Shows Which Used Pre-Recorded Openings

[TimK2003]

I saw a a show the other day (I will mention it momentarily) where the opening was clearly taped and recycled, as the set looked slightly different in the live shot.

Card Sharks and Trebek's Double Dare used nearly the same format for their openings, with the former using tape from the pilot.

What other shows did similar pre-taped openings of a slightly different set?

BTW, the show I just saw was the first Bonusround.ca listed episode of Pitfall:  This particular episode had a flashing $2,500 sign as the top prize at the end of the bridge, but if you look closely the pre-taped opening showing the entire bridge, the flashing dollar amount clearly shows a flashing $5,000 sign.

[BrandonFG]

Face the Music used the same stock intro following the glowing Sandy Frank Presents logo. Sometimes they even used a clip from the pilot, which is weird because that set had an obviously different door. But Sandy Frank wasn't known for continuity or good editing.

Could we count Perry's $ale of the Century with the montage of prizes?

[TimK2003]

Face the Music used the same stock intro following the glowing Sandy Frank Presents logo. Sometimes they even used a clip from the pilot, which is weird because that set had an obviously different door. But Sandy Frank wasn't known for continuity or good editing.

Could we count Perry's $ale of the Century with the montage of prizes?

That $otC opening usually changed from week to week, or whenever the prize lot changed.  Ditto with PYL or Pyramid winner-type montages ,-- those montages would cycle in or out with occasional newer additions.

Now the MG'98 opening where pieces of the set were added to the stage piecemeal and the audience was filing in, I *would* count.

[Casey Buck]

Legends of the Hidden Temple had a pre-recorded intro for Season 2 and 3 up until the point where Kirk Fogg says "Which one are we going to hear about today?"

[CJBojangles]

Davidson Price used a montage of clips for the intro including some from the pilot(s) with the Showcase-adapted Range Game and spotlights around the doors.

[WarioBarker]

Super Pay Cards! definitely used one. The first part (with the logo animation) is shot at a slightly different angle with different lighting, the chase lights are instead statically flashing, and the logo is absent from the set (with the game board also lacking the card symbols).

the first Bonusround.ca listed episode of Pitfall [...] had a flashing $2,500 sign as the top prize at the end of the bridge, but if you look closely the pre-taped opening showing the entire bridge, the flashing dollar amount clearly shows a flashing $5,000 sign.

All the episodes I've seen with the $2,500 prize package had this. No clue what it means for the show's (seemingly complicated) production history, though.

[knagl]

I'm not sure if the set changed or not, but the intro for the 1984-1986 All New Let's Make a Deal showed a wide shot of the studio including a cheering audience, then a montage of clips, followed by another wide shot of the studio. Then there's a transition from the pre-recorded intro to the "live" taping with a different audience.

[BillCullen1]

I believe Body Language and 70s Pyramid fit into this category. Possibly The Big Showdown? One more, Tom Kennedy's TPIR.

[Dbacksfan12]

I'm not sure if the set changed or not, but the intro for the 1984-1986 All New Let's Make a Deal showed a wide shot of the studio including a cheering audience, then a montage of clips, followed by another wide shot of the studio. Then there's a transition from the pre-recorded intro to the "live" taping with a different audience.

An eagle-eye (not mine) pinned down the opening scene to this episode:


The set changed slightly from the premiere; the circle in door #1 was originally a much brighter yellow.

[TheInquisitiveOne]

Face the Music used the same stock intro following the glowing Sandy Frank Presents logo. Sometimes they even used a clip from the pilot, which is weird because that set had an obviously different door. But Sandy Frank wasn't known for continuity or good editing.

Could we count Perry's $ale of the Century with the montage of prizes?

That $otC opening usually changed from week to week, or whenever the prize lot changed.  Ditto with PYL or Pyramid winner-type montages ,-- those montages would cycle in or out with occasional newer additions.

Now the MG'98 opening where pieces of the set were added to the stage piecemeal and the audience was filing in, I *would* count.

I’m of the thought that some elements of the $otC opening were pretaped. I read somewhere that Jay Stewart’s openings were taped in his later years before being let go by the producers. I could be wrong, but I think they had him pretape for the new prize cycle, then they reused it for the rest of the week. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Visually, the one piece of the open that I think was pre-taped was that one small section when Jay/Don would call out the title  of the show. There would be a tight shot of the door, followed by the spiraling “$” zooming into the frame, a snap zoom out of the main stage, and the rest of the logo flying in. Looks like it was taped when the syndicated version started production, which also coincided with the debut of the Winner’s Board. The only real change to that open was when the WBMG debuted, and the $ale logo was updated.

The Inquisitive One

[bscripps]

I wouldn't qualify this as a "pre-recorded opening", but it's at least adjacent to the ballpark...

When I taped in March 2020, "Jeopardy!" had two cameras on the contestants: one locked down on a three shot, and the other to pan between the three players for close-ups.  During the show open, when the players are being introduced, the player at lectern #2 was pre-taped smiling at the camera just before the start of the show.  That tape was then rolled in during the opening to allow the camera an opportunity to pan from lectern #3 to lectern #1 (which were both done live).

[Jimmy Owen]

Way Out Games and other shows that used animation

[Blanquepage]

Starcade used pre-recorded footage, always showing the same games, before cutting to Mark and Geoff giving their welcome.

[Jeremy Nelson]

Could we count Perry's $ale of the Century with the montage of prizes?

Not the montage, but the zoom out to title card was a prerecord for sure.

[Clay Zambo]

The pilot and finale of “The Better Sex” came up in my YouTube feed yesterday; I had forgotten that both of those had pre-records.