Mississippi Public Broadcasting

Logo descriptions by Matt Williams, James Stanley Barr, Nicholas Aczel, Eric S. and Logophile

Logo captures by Bob Fish, V of Doom, Eric S., mr3urious, Mr. Logo Lord, WizardDuck, EnormousRat, Logoboy95, phasicblu, James Stanley Barr, Shadeed A. Kelly, Logophile, Stephen Cezar, Supermarty-o, and Pygmalion X

Editions by V of Doom, mr3urious, Mr. Logo Lord, Logophile, Shadeed A. Kelly, Donny Pearson, and KirbyGuy2001

Video captures courtesy of JohnnyL80, mcydodge919, Mike Stidham, and Eric S.

Background

20th Century Fox Television (formerly "TCF Television Productions, Inc.") was originally founded in 1949 as other studios were branching out into television production as well. In 1955, the studio officially began television production. Currently, it's a TV subsidiary of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, a division of the Fox Entertainment Group, a 21st Century Fox Company.

1st Logo
(1955-1959)

Nicknames: "TCF Tower", "TCF Sunburst"

Logo: A logo similar to the 20th Century Fox logo, except instead of "20th CENTURY FOX", it reads "TCF" and contains an explosion-like shape behind it. Underneath is "FILMED AT THE HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS OF TCF Television Productions, Inc. IRVING ASHER, Executive in Charge of TV Production".

Variants:

• In some cases, this logo is superimposed.
• There is an in-credit text for TCF-TV appeared on some shows like some 20th Century-Fox Hour specials.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show.

Availability: Extremely rare. It's seen on Broken Arrow, How to Marry a Millionaire (the series), My Friend Flicka in color, also available for viewing on the Museum of Broadcast Communications Archives website, and the on-screen text variant can be seen on DVD releases and on Me-TV reruns of Perry Mason.

Scare Factor: None.

2nd Logo
(1958-September 1960)

Nickname: "Starry Sky"

Logo: We see a backdrop of a night sky covered with stars and clouds. Over this backdrop, we see the following text fade in, not similar to any of their movie logos:

20TH

CENTURY-

FOX

This company name, in bold letters, fades in as if it were streaking from the bottom left of the screen. The "20TH" seems to be more to the right of the other text, as displayed here.

Trivia: On Adventures in Paradise, this appeared as an opening logo with a fanfare, followed by the Martin Manulis Productions logo.

FX/SFX: The fading in of the company name.

Music/Sounds: The opening or closing theme of the show.

Availability: Extremely rare. Recently seen on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis on Me-TV and the Shout! Factory DVDs. Also seen on Adventures in Paradise, which is currently available for viewing on the Museum of Broadcast Communications Archives website.

Scare Factor: Minimal. However, compared to the later variants of the next logo, it's nothing.

3rd Logo
(1959, October 1960-1966)

Nicknames: "The Searchlights", "Zoom Out", "20th Television Fox", "The Tower of Doom"

Logo: We see the usual 1935 film logo animating. We start off with the logo close-up. The camera then backs away as the word "TELEVISION", slanted at an angle, suddenly appears and rapidly zooms out, plastering itself on top of the "CENTURY" on the stack of words, filling the whole screen.

Variants:

• The logo also appears in sepia-tone.
• Sometimes, the camera would back away slowly.
• Sometimes, a sped-up variant of the logo exists.
• A sped-up variant of the logo exists. The movie logo of the time opened the pilot to Dobie Gillis, "Caper at the Bijou", with the Martin Manulis Productions logo (the fanfare plays over the Martin Manulis logo).

FX/SFX: The searchlights, the text "TELEVISION" zooming out.

Cheesy Factor:Just like TCP Inc., two searchlights in the background actually bend. Also, the text "TELEVISION" appearing and zooming out looks really choppy and amateurish. When the word "TELEVISION" zooms out, the searchlights start jumping back to the same animation as when the logo began.

