PBS Kids IDs

Background
PBS Kids is a programming block and serves as the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States, established as part of PBS' "Ready To Learn" Initiative. The block was launched as PTV on September 10, 1993, to repackage PBS' existing children's programming. The PTV brand was retired on September 5, 1999, and has been officially known as PBS Kids since September 6, 1999. The PBS Kids channel was launched at the same time as the PBS Kids block and ran for six years and was largely funded by satellite TV provider DirecTV. The channel was shut down on September 26, 2005, and was replaced by PBS Kids Sprout (later known as simply Sprout; now Universal Kids), which was developed in partnership with Comcast Corporation (who later bought full control of the network via NBCUniversal). A new 24-hour channel was launched on January 16, 2017.

Leo the Cat (1993-1994)
Nickname: "Leo the Cat"

Logo: TBA.

FX/SFX: TBA.

Music/Sounds: The cat mooing like a cow and the P-head saying "Nice kitty!"

Music/Sounds Variant: There is a Spanish version where the cat sounds like an elephant.

Availability: TBA.

Editor's Note: TBA.

General ID of Decade 200 (July 11, 1994-September 5, 1999)
Nickname: "PTV Park"

Logo: We see a bird's-eye-view of the "PTV Park" setting, which starts with a sign that says "PTV" in its corporate font (notice the "P" is represented by the 1971 PBS P-Head, from the 2nd PBS logo) being guarded by 2 P-Pals named Polly and Pernell. The camera flies in under the sign so we get a good view of everything: lots of P-Pals doing their own activities, multicolored P-Pal-style drawings of the Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood sets, and carnival-themed structures. We head towards a periwinkle tent with a red top and a movie screen is on it (resembling those old commercial tents people used to go see in the 1930s) and the regular 1993-1999 PBS Kids ident plays (minus the "This Is...!" part).

Variants:
 * Blimp ID - Georgia Public Television KERA in Dallas,KTCA in Minneapolis, Maryland Public Television, WFWA in Fort Wayne, WGBH in Boston, WGBY in Springfield, WLRN in Miami, WNED in Buffalo, WNET in New York City, WQED in Pittsburgh, and WVIZ in Cleveland
 * Basketball ID - WVIZ in Cleveland, KPBS in San Diego, KERA in Dallas, University of North Carolina Television, and WNET in New York City
 * Farm ID - KERA in Dallas, KPBS in San Diego, Idaho Public Television, KLVX in Las Vegas, Wisconsin Public Television, and WNED in Buffalo.
 * Train ID - KCET in Los Angeles, KERA in Dallas, KLVX in Las Vegas, KPBS in San Diego, KTCA in Minneapolis, WNET in New York City, and WOSU in Columbus
 * Balloon ID - WGBH in Boston, KAET in Phoenix, WLRN in Miami, Maryland Public Television, WQED in Pittsburgh, KTCA in Minneapolis, KUAT in Tuscon, KCET in Los Angeles, and WHYY in Philadelphia.
 * Rocket ID - Wisconsin Public Television, KTCA in Minneapolis, KERA in Dallas, WNET in New York City, and WNED in Buffalo (Rocket mirrored in Wisconsin Public Telivision version)
 * Amusement Park ID - WNET in New York City (it said "Newark, NJ" in the ID, though), KTCA in Minneapolis, and WSKG in Binghamton
 * Artist ID - KCET in Los Angeles, WLRN in Miami, WGBH in Boston, WVIZ in Cleveland, and KERA in Dallas
 * Submarine ID - KCET in Los Angeles, South Carolina Educational Television, University of North Carolina Public Television, WLRN in Miami, WNED in Buffalo, and WNET in New York City
 * Dinosaur ID - KERA in Dallas, KTCA in Minneapolis and WNED in Buffalo
 * Greetings ID - KERA in Dallas, South Dakota Public Television, University of North Carolina Public Television, WMVS in Milwaukee, and WLRN in Miami
 * Dancing ID - WTVS in Detroit and WGTE in Toledo
 * Graffiti ID - Georgia Public Television, Louisiana Public Broadcasting, WGBH in Boston, WGTE in Toledo, and WHYY in Philadelphia
 * Piano ID - WVIZ in Cleveland
 * Magician ID - WMHT in Shnectady and WVIZ in Cleveland
 * Planes ID - WSKG in Binghamton, WNET in New York City, and KTCA in Minneapolis.
 * Truck ID - Louisiana Public Broadcasting, KAET in Phoenix, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, WNET in New York City, WQED in Pittsburgh, and WTTW in Chicago

