Cannell Entertainment: Difference between revisions

'''Visuals:''' Stephen J. Cannell types on an [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Selectric_typewriter IBM Selectric] typewriter in an office/study area with multiple bookshelves and awards. The camera then pans clockwise from his face to his back. Once the camera is towards Cannell's back, he throws the paper he is typing on over his head. The paper becomes animated on a black background, and floats downwards towards a stack of animated papers below. The paper "scoops" up the top papers in the stack and forms a "C" as the stack becomes more abstract and the perspective becomes a top-down perspective. The text either "Stephen J. Cannell Productions (Inc.)", "A Stephen J. Cannell Production", or "Cannell Entertainment, Inc.", with "Production/Productions (Inc.)/(Inc.)" sliding out from below the company name, is formed above.

'''Variants:''' Depending on the outfit used, here is the list of outfits worn by Cannell over the years:

* December 13, 1983-July 21, 1984: Cannell has a blue jean jacket and white flannel shirt over a black turtleneck, plus he is smoking his pipe.

* March 25-December 31, 1984: Cannell has a black jacket and dark colored sweater over white collar shirt (no pipe this time, as he quit smoking in later years).

* 1989-December 6, 1996: Cannell is wearing a vermilion polo shirt (with the collar up).

* September 15, 1996-April 18, 1999: Cannell is wearing a black polo. Can be seen on the 6th, 7th, and final season of ''Silk Stalkings'', and the 2nd half of the final season of ''Renegade'' starting with the episode "Father's Day".

'''Tribute Variant:''' On the ''Castle'' episode "Punked", the 2004 logo is shown. While Cannell is typing, the text "{{Font|Times New Roman|STEPHEN J. CANNELL}}" fades in above and below the text "{{Font|Times New Roman|COLLEAGUE, MENTOR, FRIEND.}}" fades in. As Cannell tosses the paper in the air, the logo fades to the black background as the paper falls. The text in the center "{{Font|Times New Roman|WE'LL MISS YOU, PAL.}}" fades in as the animated paper continues to fall outside of the letterbox format. Note that that it's in a 4:3 letterbox format, due to the 2004 logo being in a 16:9 widescreen format.

* In some early versions, the camera does not move; we only see a front view of Cannell typing before he throws the paper.

* Occasionally, after we see Cannell toss the paper, it would cut awkwardly to the animated portion. This was seen on some episodes of ''Silk Stalkings'' and ''Renegade'' in the early 1990s.

* On seasons 4-5 of Renegade, the text is replaced with "Renegade IV Enterprises".

* From 1991-1996 on the 1989 variant, after Cannell takes out his paper from his typewriter, the logo would cross-fade to a black background with the text "Cannell Entertainment Inc.", or for syndication "Distributed By Cannell Entertainment Inc." (in a Gill Sans font), with a small "Distributed By" above the company name.

* There is a sped-up version of the 1985 and 1987 versions of this logo where the camera moves faster for the two short 1987 logo themes, which were used on season two episodes of ''21 Jump Street'' starting with the episode "Besieged: Part 2".

* There is also a short version that only features the last half of the animation of the logo. Used on ''The Commish'' and the 1994 TV movie ''A Place for Annie.''

* On early episodes and the pilot of ''Caesar's Challenge'', the logo appears as an in-credit logo.

* On the ''Riptide'' season 3 episode "Home for Christmas", there is a still variant, bypassing the usual animation playing in this logo.

'''Audio:''' An 8-note dramatic tune (composed by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter) is played while Cannell types; the instrumentation consists of string-like instruments, French horns, tubular bells and pounding synthesizers. The tone becomes more soothing as the camera rotates behind him, reaching a tense climax (sometimes with a trilling flute). Cannell throwing the paper into the air is punctuated by a calming upward glissando by a string section, combining with the pounding synthesizers used while Cannell types, as the other instruments stop during this time. The highest note of the glissando is held as the background fades to black, and continues for the rest of the logo's duration. As the "C" forms, a guitar plays a four note tune, with a mordent on the first note. For the in-credit logo, the ''Riptide'' season 3 episode "Home for Christmas", ''The Commish'' and the TV movie ''Highway Heartbreaker'', it's the end-title theme. On the TV movie ''A Place for Annie'', it's silent.

 

'''Audio Variants:'''

* November 4, 1981-January 13, 1982: There is a music variant that appeared starting with ''The Greatest American Hero'' season 2 episode "The Two-Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Fastball", which contains a xylophone, violins, and a very different four-note guitar ending theme, which sounds similar to the show's theme song.

* November 25, 1981-February 8, 1983: A dramatic three-note horn fanfare plays first, followed by a rousing orchestra and four notes played by a guitar.

* March 18, 1981-October 11, 1987: A rearranged version of the 1981 theme, but sounds much more dramatic, which contains violins playing while the four-note theme from the variant above plays. Last used on the ''21 Jump Street'' season 2 episode "Two For the Road".

* April 8, 1981-January 20, 1983: A short version of the 1984 version (see the 1984 version below).

* December 11, 1984-January 23, 1988: A combination of the first half of the November 1981 Cannell logo theme from ''The Greatest American Hero'' from season 2 and the much dramatic second half of the original 1981 logo theme. It was first used on the ''Riptide'' season 2 episode "Peter Pan Is Alive and Well" and last used on the ''J.J. Starbuck'' season 1 episode "Murder by Design".

* September 24, 1987-October 20, 1990, 2004, October 11, 2010: A Malibu-style guitar plays the four note tune. First used on the ''Hunter'' season 4 episode "Not Just Another John Doe". A short edited version of this exists of this logo theme having the first three notes, followed by the fourth dramatic note and the remaining 6 note theme. ''21 Jump Street'' continued to use this theme until 1990.

* October 3-November 3, 1987, October 26, 1988-April 18, 1999: Another variant using a piano, guitar, bells, and orchestration (the latter excluded on the first season of ''Renegade''), playing at the same time, with a flute sound before the rousing music plays, and later a guitar playing the last four notes of the theme. It was used as early as the ''Hunter'' season 4 episodes "Playing God" and "The Jade Woman" and J.J. Starbuck episodes "The Blimpy Who Yelled Blue" and "First You've Got to Go to the Picnic". A short version of this exists on October 18, 1987 on the ''21 Jump Street'' season 2 episode "After School Special"; another featuring the last half of this theme also exists on ''Profit''.

* The 2004 version is rare and seen on a few DVD releases of ''The Greatest American Hero''. It also appears during the featurette "''Castle'''s Godfather" on the season 1 DVD of ''Castle''.

* The 2010 ''Castle'' tribute only appeared on the original ABC broadcast, and is not available on DVD, streaming, or in broadcast syndication.

'''Audio:''' A dramatic synthesizer tune.