Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The S From Hell (and others)

Today we consider the "S From Hell" - a creepy logo used by Screen Gems television in the 60's and 70's. The video is here - if you dare watch it.

It appeared at the tail-end of The Monkees, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie and just about everything else I watched as a kid. It didn't quite scare me, as it did others - but there was no denying the music had an other-worldly, slightly malevolent feel to it.

Here is an approximation of the typical viewer reaction when the "S From Hell" would appear on the screen.

I was of a similar opinion on the NBC Peacock - whose fevered soundtrack could certainly not have been composed by a normal brain. (By the way - the 1950's Peacock ident -with its opening gong - is the only one I would describe as "scary").

Since good things come in threes - I have also included the old PBS ident. Nothing says "get ready for a pledge drive" quite like it.