Mistakes In TV Opening Credits That You Can't Unsee

Everybody makes mistakes, and in the world of television that's just as true as anywhere else. Whether it's a boom mic that slides into frame or a Starbucks cup left onscreen in your favorite episode of "Game of Thrones," human beings are bound to make errors at times that are noticeable among fans. But it's not often that those mistakes are immortalized in the opening credits of your favorite show. 

Opening credits may be a lost art among most television shows these days, but they used to be one of the catchiest bits of a television episode that you just didn't want to miss. From the "Friends" theme, "I'll Be There for You," by the Rembrandts, to the classic "X-Files" tune that played over every episode, theme songs and opening titles are an important part of television.

But just because something is important doesn't mean there can't be errors. Plenty of your favorite movies and shows likely have some, so if your favorite series is free from any continuity disruptions, then consider yourself lucky. Of course, sometimes those errors make themselves known as early as the title sequence, and can stick with an audience long after. Whether you're a fan of TV show intros or just love poking holes in your favorite shows, here are a few glaring television discrepancies — right in the opening credits — that we just can't get out of our minds, even after all these years.

Errors in opening credits sequences can sometimes show up years after the fact, and that was exactly the case with "Smallville." After four seasons of the hit Superman prequel, Season 5 revamped its opening credits sequence with a dark red finish and new title cards for each of the main cast members. Sure, Remy Zero's "Save Me" remained (and why wouldn't it?), but the rest of the intro looked brand new. The redone credits are excellent, and would remain with the show through its 10th and final season years later. But in the first episode back, "Arrival," the series accidentally misspelled one of its main star's names. If that's not embarrassing, then we don't know what is.

Kristin Kreuk, who had played Lana Lang since the beginning of "Smallville" (and would remain with the series until its eighth season), appeared in the initial broadcast as "Kristen Kreuk." If you've only watched "Smallville" on home video or via streaming, then you likely missed this once-in-a-lifetime mistake, as it was quickly corrected by the airing of the next episode. On all subsequent reruns of "Arrival," including on Blu-ray/DVD, Kreuk's name was spelled correctly, and the show never made this sort of mistake again. Talk about a bang-up way to launch your new title sequence, as well as what many consider to be arguably the show's best season.

Everyone knows that iconic "Breaking Bad" theme that commits fully to the idea that Bryan Cranston's Walter White has a chemistry-minded brain behind his thick skull. Some have even noted that the credits expertly combine the scientific mind of White with the drug prowess of Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman. They embody the series well, and proudly display the periodic table throughout the sequence. But while the show generally did well in honoring each element as they came up, that wasn't always the case. While technically not the opening credits sequence, the credits that appeared in some early Season 2 episodes of "Breaking Bad" (which note the director, writer, etc.) sometimes got the elements wrong.

In the case of director of photography Michael Slovis, the "Ch" in Slovis' first name was highlighted, but fellow scientists might note that "Ch" doesn't appear anywhere on the periodic table — because it's not actually an element. In fact, it means nothing at all, and proved to be nothing but a strange stylistic choice to try and keep in step with the credits for the rest of the cast and crew. Later episodes would correct this issue though, highlighting only the "C" for carbon, thus restoring the credibility of both the periodic symbolism and "Breaking Bad." Slovis would continue on the series through its fifth and final season, with his name properly noting the correct element going forward.

For five seasons on "Pretty Little Liars," actress Lucy Hale (who played Aria Montgomery on the series) had to live with the knowledge that her little mistake was immortalized forever in the minds of viewers. At the end of the opening credits, highlighted by "Secret" from the Pierces, the actress places a finger to her lips and shushes the audience just as the title card fades in. It's iconic for fans of the show, even if there's one detail that feels sort of off: the placement of Aria's finger. It just seems strange that it's not centered, and it's no wonder that Hale famously hated how the final title sequence looked. It wasn't until years after the fact that she finally got a do-over.

