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 1951-59, and then again from 1967 until his death in 1982. The Jack Webb Estate currently owns the rights to the Mark VII Limited library. However, Universal Pictures 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 have been seen in lowercase, in two different fonts: 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; September 12, 1973-July 19, 1979)

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 adopted its current name, Williams Street Productions, 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 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.
 * From 1973-79, the logo would start 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 : Mostly live action, or seems to be, so not much as far as actual special effects are concerned.

Music/Sounds : A drum roll is heard throughout. Two "clangs" of the hammer are heard, more spaced out from the 1st.

Music/Sounds Variants :
 * In 1967, the "clinks" and drum roll were somewhat heavier-sounding, and were spaced even farther apart.
 * The 1973 version only features one clang alongside the drum roll.
 * On The Greatest Rescues of Emergency: Part 2, the drumroll extends into the following Universal logo.
 * On Project UFO, the drum roll is omitted.

Availability : Rare. The 1967 version can be seen on Dragnet and Adam-12. The 1973 version is still seen on the final two seasons of Adam 12 and seasons 3-6 and the six TV movies of Emergency!, as well as on Project UFO.

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. In addition, the words appearing over the "live" picture look rather cheap.

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 : The same loud, bombastic fanfare, which existed in two different arrangements (one used from 1971-72, and the other from 1972-73).

Availability : Still exists at the end of Mark VII-produced shows from this period, such as seasons 1 and 2 of 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.