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Cold open
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==Development== In the early 1960s, few American series used cold opens, and half-hour [[sitcom|situation comedies]] almost never made use of them prior to 1965. Many American series that ran from the early 1960s through the middle years of the decade (even sitcoms) adopted cold opens in later seasons. However, beginning in the late '50s, several dramatic series, notably such Warner Bros. shows as ''[[77 Sunset Strip]]'', would cold-open with an attention-grabbing scene from the middle of the episode, which would repeat when the story arrived at that point. Cold opens became widespread on American television by the mid-1960s. Their use was an economical way of setting up a plot without having to introduce the regular characters, or even the series synopsis, which would typically be outlined in the title sequence itself. British producer [[Lew Grade]]'s many attempts to break into the American market meant that various shows he was involved with incorporated the cold open. Later, many British action-adventure series employed the format, such as ''[[The New Avengers (TV series)|The New Avengers]]'' (1976β1977) and ''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]'' (1977β1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, daytime [[soap operas]] became the main users of cold opens, with most American soaps employing the format. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, some shows began with highlights from the previous episode. Also throughout the 1970s and 1980s, many traditional [[multi-camera]] [[sitcom]]s usually launched straight into the opening [[theme song]], although this has changed in modern use. Today, between the 2000s and 2010s, most multi-camera and [[Single-camera setup|single-camera]] American sitcoms usually use cold opens for each episode, that last for at least 1β2 minutes (and 3β4 minutes at the most) before transitioning into the [[Title sequence|opening title sequence]] or [[Theme music#Television|theme song]] of the show. Documentaries do not use cold openings as frequently as fictional shows. ''[[The World at War]]'' (1973β1974) is one famous exception, wherein a few short minutes an especially poignant moment is featured; after the title sequence, the events that explain the episode are outlined more fully.
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