Logos[]
1st logo (1968-1969): In an oval-shaped frame, a group of buildings meant to represent London quickly rise up from the middle of the screen. In the bottom half, another set of buildings rise upside-down, giving the effect of a reflection. The word "THAMES" in Helvetica appears in both images, then disappears from the reflection, leaving the right-side-up word. This logo was in black and white, as colour broadcasting was not introduced on ITV until November 15, 1969 at the earliest.
Variant[]
At first, only London got the standard logo. The rest of the United Kingdom simply got a plain black screen with the words "FROM THAMES", which revealed itself by "opening" vertically, and was the only one of the original Thames idents without a skyline until the name-only logo was introduced in 2001.
2nd logo (1969-1992): A colourized version of the previous logo, but it now has a sky background and looks more like a reflection in the water. Slight changes in definition of the image and such were made over the years, but this is basically how the logo went. This was the longest-serving Thames logo, as it ran for twenty years.
Variants[]
There were quite a few variants of this logo
- The bottom reflection was distorted for a brief period of time.
- A still variant was seen on Man About the House.
- There were the closing versions, which were the usual logo with a phrase such as "FROM THAMES", "FROM THAMES IN COLOUR", or "THAMES COLOUR PRODUCTION". Prior to 1985, the last of these variants also included the text "© UK (year in Roman numerals)" below "PRODUCTION".
- During the Colour Strike (industrial action taken by all ITV companies between November 13, 1970 and February 8, 1971), all shows were broadcast in black-and-white instead of colour. Such programmes produced by Thames featured the end card text "THAMES PRODUCTION" in place of "THAMES COLOUR PRODUCTION" during this time.
- In 1980, there was a "night-time" version of the logo, with darkened buildings and a night sky. It was primarily seen preceding Armchair Thriller. It was also used for mid-1980s overnight links, with the silver text "Into the Night" sliding in below; other versions were seen before different overnight "strands".
- Another variant was a Christmas version from Teddington in Middlesex, where Thames' studios were in use. It read "Merry Christmas - THAMES - Teddington".
- The Kenny Everett Video Show had a funny variation, as Everett would burst through a large-scale version of the logo, which ripped like paper. The video was played in reverse, giving the appearance that Everett was "fixing" the torn logo. This variation had an extended version of the "Salute to Thames" jingle, with an extended comedy sting at the end.
- Another version of the above variant played the video with no jingle, and after Everett had "fixed" the logo, his voice was heard saying "Is that what you wanted?" to which the audience shouted "YES!", which was followed by him saying "Good!".
- Yet another Everett variant has him performing an "Action Replay" of the Thames logo in slo-mo, with the added comedy sound effects.
- Another version of the "ripping" variant was used at the end of a Christmas tape from the Teddington Studios, with another person bursting through the logo, uttering "Shoulda made this at Tyne Tees, man. Goin' down the bus club, get some proper tunes".
- Kenny Everett was also responsible for an "adult" version of the logo, which replaced the buildings with women's breasts. This was only seen on a The Station With Knockers promo at the beginning of an episode.
- In 1982, Thames added a new closing logo without the reflections for its Channel Four programmes. Against a black or blue background was a box with a blue/white outline of the buildings, a blue/purple gradient BG and the word "THAMES" inside. Underneath were the words "A THAMES TELEVISION PRODUCTION FOR CHANNEL FOUR" (an early version lacked the box).
- On Pauline's Quirks, the logo animates as normal...then, all of a sudden, Pauline Quirke, dressed up as King Kong, comes out of the ocean and eats and destroys the logo!
- A variant was made for the Russian market, with the reflection of the landmarks replaced with a reflection of Russian landmarks (including the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral), and Thames in the reflection written out in Russian (as "ТЭMС", which is pronounced "Téms").
- In 1980, a special version of this ident was used to introduce The Dick Emery Hour: the jingle was played on a church organ, and the camera zoomed in on the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral. Emery's buck-toothed vicar character then stepped out from behind the columns and welcomed viewers to "an hour of comedy and music". Oddly enough, on this version, the reflection of the "THAMES" lettering at the bottom of the screen does not fade away.
