Argosy Media/Logos/Summary

Background: Argosy Pictures first experimented with TV broadcasts in 1930, on the station KX03DO-TV (now KMTM). Argosy Media Television was officially formed in 1935 (though it celebrates anniversaries based on 1913, when Argosy Pictures was founded).

1930 (prototype)
Logo: Just the text "The Argosy Media Company presents" in Times New Roman font.

FX/SFX: The basic logo, lack of animation, extremely shaky camera, and loads of film scratches make this a low-quality logo, although it IS the first TV logo ever made, so you've gotta give them credit.

Music/Sounds: None, unless you count the crackles and pops of the film.

Availability: Extremely rare. Was only seen on test broadcasts from the 1930s, which are extremely hard to find nowadays. The broadcasts were seen on the Argosy Historical Collection DVD, with this logo left intact.

1935-1948
Logo: Just the bold and italicized text "An Argosy Media Television Production" in a handwritten font on a black background.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: A short piano tune.

Availability: Rare, due to being an early TV logo. Can occasionally be found on old TV movies that air on Argosy Retro. Check your video tapes and DVDs of old Argosy shows and TV movies too.

1948-1952


Logo: We see the Argosy “A” on a white rectangle on a static background. We cut to a black background containing a white rectangle at the left, with the text “An Argosy Media Presentation” inside it. We then cut back to the first screen.

Variants: Starting in 1949, a byline for “Marcus-EMI Systems, Inc.” is added.

FX/SFX: The cutting. More of a slideshow than a proper logo.

Music/Sounds: A xylophone chord repeated 3 times.

Availability: Rare. Only used as a corporate ID, but was used after every show they distributed. Can also be seen on Argosy-200 (this is currently plastered by the 2006 logo) and late-40s/early-50s Argosy programs on any network that doesn’t use plastered prints. Currently, this is always followed by the MTM Enterprises logo, since MTM currently distributes all of Argosy’s productions.

1952-1959
Logo: On a white or grey background, the Argosy “A” logo appears, and “argosy media television” fades in underneath, with a byline and a copyright stamp below.

Bylines:
 * ”A DIVISION OF MARCUS-EMI SYSTEMS, INC.” (1952-1956)
 * ”IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE MASSAMIR ENTERPRISES COMPANY” (1956-1959)

FX/SFX: The fading.

Music/Sounds: A short horn fanfare, or None.

Availability: Seen on shows from Argosy Media in the early 1950s. This logo is nearly extinct, because very few recordings have been found with this logo on them.

1959-1966
Logo: On a white background, we see the Argosy “A” logo flip onto the screen. The words “Argosy Media Television Incorporated” fade in under it, along with a Massamir byline and a copyright stamp.

FX/SFX: Basic cel animation.

Music/Sounds: A 5-note bell theme.

Availability: Very rare, bordering on extinct. Rereleased Argosy shows from this era ("Frog Heaven", "Alton and Glory") are often plastered with later logos.

1966-1973
Logo: On a white background, we see a yellow square with the text “Argosy Media” inside it. The new Hughes+Coleman byline is below. A diecast Argosy “A” pops up out of the yellow square.

FX/SFX: Stop-motion trickery.

Music/Sounds: A couple of drumbeats, and then a triumphant fanfare.

Availability: Rare, often plastered with later logos. "Apples to Grapes", "Loans of Death" and international showings of "What's That Smell" are the only shows to have this logo intact in reruns. Was shown accidentally on at least one episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show on Argosy Retro.

1973-1975
Logo: On a white background, we see the text “60 YEARS”, with the Argosy A in red below. The “Argosy Media” text and Hughes+Coleman byline are below.

FX/SFX: None. This was a still logo.

Music/Sounds: A synth tune with an announcer saying, "60 years of entertainment!"

Availability: Extremely rare; was seen on Farthest Reaches, which last aired with this logo on CBS on December 18th, 1981. It can also be seen on the "Argosy Retro" channel, but expect a MTM Enterprises logo or a MTM Television Distribution logo after it, because MTM currently distributes all Argosy productions.

1975-1980


Logo: On a space background, we see the Argosy "A" logo in red zoom up to the screen. "argosy media", in white with a red underline, flashes in below, along with a byline.

