Cold_open Cold_open

Cold open - Definition and Overview

Related Words: Olympian, Siberian, Absolutely, Ague, Apathetic, Arctic, Arid, Arrogant, Asbestosis, Asexual, Asleep, Asthma

A cold open in a television program is the technique of jumping directly into a story at the beginning or opening of the show, before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. The technique itself is ancient; Horace gave it the Latin term "In media res" - "Into the middle things". Poems which use this technique inclued the Iliad, the Odyssey, and Paradise Lost. It is the opposite of ab initio - "from the beginning"

Cinematically, the cold open can last anywhere from less than a minute up to ten minutes (or more in rare circumstances). Perhaps the best known example is the pre-title "teaser" of all James Bond films since From Russia With Love. Several well known shows that begin with a "cold open" are Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Alias, X-Files, and Law & Order.

Example Usage of Cold

LauraBest1: @MetalMikey Grandpa says that movie sent our Thanksgiving massacre underground for years. The cellar was Cold...
kynswain: Going to my grandparents today to help cook for tomorrow. Then home for dinner and bed. I need to kick the rest of this Cold.
mamaladeskyze: @achrisevans Ye Gods, it looks Cold there Christophe!
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