1st logo (1982-1990)
Background: Genesis Entertainment was founded by Nashville-based television producer Al Gannaway. The byline “A Division of Gannaway Productions, Inc.” was seen on the 1st logo until 1988, when Genesis became independent.
Nickname: "The Cloudburst”
Logo: On a shady purple background, we see a shady blue card with a logo on it flipping toward the screen. The logo is a dark blue cloud with a sunburst popping out of its top, surrounded by four “still” sparkles and a “pop-up” shadow effect. Below the sunburst on the cloud is the words “GENESIS ENTERTAINMENT” in an old-style font.
SFX: Apart from the “flipping” effect, it’s a still logo.
Cheesy Factor: The “flipping” is totally 80s, the cloudburst appears as an unrealistic model (probably early computer graphics) and the sparkles look like Christmas lights.
Music: Plays over the end theme.
Availability: Pretty much gone, last seen on “The Judge,” “Highway to Heaven,” and 1980s episodes of “Divorce Court.” Given the surprise 2nd logo preservation, chances are this logo will remain intact if the shows are rerun in the future.
Scare Factor: Median, the graphics and flipping effect are tacky, and combined with the dramatic end themes of certain shows, some may be startled by it. But even this logo is pretty harmless compared to what followed…
2nd logo (1990-1995)
Nickname: "G in Space,” “G from Hell”
Logo: On a space background, we see legions of shooting stars. From the right a giant “G” (looking as if carved from a block of ice) zooms out, turning at an angle towards the screen. As shooting stars fly by the “G,” it sparkles, and turns into a TV-tube ice shape with the “G” appearing as a cutout with streaks flying from it. Below the “G” tube, a bunch of sparkles form the wordsGENESIS E N T E R T A I N M E N T
USA Today: In 1990, Genesis was sold to Gannett Corporation (publishers of the newspaper USA Today). A variant with the byline “A Division of the Garrett Corporation” appeared on the short-lived series “USA Today on TV.” Gannett spun it off after the show’s failure, again making it independent until 1994…
A Brave New World: When Genesis Entertainment merged with New World Pictures in 1994, the byline “A Division of New World Entertainment” was seen below the logo. This variant appeared on 1994-95 episodes of “Real Stories of the Highway Patrol” and “Marvel Action Hour.”SFX: The shooting stars, the sparkle effects, the zooming “G.”
Cheesy Factor: Primitive early CGI effects, and the synthesizer soundtrack is unmusical to the point of evil.
Music: A droning 80s synthesizer score.
Availability: Extremely Rare, last appeared on “Top Cops” in syndication and 1993-95 episodes of “Real Stories of the Highway Patrol.” Survives on AMC’s prints of “Tales From The Crypt,” followed by the 20th Television logo.
Scare Factor: High, the eerie music, the scary “G,” and the sparkle effects make this a logo to watch with the lights ON.
3rd logo (1995-1997)
Then in 1995, a clean cut logo for the New World/Genesis merge appeared, but as a variant of the New World Television logo. Alas, the logo was to be Genesis’ last, as the New World Pictures buyout by News Corporation in 1997 effectively put an end to both companies.
Nickname: “CGI Sphere,” “New World/Genesis Distribution”
Logo: With a shooting star effect we see a blurred red-orange sphere that clears up to create a small reddish-orange abstract globe and below that is text reading “New World/Genesis Distribution.”SFX: The fireworks, the sphere clearing up.Music: A synthesizer sounder that ends with a series of non-musical noises resembling a seagull.Availability: Extinct, as it was only seen on 1995-96 episodes of “Marvel Action Hour.” The New World Entertainment variant of this logo was much more common, replacing the Genesis logo altogether on 1995-97 episodes of “Real Stories of the Highway Patrol.”Scare Factor: Median, the shooting star/fireworks EFX animation can startle many viewers.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Four Star
1st Logo(1952-1956)
Logo: In the end credits of “Four Star Playhouse,” we fade to the disclaimer “A FOUR STAR” written at the top of the screen. Below it one-by-one appear four stars, stacked and each bearing names to the right:
AFOUR STAR
CHARLES BOYER
DAVID NIVEN
DICK POWELL
IDA LUPINO
Below them appears the word “PRODUCTION, INC” and in smaller text the copyright info.Who are they?: The people named in the logo are the producers of “Four Star Playhouse,” who double-duty as recurring lead players in the show.
