History Main / TruncatedThemeTune

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' may be [[ExaggeratedTrope the most ridiculous extreme]] of this trope, as the already short 15-second opening is cut down to an approximately three-second TitleOnlyOpening for American broadcasts.

* In ''WesternAnimation.TheLoudHouse'', the first few episodes of Season 4 (the "... with the Casagrandes" episodes) begin with a shortened version of the theme song, only for Ronnie Anne to appear and introduce the audience to her family, the Casagrandes.

* The original 2005 ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' series has the second verse of the song omitted in the Creator/{{Boomerang}} airings.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' lost a verse of its theme song when it moved from The [=CW=] to Creator/DisneyXD.

* The theme tune and opening credits to ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' exists in its full form, but there are several different cuts to adjust for show length, and extended couch gags to fill time. The syndicated version, however, usually shortens the opening, usually jumping from the blackboard CouchGag with Bart straight to the actual Couch Gag itself that ends the sequence, skipping the Marge and Lisa intros and Bart riding his skateboard.
* An interesting variation: sometimes the opening theme is ''sped up'' to save time rather than truncated. This happened noticeably, for example, in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited''.
* In the Creator/ComedyCentral revival episodes of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', several seconds of music toward the end of the theme have been cut out. The original episodes remain unchanged.
* The ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'' theme is a [[RearrangeTheSong rearranged]] version of the 1985 ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats'' ThemeTune, now made [[InstrumentalThemeTune lyricless]] and consisting solely of the original's {{Fanfare}}, its signature "'' Thunder thunder thunder [=ThunderCats=]!''" EpicRiff, and a finishing [[RoarBeforeBeating roar]]. All ''ten seconds'' are performed by a ''[[OrchestralVersion full orchestra]]'' while the assonances are called out by an EtherealChoir. This makes for a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flTtnD4Z9j8 surprisingly effective]] aural AdaptationDistillation.

* Around its fifth season, ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' had its theme song shortened and sped up. The original theme came back for season six.
* ''WesternAnimation/KaBlam'' had its theme song shortened for season three onwards.
* In syndication, the closing theme to ''[[WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo The New Scooby Doo Movies]]'' would sometimes cut from the gang yelling "Hey Scooby!" to the final chord, omitting Shaggy's "Where are you?" and Scooby's "Over here!", while the Hanna-Barbera "Swirling Star" logo appeared.
* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy,'' when it was put back on Creator/CartoonNetwork in 2012.
** And CN's other classics when they air on ''WesternAnimation/CartoonPlanet''.
* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' came back from its second season hiatus with a 3 second riff and its title card, but this was at least in part to make room for the ''WesternAnimation/DCNation'' shorts.
* ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries'' also has shortened the theme tune down to 3 seconds and its title card, also to make room for the WesternAnimation/DCNation shorts.
* Midway through its run on Creator/FoxKids, ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' had its opening shaved in two-thirds.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultimate Spider-Man}}'' has a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQUDz5jVjSk full instrumental theme tune]], but because of the various shorts that would air throughout its programming block "Marvel Universe on Creator/DisneyXD" (Marvel Mash-Up, Marvel Master Class, and The Fury Files), it never once got to play as the opening of the show.
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'''s opening is a mere 30-second snippet of the entire 3 1/2 minute orchestral theme, starting at a rather random point several seconds in.
** In the original FiveEpisodePilot, we get the title silently falling into place; no opening at all. The first regular episode is where we first see the full opening (one of decent length even if, like ''most'' shows' openings, there is more to the song than gets used in the opening.) Also, if it's a multi-part episode, expect all but the first part to omit the part with the kids jumping into/onto their Autobot partners once the bots transform.
* When ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' began airing on {{Creator/Toonami}}, the opening theme was removed entirely.
* Whenever ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' had a marathon on MTV, the theme would be cut down to just the "la la la la la" and the title card at the end.
** The same happens on the complete series' DVD release, not counting the first episodes on each disc that would play the full opening.
** A slightly shorter version of the theme song was also used in a few episodes, such as "The Old and the Beautiful" and "Of Human Bonding".
* ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'' became victim of this trope halfway through its ''first'' season, removing Wander's "dancing with everyone he meets" verse and Hater's verse in favor of a quick riff to indicate Hater as the villain.
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRescueBots'' also became victim of this trope in its second season. The final couplet, "With Cody to guide them and show them the way/Rescue Bots will be saving the day" was omitted, along with a shot or two.
* ''WesternAnimation/BobTheBuilder'' had a 1-minute theme song for its American dub, whereas the UK version's theme was shortened to 45 seconds. The American version eventually used the 45-second version for the "On Site" DVD releases, and occasionally for the CGI era.
* ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'' has a 47-second opening in France where it was produced, which is cut down to 17 seconds in the English version.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' may be [[ExaggeratedTrope the most ridiculous extreme]] of this trope, as the already short 15-second opening is cut down to an approximately three-second TitleOnlyOpening for American broadcasts.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' has six episodes in the second season that shorten the opening from about 40 seconds to 15. The series creator has stated he has no problem with this, as it lets the episodes proper be slightly longer.

