What if I were to tell you that the coolest 37 seconds on television take place before a TV show even begins?

Well, that’s what I’m telling you.

Here. Check it out for yourself.

Makes you want to hit replay, doesn’t it? (more on this later)

Next question. Have you ever seen this show?

For those of you who have, good for you, you are a blessed and clever species; for those of you who haven’t – and I’m guessing there’s quite a few of you out there since only 1 million people tuned in last summer – listen up, my friends, for my next six words are golden: Mad Men is a great show.

Created by Sopranos writer and producer Matthew Weiner, Mad Men has earned strong critical praise ever since its July ‘07 debut on AMC (the series follows several ad men working for a mid-level advertising agency in New York, circa 1962), although, as referenced above, that hasn’t translated to huge ratings. No matter. The show was picked up for another 13 episodes and will have its Season 2 Premiere on July 27 at 10PM (a deluxe DVD package of the 1st season just came out earlier this week).

My humble advice – if you liked the opening credits, then this is a show for you.

Ahhh, yes, the aforementioned credit sequence.

Harkening back to an early 1960’s aesthetic of cool minimalism and simplistic, controlled design, Mad Men’s title credits express an unabashed homage to Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece openings of Vertigo and Psycho, but it is Hitch’s North by Northwest title sequence that most closely informs Weiner’s stunning beginning.

Here it is (with a little of the movie thrown in as a bonus).

Clean, smart, stylish – a dangerously elegant world is formed right before our eyes without a character even showing his face, without a word ever being spoken. “Look closer,” Weiner and Hitchcock seem to be saying. “Delve deeper,” they urge us with their opening credits – there is something to see here, something appealing and mysterious, something worth watching…

It's a helluva way to start a show. Catch it while you can.

Last question: What opening credit sequences get your juices flowing?

by Matthew Sidney Long

matthew@la2day.com