Background[]
Lexington Broadcast Services (commonly known by its initials, "LBS") was created in 1976 by Henry Siegel. It was reincorporated to "LBS Communications, Inc." in 1984. LBS also joined forces with Columbia Pictures Television to create "Colex Enterprises", which distributed TV series by Screen Gems and CPT. Over the years, the company would produce/distribute miscellaneous television shows such as Inspector Gadget and Heathcliff (DiC), What's Happening!! and What's Happening Now!! (CPT), Baywatch and Family Feud (Mark Goodson), and World of Wrestling. LBS was also an ad-sales barter until they formed "TV Horizons". After Colex Enterprises dissolved in 1986, LBS Communications began to lose money, until it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991. This left the company to sell more than 80% of its assets to All American Television in March 1992. Despite all the adversity, LBS would still live on in the 1990s as an in-name-only unit of All American Television, which was sold to Pearson, plc. in 1997 and was renamed to Pearson Television; the production company would close in 2001. Today, most of the LBS library, with the exceptions of their DiC co-productions (WildBrain), What's Happening Now!! (Sony Pictures Television), and Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (Columbia Pictures), is owned by FremantleMedia.
Logos[]
1st Logo (1976-1984, 1986)[]
On a black background, a white beam of light with several twinkles on it "scans" across the screen, leaving a large royal blue fused "LBS", consisting of an "L" and an "S" nearly fused together and a "B" in the gap between them, in its trail in the center of the screen, which then slides back a little. After the LBS text slides, a small white flash appears, leaving behind the text "LEXINGTON BROADCAST SERVICES COMPANY" in white.
Variants[]
- A filmed version also exists.
- On Not for Women Only, the in-credit LBS logo is seen with the text "Distributed by LEXINGTON BROADCAST SERVICES" above it.
- In 1983, the text is superimposed in the Helvetica white font with a comma and the word "INC." at the end, also blacking out the original text. The flash was also altered.
- There is also a still variant of this logo with the texts "AN" above and "COMMUNICATIONS PRESENTATION" below the logo respectively.
- On most episodes of The Glen Campbell Music Show, the animated logo is superimposed over the credits.
- On early '90s Family Channel airings of Inspector Gadget, the logo is slightly sped up.
2nd Logo (1984-1988)[]
On a shaded violet gradient background with a floor, a Dodger blue curved "LBS" (exactly like in the 1st logo, but in a medium shade of light blue) zooms out while "unfolding." It stops in the center of the screen. "LBS COMMUNICATIONS INC." wipes in under the logo as the LBS logo "shines". The shadow of the LBS logo can be seen below on the floor.
Variants[]
- There are also two main variants of this logo; a filmed version and a videotaped version.
- There is a more recent variant seen on What's Happening Now!! in which the words "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" fade in at the bottom. This is then followed by the SPT logo.
- There is a superimposed version seen on a PSA for Kideo TV where the "LBS COMMUNICATIONS, INC." text is in a different font and is blue, with "KIDEO-TV IS A TRADEMARK OF LBS COMMUNICATIONS INC." below the logo.
3rd Logo (1987-1991)[]
On a black background, a group of round balls pan to the left of the screen. The "LBS" logo slides in from the right of the screen and the camera revolves to the front of it, during which 2 groups of 5 conical lights (possibly representing meteors) streak through. The logo makes a stop at the front of the screen, a spotlight illuminates the logo, and "LBS COMMUNICATIONS INC." fades in below.
Variants[]
- If LBS was distributing the program, once the logo finishes, the words "Distributed by" would fade in above the company name.
- On The New Gidget, the logo starts midway and is zoomed back a bit for the text "in association with" to appear below. The music is also poorly abridged.
- The normal 1987 LBS version exists as a filmed and a videotaped version.
- The "LBS" logo can be either blue, dark blue, or purple.
- As a distributor, it would sometimes have the copyright stamp.
- A still in-credit variant with magenta lettering with the text "In association with" in white was seen on the final season of 21 Jump Street. Later episodes of that season had a still image with a smaller LBS logo in magenta and the company name in a big bold white font on a gradient violet background. This is very similar to the 2nd logo.
- On the 1988 documentary Mysteries of the Pyramids, the text below the logo changes to "PRESENTS", and then the animation is played in reverse.