FX: Just the appearing of the stars and words.Cheesy Factor: The logo is very simply animated.
Music: Plays over the “Four Star Playhouse” end theme, composed by Leon Klatzkin.
Availability: Intact on all episodes of “Four Star Playhouse,” as the logo is part of the end credits. Select episodes were given VHS release by Marathon Music and Video during the 90s.
Scare Factor: Low, depends strictly on your feeling regarding the “Four Star Playhouse” theme music, but it would get much worse with the follow-up logo…..
2nd Logo(1956-1967)
Nickname: “The Banner”
Logo: On a space background, we see four big stars with shadows extending down and meeting at a vanishing point. From the vanishing point, a shady banner with the words “FOUR STAR” in a majestic font zoom up to just below the stars.
Variation: On Four Star shows produced in color during the period, the logo was seen in blue-tone.FX: The “FOUR STAR” banner zooming up.
Cheesy Factor: The zooming of the banner is quite rough, but if anything is especially cheesy, its got to be those gaudy shadows used on the stars, which are just waaaay too tacky.
Music: A booming fanfare composed by Rudy Schrager, usually accompanied with an announcer saying “FILMED BY FOUR STAR!” or “THIS HAS BEEN A FOUR STAR PRODUCTION!” Later in its existence, it was replaced with another fanfare composed by Joseph Mullendore. As the logo approached the end of its run in the mid-1960s, it was replaced with a more patriotic fanfare, composed by Herschel Burke Gilbert.
Availability: Not sure, the logo was seen on many TV westerns during the late 50s and early 60s (chief among them “The Rifleman,” Sam Peckinpaugh’s “The Westerner” and 1965-67 episodes of “The Big Valley”) as well as “Burke’s Law,” “Honey West” and 1965-66 episodes of “The Smothers Brothers Show,” but these shows have not been seen much in syndication since New World Entertainment bought the company in late 1987. It remains to be seen whether now-owner News Corporation’s editing habits with their Fox TV and MTM logos extends to the Four Star library. The blue-tone variant was most recently seen with PAX’s generic network music when PAX reran “The Big Valley” a couple years ago, but PAX of late no longer reruns the show.
Scare Factor: High, a generally well-liked logo for those who were lucky to see it, but more than a few cannot stand the loud fanfares or the creepy announcer, or hate the rough zoom-up of the banner (ala V of Doom), or the dark background.
3rd Logo(1967-1969)
Nicknames: “Diamonds,” “Flying Triangles”
Logo: On a black background, we see a set of ten multicolored diamonds (five on top, five on bottom) stacked together, each composed of a top and bottom triangle (each half a different color). The diamonds split up and fly, and each of the triangles of a particular identical color merge at the bottom ends, forming four stars of the colors from left-to-right: orange, red, white, and yellow. The words “FOUR” and “STAR” uncover from the top and bottom of the stars, respectively, to complete the logo.FX/Cheesy Factor: The triangle animations, the “FOUR” and “STAR” uncovering.
Music: The same Herschel Burke Gilbert fanfare used as the third music for the 2nd logo.
Availability: Again, not sure for the reasons listed above. This logo was most prominent on 1967-69 episodes of “The Big Valley,” and was seen with PAX’s generic music when the network reran the show recently.
Scare Factor: Median, the catchy music and the flying triangles might make some people jumpy.
4th Logo(1969-1975)
Note: The company was renamed Four Star International in late 1968, but this logo didn’t first appear until January 1969.