Bylines:
 * ”A Hughes + Coleman Company” (1975-1978)
 * ”A Subsidiary of Mary Tyler Moore, Inc.” (1978-1980)

Variants:
 * There is a bylineless version that is slightly more common.
 * An alternative version exists where the A and underline are blue instead of red. This appeared on the 1978 pilot of Camp Daisy.
 * Long and High has the A and underline coloured fuchsia.
 * On British ITV programs co-distributed by Argosy and ITC, "and" fades in below.
 * On programs co-produced with MTM Enterprises, "In Association With..." fades in below.

FX/SFX: Early Scanimate animation.

Music/Sounds: An eight-note piano fanfare.

Availability: Extremely rare; was seen on early episodes of Camp Daisy, Road Rash, and the original live-action Revenge of Sarah. It can also be found on the "Argosy Retro" channel, but again, expect a MTM logo afterwards. Extinct for the blue variant.

1980-1983


Logo: On a dark green/black gradient background, the word "Argosy" flips in, in an underlined Times New Roman font, letter by letter. "Media" fades in below, in a Rockwell font, and it gets surrounded by a white box, with a solid white box that contains the Argosy "A" logo in red to the left of it. The whole thing sparkles. An Argosy Media Affiliates byline appears below in lime green.

Variants:
 * On Always Angry, the background is a red/black gradient, and the byline is cyan.
 * On Feelin' Blue, the background is a blue/black gradient, and the byline is yellow.
 * There is a bylineless variant.
 * Some shows have a different byline, where “Division” is replaced by “Service Mark”.

FX/SFX: Yet again, Scanimate effects.

Music/Sounds: A 3-note glockenspiel theme that sounds similar to the NBC Chimes, followed by a drumbeat sound.

Availability: Has rare written all over it. You can see it on videotapes of Bright Idea distributed by Argosy/MTM Video. Like the last two logos, it can also be seen on the "Argosy Retro" channel, but, like before, expect a MTM logo to follow.

1983-1993


Logo: On a white background, we see Aaron (a grey cartoon cat with green eyes and an open mouth). Attached to his tail is a flag saying "Argosy". "Media", in a purple serif font, is below Aaron. At the bottom of the screen is an ownership byline.

Bylines:
 * A Division of Argosy Entertainment (1983-1988)
 * A TVS Entertainment Company (1988-1993)

Variants:
 * There is a bylineless variant.
 * There is also an alternative variant of the bylineless variant, where the background is light blue and the word “Media” is dark yellowish-olive green.
 * On the TV movie That Sinking Feeling, there is another bylineless version, where the background is grey and the text is yellow. This was quickly plastered by the normal version of the logo on reruns and the re-release of the movie.
 * There is a 70th anniversary version of this logo which was used on some shows during 1983.
 * On Medical Challenge, Aaron wears a doctor's suit. On the final episode, he is hooked on life support on a hospital bed throughout the last credit roll. The credits run as usual over a picture of Aaron, with life support equipment attached on either side. You can hear the beeps of the heart monitor over the end theme, too. After the credits complete, the company name fades in and Aaron flatlines and dies, with a long, high-pitched beep heard. This variation is especially rare, as reruns of the finale plastered it over with the typical credits.
 * An extended version is occasionally used where the logo stays on screen for 6.5 seconds longer.
 * A version exists on shows distributed by the company that features the words "DISTRIBUTED BY" above.

FX/SFX: None. This is a still logo.

Music/Sounds: Ending theme or a cute little ditty (a.k.a. Aaron's Ditty).

Availability: Uncommon. Can be seen on shows from the era. This logo is seen on the unaired pilot episode of The Aaron Show (1993-2006) (which had animation reused for the next logo), which can be easily found online.

1993-1998


Logo: We see Aaron roller skating along a highway. He passes three cars and then crashes into a tree. A white box fades in at the bottom of the screen, containing the text "Argosy Media Entertainment" (in dark yellow with a magenta underline) and an ownership byline. A copyright stamp appears afterward.

