10 TV Backstories Revealed In Opening Credits

10. The Six Million Dollar Man

Sometimes, a title and an opening sequence go together perfectly, and that's especially true of The Six Million Dollar Man. Even without knowing anything about the show, it's clear there's a man who's worth a hefty sum of cash, and within the first two minutes, every viewer knows exactly why.

The opening shows a title and aircraft operations with a man in a cockpit wearing what looks like an astronaut's helmer having some serious problems. His altitude is dropping, his vessel is breaking up, and he suffers a terrible crash. Immediately after, a narrator explains the whole thing:

"Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better...stronger...faster."

This is followed by a montage of Austin performing feats no normal human could possibly undertake without a serious hardware upgrade. The music is compelling, and it, coupled with the images, generates an intense desire to see what Austin is capable of with his bionic implants. Every moment on the screen is important, and their meaning plays out through the course of what amounted to be an incredible series.