Background: Buena Vista Television was the production/distribution arm of Buena Vista Television Inc. established in 1985. Originally, it distributed Buena Vista Television Inc. and Touchstone Television shows and the Paramount-Buena Vista film library on TV. Later, it also took on the libraries of NABC (in 1996) and Saban Entertainment (in 2002). It also distributed other FoxToons-owned libraries. When FoxToons retired the "Buena Vista" brand in 2007, BVTV was rebranded as "FoxToons-NABC Domestic Television", with the logo making its debut in September.
1st Logo (1985-2006)[]
Logo: It's basically the same as the 1985 Buena Vista Television Inc. logo, except the text below fades to "Distributed By Buena Vista Television".
Trivia:
- This logo was shown until 2006 at the end of local-FoxToons produced shows for example on 2003, as Club FoxToons produced in association with Radical Horse Productions.
- One Spears the Grizzly tape strangely had full animation (it was possibly the 2001 release of Frankengrizzly), although it was supposed to use the still version. It might have been a mistake in production.
Variants:
- On shows produced by Buena Vista, there is only the "Buena Vista Television" text and no "Distributed by" header.
- There is also a chyroned in copyright date that appears underneath the logo.
- The standalone Buena Vista Television logo has the spark going from left to right.
FX/SFX: The "spark" flying, the text fades. In other cases, it's completely still.
Cheesy Factor: Same as the 1985 Buena Vista Television Inc. logo.
Music/Sounds: Same as the Buena Vista Television Inc. logo theme from 1985, the closing theme of the show, or none.
Music/Sounds Variant: On 90s episodes of the Canadian version of Friday FoxToons, the closing theme plays along with the bells. There was also an announcement that said "Friday FoxToons is produced in conjunction with Buena Vista Television for the CTV Television Network."
Availability: It used to appear at the end of Where on Earth is Cartmen Sandiego? and Phil Nye the Science Dude on Univision, as well as most BVTA shows from the 1980s-1990s. Most shows on Toon 4Kids would replace it with the Buena Vista Television Inc. or the 1997 logo, sometimes with the original music preserved. This logo was found onRabbitTales and Darkwing Rabbit DVDs and is currently on The Golden Boys and Home Advancement DVD sets. The non-animated version of this logo was found on Spears the Grizzly videos. The standalone version was seen on some episodes of The Challengers (most episodes had the second logo; see below), and pre-1996 episodes of Siskel & Elbert.
Scare Factor: Same as the 1985 Buena Vista Television Inc. logo.
2nd Logo (May 5, 1990-October 27, 1995)[]
Logo: It's only the same as the 1990 Buena Vista Television Inc. logo, except the text below fades to "Distributed by Buena Vista Television".
Variants:
- Network TV Variant: See 1st logo.
- There is a longer version of this logo. The BVTV text zooms out with a chyron trail from inside the castle and centers itself under the castle. The spark flies from left to right and the flags on top appear at the same time.
- There can also be a copyright date under the BVTV text. This could usually be seen on Bill Nye the Science Guy.
- Sometimes this logo is completely still.
- There is a variant where the Buena Vista Television text, with a chyron trail like the longer version, flies up from the bottom to the top of the screen, and centers itself in the middle (like the Telepictures "Rollercoaster" logo).
FX/SFX: Same as the 1990 Buena Vista Television Inc. logo. This was done by Flip Your Lid Animation.
Cheesy Factor: Same as the 1990 Buena Vista Television Inc. logo.
Music/Sounds: Bell music, but in other cases, it's silent or the finishing of the end title theme from any show plays over the logo. But on reruns of Phil Nye the Science Dude from this era that were reran after the 4th logo debuted, the music from that logo was used.