Bylines:
 * AN INTERNATIONAL FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY (1993-1996)
 * A SHAW COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY (1996-1998)

Variants:
 * On some shows released in 1993, "80 Years" in a gold Futura font fades in beside the tree. It sparkles. "CELEBRATING" and "OF AWESOME ENTERTAINMENT" appear above and below the “80 Years” text, respectively.
 * A distribution version exists where "Distributed by" is chyroned in at the top of the logo.
 * On Orange Gus, Aaron crashes into a lamppost.
 * On Library Matters, Aaron roller skates on a bridge over a lake and crashes into, surprisingly, a brick building.
 * There is a short version where Aaron racing past the cars is taken out.
 * On some TV movies, the logo is presented in open-matte, and "Pictures" replaces "Entertainment."
 * There is a prototype version where the logo is off-center and the text is in a different font.
 * At the end of the miniseries A Cat Among Lions: The MTM Story, as well as New Science of the Unthinkable, a still variant is used.

FX/SFX: Yet again, cel animation, though this is the last Argosy logo to use traditional animation, as all subsequent logos are made in computer software.

Music/Sounds: A flute tune, three honks, someone saying "WATCH OUT!", Aaron saying "What?" and then a cartoon-style CRASH as the he hits the tree. We then hear the cute little ditty while Aaron moans.

Availability: Common, can be seen on shows of the era (such as The Aaron Show). Argosy Retro and Classix air The Aaron Show and Mercy and Friends, so you can see it. Also appears on Y2K: Romano Family Quartet.

1998-2003


Logo: Inside a red, white, yellow and blue circle on a black BG, we see Aaron (now with a design closer to the TV show) pop out of it, arms outstretched. Suddenly, confetti falls from the top of the screen, and "Argosy Media" fades in in a cursive font. Aaron then says his famous line, "Best known for it's purr-fect TV shows, TV movies, high quality, and me, Aaron, it's the one and only, Argosy Media!" A Corus byline fades in below everything else.

Variants:
 * A prototype version exists used in 1998 where the Corus byline is replaced by a Shaw byline.
 * Another prototype version was used for the 85th anniversary of Argosy Media in 1998. The Corus byline is replaced by a Shaw byline, there is additional text above the Argosy Media text saying “CELEBRATING 85 YEARS OF”, and Aaron says “Celebrating 85 years, of the one and only, Argosy Media!”
 * A still version exists where Aaron is silent. This was shown on licensed games made by MTM Interactive before the Argosy Interactive unit was formed.
 * For international distribution, there is no confetti, "Distributed By" is chyroned in above Aaron, and "INTERNATIONAL" is in between the “Argosy Media” text and the Corus byline.
 * On shows marketed towards a female audience, like Revenge of Sarah, the white bits of the circle are light pink.
 * On Camp Dubziz and Uh-Oh!, the logo is bylineless.
 * On some episodes of The Aaron Show, a copyright stamp can be seen.
 * Sometimes, like in sister company MTM’s logo, Aaron wears an outfit related to the theme of the show, or is replaced by another character entirely.
 * Sometimes, between 2001 and 2003, the URL www.argosymedia.com would be chyroned in below the logo.

FX/SFX: Early pre-Flash CGI, made using an Unix box. This technique “Rotanimation” was also used for several Argosy TV shows in the 90s, and was invented by Argosy alumni animator Robert Stainton.

Music/Sounds: A snap when Aaron pops out, tons of party blowers blowing when the confetti starts to fall out, and at the end, a piano version of the cute little ditty plays while Aaron is talking.

Availability: Common for the 1999-2003 variant, uncommon for 1998. This logo made its debut in the Argosy 2000 TV movies, which are from 1998-99, and the Shaw byline variant was beautifully restored on the 2007 DVD and Blu-ray releases of the Argosy 2000 films, distributed by MTM Home Entertainment; ironically enough, current reruns of this series aren't so lucky; this logo is plastered with either the MTM Enterprises 1998 logo, the MTM Television Distribution 2013 logo, or the 2008 Argosy Media logo on reruns. Robyn's Journey kept the Shaw byline when it was released on video and DVD, so you can see it on there. Most reruns of Mercy and Friends and The Aaron Show have this logo intact. This logo was also used to plaster the Svensk Filmindustri logo on current prints of the Swedish dub of Mimsie’s Haunted Mansion.

2003-2006


Logo: Inside a huge red 90 on a white background, with the inside of the 0 in cyan, we see Aaron lounging inside the 0. His tail, which is dangling down from the 0, is carrying a flag reading "Years of." The Argosy Media text is seen below in blue, shining, with the Corus byline in pink below. Aaron then says "Argosy Media, celebrating 90 years of perfect entertainment!"