- Another version read "Produced for THAMES TELEVISION", with "Produced for" and "Television" added above and below the Thames text.
3rd logo (1989): Against a black background, a triangular shape rises into view from the centre of the screen. As it reveals itself, it looks somewhat like an upside-down Christmas tree shape (two triangles joined together), and the upper triangle has an abstract version of the Thames waterfront scenery against a blue skyline. The lower one is gold in colour, and contains the words "THAMES XXI" ("XXI" is the Roman numeral for 21). As the logo rises, it too has a reflection, though it does not last when it is completely formed. In contrast to the previous logo, this was the shortest-serving Thames logo (because it only lasted for a month).
Variant[]
At the end of programmes, the bottom of the smaller triangle was wordless, and the text "THAMES TELEVISION PRESENTATION/PRODUCTION" or (from September 4, 1989) the text "THAMES TELEVISION PRODUCTION/PROGRAMME FOR" and the then-newly-introduced ITV logo appeared below.
4th logo (1990-1992): The camera goes through a three-dimensional image of London. As it pans away, one of the buildings "fades" into the ident, which is now on top of a blue triangle. On the triangle are the words "THAMES TELEVISION". The background is again a skyline. This ident was short-lived due to loss of franchise.
5th logo (1990-1997): Against a solid blue background is a blue and gold version of the triangular Thames logo from before. Below that, in an italic font, is the text "THAMES TELEVISION PRODUCTION/PROGRAMME FOR", with the then-current ITV logo. After 1992, this became the primary logo, and the ITV logo was removed.
Byline[]
In 1996, the byline "A Pearson Television Company" was added below the triangle, and "Production" was moved on to it, now in the same font as the rest of the logo. The copyright text "© Thames Television Limited MCMXCVI" was also added at the bottom of the screen, as it was previously on the credits.
Variants[]
- For Thames' Channel Four-produced programmes, the text of "A THAMES TELEVISION PRODUCTION FOR CHANNEL FOUR" would be displayed.
- There was also a version with the text of "THAMES TELEVISION PRESENTATION", and in 1993 and 1996, there were also two variants for Thames' Yorkshire and UKGold-produced programmes, with the text "THAMES TELEVISION PRODUCTION FOR YORKSHIRE TELEVISION" or "UKGOLD".
- In 1996, Thames' then-parent company Pearson remastered the 1973-75 documentary series The World At War, with the following plastered over the original "From THAMES" and "THAMES Colour Production" ending: Following a quick montage of black and white photographs, the Thames Triangle ident (with the colour removed) appears on the screen on a black background, with the copyright date under it. These prints have recently been aired on BBC Two (even though it was originally an ITV programme) during December 2002; no word yet if this version has been sighted in North America.
- Variants of this logo for Thames Video, Euston Films, and Cosgrove Hall Productions (which was a subsidiary of Thames at the time) were also used.
- There was a version with "INTERNATIONAL" replacing "TELEVISION". The name is put on a separate bar, and the logo takes up more of the screen with no other words around it. Oddly enough, this version was seen on Avenger Penguins - which was the first show produced by Cosgrove Hall after Thames had lost their broadcasting license at the end of 1992 (and the third one that was also a co-production with Carlos Alfonso Studios of Spain). However, it was NOT seen when the show was originally screened, as it was produced for Granada Television, and featured their "stripe" end board.
6th logo (1992): A background consisting of various programme scenes configuring themselves into a video wall appear on the screen. As the wall goes out of focus, a blue and gold Thames triangle fades onto the centre of the screen. This was Thames' last ident (and was used on its final broadcast on December 31, 1992).
Variant[]
There was a version of this logo which featured a byline that faded in under the Thames Triangle logo and stated: "Thames. A Talent for Television."
7th logo (1997-2002): Against a black background is a tall blue box with a whitishsilhouetteof the Tower Bridge. Under that are the words "THAMES" in Copperplate Gothic Bold font and the respective company byline. On co-productions, the name of the station (e.g. "For Channel Four") would be seen under the byline. A copyright byline is seen below.
Bylines[]
- 1997-2001: "A Pearson Television Company"
- 2001-2002: "A FremantleMedia Company"
8th logo (2001-2003): As we see waves on the surface of a river, the THAMES name in white sans-serif font is seen in the center of the screen. Like the "Rising Buildings", there is a reflection given to the Thames name (in a sky-bluish shade). The byline "A FremantleMedia Company" is under this.
