The Big Breakfast

Well, there were 2 temporary sets of titles, the first of which didn't feature a fly in at all (and I think was only used for the first day) and the second was a camera running toward the house (which I think was used for the rest of the first week and maybe the week after)?

Yes there were 3 versions of the 96 titles on the site. The first one was a dull pan around of the rear of the house (as the front wasn't ready in time), the 2nd was the cameraman running towards the house, and the 3rd was the actual fly-in. The first 2 versions use the original ending with the pan across the table (complete with stale cup of tea) and the logo recoloured blue. The titles with the actual fly in featured the new ending with the logo on the loaf of bread. (they did tweak the titles over the next few weeks, adding random sound effects).

The whole thing was shambolic considering the millions spent on the new look and they would have been far better off starting the first show with one of the new break stings.

Incidentally, the other day I spoke to someone that worked on the show around this time and they said the reason they didn't film new breakfasty items for the titles is that at the time it was felt the sequence was too iconic to ditch. Seems bizarre to care about the titles when you've just ripped the house to bits and turned it into a big white monstrosity.

To a lesser extent this is also the reason the original sunrise is shoe-horned into the 1997 titles.

On the subject of fly ins, you may notice in the Christmas titles used in 2000, as the camera gets closer to the house it changes angle. You can also notice the sky is a completely different shade, and the quality of the picture isn't as good.



This was recorded especially for the sequence using a jib that one of the production team made themselves. It was a bit crude and the images from the camera attached to it were noticeably poorer due to the cheap lightweight camera on the end of it.

It was made for The Biggest Breakfast Ever and used on a few different occasions including the 2000th show, Johnny's last show and of course the final show. Oh, and the start of the 2000 titles where the chicken flies out of the house.

How long was the second version with the man running towards the house with the camera in use for?

I think about a week or two.

This is an interesting article from a few months before Johnny started. By this stage I think Johnny was being lined up to take the seat and they seem very excited about what's to come. There's an astonishingly accurate prediction by Duncan Grey about Denise having a primetime Saturday night show in two years time:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/did-you-say-big-breakfast-1261108.html

It's a point the camera at the TV and film it situation but here's the closing titles from 1996 with the flyout sequence:

Interesting article from a couple of weeks before The Bigger Breakfast launched, so wonder whether that was the "new look" he was talking about or what followed later in the year. I don't think they marked their 5th birthday at all in the September though - indeed don't think they really marked it at all in the later years.

Johnny and Denise briefly mentioned the 8th birthday. They had a child on the show who was 8 years old and born on the same day of course.

I've made a little montage of all the titles/themes. I always wished they're been a bit more retro on the last show with the titles and break bumpers.

Is this Roland Rat's first appearance on the show? He says "it's great to be back even if it's in a toilet" at the end of the clip:

That footage of the fly-in is the best out of all of them I think (although the yellow house is a second favourite of mine due to the bright blue sky).

Keeping the sunrise in 1997 was wise, but strange decision in 1996. All they had to do is refresh the titles, even if it was just using clips from the old stings rather than the new stings, as they just looked really tired.

The change in theme in 1997 makes any audio combination slightly awkward - though there is the final part of those titles which probably fits in slightly different. They could have probably done something visually quite good with the final theme considering it's 45 seconds length, so original titles during the intro, then perhaps some house fly ins over the next "verse", then the 1997 fly in, a bit from the garage era then finally scenes from the last titles. I'd skip the 2001 relaunch titles as they just stick out far too much.