This contains loud sounds and flashing lights.
Logos[]
1st logo (1985-1989)[]
On a blue space background, a magenta star quickly zooms out. It plasters itself firmly at the center of the screen, while a yellow lightning bolt slides in from the top-left behind the star, landing so that the star is in the middle of the lightning bolt. The star rotates a little as the bolt moves to the middle. The screen flashes white a few times at high speed, changing the star to blue and the bolt to gray, and two rectangles slide in from the top and bottom of the screen, behind the star and lightning bolt, the top one yellow, the bottom one magenta. When they connect with each other, the colors suddenly swap so that the top one is magenta and the bottom one is yellow. In the magenta rectangle, to the right of the star/bolt shape, is "A SOUTHERN STAR" in a yellow-colored thin Italic font (usually Futura), and in the yellow bottom rectangle is "Hanna-Barbera Australia Production" in magenta and the font normally used for "Hanna-Barbera Productions" on the H-B Swirling Star logo.
Variants[]
- On The Berenstain Bears, a copyright for the Taft-Hardie Group Pty. Limited appears under the logo. The copyright stamp appears in black or pink, depending on the episode, although in 1985, a chyroned-in copyright stamp lasting the entire duration of the logo appears instead (usually in magenta, or in white or yellow lettering with a black border).
- On Teen Wolf and CBS Storybreak, the star zooming out is cut, so that it starts on the bolt sliding into shape.
- Late in this logo's life, a variant was seen omitting all mentions of Hanna-Barbera, and had "SOUTHERN STAR PRODUCTIONS" in place of the original name. Also, the yellow and purple colors do not switch positions at the end, but shown darker. It additionally lacks the copyright. This variant was introduced in late 1987, when Southern Star became an independent company, having previously been owned by Hanna-Barbera and Taft.
2nd logo (1989-1994): On a starfield background, we see 2 sets of numerous lines move to the center to merge and form a turquoise star. The name "SOUTHERN STAR" appears below, with an underline colored in the same color as the star.
Variant[]
A variant exists where after the logo forms, "SULLIVAN" zooms in underneath the blue line.
3rd logo (1994-2007)[]
On a black background, we see 2 sets of blue lines (9 on the left anf 10 on the right) curve toward the center to form one set. As this happens, a light appears and a 7-pointed segmented royal blue star is formed by the lines along with the words that say
SOUTHERN
S T A R
and a line in the same color as the star underneath the text, is formed below.
Variants[]
- International airings of any of it's shows that use this logo have "SALES" appearing below.
- On shows like Water Rats, the lines are 3-D and more metallic. The underline fades in after the logo is formed rather than simultaneously done with the star and text. In addition, there is a byline that says "WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION" appearing at the bottom and "SOUTHERN STAR SALES" underneath.
- On some shows that aired on the Seven Network from 1994 to 1999, it is spliced with the network's production logo used at the time.
- On game shows such as A*mazing, Burgo's Catch Phrase, Time Masters, and Wipeout, "CONCEPT" appears below as well as copyright.
- There is an in-credit version of the "SALES" variant on some shows such as 'Outriders', 'Don't Blame Me', and Blue Water High where the star and line are either in silver or white. There was even a yellow version on Pig's Breakfast.
- There is a shortened variant of this logo.
- On To Have and to Hold, the logo is filmed and "FILM SALES" appears below.
4th logo (2005-2013): Against a dark blue starry sky with mountains below, we see stars forming several ring shapes, causing the Southern Star logo from before, but in a blue tint, to blur in. A byline for Southern Cross Broadcasting is usually shown just below it. The sky darkens around it.
5th logo (2013): On a navy blue background, light blue lines emerge from the bottom right corner to form the familiar Southern Star logo. The Endemol logo, appears by spinning directly below it with "an endemol company" underneath.
Music/Sounds []
1st logo: The ending of the show's theme, accompanied with a very loud thunderclap sound effect (a BBC/Cinesound effect not sampled from Hanna-Barbera's sound library, ironically) edited in with the flash, nearly drowning out the music.
Music/Sounds Variant[]
- On the first season of Teen Wolf and at least two Berenstain Bears episodes, there is no thunder crashing.
- The thunderclap sound was sped up beginning in 1986. This version can be heard on the second seasons of The Berenstain Bears and Teen Wolf, as well as on later episodes of CBS Storybreak.
- The Berenstain Bears episode "Get Stage Fright"/"Go Bonkers Over Honkers" had a completely different, sped-up (and almost menacing-sounding) thunder sound, and another 1986 episode had the regular thunderclap played at normal speed like in the 1985 version.
- On another 1986 episode of The Berenstain Bears, the thunder effect briefly fades in and out, and a brief snippet of the show's end theme plays before stopping, and letting the already-playing ending theme continue as normal. This is due to sloppy editing.
2nd logo: None, the ending theme of the show or rarely a chime, then a space-like robotic noise.
Music/Sounds Variant[]
On rare occasions like on some later prints of Dinky Dog, the 1988 Worldvision Enterprises theme can be faintly heard over the logo.
3rd logo: A deep synth drone followed by a light, airy synth sounder.
Music/Sounds Variants[]
- In the logo's early years, the synth has a high pitched sound.
- On the game shows mentioned before, the announcer would say "This has been a Southern Star Production for [name of network]."
- On Snobs, the ending theme plays over it.
4th logo: A gentle synth sounder with some "whooshes".
Music/Sounds Variants[]
- On Meerkat Manor, a version of the music from the previous logo is reused.
- On The Sleepover Club, a booming fanfare is played.
5th logo: The music from the current Endemol logo.
Scare Factor[]
1st logo: Depending on variant:
- Original and Sped-Up Variants: Medium to high. The fast and cheap animation, flashing, and very loud thunderclap can scare more than a few viewers, especially anyone who's afraid of lighting and thunder. The sped-up thunder version doesn't help much either.
- Alternative Thunderclap Variants: High to nightmare. The much more menacing thunderclap can make this logo much scarier than it already was.
- Non-Thunderclap Variant: Low to medium. The lack of the thunderclap drones out the scariness quite a lot, but the rapid flashing and the jarring animation can still get to some viewers.
2nd logo: None to minimal; much tamer than the previous logo.
3rd logo: Minimal to low. The darkness and sounds may get to a few viewers, but this logo is much better than the first one.
4th logo: Depending on variant:
- Regular and Alternate Music Variants: None.
- Second Alternate Music Variant: None to low. Though it sounds like something is coming at you, there is nothing to be worried about.
5th logo: None to minimal. The lines may surprise some viewers, but it's rather a harmless logo.
Videos[]
