Devillier Donegan Enterprises

Background
Devillier Donegan Enterprises (DDE) was a Washington, D.C. based documentary distribution company established in 1980 by Ron Devillier and Brian Donegan. In 1994, DDE became majority owned by Capital Cities/ABC, which then merged with The Walt Disney Company in 1996. DDE bought out Disney-ABC's majority interest in 2002, granting them ABC/Kane Productions' catalog. DDE were involved in the distribution and production of the PBS series The Living Edens and Empires, in addition to programs on Discovery Channel and TLC.

1st Logo (1980?-198?)
Logo: On a black background, we see the words "PRESENTED BY" in a white Helvetica Bold font, along with the company's name below, which is presented in a bold serif font. The first letter in each word is orange, while the rest of the text is colored yellow. The logo design also contains three red stripes intersected by the big orange letters (making them six stripes technically), one above the names "DEVILLIER•DONEGAN", one in the middle, and one underneath "ENTERPRISES". The logo in full looks something like this:

Helvetica  Lucida Fax Lucida Fax• Lucida Fax Lucida Fax  Lucida Fax Lucida Fax

Technique: None

Music/Sounds: None

Availability: Extinct. Since it was used on American television prints of Monty Python's Flying Circus, it is likely that any old VHS/Betamax recordings of the program will have this logo.

2nd Logo (1980s?)


Logo: On a deep blue gradient background, we see the logo unfold, revealing the following text in silver: Monotype Corsiva Times Times Times Times Times Times Monotype Corsiva

Five silver lines, four above and below "DEVILLIER·DONEGAN", and one underneath "ENTERPRISES" are also present within the logo's design. The text shines from left to right before the logo fades to black.

Technique: Rather simple computer animation of the logo unfolding and shining.

Music/Sounds: None

Availability: Extinct.

3rd Logo (1990s? - 200?)
Logo: On a blue/black background, we see the logo in silver, consisting of a shiny silver rectangle with star shapes cut into it, and the text "Times", "Times", and "Times" with an underline under each word. As the logo zooms out from the center, three golden CGI stars fly in from the right and flip across the screen before zooming into position under the logo.

Variant: On some releases, the byline "Distributed by" would fade in above the logo in a cursive script font.

Technique: CGI for the logo zooming in and the animation of the stars.

Music/Sounds: A 5-note pizzicato string piece. On some releases the logo is either silent or the end theme plays over.

Availability: Rare. It can be found on some PBS DVDs, most notably the Empires specials Kingdom of David: The Saga of the Israelites and Peter & Paul and the Christian Revolution.

4th Logo (1999-2004?)
Logo: On a black background, we see a  star-shaped crater forming and exploding. The crater turns as the logo from before in white begins to form. The star design on the left appears as five separate pieces that zoom towards each other, while the text fades in to the right of the design and zoom out to a comfortable position.

Technique: CGI for the background animation and the formation of the logo.

Music/Sounds: A cymbal crash followed by a three-note horn fanfare and a synth finish.

Availability: Uncommon. It can be found on official DVDs of the PBS historical miniseries Empires, as well as other documentaries DDE produced for the network.

5th Logo (2000s)
Logo: On a black background, we see the letters " Times " swoop in from the bottom right of the screen. We then see a large silver star come into view from the top left. The large star then zooms backwards and rotates counter-clockwise while three smaller stars and a black star-shaped shadow appear. The letters shine as the stars fall into place.

Technique: 3D CGI for animating both the letters and the stars.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the show.

Availability: Uncommon. Found on home media releases of certain PBS specials, including Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire and The Medici - Godfathers of the Renaissance.