Logo description by Matt Williams, James Stanley Barr, Nicholas Aczel, and D.L. Chandell Logo captures by snelfu, Eric S., and Derrick Anderson Editions by V of Doom and Curiousgeorge60
Background: Fox Television Studios was the network television division of 20th Century Fox Television, Inc., that was formed in 1997 by News Corporation (later "21st Century Fox Inc.", now "The Walt Disney Company"). On December 4, 2014, the Fox Television Group merged Fox Television Studios with Fox 21 into Fox 21 Television Studios, which itself became a revived Touchstone Television in 2020.
(May 19, 1998-March 16, 2015)[]
Nicknames: "Dark CGI Searchlights", "Lightning Tower", "Fox Television Studios Structure"
Logo: The 1994 20th Century Fox logo is seen already formed, however it now reads "FOX TELEVISION STUDIOS" with ‘TELEVISION STUDIOS’ slightly taller (similar to the ‘SEARCHLIGHT’ text in the Fox Searchlight Pictures logo), the searchlights are all off, and a thunderstorm is brewing over the structure. Lightning strikes the tower and the searchlights turn on. The News Corporation byline fades in below.
Trivia: The background of this logo was later reused for the 2003 Fox Lab logo.
Variants:
- This logo is seen for a split-second at the beginning of the Foxstar Productions logo in 2000.
- In 2008, the logo was given a more "enhanced" look with more realistic effects and background, but the byline is now in all caps and a more cheap-looking Times font. The design also looks cheaper.
- Sometimes, the logo is bylineless, but has always been bylineless since 2013, due to the News Corp. split.
- On Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt and the first four seasons of Soul Food: The Series on DVD, a short version is used.
- An extended version exists, where the darkened Fox Television Studios tower slowly turns and zooms in a bit with lightning in the background. The logo then continues as normal, staying on a few seconds with more searchlight animation and extended fanfare.
- On Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House, the logo has more searchlight animation, but not as much as above. It's also presented in widescreen.
- Empire of Dreams: The Story of the "Star Wars" Trilogy has a slightly cropped version of the logo. The ending theme plays over it and it appears before the Lucasfilm logo.
FX/SFX: The stormy sky, the lightning, and the searchlights turning on. The original 1998 version was done by Flip Your Lid Animation, and the 2008 "enhanced" version was done by Cinergy Creative.
Music/Sounds: Sounds of thunder and lightning, followed by a rearrangement of the final four notes of the 1997 Fox fanfare conducted by David Newman when the structure turns on.
Music/Sounds Variants:
- In some cases, it's the closing theme of the show or none.
- The long version has thunder and the final eight notes of the Fox fanfare.
- On Olive the Other Reindeer and a handful of season 1 episodes of Malcolm in the Middle, the 1997 20th Century Fox Television music is used, abridged to the last two notes on the latter.
- On The Glades, the second half of the 2005 TCFTV theme is used without any thunder sounds.
- The Home Alone 4 version has the extended version of the music in low-pitched tone (NTSC-pitched tone for PAL prints as well as the UK VHS release).
- On some shows starting in 2013, it uses the last four notes of the 1997 20th Century Fox movie fanfare, accompanied by a different thunder stock sound. This version would later be used for the 2015 TCFTV fanfare, minus the thunder sound.
- On Fox airings of Murder in Small Town X, a different thunder sound plays over a generic theme.
Availability: Common.
- This logo made its first appearance on the 1998 TV movie Gargantua.
- This was also seen on The Hughleys, Burn Notice, White Collar, Dear Savannah, Saving Grace, and Malcolm in the Middle, among others.
- It survives on DVD releases of The Shield.
- Some shows on Fox Sports Net also used this logo.
- Some reruns of shows like The Hughleys on TV One and Malcolm in the Middle on IFC and TeenNick plaster it with the 20th Television logo (sometimes leaving the music intact). It was also seen on The Girls Next Door on E!.
- The long version was only seen on Night of the Headless Horseman. Nick's print of Olive the Other Reindeer also plasters it with 20th Television, while Cartoon Network and The WB's prints don't show any Fox logo.
- Reruns of Malcolm in the Middle on Comedy Central UK plasters this with the 2013 bylineless 20th Century Fox Television logo, whilst some episodes from later in the series run retain this logo.
- However, on Netflix and HD prints, this logo was plastered by the 2013 bylineless 20th Century Fox Television logo all throughout, sometimes leaving the FTS theme intact.
- Hulu prints of the sixth and seventh seasons of also retain this logo, beginning with the sixth season episode "Tiki Lounge" and it is also preserved on Aussie airings thereof.
- On current HD prints of Home Alone 4, this is plastered by the 2013 20th Television logo, sometimes leaving the FTS theme intact.