Heading into the second half of the sixth season, the "Pretty Little Liars" opening was reshot, and Hale got it right this time around. "I was so excited that I finally got another chance to get my finger centered," Hale explained (via Yahoo! Entertainment). "And I finally did!" Although Hale was understandably nervous, the final product speaks for itself — with a finger that stands out much better than before. Though the show only lasted another season and a half, this was a mistake that Hale was glad she could fix before the final curtain, redeeming her one-time on-screen mistake. Just don't make her have to do it again.

There might not be an opening intro to a television show as disturbing as Showtime's "Dexter." It's freakishly intimate and off-putting in its attempts to get you into the deranged mind of the series' protagonist. The Michael C. Hall-led series ran for eight seasons on the network and even continued with a sequel series, "Dexter: New Blood," years later. But there's one minor detail in the show's opening credits that stands out as a bit strange considering the way everything is framed. At the beginning of the title sequence, Hall's Dexter is seen — via an increasingly uncomfortable close-up — shaving in his bathroom. He even knicks himself and produces a little blood from his wound. 

But by the end of the credits, Dexter glares at the camera with that trademark dead-eyed look, and while that doesn't mean anything in itself, it's strange that he's seen here with stubble on his face. You'd think that after going over his daily routine, where he religiously shaves before eating breakfast, his hair wouldn't magically grow back so quickly ... and yet, that's exactly how it appears in the show's opening sequence. By the time "New Blood" came around, this intro was done away with entirely, replaced by an icy, stylized title card. Maybe that's for the best though, now we don't have to complain about Dexter's facial hair.

"24" technically doesn't have an official intro sequence. There's usually a few flashing lights accompanied by some catchy intro music by Sean Callery. Because of that, the main cast and crew (including guest stars) credits run during the episodes to not mess too much with the season-long countdown. After all, time is always of the essence for Jack Bauer, which is probably why he always comes out on top in the end. But in the episode "Day 2: 5:00 a.m.-6:00 a.m.," there was one serious error in the credits that is worth noting here, even if it doesn't actually count as an official "intro."

Throughout the second season of "24," Billy Burke played the abusive husband Gary Matheson, a character who only showed up in seven episodes. In his final appearance on the show, Burke was mistakenly credited as "Billy Gurke." Given that the letters G and B are so close together on the keyboard, it's an understandable blunder. Nevertheless, the credit was never fixed for home video or streaming, and can still be clearly seen in reruns of "Day 2: 5:00 a.m.-6:00 a.m." Whoever this Billy Gurke is, he and the real Billy Burke never appeared on "24" again after this episode, and Burke instead went on to be a leading man in shows like "Revolution," "Zoo," and "Fire Country."

"The Simpsons" intro is an animated classic that has remained relatively the same for over 30 years. The series, now in its 35th season, follows the exploits of the titular family in their cartoon world that seemingly never ages. But there's one slight discrepancy in the show's iconic intro that took fans decades to eventually catch. While the first season's intro is free of any glaring continuity errors, the revamped opening sequence introduced in the show's second season has a major one. When Homer arrives home and opens his garage door, inside are a bunch of boxes, a rake, and a bike, among other items. But when he's chased inside, these things magically vanish, replaced by some boxes that weren't there before.

By Season 21, which premiered in September 2009, "The Simpsons" had evidently caught that mistake upon revamping their intro sequence once again, this time with more characters and gags than ever. While there are likely plenty of other questionable things that have happened throughout the mpressive run of "The Simpsons" on television, the opening sequence always stands out as one of the most notable (and recognizable) aspects of the show. Because of that, it's pretty strange that it took so long for someone to notice the mistake. 

Few HBO shows made quite the mark that the original "Sex and the City" made on viewers everywhere. As Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker defined herself as a TV star and wrote herself into the American pop culture zeitgeist. The show even spawned a prequel series, a sequel series, and two feature films. But even a show as popular and successful as "Sex and the City" had its glaring flaws, and they were noticeable for some as early as the show's intro sequence. We all know it: Carrie saunters down the streets of New York City, eventually being sprayed with water by a passing bus as it rolls through a puddle in the ground. But there's something strange about that bus.

