Every Doctor Who Title Sequence Ranked Worst To Best (2025)

The 1996 TV Movie does an excellent job of bridging the gap between classic and modern Who and this is evident right from its opening. 

To begin with, the movie features a cold open – something commonplace in the revival era but extremely rare for Classic Who – before moving into the title sequence. The visuals combine both elements from what came before, such as the return of the Pertwee era logo, while also introducing elements which would be refined and reused in the future – the credits flying up through the time vortex. 

The most notable difference with the TV Movie opening, though, is the theme music itself. With the prospect of revitalising the franchise and venturing into the United States, the theme was given the "Hollywood" treatment. Which meant, goodbye to the classic electronically produced arrangement, and hello to a fully orchestrated version from American composer John Debney. This really helped shift the tone of the show from a whacky British sci-fi show to a potential global franchise, and is something that has become commonplace in the revival era.

While the American reboot ultimately failed, there are so many elements in this opening title sequence that would go on to influence the successful 2005 revival and, most importantly, paved the way for Murray Gold's Doctor Who career.