Orion Television/Summary

Background : Its origins go back to 1952 when it was formed as Filmways, Inc. by Martin Ransohoff to produced television commercials. It entered television production when the organization acquired the key assets of McCadden Productions, which was filed for bankruptcy in 1959 and hired Al Simon to join the organization. It spawned many acquistions such as game show producer Heatter-Quigley, Inc. in the late 1960s, Rhodes Productions in 1975 and eventually the cartoon studio Ruby-Spears Productions in 1977. It was acquired by the Orion Pictures Company acquired Filmways in 1982, Filmways Television was renamed as "Orion Television" (also known as "Orion Pictures Television"), after allowing their catalog to have been distributed by Viacom Enterprises (now "CBS Television Distribution"), and took over Filmways Television content in the same year and began to produce and syndicate various TV shows and movies. As a result of Orion's long-running financial troubles, its television division was closed in spring 1990, although Orion continued to retain ownership of all its television output up to the time of the bankruptcy, except when Orion sold its Hollywood Squares format to King World in 1991. After 14 years since Orion Television was shut down, MGM revived the television studio in 2013 and in 2014, MGM revived Orion Pictures. All of Orion TV's library is now owned by MGM with the following exceptions, The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction (both were distributed by Viacom Enterprises) are now owned by CBS Television Distribution, while Orion Television retains the copyright on all episodes that have not gone into the public domain), Thundarr: The Barbarian and Fangface are both owned by Warner Bros. Television after Turner Entertainment Co. acquired the pre-1991 Ruby-Spears Productions library. Eye Guess, The Face is Familiar and Personality are owned by Sony Pictures Television via Stewart Television and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman/Forever Fernwood is owned by SPT with ELP Communications owning the copyright..

Filmways Television
1st Logo (1958-March 6, 1974)

Nickname : "Filmways Globe"

Logo : We start with a small globe of Earth, horizontally stretched out in the center of the screen. The globe has longitude (left to right) lines on it, and the equator extends beyond the globe, with little Richter-scale like lines on part of it. The globe is on a blue, starry background, with most of the stars clumped in the upper left and right hand corners. From behind the globe, the text "A FILMWAYS", in a 3D font and arched to match the globe's position, zoom-in a north-forward direction. Shortly after, the text "TELEVISION PRESENTATION" fades-in below the globe. Sometimes, the Seal of Good Practice appears below. You can see clouds in the background flying to the right.

Variants :
 * On the 1962-64 seasons of The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction, the Filmways logo would fade to the text "Produced in association with the CBS TELEVISION NETWORK and has the Seal of Good Practice near the text. The clouds are flying to the left direction.
 * On the 1964-1965 season of the shows mentioned above, the logo is still with the Filmways on the top left of the background, and the CBS mention on the bottom right.
 * There is an extremely rare in-credit variant with "VIDEO LTD. PRESENTATION" just below and the standard CBS notice at the bottom right. This was seen only on The Face is Familiar.
 * Another variant, contains both color and another still version. Similar to the second variant above, but however, on the bottom right of the screen, the text "In Association With PhilDil Productions" is seen. This was seen only on The Pruitts Of Southampton.
 * On the pilot episode of Mister Ed titled "The Wonderful World of Wilber Pope" from 1958 the logo was superimposed in the credits, without animation. Other than that, everything else (the text and the globe) is the same as usual.
 * On Eye Guess, the logo was seen as an in-credit on the game board all in white. Also features both latitude and longitude lines. However, the continents nor the long radar equator line weren't featured. The in-credit also appeared on the game show Personality.
 * For the color version in 1965, the stars are sparkling while the animation takes place. The clouds remains still.
 * On Ozzie's Girls, the logo cuts into the second half of the 1971 Viacom logo (which itself ends when "Viacom" is revealed).
 * On Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, there's an in-credit text saying "A T.A.T. COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH FILMWAYS". When it was retitled Forever Fernwood, the text said "PRODUCED BY T.A.T. COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY AND PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH FILMWAYS, INC."

FX/SFX : The waves and the zooming-up of "FILMWAYS" with the rest of the text.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over : At least on Filmways' more successful shows, there would be a voice over saying "This has been a Filmways (television) presentation". Those who uttered the phrase are listed below. The in-credit variant uses the end theme of the show. Several voice-overs who said the phrase on this logo on the shows they appeared on:
 * Petticoat Junction : Kate Bradley (played by Bea Benaderet). There was a male announcer's voice-over on season one.
 * Green Acres : Lisa Douglas (played by Eva Gabor) says it with "Dahhling".
 * The Beverly Hillbillies : Bill Baldwin (announcer of the show's sponsors, seasons 1-3) and Ellie May Clampett (played by Donna Douglas, seasons 4-9).
 * Mister Ed : Roger Addison (played by Larry Keating, seasons 1 to 3) and Mister Ed (voice of Alan "Rocky" Lane, seasons 4 to 6).
 * The Addams Family : It usually had it silent, but on a few episodes, the usual phrase was said in a deep baritone voice. Sometimes, it was Ted "Lurch" Cassidy, but he used his normal speaking voice.
 * On the second episode of The Beverly Hillbillies, the same voice-over says "This has been a Filmways production".
 * Ozzie's Girls : both Brenda (Jennifer Sykes) and Susie (Susan Sennett) announce excitedly in unison: "This has been a Filmways presentation, distributed by Viacom." The logo then cuts into the following Viacom logo (see above). The show's closing theme was heard over all that.

Availability : Common.
 * It's seen on The Beverly Hillbillies (although some 1970s prints of the show plastered this logo with the 1971 or 1976 Viacom logos, but have since restored the logo) on Me-TV (usually with either the 1986 or 1990 Viacom logos or the CBS Television Distribution logo on restored prints following this logo), Green Acres on World Harvest Television and Antenna TV and MGM DVD releases, The Addams Family last aired on Hallmark Channel around the Halloween season and its MGM DVD releases and Mister Ed on ThisTV and Antenna TV and also on Shout! Factory DVD releases.
 * The in-credit variant is extinct and was last seen on Eye Guess and Personality on GSN. The Ozzie's Girls variant is extinct, due to the show not reairing since it ended in 1974.
 * When The Beverly Hillbillies was shown on Nick at Nite in the early 2000s, this logo was followed by the 1995 Paramount Domestic Television logo.

Editor's Note : A nifty logo from the '50s and remains well-remembered and a favorite by many as it was involved in some classic television shows from the time period.

2nd Logo (1975-1976)

Nicknames : "Cheesy Filmways", "The Telephone Logo", "Droste Filmways", "Telephone Beeps"

Logo : A small Filmways logo, which appears in a stretched Bauhaus 93 font, is seen on a blue background. Another Filmways logo appears behind it, which is larger than the logo that appeared first. This effect repeats four times, making the logo looks like it appears in a Droste effect. The additional logos disappears piece by piece, in order of appearance, leaving a much larger Filmways logo isolated. A copyright appears on the bottom.

FX/SFX : The logos appearing piece by piece.

Music/Sounds : Telephone chimes that change in pitch as the logo forms.

Music/Sounds Trivia : The telephone beeps when translated to numbers spell out "345-9989".

Availability : Woefully extinct. This recently surfaced on an unsold pilot for ABC titled Mason.

Editor's Note : A rather intriguing, but still cheesy logo, for its early scanimation, telephone beeps, and the first appearance of the familar Filmways logo, which would be kept and refined in the following years.

3rd Logo (November 7, 1976-1977)

Nicknames : "Boring Filmways", "Effortless Filmways"

Logo : On a black background, "FILMWAYS", colored blue and in a rounded font called Bauhaus 93, fades in and out.

Variant : The logo may appear in-credit on some programs.

FX/SFX : The fading in and out.

Music/Sounds : Silent or the closing theme of the program.

Availability : Extremely rare. So far its only known appearance is the TV movie 21 Hours at Munich.

Editor's Note : The Filmways logo has been redone to look less strange, but other than that, it's just boring.

4th Logo (1977-March 21, 1981)

Nickname : "Filmways Trail"

Logo : On a black screen, many orange and cream colored "FILMWAYS" zoom up from the bottom of the screen toward a white "FILMWAYS". All the multicolored "FILMWAYS" merge into the white "FILMWAYS". They are all in the same font as above.

Variants :
 * In 1980, the registered trademark symbol appears next to the name.
 * A variant exists where the trail animation is much slower than usual.

FX/SFX : The merging of the "FILMWAYS" text.

Music/Sounds : A seven-note descending bell tune with guitars playing or the closing theme of the show.

Music/Sounds Variants :
 * There is a variant that includes a synth orchestra.
 * On 240 Robert, two musical variants were heard. One had the music in a psychedelic mood, while the other had a deep sounding brass/woodwind ensemble.
 * A slowed-down version of the fanfare was heard on the series Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.

Availability : Rare.
 * It can be seen on Fangface (with the closing theme finishing over it) and the first season of Thundarr the Barbarian (with the logo theme).
 * It also appeared after the original Hollywood Squares (with the theme music played over it).
 * On Netflix, Disaster on the Coastliner kept this logo intact (following the Orion Pictures logo).
 * The slowed-down music variant is extinct, as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson was only aired on WGTE Toledo in 1982.

Editor's Note : While the animation at the time was decent if a bit unrefined, it's known by some for its groovy and catchy theme.

5th Logo (October 8, 1981-1982?)

Nickname : "Abstract F"

Logo : A shortened version of the 1981 Filmways Pictures logo but reads as "FILMWAYS TELEVISION" instead.

Trivia : By this time, the company was also known as Filmways Enterprises.

Variants :
 * A variant exists where only the text "FILMWAYS" is seen below the logo.
 * There is a variant which also only reads "FILMWAYS" but the text is green.
 * A still variant exists.

FX/SFX : Same as the 1981 Filmways Pictures logo.

Music/Sounds : A shortened version of the fanfare from the 1981 Filmways Pictures logo, the closing theme from the program or none.

Availability : Very rare.
 * It was used until it was renamed into Orion Television in 1982.
 * This was seen on The Best of Saturday Night reruns (60 minute syndicated cut downs) and on the first season of Cagney & Lacey. However, when TNN reran the latter, the 1982 Orion Television logo plastered over most of the season (the one exception, in turn, had the Orion logo right after this logo).
 * It appears on the 2012 season 1 DVD release of Cagney & Lacey by VEI under license from MGM Home Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
 * This also appeared on the television movie Return of the Rebels.

Editor's Note : Same as the 1981 Filmways Pictures logo.

Orion Television
1st Logo (October 25, 1982-November 16, 1991)

Nicknames : "The Constellation", "Starry Sky"

Logo : Same as the movie logo of the era, but we start at the animation where the letter "O" starts flashing. The forming of "ORION" is the same, then "TELEVISION" (in white, similar font to ORION, in caps) appears below, just as wide as the above text.

Variants :
 * The font and color for "TELEVISION" may vary. Sometimes, it was colored blue or white in the font used for the "Pictures Release" text from the movie logo (this was used early on in the logo's run, though as late as 1987); other times it appeared in a similar yet different font to the movie logo, below the "RION" portion.
 * This logo sometimes appears without the additional "TELEVISION" text.
 * Some syndicated shows were ID'ed as a presentation of "ORION TELEVISION SYNDICATION". Some of them had the logo superimposed over the closing credits. Others would have the phrase "PRESENTS" below in the beginning of any program.
 * A later variation (circa 1989) ID'ed the company as "ORION TELEVISION ENTERTAINMENT" (this version has been sighted on the 1989 TV movie Passport to Terror, Parker Kane, Homeless, and the 1990 Gambit pilot).
 * There is also a short version of the 1981 logo with the registered trademark symbol.
 * There is also a superimposed variant of the "TELEVISION" variant used mainly on TV movies.
 * On early-to-mid '80s prints of classic Filmways shows, such as TV Land reruns of Green Acres, it starts out with the "O" flashing, then the rest of the movie's animation. The same would be for its movie version with "An" above and "PICTURES RELEASE" below.
 * There is also a variant with a blue background for the early version.
 * On the beginning of the 1984 TV movie A Matter of Sex, the logo was used as an opening title, reading "ORION TELEVISION PRESENTS".
 * A variant that shows the logo (with "TELEVISION SYNDICATION" below) in blue and at the bottom left of the screen was spotted.
 * On the first season of the short-lived animated series Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures, there's an in-credit text that reads as "Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. in association with Orion Television Entertainment and Nelson Entertainment" with a copyright stamp to Orion Television Entertainment and Nelson Films, Inc. below.
 * On the second season of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures, there's an in-credit text that reads as "Produced by DiC Enterprises, Inc. in association with Orion Television Entertainment and Nelson 1991, Inc.".
 * On the pilot of the live-action series Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures, there is an in-credit text that reads as: "ORION TELEVISION ENTERTAINMENT and NELSON ENTERTAINMENT".

FX/SFX : The flashing of the "O", the rest of the logo appearing, and the line being drawn on it. In other cases, it's still.

Music/Sounds : An abridged and re-arranged version of the Orion Pictures fanfare, the ending theme of the show, or none. At least one episode of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures used the final part of the movie fanfare.

Availability : Rare.
 * It was seen on the 1988 TV movie The Murder of Mary Phagan and is retained on airings of this film on This TV, and the version with only the "Orion" text is seen on reruns of The Best of Saturday Night Live (half-hour edit-downs of the 1975-79 episodes).
 * Cagney and Lacey reruns shown more than a decade ago on TNN (later Spike, now Paramount Network) and Lifetime usually had this logo with the "TELEVISION" text (plastering the Filmways Television logo on those reruns), though on some episodes from the pre-nationally expanded Me-TV reruns from 2007, this logo was plastered with the 5th MGM Television logo.
 * The short movie logo has been spotted on Green Acres, on TV Land, Amazon Prime Video, and MGM DVD releases (the latter of which even appears alongside the MGM Television logo).
 * The superimposed variant was seen on the short-lived 1983 game show Just Men! and the TV movie Babes in Toyland.
 * The Orion Television Syndication logos are extinct and were last seen on the USA Network reruns of the 1980s versions of The Hollywood Squares and High Rollers.

2nd Logo (September 7, 1998-February 3, 1999)

Nicknames : "CGI Constellation", "CGI Starry Sky"

Logo : This is basically the 2nd half of the 1996 Orion Pictures logo starting with the "RION" wipe effect.

FX/SFX : The 2nd half of the 1996 Orion Pictures logo.

Music/Sounds : See above, but the logo theme would finish playing over the Summit Media Group logo.

Availability : Extremely rare. It's seen on RoboCop: Alpha Commando.

3rd Logo (September 23, 2013- )

Nicknames : "CGI Constellation II", "CGI Starry Sky II", "The Blue Laser Light"

Logo : On a space background, there are two flying stars with one flying in from the upper left and the other on the lower right. The stars from the 1981 Orion Pictures logo is seen as it swirls to create the letter "O" as the flying stars swirl in to meet the circling stars and form a platinum letter "O" with a blue laser light effect. The blue light brightens and flies over to the right to form "RION" also appearing in platinum, as each letter wipes in with the laser one-by-one as the laser light disappears on the letter "N". The "ORION" logo suddenly zooms in and has a shining wipe effect as the word "TELEVISION" with a small Trademark (TM) symbol in subscript beside it fades in underneath and zoom in.

FX/SFX : The flying stars, the stars forming the letter "O", the laser effect forming the name, and the logo zooming in.

Music/Sounds : Whooshing sounds, followed by a quiet synth theme and another whooshing sound while the theme plays.

Availability : Currently seen on Paternity Court and Couples Court in syndication.