Cold Open

A Cold Open is the industry term for the portion of a television show which occurs before the theme song and/or title sequence. It is also sometimes called a "teaser", and is intended to interest the viewer so s/he will sit through the credits and commercials before the rest of the show starts.

Each episode of The Muppet Show in seasons 2 - 4 would begin with Scooter knocking on the Guest Star's Dressing Room door, and then announcing the star's name, and that it was a few minutes until curtain time. This was followed by a short quip or visual joke from the guest star.

In season 5, the cold open was changed to show the guest star entering the theater and talking briefly to Pops.