Bravo

Background
Bravo was a TV channel operating in the United Kingdom. When launched in 1985, it was only transmitted on cable TV. In 1993, it then progressed to the Astra Satelite. The programming of the channel started out as a vintage movie channel, before changing in 1997 to adult male-oriented shows. In 2010, Living TV Group was folded into BSkyB. As a result, Bravo closed down.

1st Logo (1985-January 1997)
Nickname: "The Tower"

Logo: We zoom out of a building, and as we do so, radiowaves come out of a radio tower attached to the building, and we see two searchlights. When we stop, an oval zooms towards us, and some more radiowaves make the logo. When complete, we see the black text "BRAVO" inside a white oval.

Variants:
 * There is a shorter version.
 * Sometimes, an even shorter version of the logo plays on a cloudy or black background (for black-and-white films).

FX/SFX: The searchlights, the radiowaves, the clouds.

Music/Sounds: An orchestral fanfare that then becomes majestic. Usually, it would then end in an orchestral ditty.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: The radiowaves may look like thunderbolts, and the searchlights may look primitive, but this was advanced animation for the mid 1980's. The short versions of the logo look much more outdated, but this was to indicate the vintage-based programming of the channel during the time, so it's not that horrible.

2nd Logo (January-February 3, 1997)
Nickname: "Time Warp Television"

Logo: We zoom through a time-warping background, which changes colors throughout. Then everything goes black. After a second, a black Bravo logo zooms towards us, and the background gently fades colors.

FX/SFX: The time warping.

Music/Sounds: A rising dramatic crescendo that builds into a nice peaceful synth hum.

Availability: Same as the 1st logo. This was used to indicate the departure of the channel's original vintage movie programming to the more adult-oriented shows.

Editor's Note: The time-warping sequence may thrill some and would also surprise those who were expecting the normal 1985 idents on the time, although this is pretty harmless, compared to what follows...

3rd Logo (February 3, 1997-2000)
Logo: On a black background, we see fires originating from the center of the screen, progressively growing and then dimming. Afterward, many other fires start around the screen (in varying shades of, , and ), and at the same time, the outline of the Bravo "Horned O" appears. We then see a big fire shrinking in size (as if it were absorbed), and then an explosion occurs, with the entire Bravo "O" burning with alternating  and / colors. At the same time, we see the text "bravo" appearing as it gets filled up with fire, and the logo either fades out seconds later or ends instantly.

Variants: * The blue smoky transition appears after the live action, due to the violent nature implied in the subject matter.
 * During the 1997-1998 "horror channel" era, there were several variants to go along with the generic logo, most of which showed unsettling content (which may not be shown on this website). These live-action sequences would appear from a smoky transition, with a few expections. The variants include:
 *  Cat in Cage:  A cat is shown inside of a cage.
 *  Cheese Grater:  The variant starts from underneath the grater. Through its holes, a girl can be seen briefly. The scene then cuts to the girl licking the cheese grater (albeit the footage is played backwards so it doesn't look like she's actually licking the cheese grater). The girl then widens her eyes a split second before the logo appears.
 *  Criminal:  A female criminal comes in from the right to take her standard mugshots. A closeup of her smile appears.
 *  Enjoy Yourself:  A woman is seen sucking her big toe and is touching herself around. The camera pans back and the woman says "Enjoy Yourself." in a seductive tone.
 * Eyeballs: A closeup of eyeballs inside a liquid is shown. The shot then backs out to reveal a fork taking one out of the jar.
 *  Goldfish:  A goldfish is seen inside a blender. The blender is then heard whirring.*
 *  Maggots:  A closeup of maggots can be seen. The shot then backs out to reveal they are all inside of a bowl. A spoon is also shown, making it look like cereal.
 *  Mental Asylum:  A guy is seen in a mental asylum chair and he starts shaking his head like crazy.
 *  Piercing:  A close-up of a pierced belly button is shown.
 * Rabbit Farm: A group of rabbits is shown minding their own business until a grenade falls and explodes.*
 *  Screwhead I:  A guy with screws on his head goes crazy as the screen flashes. A flathead screwdriver is also shown.
 *  Screwhead II:  The same screwhead appears once more to speak and shake his head around.
 *  Shaving:  A woman is shown in a mirror humming to herself while shaving.
 *  Toilet:  A dirty bathroom is seen and a dirty toilet brush falls in its stand.
 * Extra variations included a doctor (who wears a wrestler's costume and puts on gloves), a 3x3 grid blowtorch of different fire colors, a bobbing  slime, and a man being revealed from the closet.
 * Later during this era, the generic logos would either appear on a, , or background.
 * There were also short bumpers at the time that would appear during adverts. Instead of the generic Bravo logo appearing, it would appear within the bumper. These bumpers include:
 *  Alcohol:  A bartender brings out a bottle of alcohol in front of the camera. The camera then zooms in to reveal some sort of object inside the bottle, which then morphs into the Bravo "Horned O".
 *  Beermat:  A hand is shown taking a glass of beer off of a beermat, spilling some in the process. The camera then pans over to it as the horns appear on the beermat.
 * Fingerprint: A police form is shown, and the Bravo "Horned O" logo appears in the style of a fingerprint.
 *  Sperm:  A bunch of sperm cells are seen squirming. The screen pans out to reveal several sperm cells forming the Bravo "Horned O" logo.
 *  Tattoo:  A muscular man is seen turning around, then a circle is revealed on his right arm, which then turns into the "Horned O" logo.

Trivia: These IDs won the Royal Television Society Craft & Design Award for Best Channel Idents in 1997.

FX/SFX: The fire startups for the generic idents. The 1997 variants and the 1999 bumpers contain live-action. All of the idents were made by Red Pepper Film Company as an "alternative species of television".

Music/Sounds: A waving synth and fire sound effects, then an explosion sound and, lastly, either two synth notes (which uses a guitar layering on the synth music) or a different sound effect played on a waterphone (which is infamously used on numerous reality TV shows to indicate tension). The 1997 variants and the 1999 bumpers contain sounds that correspond to the subject matter.

Availability: Same as the 1st logo.

Editor's Note: The live-action startups will unnerve quite a lot of viewers who are unaware, and some may find the second sound FX variant scarier, but the startups are nothing compared to the IDs, which contain extremely disturbing content to the point of being obscene. The rabbit farm and goldfish variants will almost certainly upset animal lovers. Children, if they were unlucky enough to see these idents, would very likely be spooked and gain nightmares. These idents are absolutely not appropriate to show on television and stand as some of the scariest idents of all time. The 1999 bumpers on the other hand are not that scary.

4th Logo (2000-2003)


Logo: On a dark-colored background (either dark blue, dark green, or, the Bravo "Horned O" is seen on an block, and each piece moves to make the complete logo. The text "BRAVO" is seen below the square.

FX/SFX: Bold, blocky animations made to fit the "lads culture". Quite smooth animation, but much simpler than the last logo.

Music/Sounds: Some rhythmic music.

Availability: Extinct, like the other logos.

Editor's Note: It's tamer than the infamous 3rd logo.

5th Logo (2003-2006)


Logo: A live-action city is seen either in an or  shade. The Bravo "Horned O" is seen on the right side of the screen.

FX/SFX: Live-action and 2D animation. Simpler than the 4th logo.

Music/Sounds: Some different rhythmic music.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: It's not as amazing as the other logos.