Line #63 Main/EpisodeTitleCard


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4	[[quoteright:349:[[Series/PoliceSquad https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/episode_title_card.jpg]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:Tonight's episode: Witty Caption]]
6
7	After the TitleSequence, but before the first act, many shows will put in an intertitle displaying the episode's title. For some shows, the title will be animated and a character from the series will read the title to the audience (mostly prevalent in anime, while western cartoons that use this are usually aimed at preschoolers). On the other hand, some shows might have the title be on-screen text displayed with the opening credits over the beginning of the first act. It is also common for the title to [[TitlePlease never be shown]] and the name of the episodes only found from episode guides.
8
9	These days, one tends to see episode titles only on non-primetime animated programming, although even then there are many exceptions to this. (For example, [[Creator/FourKidsEntertainment 4Kids]]' Saturday morning block didn't use episode titles on screen at all, regardless of whether the original versions of the shows had them.) Most other kinds of programming eschew from explicitly titling the episode on screen, with most exceptions being [[DramaticHourLong hourlong]] sci-fi (''Series/{{Heroes}}'', ''Franchise/StarTrek'', ''Series/DoctorWho'') or (for some reason) the Creator/AaronSorkin dramas ''Series/TheWestWing'', ''Series/Studio60OnTheSunsetStrip'', and ''Series/TheNewsroom''.
10
11	----
12	!!Example subpages:
13
14	[[index]]
15	* EpisodeTitleCard/WesternAnimation
16	[[/index]]
17
18	!!Other examples:
19
20	[[foldercontrol]]
21
22	[[folder:Fan Works]]
23	* Creator/TheWeaver: ''Fanfic/PackStreet'' and ''Fanfic/RoommatesMemoirsOfTheHairlessApe'' both begin every chapter with hand-drawn title cards, usually done in a simplistic style that eliminates facial expressions and focuses on colors and shapes.
24	[[/folder]]
25
26	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
27	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' has an interesting variant, the episode titles are only numbers. The episodes do have titles, but those titles are only found in [[AllThereInTheManual outside sources]]. In the [[AnimeThemeSong 15th opening]], there is a montage of earlier title cards.
28	* ''Anime/{{Code Geass}}'' has one at the start of each episode (called stages in R1 and turns in R2).
29	* Most episodes of ''Anime/ExcelSaga'' don't have them, but episode 7 does a title card in blood, since the episode is done in the style of horror anime.
30	* Loosely inspired by ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' 's opening sequence, ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' and its sequel feature title cards featuring the silhouette of the episode's main Digimon. This was dropped in the Saban dub in favor of just showing the episode's name at the start of the episode, without a jingle.
31	* ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'' begs to differ. White screen, black kanji and hiragana, music. That is all.
32	* ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' has a short screen with the episode title in English, a secondary title in vertical Japanese, and a novel like description of whatever action happened right after that episodes opening scrolling up the left in (usually) decent English. In the first season, these title cards also mention whether the episode is "Stand Alone" or "Complex" (aka, part of the MythArc)
33	* ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'' has a character reading the episode's title.
34	* ''Manga/KamichamaKarin'' has the episode title cards read by [[TalkingAnimal Shii-chan]], complete with her {{Verbal Tic}}s added to the title.
35	* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' has a character (usually Ash) reading the episode's title.
36	* The first two ''Franchise/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' series have her reading the episode title while it's shown on a red sphere (ostensibly her Raising Heart pearl), with the same music bed used in both seasons. ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers StrikerS]]'' has a more dramatic music bed and no title read, presumably to reflect its more serious nature, with the title put over an i-ching pattern.
37	* Each episode of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' has two episode title cards: one with a Japanese title, usually shown near the beginning of the episode, and one with an English title, shown after the commercial break. This tradition has even carried over to the ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' movies.
38	* ''Anime/PrettyCure'':
39	** In ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure'', a book will flip to show an animation of Nagisa/Natalie and Honoka/Hannah running. Nagisa will trip, and the frame freezes to show the title.
40	** In ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCureSplashStar'', there's an ArtShift to watercolour. Saki is drawing something and Mai wants to see it, but Saki won't let her. The drawing flies away towards the screen, revealed to be a crude picture of the girls and their mascots, which the title is displayed over.
41	** ''Anime/SmilePrecure'' has chibis of the five Cures fly into a book, which then opens into a pop-up, which the title is displayed over.
42	** In ''Anime/GoPrincessPrettyCure'', Cure Flora's wand blooms from a flower, and she picks it up, making petals fly over the screen. When the petals disappear, the title is displayed over a stained-glass background.
43	** ''Anime/TropicalRougePrettyCure'' starts with bubbles featuring the Cures' faces, before Kururun leaps at the screen, thus revealing the title.
