Viacom Productions: Difference between revisions

* '''''Regular Variant (One Wipe)'':''' It is currently seen on ''Rawhide'' on Me-TV, Decades (occasionally) and H&I. It's also currently seen on most episodes of ''The Phil Silvers Show'' on Me-TV, Forces TV (United Kingdom) and occasionally seen on Decades, and it is preserved on the season 2 Shout! Factory DVD of the show, and on most episodes from seasons 3-4 of ''TPSS'' on DVD (season 1 on DVD and the British DVD releases use CTD instead), and was on most episodes of ''The Beverly Hillbillies'', as well as ''Gunsmoke'' (mostly color reruns) on Me-TV before they were issued updated prints by CBS, although for ''The Beverly Hillbillies'', it can still be seen on some episodes, and as for ''Gunsmoke'', it can still appear on certain episodes from season 14 (the third color season) onward. It was spotted on the 1989 film ''Sonny Boy'' on TCM as well as AMC, and has been spotted on syndicated prints of Cannon films, such as ''Superman IV: The Quest for Peace''. This can also be seen on most episodes of ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' on the recent DVD releases. Seen on '80s prints of other Viacom-distributed shows, including at one point in time, episodes of ''The Andy Griffith Show'' (particularly reruns on TBS), as well as episodes of ''I Love Lucy'' on Nick at Nite (as well as AMC briefly), ''Have Gun-Will Travel'' on Encore Westerns, various prints of ''The Cosby Show'' and ''Roseanne'', ''Rawhide'' on the Hallmark Channel as well as Encore Westerns, ''The Millionaire'' on TV Land, and various episodes of ''Hogan’s Heroes'' on Forces TV in the United Kingdom and Fox Classics in Australia, among possible others. It is unknown if this was seen on '80s prints of ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', ''The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse'', ''Petticoat Junction'', ''The Houndcats'', ''The Harlem Globetrotters'' (1970s cartoon), ''Hawaii Five-0'', ''Amigo and Friends'', ''Gomer Pyle: U.S.M.C.'', ''The Alvin Show'', ''The Honeymooners'', ''Whirlybirds'' and ''Our Miss Brooks'', among possible others. It can be seen on the ''Perry Mason'' made-for-TV movies from 1987-89, and some from the earlier part of 1990 along with some prints of previous ones (though most use the warp speed variant), but DVDs plaster it over with the CBS Television Distribution logo. However, it is preserved on some VHS tapes such as the British VHS release of ''Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson'', but these aren't easy to come by, and as far as we can tell, have never been released to VHS in the United States. It was also seen on some episodes of ''Perry Mason'' on Me-TV before they were issued updated prints by CBS, but these prints can still be seen as of recently on FETV. This logo (and its extended variants) is also seen on various game shows syndicated by Viacom from 1986-1990, including ''Split Second'', ''Double Dare'' (this includes recent prints on iTunes), and ''Remote Control''. The B&W variant can be found at the end of select VHS tapes of ''The Andy Griffith Show'' that were released by Premier Promotions, including notably ''The Andy Griffith Show Collector's Series Volume 12: Mayberry Classics'', and was recently spotted on a Season 08 episode of ''Rawhide'' on Me-TV. This logo was also spotted on British VHS releases of ''Fun in Acapulco'', ''King Creole'', ''Roustabout'' and ''All in a Night's Work'', older prints of ''Dempsey'' and ''Makepeace'', ''Father Dowling Mysteries'', a Decades broadcast of ''The Blue Knight'' (1975), at least one episode of ''The Twilight Zone'' on the French version of the Sci-Fi Channel, a Movies! broadcast of the 1971 docudrama ''Evel Knievel'', a Escape (now Court TV Mystery) airing of the 1989 film ''Night Game'', the 1987 Cannon film ''Three Kinds of Heat'', which can be found on Netflix UK, Amazon Prime and Epix.com, and international prints of seasons 1-4 (and some of season 5) of ''Matlock'', though most use the warp speed variant. It does appear on a few Season 3-4 episodes of ''Matlock'' on CBS Justice (UK). The "in-progress" variant can be found on the MCA/Universal Home Video VHS of ''Super Force'', the unsold ''Baby on Board'' pilot from 1988, as well as at least one episode of ''Rawhide'' on Me-TV. It has also been seen on some episodes of ''A Different World'' on Netflix. It was also spotted on syndicated prints of the 1979 Canadian sports drama, ''Running''.