Variants:
 * On productions with Granada Australia, which normally edits out Argosy Media logos, Young Rich keeps this logo intact, except they inserted a "Produced in association with" line below the Corus byline.
 * On seasons 3-6 of My Bedroom is Freaking Out, there are rainbow swirls inside the zero, and Aaron speaks "Huh?" instead of his usual lines.
 * "Celebrating Over" was seen above the "90" in 2004-2005. Two versions exist, the filmed version (the prototype) has the text in New Courier font, the videotaped version has the text stretched and in orange.
 * Starting in 2005, the “9” and “Years of” flag were removed.
 * On syndication prints of some shows, the background is sky blue.

FX/SFX: Basic Flash animation.

Music/Sounds: Two triumphant notes followed by the cute little ditty.

Availability: Common. On some early 60s episodes of Hexaglic Cheeseburger, this logo plasters the 1st logo.

2006-2008
Logo: On a sky blue/white background, we see two triangles and a circle merge together to form the Argosy A logo in red. It shines, then "argosy media" swoops down from the top of the screen. An Argosy Communications byline appears below the "argosy media" text.

Variants:


 * On reruns of Revenge of Sarah of the era, Aaron comes in and says to the logo, "Screw you, big A! Screw You! I'm the mascot here, for god's sake!", then kicks it, however, Aaron stubs his toe in the process. He jumps off-screen holding his foot while howling in pain. The music is the cute little ditty due to Aaron's appearance. Look for this variant on Argosy Teenz.
 * On the TV movie, Revenge of Sarah: The Movie, Aaron comes in and says to the logo, "Screw you, big A! Screw You! I'm the mascot here, for god's sake!", then, Aaron pushes the Big A logo off screen and stands on the Argosy text.

FX/SFX: Extremely basic animation that looks like it was done in PowerPoint.

Music: A short 3-note fanfare.

Availability: Rare. Can occasionally be seen on MTM Channel and Argosy Retro. The rerun Revenge of Sarah variant is seen on Argosy Retro airings. Also seen on the final season of My Bedroom is Freaking Out.

2008-2011
Logo: On a white background, we see an orange flag wave with the letter "a" on it. Then we see a similar flag wave with the letter "r" on it. The entire thing keeps going until we zoom out from the last flag to reveal the flags have spelled "argosy". Then the text "media" in red fades in below the flags. A live-action cat (meant to represent Aaron) walks in. He looks around and sits on an imaginary line between him and the flags, then meows once. After he meows, the flags stop waving. A byline which says "An Argosy Communications Co." appears.

FX/SFX: Extremely expensive live-action and CGI effects.

Music/Sounds: A triumphant fanfare, then a couple of drum beats, the MTM meow sound effect, and then a brass-and-string version of the infamous ditty.

Availability: Common. Can be seen on Argosy-produced shows from the era. Can also be seen on reruns of the Argosy 2000 TV movies (plastering the 8th logo) and Argosy '90s series on ITV in the UK.

2011-present


Logo: On a sky background, we see Aaron run up onto grass, with a flag containing the Argosy A logo in red on his tail. Then Aaron looks at the screen. The text "argosy media" fades in below, followed by the ArgosyMTM byline.

Variants:
 * In 2013, a 100th Anniversary variant was used. As Aaron runs up, the words "100th Anniversary" in red and in a script font appear above the logo.
 * Some shows have Aaron on a white background. This variant is mainly used for plastering older logos.
 * On Tales Of Orange Gus, Aaron gets hit with a guitar, and the classic "KABONG!!!" sound comes in.
 * Some shows have a copyright stamp for “ArgosyMTM Enterprises Inc.”

FX/SFX: Excellent animation, with shading far beyond that capable in Adobe Flash. This was made around the time they switched to ToonBoom, and they seem to have pushed their brand-new software to its limits.

Music/Sounds: A nice classical guitar version of Aaron's Ditty.

Availability: Current. It debuted on the Argosy New Media web animation movie Mimsie vs. Sarah. Seen on all Argosy shows from the era, including episodes of the ITV shows P.S. 3538 and Sticks n' Stones and on the MTM shows Chainsaw and Ninjas of the Awesome, which are co-produced with Argosy. Also used on all episodes of The New Aaron Show.