Why Do TV Title Sequences Have So Much … Stuff? Why Do TV Title Sequences Have So Much … Stuff?

A visual style originally meant to make TV series appear epic and distinctive has become awfully familiar

Have you noticed that there’s a lot of stuff on TV lately?

I don’t mean sitcoms and dramas. I mean stuff. Matter. Material. Substances. Particularly in opening title sequences of TV series, where all manner of effluvia flows, wends and re-forms, though the magic of C.G.I., into shapes and symbols that echo the themes of the program.

In “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” the Tolkien prequel that concerns the forging of the titular enchanted jewelry, gold dust swirls into images of circles, tree branches and other symbols resonant of the saga:

In “The Last of Us,” it’s the fungi responsible for turning humankind into zombies, which spreads across the screen, creating landscapes and images of the central characters:

In “The Wheel of Time,” it’s threads, the medium through which magic is “weaved” in the fantasy series:

In “Foundation,” more dust, or rather the grains of colored sand that are used to create artworks in the culture of its sci-fi empire: