BBC Studios Home Entertainment: Difference between revisions

Background: BBC Video was formed and established in 1980 as a division of BBC Enterprises to distribute BBC television programmes for home video (later "BBC Worldwide") with John Ross Barnard as head. Their videos originally went through CBS/Fox Video (from 1985 to 1998) and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (from 1998-2000) for U.S. distribution. The license was taken over by Warner Home Video in 2000. Today, while Warner still owns home media rights to BBC Video, their logo has been replaced by the 2Entertain logo, except on Charlie and Lola. In Australia, their videos were originally distributed by PolyGram Video, before Roadshow Entertainment and ABC Video (the Australian "ABC") took over in 1996.

1st Logo

(1980-1988)

Nicknames: "BBC Star", "Cheesy Starlight", "Scanimate BBC"

Logo:

Opening: Many coloured parallelograms come from the top and bottom of the screen towards the middle, where a white four-pointed star is being "drawn". The coloured shapes stop coming from the bottom as an orange line with a "V" shaped bend in the middle arrives, accompanied by a "shadow" effect. It stops below the star, and the parallelograms return from the bottom as the letters "BBC" and "IDEO" are drawn in white at either side of the "V". The line with the "V" is traced over with white. All the parallelograms finally stop as the logo completes and the star in it shines. It looks like a 1970's neon sign.

Closing: The rainbow parallelograms are flying towards "BBC VIDEO", which disappears as if it was being played backwards; that is, it's sort of being "drawn away." The parallelograms stop and the 4-pointed star remains. As a copyright notice appears (in the Futura typeface) reading "© BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION and BBC ENTERPRISES LTD. (year in Roman numerals)", the star "shines" and is drawn away too, leaving a small light which flashes a few times and then fades. This copyright was BBC Enterprises's copyright disclaimer.

Variants:

* On 101 Great Goals, the logo is superimposed onto a soccer match. At the end, a still of the normal opening logo with a copyright stamp is used.

* On the 1988 release of The Young Ones, as well as Dad's Army tapes from the era, it cuts to the copyright notice whereas the whole thing is silent.

* On Watch With Mother tapes, the logo turns gray-scale when the 'V' comes in, the closing starts in gray-scale but turns into color before the text is drawn away.

* On John Martyn - In Vision 1973-1981, we can see the text "ROCK FLASHBACK" appear in black, with a white outline.

* Another "ROCK FLASHBACK" variant exists, where the text is in yellow. The closing of this has an exclusive copyright stamp related to the content in the film, the film being Deep Purple - California Jam.

FX/SFX:

 

Music/Sounds: There were six versions (seven all together if you include the closing):

Availability: Uncommon. Seen on any early releases of BBC programs. It appears on the original Fawlty Towers tapes, and some Postman Pat tapes too. The opening and closing logos appear on the 1986 Playhouse Video issues of the BBC Video release of Doctor Who. Strangely, the 5th closing variant made a surprise appearance on Netflix prints of the BBC version of The Secret Garden, possibly due to using an old video master. It also appears on early releases of Series 1 of Last of the Summer Wine, including the first DVD releases (which have the episodes as compilation films for some reason). The 2nd closing variant can be found as an Easter egg on the DVD release of the Doctor Who story Revenge of the Cybermen. The 4th opening/closing variant appears on a 1984 British pre-cert tape of Open All Hours, released in the United States by CBS/Fox Video in 1989. The "NEW VIDEO TASTIES" variant can be spotted on a trailer/promo tape. The "Rock Flashback" variants can be spotted in John Martyn - In Vision 1973-1981 and Deep Purple - California Jam. The shortened closing variant can be spotted at the end of the VHS for Col. Culpeper's Flying Circus.

Editor's Note: The logo is a favorite of many due to its really nice animation and catchy music, especially the 1984 music.

 

 

Logo:

Opening: On a black screen, some copyright text in a yellow, Times font zooms in from the center of the screen. It fades out, and another load of text zooms in. The second set of text zooms out as we fade to a map of the world, metallic gold (land) on blue (sea), the land waves up and down. The land and sea draw together to form a globe (which is a modified version of the BBC 1 "Computer Originated World" ident from 1985-1991) rotating. The reverse of the globe can be seen through the "sea" of the globe. From the front and bottom of the screen, "BBC VIDEO" in a copper Times-like font flies in. When it stops below the globe two of the letters sparkle before the program starts.

