PBS

NET1962-1966Nickname: Roof no 1logo: see 3rd logo (but it is in Black and white)fx: same as 3rd logomusic: same as 3rd logoavailibillity: Unknownscare factor: same as 3rd logo la la la...NET1966-1969Logo: On a black screen, several dots appear and disappear near the center of the screen (a la Screen Gems “Dancing Sticks” logo), and then we see a circle being drawn in the counterclockwise direction. A line is drawn through the circle (going downwards), which quickly vanishes. A small fire can be seen starting within the circle. Then, we see a line is drawn through the center of the circle (left to right), and then two lines like that on a Worldvision-like globe are drawn. Another pair, closer to the circle are drawn, like that of the first lines, and then two horizontal lines above the first horizontal line. The camera zooms backwards and we see a thick line (the top of the T) being drawn under the ball of fire, which later connects to the ball of fire. A vertical line (the beginning of the N) is then formed. The T then finishes, and then the diagonal part of the N appears. Lastly, the E is formed. An announcer then says “This is NET, the National Educational Television Network."FX: The dots, the live-action fire, the lines being drawn.Cheesy Factor: The animation is rough, especially when the letters are formed.Music: A pinball-like theme, which turns into a bombastic but brief brass piece, and the announcer saying his part.Availability: Extinct on television. Can be seen on the 1965 program “Changing World: Southeast Asia, the Other War” available for viewing on the Museum of Broadcast Communications Archives website.Scare Factor: Not as widely remembered as the 1968 logo and later PBS logos. However, it would most likely be on the high side, as the music, spooky announcer, live-action fire and animation could set off people. NET(1969-1970)Background: NET was a former major educational and public TV network. Among their original affiliates were WNET New York, KCET Los Angeles, WGBH Boston, WQED Pittsburgh and various others. Originating from The Educational <a class="external" href="http://members.fortunecity.com/teamfx2000/Misc/pbs.htm#" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Television</a> and Radio Center from 1952-1959, and later The National Educational Television and Radio Center from 1959 to 1962, when the radio portion was dropped. It was succeeded by PBS in 1970.Nicknames: "Roof", "The NET Logo", "Tri-Colored Roof Of Doom"Logo: First, the left section of the screen fills with red from the bottom, the middle section fills with yellow from the top, and the right section fills with blue from the bottom. One by one, each colored section flips to form the letters NET on a black background. The letters move closer together and a blue line is drawn above the letters, which morphs into a gable roof with an aerial antenna on top, which is connected to the T.Variations: This logo sometimes appeared in black and white. Everything was the same except all the colors were a light gray.Urban Legend: Some CLG members remembered seeing a rare variation of this logo in black and white where the antenna rotates, like a wind-up toy. So far, no video evidence of this exists.It’s A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood: On the first few seasons (1968-1971) of “MisteRogers Neighborhood” (including some early black and white ones) the NET logo was built into the apartment building that was part of the toy village in the show’s opening and closing.FX/Cheesy Factor: The flipping effects are a very cheesy 60's and 70's FX standard.Music: A synthesized fanfare composed by the infamous Eric Siday, who composed the Screen Gems "S From Hell" jingle and the CBS In Color jingle. A male announcer says, "This is NET, the public television network."Availability: Long gone from public TV but survives at the Museum of Television and Radio on the first episodes of MisteRogers (in black and white) and Sesame Street (in color).Scare Factor: High, the Eric Siday synth music and the spooky announcer combined with the black background can be very unnerving.PBS1st Logo(1970-1971) Logo: Just a black background with the words PUBLICBROADCASTINGSERVICE stacked on top of each other.FX: None, this is a still logo.Cheesy Factor: The logo is TOO plain.Music: None, just an announcer who says "This is PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service."Availability: Gone from TV forever, was used concurrently with the NET logo from 1970 to 1971 midseason (as a placeholder logo) and then quickly replaced with the 2nd logo.Scare Factor: Low, though not widely seen the announcer might get to some. But it would change dramatically with the second logo...2nd Logo(1971-1984)Nicknames: "The Tri-Colored Everyman P-Heads," "The Tri-Colored PBS logo," "1971 PBS logo"Logo: On a black background, an abstract-cut blue P zooms out to upper-mid screen. The P turns into a P-Head, albeit facing left, with the text "PUBLIC" written below, and both move to the left of the screen. An abstract-cut orange B appears to the right of the P-Head, and two black dots