Muukalaiset

[kalmisto]

http://televisionaarteet.blogspot.se/20 ... nders.html

What is "tunnari" in English ? I know that it can be "signature music" but not in this case because here it is not only about music. Could it be "opening narration" or is there another word for it ?

The Finnish title for "The Invaders" was "Muukalaiset " ( The Strangers ). It sounds better than "Maahantunkeutujat" ( http://www.eudict.com/?lang=engfin&word=invader )

Here is an episode from 1967 called Panic ( "paniikki" in Finnish ):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_AtkIgC ... Lgd9dmJQNZ

So you can learn some Finnish by watching old episodes of "The Invaders" !
You just ask yourself "What would that word be in Finnish?" or "How would a Finn say a sentence like that?" and then you bring your question to this forum.

"The Invaders: alien beings from a dying planet. Their destination: the Earth. Their purpose: to make it their world. David Vincent has seen them. For him, it began one lost night on a lonely country road, looking for a shortcut that he never found. It began with a closed deserted diner, and a man too long without sleep to continue his journey. It began with the landing of a craft from another galaxy. Now, David Vincent knows that the Invaders are here, that they have taken human form. Somehow, he must convince a disbelieving world, that the nightmare has already begun..."

[kalmisto]

So how would a Finn say "The nightmare has already begun" ?

A Finn would say "Painajainen on jo alkanut".

alkaa = to begin

[Ernesti]

What is "tunnari" in English ? I know that it can be "signature music" but not in this case because here it is not only about music

Tunnari could also be a wordplay of tunnus and in that context it would mean username or something similar.
EDIT: tunnusmusiikki / tunnari - "signature music"

[Jukka Aho]

http://televisionaarteet.blogspot.se/20 ... nders.html

What is "tunnari" in English ?

The Finnish word is a colloquial shortening of tunnusmusiikki. As you note, it translates literally as “signature music”, but in English you’d probably want to use the phrase “opening theme” or “theme song”, or “theme music” (as in “the MacGyver theme song”).

If you want to refer to the opening credits (and not only the music) in Finnish, you’d use words such as alkutunnus (“opening theme”, “opening sequence”) or alkutekstit (“opening credits”). The word tunnari usually refers primarily to the title music, though.

I know that it can be "signature music" but not in this case because here it is not only about music. Could it be "opening narration" or is there another word for it ?

I think the article you linked to only refers to the theme song and the accompanying opening credits by that word. However, before that, it describes something that is sometimes called “a teaser”, or “cold open” — dramatic events unfolding (and setting the tone for the episode) already before the opening credits.

[kalmisto]

The part that I am talking about starts at 2.50 from the beginning and ends at 4.10 in the Panic episode here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_AtkIgC ... Lgd9dmJQNZ

It starts with the signature tune and it includes the standard narration opening but it does not include the opening credits. It is 80 seconds long and it is exactly the same in every episode.
It is a bit strange if it does not have a name.

Perhaps it should be called the standard intro.

[kalmisto]

I found what I have been looking for. In English it is called "TV show intro".

An episode of "The Invaders" never starts with the intro. First there is a dramatic event of some kind and then immediately after that we are shown the intro.

In Finnish we would most likely say "tv-sarjan intro".