Sometime last year (or maybe it was the year before… the last few years sort of blend into one blur of time), I was emailed by a local radio station to see if I would comment on air about ‘Skip Intro’ options on streaming services.
Good on them for trying (again and again). Every few years they email to say will I take part in a call in and I say thanks so much but no I don’t like talking on the phone and I won’t be getting up at 6am for the pleasure, so sorry, but thanks again etc etc.
Their position was that the Skip Intro option was a bad thing (or they wanted someone to take that position – perhaps there was someone on the other side who was going to have a heated debate with me, that might have been fun…). That composers and various other creators worked hard on those intros and that you ‘should’ watch as a form of solidarity or support.
I mean… icky or what?
It was such an odd proposition… and I know that you’d love to hear my opinion on the matter! So here we are…
- There are very few things in life that anyone ‘should’ have to do. Paying taxes and adhering to the various laws of your country of abode are a few. Apart from that, eff off with your ‘should’s, ‘kay. #goodadviceforlife
- If you don’t want to watch something, especially over streaming, don’t.
- No composer or creator for that matter would want to feel that you’re watching or experiencing their creation out of some sort of guilt-tripped sense of obligation. Rather, we want to people to enjoy our work, or to want to experience it. Otherwise, our product or piece of art is not for you, and that’s ok.
- I rarely, if ever, skip an intro. I have a real love of a well-made intro and even if I’m binge-watching a series I will, in all likelihood, watch every single instance of the intro or credits sequence. The only series whose intro credits I’ve ever skipped habitually was for ‘The Crown’. I just think that sequence does get a bit dull after the 3rd or 4th viewing. So here’s an example of an exception to my rule.
The only final objection I can think of to skipping is that composers may not get paid royalties for a skipped intro sequence. I have no facts to back this up – this is pure conjecture – but I suspect this isn’t the case.
I could be wrong, of course – in which case MAKE SURE NEVER TO SKIP INTROS! Unless they’re particularly uninteresting to you. In that case, skip away.
Sneaky little YouTube playlist below with a few faves:
I mean – why would you not want to watch these incredible works of audiovisual art every single time? It’s setting the perfect tone! Agh, you intro skippers are such heathens.
Perhaps I should have gone on that radio call-in show after all.
PS Don’t listen to the Moon Knight end credits theme alongside The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina titles. They aren’t similar at all.
PPS Don’t do the same with the Andor intro sequence and the UK Sherlock series. Lightyears apart. No rly.
PPS You didn’t hear me say any of those things.