Closing: The sequence reverses, with the "BBC VIDEO" flying out and the globe turning back into a map. The same copyright text from the previous logo appears. This was the BBC Enterprises copyright disclaimer, which was occasionally cut from U.S. releases by CBS/Fox.

 

FX/SFX: It's all CGI.

 

 

Availability: Appears on some older CBS/Fox releases of BBC material. Blackadder Goes Forth is one video that has this logo. On the logo's final year, it was used in tandem with the next one.

Editor's Note: While the logo is not as common as some of the other logos, it's still a unique take on the COW globe at the time.

3rd Logo

(1990-1997)

Nicknames: "Streaks of Death", "Ominous BBC", "Bring Out the Caskets", "Blue, Red, and Green"

Logo: On a black background, a blue streak comes in from the right of the screen and a green streak comes in from the left of the screen. The two streaks merge to form a red line in the middle of the screen and they leave behind green and blue lines afterwards. The BBC boxes fade in above, forming a CGI version of the 1988 BBC logo used at the time.

Closing Variant: The same as the beginning, except with the BBC Enterprises copyright disclaimer appearing on the bottom. Starting in 1995, "BBC ENTERPRISES" is replaced with "BBC WORLDWIDE".

Trivia: This is basically the BBC ID from 1990.

Variants:

 

*On the 1991 VHS tape Bottom Fluff, a tape containing outtakes and unused footage from the sitcom Bottom, silhoutettes of the show's stars, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmonson can be seen messing around at the bottom of the screen during the second half of the logo.

*On the 1995 VHS release of the Doctor Who episode "The Five Doctors", the logo is snatched up by the Time Scoop (the device that kidnapped the Doctor's incarnations and his companions at the beginning of the story).

FX/SFX: The colored streaks, the merging and the boxes and notice fading-in.

 

 

 

 

Editor's Note: It's known as one of the more ominous logos in the logo community due to its somewhat depressing music and black background, combined with the strange-looking BBC logo and limited animation, however, it is a great logo.

(1992-1997)

Logo: Against a white marble background, three black boxes swing in from the right. As they turn sideways, the letters "BBC" enter each one. Once the logo is formed, three colored streaks (one blue, one red, and one green) pass under it and leave similarly colored lines under the boxes. Finally, the word "VIDEO" (in black) appears under the completed logo. Everything seems to be italicized, even the boxes.

FX/SFX: The flying letter boxes; very modern animation.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 3rd logo.

Availability: It only appears on American home video releases of BBC programs, such as Absolutely Fabulous. This logo was used in tandem with the other one. In the UK, it was recently discovered on the VHS release of Red Dwarf V.

Editor's Note: Its music is still ominous, but the brighter environment and more dynamic movements make it calmer.

 

 

Logo:

Opening: On a navy blue background there are several ribbons going from top right and top middle of the screen and the bottom middle of the screen highlighted in red, green, and blue. The current 1997 BBC logo (in white) fades in.

Closing: Same as the last logo, except when the BBC logo fades in, the BBC Worldwide copyright disclaimer and copyright date fade in. When BBC Video merged with Video Collection International in 2004, this variant was retired.

 

FX/SFX: The ribbons moving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2009- )

Nicknames: "Flashing Box", "Colour Concentric", "Purple BBC"

Logo: A red screen flashes in a red lens flare, and it causes a BBC squares logo to appear, this time in a small, purple background. The background then glows in red as several flares in different colors,suddenly flashing one by one, light the BBC logo. The effect of flashing also appears on circles that left. The color in the background changes each time a flash appears.

FX/SFX: The flashing, the background changing colors, and the lighting up of the BBC logo.

Music/Sounds: A synthesized tune that is accompanied by strings, organs and drum beats.

Availability: Current. Can be seen on BBC home entertainment releases since 2009.

Editor's Note: A decent logo, but it's not as popular as previous ones from the company.

7th Logo

(2017- )

Logo: We see several white lines stretching and forming a star-like shape, then these separate (explode) and disappear, leaving some of the dots moving, while the BBC logo appears in the center. The dots disappear after a few seconds.

FX/SFX: The lines and dots moving, the fading of the BBC logo.

Music/Sounds: A creaking sound, which is later accompanied by an orchestral theme.

Availability: Current.

Editor's Note: Somewhat plain compared to past BBC Video logos.