Nickname: “Four Star ‘70”
Logo: On a metallic blue (in later years, black) background, four thin lines are seen to the left of the screen. On the right, we see the words “FOUR STAR,” in a thin white Old West-style font. Suddenly, four white stars pop into place on the set of lines. After the last star appears, the word "International," in a red Calligraphy-style font, fades in under the company name. FX: The stars popping into place, the word "International" fading in. Cheesy Factor: The design is very gaudy even by late-60s standards; the mixing of the two wildly different fonts really doesn't work here. Doubled with the fact that this resembles a number of 45 RPM record labels from earlier in the decade doesn't help matters any with this logo. Music: A gently tinkling woodwind and hapsichord scale, ending with a single orchestra hit. Availability: Yet again, not sure for reasons previously listed. Was seen on latter-day "The Big Valley" episodes from the middle of the 1968-69 season onward (recently seen as a PAX-sized variant, go figure) as well as syndicated prints of the game show "Thrill Seekers” and several first-run made-for-TV movies.
Scare Factor: Minimal, the rather sedate jingle more than compensates for the gaudy look of the logo.
5th Logo(1984-1989)Nicknames: “CGI,” “The Filmstrip 4”
Logo: On a black background, we see four large red stars, one-by-one, zoom by from left to right at an angle. As the 4th star appears, the number “4” (in a high-tech font) comes from the right and attaches itself to the star. The background turns purple, and three lines (the first slightly thicker than the others) pass over the logo and settle under, wiping the words “FOUR” and “STAR” to the left and right of the logo, respectively. The logo “shines.”FX: The star animations, the background turning purple, the line animations, the “shine.”
Cheesy Factor: The CGI is rather dated, looking two-dimensional and utilizing overly simple animation effects.
Music: A rising new-age synth theme.
Availability: Rare, Four Star’s output was coming to a stop by this time; was last seen on 1984-85 episodes of “Mad Movies with the L.A. Connection,” mid-80s prints of the game show “Liar’s Club,” and the 1987 colorized version of “Scrooge” (1951) in syndication.
Scare Factor: Low, this once state-of-the-art logo was a fitting end to a company with a memorable library of logos.
Logo: In the end credits of “Four Star Playhouse,” we fade to the disclaimer “A FOUR STAR” written at the top of the screen. Below it one-by-one appear four stars, stacked and each bearing names to the right:
AFOUR STAR
CHARLES BOYER
DAVID NIVEN
DICK POWELL
IDA LUPINO
Below them appears the word “PRODUCTION, INC” and in smaller text the copyright info.Who are they?: The people named in the logo are the producers of “Four Star Playhouse,” who double-duty as recurring lead players in the show.
FX: Just the appearing of the stars and words.Cheesy Factor: The logo is very simply animated.
Music: Plays over the “Four Star Playhouse” end theme, composed by Leon Klatzkin.
Availability: Intact on all episodes of “Four Star Playhouse,” as the logo is part of the end credits. Select episodes were given VHS release by Marathon Music and Video during the 90s.
Scare Factor: Low, depends strictly on your feeling regarding the “Four Star Playhouse” theme music, but it would get much worse with the follow-up logo…..
2nd Logo(1956-1967)
Nickname: “The Banner”
Logo: On a space background, we see four big stars with shadows extending down and meeting at a vanishing point. From the vanishing point, a shady banner with the words “FOUR STAR” in a majestic font zoom up to just below the stars.
Variation: On Four Star shows produced in color during the period, the logo was seen in blue-tone.FX: The “FOUR STAR” banner zooming up.
Cheesy Factor: The zooming of the banner is quite rough, but if anything is especially cheesy, its got to be those gaudy shadows used on the stars, which are just waaaay too tacky.
Music: A booming fanfare composed by Rudy Schrager, usually accompanied with an announcer saying “FILMED BY FOUR STAR!” or “THIS HAS BEEN A FOUR STAR PRODUCTION!” Later in its existence, it was replaced with another fanfare composed by Joseph Mullendore. As the logo approached the end of its run in the mid-1960s, it was replaced with a more patriotic fanfare, composed by Herschel Burke Gilbert.