FX/SFX: The camera flying in under the PTV sign then zooming in towards the tent.

Music/Sounds: A playful circus-like tune with bongos, a marimba and an electric piano with kids saying "Hi! You're in PTV Park on..." By this point, it culminates into the rest of the regular PBS Kids jingle. The PTV Station IDs have different music, and in some cases, have announcements (such as generic ones like "You're watching KERA, channel 13" or custom to the theme of the ID, such as "You can really score when you watch KPBS San Diego." These voiceovers are done by the voice actors of the P-Pals. Of course, some, like those for KTCA and WGBH, for example, do not contain voice-overs at all.

Availability: Extinct. Was occasionally seen in between shows like the Surprise ident. This was seen at the end of Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

Editor's Note: None.

007 (1999-2000?)
UxjXq8sz-7U Nicknames: "The PBS Kids Bubble II", "Dot and Dash II", "PBS Kids Girl II", "PBS Kids Boy II"

Logo: Dot and Dash spy on each other. The PBS Kids logo appears at the end, with a character appearing in the PBS Kids logo to promote the upcoming shows.

FX/SFX: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: TBA.

Availability: Extinct. Was only used to promote upcoming shows.

Editor's Note: None.

4th ID (September 6, 1999-August 29, 2008)
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Logo: Depends greatly on the variant, but most often, we see an event happening which eventually leads to the PBS Kids logo being revealed. In the live action variants of this logo, Dash or Dot in the logo are replaced with live action kids (with the exception of "My Dog Can Read!"), but in animated versions, Dash and Dot are present in the logo. The live action variants also have various characters from PBS Kids shows (Between the Lions, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Sesame Street, Dragon Tales, Arthur, etc.) appearing.