* '''''Extended Variant (3-4 Wipes)'':''' The long variant (3 wipes) can be found on the Family Home Entertainment VHS of ''The Adventures of the Little Koala'' and was on at least one episode of ''Perry Mason'' on Me-TV before being issued an updated print by CBS, while the long version with 4 wipes is extremely rare, and made its premiere on the short-lived NBC-aired sitcom ''Easy Street'', and was last spotted on the Toffler version of ''Finders Keepers'' on the now-defunct Nick GAS network. This is also seen on various game shows syndicated by Viacom from 1986-1990, including ''Split Second'', ''Double Dare'' (this includes recent prints on iTunes), and ''Remote Control''. The 3 wipes variant was also Spotted on a 2017 FETV broadcast of the ''Perry Mason'' episode, "The Case of the Poison Pen Pal".

* '''''Silent Variant'':''' Extremely rare. Originally, it could only be seen on syndicated TV prints of ''The Stepford Wives'' (the 1975 version), though it was recently spotted on the Forces TV print of the ''Hogan's Heroes'' episode, "The Most Escape Proof Camp I've Ever Escaped From", which is from season 2, although Fox Classics’ print has the theme present on it.

* '''''Warp Speed Variant'':''' This can currently be found on some episodes of ''Rawhide'' on Me-TV, Decades (occasionally) and H&I. It's also seen on older prints of Matlock (season 1-5, 1990 episodes; current TV prints use the 8th logo instead, while the DVD of S1 uses CBS/Paramount and every other season on DVD uses CTD instead). Oddly, FETV's print of the ''Matlock'' S1 episode, "The Don, Part 1" had this preserved. Many Season 3 and 4 episodes of ''Matlock'' on CBS Justice (UK) as well as a few season 2 episodes and 2 season 1 episodes keep this logo intact. Its spin-off ''Jake and the Fatman'' (DVDs and TV prints of seasons 1 and 2 use CTD instead.), ''Father Dowling Mysteries'' (including a few early season 3 episodes), and a Brazilian VHS of ''Fatal Confession: A Father Dowling Mystery'' (and DVD print) all have this logo. This is also preserved on the season 1 DVD release of ''Father Dowling Mysteries'', preceded by CTD and can be seen on the other two seasons as well. Decades airings use the DVD prints of ''Father Dowling Mysteries'' as well. It was also seen on a 2016 British Horror Channel airing of ''Murder by Moonlight'', and was presumably present on the film's original CBS broadcast. It is unknown if this is preserved on season 3 and 1990 episodes of S4 of ''Jake and the Fatman'' on DVD. The "DISTRIBUTED BY" variant is ultra rare, as it's only known to exist on ''Superboy''. However, the show's DVD release from Warner Home Video retains it.

* '''''Warp Speed Variant (Extended)'':''' Extremely rare, usually plastered by either the "Wigga-Wigga", Paramount Domestic Television, CBS/Paramount Domestic/Network Television ("Eye in the Sky" or "Wallpaper"), or CBS Television Distribution logos, though they have been spotted on a few episodes of ''Rawhide'' on Me-TV and H&I, and the 4 wipe version was spotted on an Australian television print of the ''Hogan's Heroes'' episode "Request Permission to Escape", which is the last episode of season 1. When the episode aired in the UK on Forces TV, the last wipe was cut off.

* '''''Sped-Up Variant'':''' Seen on ''Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen''. It was also seen on Season 3 and 4 episodes of ''Matlock'', when last aired on CBS Justice in the UK.

* '''''Ultra Warp Speed Variant'':''' The ultra warp speed version can be seen on Netflix's prints, most official YouTube prints, some VHS tapes, and The Family Channel airings of ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show'' and ''The Legend of Zelda''. The logo is retained on the DVD of the latter show ''The Power of the Triforce'' as well.

* '''''Ultra Warp Speed Variant (Extended)'':''' Extremely rare. Could probably be seen on ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show'' and ''The Legend of Zelda''.

* There is a very rare filmed variant seen on some TV movies from the era.

* Several shows would have the name already formed during the later years, with the only animation being the shining of the letters.

