RoyalPains'' all have opening narrations. In fact, including ''LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'', though it's not really a USA original show, a lot of USA Network's shows have opening monologues.

* ''Film/{{Kick-Ass}}'': "I always wondered why nobody did it before me. I mean, all those comic books, movies, TV shows. You think that one eccentric loner would've made himself a costume. I mean, is everyday life really so exciting? Are schools and offices so thrilling that I'm the only one who fantasized about this? Come on, be honest with yourself. At some point in our lives we all want to be a superhero. That's not me by the way. That's some Armenian guy with a history of mental health problems. Who am I? I'm Kick-Ass."

* ''Film/{{Spider-Man|Trilogy}}'' - "Who am I? You sure you want to know? The story of my life is not for the faint of heart. If somebody said it was a happy little tale, if somebody told you I was just your average ordinary guy, not a care in the world... somebody lied. But let me assure you -- this, like any story worth telling, is all about a girl...."

* Creator/JamesEarlJones picked up a paycheck to apply his distinctive voice to explaining the setting for the ''JudgeDredd'' movie.

Sometimes this can be used in an interesting way, by revealing that the narrator is actually someone the audience does not expect (e.g., ''TheRoadWarrior''). The OpeningMonologue may be paired with a closing monologue, or continued through the rest of the film as an InnerMonologue or [[{{Narrator}} narration]].

* ''WesternAnimation/CloudyWithAChanceOfMeatballs'' opens with a bit of FauxlosophicNarration that leads into AMinorKidroduction, and finishes with a straightforward OpeningMonologue that establishes the whole "Flint wants to invent stuff/Swallow Falls is in a depression" plot point.

* In ''TheRoadWarrior'', the elderly man delivering the OpeningMonologue is revealed to be [[spoiler: the mute savage child all grown up.]]
* ''{{Equilibrium}}'' starts with a short OpeningMonologue vaguely explaining the events that caused TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and the start of the world "not as we know it", coupled with some historical documentary footage and reused footage from the film itself.
* ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' starts with an OpeningMonologue in the form of a class history lesson.

[[folder:Film]]
* ''Film/{{Kick-Ass}}'': "I always wondered why nobody did it before me. I mean, all those comic books, movies, TV shows. You think that one eccentric loner would've made himself a costume. I mean, is everyday life really so exciting? Are schools and offices so thrilling that I'm the only one who fantasized about this? Come on, be honest with yourself. At some point in our lives we all want to be a superhero. That's not me by the way. That's some Armenian guy with a history of mental health problems. Who am I? I'm Kick-Ass."
* Creepy SciFi/paranoia movie ''Film/DarkCity'' had an opening monologue clumsily tacked on [[ExecutiveMeddling at the command of the producers]], which is a SpoilerOpening for the film's [[OntologicalMystery central mystery]]. Happily, it's been removed from the recent Director's Cut.
* ''Film/{{Underworld}}'' begins with Kate Beckinsale's character expositing about the war between the vampires and the werewolves.
* ''FearAndLoathingInLasVegas'' memorably begins: "We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold..."
* In ''TheRoadWarrior'', the elderly man delivering the OpeningMonologue is revealed to be [[spoiler: the mute savage child all grown up.]]
* ''{{Equilibrium}}'' starts with a short OpeningMonologue vaguely explaining the events that caused TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and the start of the world "not as we know it", coupled with some historical documentary footage and reused footage from the film itself.
* ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' starts with an OpeningMonologue in the form of a class history lesson.
** This marvelously catches up to the movie's "here-and-now" events in a nested Russian Doll fashion.
*** To elaborate, the actual first scene (the Universal logo) is nested in a class video in River's class, which is all part of a dream sequence when she's actually being broken out of the Academy, but then that's all actually a recording being watched by [[spoiler: the Operative]].
* ''9''- "We had such potential, such promise... but we squandered our gifts, our intelligence. Our blind pursuit of technology only sped us quicker to our doom. Our world is ending. Life must go on."