Availability: Not sure, the logo was seen on many TV westerns during the late 50s and early 60s (chief among them “The Rifleman,” Sam Peckinpaugh’s “The Westerner” and 1965-67 episodes of “The Big Valley”) as well as “Burke’s Law,” “Honey West” and 1965-66 episodes of “The Smothers Brothers Show,” but these shows have not been seen much in syndication since New World Entertainment bought the company in late 1987. It remains to be seen whether now-owner News Corporation’s editing habits with their Fox TV and MTM logos extends to the Four Star library. The blue-tone variant was most recently seen with PAX’s generic network music when PAX reran “The Big Valley” a couple years ago, but PAX of late no longer reruns the show.
Scare Factor: High, a generally well-liked logo for those who were lucky to see it, but more than a few cannot stand the loud fanfares or the creepy announcer, or hate the rough zoom-up of the banner (ala V of Doom), or the dark background.
3rd Logo(1967-1969)
Nicknames: “Diamonds,” “Flying Triangles”
Logo: On a black background, we see a set of ten multicolored diamonds (five on top, five on bottom) stacked together, each composed of a top and bottom triangle (each half a different color). The diamonds split up and fly, and each of the triangles of a particular identical color merge at the bottom ends, forming four stars of the colors from left-to-right: orange, red, white, and yellow. The words “FOUR” and “STAR” uncover from the top and bottom of the stars, respectively, to complete the logo.FX/Cheesy Factor: The triangle animations, the “FOUR” and “STAR” uncovering.
Music: The same Herschel Burke Gilbert fanfare used as the third music for the 2nd logo.
Availability: Again, not sure for the reasons listed above. This logo was most prominent on 1967-69 episodes of “The Big Valley,” and was seen with PAX’s generic music when the network reran the show recently.
Scare Factor: Median, the catchy music and the flying triangles might make some people jumpy.
4th Logo(1969-1975)
Note: The company was renamed Four Star International in late 1968, but this logo didn’t first appear until January 1969.
Nickname: “Four Star ‘70”
Logo: On a metallic blue (in later years, black) background, four thin lines are seen to the left of the screen. On the right, we see the words “FOUR STAR,” in a thin white Old West-style font. Suddenly, four white stars pop into place on the set of lines. After the last star appears, the word "International," in a red Calligraphy-style font, fades in under the company name. FX: The stars popping into place, the word "International" fading in. Cheesy Factor: The design is very gaudy even by late-60s standards; the mixing of the two wildly different fonts really doesn't work here. Doubled with the fact that this resembles a number of 45 RPM record labels from earlier in the decade doesn't help matters any with this logo. Music: A gently tinkling woodwind and hapsichord scale, ending with a single orchestra hit. Availability: Yet again, not sure for reasons previously listed. Was seen on latter-day "The Big Valley" episodes from the middle of the 1968-69 season onward (recently seen as a PAX-sized variant, go figure) as well as syndicated prints of the game show "Thrill Seekers” and several first-run made-for-TV movies.
Scare Factor: Minimal, the rather sedate jingle more than compensates for the gaudy look of the logo.
5th Logo(1984-1989)Nicknames: “CGI,” “The Filmstrip 4”
Logo: On a black background, we see four large red stars, one-by-one, zoom by from left to right at an angle. As the 4th star appears, the number “4” (in a high-tech font) comes from the right and attaches itself to the star. The background turns purple, and three lines (the first slightly thicker than the others) pass over the logo and settle under, wiping the words “FOUR” and “STAR” to the left and right of the logo, respectively. The logo “shines.”FX: The star animations, the background turning purple, the line animations, the “shine.”
Cheesy Factor: The CGI is rather dated, looking two-dimensional and utilizing overly simple animation effects.
Music: A rising new-age synth theme.
Availability: Rare, Four Star’s output was coming to a stop by this time; was last seen on 1984-85 episodes of “Mad Movies with the L.A. Connection,” mid-80s prints of the game show “Liar’s Club,” and the 1987 colorized version of “Scrooge” (1951) in syndication.
Scare Factor: Low, this once state-of-the-art logo was a fitting end to a company with a memorable library of logos.