* There is a text variation on this logo for Viacom Productions. It has the "'''VIACOM'''" text already formed, but a line slides in from the right and forms into "'''PRODUCTIONS'''" in Futura Extra Bold font, after which the "'''C'''" and the "'''O'''" in "'''VIACOM'''" shine. This shorter variation was seen on network TV productions from 1998-1999. There was another variant of this in which the text doesn't shine at all, used on ''Diagnosis: Murder''.

* On reruns of the ''Sabrina, the Teenage Witch'' pilot on ABC Family (now Freeform), The Hub (now Discovery Family) and Antenna TV, this logo is still (a la the 1985 "V of Happiness" logo) and followed by the 2003 Paramount Domestic Television logo.

* A black & white version of this exists on some prints of older B&W shows (though most feature the color version).

* On the 1997 TV movie, ''The Right Connections'', the words "in association with" are seen over the logo's background, then fades out when the animation starts. It was also spotted on another TV movie, ''In the Doghouse'' (1998), as well as the short-lived UPN series from 1995, ''Deadly Games''.  

* On WPIX's print of the ''Honeymooners'' episode "The Sleepwalker", the logo freezes before it is fully formed. The audio is distorted in this variant. It's likely an error in production.

* On the 1996 TV movie ''Brothers of the Frontier'' (last seen on CBS Justice UK, and Disney Channel in the United States) and a Me-TV airing of ''Matlock'' S7 episode "The Class", the short version of the logo is played in slow motion.

* On the 1998 TV movie ''Inferno'' and the 1999 TV movie ''The Apartment Complex'', the Productions variant has the text "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">''Viacom Productions, Inc. Exclusive Distributor''</span>" in two lines below.

* Usually, a synthesized rock score is used, complete with drums, a synthesizer and even a guitar. Telephone-like "wigga-wigga" sounds are heard as the line zig-zags.

* There is a version where the LaFontaine voice-over cuts in earlier.

* Some versions have no LaFontaine voice-over. The Viacom Productions logo is one of these, except the variant used on ''Diagnosis: Murder''. An extremely short version with no LaFontaine voice-over was seen for a brief time in 1996. This version would also have the Paramount Domestic Television logo play almost immediately afterwards.

* There was a warped version during later years.

* There is a low toned variant for the short version that appeared after an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''.

* A high pitched variant exists. It's usually seen on PAL prints of Viacom-distributed shows and movies with this logo.

* In some cases, it used the closing theme of the show, generic network music on CBS, NBC, and ABC, or it was silent.

* There is a variant with the "V of Doom" theme playing instead on several early-1990s syndie prints of classic TV movies from the era, plastering the 1976 filmed logo.

* There is another variant with the "V of Doom" music now playing faintly instead on some episodes of ''The Twilight Zone'' on Syfy, ''Perry Mason'', and ''The Honeymooners'' both on Me-TV and last aired on WGN America. Sometimes, the short version plays with the normal music, but the "V of Doom" music can be heard again faintly in the background. This is sometimes called the "Ghost of the V of Doom".

* There is a variant with the "V of Steel" theme playing instead on one episode of Gunsmoke as well as a Hungarian-dubbed rerun of the ''Father Dowling Mysteries'' season 1 episode "The What Do You Call a Call Girl Mystery" on AXN Crime. ''Father Dowling Mysteries'' S2 EP1 on the Russian CBS Drama channel also features this.

* A variant with the sped-up "V of Steel" music was reportedly sighted on a British rerun of the ''Matlock'' episode "The Brothers".

* Another variant with the warp-speed VoS music playing under the regular version was spotted on a Hungarian-dubbed rerun of the ''Father Dowling Mysteries'' season 1 episode "The Mafia Priest Mystery: Part 2" on AXN Crime. This is unofficially called the "Ghost of the V of Steel". This may also have been spotted on an Australian airing of a ''Jake and the Fatman'' episode.

* A variant of the original "Wigga Wigga" logo without the announcer in it also exists.

* On the TV movie ''My Body, My Child'', the warped theme plays over the regular variant.

* A variant with the "Pinball" music was reported on a public domain cartoon which aired on a religious TV channel. This has yet to be confirmed.

