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MTM Enterprises
Logo descriptions by James Fabiano and Jason Wuthrich
Logo captures by Wisp2007 and others
Editions by Shadeed A. Kelly and Eric S.
Video captures courtesy of Tlogos, MachineryNoise, JimHawkwind03411, JohnnyL80, and superpooper180
Background: MTM stands for the initials of the company's co-founder, Mary Tyler Moore. It was also founded by Moore's husband, Grant Tinker, in 1969. It was sold to TVS Entertainment (a now-defunct subsidiary of ITV) in 1990; then, to International Family Entertainment, Inc. in 1992; and finally, to News Corp. in 1998, being folded into 20th Century Fox Television.
(1970-1998)
Nicknames: "The MTM Kitten", "Mimsie the Cat", "MEOW!"
Logo: Over the years, the logo has been tweaked colorwise and according to certain shows, but here's the basic concept: An "M" flies backward from off screen, then splits into two. In the space left between the two letters, two T's come from the top and bottom of the screen and join to form one. This completes the initials of the company, and the T shrinks when a gold circle appears over it. Under the letters are the words "ENTERPRISES, INC", "ENTERPRISES", or "PRODUCTIONS, INC.''. Sometimes the finished logo will read out "AN MTM ENTERPRISES (INC.) PRODUCTION" ("AN" appears over the first M). Back to the circle, it is ribbon-like and decorated with stars and the letters "MTM" on top. Inside is a live-action orange striped kitten who meows once, obviously as a parody of the MGM lion. All the text (except for the later versions) appears in the Peignot font used for the 1971 Viacom logo.
Trivia: The cat's name was "Mimsie", though nicknames such as "Dick Turpin" and "Dick Marino" have also been used in naming the cat.
Logo Variants: First here are the little differences in the logo, along with dates in which they were used:
Custom Variants: Now, one thing that the MTM logo was known for was that often, it would be custom made for whatever show it appeared at the end of. This means Mimsie's appearance would sometimes be different, usually involving her "wearing" a costume or saying something other than "meow". Here are those variants:
FX/SFX: The M zooming out and morphing into 2 M's, and the T dropping. The rest is shown above.
Music/Sounds: None really, except the end theme of the show. Starting in 1996, a 4-note jingle was added before the meow.
Availability: Common; can be seen on St. Elsewhere, Hill Street Blues, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Newhart, and Lou Grant on AmericanLife Television Network, and WKRP in Cincinnati aired on AmericanLife Television Network and WGN America as MTM (and other production companies now under the News Corp. library) is now followed by 20th Television. The only factors are the rarity of widespread reruns of MTM shows, and Fox's sparse releasing of DVDs. The logo (with just the cat meowing) recently made an appearance within the Family Guy episode "420". On Hulu, the logo is intact.
Scare Factor: Low to medium; the silence, the "meow", the fading out of the music, and the kitten coming out of nowhere might catch some people by surprise. Plus, there's the factor of not knowing what Mimsie will look like per program. Other than that, it's mostly a cute logo.
Logo captures by Wisp2007 and others
Editions by Shadeed A. Kelly and Eric S.
Video captures courtesy of Tlogos, MachineryNoise, JimHawkwind03411, JohnnyL80, and superpooper180
Background: MTM stands for the initials of the company's co-founder, Mary Tyler Moore. It was also founded by Moore's husband, Grant Tinker, in 1969. It was sold to TVS Entertainment (a now-defunct subsidiary of ITV) in 1990; then, to International Family Entertainment, Inc. in 1992; and finally, to News Corp. in 1998, being folded into 20th Century Fox Television.
(1970-1998)
Nicknames: "The MTM Kitten", "Mimsie the Cat", "MEOW!"
Logo: Over the years, the logo has been tweaked colorwise and according to certain shows, but here's the basic concept: An "M" flies backward from off screen, then splits into two. In the space left between the two letters, two T's come from the top and bottom of the screen and join to form one. This completes the initials of the company, and the T shrinks when a gold circle appears over it. Under the letters are the words "ENTERPRISES, INC", "ENTERPRISES", or "PRODUCTIONS, INC.''. Sometimes the finished logo will read out "AN MTM ENTERPRISES (INC.) PRODUCTION" ("AN" appears over the first M). Back to the circle, it is ribbon-like and decorated with stars and the letters "MTM" on top. Inside is a live-action orange striped kitten who meows once, obviously as a parody of the MGM lion. All the text (except for the later versions) appears in the Peignot font used for the 1971 Viacom logo.
