Turner Program Services

Logo descriptions by Lee Cremeans, Sean Beard, James Fabiano, and Matt Williams Logo captures by Eric S., V of Doom, EnormousRat, and snelfu Editions by Shadeed A. Kelly, mr3urious, and thehugetvfan Video captures courtesy of MachineryNoise, mcydodge919, and English1stud

Background: Turner Program Services was established in 1982 as the syndication arm of Turner Broadcasting System. It was best known for Captain Planet and some of its game shows, as well as distributing The Wonder Years, Hanna-Barbera's programming when Turner purchased the animation studio in 1991, and all material by Turner Entertainment Co. Upon Time Warner's purchase of the Turner properties on October 10, 1996, the unit was folded into Telepictures Productions, reincorporating under the name of "Telepictures Distribution", which eventually folded into "Warner Bros. Television Distribution" in 2003.

1st Logo (1983-1992)

Turner Program Services (1985)Turner Program Services (1985)Turner Program Services (1985)

Nicknames: "TPS", "Rainbow-Fill", "Rainbow TPS", "Flashing TPS Rainbow of Doom"

Logo: Two trails of rainbow colors come in from the left and right of the black screen and move towards each other. You can barely make out a "TPS" logo in each. When they join, a blue burst of light shines, and when that clears a rainbow-colored "TPS" remains. Below that, the words "Turner Program Services" appear in yellow, one by one and in small bursts of light.

Variants: •The opening variant is the same, except "presents" flashes-in below. •Another closing variant has the text "Distributed by TURNER PROGRAM SERVICES, INC.".

FX/SFX: Merging colors, the burst of light, and appearing logo. Typical Scanimate effects.

Music/Sounds: A dreamy, synthesized tune with "shining" sound effects and 3 notes at the end for the words that go "down-up-down". Very similar to the LBS "pan-out" logo.

Music/Sounds Variant: A variation exists which has the standard logo, yet the "fourth note" is added to make this a long version. This is seen on the syndicated version of the colorized print of Gunga Din.

Availability: Rare. Still seen on the first three seasons of Captain Planet and the Planeteers on Boomerang. The long version can be found on Hans Christian Andersen's The Wild Swans.

Scare Factor: Medium to nightmare. It depends on what you think of the somewhat scary synth-music and low-budget rainbow fill and prism effects. The scare factor is likely lower for those who are used to seeing it. None for the still variant.

2nd Logo (1992-1994)

Turner Program Services (1994)

Nickname: "Silver Letters"

Logo: On a shaded gray screen, the word "TURNER" (in white) swings downward into place. Under it is:

______________________ PROGRAM SERVICES

The logo shines when it's formed.

Variant: The short version has the logo fully formed, shining. Slowed down on some episodes of The Wonder Years.

FX/SFX: The swinging "TURNER", the shining logo, "PROGRAM SERVICES" fading in.

Music/Sounds: A three-note mellow orchestra tune ending with a "ping" sound. It is a shortened version of a track entitled "Straight From the Heart," composed by Al Capps for production music company Killer Tracks. May also have the end theme playing over it.

Music/Sounds Variant: There is a variant that has the music slowed down, making the logo last a bit longer.

Availability: Uncommon. Last seen on The Wonder Years on The Hub and currently seen on season 3 of The Adventures of Captain Planet, three episodes of SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, and 2 Stupid Dogs on Boomerang. Local re-runs of classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons in the early 90s, such as reruns of Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines, had this logo as well. The version with the slowed-down music was seen on some episodes of The Wonder Years, as well as early '90s syndication prints of The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones.

Scare Factor: None.

3rd Logo (1994-1996)

Turner Program Services (1994)Turner Program Services (1994, B)

Nickname: "Globe Logo & Turning Letters"

Logo: On a white background is a black "Turner" logo (as seen in the globe logo). Underneath, a gold line is drawn and under that, letter by letter, the words "PROGRAM SERVICES" quickly unfold (also in black).

Variant: A variant was shown on a gray gradient BG and had "PROGRAM SERVICES" in white and the Turner logo fading-in first, with the Turner logo's text shimmering afterward.

FX/SFX: Line and words appearing.

Music/Sounds: Just an uninspired synth tune using a pound followed by 11 notes playing the theme with a pound on the 11th note with a drum hitting. The end theme may also play over it.

Music/Sounds Variant: There is a much longer version where the logo theme is followed by three drum beats and shimmering noises at the end.

Availability: Uncommon. It currently appears on the final two seasons of The New Adventures of Captain Planet and the final two episodes of SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron on Boomerang. The gray variant can be found on TV broadcasts of Scooby-Doo in Arabian Nights.

Scare Factor: None. Just a soft, dreamy tune and smooth special effects.