Mark VII Limited/Summary

Background : Mark VII Limited (first known as "Mark VII Productions, Inc.") was the production company of the late actor Jack Webb, best known as "Sgt. Joe Friday" on the TV series Dragnet. The company was active from 1951-1959 and from 1967-1982. The Jack Webb Estate currently owns the rights to the Mark VII Limited library. However, Universal Studios has the rights to release them on DVD and NBCUniversal Television owns distribution rights.

1st Logo

(December 16, 1951-May 28, 1954)

Nickname : "The Early Hammer"

Logo : On a gray background, we see a stamp, on a stone, with the palm holding the stamp and the other hand holding the hammer already in use. The hand then rises the hammer and hits it twice. The stamp is pulled away as it reveals "VII". "A MARK" appears above the stone, and "PRODUCTION" is below it.

Trivia : This logo was parodied at the end of the 1954 Woody Woodpecker cartoon "Under the Counter Spy". The man hits the stamp three times, hitting his thumb on the third. He yells in pain and lifts the stamp, revealing the words "The End". The usual Woody Woodpecker theme song is heard when the words are revealed.

Early Variants : The letters appears in lowercase: one in a Times and the other in a rounded font.

FX/SFX : Mostly live action.

Music/Sounds : Two "clangs" of the hammer. Starting in 1952, a drum roll sound was added in the background.

Availability : Extremely rare. Can be seen on the first three seasons of Dragnet. This can also be seen on public domain episodes of Dragnet which air on Retro TV.

2nd Logo

(August 27, 1954-August 23, 1959, January 12, 1967-April 8, 1971)

Nickname : "The Hammer"

Logo :*1954-1959: Two hands work on a silver sheet of metal, holding a stamp in place and hitting it twice with a hammer. When the hands and tools pull away, we see a "VII" imprinted on the metal. Above the roman numeral in white is the word "MARK," and below "LIMITED" (There have been several variations on the text over the years; some are listed below).
 * 1967-1971: The same premise, except the stamp is somewhat smaller and the hammer is somewhat larger. After the stamp is hit the first time, the hand holding the hammer pulls the hammer back so far that the back of the hammer's head engulfs the screen. Then the hammer hits the stamp again, and the tools are pulled away.

Trivia :
 * The 1967-1971 soundtrack to the Mark VII logo was also used for the Ghost Planet Industries logo on Space Ghost: Coast to Coast and among other shows on Adult Swim, which was retained when GPI chhanged its name to Williams Street Productions, its current name, in 2000.
 * It was also used as the beginning to wrestler Greg "The Hammer" Valentine's 1991 theme music in the WWF.
 * This logo was also parodied on the intro title of The Simpsons S16 episode "Treehouse of Horror XV".

Variants :
 * On Pete Kelly's Blues, "A PRODUCTION OF MARK" is above the "VII" with "LIMITED" at the bottom. This is also accompanied by a rather bombastic fanfare upon the "VII"'s revealing.
 * On the theatrical version of Dragnet, the Dragnet theme was heard once the name was revealed.
 * Starting on the 1969-70 season, the logo is shorter starting on the last half of the hammering.

FX/SFX : Mostly live action, or seems to be, so not much as far as actual special effect are concerned.

Cheesy Factor : The words appearing over the "live" picture look rather cheap.

Music/Sounds : A drum roll is heard throughout. Two "clangs" of the hammer are heard, more spaced out from the 1st. In 1967, the "clinks" and drum roll were somewhat heavier-sounding, and were spaced even farther apart.

Availability : Rare. The 1967 version can be seen on Dragnet and Adam-12.

Editor's Note : This is a popular and memorable logo, having one of the most famous soundtracks in the history of logos, but it is understandable that some may be turned off by the loud nature or the sweaty palm.

3rd Logo

(September 15, 1971-April 7, 1973)

Nicknames : "Shocking Golden Plaque", "Golden Plaque of Doom"

Logo : On a gold background, we see the following outlined phrase taking up nearly the whole screen:

A Production of MARK VII LIMITED FX/SFX : None.

Music/Sounds : There were two versions of the music. The music was the same, a loud bombastic fanfare, but was rearranged throughout. "Version 1" was used from 1971 to 1972, and "Version 2" was used from 1972 to 1973.

Availability : Still exists at the end of Mark VII-produced shows from this period, such as Emergency! and seasons 4 and 5 of Adam-12.

Editor's Note : With the music and phrase taking up nearly the whole screen, instead of a hammer clanging, this feels like the black sheep of Mark VII logos.

4th Logo

(September 12, 1973-July 19, 1979)

Nicknames : "The Hammer Strikes Back", "The Return of the Hammer", "The Hammer II"

Logo : It's the same as the 1969-1971 variant of the 1967 logo, but it starts midway through the animation; just one hammer strike revealing "VII" and the words "MARK" and "LIMITED" fade in at the same time afterwards.

FX/SFX/ Cheesy Factor : The quick animation.

Music/Sounds : A "clang" of the hammer with a drum roll. In 1978 on Project UFO, the drum roll was omitted.

Music/Sounds Variants : On The Greatest Rescues of Emergency: Part 2, the drumroll extends into the following Universal logo.

Availability : Rare. It's still seen on the final two seasons of Adam 12 and seasons 3-6 and the six TV movies of Emergency!. It's also seen on Project UFO.