20th Century Fox
TCF TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS, INC.(1952-1955)
Logo: An in-credit logo Similar to the 20th Century Fox logo, except instead of "20th Century Fox", it reads "TCF". Underneath was "Produced by TCF TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS, INC. IRVING ASHER, Executive In Charge of Production."
(Note: An in-credit mention for TCF in association with CBS was seen on episodes of "Perry Mason")
FX: None, it's a still logo
Music: The outro of whatever show it was playing on.
Availability: Rare, seen on "My Friend Flicka" in color.
Scare Factor: None.
1st Logo(1955-1961)
Nickname: "Starry Sky"
Logo: We see a backdrop of the night sky covered with stars and clouds. Over this backdrop, we see the following text fade in, not similar to any of their movie logos, might I add
20th CENTURY-FOX
This company name, in bold letters, fades in as if it were streaking from the bottom left of the screen. The "20th" seems to be more to the right of the other text, not as displayed here.
FX: The fading in of the company name.
Music: None, for it was accompanied by whatever theme song was playing throughout.
Availability: Near Extinction, although it was last seen on "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" on Nick At Nite/TV Land.
Scare Factor: None
2nd Logo(1961-1992)
Nicknames: "The Searchlights", "Zoom-Out", "20th Television Fox"
Logo: On a dark blue sky background, 3 rows of words, "20th", "CENTURY", and "FOX", apparently carved out of stone or metal and in a gold color, are seen. The words are "stacked" on top of each other, with similarly carved lines separating the rows. After a second, the word "TELEVISION", slanted at an angle, suddenly appears, filling the screen. It then rapidly zooms out, plastering itself on top of the "CENTURY" on the stack of words. A circular stage-like structure juts out from the base of the "stack". There are pedestals on both sides of the stack, each with a non-moving searchlight. In the background, several searchlights scan the sky.
There are two main versions of this logo: One based on the 1970s searchlight logo and one based on the 1980s redraw.
FX: The searchlights, the zooming out of "TELEVISION."
Cheesy Factor: The "TELEVISION" appearing and zooming-out really really REALLY looks choppy and amateurish.
Music: Three versions here, all variations of the famous Alfred Newman jingle:
1963-1967: A short tune that is a variation of the jingle but does not sound exactly like a Fox jingle.
1965-1988: Sped-up version of the above. Scariest music used on this logo.
1988-1992: Extremely short version of the Fox jingle.
Availability: Fox has replaced this with a newer logo (most likely the 20th Television one), but can still be seen on older prints of a few shows. Several episodes on "The Simpsons" DVD set still have it, and for some reason, has been spotted on Comedy Central's print of Office Space (a 1999 movie, so this is really messed up). A similar situation happened on a few episodes of The Pretender when reran on TNT.
Scare Factor: This actually varied a bit, depending on the logo:
1965-1982: High, the fast-paced jingle combined with the sudden zoom-out of the "TELEVISION" and scary searchlight drawing will cause more than a few scares.
1982-1992: Median, the sudden zoom-out is still there but the drawing and jingle are now tamer.
Both versions of these logos often followed those scary "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" screens.
3rd Logo(1995-)
Nickname: "CGI Searchlights"
Logo: It's exactly the same as the current Twentieth Television logo, but now the stack of words has been modified to resemble the standard Fox stack, with "TELEVISION" added to the bottom and the whole thing looking rather taller.
FX: The logo zooming out.
Music: Two main versions:
1996-97: The 1988 TV jingle, but re-arranged and re-recorded by Bruce Broughton.
1997-now: A re-recorded version of the 1965 jingle!
Fox network commonly uses their own fanfare over logos, due to generic credits-- due to the fact that much Fox programming is produced by Fox, these fanfares go well with this logo. From 1997-2001, a simple Fox drumroll was used; the 2001-2002 season introduced different "remixes" of the Fox fanfare, usually only using the final four notes.
Availability: Typically found on network programming provided by Fox. May or may not be present in syndicated repeats of network programs-- the 20th TV logo may cover it up.
Scare Factor: None.
