Non-Alphabetical Opening Credits?

Swellin

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How do you think the cast would have been placed if the opening credits if they were not in alphabetical order? My placement orderfor years 83-87 :

  • Larry Hagman
  • Patrick Duffy
  • Linda Gray
  • Victoria Principal
  • Ken Kercheval
  • Steve Kanaly
  • Susan Howard
  • Charlene Tilton
  • Howard Keel
  • Priscilla Presley
  • And Barbara Bel Geddes (Donna Reed) as Miss Ellie
 

Snarky Oracle!

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The happy coincidence of the alphabetical billing is that Bel Geddes and Jim Davis were up front. Old folks first, please!
 

Bobby Southworth

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I remember trying this once upon a time..possibly for just about every season. It's interesting how originally, Hagman was not thought to be the star, so for the first 2-3 seasons, it very well could have been "starring, Victoria Principal." Then I think It would have become "starring Larry Hagman" starting with the 4th season, and possibly "and Victoria Principal", as that billing is also usually, or sometimes used to bill an actor who is almost in line with, but not quite on par with the actual star. It's a little confusing because sometimes the "and" quite simply just means "lastly".

Dallas would have been a pain in the butt to figure out where everyone would fall into place, especially once more characters were added in the 8th season intro.

It's also hard knowing exactly where to place people like Barbara and Howard Keel because they were Hollywood royalty, but they didn't necessarily have huge parts in the series, at least not compared to the two main couples, and Cliff. So, how do you figure out their places in the credits- based on legacy, or the size/type of the role they are currently playing? This is where I do like the idea of using an "and" as @Swellin did for Barbara, but I think maybe a "featuring" or "with" would have worked.
 
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Monzo

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As for season 1 (or miniseries), my order would be:

Jim Davis
Barbara Bel Geddes
Larry Hagman
Patrick Duffy
Victoria Principal
Charlene Tilton

From then on, I would have handled it the way Grey's Anatomy still does today: newcomers are listed last and move up over the years as veteran actors leave the show. That way, actors whose names appear early in the alphabet—like Morgan Brittany and John Beck—would have had the chance to move up in the opening credits. As for the returning actors, I would do the same thing as in Grey's Anatomy and place them back where they were before, so in season 12 Charlene Tilton between Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray.

In season 13, I always found it odd to see Kimberly Foster and Lesley-Anne Down listed before Larry Hagman in the opening credits. Perhaps the new title sequence would have had more flair if the new cast members had been placed at the end. Season 13 might have been the right time to feature actors in the opening credits for only a short stint—like on Dynasty—such as Michael Wilding or Gayle Hunnicutt as well as Susan Lucci and Barbara Eden in season 14.
 
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Toni

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How do you think the cast would have been placed if the opening credits if they were not in alphabetical order? My placement orderfor years 83-87 :

  • Larry Hagman
  • Patrick Duffy
  • Linda Gray
  • Victoria Principal
  • Ken Kercheval
  • Steve Kanaly
  • Susan Howard
  • Charlene Tilton
  • Howard Keel
  • Priscilla Presley
  • And Barbara Bel Geddes (Donna Reed) as Miss Ellie
Priscilla who?!

As for season 1 (or miniseries), my order would be:

Jim Davis
Barbara Bel Geddes
Larry Hagman
Patrick Duffy
Victoria Principal
Charlene Tilton

From then on, I would have handled it the way Grey's Anatomy still does today: newcomers are listed last and move up over the years as veteran actors leave the show. That way, actors whose names appear early in the alphabet—like Morgan Brittany and John Beck—would have had the chance to move up in the opening credits.

In season 13, I always found it odd to see Kimberly Foster and Lesley-Anne Down listed before Larry Hagman in the opening credits. Perhaps the new title sequence would have had more flair if the new cast members had been placed at the end. Season 13 might have been the right time to feature actors in the opening credits for only a short stint—like on Dynasty—such as Michael Wilding or Gayle Hunnicutt as well as Susan Lucci and Barbara Eden in season 14.
Gayle who!!!!
 

Taylor Bennett Jr.

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a few years in I would have liked to have seen a special interlude after the main cast, beginning at pianissimo volume, then a crescendo into a dramatic key change and the triumphant reemergence of the theme: “and extra special star: Paul Sorensen as The Dynamic Andy Bradley” - with Andy getting two or three full choruses of the theme, seen in the three panels sitting or standing in meetings and generally agreeing with whatever Jordan or Marilee is saying, before the closing fanfare and shot of Southfork.
 
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Willie Oleson

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How do you think the cast would have been placed if the opening credits if they were not in alphabetical order? My placement orderfor years 83-87 :

  • Larry Hagman
  • Patrick Duffy
  • Linda Gray
  • Victoria Principal
  • Ken Kercheval
  • Steve Kanaly
  • Susan Howard
  • Charlene Tilton
  • Howard Keel
  • Priscilla Presley
  • And Barbara Bel Geddes (Donna Reed) as Miss Ellie
I'd still have BBG as the first actor, and then Howard Keel as the "closing" actor.
However, I consider Charlene Tilton a major selling point therefore it feels wrong to remove her credit from that iconic position, a position she shares with Joan Van Ark, and also Joan Collins, Susan Sullivan and Barbara Stanwyck a.k.a. The Queens Of The Closing Credits.
 
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