Music/Sounds:

• 1960-1964: A rearrangement of the Alfred Newman fanfare used on the movie variation.
• 1961-1966: A short tune played on muted trumpets and strings that is a variation of the jingle, but does not sound exactly like a Fox jingle.
• 1963-1964: A shortened variant of the 1960 theme.
• 1965-1966: A sped-up/shortened version of the 1961 theme.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• On the TV series Hong Kong, there are three different arrangements of the 1960 theme.
• In some cases, it used only the closing theme of the show, or none. Such is the case for The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

Availability: Very rare. It can be seen on season 1 reruns of Daniel Boone on World Harvest Television (also available on the Liberation/Goldhill DVD release, and presumably the Fox and Timeless Media Group reissue) and on reruns of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and 12 O'Clock High on Me-TV. Fox has replaced this with a newer logo (most likely the 20th Television one) on most prints and DVD releases of shows from this era, but can still be seen on older prints.

Scare Factor: Depending on the logo variant and familiarity:

• 1960-1964: Medium, due to the zooming out effect and the fanfare.
• 1961-1966: Depend on the point of view. It can range to medium to high for those unfamiliar with it. The scary jingle, combined with the sudden zoom out of "TELEVISION", the scary searchlight drawing, and the creepy, dark sky may cause more than a few scares.
• 1965-1966: Medium to nightmare for the sped-up version. The way the logo was sped up as well as its music is a huge factor, especially when your TV's volume level is very high. This is where goosebumps won't be the least of your problems.
• Low to medium for the silent variant.
• Low to medium with the closing theme, depending on the theme.

4th Logo (In-Credit Variant)
(1959-1983)

Logo: Just an in-credit text saying "TWENTIETH CENTURY-FOX TELEVISION".

Variants:

• On the first season of Daniel Boone, the text says "Produced by TWENTIETH CENTURY-FOX TELEVISION, INC., ARCOLA PICTURES, CORP., and FESPAR ENTERPRISES, INC. in association with NBC-TV". On later season one and the entire second season, it said on the first text, "Produced by TWENTIETH CENTURY-FOX TELEVISION, INC." and below it says "WILLIAM SELF, In Charge of Production".
• Dance Fever has the print logos for Merv Griffin Productions and TCFTV with the text "A MERV GRIFFIN PRODUCTION in association with TWENTIETH CENTURY-FOX TELEVISION" above the logos and below has a copyright stamp for Anthony Productions and TCF.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme to the program or TV movie.

Availability: Common on any Fox-produced shows and TV movies from that era, such as A Circle of Children and Daniel Boone last aired on Retro TV. The in-credit logos are extinct and appeared on Dance Fever.

Scare Factor: None, but the scare factor rises again with the next logo.

5th Logo (4th official logo)
(September 16, 1965-1984)

Nicknames: "The Searchlights II", "Zoom Out II", "20th Television Fox II", "The Tower of Doom II", "Slanted Zero"

Logo: We have the 1953 logo. This time, the camera doesn't back away from the tower structure and the 0 is slanted. The word "TELEVISION" appears again and it slowly plasters itself on top of the word "CENTURY".

Variants:

• A "gray scaled" variant appeared on B&W prints of classic color shows from the era, such as Batman.
• The word "TELEVISION" would appear in either gold, orange, or yellow.
• In 1968, the logo is shifted over to the left and the word "TELEVISION" zooms out rapidly onto the structure. A tip of the letter "C" in "CENTURY" is seen.
• In 1976, the Registered trademark "®" symbol was added to the 1965 logo. Plus, this version has the image shifted to the left a little more from the 1968 version, but "TELEVISION" remains centered and zooms out again slowly. Consequently, the "C" in "CENTURY" can still be seen.
• There is a still version with the text "DISTRIBUTED BY" on the top left corner of the logo.

FX/SFX: Same as the 3rd logo.

Cheesy Factor: Same as the 3rd logo. While the searchlight animation doesn't jump back to the beginning (thought issue may present) the zoom out may be choppy. But on The Starlost due to shakiness.