44	** In ''Anime/DeliciousPartyPrettyCure'', Yui presents a meal to the audience. The topping splits open and spills all over the dish, and the title appears over top.
45	* ''Anime/PuiPuiMolcar'' uses Potato as a screen transition before showing off a cartoon-style title card.
46	* ''Anime/SailorMoonCrystal'''s card has a reverse painted silhouette of TheHero Usagi accented by pastel roses, (two of which are in her hair) and pink ben-day dot ribbons. Her long pigtails frame the episode number and title at right.
47	* ''Anime/SerialExperimentsLain'' has a man reading the episode's name then laughing creepily.
48	* ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'': The 1973 anime has Doraemon holding the title card, while both the 1979 anime and the 2005 anime have a few variations over the years.
49	* In ''Anime/{{Tamagotchi}}'', a specific template is used for the title cards for most of the series, with a moving pattern consisting of the silhouette of a specific character important to the episode being used as a background. In ''GO-GO Tamagotchi!'' (the show's fourth and final main story arc, consisting of Seasons 10 and 11), it's changed so that CGI renderings of Mametchi, Memetchi, and Kuchipatchi appear at the bottom of the screen and wave at the viewers.
50	* On ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', after the opening and introduction, there is a title card read aloud by Yusuke.
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
54	* ''Animation/BoBoiBoy'': After not having official episode titles for two seasons and five episodes, the show starts displaying a title card from "Mr. Baga Ga's Service" (season 3, episode 6) and onwards.
55	* ''Animation/BoonieBears'': The episode titles are displayed on a simple black screen. Starting in Season 3, a character says the name of the episode.
56	* The episode title cards in ''Animation/BreadBarbershop'' have a design with a barbershop window with scissors at the top, and spinning posts on the left and right, with the episode title being in the window.
57	* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'' has title cards at the beginning of its episodes. The title cards generally show the characters doing some action, usually something related to the episode's premise, before the title itself is shown.
58	* ''Animation/NoonboryAndTheSuper7'': The first season has the title appear over a screenshot of the episode, which has a bright, colourful border around it. The second season simply displays the title on screen over the episode.
59	* ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'''s earlier title cards show the characters doing some action before the title itself is displayed. Later seasons usually have an idiosyncratic title card style not showing characters doing anything.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
63	* A subversion of the character reading it is usually done in {{toku}}satsu with the narrator reading it usually in a menacing voice. The late Creator/ToruOhira was especially fond of this, being the voice of Darth Vader in the Japanese dub of ''Franchise/StarWars'', he sometimes liked to read titles in a villain-like manner.
64	* In ''Series/OneHundredThingsToDoBeforeHighSchool'', after the main characters discuss what their new thing is going to be, CJ puts it in her phone, and then shows it to the camera. That leads to the theme song.
65	* In ''TheBeiderbeckeTrilogy'' the episode title is always the first line of dialogue, and appears on screen when the line is spoken.
66	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' used title cards in two episodes. The MusicalEpisode "Once More, with Feeling" used it as part of its theme, while "Conversations with Dead People" used it for no particular reason.
67	* Unusually for a [[TalkShow talk show]], [[Creator/ConanOBrien Conan O'Brien's]] show ''Conan'' has episode title cards, though they're fake titles ("Baa Baa Blackmail," "Murder, She Tweeted").
68	* ''Series/DarkAngel'' didn't use title cards in season one but it did in season two.
69	* ''Series/DoctorWho'', as mentioned above. Notable incidents:
70	** Before and during [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E8TheGunfighters "The Gunfighters"]], each episode would have an individual title, which led to some confusion later when the process was abandoned in favour of naming the current serial instead, usually after one of the episodes in the serial but occasionally arbitrarily. For instance, one serial was called "The Mutants" by [[Creator/TerryNation the writer]], and consisted of episodes called "The Dead Planet", "The Survivors", "The Escape", "The Ambush", "The Expedition", "The Ordeal" and "The Rescue", but the title used by the BBC today is... [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E2TheDaleks "The Daleks"]] (partly because "The Mutants" was reused for [[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E4TheMutants a later serial]] after the introduction of overarching titles).
71	** A CharacterNameAndTheNounPhrase title card got used accidentally, twice — [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E9TheSavages "Dr. Who and the Savages"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E2DoctorWhoAndTheSilurians "Doctor Who and the Silurians"]]. This would not be odious if the [[IAmNotShazam character's name was "Dr. Who" (it's not)]]. (In the early years the scripts were in fact routinely titled "Doctor Who and..."; these longer titles persisted through to [[Literature/DoctorWhoNovelisations the Target novelizations]] until the late 1970s, but the "Doctor Who and" was (''almost'') always removed for the onscreen title cards.)
