The Best TV Idents

This is the thread where you can talk about the best TV Idents. For a start, I think the UK Gold fireworks idents are one of the best TV idents.

http://www.lambie-nairn.com/uploads/images/1917367055.jpg
Picture from Lambie-Nairn.com

I think one of the best Idents were the BBC ONE balloon Idents, unlike the current ones they looked good on widescreen of standard TV, with the logotext in the centre, and more importantly they are much better than the red dancers.

http://thetvroom.com/images-bbc-one/bbc-one-97/01-irish-09.jpg
Image from The TV Room

I'd have to say the BBC 2 Idents that were introduced in 1991 (and added to thereafter) were, and currently still are, my fave. They lasted a decade, and were it not for those idents, I probably wouldn't have stumbled across such sites as these!







I think the sheer number of different idents and soundtracks, and the fact that they were made to be continually added to, is why they are at the top of my list.

Footage Credit: TV Ark; Images/Other Footage: The TV Room

Hasn't this been done before?

Anyway...

I personally prefer BskyB's older Branding, ie from it's earlyer years.
http://thetvroom.com/area-c/sky/images-past/images-1989/id-sky-one-1f.jpghttp://thetvroom.com/area-c/sky/images-past/images-1993-1994/id-sky-one-1h.jpg
Now that's just from sky one but SKY's entire graphic package at the time was verry stylish.

Image Credit: theTVroom.com

High time Carlton's Heart idents were mentioned...

http://thetvroom.com/images-carlton/images-99-b/ident-10b.jpghttp://thetvroom.com/images-carlton/images-99-b/ident-2c.jpg
http://thetvroom.com/images-carlton/images-99-b/ident-20a.jpghttp://thetvroom.com/images-carlton/images-99-b/ident-13d.jpg

The graphics were superb, and showed imagination sadly lacking in so many current idents. The music was also fantastic and really brought the whole thing together.

IMAGES: www.thetvroom.com

Well I loved the Sky Premier Idents of a couple of years ago, before this rubbish 'Sky Movies' presentation we have now. It totally matched the channel and gave the 'cinema' atmosphere before watching a movie:

http://thetvroom.com/area-c/sky/images-past/images-1998/id-sky-premier-1a.jpghttp://thetvroom.com/area-c/sky/images-past/images-1998/id-sky-premier-1b.jpg
http://thetvroom.com/area-c/sky/images-past/images-1998/id-sky-premier-1c.jpghttp://thetvroom.com/area-c/sky/images-past/images-1998/id-sky-premier-1d.jpg
http://thetvroom.com/area-c/sky/images-past/images-1998/id-sky-premier-1e.jpghttp://thetvroom.com/area-c/sky/images-past/images-1998/id-sky-premier-1g.jpg
http://thetvroom.com/area-c/sky/images-past/images-1998/id-sky-premier-1h.jpghttp://thetvroom.com/area-c/sky/images-past/images-1998/id-sky-premier-1i.jpg
http://thetvroom.com/area-c/sky/images-past/images-1998/id-sky-premier-1j.jpghttp://thetvroom.com/area-c/sky/images-past/images-1998/id-sky-premier-1k.jpg
http://thetvroom.com/area-c/sky/images-past/images-1998/id-sky-premier-1l.jpghttp://thetvroom.com/area-c/sky/images-past/images-1998/id-sky-premier-1p.jpg
http://thetvroom.com/area-c/sky/images-past/images-1998/id-sky-premier-1q.jpg

(Images: The TV Room)

Got to agree with this. The original Sky Idents, the 1993 ones especially were brilliant. They managed to be almost exactly the same, both in graphics style and in music on every channel yet were completely different at the same time. A great way to present a network of channels I think. Plus it gave the channels a more serious look. Even Sky Travel had an ident like Sky Movies, it made the channels look more important. Now even Sky One looks a farce in comparison.

Agreed. They showed so much flare and imagination and were more of a mish-mash of brilliant ideas than idents.

The funny thing is that my mum met one of the guys working on the idents while she was a temp at Carlton in Birmingham using one of these expensive tablet thingys.

She said she also saw a cake being blown up to be put into an ident Okaaay....

So, I reckon Carlton or Channel 4 (below) are the real winners.

http://thetvroom.com/images-ch4/images-2002/ident-3d.jpg
http://thetvroom.com/images-ch4/images-2002/ident-menu-2.jpg

http://thetvroom.com/images-ch4/images-1996/ident-2.jpg
http://thetvroom.com/images-ch4/images-1996/ident-3d.jpg

Oh yea, thanks to The TV Room.com for the piccies!

How could we possibly have got this far without anyone mentioning Central? Their idents were so grand and adaptable and could be used on any occasion:

http://thetvroom.com/images-central/ident-3-a.jpg http://thetvroom.com/images-central/ident-3-b.jpg
http://thetvroom.com/images-central/ident-3-c.jpg http://thetvroom.com/images-central/ident-3-d.jpg

Video clip here

Images/Video taken from The TV Room

The brand here was so versitile and was used very strongly IMO, they were proud of who they were and that really showed on screen, especially with announcements such as "You're watching Central, at the heart of the ITV Network" and "Made by Central for the ITV Network: Bullseye".

BBC2 Idents from 1991-2001

A good ten years of top-notch branding.

I have to agree with both of you!

Also, I think the whole range of the 1997-2002 style BBC idents were one of the best!
http://www.pbonline.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/idents.bmp