* ''WesternAnimation/AlvinnnAndTheChipmunks'' uses the same ThemeTune that was used for their revival in TheEighties, but they cut from "we'll bring you action and satisfaction" to the line immediately before introducing themselves by name.
* Creator/CartoonNetwork has done this to several of its shows, including ''WesternAnimation/TheMrMenShow'', ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' and ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo''.
* When ''WesternAnimation/DragonTales'' aired as part of the Mrs. Laurie and Hooper block on Creator/PBSKids, a version of the theme song was used that was half the length of the original and was just the first half of the song, ending at the first "Let's all go to Dragon Land!".
* Some syndicated prints of ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus'' (such as on Creator/FoxKids) have a shortened title sequence that skips the intro and starts directly at "Crusin' down on main street...", then abruptly cuts to the ending of the theme song playing over a shot of the bus becoming a spaceship and a static version of the current episode's title card after "Raft a river of lava!".

* ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'': Starting in 2020, the show's intro and theme song were cut down in order to make more room for commercial time on weekend mornings.

A show's ThemeTune is the way it gets the attention, and hopefully is good enough to get people {{Earworm}}ed and singing it to get others watching the show.

* ''Series/ThreeTwoOneContact'''s ''Classroom'' {{recut}} used a truncated version of the Season 6 & 7 opener, which was already shortened from previous seasons, though the closing credits theme was left intact.

* ''Series/ThreeTwoOneContact'''s ''Classroom'' {{recut}} used a truncated version of the Season 6 & 7 opener, though the closing credits theme was left intact.

* The Fox run of ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' trimmed the opening to just under half its regular length by midseason.
* Creator/CartoonNetwork has done this to several of its' shows, including ''WesternAnimation/TheMrMenShow'', ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' and ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo''.

* The original 2005 ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' series has the second verse of the song omitted in the Creator/{{Boomerang}} airings. The {{Theme Tune}}s for ''Alien Force'' and ''Ultimate Alien'' are instrumental and were designed to be very short. ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' has lyrics, but the whole song is only eight lines long and ''feels'' like it's missing something; it's actually no longer than the AF/UA openings.

* The American broadcast of ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' (which is the premiere broadcast most of the time, even though the show is produced in the UK) may be [[ExaggeratedTrope the most ridiculous extreme]] of this trope: The full opening, which was only about 15 seconds to start with, was aired on a sneak peak episode. By the actual ''series premiere'' (which happened all of '''six days''' later) it was cut down to an approximately three second TitleOnlyOpening and has stayed that way ever since.

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' similarly has a shortened version of its intro, used for some of its longer stories.

However, both this trope and TitleOnlyOpening have begun being invoked not just for advertising purposes, but for storytelling purposes. After all, having a shorter version of your TitleSequence is helpful when the script is a minute longer than usual and you've ran out of things to trim or condense.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' was the only show from the franchise that had a ThemeTune with lyrics, so it's particularly noticeable when the second verse of the song is omitted in the Boomerang airings. The {{Theme Tune}}s for ''Alien Force'' and ''Ultimate Alien'' are instrumental and were designed to be very short. ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' has lyrics, but the whole song is only eight lines long and ''feels'' like it's missing something; it's actually no longer than the AF/UA openings.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultimate Spider-Man}}'' has a full theme song, but because of Marvel Mash-Up, Marvel Master Class and the Fury Files portions of Marvel Universe on Creator/DisneyXD, it never once got to play as the opening of the show.

* ''Series/{{Charmed}}'''s theme tune is cut down to a 10-second clip with a flash of each main cast member's name for its reruns on Creator/{{TNT}}.