- On the 1989 TV special Exploring Psychic Powers... Live, "PRESENTS" is put in the middle of the screen while the logo plays in reverse.
- On the 1990 TV special A Tribute to John Lennon, the logo fades in halfway, and no text appears below the LBS logo at all, and a 3rd set of meteors fly through the background; the camera then zooms into the lower hole in the "B" to reveal a starfield and the word "PRESENTS" in a chromed font over it.
4th Logo (1991-1992)[]
It starts out with a yellow/white oval coming out first. Then, the LBS logo in red goes down from the top of the screen, and afterward, it displays a purple banner which reads "15TH ANNIVERSARY" in gold. After the logo is completed, the entire logo shines near "1976-1991" (the dates).
Music/Sounds[]
1st Logo[]
An uplifting synth tune accompanied by a rising series of beeps, and a synthesized "zap" (which sounds oddly like a person sneezing) accompanying the flash. All three elements of the soundtrack sound like they were made on a Moog synthesizer.
Music/Sounds Variants[]
- On early episodes of Inspector Gadget, the logo is silent.
- On The Glen Campbell Music Show, the end theme plays over the logo.
- On a Serbian-dubbed print of Inspector Gadget, the logo had the music from the 1996 Saban logo. This is most likely due to a plastering error.
2nd Logo[]
A pretty dramatic 9-note synthesizer score ending in 2 drumbeats.
Music/Sounds Variants[]
- On the What's Happening Now!! episode "Mr. First Nighter", it uses the 1982 CPT music. It's unknown why LBS made these frequent editing mistakes.
- On the superimposed Kideo TV variant, an announcer (John Harlan, best known as the announcer for game shows like Name That Tune and You Don't Say), continuing from the DiC logo (the first half of the logo combo), says "...and is produced in association with LBS Communications, Inc.!".
3rd Logo[]
Depending on the variant:
- 1987-1989: An ascending/descending jingle with twittering sounds as the meteors streak through, followed by a whoosh and a tense remix of the '84 LBS theme. A short version starts just as the meteors streak.
- 1989-1991: A rather eerie descending synth jingle with a deep wind sound, then a 2-note synth choir jingle. The distribution variant has a longer version with the last note of the first jingle and the first note of the second one being held on longer.
- 1990: A quiet synth sounder. There is also a low toned version.
- On the 1988 documentary Mysteries of the Pyramids, an eerie sounder.
- On the 1988 TV movie Bonanza: The Next Generation, the closing theme of the movie.
- On the 1989 TV special Exploring Psychic Powers... Live, it is a chorus. The end of the special features the 2nd half of the 1989 theme.
- On the 1990 TV special A Tribute to John Lennon, a cheesy-sounding synth fanfare.
- On the 1989 TV special Hunt for Stolen War Treasures, there's a drum pounding through out (probably a part of the opening theme of the program), with an announcer saying "The following is an LBS presentation."
4th Logo[]
A mellow synthesizer score with a "ching" sound to indicate the shine.
Music/Sounds Variants[]
- Short versions have a three-note tune.
- Other than that, it's silent.
- There is a version with a different but similar-sounding theme. This can be seen on The Elvis Files.
Scare Factor[]
1st Logo[]
Medium to high. The creepy synthesizer music, the black background, primitive animation and flash at the end may make a couple of viewers feel uneasy, but for the time this wasn't a bad logo. Also it was quite ahead of its time, as the animation and music were pretty advanced for a '70s logo.
2nd Logo[]
Low. A finely-made '80s logo with pretty good scanimation and music. It is also tamer than the previous logo.
3rd Logo[]
Low on the '87 version and low to high on the '89 version because of the almost ghostly music. While it isn't as groundbreaking as the previous logos, it still exhibits some simple, but effective CGI for the late '80s, and the music is actually quite nice.
4th Logo[]
Low. The CGI is very simplistic and not very inspiring, but overall, it's a nice send-off for the final days of LBS.
The LBS Communications Adventures[]
This is a fan made series by user Visper88 (the one who created the Mizyaka Dizyaka page) She came up with it when she noticed that Conner McQueen, in his video about DIC's Logo History, cut out the Kids TV logo at the moment when DIC appeared.
Episode list (52 episodes planned)[]
- The Fortress (parody of the Gumball episode "The Castle")