20th Television(1992-)
Nickname: "Tower of Tepidity"
Logo: We see a close-up of the familiar Fox structure, but now it's in CGI and reads "20th TELEVISION", with the line below that (that would normally be reserved for "FOX") replaced by a simple golden square. The logo zooms out to the familiar Fox logo distance.
Byline: "A NEWS CORPORATION COMPANY" began appearing below the logo in 1993.
FX: The logo zooming out.
Music: The 1988 jingle was used initially, but was re-recorded in 1995.
Availability: Plastered onto most every show Fox distributes, even classic shows.
Scare Factor: Low.
FOX Television Studios(1998-)
Logo: We see the standard Fox structure, this time reading "FOX TELEVISION STUDIOS". However, all is not well. The normally clear sky is gone, and a thunderstorm is brewing overhead! Worse yet, one of the searchlights blows out during the logo! The News Corp. byline is still intact.
FX: The stormy sky, the searchlight going on us.
Music: The final four notes of the long version of the Fox fanfare.
Availability: Can be seen on most comedies that Fox produces like "The Hughleys" and "Malcolm in the Middle", and some shows on Fox Sports Net.
Scare Factor: None, just a funny send-up of every single Fox logo. :)
Foxstar Productions(2001-)
Logo: We see the "Fox Television Studios" logo described above. Suddenly a bolt of lightning crashes down on the logo, and when the light clears the logo has changed: the sky has cleared again, and we see the Fox structure with a giant star on top of the stack and the wordsFOXSTARP R O D U C T I O N S
in the lines below.
FX: The stormy sky, the lightning, the logo switch.
Cheesy Factor: Nice-looking CGI for the most part as with other current Fox logos, but the logo transition from Fox Television Studios to Foxstar Productions is very jarring and unprofessional.
Music: Same as Fox Television Studios.
Availability: Seen on documentaries produced by Fox such as AMC’s "Backstory" and A&E’s "Biography" (post-2001 episodes).
Scare Factor: Minimal to Median, the choppy transition between logos and the scary "star" structure will probably catch more than a few off-guard, especially if you’ve never seen it before.
Logo: An in-credit logo Similar to the 20th Century Fox logo, except instead of "20th Century Fox", it reads "TCF". Underneath was "Produced by TCF TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS, INC. IRVING ASHER, Executive In Charge of Production."
(Note: An in-credit mention for TCF in association with CBS was seen on episodes of "Perry Mason")
FX: None, it's a still logo
Music: The outro of whatever show it was playing on.
Availability: Rare, seen on "My Friend Flicka" in color.
Scare Factor: None.
1st Logo(1955-1961)
Nickname: "Starry Sky"
Logo: We see a backdrop of the night sky covered with stars and clouds. Over this backdrop, we see the following text fade in, not similar to any of their movie logos, might I add
20th CENTURY-FOX
This company name, in bold letters, fades in as if it were streaking from the bottom left of the screen. The "20th" seems to be more to the right of the other text, not as displayed here.
FX: The fading in of the company name.
Music: None, for it was accompanied by whatever theme song was playing throughout.
Availability: Near Extinction, although it was last seen on "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" on Nick At Nite/TV Land.
Scare Factor: None
2nd Logo(1961-1992)
Nicknames: "The Searchlights", "Zoom-Out", "20th Television Fox"
Logo: On a dark blue sky background, 3 rows of words, "20th", "CENTURY", and "FOX", apparently carved out of stone or metal and in a gold color, are seen. The words are "stacked" on top of each other, with similarly carved lines separating the rows. After a second, the word "TELEVISION", slanted at an angle, suddenly appears, filling the screen. It then rapidly zooms out, plastering itself on top of the "CENTURY" on the stack of words. A circular stage-like structure juts out from the base of the "stack". There are pedestals on both sides of the stack, each with a non-moving searchlight. In the background, several searchlights scan the sky.
There are two main versions of this logo: One based on the 1970s searchlight logo and one based on the 1980s redraw.
FX: The searchlights, the zooming out of "TELEVISION."
Cheesy Factor: The "TELEVISION" appearing and zooming-out really really REALLY looks choppy and amateurish.