* '''''Regular Variant'':''' It was spotted on the film ''I'm All Right Jack'' on TCM, the miniseries ''The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw'' on Grit (and possibly the DVD release), two episodes of ''Cannon'' on the season 3 DVD (and one episode on Me-TV, S03 E03,) syndicated prints of Cannon Group films such as ''Masters of the Universe'', and one episode of ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' on DVD. It has been spotted on reruns of color episodes of ''Gunsmoke'' on Me-TV and TV Land, albeit in split screen form on the latter channel, and was also spotted on ''The Alvin Show'' when rerun on Nickelodeon. However, recent prints of ''Gunsmoke'' episodes from Season 12 (the first color season) and Season 13 and are now restored and now use CTD, though it can possibly still be spotted on almost all other episodes from Season 14 on (needs further confirmation). It was also seen when ''Have Gun-Will Travel'' aired on Encore Westerns in the early 2010s, as well as some episodes of ''Perry Mason'', ''Hogan's Heroes'' (these prints now air on U.K. television network Forces TV and Australian cable channel Fox Classics), and ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' on Me-TV and occasionally Decades before they both were issued updated prints by CBS (though it can be still be found in the majority of color episodes of ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' (S05-S09) and formerly on select episodes of ''Gomer Pyle: U.S.M.C.''; for the latter show, all episodes have been restored and use either CBS-Paramount or CTD. FETV prints of ''Perry Mason'' still have this logo intact on many episodes. In the past, episodes of ''I Love Lucy'' and ''The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour'' on Nick at Nite and TV Land had this logo as well. It could also be seen on the ''Perry Mason'' TV movies from 1991-95, and some prints of older ones, but DVDs plaster it with the CTD logo. The high pitched variant was recently spotted on a British television broadcast of ''California Gold Rush''. This can also be found on ''Family Affair'', ''My Three Sons'' (it also appeared on Season 11, Episode 12 of that show after the CBS Television Distribution logo on a June 14, 2018 airing on Me-TV), VHS releases of ''Payoff'' (1991), a True Movies UK broadcast and Me-TV airings of the 1973 TV film ''A Dream for Christmas'', the 2009 Warner Archive DVD-R of ''Don't Be Afraid of the Dark'' (1973), the Republic Pictures VHS of ''Rent-a-Kid'', the Prism Entertainment VHS of ''Memories of Murder'', VHS copies of ''The Right Connections'', ''The Operation'' (AKA: ''Bodily Harm'') (plastering the 7th logo which was used on the original CBS broadcast and also kept on a Lifetime airing), recent Movies! broadcasts of ''Day of the Animals'' (1977) and ''The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia'', the Mexican VHS release of the ''Greatest Heroes of the Bible'' episode "Abraham's Sacrifice", ''They Watch'', the Starmaker Video VHS releases of ''Last Train from Gun Hill'', ''Donner Pass: The Road to Survival'', ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (1980), ''The Incredible Rocky Mountain Race'', and ''Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love'', among possible others, a Brazilian VHS of the Sunn Classics adaptation of ''The Fall of the House of Usher'', the Kino Lorber DVD of ''Really Weird Tales'' (after the 5th logo), a Brazilian VHS of the Italian film ''Blood Ties'', the Vidmark Entertainment VHS of ''Murder by Moonlight'', and international prints of ''Rawhide'', along with some recent prints on Heroes & Icons.

* '''''Warp Speed Variant'':''' It's currently found on ''Matlock'' on WGN America, Me-TV, Decades, FETV, and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (it plasters over the the 7th logo on many episodes from seasons 1 to 4, along with earlier season 5 episodes, and the 5th logo on later syndicated prints of the pilot episode for that show; DVDs use the CBS/Paramount "Wallpaper" logo for season 1 while 2-9 have CTD). Some episodes from seasons 6 and 7, and possibly 8, use the regular variant instead. Also seen on the first 3 seasons and early season 4 episodes of ''Sabrina, the Teenage Witch'' on Antenna TV and Fuse (DVDs have the CBS/Paramount "Eye In The Sky" logo for season 1, while seasons 2-3 have the "Wallpaper" logo and 4-7 have CTD. Hulu prints use the CBS/Paramount "Wallpaper" logo for season 1). It's also seen on the first five seasons of ''Diagnosis: Murder'' on DVD, Encore Suspense, Me-TV, Decades (occasionally), and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (however, DVDs of season 2 use the CBS/Paramount "Wallpaper" logo instead). It was also preserved at the end of the DVD print of the ''Jake and the Fatman'' S4 episode, "It Never Entered My Mind", which is included on the ''Diagnosis: Murder'' season 1 DVD. It is unknown if this same print is retained on the ''Jake and the Fatman'' complete series boxset, or if said boxset retains this logo on later season 4 episodes as well as S5 episodes.