Trivia: The cat's name was "Mimsie", though nicknames such as "Dick Turpin" and "Dick Marino" have also been used in naming the cat.
Logo Variants: First here are the little differences in the logo, along with dates in which they were used:
- 1970-1974: One M is red-orange, the other is red, and the T is blue and is formed by the merging of a light blue T and a green one.
- 1971-1978: The M's are both red-orange, and the T is light blue.
- 1978-1982: Company now identified as "MTM Productions Inc.". The M's are now orange.
- 1982-1990: Company identified as "MTM Enterprises, Inc.". The M's are now red.
- 1990-1993: Same as above, but "ENTERPRISES, INC." is smaller than usual, and below it is a byline that says "A TVS ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY". In early 1993, the byline was removed. The New WKRP in Cincinnati continued to use this variant until 1993.
- 1992-1995/1996-1998: All letters are orange, the words "An International Family Entertainment Company" appear, after MTM was bought by the Family Channel.
- 1995-1996: 25th Anniversary logo; on a white background is a black "25," with a similarly colored MTM under that. The kitten appears in the rounded part of the "5". Evidence needed for this variation; likely only a print logo.
- A still version of this logo did turn up in the movies, notably the Orion Pictures release of Just Between Friends and possibly more. This is a still of the "Red/Blue Letters" version of the logo, and is shrunk to a considerably small size. No music, animation, or "meow" is present.
Custom Variants: Now, one thing that the MTM logo was known for was that often, it would be custom made for whatever show it appeared at the end of. This means Mimsie's appearance would sometimes be different, usually involving her "wearing" a costume or saying something other than "meow". Here are those variants:
- The Duck Factory: As the logo forms, an off-screen voice states, "Where's the cat?". Instead of meowing, Mimsie says, "Quack!".
- Graham Kerr: Mimsie wears a chef's hat.
- Hill Street Blues: Mimsie wears a policeman's cap.
- Lou Grant, Paris & Just Between Friends: There is a still picture of the logo.
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Same as usual, but on the 2nd episode, Mimsie's meow is higher-pitched, rather shrill. On Episode 71, the cat is replaced by the image of Miss Moore herself, saying "Th-th-th-that's all folks!", a line spoken by Mary Richards during that episode.
- The Bob Newhart Show: The 1972 Christmas episode features a wreath in place of the MTM ribbon.
- The New WKRP: Dubbed with Les Nesman Jr. exclaiming "Ooh!".
- Newhart: Each episode (except the pilot) featured Mimsie meowing... in Bob Newhart's voice. On the final episode, the cat yells "QUIET!" (the two Darryls' first and only word).
- Remington Steele: Mimsie wears a Sherlock Holmes deerstalker cap and meerschaum pipe. As she begins to meow, the pipe drops out of her mouth and falls in front of "PRODUCTIONS" or "ENTERPRISES, INC.". (NOTE: The "variation" seen on YouTube where Mimsie drops a gun and it fires a hole into the logo is a mockup and was never a real variation)
- St. Elsewhere: Mimsie is wearing a scrub suit and a surgical mask, which is animated to look like a mouth is moving underneath when she meows. On the final episode, she (possibly portrayed by another cat) is hooked on life support on a hospital bed throughout the last credit roll. The credits run as usual over a picture of the MTM circle, with life support equipment attached on either side. You can hear the beeps of the heart monitor over the end theme, too. After the credits complete, the company name fades in and Mimsie flatlines and dies, with a long, high-pitched beep heard. This variation is especially rare, as reruns of the finale plastered it over with the typical credits (As a sidenote, the actual cat, Mimsie, died in 1988, the same year St. Elsewhere ended).
- The Steve Allen Show: Mimsie (who also wears Allen's famous eyeglasses) lip-syncs Allen's "Schmock!".