Variants: There are many.
 * When the "Using Your Imagination" bumper aired on KCET, Captain Infinity would break the fourth wall and appear in front of the PBS Kids logo.
 * Get Wordy!: Guy Smiley from Sesame Street hosts a Jeopardy!-esque game show, with Grandma Thora from Arthur, Cookie Monster from Sesame Street, and T. Bone from Clifford the Big Red Dog as his contestants. Thora correctly guesses that reading at bedtime helps children appreciate reading, and the credits roll. Below the credits are the PBS Kids Ready To Learn logo and the PBS url.
 * The Alphabet Song: As some kids in purple shirts sing the Alphabet Song, each kid pulls up his/her shirt to reveal another shirt with a letter of the alphabet on it.
 * Fondue: A chef drops down several letters, which are received by two kids and a monkey. They dip the letters in a smiling bowl of fondue, making the words "fan", "fun", and "yum". After all the letters are eaten, we pan up to the PBS Kids logo. The letters "PBS" are splattered with fondue.
 * Agent Cookie: In a Mission Impossible parody, Cookie Monster from Sesame Street is given ten seconds by Arty Smartpants from Between the Lions to write his name on a sheet of paper with a red crayon.
 * You Gotta Be: A promo that only aired on Labor Day from 2001 to 2006. We see black-and-white footage of some kids and various characters from PBS Kids shows, with green chroma-keying. It is possible that KAID, known for formerly airing a wide variety of old bumpers aired this one for longer.
 * Cooking with Clifford: Emily Elizabeth (voiced by Grey DeLisle) and kids make Tasty Tummy Yummies for Clifford. The kids add two cups of flour, one jar of peanut butter, a squirt of mustard, marshmallows, a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone, and pepper to taste. Then a timer dings. Emily Elizabeth and the kids ask Clifford (voiced by an unknown male actor since John Ritter passed away in 2003) what he thinks of their Tasty Tummy Yummies. Clifford sneezes, causing a huge mess in the kitchen; the sneeze is so big that Emily and the kids to get blown away. Then Emily says "Maybe too much pepper." We pan up to the PBS Kids logo, but the circle is replaced with a green splatter and the letters in "KIDS" aren't in place.
 * Star Finder!
 * Action Pig
 * Casablanca
 * CSI
 * Stomach Dance Party
 * The Origin of Super Grover
 * Same Shape, Same Color, Same Size, Same Everything
 * Mystery Box
 * Ask for Help
 * Hide and Seek: Clifford and a group of kids play hide and seek. The kids find Clifford behind a red wall.
 * Teamwork: Clifford gets his nose stuck. As a song about teamwork plays, the kids help him get his nose unstuck.
 * Rhyming: 4 Kids and a firefighter make up a rhyme using words ending in "am", until the firefighter breaks the chain by ending the rhyme in "I'd rather have a peanut butter sandwich"
 * Computers: Kids discuss what the internet is and how it can be used, D.W from Arthur then enters the room with a surfboard saying "I'm ready to surf the web!".
 * Letter Factory We see letters falling from a tree then being sucked down a tube into a factory. A magnet then picks up the letters and puts them on a truck spelling out "Reading is fun". We hear the PBS Kids jingle as the truck drives away with the PBS Kids logo visible on the back of the truck.
 * Monkey Loves to Read
 * Reading Is Fun!
 * My Dog Can Read!: Live action dogs suddenly gain the ability to read, with many kids showing their dogs reading signs like "JUMP!", "RUN!", "EAT!" and finally, "PBS Kids".
 * A variant exists where we see the PBS Kids Dot logo on a white background inside what appears to be a TV set, with the bubbles bulging in and out.
 * We see various kids appearing in the circular PBS Kids logo on a background with bubbles, with the bubble reappearing and the letters "PBS" growing until they reach the bubble each time. This variant was seen after some bumpers and also at the end of Plaza Sésamo on select stations.
 * Everyone's a Winner!
 * A version of the "Everyone's a Winner!" variant using the circular PBS Kids logo used to exist. It was only used in Mills malls in the PBS Kids-themed playground areas called PBS Kids Neighborhood and PBS Kids Backyard; these playground areas were closed in 2008.

FX/SFX: Same as the 4th logo, or a combination of live-action, animation and chroma-key technology.

Music/Sounds: Depends on the variant.
 * Some variants use a synth-pop or experimental/avant-garde theme.
 * You Gotta Be: The 1994 song You Gotta Be by British soul musician Des'ree.
 * Use Your Imagination: The song "Use Your Imagination" sung by a man and some kids, children laughing, and a snippet of a girl going "Mmmm..." from the PBS Kids "Dot's Cat" station ID.
 * Fondue: A theme with synthesized vocal noises based on the PBS Kids system cues and bumpers from the era, and a group of kids saying the words the monkey and kids make. At the end, there is a splattering sound when the fondue splatters the letters "PBS", followed by some kids singing "PBS Kids!"
 * The Ready To Learn promos have an announcer saying, "PBS Kids Ready To Learn! We're getting kids ready for school and for life!" On the Super Grover and Casablanca promos, a Don LaFontaine soundalike says this.
 * "PBS Ready To Learn. The first grade is coming soon."
 * The "Ask for Help" variant has a ragtime version of the PBS Kids jingle.

Availability: Depends on the variant, but most are now uncommon, bordering on rare. Seen on old bumpers for PBS Kids in the 2000s. Some PBS station like LPB, KAID (Note: more of these logos were formerly more common to see on this station until 2019, but Rhyming and Mystery Box can occasionally still be seen) and KNEW continue to air certain variants of this logo. Despite most of these variants still being used on certain stations, some have now gone extinct, some variants are even known to be completely lost. Check your local PBS station or old tapes for them.

Editor's Note: TBA.