* ''Series/HappyDays'': when the show dropped off ABC and began showing up on syndicated TV, the song was shortened and the lyrics changed. (This refers only to the actual "Happy Days" song; for the Bill Haley recording of "Rock Around the Clock" some syndicated versions began using the original 1954 version rather than the specially recorded version originally broadcast.)
* ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'': To the point where Creator/NeilPatrickHarris made a joke about it while MC'ing the Emmys. He played the show's original themesong. ''"Men, men, men, men, manly men, men men!"'' Then he played the shortened version of the song: ''"Men!"'' And suggested that the show's theme song in its next season would simply be ''"Meh--*"''
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMV8L8Jl-cw Superman]], the ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' theme, is a casualty of this. The full version is 3:40 and goes from already being fairly short at fifteen or so seconds to a mere echo of the theme at about a second. Fortunately, that doesn't last long.
** During its first run, the show briefly got expanded to a 20-second intro, which included The Janitor, but the fans actually ''preferred'' the rhythm of the truncated version, so back it went to its original 10-second intro.
* ''Series/{{Wings}}'' (from the creators of ''Series/{{Cheers}}'') used to have a title sequence with a highly abridged version of Franz Schubert's Piano Sonata No. 20, but that later got ([[IncrediblyLamePun ahem]]) chopped.
* ''Series/{{Growing Pains}}'': The standard theme is 1 minute, but in syndication, B.J. Thomas and his partner harmonize on "Don't waste another minute on your crying", and the chorus is shortened.
* The ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' theme song is generally cut down in syndication, starting right at the chorus.

* In syndicated reruns of ''Series/{{Soap}}'' both the opening and closing credits were cut off early. In the opening it'd fade out just after the announcer says "and this is...''Soap''," cutting off the visual joke; and the end credits are faded out either right after the list of actors, or occasionally even before them. (Neither of these are going on right now in the reruns shown on Creator/AntennaTV.)
* Creator/{{Syfy}} is notorious for this.
** ''Series/{{Eureka}}'' used to have a theme song that lasted about forty-five seconds, and showed Carter walking through town seeing the MadScience applications to mundane tasks. By its final season, it was five seconds long and had just the Title Card and the names of who created it.
** ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'' also had shortened opening credits and theme tune as its seasons progressed toward its last.
** For Season 9 of ''Series/StargateSG1'' and Season 2 of ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', the intro credits were cut to a 10-second clip, followed by the credits rolling over the next scene. After the fans rioted, the full intros were replaced halfway through the season. The [=DVD=]s even feature the full opening on episodes that were originally aired with none (the SGA season one opening sticks around until the episode after Ronon shows up.) However, the next spinoff, ''Series/StargateUniverse'', had only a brief title card and no theme song of any kind.
** {{Lampshaded}} like everything else in one of the Wormhole X-Treme episodes. The answer to a question about the theme tune is that nobody cared about it and to just throw the title up there. We then go to SG-1's opening, which was cut down ''to the EyeCatch.''
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' averted the trope for its entire run, using the same, uncut ThemeTune.
* ''Series/FraggleRock'' had a much longer theme song and opening credits sequence (in which the titular Fraggles got to introduce themselves by name) than that aired briefly on The Hub.
* The US version of ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'' features this in syndication, truncating most of the theme song beyond the first eight bars and the final chord.
* [=HBO=]'s ''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm'' has had its theme song reduced to a single phrase.

* Creator/{{TBS}} goes back and forth between airing the full ''Series/{{Friends}}'' theme including the verse, and a version with just the chorus.
** They do the same thing for ''Series/TheKingOfQueens''.
* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' had its title sequence shortened twice during the original series' run on Creator/{{ABC}}. The first season's theme tune and narration was shortened in mid-run; the second season began with a new theme tune and the shorter narration, both of which were shortened even further by the end.
* When ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' is shown on TBS, it has just the background audio to the theme song played over a sped up version of the opening.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVbQo3IOC_A The full intro theme]] is about 3 minutes long, with some extra stanzas than what's heard normally. Early episodes had two of them, but they were cut pretty quickly.
* ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'' often has the 'And if you threw a party...' part cut out when it airs on Lifetime, though not every single time. It's easy to tell the difference right away by whether or not the shot of a plane landing is the opening shot of the theme or not.
* Airings of RL Stine's ''Series/{{Goosebumps}}'' on Creator/TheHub go back and forth between the full credits with aging model and theme tune barking dog, to lopping off the model or simply going straight to "viewer beware...".
* ''Series/ShakeItUp'' Had its theme song shortened to the last chorus in the final season.
* ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' at one time always aired its full theme tune and opening sequence, but as the series continued, it often dispensed with it almost entirely, or only showing a shortened version with those Survivors still in the game.
* ''Series/{{Ironside 2013}}'' has just the signature riff recognizable from ''Series/{{Ironside 1967}}''. And that's it.

* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' did this to itself. After the [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness first season]], the opening was cut approximately in half.
** The show seemed to alternate between the short and long versions at random during Seasons 2 and 3, but the shorter intro eventually won out, especially since the cast titles are in rhythm with the song in that version.

* ''Series/TheMickeyMouseClub'': For the 1957-58 season, when the show was shortened from an hour to a half-hour, the theme song was shortened from almost three minutes to one minute long. This was also the version used in syndicated reruns.
* The credits and theme to ''Series/TheDeadZone'' were truncated for the sixth and final season--this after the original theme was controversially [[ReplacedTheThemeTune swapped out for a new one]] after season 3.
* ''[[Series/WaltDisneyPresents The Disney Sunday Movie]]'': The normal 60-second title sequence was almost always shown at the beginning, but on occasions where two hour-long movies were shown back-to-back, a 30-second version of the intro would play before the second feature.

* ''Series/ThreeTwoOneContact'''s ''Classroom'' {{recut}} used a truncated version of the Season 6 & 7 opener, though the closing credits theme was left intact.

However, both this trope and TitleOnlyOpening have begun being invoked not just for advertising purposes, but for ''storytelling purposes''. After all, having a shorter version of your TitleSequence is helpful when the script is a minute longer than usual and you've ran out of things to trim or condense.

* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' has at least two other verses of his ThemeTune, the musical riff usually played over the title card, and the bridge played at the end credits right before the Billionfold logo. Both were cut before the show went to production to leave the opening credits as we know them today(at least in the US - this may differ for other countries). See the variant [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiokCOOL1CU here]].

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''Series/HappyDays'': when the show dropped off [=ABC=] and began showing up on syndicated TV, the song was shortened and the lyrics changed. (This refers only to the actual "Happy Days" song; for the Bill Haley recording of "Rock Around the Clock" some syndicated versions began using the original 1954 version rather than the specially recorded version originally broadcast.)

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' has five episodes in the second season that shorten the opening from about 40 seconds to 15. The series creator has stated he has no problem with this, as it lets the episodes proper be slightly longer.

Once a show has gone into syndication or jumped channels, though, the ThemeTune is one of the first casualties. It will get edited, shortened, or otherwise truncated so as to leave room for more commercials. Occasionally, if the show is on the air on its original channel more than a few years, they'll maim the theme tune for more commercial space while it's still in its original airing. Also, the lyrics of the theme song, where present, may be changed a little.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultimate Spider-Man}}'' has a full theme song but because of Marvel Mash-Up, Marvel Master Class and the Fury Files portions of Marvel Universe on Creator/DisneyXD, it never once got to play as the opening of the show.

* ''The Beagles,'' a CBS cartoon from 1966 by the makers of ''Series/{{Underdog}}'', was unusual in that the theme was recorded in an entirety for an album of songs from the show (it starred two musical dogs put in outlandish publicity stunts by their agent). On the show's opening, the theme fades out after the bridge leading to a laughing goof who introduces the show. The full theme:

* One infamous example is when ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' was put on syndication for Nickelodeon. The [[CouchGag last line that originally was always something different]] and [[ParentalBonus more likely for the parents to recognize]] (like Shirley Mac Laine-y, Citizen Kaney, Andromeda Strainy, etc.) was shortented to "Nick-a-laney" in order to fit with the blatant "It's on Nickelodeon now" message (complete with the Nickelodeon logo obnoxiously included in nearly every shot during the opening credits). Also, other parts were cut down even further, and one part was even sped up slightly to keep it all in the same key. More details [[http://www.toonzone.net/forums/showthread.php?219405-Nickelodeon-s-Animaniacs-Intro-Discussion here]].

* ''Series/StuckintheMiddle'': The theme "Stuck with You", performed by Sonus, was shortened in the pilot episode to 5 seconds. Also, instead of the main title sequence, it just includes a white background and the show's logo.

* ''Series/StuckintheMiddle'': The theme "Stuck with You", performed by Sonus, was shortened in the pilot episode to 5 seconds. Also, instead of the main title sequence, it just includes a white background and the show's logo.