72	** Some late Creator/WilliamHartnell stories dealing with technology went through a phrase of using idiosyncratic title cards — notably [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E10TheWarMachines "The War Machines"]] (which made the text flash line by line as if a computer was printing it out) and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E2TheTenthPlanet "The Tenth Planet"]] (which made the titles appear over bundles of MatrixRainingCode meant to evoke listening stations).
73	** Idiosyncratic title cards occasionally showed up later on as well, such as the title for the Second Doctor story [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E7TheWarGames "The War Games"]] being interspersed with footage of explosions and guns being fired, and the title for the Third Doctor story [[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E4Inferno "Inferno"]] being displayed over footage of an erupting volcano. [[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E3TheAmbassadorsOfDeath Another Third Doctor story]] seemed to be titled "The Ambassadors"... until after a few shocking seconds of episode footage the title card came back to [[{{Narm}} hilariously add "OF DEATH"]] to the story name. The melodrama of ''Who'' story titles was already the subject of affectionate ridicule, but this one kicked it up a notch.
74	** The DVD releases of some early Hartnell stories with individual episode titles have story title cards added at the beginning, due to [[CensorshipBureau BBFC]] rules demanding that the overall title of a work be prominently stated at the start. This was dropped after the introduction of audio-described menus for the blind to the DVD range, which included a loud audio announcement of the story title before the menu screen appeared.
75	* ''Series/DonkeyHodie'' uses the same shot of Someplace Else with the episode title appearing over it while Donkey reads the title. In "A Donkey Hodie Halloween", however, it was shown over a shot of a autumn-themed backyard.
76	* ''Series/TheDoodlebops'' had title cards superimposed over a pan through the Doodlebops' clubhouse. Beginning with Season 2, the title card is now spoken aloud and the clubhouse is presented as a 2D animated image before it changes to live-action when Deedee and Rooney appear.
77	* ''Series/TheGetDown'' graffitis its episode title onto one of the subway cars that rolls through frame during the ColdOpen, and uses the appearance of the subway to cue the theme music.
78	* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' is well known for working in the titles in creative and sometimes bizarre ways.
79	* ''Series/ICarly'' and ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' rarely have title cards except for extended episodes (like the former's "iShock America" -- or "[[MarketBasedTitle iShock The World]]" depending where you are) or on rare occasions a regular-length episode (like the latter's "The Breakfast Bunch"). On the other hand, their joint spinoff ''Series/SamAndCat'' uses title cards on all its episodes except "[=#Pilot=]."
80	* ''Series/ImaginationMovers'' has its title cards show up in the middle of the screen near the beginning of the episode, as it is read aloud by one of the Movers.
81	* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': Each episode is preceded by its title in red font over a black background.
82	* ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'' does this in every episode, as a [[HilarityEnsues hilarious]] transition from the ColdOpen. It usually plays out either like this:
83	-->'''Charlie:''' We're gonna go America all over their asses!!\
84	'''Title card:''' ''[[CaptainObvious Charlie Goes America All Over Everybody's Ass]]''
85	** or this:
86	--->'''Frank:''' I'm just pallin' with the guys! How's anyone gonna get hurt?\
87	'''Title card:''' ''Frank Sets Sweet Dee on Fire''
88	** [[RuleOfThree And this one]] [[RuleOfFunny just because it's hilarious:]]
89	--->'''Sweet Dee:''' We've got big dreams Mac, and we're gonna go follow them!\
90	'''Mac:''' You guys have nothing without this bar.\
91	'''Dennis:''' Don't worry about us Mac, we'll be just fine.\
92	'''Title card:''' ''[[ForegoneConclusion Dennis and Dee Go On Welfare]]''
93	** Or a claim:
94	--->'''Dee:''' Cause Sweet Dee just beat the system.\
95	'''Title card:''' ''Sweet Dee Gets Audited''
96	** A notable example:
97	--->'''Charlie:''' Who knows? I might even rule the world one day.\
98	'''Dennis:''' Rule the world, huh? [[TemptingFate If that happens, I'll blow myself]].\
99	'''Title card:''' ''Charlie Rules the World''
100	*** And somehow, [[ForegoneConclusion Dennis manages to blow himself later on]].
101	** Or:
102	--->'''Mac:''' I'm gonna save my dad.\
103	'''Title card:''' ''Mac Kills his Dad.''
104	* Not done for most of ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'', but season 3 episode 17 has a sneaky example: the episode title, "Guest Starring John Noble", appears on screen during the OpeningCredits.
105	* The very same format as ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' (below) was used in just about every episode of ''Series/{{JAG}}'' too, save for the {{Pilot}} and a few continuations of {{MultiPartEpisode}}s.
