Logo descriptions by mr3uriousLogo captures by EnormousRat
1st (known) Logo
(Early '80s-1984)
Nickname: "The Neon Circle"
Logo: On a faded dark blue background, we see a large metal circle with a vertical line going down the middle. The bottom right part of the circle is barely disconnected from the line, and a dot is in the inside of the circle on the top left side. The words:
Connecticut
Public Television
are shown below in a rounded font. The circle appears to be made out of neon-colored steel, while the text appears to be made out of light, thin metal. However, only the circle is viewed from an upward angle.
FX/SFX: TBA
Music/Sounds: TBA
Availability: TBA
Scare Factor: TBA
2nd Logo
(1984-1991)
Nickname: "The Bronze Circle", "The Sparkling Circle"
Logo: We see the same circle from before on a black BG, but colored bronze:
Connecticut
Public Television
in the font you see here are shown below. Both the circle and text appear to be made out of bronze, and are viewed from a slight upward angle. Then, the circle sparkles a little bit.
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: The circle sparkling.
Music/Sounds: A dreamy, new age-style synth note.
Availability: Pretty much extinct; check to see if your local PBS affiliate has old tapes of CPTV-produced shows. One possible source is to check old VHS tapes of Scientific American Frontiers from the Woodie Flowers era (and it's possible an early Barney & Friends pilot may have this logo as well).
Scare Factor: Low to high, due to the dark background and slightly creepy music.
3rd Logo
(1991-1993)
Nickname: "The Silver Circle", "The Shimmering Circle"
Logo: Against a dark gray BG, we see the same circle from the previous logo, only made out of silver and viewed at a straight angle with a bit of a drop shadow. The words "Connecticut Public Television" (also in silver) in a Times New Roman font are shown below, which are similar to the previous logo, and are also viewed at a straight angle. The circle shines a bit as a spotlight shines upon the whole thing.
FX/SFX: The circle shining, the spotlight.
Music/Sounds: A different dreamy, new age-style synth note.
Availability: Rare; seen on episodes of Barney & Friends and Scientific American Frontiers (the Woodie Flowers era) of this era.
Scare Factor: Minimal to low.
4th Logo
(1993-2004)
Nicknames: "The Exploding Dot", "The Floating, Multicolored, Stylized C's", "Glass Dots", "The Stylized C-Dot I", "The C-Dot II", "The Purple Shade" "The Dot of Doom" "The Explosion from Hell"
Logo: On a moving dark cloudy background, we see many multicolored stylized "C"s and glass dots merging into each other. Once the "C"s and dots merge, "CONNECTICUT PUBLIC TELEVISION" in a pale blue font appears to the right of the "C". The "C" and the dot turn red and the dot does this light streak explosion-like effect.
Variant: The logo animates superimposed on episodes of Scientific American Frontiers from this era, when Alan Alda hosted.
FX/SFX: The CGI, the "explosion".
Cheesy Factor: The explosion is quite cheesy.
Music/Sounds: A three note dreamy synth tune with a "ding" at the end.
Availability: Common. Seen on Barney & Friends and Scientific American Frontiers episodes of the era. The digital channel PBS World has shown a few re-runs of SAF from time to time that feature the superimposed variant, so it is believed that the regular variant would be intact, too.
Scare Factor: Medium to high; the creepy music, dark background, and the cheesy "explosion" can scare some.
5th Logo
(2004- )
Nicknames: "CPTV", "The Characters", "Be More", "The Stylized C-Dot II", "The C-Dot II"
Logo: On a multi-colored background, we see a stylized "C" with the dot which is seen in the 4th logo, and is close up where we see several characters and stars (Barney, Angelena Ballerina, etc.) chroma-keyed in the "C". The "C", with the dot, pans out as the characters disappear and both the "C" and dot are red. The text "CPTV" (acronym for Connecticut Public Television) appears next to it in a similar font for the text in the 4th logo. Then a line is drawn and "CONNECTICUT" is seen above the line.
FX/SFX: The animation in the logo.
Music/Sounds: A brand new tune sounding like a news promo.
Availability: Currently in use, and is seen on HiT shows from 2004-present, such as Barney & Friends, Angelina Ballerina, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Bob the Builder; also current on Scientific American Frontiers.
Scare Factor: Low; it may scare you for the first time, but other than that, it's pretty boring.