No, it's not the fact that Carrie's face is also plastered on the side of it, but rather that it has a half-dozen passengers or so onboard during its close-up, only to have none when we cut back to Carrie's reaction. Where did all those riders go? The way the clip is edited, it doesn't leave any room for them to get off at the stop, and yet, they've mysteriously vanished by the end. It's likely that this was just an oversight by those on set that day, but either way, once you see it, it's hard to forget.

With "X-Men '97" making waves everywhere, it seems like just the right time to revisit the original "X-Men: The Animated Series." While most are content to just rock out to the expert combination of visuals and music, longtime Marvel Comics fans have likely always noticed that something is a bit off in the show's impressive (and catchy) opening sequence. At the very end of the theme song, as Magneto's forces race against Professor Xavier's, there's one character in particular who appears in a completely out-of-character moment that is never referenced again: Thunderbird. Appearing just under Magneto and right beside Juggernaut, Thunderbird is traditionally an X-Man in the comics, not a supervillain, making fans wonder for years what happened.

When writer Eric Lewald was asked why Thunderbird (and the strange pink-headed mutant to his right) was added to the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, it was all to do with spacing as the animators wanted the villains to look like a truly even match for our heroes. Still, given now notable Thunderbird is in the greater X-Men chronology (the animated series notwithstanding), it's a bit odd. Thunderbird did appear in the "X-Men" episode "Slave Island," but never as a villain. Thankfully, the revival series "X-Men '97" replaced Thunderbird and his pink companion with Emma Frost and Lady Deathstrike, who are a much more fitting pair to side with Magneto.

The intro to "Scrubs" may be short, but throughout the vast majority of this medical sitcom's nine-season run, the series got one of the most basic elements of medicine wrong: it had the infamous x-ray image backwards. But don't feel bad if you never noticed this before, because once the show pointed it out, it let us in on the joke. The show ran with this backwards x-ray for its first four and a half seasons, until Elizabeth Banks' Dr. Kim Briggs finally had enough. In the penultimate Season 5 episode, "My Urologist," Kim finally switched the x-ray back the right way, fixing the long-running error. "It's backwards — it's been bugging me for years," she says without a second thought.

From then on, "Scrubs" flipped the x-ray the right direction, though by the time the medical dramedy ended, the series had changed a lot. The ninth and final season acted more as a sequel/reboot, with a new intro sequence to accompany all the changes (and a new version of Lazlo Bane's "Superman," now performed by WAZ), but the x-ray wasn't included. The show learned from its initial mistake, and while there's some debate about whether the initial flip was an accident or not, there wasn't a more perfect character to point it out than Kim. 

It's hard to imagine that a show like "The Big Bang Theory," in which its main character prides himself on being the smartest person in the room, would have a glaring mistake in its opening credits. Of course, unless you're a seriously eagle-eyed fan, you probably wouldn't notice it right away (if at all). But during the initial timeline sequence as the Barenaked Ladies song plays, there's a major typo that jumps from "92,000 BC" to "91,000 9C," whatever "9C" is supposed to be. This is embarrassing in itself, but it's strangely not the only break in the timeline here. "100100 BC" also appears here in place of "1100 BC," and we wonder how nobody managed to catch that during the show's entire 12-season run.

Naturally, not even the discovery of these small typos hurt the long-lasting credibility of "The Big Bang Theory" with viewers, especially in light of "Young Sheldon" recently having a seriously impressive series finale. It's true that not even the great Dr. Sheldon Cooper is flawless, and the opening titles of his own show prove just that. Still, we're really curious when "9C" is supposed to be, so hopefully we can get some answers in some other "Big Bang" spin-off down the line ... Just don't expect any from "Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage."