BBC Video (UK)

Background: BBC Video was formed and established in 1980 as a division of BBC Enterprises to distribute BBC television programmes for home video (later "BBC Worldwide") with John Ross Barnard as head. Their videos originally went through U.S, distribution by CBS/Fox Video (from 1985-2000) and with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (from 1998-2000). The licence was taken over by Warner Home Video in 2000, and in 2005 they merged with Video Collection International to form 2Entertain.

Opening: Many coloured parallelograms come from the top and bottom of the screen towards the middle, where a white four-pointed star is being "drawn". The coloured shapes stop coming from the bottom as an orange line with a V-shaped bend in the middle arrives, accompanied by a "shadow" effect. It stops below the star, and the parallelograms return from the bottom as the letters "BBC" and "IDEO" are drawn in white at either side of the "V". The line with the "V" is traced over with white. All the parallelograms finally stop as the logo completes and the star in it shines. It looks like a 1970s neon sign.
Closing: The rainbow parallelograms are flying towards "BBC VIDEO", which disappears as if it was being played backwards; that is, it's sort of being "drawn away." The parallelograms stop and the 4-pointed star remains. As a copyright notice appears (in the Futura typeface) reading
"© BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION
and BBC ENTERPRISES LTD.
(year in roman numerals)"

the star "shines" and is drawn away too, leaving a small light which flashes a few times and then fades.

Variants:

On 101 Great Goals:
- At the beginning, the already-formed logo is superimposed onto a soccer match.
- At the end, a still shot of the normal opening logo with a copyright stamp (from the closing logo) is used.
The copyright date (in Roman numerals) may be in a different font, other than Futura.
On 1983 and 1985-1988 tapes, in the closing logo, a shadow effect was added while the star is being drawn away.
On some 1987-1988 tapes, the closing logo is shortened beginning with the © info fading in.
In 1987, on the first Watch with Mother VHS release:
- On the opening logo, when the "V" comes in, the image turns to B&W, in a throwback to the colors of the program.
- On the closing logo, it starts out grayscaled, but then turns back into color after a short while.
On BBC Wildlife tapes, the opening logo is shortened.
On BBC Children's Favourites, the logo fades in late.
On 1983 tapes, the copyright year appears a few seconds after the main stamp fades in.

FX/SFX:

Opening: The "drawing" and flying shapes.
Closing: The logo drawing away.

Music/Sounds: There were five versions (six all together if you include the closing):

Opening:

(1980-1984 variant 1) A moog synth tune with a marching-band flair. Used from the beginning until 1984.
(1980-1984 variant 2) A big band marching band-type tune (sounding similar to the first tune) which does not suit this logo at all. Used in tandem with the first tune.
(1981) A orchestrated version of the of the first and second tunes in a different key (C major), led by violins. Used on the 1981 Laserdisc release of Treasures of the British Crown. It is unknown if it was used on any other releases.
(1981-1984) A laid-back rock version of the first and second tunes in a different key (D♯/E♭ major).
(1984-1988) A synthesized theme that ends with drawn-out synth notes and a 3-note synth-horn fanfare. A "whoosh" is also used to mark the appearance of the "V". This is the most common out of the six musical versions. Used from 1984 until the end. Composed by Peter Howell.

Closing:

(1980-1984 variant 1) A re-arranged version of the moog synth tune.
(1980-1984 variant 2) A re-arranged version of the marching band-type tune with a even more dramatic ending.
(1981 variant 1) A slower re-arranged version of the string-led tune.
(1981 variant 2) A slower re-arranged version of the rock tune with an electric guitar strum.
(1980) An extremely rare re-orchestrated variant of Variant 2 can be found on Great Railway Journeys of the World - Flying Scotsman. (The opening used the second 1980 theme.)
(1984-1988) Ascending synth notes and chimes that lead into a shorter version of the opening logo's music with a somber ending.

Music/Sounds Variants:

The Watch with Mother variant has a dreamy tune, sounding like it was played from a music box.
A silent version appears on the shortened closing and BBC Wildlife variants.

Availability: Seen on any early releases of BBC programs.

It appears on the original Fawlty Towers tapes, and some Postman Pat tapes too.
The 1st opening and closing variants both appeared on the 1986 Playhouse Video issue of the 1983 BBC Video release of Doctor Who: Revenge of the Cybermen.
The 5th opening and closing variants have also been seen on the 1988 Playhouse Video issues of the 1985 BBC Video releases of the Doctor Who serials Pyramids of Mars and The Talons of Weng-Chiang (both of which retain the original 1985 copyright at the end), the 1990 Playhouse Video and 1992 CBS-Fox Video VHS issues of the BBC version of The Secret Garden (strangely, the closing version also makes a surprise appearance on Netflix's print due to using an old video master), and a 1990 CBS-Fox reprint of the original 1986 VHS of Fawlty Towers: The Psychiatrist.
The short closing variant appears on the first two releases of Dad's Army (The Day the Balloon Went Up and Asleep in the Deep) and the 1988 releases of The Young Ones and John Arlott's Vintage Cricket.
One of the last tapes to use this was Fireman Sam 2: Lost Cat.

Editor's Note: The logo is a favorite of many due to its really nice animation and catchy music, especially the 1984 theme.

2nd Logo

(6 June 1988-11 November 1991, 1992)

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Nicknames: "Earth Globe", "BBC Globe", "Video Globe", "World Map", "'80s BBC II"

Logo:

Opening: On a black screen, some warning text in a yellow Times font zooms in from the center of the screen. It fades out, and another load of text zooms in. The second set of text fades to a map of the world, metallic gold (land) on blue (sea), the land waves up and down. The land and sea draw together to form a globe (which is a modified version of the BBC 1 "Computer Originated World" ident from 1985 to 1991) rotating. The reverse of the globe can be seen through the "sea" of the globe. From the front and bottom of the screen, "BBC VIDEO" in a copper Times-like font flies in. When it stops below the globe two of the letters sparkle before the program starts.
Closing: The sequence reverses, with the "BBC VIDEO" flying out and the globe turning back into a map. The BBC Enterprises copyright disclaimer fades in at the bottom, which was occasionally cut from U.S. releases by CBS/Fox.

Variants:

On Australian releases, the tape's OFLC rating certificate appears in place of the copyright info.
The copyright text may be in a different font, other than ITC Advant Garde Gothic.
A rare extended variant was seen on some releases, in which the globe turns for longer.

FX/SFX: The text, the globe forming, and "BBC VIDEO" appearing.

Music/Sounds: Calm synth music with tribal beats, sometimes in stereo. The beginning sounds like the song "Hallelujah" by "Enigma". If you listen closely, you can hear that they sampled "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" by Isao Tomita, the same excerpt used in Domovideo (Italy). For the closing version, each section of the opening logo's music plays in reverse order.

Music/Sound Variant: On some tapes, the music continues over the "Also Avalible" screen.

Availability: Appears on some older CBS/Fox releases of BBC material. Blackadder Goes Forth is one video that has this logo. From July to November 1991, it was used in tandem with its successor. This makes surprise appearances on the 1992 CBS/Fox VHS releases of Doctor Who: The Hartnell Years (closing version only) and Black Adder II, both of which were released earlier in the UK.

Editor's Note: While the logo is not as common as some of the other logos, it's still a unique take on the COW globe at the time.

3rd Logo

(1 July 1991-3 November 1997)

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Nicknames: "Streaks of Doom", "Ominous BBC", "Dark BBC", "'90s BBC ", "Possesed BBC"

Logos:

Opening: On a black background, a blue streak comes in from the right of the screen and a green streak comes in from the left of the screen. The two streaks merge to form a red line in the middle of the screen and they leave behind green and blue lines afterwards. The silver BBC boxes with white lettering, fade in above, forming a CGI version of the 1988 BBC logo used at the time.
Closing: Same as the opening, except the same copyright notice typeset from the previous logos in Futura fades in below the logo.

Trivias: This is basically the BBC ID from 1990.

Variants:

On the 1995 VHS release of the Doctor Who episode "The Five Doctors," after the logo forms, it is snatched up by the Time Scoop (the device that kidnapped the Doctor's incarnations and his companions at the beginning of the story).
- This variant is also included on the 2008 DVD release of "The Five Doctors," but as an easter egg. To find it, go to "Special Features" on Disc 2, then highlight "Nationwide" and go left.
Starting in 1995 on the copyright notice, "BBC ENTERPRISES" is replaced with "BBC WORLDWIDE".
Re-releases with this logo have the copyright notice in a different font (e.g. Helvetica or Gill Sans).
Starting in mid-1997, the closing variant has a different caption reading:

Distributed under license by BBC Worldwide Ltd.
© [BBC logo] (year in Roman numerals)

On They Think It's All Over: No Holds Barred, the closing logo had a different copyright notice reading:

© TALKBACK PRODUCTIONS LIMITED/
BBC TELEVISION
(year in roman numerals)

At the end of the 1997 VHS release of BBC TV Cooks - Rick Stein Cooks Fish, the copyright stamp below the BBC Worldwide disclaimer reads "© BBC Worldwide (year in roman numerals)."

FX/SFX: The animation.

Music/Sounds: A jarring and creepy 9-note piano piece that sounds like a pianist got possessed, followed by the sound of a choir holding the final note, sometimes extended.

Music/Sounds Variants:

On the "Five Doctors" variant, an spinning whirl sound occurs where the Time Scoop steals the BBC logo.
At the end of the US VHS release of Diana: A Celebration (one of the last tapes to use this logo) and the 2003 UK DVD of Poldark: Series 1 Volume 1 (which utilized the 1993 video master, and even features the 1993 copyright), it is completely silent. This also occurs at the beginning and end of the UK equivalent of the former title.
On some re-releases, if you listen very closely, you might hear the faint 1984 music from the 1980 logo humming over the logo and warning screen, due to poor plastering.

Availability: Appears on VHS releases of BBC programs from the era, like Series 1 of Yes Prime Minister. This logo is intact on the DVD release of Wallace and Gromit in Three Grand Adventures from DreamWorks Home Entertainment (around 2004). This weirdly also appears on Netflix prints of A Blackadder Christmas Carol, due to using a video master. It can sometimes plaster previous logos on re-releases. It appeared on UK Pingu VHS releases at the time ("Barrel of Fun" used the previous logo instead, though this logo appeared on the rare 1992 re-release version). The closing variant appears at the end of the DVD of Doctor Who: More Than 30 Years in the Tardis (with the 1994 copyright) from the Doctor Who: The Legacy Collection DVD box set released in 2013, and on Red Dwarf Smeg Outs (with the 1995 copyright) on the Red Dwarf: Just the Smegs UK DVD released in 2007.

Editor's Note: It's known as one of the more ominous logos in the logo community due to its somewhat depressing music and black background, combined with the strange-looking BBC logo and limited animation.

4th Logo

(September 1992-September 1998)

Nicknames: "BBC Worldwide Americas", "Flying Boxes", "'90s BBC II"

Logos: Against a white marble background, three black boxes swing in from the right. As they turn sideways, the letters "BBC" enter each one. Once the logo is formed, three colored streaks (one blue, one red, and one green) pass under it and leave similarly colored lines under the boxes. Finally, the word "VIDEO" (in black) appears under the completed logo. Everything seems to be italicized, even the boxes.

FX/SFX: CGI.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 3rd logo.

Music/Sounds Variant: At the beginning of the American release of Diana: A Celebration, the logo is completely silent.

Availability: Appears on home video releases of BBC programs, such as Absolutely Fabulous. This logo was used in tandem with the other one. It was last seen on the 1998 CBS/Fox VHS of The Vicar of Dibley: Volume 1.

Editor's Note: Its music is still ominous, but the brighter environment and more dynamic movements make it calmer.

5th Logo

(10 November 1997-2009)

Nicknames: "Square Boxes", "Rainbow Smoke", "'90s BBC III"

Logos:

Openings: On a navy blue background there are several ribbons going from top right and top middle of the screen and the bottom middle of the screen highlighted in red, green, and blue. The current BBC logo (in white) fades in.
Closings: Same as opening, except the text fades in with the BBC logo underneath, in an Gill Sans typeface and it reads "Distributed under license by BBC Worldwide Ltd," and below it, "© BBC (again, in its logo) (year in roman numerals)."