106	* The Australian drama ''love is a four letter word'' played with this as part of its style: we would begin with a cold open, which ended with a WhipPan and fast zoom over to the word, [[IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming which was (usually) four letters long]]. Other such pans in the series would have captions telling us that the word either was or was not a four-letter word.
107	* Every episode of ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' goes ColdOpen, TitleSequence, then the action continues while the name of the episode is briefly displayed at the bottom of the screen.
108	* ''Series/OddSquad'' has its title cards in the form of a folder (manila in Seasons 1 and 2, blue-green in Season 3). The episode titles are always read by Oprah, who opens the folder to reveal a photo from the episode before the camera zooms in and the episode begins. This is due to the fact that, in-universe, episodes of the show are known as cases to Odd Squad themselves.
109	* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' has very distinctive title cards; the episode title, and the names of the episode's stars, come right at the viewer, accompanied by the sine wave and (after the first few episodes) the piercing electronic whine from the TitleSequence.
110	* Steven Conrad's ''Series/{{Patriot}}'' and ''Series/PerpetualGraceLTD'' both have distinct title cards for each episodes.
111	* ''Series/PoliceCameraAction'', a co-production of Creator/{{ITV}} and {{Optomen}}, had no title cards for the first two episodes ''Danger Drivers Ahead!'' (mid-1994) and the generically titled ''Police Camera Action'' (late 1994/early 1995), then a background of thermal-imaging camera footage with the episode title in BLOCK CAPITALS between 1995 and 1996. No episode title cards were used for the 1996 special ''The Man Who Shot O.J'' about the OJ Simpson trial. From 1997, the title cards were a blue background and white text, with text Like This (capitalised beginning of sentence).
112	** From 1999 onwards, a stylized background with BLOCK CAPITALS was used. The title cards were not used for the 2000 special episodes ''Crash Test Racers'' or ''Highway of Tomorrow''. The background was changed in 2002 to police footage, and then again in 2007 for the new series presented by Alastair Stewart and Adrian Simpson. The 2008 special episode, listed as "Drink Driving Special" had no title card, but the new 2009-2010 season is likely to have them again.
113	* Parodied in ''Series/PoliceSquad'', where the Episode Title Card never agrees with the spoken episode title.
114	* All ''Series/{{Skins}}'' episodes are named after [[RotatingProtagonist their featured character(s)]]; the character featured in any given episode is always the very last person highlighted in the title sequence.
115	* Franchise/StarTrek: Most series in the franchise feature episode names (''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise''). However, they're missing for ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' and ''Series/StarTrekPicard''. As noted above, in TheSixties, when TOS originally aired, nearly all dramatic series displayed episode title cards; TNG and its successors merely kept up this precedent despite it being a product of its time.
116	* ''Franchise/StarWars'': Both ''Series/TheMandalorian'' and ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'' display the title of the current "[[IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming Chapter]]" after the series title card.
117	* Season 2 only of ''Series/{{Taina}}'' used title cards at the cold open of each episode, in different fonts per episode.
118	* In ''Series/TheWestWing'', instead of coming after the title sequence, the title card comes right after PreviouslyOn. It is followed the TheTeaser, ''then'' the TitleSequence.
119	* ''Series/WhereInTheWorldIsCarmenSandiego'' had three different title cards for it's five season run, all of which were announced by the Chief:
120	** In Season 1, the title card was displayed before Greg was introduced.
121	** In Season 2, the title card was displayed on a book before the Chief introduced the episode's crook and what they had stolen.
122	** Finally, for Seasons 3, 4, and 5, the title card capped off the Chief's explanation of the episode's theft.
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder:Video Games]]
126	* ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' has these, though they can be played around with in some instances. The first episode title appears at the the very end of the episode, and a lot of the other times, the episode title pops up during each episodes opening credits. The same is done for the name of each set of episodes.
127	* Each stage in ''VideoGame/PizzaTower'' [[https://youtu.be/w3XSOXnupJU starts with a title card]] of [[ArtShift varying art styles]], in the vein of 90's-era Cartoon Network series such as ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog''.
128	* ''VideoGame/RakenzarnTales'' uses a blank white one to indicate the start of a new chapter in the game. When the game's creator started work on ''VideoGame/RakenzarnFrontierStory'', he began using fancier screens showcasing characters or events from that chapter.
129	[[/folder]]
130
131	[[folder:Web Video]]
132	* Some web series like Linkara's WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall and WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick use these.
133	* Website/YouTube has a feature for users to upload their own created title cards as thumbnails to advertize their videos.
134	[[/folder]]

Context Main / EpisodeTitleCard