A sharply dressed silhouette plummets through a canyon of advertisements. A troubled man chomps on a cigar as he drives along the New Jersey Turnpike. Gauzy portraits of broken, poisoned people overlay images of the polluted landscape they call home. You've probably heard television is in something of a golden age, but the same can be said of title sequences, which today are often just as compelling and memorable as the shows they tee up.

But television credits weren't always this good. Until recently, they were afterthoughts, cobbled together by overtaxed editing departments. Now they're mini-films in their own right, transitioning viewers into the proper emotional state no matter where they happen to be watching. In this video, we investigate how show titles have evolved and meet some of today's foremost practitioners, who are elevating the form to new heights.