Variant[]
On co-productions with the BBC (such as the long-running British edition of This Is Your Life), the Thames logo is seen on a black background with the BBC logo under it. Copyright notices for both are seen under the BBC Squares logo.
9th logo (2003-2006): Against a bluish/whitish BG with many dots and lines, we see the words "THAMES" in dark blue. Below that is the talkbackTHAMES logo with "talkback" in green. "Part of the FremantleMedia Group" is shown underneath it in a smaller font. A FremantleMedia copyright date is at the bottom.
10th logo (2012-2018): A purple circle zooms in, With the word "thames" (with a massive "t") turning on the circle. The bottom shines. The FremantleMedia byline appears on the bottom of it.
11th logo (2018-): The word "THAMES" rises up, and the reflection fades out, similar to the "Rising Buildings". The Fremantle byline appears on the bottom of it.
Music/Sounds[]
1st logo: A loud eight-note horn fanfare, known as the "Salute to Thames", composed by Johnny Hawksworth. The first four notes would be played on a tenor saxophone (the fourth one sounds like a duet with another instrument), and the last four notes would either be played on a trumpet or a French horn.
Music/Sounds Variant[]
A re-arranged version of the fanfare was also used.
2nd logo: Same as the last logo. By 1971, the re-arranged version was used more often. On the closing variant, it used the closing theme of the show, or none.
Music/Sounds Variants[]
- On The Kenny Everett Video Show, the tune was extended slightly; there are at least two different endings that were used on the show. Everett would also occasionally subvert the tune by humming it in a campy way, or playing it in slow-motion with the addition of comedy jingles and canned laughter.
- A version with an A Capella rearrangement of the jingle was also used on the 1980 Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special; the animation remained the same, but a male voice choir (rumoured to be The Mike Sammes Singers), sang "Here they are now, Morecambe and Wise!" to the Thames tune.
- In the mid-1980s, Des O'Connor Tonight featured a different version of the jingle (performed by the studio orchestra which appeared in all his shows).
3rd logo: An orchestral version of the Thames fanfare, with a newly-composed five-note ending. A continuity announcement would follow.
4th logo: An updated orchestral score. In December, a more festive version of the theme was used, which was heard the last time this logo was seen.
5th logo: The closing theme of the show, or none.
6th logo: A synthesized moderate-tempo brass and string fanfare. This was the third and final Thames ident to not use the "Salute to Thames" fanfare. The music video advert which used this featured a cover of "I Only Want to Be with You" by The Tourists, and the video wall/logo appears during the last line of the song.
7th logo: The end theme of the show or silence.
8th logo: Same as its predecessor.
9th logo: Just the end theme from any show.
10th logo: Just the end theme from any show.
11th logo: A whoosh sound with a thud sound or the ending theme from any show.
Scare Factor[]
1st logo: Minimal to medium, due to the loud fanfare.
2nd logo: Minimal to low. The loud horn fanfare could scare some, but it is mostly harmless, being a popular logo. None for the static and closing variants.
- Low to high for the "Nighttime" variant, as the darkness and cheesy moon can get to some.
- Minimal to medium for the Kenny Everett Variant, as Kenny Everett ripping the logo apart can be an eye sore to some, but it's supposed to be comedic.
- Medium to nightmare for the Pauline's Quirks variant, as the cheesy stop motion, and destroyed structure can unnerve some unexpected viewers, but like before, it's supposed to be funny.
- Medium to high for the Stations With Knockers promo variant, depending on how you feel about the breasts.
3rd logo: Minimal to low. The newly-orchestrated theme is a very nice update to the famous Hawksworth fanfare. None for any of the end-credits variants.
4th logo: None.
5th logo: None.
6th logo: Minimal to low, due to the "video wall" formation and the screen going out of focus, though it may lower when the Thames Triangle logo appears.
7th logo: Low.
8th logo: None.
9th logo: None.
10th logo: None.
11th logo: None for the closing theme. Minimla to low for the other variant, since the thud is pretty sudden and loud.