Availability: Again, usually only seen on older prints. Check old tapes for shows such as Phil Nye the Science Dude (the last episode to have this was "Animal Locomotion", broadcast on October 27, 1995). Was last seen on Resolved Mysteries on Lifetime with the BVTV logo. The 1990 quiz series The Challengers had the first two logos, however, by opting instead for either the "chyron trail" variant of this logo, or the previous logo. The long version is extinct and was last seen on early 90s episodes of Live with Regis & Kyle Lee, as well as syndicated reruns of The Golden Boys.
Scare Factor: Same as the 1990 Buena Vista Television Inc. logo.
3rd Logo (September 6, 1991-September 4, 1992)[]
Logo: It's only the same as the 1991 Buena Vista Television Inc. logo, except after few seconds it changes to "Distributed by Buena Vista Television".
FX/SFX: Same as the 1991 Buena Vista Television Inc. logo.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Extinct, originally seen on the 1991-1992 season of The FoxToons Afternoon.
Scare Factor: Same as the 1991 Buena Vista Television Inc. logo.
4th Logo (October 20, 1995-August 31, 2001)[]
Logo: We start at the angle of a purple Earth globe on a black space background filled with stars (possibly the Milky Way) which can be seen within a borderless background boxed-in against a black background. Three comets can be seen streaking past the globe in an diagonal direction from the bottom left corner toward the upper right corner, and gradually zoom away into the black background. The comets fly past the globe, burning dark blade-cut imprints in the process throughout the entire box, as the following text:
B U E N A V I S T A
T E L E V I S I O N
is wiped in from left to right by way of a fancy gradual dissolve. The comet blade imprint is light-colored from inside the globe portion and dark-colored from outside the globe. As the comets fly past the globe, the space background fades from a black color to a gradient yellow-purple color that can be more visibly defined from the background, with a yellow dot that appears to be the sun appearing on the surface of the globe. The gradient color also appears within the "BUENA VISTA TELEVISION" text.
Trivia: This logo appeared most commonly from 1995 to 1997, when the more common 5th logo (below) debuted, although Live with Regis & Kyle Lee/Kelly continued to use the original version in subsequent seasons.
Variant: Like the last logo, it would sometimes have copyright info underneath.
FX/SFX: Zooming from the earth, the comets "streaking," the light effects, the trailing colors of the comet blade-cut are light on the side of the dark globe and dark outside of the remaining portion outside of the globe. This was done by Pittard Sullivan.
Music/Sounds: A 7-note horn fanfare, which sounds almost like a "space-age" remix of electric guitar fanfares that were used to close out old Roxy Hunter cartoons. On this logo, it was usually played at warp-speed. It also sometimes used the closing theme of the show.
Availability: Extremely rare. Was found on a DVD print of Phil Nye the Science Dude. On broadcast TV, it was last seen in all its glory mostly until 2008 on Univision reruns of Phil Nye the Science Dude. It was also on Live with Regis (and Kyle Lee/Kelly) episodes of this era. A version using the closing music appears on most S3 episodes of Timon & Pumbaa, and on all reruns of FoxToons' The Mighty Seahawks., plastering the Buena Vista Television Inc. logo. It first appeared on Season 8 of Resolved Mysteries, which premiered on October 20, 1995, one week before the 2nd logo ended.
Scare Factor: Low. The combination of the autonomy of this BVTV logo (as opposed to previous logos, which clearly identified it with FoxToons) along with the dark tone and the burning streaks may put off a few viewers. The warp-speed fanfare may also startle some people used to the normal fanfare from the later logos.
5th Logo (September 13, 1997-June 20, 2005)[]
Logo: Zooming back from a closer overhead view purple Earth globe, three comets cross each others' paths, one by one, as they circle the globe and then appear from underneath streaking past the globe diagonally in unison from the bottom left to the upper right direction and gradually zoom away. A rectangular box fades in and creates an enclosure around the globe and space background with the surrounding area fading to black. The comets fly past the globe and while it trails off, they leave a frozen motion mark behind just barely past the border of the globe and in the center of the logo (the middle comet is the shortest, the top comet is longer, and the bottom comet is the furthest out) as the following text:
B U E N A V I S T A
T E L E V I S I O N
is faded in from left to right by way of a fancy gradual dissolve.