* "A beginning is a very delicate time. Know then that it is the year ten-thousand, one-ninety-one..." Narration was used to insane levels in the 1980s ''{{Dune}}'' movie, in order to condense the plot of a six hundred page book down to two hours without confusing anyone. It didn't really help.
* Lady Galadriel's opening monologue from the first ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' movie, ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', which lays down the creation of the Rings of Power, the One Ring, the war against Sauron, and the fates of the One Ring's previous bearers before Bilbo got hold of it. Plus, we don't actually ''meet'' Galadriel until almost the end of the movie. A good portion of this speech was cribbed from a speech by Treebeard in the book, but having a sentient tree-shaped being explain the plot in a very slow voice is possibly not the best way to pull your audience in. This monologue actually went through several narrators, including Frodo (rejected because doing so would reveal he had survived) and Gandalf. Galadriel was eventually selected as the person most suitable to giving out such information.
* Creator/JamesEarlJones picked up a paycheck to apply his distinctive voice to explaining the setting for the ''JudgeDredd'' movie.
** And to reading off the famous opening lines of ''Literature/CryTheBelovedCountry''.
* Kevin Costner's version of ''Film/ThePostman'' began with exposition by a female, who at the end is revealed to be his daughter, giving the story of his life.
* [[TheFilmOfTheBook The movie version of]] ''[[strike:[[HisDarkMaterials The Golden Compass]]]]'' ''Northern Lights'' does this.
* As does the movie of ''Film/{{Eragon}}''.
* ''Film/XMen1'': "Mutation: it is the key to our evolution. It has enabled us to evolve from a single-celled organism into the dominant species on the planet. This process is slow, and normally taking thousands and thousands of years. But every few hundred millennia, evolution leaps forward."
* ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' opens with a monologue delivered by Sarah Connor. The third film, with one by John Connor.
* ''Film/SkyBlue'' begins with Jay meditating on how the world [[WorldHalfEmpty got so crap]].
* ''TheDeparted'': "I don't wanna be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me." Hearing that in JackNicholson's gruff yet acidic voice sends chills up one's spine.
* ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'' "Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. And unto this, Conan, destined to wear the jeweled crown of Aquilonia upon a troubled brow. It is I, his chronicler, who alone can tell thee of his saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure..."
* The Agony Booth recaps describe some as "Obnoxious [[http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_1978.aspx Patronizing]] / [[http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/Monster_A_Go_Go_1965.aspx Shouting]] Narrator".
* ''CloudyWithAChanceOfMeatballs'' opens with a bit of FauxlosophicNarration that leads into AMinorKidroduction, and finishes with a straightforward OpeningMonologue that establishes the whole "Flint wants to invent stuff/Swallow Falls is in a depression" plot point.
* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]]/subverted in ''[[Disney/{{Hercules}} Disney's Hercules]]'' when Charlton Heston is interrupted in his opening narration by the Muses:

* There's one in ''Transformers'', where Optimus Prime explains about the Allspark. Somewhat unnecessary, since he explains again to Sam and Sam explains to the government agents and Optimus explains ''again'' to the other Autobots.
* ''Film/{{Hellboy}}'' -- "What makes a man a man? Is it his origins, the way things start? Or is it something else, something harder to describe? For me it all began in 1944, classified mission off the coast of Scotland. The Nazis were desperate. Combining science and black magic they intended to upset the balance of the war..."
* The intro to ''Film/WingCommander'' pans over space charts while playing a recording of JFK giving a speech about the Space Race, which segues into other radio broadcasts delivering exposition about the Pilgrams, mankind's invention of FasterThanLightTravel, and the disasterous FirstContact with the Kilrathi.
* ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' When I was lying in the V.A. hospital with a big hole blown through the middle of my life, I started having these dreams of flying. I was free. But sooner or later, you always have to wake up..."
* ''Film/{{Spider-Man|Trilogy}}'' - "Who am I? You sure you want to know? The story of my life is not for the faint of heart. If somebody said it was a happy little tale, if somebody told you I was just your average ordinary guy, not a care in the world... somebody lied. But let me assure you -- this, like any story worth telling, is all about a girl...."
* [[Film/{{Looper}} Time travel hasn't been invented yet, but in thirty years, it will be. It will be instantly outlawed, used only in secret by the largest criminal organizations. It’s nearly impossible to dispose of a body in the future. I’m told. Tagging techniques, whatnot. So when these future criminal organizations in the future need someone gone, they use specialized assassins in our present, called loopers.]]
* ''Film/PitchBlack'' opens with the crew of the Hunter Gratzner in stasis in deep space. The captured Riddick notes that his brain --or at least the animalistic side-- is still awake, and asserts the situation in voiceover, surveying the rest of the crew and his plans for escape.