Music/Sounds:

• 1965-1969: The same 1961 theme from the 3rd logo.
• 1966-1984: The same 1965 theme from the 3rd logo.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• There is also a silent version.
• On some co-produced shows from the era, a generic theme was used.
• Post-1986 prints of the 1974 television movie Hurricane feature the Metromedia Producers Corporation jingle over the logo instead of the standard jingle.
• On the DVD and Blu-ray print of the S1 Batman episode "Hi Diddle Riddle", it uses the 1989 theme from the next logo!! This is could be due to the HD master for this episode using a different source for the audio (in this case, the 1990s video masters). The Portuguese track from this episode, however, uses the 1995 theme from the last logo instead.
• On some episodes of M*A*S*H, the fanfare sounds lighter.

Availability: Rare. The 1965 version is retained on the 2nd through the final season of Daniel Boone last aired on Retro TV and World Harvest Television as well as the DVD sets of these seasons from Liberation/Goldhil and DVD/Blu-Ray releases of the 1960's Batman series from Warner Home Video. The 1976 version is available on the first two episodes of The Fall Guy on the season 1 DVD set, while the next logo is intact on the remainder of the season. The Magnetic Video print of The Making of Star Wars from 1979 also has this logo as does the reissue of the special in 2011 as part of the Star Wars saga Blu-ray set. (It was omitted from its 1981 reissue as a double feature with SPFX: The Empire Strikes Back, and replaced by the 20th Television logo in the 1995 reissue). It is also retained on bootlegs of the infamous 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. Also appears on the VHS release of Tomorrow's Child. FOX has updated this with the 20th Television on a lot of shows, such as M*A*S*H. However, an airing of the season 6 episode "C*A*V*E" on FOX Classics in Australia preserved this logo.

Scare Factor:Just like the 3rd logo, it depending on the logo variant and familiarity:

• 1965-1969: Low to high. The factor may vary for those who are used to it. But just the 3rd logo, people should fine watching it
• 1966-1984: Medium to nightmare, especially for the sudden zoom out of the "TELEVISION" text on the 1968 variant, the slanted zero also may be an eyesore for some.
• Low, bordering on medium for the silent variant.
• Low to medium with the closing and generic themes, depending on the theme.

6th Logo (5th official logo)
(November 1981-1993)

Nicknames: "The Searchlights III", "Zoom Out III", "20th Television Fox III", "The Tower of Doom III"

Logo: Same as the 1981 theatrical logo, with the word "TELEVISION" zooming out and plastering over the word "CENTURY".

Variants:

• From 1981-1987, this logo is presented on film. From 1986-1992, it's in telecine format.
• The word "TELEVISION" would appear in either gold, yellow, orange, or ivory. Around 1984, the sky background looks a bit darker.
• On The Simpsons S3 episodes "Bart the Murderer", "Homer Defined", "Treehouse of Horror II", "Lisa's Pony", "Flaming Moe's", "I Married Marge", "Radio Bart", "Separate Vocations", "Colonel Homer", and "Black Widower", you can see more structure on the logo as it appears further out.
• On some old syndie prints of S1 Small Wonder episodes, the logo freezes after "TELEVISION" plasters "CENTURY" before cutting to black.
• There exists a "matted" 1.78:1 widescreen version.
• On a few episodes of Bobby's World, it has a green-ish background.
• On a Channel 4 airing of The Simpsons episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment," the logo cuts out before the final note ends.

FX/SFX: Almost the same as the 5th logo. The word "TELEVISION" zooms out a little smoother.

Music/Sounds:

• 1981-1991: The same 1965 theme from the 3rd and 5th logos. Even though it mainly stopped being used in late 1989, some shows have used it into the 1990-1991 season, such as S1 and early S2 episodes of In Living Color, the first two S5 episodes of LA Law (pretty odd, considering said show used the next theme on November 1989-May 1990 episodes of the fourth season), the LA Law 100th Episode Celebration, a few international prints of S1 Bobby's World episodes and the S1 True Colors episode "Prisoners of Love".
• November 1989-1993: An extremely short version of the 1979 Fox jingle, later used for the early variant of the standard 20th Television logo from 1992-1993.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• There are abridged variants of the 1965 theme, such as the case for Hooperman that the closing theme ends abruptly with the last note of the 1965 theme.
• On some co-produced shows from the era, a generic theme was used.
• Two versions of the 1989 theme exist: one where the last note echoes for a bit after fading out and another without the echo. The latter version was seen on In Living Color, the unaired Revenge of the Nerds pilot and the 1991 M*A*S*H retrospective Memories of M*A*S*H.
• On some episodes of Mr. Belvedere, the first note is cut-off (via fade transition).

