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Multimedia Entertainment
Logo descriptions by Jason Jones
Logo captures by Eric S., V of Doom, and Shadeed A. Kelly
Editions by Shadeed A. Kelly, V of Doom, Michael Bass, and mr3urious
Video captures courtesy of phasicblu, VintageTelevision, MachineryNoise and weatherguru76
Background: In 1976, Avco Embassy Pictures Corporation sold their television division to Multimedia, Inc. and was thus renamed to Multimedia Entertainment (formerly Multimedia Program Productions, Inc.). From 1976-1984, the TV shows would use a in-credit text to Multimedia Entertainment. This company merged to Gannett in 1995 and finally to Universal Studios in 1996, closing definitively in 1997. This extinct company never used a proper logo until 1984.
1st Logo
(1976-1984)
Logo: Superimposed in the credits of Donahue, we see the following text:
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: The closing theme of Donahue.
Availability: Extinct; seen on Donahue episodes of the time.
Scare Factor: None; compared to Multimedia's subsequent logos, this is nothing.
2nd Logo
(1984-1994)
Nicknames: "Metallic Circle M", "M of Doom"
Logo: On a blue background, we see many triangular wedges make up a circle. The name "Multimedia Entertainment" appears within. Then the logo zooms out to the right center of the screen. A lowercase "m" replaces the company name, looking like a Tylenol pill. Then about a dozen "Multimedia"'s emerge from top and bottom beside the logo to make one whole 'Multimedia'. Then the words "MULTIMEDIA Entertainment" appear above and below the company name to state, "A Division of MULTIMEDIA Inc.".
Variant: In later years, a copyright info faded in below the logo.
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: Early 3D animation.
Music/Sounds: A synthesized humming noise followed by a pindrop-like synth sound and a 5-note synth tune ending with a pindrop-like synth sound.
Music/Sound Variants:
Availability: Extinct; last seen on 1980s and early 1990s episodes of Donahue and Sally Jesse Raphael, season 2 episodes of The $100,000 Pyramid with John Davidson, and early episodes of Jerry Springer. No DVDs have this.
Scare Factor: Low to medium; the humming noise (and announcer spiel) may be scary to some as well as the music and design.
3rd Logo
(1994-February 1997)
Nickname: "CGI Metallic Circle M"
Logo: Against a dark blue background, we see a rippling pattern. The "M" logo from before falls into the ripple, then flies out to the top center of a navy blue BG. The text "MULTIMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT" flies out, with "MULTIMEDIA" coming in from the right and "ENTERTAINMENT" coming in from the left. "A Division of Multimedia, Inc." (in the Times font) appears below. All the objects seem to have a "blurring" effect as they move.
Variants:
FX/SFX: The CGI.
Music/Sounds: Same as 1st logo, but less noisy. The "broadcasting" variant uses a generic closing theme of the show.
Availability: Extinct; might be seen on VCR-taped episodes of Donahue, Sally Jesse Raphael, and Jerry Springer from the era. This logo was replaced with the bylineless 1996 Universal Television logo. Not even DVDs have this either.
Scare Factor: Low; an improvement over the previous logo, being less scary than its predecessor. Minimal to low for the "broadcasting" variant.
Logo captures by Eric S., V of Doom, and Shadeed A. Kelly
Editions by Shadeed A. Kelly, V of Doom, Michael Bass, and mr3urious
Video captures courtesy of phasicblu, VintageTelevision, MachineryNoise and weatherguru76
Background: In 1976, Avco Embassy Pictures Corporation sold their television division to Multimedia, Inc. and was thus renamed to Multimedia Entertainment (formerly Multimedia Program Productions, Inc.). From 1976-1984, the TV shows would use a in-credit text to Multimedia Entertainment. This company merged to Gannett in 1995 and finally to Universal Studios in 1996, closing definitively in 1997. This extinct company never used a proper logo until 1984.
1st Logo
(1976-1984)
Logo: Superimposed in the credits of Donahue, we see the following text:
DONAHUE®
distributed by
MULTIMEDIA
PROGRAM PRODUCTIONS, INC.
Cincinnati, Ohio
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: The closing theme of Donahue.
Availability: Extinct; seen on Donahue episodes of the time.
Scare Factor: None; compared to Multimedia's subsequent logos, this is nothing.
2nd Logo
(1984-1994)
Nicknames: "Metallic Circle M", "M of Doom"
Logo: On a blue background, we see many triangular wedges make up a circle. The name "Multimedia Entertainment" appears within. Then the logo zooms out to the right center of the screen. A lowercase "m" replaces the company name, looking like a Tylenol pill. Then about a dozen "Multimedia"'s emerge from top and bottom beside the logo to make one whole 'Multimedia'. Then the words "MULTIMEDIA Entertainment" appear above and below the company name to state, "A Division of MULTIMEDIA Inc.".
Variant: In later years, a copyright info faded in below the logo.
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: Early 3D animation.
Music/Sounds: A synthesized humming noise followed by a pindrop-like synth sound and a 5-note synth tune ending with a pindrop-like synth sound.
Music/Sound Variants:
- Some episodes of Donahue have an announcer saying "The preceding program was pre-recorded". only the humming sound is heard here with a different pindrop sound.
- Sometimes, this logo is silent.
Availability: Extinct; last seen on 1980s and early 1990s episodes of Donahue and Sally Jesse Raphael, season 2 episodes of The $100,000 Pyramid with John Davidson, and early episodes of Jerry Springer. No DVDs have this.
Scare Factor: Low to medium; the humming noise (and announcer spiel) may be scary to some as well as the music and design.
3rd Logo
(1994-February 1997)
Nickname: "CGI Metallic Circle M"
Logo: Against a dark blue background, we see a rippling pattern. The "M" logo from before falls into the ripple, then flies out to the top center of a navy blue BG. The text "MULTIMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT" flies out, with "MULTIMEDIA" coming in from the right and "ENTERTAINMENT" coming in from the left. "A Division of Multimedia, Inc." (in the Times font) appears below. All the objects seem to have a "blurring" effect as they move.
Variants:
- There was a variant used in a August 1994 corporate presentation for WLWT, the NBC affiliate in Cincinatti, Ohio, where talk show host Jerry Springer was a reporter from the early 1980s until 1993, when Springer's talk show moved to its second home at the NBC Tower in Chicago, Illinois. It is like the regular Multimedia logo of the time, but it has the word "BROADCASTING" in place of "ENTERTAINMENT".
- When Gannett sold this company to Universal Studios (now part of NBC Universal) in 1996, the byline "A Universal Company" was seen below the logo, being used on the 1996-1997 season.
FX/SFX: The CGI.
Music/Sounds: Same as 1st logo, but less noisy. The "broadcasting" variant uses a generic closing theme of the show.
Availability: Extinct; might be seen on VCR-taped episodes of Donahue, Sally Jesse Raphael, and Jerry Springer from the era. This logo was replaced with the bylineless 1996 Universal Television logo. Not even DVDs have this either.
VofDoom |
Latest page update: made by VofDoom
, Aug 7 2009, 6:58 PM EDT
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