* '''''Ultra Warp Speed Variant'':''' The version where the LaFontaine voice-over cuts in earlier was formerly seen on S1 episodes of ''The Twilight Zone'' on Syfy (though some episodes were known to contain the 2nd logo); recently, Syfy and Me-TV had acquired new, updated prints with the CBS Television Distribution logo, making the logo quite rare. It may still be intact on some episodes of ''Sabrina, the Teenage Witch'', and was spotted on a December 2018 Me-TV broadcast of the ''Gunsmoke'' episode "P.S. Murry Christmas", and can possibly be seen on episodes from the later seasons. It was also intact on many Season 17 episodes of ''Gunsmoke'' on the UK CBS Channels. This was also seen on at least one episode of ''Rawhide'' on H&I and the TV movie ''My Body, My Child'' on True Movies UK. This variant appeared on some Season 2 episodes of ''Matlock'' and some season 2 episodes of ''Father Dowling Mysteries'' when aired on CBS Justice (UK).

* '''''Productions Variant'':''' Seen on season 4 episodes of ''Sabrina, the Teenage Witch'' and Seasons 5 through 7 episodes of ''Diagnosis: Murder'', among other Viacom productions at the time.

* '''''International Variant'':''' It was present on syndicated and international prints (though some used the regular variant) of ''The Cosby Show'' and ''Roseanne'', but it is now plastered with the Carsey-Werner Distribution logo, though some prints have survived, but not all of them. The international version, and sometimes the regular variant, can be seen on some episodes of ''A Different World'' on Netflix, including the pilot, and was also seen on Terrytoon prints that were distributed around in the 1990s, as well as reportedly, one episode of ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' on the Fox Classics Network in Australia.

* A still version of this logo exists (a la the 1985 "V of Happiness" logo).

* In 2002, the words were made bolder, and the letters at the start are brighter.

* Sometimes on the 2002 version, "in association with" spreads out above.

* A 4:3 version of the 2002 version stretched to 16:9 exists.

* A cropped 16:9 version can be seen on most widescreen movies/shows.

* Another version has the cropped 16:9 logo zoomed out with borders. This can be seen in 4:3 or 16:9.

* There is a true 16:9 version.

* A rare 16:9 version exists wherein the 4:3 version is zoomed out without borders, thus causing the sides of the letters to copy themselves into three. This can be found on the French printing of the TV movie ''Finding John Christmas'' (entitled ''À la recherche de John Christmas'').

* A shorter version cuts to either the first quarter or to the last.

* There is a slower version.

* A filmed version appears on some TV movies.

* A descending crystallized wind chime-like sound effect culminating in a synth explosion, followed by a robotic voice saying the word "Viacom" faintly.

* Very early broadcasts featured the 1990 and 1998 network TV music. This can be seen on "updated" airings of season 7 episodes of ''Diagnosis: Murder'' on Me-TV and the season 4 episode of ''Sabrina, the Teenage Witch'' entitled "The Wild, Wild Witch".  

* There is also a silent variant.

* A version in which the wind chime sound effect plays faster also exists.

* A sped-up higher pitch version also exists.

* Sometimes, it has the end theme of the show or TV movie or generic network music, as seen on NBC, CBS and UPN.

* It can be seen on any show or TV movie produced by Viacom from 1999-2004; these include seasons 4-7 of ''Sabrina, the Teenage Witch'' on Antenna TV (plastered on the DVDs by CBS Television Distribution) and Fuse, ''The Division'' on Start TV, season 1 of ''The 4400'' last aired on USA Network, and seasons 7 & 8 of ''Diagnosis: Murder'' on Me-TV, Decades (occasionally), Encore Suspense, DVD, and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, as well as the final two TV movies spun off from that show.

* It was also spotted at the end of several made-for-TV movies such as ''Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story'', ''A Diva's Christmas Carol'', ''Three Blind Mice'', ''Bad Apple'', ''Bang Bang, You're Dead'', among others.