Availability: Uncommon.

• The Simpsons episodes "There's No Disgrace Like Home", "Krusty Gets Busted", "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington", "Treehouse of Horror II", "Saturdays of Thunder", "Colonel Homer", and "Black Widower" preserve this logo on their respective season DVD releases.
• It has strangely been spotted on Comedy Central's prints of Office Space and French Kiss, but has been plastered over with the 20th Television logo in recent airings due to split screen credits. A similar situation happened on a few episodes of The Pretender when reran on TNT, but has now been plastered by the 2013 20th Television logo on H&I (Heroes and Icons).
• On VHS, it can be seen on The Simpsons Christmas special, L.A. Law, and, in the UK, on The Simpsons episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment".
• More recently, the logo has been sighted on several 1970s-'80s TV movies on Fox Movie Channel. It can also be seen on some early season one and most season two and three episodes of In Living Color on DVD.
• The 1981-1991 and 1989-1992 variants can be found on the Alien Nation series DVD set, along with original airings of Capitol Critters on ABC.
• Check those old tapes!

The 1981-91 version of this logo can be seen on Fox Movie Channel's prints of The Hurricane.

The 1980s variants are also seen on the Shout! Factory DVDs of Mr. Belvedere, although FamNET reruns of said show plaster it with the 2008 20th Television logo on almost all episodes, and the 1995 20th Television logo on several episodes while Antenna TV reruns plaster it with the bylineless 2013 20th Television logo on all episodes.

• This can also be found on the unaired TV pilot of Revenge of the Nerds, which can be found on the "Panty Raid Edition" DVD release of Revenge of the Nerds (the movie).
• On Netflix, it can be found on several episodes of the first two seasons of Bobby's World (while others have either the 20th Television or 1996 Saban International logos).
• One of its last appearances was on the 10th episode of S4 of In Living Color (which was actually produced during season three (1991-92), but delayed into the fourth).
• The 1989 version can be seen on a handful of early Simpsons episodes on FXNOW, FX's streaming service, in 4:3 mode only. This appeared in the first few episodes of the Fox TV series The Adventures of Beans Baxter before Fox Square Productions took over (that not using a proper logo; just a copyright notice).
• Despite general use stopping around 1992, the news series Not Just News (co-produced with Fox Television Stations) used this into 1993.

Scare Factor: Depending on the logo variant and familiarity:

• 1981-1991: Medium to high. The jingle and the zoom out may still cause some scares, but the drawing is now tamer and slightly less scary.
• 1989-1992: Low to medium, thanks to the 1989 jingle, being it less scary than its early counterpart. But the zooming is still there.
• Low to medium with the closing and generic themes, depending on the theme.

However, those who are used to seeing it will have less of a problem, especially if you expect the original logo and wind up with these.

Final Note: From September 18, 1992-April 16, 1995, 20th Century Fox Television did not use a proper logo. Instead, the standard 20th Television logo of these years was used. See 20th Television for details on that logo.

7th Logo (Dance Fever variant)
(November 1983-September 5, 1987)

Nicknames: "The Searchlights IV", "The Chryon Searchlights", "Print Searchlights"

20th Century-Fox Television (1983)

Logo: On a black background, we see the '80s TCF print logo. Under it is the word "TELEVISION" and a copyright stamp.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Probably the ending theme of the show.

Availability: Extinct. It was only seen on Dance Fever.

Scare Factor: None to minimal. This logo with the scratchy prints may surprise some, but there's nothing to worry about.

8th Logo (6th official logo)
(April 2, 1995-)

Nicknames: "The Searchlights V", "CGI Searchlights", "Zooming Tower", "The Tower of Tepidity", "The 20th Tower"

Logo: It's exactly the same as the standard 20th Television logo, but now the stack of words has been modified to resemble the standard Fox stack, with "TELEVISION" added to the bottom and the whole thing looking rather taller, reading " 20th CENTURY FOX TELEVISION". When the logo is finished zooming out, the Registered trademark "®" symbol and the News Corporation byline fade in at the same time.

Trivia:

• Just like 20th Television, the zoom out animation in the logo is a throwback of the 1960 logo.
• Fox originally disapproved of the 30th Century Fox variant appearing at the end of Futurama, but it was no longer an issue after Matt Groening bought the rights to the variant.

Variants:

• An early variant from 1995-1997 featured a slightly darker tower.
• On Futurama, the logo is altered to read " 30th CENTURY FOX TELEVISION", as that show is set in the 31st Century. Also, the Registered trademark "®" symbol is replaced with the Trademark "TM" symbol. This was also seen at the end of The Simpsons episode "Simpsorama".
• On the short-lived sitcom Andy Richter Controls the Universe, the text "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" below the News Corporation byline fades in at the same time as the News Corporation byline. On the region 1 DVD release of the series from CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Media Distribution, this and the 2003 Paramount Domestic Television logo are removed in favor of the CBS Television Distribution logo, although both were retained when the show aired on Universal HD a few years ago. It is presumed that international releases of the series on DVD will retain the original end logos since Fox owns the international rights.
• 1999-: On shows featured/produced in widescreen/high definition, the sky background is more blue, with the searchlights looking less realistic than those in the standard version.
• On seasons 3-5 of Soul Food, there is a still version of this logo. On The Simpsons Arcade Game, downloadable on X-Box Live and PSN, a still version of the enhanced logo is used.
• On April 13, 2007, starting with Drive, the logo was given a more "enhanced" look, with the effects looking more realistic. The Registered trademark "®" symbol is already there. The News Corp. byline fades in later. However, some shows still used the 1995 variant, such as King of the Hill (until December 9, 2007), American Dad! (until May 11, 2008), The Simpsons (until February 15, 2009), and Family Guy (until September 27, 2009).
• On the very short-lived 2009 animated sitcom Sit Down, Shut Up, there was a shortened version of the 2007 logo.
• Beginning with the 9th season of Bones on September 16, 2013, the logo is bylineless. Strangely, The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, Family Guy, and American Dad! still used the byline until November 10, 2013. The Simpsons and Family Guy started using the bylineless version on November 17, 2013, while Bob's Burgers and American Dad! started using it on November 24, 2013.
• The short-lived Sci-Fi (now Syfy) Channel series The Chronicle: News from the Edge had a very rare and interesting "International" variant. The first one or two seconds shows a cloudy background similar to what was used on the Television logo of the time, with the words "DISTRIBUTED BY" appearing first. After that, it cuts to the 1995 logo placed in the middle of the screen, with the animation slowed down, but more or less complete with the News Corp. byline, and under that is the words "INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION".
• On The Simpsons S9 episode "The Last Temptation of Krust", nearing the end of a musical number, the 1995 logo with the '97 fanfare appears, but is pushed away by the remainder of the episode. This variant is preserved on syndie prints.

FX/SFX: The logo zooming out, the byline and Registered trademark "®" symbol fading in.

Music/Sounds: Here are the main versions:

• April 28, 1995-December 7, 1997: A re-arranged and re-recorded variant of the 1989 jingle by Bruce Broughton. It is slightly different from the 1995 20th Television fanfare. It's the 2nd alternate theme that was first used for 20th Television in 1992.
• 1995-January 12, 2005: The 1995 20th Television fanfare.
• October 19, 1997- : A re-arranged and re-recorded warp speed variant of the 1961 jingle.
• April 13, 2007-: A truncated/altered version of the 1997 film jingle, albeit edited to resemble the 1995-1997 jingle.
• May 19, 2009-October 4, 2012: Another truncated variant of the 1997 film jingle, much shorter than the above. Used on Glee.
• November 4, 2012-: The shortened 2008 20th Television fanfare.
• September 21, 2015-: The last 4 notes of the 1997 20th Century Fox fanfare.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• Fox network commonly uses their own fanfare over logos, due to generic credits; due to the fact that much Fox programming is produced by Fox, these fanfares go well with this logo. From 1997-2001, a simple Fox drum roll was used; the 2001-2002 season introduced different "remixes" of the Fox fanfare, usually only using the final four notes. Many of them were done by a California-based company named Groove Addicts. The John Williams one was used on a tape of The Pitts (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bzqlAZH_uo).
• In exceptional cases, it used only the closing theme of the show, or is completely and utterly silent.
• A warp speed version of the 1995-97 theme exists, which was used on 24 and the first season of Lie To Me.
• Sometimes, only the second half of the theme will play.
• There are many abridged variations of the 1997 jingle such as American Dad! and The Cleveland Show that used it.
• There is also a long version of the theme. On 1995-97 and some post-1997 episodes of The Simpsons such as the S9 episode "Simpson Tide", the S16 episode "Treehouse of Horror XV", the S19 episode "Treehouse of Horror XVIII" and the S21 episode "Treehouse of Horror XX", the 1989 TCFTV logo theme is played.
• On the first two episodes of Bob's Burgers, the same 1989 TCFTV logo theme is played, except the pitch is a bit higher.
• Same as before, on some co-produced shows, as well as CBS, ABC or NBC shows, a generic theme was used.
• On the Family Guy episode "Blue Harvest", the 1997 fanfare is low-pitched to fit in with the show's closing theme.
• On the Network Ten and Sky 1 airings of 24: Live Another Day in Australia and the United Kingdom, a warp speed version of the 1995 20th Television fanfare was strangely used on the 2013 bylineless variant.
• Sky 1's print of The Simpsons season 10 episode "Monty Can't Buy Me Love" features the 1995 20th Television fanfare.
• On Quintuplets, the 1999 filmed TCFTV tower features the 1995 20th Television fanfare.
• HITS airings of The X-Files have the 2007 revision with 1995 20th Television fanfare.
• On The Simpsons season 7 episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular", the fanfare comes in roughly half a second to one second after the logo starts animating. Given Sky 1's prints of older episodes freeze at the end transitioning into commercials, the last note of the fanfare is abruptly cut off.
• The American Dad! season 9 episode "Da Flippity Flop" uses the 2012 TCFTV fanfare, rather than the usual abridged version of the '97 fanfare. As a result of this, given how short this variant of the logo normally is, the last few notes of the fanfare play over a black screen. ITV2's broadcast of the episode fixes this in a way by freezing the logo before the cut to black, so the fanfare finishes over the static image.
• The American Dad! season 9 episode "The Full Cognitive Redaction of Avery Bullock by the Coward Stan Smith" uses an abridged version of the 2012 TCFTV fanfare, consisting of the first two notes and the last four notes of the standard fanfare. Strangely, this fanfare isn't present on any other episode, despite fitting the length of the logo as opposed to the example directly above.
• Some episodes of The Simpsons on Fox in Bulgaria have a double-pitched variant of the 1997 theme. This could be due to the fact that the episodes are PAL prints aired in the country.

Availability: Very common. Typically found on network programming provided by Fox. Also seen on some CBS (Yes, Dear, Martial Law, and Still Standing, etc), NBC (The Pretender, 1997-2000 episodes and the two TV movies) or ABC (The Practice and Boston Legal, etc.) shows. May or may not be present in syndicated repeats of network programs, as the 20th TV logo may follow it or plaster it. The still version can be found on Soul Food: The Series on DVD, TV One, and Bounce TV starting on S3. The edited 1997 jingle can be seen on reruns of American Dad! and Family Guy reruns on Adult Swim, among others. DVD releases of The Simpsons, starting with the 15th season, plaster the 1995 logo with the 2007 logo. Surprisingly, the logo appears at the end of the season 1 WKRP in Cincinnati episode "Pilot, Part 2" on the 2014 Shout! Factory DVD set, despite the other episodes ending on the MTM logo.

Scare Factor: Depending on the logo variant:

• 1995-1997: Low.
• 1995-?: Low.
• 1997-: Low to medium.
• 2007-: None.
• 2009?-: Minimal.
• November 4, 2012-, 2013-, and 2015-, with the 1989 TCFTV logo theme, with the closing and generic themes (depending on the theme), and the silent variant: None.