Travel (September 6, 1999-August 31, 2008)
Nickname: "Travel"

Logo: Above a sea on a white background, a light purple boy wearing goggles is seen flying in a yellow plane to the right corner of the screen. The plane leaves behind a trail of smoke. A green boat, guarded by a sailor boy with a hair sticking out of his hat, then floats up to the screen. The boy smiles and waves at us. As the boat disappears, the sea turns into a road. An orange boy in a black cap appears driving a blue car with black wheels. An orange-haired girl with bead eyes, sitting next to the boy, waves at us. The road turns into a grassy hill, and a purple steam train with a blue boy wearing a striped coat and engineer's hat comes in. Once it passes, the ground changes again and we see Dot (with white skin and a pink-and-yellow striped shirt, unlike most of her incarnations) on an orange horse. She giggles as the horse clops up to the screen. Finally, the grass changes back into a road and we see Dot and Dash (with blue skin and yellow firefighter uniforms) on a red firetruck.

FX/SFX: The kids waving and the vehicles coming towards us. Hand-drawn animation done at Lee Hunt Associates.

Music/Sounds: An art pop tune based on the then-current PBS Kids branding; a kid saying "Wah!" in various pitches, some high-pitched giggling for Dot, and descending synth voices when the firetruck appears.

Availability: Extinct. Was used as a station ID as well as a schedule bumper.

Editor's Note: None.

Switcher (September 6, 1999-August 31, 2008; 2015)
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Nicknames: "The Switcher", "The Button", "The Doink! Button", "Dot and Dash III", "PBS Kids Girl III", "PBS Kids Boy III", "Doink! PBS Kids II", "The PBS Kids Bubble IV"

Logo: We start by seeing two halves of the screen separated by a black line with what appears to be a button in its center. Dash is on the left side of the screen, while Dot is on the right. Dot is shown as a shadow. She then presses the button, turning Dash into a shadow of a chicken, then Dash presses the button, turning Dot into an umbrella. Then the two keep pressing the button, transforming Dash into a flower, a bear, and an arrow, as well as transforming Dot into a hammer and a rabbit. Then the two keep pressing the button rapidly back and forth until they both turn into shadows of things (Dash is a ball while Dot is a fly). When this happens, the screen is no longer separated, the shadows are on a yellow background, and the circular PBS Kids logo is at the top of the screen and is smaller than usual. We then fade out.

FX/SFX: Same as the 4th logo.

Music/Sounds: As the button is pressed, we hear "Doink!" noises. When the button is pressed rapidly, the "Doink!" noise is also rapidly heard until we hear a laser-like noise which brings us to Dot and Dash both turning into shadows of things. We then hear the 4 notes of the PBS Kids jingle being played by a bubbly synth, followed by the "PBS Kids!" part of the jingle, which is scatted by synchronized "Doink!" noises.

Availability: Extinct. This is a rare ID which was shown on Martin Luther King Day of 2006 (January 16, 2006). Recently appeared during a 2015 PBS Kids broadcast on the WFWA station. This was also used as a local ID on certain PBS stations starting in 1999.

Editor's Note: None.

Bookworm Bunch (September 30, 2000-September 5, 2004)


Nicknames: "Bookworm Bunch", "The Book Factory"

Logo: TBA.

Variants: TBA.

FX/SFX: 2D animation done at Primal Screen.

Music/Sounds: TBA.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

Dash on the Moon (Late 2000s?)
O-VM5FQqRR0 Nicknames: "Dash on the Moon", "Skateboarding Dash"

Logo: As a green car passes by, Dash appears on a skateboard. He approaches a ramp that sends him flying into space. He backflips, then lands on a blue crescent moon. With his arms crossed, Dash looks at us as a "PBS KIDS" star constellation appears.

FX/SFX: Dash skateboarding and flying to the moon. Computer animation.

Music/Sounds: A tune, followed by "PBS Kids" sung by kids.

Availability: Unused.

Editor's Note: None.

General ID of Decade 201 (2008-2013)
TBA.

General ID of Decade 202 (2013- )
TBA.