Under-appreciated pres

E4 isn't a channel that I watch much (I'm not their target demographic) but a few recordings of Taskmaster re-runs turned up on my box, preceded by the wonderful Chips ident



It's a thing of beauty, that seems to have launched in 2018 and gone largely unnoticed on here. A homage referencing something that a big chunk of the target audience won't remember is a bold move.

So, what else has passed me by? What are the other bits of current pres that are under appreciated or under the radar, perhaps hidden away on niche channels?

I guess it tells you how little people on here watch E4 that this ident doesn't seem to have been picked up on before!

I could swear we were talking about that one at length when it first got introduced.

Either way I'm glad this wasn't around 20 years ago because I'd have spent hours playing with my chips trying to make the Channel 4 logo.

Yes we were. https://tvforum.uk/forums/post1133653#post-1133653

Yes, this was definitely not missed and was discussed with great excitement (and some bewilderment given how many of the target would still get it) when it launched, as have most of the other idents introduced to E4 since in that thread. Indeed even launching at the same time as BBC Two's rebrand wasn't enough for it to get lost on the forum.

(Although admittedly given that the forum search requires a minimum of three letters to use, E4 is not the easiest of channels to search for again once it drops off the front page! )

Picking up on that rebrand I do think Film4 still has some of the best pres on TV and even the change in logo didn't diminish it. A shame only a few of the idents were updated but the ones that are are just stunning. E4 and Film4 really outshining the main channel over the last couple of years, which to be honest if it wasn't for BBC1 we'd probably be discussing Fourness.


As is often the case it seems the logo was actually real in some of the original ident set at least, hence perhaps why not all have been updated.


As for E4 their entire set of idents is pretty good really and really imaginative, though they do get stuck in a rutt using the same ident each day for the same show. However on the whole I think the remaining presentation is underwhelming - switching the ECP around makes no sense when credits have been designed to scroll on the left since the square era, and the trailer design is just too much of an ITV2 rip off. The break bumpers are nice though, and I like their version of the cross channel menu (clips mixed with full screen boards with the programme name/channel logo) which is simple but effective.

In terms of generally underappreicated pres, I feel that the BBC's mid-noughties idents have been somewhat undervalued - possibly because they came after much more 'classic' eras. I've never really understood the dislike that some people have towards the Rhythym and Movement idents - although I wouldn't rank them as highly as the Balloon or post-2009 Circle idents, I think they're a perfectly robust package with a clear range of 'moods' that could suit different genres of programme. I know there were criticisms at the time, but 'Ballet' and 'Tai-Chi' are far more appropriate lead-ins for the news than a few people standing gormlessly around in some woods.

I also, possibly somewhat controversially, think that the robot 2 idents are up there with the 1991-2001 idents.

I love these, simple graphical idents, less tacky than what came before and not deathly dull like what came immediately after.

Agree on the rhythm and movement set. I think capoeira is one of the most visually striking idents of recent years. Not only that but they were actually brave enough to launch the entire set with it, knowing it would wind up the usual moaners. Some of the later additions weren’t great but on the whole it was a confident and well-produced package, the complete opposite of what we have now.

I always liked Rhythm and Movement set too. Perhaps an obvious thing to say, but the energy was wonderful. Paired with the soundtracks, the variety of mood, the unifying red and the diversity of performance, it was great. I could take or leave other elements – to this day I don’t like the boxed logos for instance – but it hung together well.

Skateboarders from that set of idents was really classy and imaginative I think.

I also liked a few of the original window-on-the-world BBC2 idents - Zoetrope, Mirror and Sunroof. I guess the people in playout felt the same as these were used far more than the other handful of idents in that period. In fact, the whole package wasn't too bad until they started messing with it.

For interim idents, they were very good, simple and effective.