- White Shadow: Mimsie is replaced by a black and white cat bouncing a basketball. There is a shorter version with the company name already there and the cat footage looped (and thus the cat is continually bouncing the ball). The other (seen only at the end of the series pilot) has the letters animating as usual and at the end, the ball falls off-screen and the cat appears to be looking down at it.
- Xuxa: Another dub job; instead of "meow", Mimsie says "ciao".
- A Little Sex: The MTM logo forms as usual... but Mimsie is a cartoon! She is also more to the side of the circle, which now has a black background. She meows as always, and then another cat enters the circle! The two felines rub against each other and start purring.
- Carlton Your Doorman: Carlton's cat is seen in the MTM logo instead of Mimsie. Carlton says to his cat, "C'mon, 'Meow!'". When the cat doesn't meow, Carlton mutters "**** cat...".
- Bay City Blues: An animated Mimsie wears a baseball cap and baseball glove in her right paw; she catches a baseball and meows.
- Vampire: The MTM text is all in dark red, and Mimsie is nowhere to be seen.
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show 20th Anniversary: At the end, Mimsie says "Bye!" (in Mary Tyler Moore's voice).
FX/SFX: The M zooming out and morphing into 2 M's, and the T dropping. The rest is shown above.
Music/Sounds: None really, except the end theme of the show. Starting in 1996, a 4-note jingle was added before the meow.
Availability: Common; can be seen on St. Elsewhere, Hill Street Blues, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Newhart, and Lou Grant on AmericanLife Television Network, and WKRP in Cincinnati aired on AmericanLife Television Network and WGN America as MTM (and other production companies now under the News Corp. library) is now followed by 20th Television. The only factors are the rarity of widespread reruns of MTM shows, and Fox's sparse releasing of DVDs. The logo (with just the cat meowing) recently made an appearance within the Family Guy episode "420". On Hulu, the logo is intact.
Scare Factor: Low to medium; the silence, the "meow", the fading out of the music, and the kitten coming out of nowhere might catch some people by surprise. Plus, there's the factor of not knowing what Mimsie will look like per program. Other than that, it's mostly a cute logo.
VofDoom |
Latest page update: made by VofDoom
, Sep 11 2009, 12:28 AM EDT
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Keyword tags:
20th Century Fox Television
Mimsie
MTM Enterprises Inc.
MTM Productions
News Corporation
More Info: links to this page
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| Spidey016 | Never forget | 3 | Oct 17 2009, 5:11 PM EDT by logodoctor99 | ||
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| emini4 | As sen in Family Guy | 0 | Apr 20 2009, 1:09 AM EDT by emini4 | ||
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Thread started: Apr 20 2009, 1:09 AM EDT
Watch
One time i saw mimsie the cat in Family Guy. In Episode 420
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| JMFabianoRPL | Me and The Professor (D.L.) are gonna meet Mary Tyler Moore on 4/7! | 0 | Apr 1 2009, 8:31 PM EDT by JMFabianoRPL | ||
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Thread started: Apr 1 2009, 8:31 PM EDT
Watch
I can't resist letting Mimsie out of the bag, so to say.
http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/author-events/contributor/2073416 Of course, I simply HAD to attend this either way, but given what a big part her programs and of course production company has played in our community...well that made it essential. Anyway, I have already prepared a gift that is distinctly of the CLG's esteem for Ms. Moore, now I turn to you to help embellish said gift. I will be putting together a collection of greetings for Mary Tyler Moore from you, the members of the Closing Logo Group. So if you have a message you'd like me to pass along to her, email it to me at jmfabianorpl@aol.com. I'll put all the responses together in one document, and include that with my CLG-style gift. If you do write, keep it polite of course (i.e. nothing too suggestive or rude; i.e. using it as a chance to flame Fox for plastering MTM logos, not coming out with DVDs, etc.) A question or more couldn't hurt, but try not to overdo it. Again, that's jmfabianorpl@aol.com for sending along your MTM messages. This could be a big event as part of our 10th anniversary!
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Keyword tags:
MTM Mary Tyler Moore
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