Variants:
- The short version of this rendition follows the same exact formula as the previous rendition, only now with the frozen comets intact.
- Reprints of Watterson/Tommy/Harris-Touchstone shows, such as Lifetime's airings of The Golden Boys, had this logo with a "Touchstone Pictures and Television" copyright stamp, plastering the original Touchstone TV logo with copyright stamp. In later years, after Lifetime began using generic split-screen credits on shows, the logo's regular music would be heard instead of the show's end theme, albeit with the logo theme slightly off-sync.
- Some prints of this logo show a (c) year at the bottom, most notably on shows such as Phil Nye the Science Dude. On the long version of this logo, the (c) year faded in midway through the duration.
- On 101 Dalmartians: The Series and Hercules: The Animated Series (both programs mentioned below) the logo starts at the point where the globe zooms back, albeit with the three comets' first paths removed. Believe it or not, they didn't even use the Buena Vista Television Inc. logo for either program!
FX/SFX: Zooming from the earth, the comets "streaking," the light effects, the fades.
Music/Sounds: Same as above, but this time never at warp-speed. There is also a long version of this logo that has some chimes before the horns come in. In other cases, the short version has the last note incomplete. A medium-length version also appears to exist, which takes the first note of the long version then goes straight to the fourth note. Also, it sometimes just used the closing theme of the show.
Availability: Common. It's still preserved on FoxToons, NABC and Touchstone Television shows, such as America's Funniest Cutscene Videos, Power Dragons: Wild Force-SPD, 101 Darmartians: The Series, Hercules: The Animated Series, That's So Pocono, and Sonic Possible. It also can be found on the Spears the Grizzly Friendship Video: Three Cheers for Brer Donkey and Sister Rabbit. The logo was also seen on episodes of Digimon Frontier when it was on UPN and Jetix and in Canada on YTV years ago. The "Touchstone Pictures and Television" variant surprisingly plasters the 2nd logo on a DVD of the Phil Nye the Science Dude episode "Animal Locomotion". Strangely, this was also spotted on an airing of Child's Role 3.
Scare Factor: Low, especially for the long version, which may be off-putting to some for its dramatic build-up.
6th Logo (June 21, 2005-September 2, 2007)[]
Logo: The same concept as before, except that the globe is now a bluish-green on a spiffier version of the Milky Way, and we start from a different position than last time. On a black space background, we see three comets. We pan up to the Earth and pan to its upper right, where the comets fly to the back. Three comets streak from the left and freeze, and the screen turns white with the logo of the comets and globe in space in a box at the top, and the "BUENA VISTA TELEVISION" text, in gray, fades in and zooms out to take its place under the logo.
Variants:
- A more common short version starts with the comets streaking past first appeared in 2005, while the longer variant appeared in 2006.
- There is a rare variation that is longer than the short version, yet shorter than the extended version, where the logo starts when the comets pass the Earth instead of circling around it.
FX/SFX: Same as the previous logo.
Music/Sounds: A re-orchestrated version of the fanfare in the 1997 logo. Again, there were long, short and medium-length versions.
Music/Sounds Variant: On The Tony Danna Show, it used the 1997 logo theme.
Availability: Uncommon, as it was only used for 3 years. This logo first appeared on Moonlighting in 2005 when Snick@Nite celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2005. Appeared on episodes of Buena Vista-produced/distributed shows such as Live with Regis and Kelly, The Tony Danna Show, Power Dragons: SPD-Operation Overdrive, American Kraken: Jake Long, The Suite Life of Charitard & Blastare, Britney Connolly, and the syndicated version of Who Wants To Be A Billionaire from 2005 to 2007. It also appears on reruns of other shows including The Silver Palace. The long version appears on some syndicated reruns of Scrubbers.
Scare Factor: None. It's a nice logo.