Background[]
TeleVentures was originally a joint venture television distributor between Stephen J. Cannell Productions, TriStar Pictures, and Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions, that was started by Stephen J. Cannell in 1986. It was made part of Columbia Pictures Entertainment on December 21, 1987. On July 11, 1990, TeleVentures was sold to Cannell and became "Cannell Distribution Co.". However, many of the series distributed by TeleVentures, i.e. My Two Dads, Werewolf, and Buck James, (TriStar), Mama's Boy (Witt/Thomas/Harris), and Hunter (Cannell), were passed on to Columbia Pictures Television Distribution (now Sony Pictures Television).
1st Logo (1987-1988)[]
Nicknames: "TV", "The Conjoining Shapes"
Logo: On a black background, two shapes that come from the bottom left and right of the screen join in the center of the screen to form a "V", and "TELEVENTURES" wipes below.
FX/SFX: The shapes joining, the text wiping in. Basic computer effects.
Music/Sounds: A futuristic sci-fi "charging up" sound.
Availability: Rare.
- Still intact on three episodes of My Two Dads on the DVD by Shout! Factory.
- Also seen on the TV movie More Wild Wild West.
- This was also spotted on a later print of the 1981 TV movie The Violation of Sarah McDavid.
Editor's Note: The "charging up" sound is rather loud and ear-grating.
2nd Logo (1988-1990)[]
Nicknames: "TV II", "Gold TV", "TeleVentures Trail"
Logo: On a black background, the gold text "TELEVENTURES" swings down with a trail effect from the top to the bottom of the screen. A gold TeleVentures logo fades in above the text, and the whole thing sparkles. The end product looks similar to the previous logo.
FX/SFX: The text trail, the logo sparkling. More basic computer animation.
Music/Sounds: A 16-note flute synthesized theme with a drum beat and chimes at the end. In most cases, it's silent.
Music/Sounds Variants:
- A rare later variant uses a different saxophone theme.
- At the end of a 1991 WPIX-TV airing of Bat*21, the end theme was heard over the logo.
Availability: Rare.
- It was last seen on Werewolf on Chiller and is retained on the first two DVD releases of My Two Dads.
- The silent version is intact on one episode of season 1 of My Two Dads on DVD. However, the 16-note flute synthesized theme is on season 3 of My Two Dads as well.
- The version with the sax theme is a hard call. It can supposedly be found on the VHS release of Weekend War.
Editor's Note: It's pretty cheesy given the outdated theme and the animation technique used. However, it's an improvement over the previous logo.