Music: Three versions here, all variations of the famous Alfred Newman jingle:
1963-1967: A short tune that is a variation of the jingle but does not sound exactly like a Fox jingle.
1965-1988: Sped-up version of the above. Scariest music used on this logo.
1988-1992: Extremely short version of the Fox jingle.
Availability: Fox has replaced this with a newer logo (most likely the 20th Television one), but can still be seen on older prints of a few shows. Several episodes on "The Simpsons" DVD set still have it, and for some reason, has been spotted on Comedy Central's print of Office Space (a 1999 movie, so this is really messed up). A similar situation happened on a few episodes of The Pretender when reran on TNT.
Scare Factor: This actually varied a bit, depending on the logo:
1965-1982: High, the fast-paced jingle combined with the sudden zoom-out of the "TELEVISION" and scary searchlight drawing will cause more than a few scares.
1982-1992: Median, the sudden zoom-out is still there but the drawing and jingle are now tamer.
Both versions of these logos often followed those scary "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" screens.
3rd Logo(1995-)
Nickname: "CGI Searchlights"
Logo: It's exactly the same as the current Twentieth Television logo, but now the stack of words has been modified to resemble the standard Fox stack, with "TELEVISION" added to the bottom and the whole thing looking rather taller.
FX: The logo zooming out.
Music: Two main versions:
1996-97: The 1988 TV jingle, but re-arranged and re-recorded by Bruce Broughton.
1997-now: A re-recorded version of the 1965 jingle!
Fox network commonly uses their own fanfare over logos, due to generic credits-- due to the fact that much Fox programming is produced by Fox, these fanfares go well with this logo. From 1997-2001, a simple Fox drumroll was used; the 2001-2002 season introduced different "remixes" of the Fox fanfare, usually only using the final four notes.
Availability: Typically found on network programming provided by Fox. May or may not be present in syndicated repeats of network programs-- the 20th TV logo may cover it up.
Scare Factor: None.
20th Television(1992-)
Nickname: "Tower of Tepidity"
Logo: We see a close-up of the familiar Fox structure, but now it's in CGI and reads "20th TELEVISION", with the line below that (that would normally be reserved for "FOX") replaced by a simple golden square. The logo zooms out to the familiar Fox logo distance.
Byline: "A NEWS CORPORATION COMPANY" began appearing below the logo in 1993.
FX: The logo zooming out.
Music: The 1988 jingle was used initially, but was re-recorded in 1995.
Availability: Plastered onto most every show Fox distributes, even classic shows.
Scare Factor: Low.
FOX Television Studios(1998-)
Logo: We see the standard Fox structure, this time reading "FOX TELEVISION STUDIOS". However, all is not well. The normally clear sky is gone, and a thunderstorm is brewing overhead! Worse yet, one of the searchlights blows out during the logo! The News Corp. byline is still intact.
FX: The stormy sky, the searchlight going on us.
Music: The final four notes of the long version of the Fox fanfare.
Availability: Can be seen on most comedies that Fox produces like "The Hughleys" and "Malcolm in the Middle", and some shows on Fox Sports Net.
Scare Factor: None, just a funny send-up of every single Fox logo. :)
Foxstar Productions(2001-)
Logo: We see the "Fox Television Studios" logo described above. Suddenly a bolt of lightning crashes down on the logo, and when the light clears the logo has changed: the sky has cleared again, and we see the Fox structure with a giant star on top of the stack and the wordsFOXSTARP R O D U C T I O N S
in the lines below.
FX: The stormy sky, the lightning, the logo switch.
Cheesy Factor: Nice-looking CGI for the most part as with other current Fox logos, but the logo transition from Fox Television Studios to Foxstar Productions is very jarring and unprofessional.
Music: Same as Fox Television Studios.
Availability: Seen on documentaries produced by Fox such as AMC’s "Backstory" and A&E’s "Biography" (post-2001 episodes).
Scare Factor: Minimal to Median, the choppy transition between logos and the scary "star" structure will probably catch more than a few off-guard, especially if you’ve never seen it before.
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