appear in the B, the latter dot coinciding with the text "BROADCASTING" appearing below the "PUBLIC." An abstract-cut green S appears to the right of the B and black dots appear twice as well, the latter dot coinciding with the text "SERVICE" appearing below the "BROADCASTING." The final text stack reads:PUBLICBROADCASTINGSERVICEFX: The P-Heads' animations.Cheesy Factor: Really choppy animation.Music: A telephone-like moog synthesizer scale descending rapidly, followed by five moog synthesizer tones.Availability: Scarce, might appear on some PBS shows produced from 1971-1984 if your local station has older prints; otherwise you'll see a newer logo. A suprising find of this logo was seen on an recent episode (circa 1999-2000) of Saturday Night Live hosted by Freddie Prinze Jr. in which it opened a spoof of Charlie Rose. This was very suprising, considering past sketches spoofing PBS shows have used more recent PBS logos.Scare Factor: High, the creepy moog synthesizer music and primitive animation is certain to unnerve more than a few; nevertheless, this logo has a huge following.3rd Logo(1984-1989)Nicknames: "Split Profile", "The Everyperson P"Logo: On a black background, a blue P-Head appears on the upper-mid screen, facing backwards. The P-Head stretches to the right until a piece of the head separates and settles itself about half an inch away. The text "PBS" appears below in a typewriter font.FX: The P-Head appearing and stretching.Cheesy Factor: Simple animation.Music: A majestic piano chord, followed by six pizzicato tones, and then a softer version of the piano chord.Availability: Scarce, might appear on some PBS shows produced from 1984-1989 if your local station has older prints.Scare Factor: Median, the music is fairly dramatic and the logo does not give much warning to its appearance, so some may be startled by it. But a bit tamer than the previous logo because of the use of acoustic instruments instead of synths. 4th Logo(1989-1993)Nickname: "Transparent Blue P-Heads"Logo: On a black background, a side-facing transparent blue P-Head folds to the right, leaving behind a residue trail of P-Heads. The residue trail disappears as the P-Head settles itself in place taking up the entire screen. Several white lines wipe across the bottom of the screen, leaving the text "PBS" in the typewriter font to the bottom left.FX: The P-Head folding, the lines wiping.Cheesy Factor: Early CGI.Music: A bell string tune, followed by an announcer who says "This is PBS." Availability: Scarce, might appear on some PBS shows produced from 1989-1993 if your local station has older prints.Scare Factor: Low, the music and animation are much cleaner this time. 5th Logo(1993-1996)Nickname: "Orange CGI P-Heads"Logo: In an orange CGI environment, several transparent ellipses revealing people faces appear and disappear one at a time. Then we zoom out through a circle, which turns out to be the eye in the PBS P-Heads standing on a floor. To the left of the P-Heads, the typewriter text "PBS" turns on to the screen.FX: The CGI, the zoom out, the letters turning.Cheesy Factor: Zoom out is rough and animation looks speeded up.Music: A funky piano and choir boogie, followed by an announcer who says "This is PBS."Availability: Scarce, might appear on some PBS shows produced from 1993-1996 if your local station has older prints.Scare Factor: Minimal, the weird music and fast pace of the logo might catch some off guard.6th Logo(1996-1998)Nickname: "The Windowsill"Logo: On a black background, a CGI window appears with a birds-eye view of the earth, a plastic globe spinning on the top right and a telescope rotating on the bottom left. The yellow PBS P-Heads appear in front of the window and grow smaller as the window grows bigger. As the two meet each other, the window disappears. The P-Heads take their place in the top center of the screen and turn to blue as the typewriter text "PBS" fades in below them.FX: The CGI effects.Cheesy Factor: The dissolve effect used to make the window and its surrounding objects disappear as they penetrate through the P-Heads.Music: A new age tune with guitars and flutes, followed by a female announcer who says "This is PBS."Availability: Scarce, but some reruns of pre-1998 PBS shows may have this logo plastered over previous logos.Scare Factor: Might surprise you the first time you see it, but it's harmless.7th Logo(1998-2002)Nickname: "Circle P-Heads"Logo: On a sky background, a person standing to the left covers his or her head with a black circle with the PBS P-Heads on it in white. Acrobats jump from all directions of the circle. The typewriter text "PBS" appears to the right, with the web address <a class="external" href="http://www.pbs.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.pbs.org</a> appearing below it.FX: The computer effects used to shrink the acrobats and superimpose them around the circle.Music: A new age percussion tune, followed by a female announcer who says "This is PBS."Availability: No longer current, but still common as the logo is plastered to many PBS reruns.Scare Factor: Nothing creepy about this logo whatsoever