Variants:

The text in the closing variant might be in different font.
Sometimes, the logo can be in widescreen, also the ribbons move differently. This is mostly seen on more recent DVDs.
From 2003 to 2005, on the closing version, the BBC logo in the copyright info is replaced by a text version.
On The Best of BBC Comedy (a promotional tape made in conjunction with the UK tabloid the Sunday People), instead of the BBC logo, we see "BBC Worldwide & The Sunday People Present The BBC Comedy Collection" (with the Sunday People logo) on the animated ribbons background while an announcer says "You're watching The Best of BBC Comedy, a hilarious compilation prepared exclusively for readers of the Sunday People." At the end of the tape, we see a line-up of BBC Comedy videos of the time being shown on the animated ribbons background as the same announcer says "We hope you enjoyed this selection of The Best of BBC Comedy, specially compiled for the readers of the Sunday People. Why not watch them in full with your very own collection of BBC comedy videos? Available from all good video retailers." After he finishes, the BBC Video theme plays out as the second BBC Comedy Video line-up fades over to the closing version of the BBC Video ident.
On the Polish VHS release of The Incredible Adventures of Wallace & Gromit, the logo is shortened so that only the remaining animation (with the BBC logo) is shown. At the end of the tape, the logo is still.
On the 2001 Italian VHS release of Teletubbies: Tubby Toast, the logo was smaller, has a black background and the ribbons are thicker and only move slightly. This is probably a prototype variant of the logo.

FX/SFX: The ribbons moving.

Music/Sounds: A slightly more upbeat re-arrangement of the previous two logos's theme, this time with synthesized strings. For the logo's first year, the theme was slightly rearranged with different strings.

Music/Sounds Variants:

A low tone theme has been spotted on the closing version.
On the Polish VHS release of The Incredible Adventures of Wallace & Gromit, the Wallace & Gromit theme plays over the logo. At the end of the tape, it is silent.
On the 2001 Italian VHS release of Teletubbies: Tubby Toast, the logo is silent.

Availability: Common. Seen on VHS tapes and DVDs released by the company prior to 2009. One of the last releases to use this logo was the Warner/2Entertain region 1 DVD of Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection - Remastered.

Editor's Note: This logo is a favorite of many, especially in the UK. There's debate that this logo was originally going to feature the 1988 BBC logo due to the colors being prominent with it, but was changed at the last minute.

6th Logo

(2009-2018)

Nicknames: "Flashing Box", "Color Concentric", "Purple BBC"

Logo: A red screen flashes in a red lens flare, and it causes a BBC squares logo to appear, this time in a small, purple background. The background then glows in red as several flares in different colors,suddenly flashing one by one, light the BBC logo. The effect of flashing also appears on circles that left. The color in the background changes each time a flash appears.

Variant: There is a short version used for international television distribution at the end of programs.

FX/SFX: The flashing, the background changing colors, and the lighting up of the BBC logo.

Music/Sounds: A synthesized tune that is accompanied by strings, organs and drum beats.

Availability: Common. Can be seen on BBC home entertainment releases until 2018.

Editor's Note: A decent logo, but it's not as popular as previous ones from the company.

7th Logo

(2017-present)

Logo: We see several white lines stretching and forming a star-like shape, then these separate (explode) and disappear, leaving some of the dots moving, while the BBC logo appears in the center. The dots disappear after a few seconds.

FX/SFX: The lines and dots moving, the fading of the BBC logo.

Variant: There is also a short version, seen at the end of programs (such as Doctor Fostor), and a sped-up version.

Music/Sounds: A creaking sound, which is later accompanied by an orchestral theme.

Availability: Current. You can find this logo on Doctor Who and Bluey DVDs.

Editor's Note: Somewhat plain compared to past BBC Video logos.

BBC Video (UK)

Contents

1st Logo

2nd Logo

3rd Logo

4th Logo

5th Logo

6th Logo

7th Logo

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