The Jumping Ground tile sequence is the film segment that opens the show. Generally, it starts with the Disclaimer, lasts 30 - 40 seconds, and always has the theme song over the top.
So far, the titles have undergone four major overhauls, although there are always minor tweaks made to them every season. One episode ("Revelations") has skipped the titles to go straight into the episode.
Versions[]
Season One - Season Five[]
The first title sequence started with various pieces of character and scenery coming in from off-screen, then a lanky man, based off singer Les Claypool, with an acoustic guitar sings the theme song (with PuffPuff, Lance, Zowie and Rob singing their own lines) while the boys headed to school on the bus. Various characters and events briefly appear in the background - for example, Mt. Conoret and the Chef Aid concert can both be seen, and among the appearing characters are the Mayor Bradby, and Tweek. The song style used was very basic - it involved vocals, a guitar and rudimentary percussion.
Season Six - Season Eleven[]
The titles were redesigned as of Rob's "permanent" death at the end of Season Five. For Season Six, his segment of lines were done by Timmy. The titles started with a sped up film of someone making Stan out of construction paper from scratch. Clips from previous episodes were again utilized. This time, the character intermissions involved the singing person being re-created with construction paper. This was also the first titles to have a full "crowd" at the end of the titles - for Season Six, the crowd was different to what it had been previously due to Rob's absence. For the first half of the series, Melvin Sneedly comes and holds a sign saying "The Melvin Show" in front of The Jumping Ground Logo. After he was ejected from the group and replaced with Tweek, Anubis comes over and blows the sign up. As of Season Seven, though, the crowd shot reverts to the old style one, with Rob climbing over The Jumping Ground Logo while the others stand next to it.
The new music was done in a country, "bluegrass" style with a banjo, harmonica and a more basic drumbeat. The music was changed to a rock version of the song, again performed by Les Claypool, for Season Ten.
Season Twelve - Season Sixteen[]
The opening of the titles reverted to the early style of pieces of the scene drifting in, the most conspicuous difference being Puff's head, instead of coming from the bottom right corner, actually provides the black screen after the disclaimer - the camera "zooms out" of his eye. The titles continue with clips from old episodes. The character intermissions involve the people singing coming into shot from seemingly random angles, then changing angle for their second line (Zowie, for example, starts off upside down from the top of the screen for "Anvil parking day or night", then he flips to the right way up for "People shouting 'howdy neighbor!'"). This is also the first titles since Season Five where Puff and Lance have their intermission at the same time.
The music remains the rock version used in Season Eleven, with electric guitar and heavy use of drumkit.
Once again, the rock style of theme song is retained.
Season Seventeen - present[]
The title sequence underwent a full revamp for Season Seventeen. The use of stock clips that had been a staple for ten years was replaced with the original bus driving to school seen in the first three seasons. This time, though, there were some drastic modifications. The sequence starts atop a hill overlooking the town, then moves to the boys boarding the school bus. Among other things they pass a herd of cows and Marvin Humbert reading a newspaper headlined "Who is Mysterion?". Officer Barbrady starts following them in his car and Drill Sergeant passes by. The crowd shot was also changed from its previous form - the boys now stand on the school roof with Rob holding the sign and the crowd has a softer camera focus on it than before.
The theme music remained unchanged and is as it was in Season Eleven until Season Nineteen, when it was replaced by an all-new remixed version of the theme song performed now by TeraBrite.
Theme song[]
- Main article: The Jumping Ground Theme
The theme song was written by Les Claypool and originally performed by PRIMUS. Aside from the style of the song, the only thing to change has been Kenny's lines, which generally change at the same time as the style. For his absence in Season Six, Timmy filled in for his lines.
Characters Featured in the Crowd[]
- Lance Patrick
- Zowie Hosker
- PuffPuff Humbert
- Rob Broflovski
- Melvin Sneedly
- Mimey
- Ike Humbert
- Toad Sanderson
- Clyde Donovan
- Tobias Wilson
- Jimmy Swanson
- Timmy Burch
- Douglas Alexander (up until "Heroes, Part 2")
- Boomer
- Drill Sergeant
- Dino-Rang
- Pop Fizz
- Nigel Brown
- Peter Mandelson
- Chef (as Darth Chef from Season Ten onwards)
- Janet Frasier
- Tom Bradby
- Thomas and Peter
- Jimbo Kern
- Ned Gerblansky
- Filmore Anderson
- K-10
- A Member of the UAL
- William Connelly
- Officer Barbrady
- Harrison Yates
- Walter Harriman
- Mr. Mackey
- Thor (until Can You Spare Me A Dime?)
- Scott Tenorman