THE WILD WILD WEST (1965-1969)
You can never go wrong with well-executed animation to help create a mood or scene. Like the opener for this unlikely series, which fused genre elements of the Western with the then-popular spy thriller (''James Bond on horseback'' is how the creator described it). The stylish multipaneled clip told you everything you needed to know about Secret Service agent James West: He's cool and distant, he knows how to use a gun, and he's not above hitting a lady. It says more in its brief 50 seconds than all 107 minutes of Will Smith's appalling 1999 big-screen adaptation:
