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NBC Studios
This article covers logos that contain strong language. They are hidden behind spoilers. |
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) began producing TV shows in 1947 as RCA (NBC's former parent company) launched NBC as the first television network. In 1979, NBC formed NBC Productions and they began producing Saturday Night Live. In 1995, NBC launched a partnership with television director James Burrows to create 3 Sisters Entertainment, which produced five series for the network. Of these five, the most successful from the venture were Will & Grace and Caroline in the City (co-produced by CBS Productions and owned by CBS Media Ventures). In 1996, the company was renamed NBC Studios. In July 2004, NBC Studios merged with Universal Network Television to form NBC Universal Television Studio.
NBC Television Network (pre-1979)
Visuals: A red tinted television camera is shown with its lenses pointing towards the screen, rotating to the right to a larger lens, while 2 mirrored yellow/blue microphones pivot around, extend, and swivel off-screen. In the center, a white line draws down and expands off to form the 1959 NBC logo, consisting of a conjoined "NBC" in wide lettering, and when the logo finishes, "TELEVISION NETWORK" fades in the middle of the "C".
Trivia: The logo was given the official nickname "NBC Snake" due to its snake-like appearance and music.
Technique: Live-action footage and cel animation.
Audio: A horn fanfare plays as an announcer either says, "Produced (in color) in association with the NBC Television Network", "This has been a color presentation of the NBC Television Network", or "This has been an NBC Television Network presentation".
Audio Variant: A 1962 blooper variant exists, in which a different horn fanfare (which is one of the fanfares used for CBS' in-credit eyemark wallpaper logos) is being heard as the announcer says, "This is the CBS Television...oh, goddamn it!", as the wrong logo was shown. This was only used for a CBS blooper reel.
Availability:
- This logo has been spotted in a few episodes of You Bet Your Life, as well as on The Doctors.
- It also turned up at the end of GSN's 2003 airing of the original 1963 pilot episode of Let's Make a Deal.
- It has also been spotted on several color episodes of Laramie on Encore Westerns, following the color 1960 Revue logo.
Visuals: A red tinted television camera zooms in, rotates lenses, and then zooms out, while a blue tinted cameraman operates a different camera. In the center, a white line draws down and expands off to form the 1959 NBC logo, consisting of a conjoined "NBC" in wide lettering, and when the logo finishes, "TELEVISION NETWORK" fades in the middle of the "C".
Trivia: This is just an alternate version of the 1st logo.
Technique: Live-action footage and cel animation.
Audio: A horn fanfare plays as an announcer either says, "Produced (in color) in association with the NBC Television Network", "This has been a color presentation of the NBC Television Network", or "This has been an NBC Television Network presentation".
Availability: The color version can be seen on some season 3 episodes of Laramie on Encore Westerns.
Visuals: On a black background, various colored spotlights in red/magenta/pink/orange are shown spread across the back, along with a spotlight in the upper left corner. The NBC logo, sans "TELEVISION NETWORK", forms up like the previous logos while zooming out, and a silhouetted cameraman walks in from left to right.
Technique: Live-action footage and cel animation.
Audio: A jazzy horn rendition of the NBC theme or the dramatic horn fanfare from the previous logos with the announcer voice-over, depending on the variant:
- The announcer says, "This has been a production (or presentation) of the NBC Television Network.", or "This has been a color production (or presentation) of the NBC Television Network." for earlier shows (or programs) in color.
- The same announcer says just like in the 1st logo, "Produced in association with the NBC Television Network.", or "Produced in color in association with the NBC Television Network." (for the earlier shows (or programs) in color) or "This has been an NBC Television Network presentation".
Audio Variant: A silent variant exists.
Availability:
- This logo is currently seen on most season 3 episodes of The Virginian on INSP; this was also seen on some episodes of Bonanza on Me-TV, such as season 2's "Day of Reckoning" and season 7's "The Lonely Ranger", and several of the "lost episodes" on Me-TV, followed by the 2007 CBS Television Distribution logo.
- The black and white version can be seen on The Perry Como Show on GetTV.
- 16mm network prints of Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol may also retain this logo. It is unknown whether it's kept on the home video releases.
Visuals: On a black background, a white line draws in and curves around to form a "C". The top piece then splinters off into 2 split ends, with the bottom forming a "C" again, and the top retracting as the "NB" are formed, completing the NBC logo. The background also flashes blue, green, and red in sync with the chimes, remaining on red at the end. Throughout the logo, the text "PRODUCED WITH THE NBC-TV NETWORK", "PRODUCED BY THE NBC-TV NETWORK", or "PRESENTED BY THE NBC-TV NETWORK" is present at the bottom of the screen, which disappears as the background turns red.
Variants:
- A still version has the logo smaller and on a light purple background.
- On a promo for Star Trek, the logo is in the bottom left corner and forms from the center of that area. The "N" moves in the top left, the "B" in the top right, and the "C" in the center bottom.
- Short versions exist that cut part or most of the formation of the letter "C".
- This can also appear in B&W on prints in the said colors.
Technique: Camera controlled/cel animation.
Audio: The NBC chime theme from the 1950s, only sped up a little or the ending song of the program or promo. On programs from Screen Gems Television, the last second of the held out fanfare is heard before the music starts.
Audio Variants:
- On WNBC's analog shutdown, this had the original 1950's chimes.
- On Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, a single person clapping can be heard over the chimes.
Availability:
- This logo was last seen on current prints of the I Dream of Jeannie episode "Uncles a Go-Go" preceded by the 1965 Screen Gems logo and followed by the 2002 Sony Pictures Television logo last aired on WGN America and last seen on several 1964 episodes of The Virginian on Encore Westerns.
- It was also spotted after an early-2010s airing of The Monkees episode "Son of a Gypsy" on Antenna TV (with the Colex Enterprises logo before and after it).
- It was also seen on Retro TV airings of The Doctors episodes from the era (followed by the SFM Entertainment logo).
- This logo was also seen on original broadcasts of Star Trek (and likely other shows that aired on NBC that were not in-house productions) but is usually edited out nowadays.
- As for the still variant, it was last seen on Eye Guess.
- This logo was also on an airing of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In on Decades.
- 16mm network prints of Birdman and The Galaxy Trio may also retain this logo.
Visuals: Just the 1976 NBC network ID used as a closing logo.
Technique: Same as the 1976 NBC ID.
Audio: Same as the 1976 NBC ID.
Availability: NBC replaced it with the "Proud N" starting in 1979, but NBC News and NBC Sports retained this logo until 1981.
NBC Productions
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Prototype variant
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In-Credit variant
Visuals: On a black background, a blur of multiple colors zooms out and trails into the center, forming a vague silhouette of the NBC Peacock logo as "NBC PRODUCTIONS" appears from behind the trails in a stacked white Helvetica font. The converging colors twist to the right as the white outline of the Peacock fades in, and the logo flashes once it reaches its final position, gaining a light blue outline.
Variants:
- This logo also appeared superimposed on a blue background.
- A copyright stamp may appear below on some shows.
- On the Peter the Great miniseries, a still in-credit logo was seen with "NBC" above it.
- A prototype version exists, where it is just a (probably) still logo with a black background and a copyright notice.
Technique: Early computer trail animations.
Audio: A light synth version of the NBC three-note chimes (taken from the 1981 "Our Pride Is Showing" ID, composed by Garry Sherman at Sherman and Kahan Associates in New York, NY). Beginning in 1985, a low tone version was used once as well.
Audio Variant: In other cases, it uses the show's ending theme or none.
Availability:
- Since the NBC logo appears in reruns of other shows, it would stand to reason that this one would be kept as well.
- It is seen on some co-produced shows, such as seasons 1 & 2 of Punky Brewster, It's Punky Brewster, and season 1 of the cartoon Kissyfur, among others.
- The version with the blue background is intact on both the first two season DVD releases and Peacock streaming prints of Punky Brewster.
- The 1985 NBC TV special Let's All Be There, and on the 1985 NBC comedy Sara, starring Geena Davis; on at least the latter, it came after the Ubu Productions logo, and between the two was an IAW card in a stacked formation and lowercase Broadway font in white on a black screen.
Visuals: On a pine green, light gray and black gradient background is the 1979-1986 NBC "Proud N" logo with the "N" in black borders. On top is "in association with" and below that, in front of the "Proud N" logo, "NBC Entertainment". The words are all in a shiny gold color.
Variant: A later version has "Productions" in place of "Entertainment"; it's also darker and a little bit narrow in appearance.
Technique: A still, computerized graphic.
Audio: The show's closing theme.
Availability:
- This was the first real, non-in-credit NBC Productions logo ever used on Saturday Night Live, appearing on episodes from the 1985-86 season.
- The "NBC Entertainment" version is seen on the "Chevy Chase/Shelia E" episode. In contrast, the "John Lithgow/Mr. Mister" episode has the "NBC Productions" variant.
Visuals: Against a black background, a red CGI mound appears. As it rises, more rainbow colors are revealed. Then, from the top of the screen, the head/neck of the NBC peacock swings in, and the mound spreads to become its feathers. This peacock is the current version, and it backs away with a color trail around it. Below, the words:
P R O D U C T I O N S
in its typeface, NBC Futura (which is NBC's proprietary font), fly-in, also with a CGI-like appearance. When they move back into their places, they take on a more "solid", 2D color.
Trivia: This logo was based on the NBC on-air ident and NBC Sports ident, both from 1986.
Variants:
- A videotaped variant exists, which moves somewhat slower than the filmed counterpart; this was seen on Saturday Night Live reruns of the era and early episodes of Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
- A copyright stamp may appear below on some shows.
- On Tapeheads, the name is written in one line, but the peacock remains above "NBC".
- Some shows have a slightly shortened version which begins as the Peacock eases back. It is seen on some shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
. - On The Nerd, an unsold TV pilot that was produced in 1989, but did not air until 1996, season 1 of The Single Guy, most episodes of The Cosby Mysteries, Homicide: Life on the Street and most NBC shows from 1994-96 due to split-screen credits, the logo is still.
- On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien from sometime in late 1994, the logo is still on NBC's then-new generic split-screen closing credits on the right-hand side with a copyright notice.
- In 1994, a still version of the logo has the peacock's feathers shown in their true colors.
- On the Saturday Night Live episode from December 17, 1988 (Melanie Griffith/Little Feat), snow falls throughout this logo and the preceding Broadway Video logo.
- On the Amazon Prime Video streaming print of JAG, the logo is stretched to 16:9.
Technique: CGI.
Audio: A piano version of the NBC chimes, ending in an orchestral hit.
Audio Variants:
- In late 1993, the theme was slightly orchestrated and sped-up.
- A low tone version of the theme exists, which was seen on Lifetime Movie Network's airings of Her Last Chance.
- The NBC 60th Anniversary Celebration uses the NBC Chime theme from the 1950s.
- Most shows and TV movies use the ending theme of the show or movie, or the logo is silent.
- Original airings used generic network themes starting in 1994.
NBC Studios
Visuals: Against a black background with three sets of light beams, there is an extreme close-up of a 3D NBC peacock design, which appears facing downward, and then rises and zooms back to the center of the light beams, as the text "NBC STUDIOS" in the same font as above, blurs in from above the screen and lands right under the peacock. Three sets of red and blue beams radiate behind the peacock.
Variants:
- For syndicated programs, the text would sometimes read "NBC ENTERPRISES".
- A variant of the "ENTERPRISES" version exists, which has the orange beam in the middle much more visible, and the red beam on the right slides to the left before ending up in its usual position.
- The more common "short" version starts when the peacock zooms backward and the company name blurs in and lands under the peacock.
- Some episodes of World's Most Amazing Videos and reruns of Passions have a copyright stamp attached.
- Another "short" version shows only the finished product, with the light beams moving in the background. This can be as short as a second long.
- On Sleepwalkers (the 1997 TV series) and the failed pilot of ManMade, the text "in association with" is seen under the logo.
- On the animated sitcoms God, the Devil and Bob and Sammy, the logo is still.
- On UC: Undercover, the logo is seen on the right with the Regency Television logo on the left.
Technique: CGI.
Audio:
- 1996-2001: A majestic rendition of the NBC chimes, ending in an orchestral flourish. Composed by Chris Saranec. The full version can be heard on the NBC Studio & Rockefeller Center Tour promo here and from his Soundtrack Sampler album here. Some NBC affiliates used the same music for their station IDs. Last heard on early episodes of the U.S. version of Weakest Link and this is used in tandem with the 1999 theme.
- 1999-2004: An epic orchestral rendition of the NBC chimes, consisting of an ensemble of brass, bells, strings, and a cymbal crash.
Audio Variants:
- The 1996 TV movie Sweet Dreams uses the theme from the previous logo.
- On some shows and TV movies, the 1996 theme is sped up.
- On some shows, the 1999 theme is slightly slowed down with a different background string-based orchestration. This music variant would later be used for the NBC Universal Television logos in 2004.
- The 1999 theme also has a faster, lower-pitched version. This is heard only on the short version of this logo.
- Season 1 of The Pretender has part of the MTM Enterprises music play over this logo and then the said logo appears afterwards for Mimsie's meow. Current prints have the 20th Century Fox Television logo replacing it.
- However on TNT airings of the aforementioned show, none.
- The 1999 TV movie Road Rage has the regular 1999 theme sped-up.
- Sometimes, the end theme plays over it or none.
- Original NBC airings used generic music.
Visuals: The standard NBC Peacock logo emerges from the bottom of the screen. The logo border is in chrome, and the feathers are crystal-like and tinted for each of its colors. As the logo rises upward and out, a pair of searchlights bounce light onto the feathers, reflecting the vibrant colors outward. The words "NBC STUDIOS", also crystallized, appear below the logo.
Variants:
- On the short version, only the finished product is seen.
- The most common version starts modernization when the peacock is still emerging.
- The syndication logo was ID'ed as "NBC ENTERPRISES" with "DISTRIBUTED BY" above the peacock.
- An HDTV widescreen version of this logo exists.
- On The Fighting Fitzgeralds, the logo is next to the Artists Television Group logo.
- On The George Michael Sports Machine, the NBC Enterprises variant is used, but the logo quickly zooms back much further than usual -- making it appear tiny.
Technique: CGI.
Audio: The 1999 theme from the previous logo.
Audio Variants:
- Like the previous logo, some shows used a slower orchestration.
- Also on the short version, the same lower-pitched orchestration from the previous logo is used.
- Sometimes on the short version, the last two and a half notes of the regular 1999 theme is heard.
- On American Dreams, the regular 1999 theme is sped up.
- Sometimes, the ending theme of the show is played or none.
- NBC and ABC airings use generic themes.
Unused Logo
Visuals: On a black background, there are various multicolored lines. These lines then turn and a trail appears, forming the NBC peacock, as it shines. "NBC ENTERTAINMENT" in silver zooms out below.
Technique: Scanimate by Dolphin Productions.
Audio: The music of the reel.
Availability: Only seen on a 1985 Dolphin Productions demo reel.
Final Note
In 2004, NBC Studios merged with Universal Network Television to form NBC Universal Television Studio (later known as Universal Media Studios, now Universal Television).
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NBC Studios |
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