* ''Film/XMen1'' "Mutation: it is the key to our evolution. It has enabled us to evolve from a single-celled organism into the dominant species on the planet. This process is slow, and normally taking thousands and thousands of years. But every few hundred millennia, evolution leaps forward."

* ''Film/DarkCity'' has KieferSutherland, [[spoiler:the only human who has, well, most of his memories intact, explain how the aliens came to Earth and abducted the inhabitants. Most find it more enjoyable to keep the sound off until after the narration gives away most of what the protagonist is trying to figure out.]]

* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "The Deadly Assassin" begins with the Fourth Doctor doing a short monologue.

** Rose gets one at the beginning of "Doomsday".
** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS3E13LastOfTheTimeLords "The Last Of The Time Lords"]] opens with a warning to interstellar traffic that the Earth, conquered by the Master and the Toclafane, has been declared a no-go area.

** [[SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfAwesome This was a good move]]; the use of "The Second Coming" in the first episode of the third season is [[SeasonalRot probably the best part of the season]].

* ''{{Shameless}}'' did this with its title sequence, introducing the characters.

* ''ItsGarryShandlingsShow'' usually started with an opening monologue by Garry.
* "This is the city. UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, California. [[Franchise/{{Dragnet}} My name's Friday. I carry a badge.]]"
* ''VeronicaMars'' opens up with [[BrokenBird "I'm never getting married. You want an absolute? There it is."]] as a voiceover. The narrator (Veronica) then moves on to explain numerous things [[BackStory about the story and setting]], essentially telling you what has already happened while showing what's about to happen at the same time. The narration generally shifts to snarky commentary later on when the viewers don't require as much explanation.
* Mulder and Scully often did these for ''TheXFiles''. Likelihood increased dramatically for season finales, season premieres, 2-part episodes, and mythology episodes in general.
* ''HappyDays'' has one in the ''Love, American Style'' {{pilot}}, provided by Richie Cunningham himself:
--> "It's pretty hard to be sixteen and growing up. Maybe it was easier when my parents were young, but... now it's [[TheFifties the 1950s]] and the world's really getting complicated. Now don't get me wrong, I--I have a great family. My father's in the hardware business, my mom does volunteer work for the Red Cross, [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome my brother]] goes to college... [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and my sister wants to go to an orthodontist]]. My sister does, however, go to piano lessons and... I always get stuck walking her home. But today I don't mind, because... today's a big day. We're gonna be the first family on the block to get a television set. Heh, my sister has to tell everybody, but... I only told my best friend Potsie."

* The {{hentai}} OVA ''{{Urotsukidouji}}'' opens with a narrator summarizing the Legend of the Overfiend, over images of a [[FireAndBrimstoneHell fiery hell]] where [[HornyDevils demons are having sex]].

* Creepy {{Sci-Fi}}/paranoia movie ''Film/DarkCity'' had an opening monologue clumsily tacked on [[ExecutiveMeddling at the command of the producers]], which is a SpoilerOpening for the film's [[OntologicalMystery central mystery]]. Happily, it's been removed from the recent Director's Cut.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' games always begin with RonPerlman's voice saying, "war... war never changes..." followed by some exposition about the nuclear war that leveled America (along with most of the rest of the planet).

Now ordinarily you could turn to MrExposition, or rely on AsYouKnow dialogue, but this is the kind of stuff that the audience ''needs'' to know from the very start in order to put things in context. And since the other options aren't practical, you'll have to rely on the Opening Monologue.

* ''Terminator2JudgementDay'' opens with a monologue delivered by Sarah Connor. The third film, with one by John Connor.

* "This is the city. UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, California. [[{{Dragnet}} My name's Friday. I carry a badge.]]"