LBS Communications

Lexington Broadcast Services (commonly known by its initials, "LBS") was created in 1976 by Henry Siegel. It was reincorporated to "LBS Communications, Inc." in 1984. LBS also joined forces with Columbia Pictures Television to create "Colex Enterprises", which distributed TV series by Screen Gems and CPT. Over the years, the company would produce/distribute miscellaneous television shows such as Inspector Gadget and Heathcliff (DIC), What's Happening!! and What's Happening Now!! (CPT), Baywatch and Family Feud (Mark Goodson), and World of Wrestling. LBS was also an ad-sales barter until they formed "TV Horizons". After Colex Enterprises dissolved in 1986, LBS Communications began to lose money, until it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991. This left the company to sell more than 80% of its assets to All American Television in March 1992. Despite all the adversity, LBS would still live on in the 1990s as an in-name-only unit of All American Television, which was sold to Pearson, plc. in 1997 and was renamed to Pearson Television; the production company would close in 2001. Today, most of the LBS library, with some exceptions, is owned by FremantleMedia.

1st Logo (September 1976-1984, March 7, 1986)
Nickname: "The Pan-Out"

Logo: On a black background, a white beam of light with several twinkles on it "scans" across the screen, leaving a large royal blue fused "LBS", consisting of an "L" and an "S" nearly fused together and a "B" in the gap between them, in its trail in the center of the screen, which then slides back a little. After the LBS text slides, a small white flash appears, leaving behind the text "LEXINGTON BROADCAST SERVICES COMPANY" in white.

Variants:
 * A filmed version also exists.
 * On Not for Women Only, the in-credit LBS logo is seen with the text "Distributed by LEXINGTON BROADCAST SERVICES" above it.
 * In 1983, the text is superimposed in the Helvetica white font with a comma and the word "INC." at the end, also blacking out the original text. The flash was also altered.
 * There is also a still variant of this logo with the texts "AN" above and "COMMUNICATIONS PRESENTATION" below the logo respectively.
 * On most episodes of The Glen Campbell Music Show, the animated logo is superimposed over the credits.
 * On early '90s Family Channel airings of Inspector Gadget, the logo is slightly sped up.

FX/SFX: The beam of light, and the flash revealing the company name. Scanimate effects.

Music/Sounds: An uplifting synth tune accompanied by a rising series of beeps, and a synthesized "zap" (which sounds oddly like a person sneezing) accompanying the flash. All three elements of the soundtrack sound like they were made on a Moog synthesizer.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * On early episodes of Inspector Gadget, the logo is silent.
 * On The Glen Campbell Music Show, the end theme plays over the logo.
 * On a Serbian-dubbed print of Inspector Gadget, the logo had the music from the 1996 Saban logo. This is most likely due to a plastering error.

Availability: Very rare.
 * It first appeared on LBS' first nationally syndicated program Hot Fudge.
 * This logo can be found on the Inspector Gadget: The Original Series DVD set and on the Inspector Gadget: Go, Go Gadget Collection DVD (with the exception of the "Launch Time" episode, which replaces all logos at the end with a Cookie Jar Entertainment logo).
 * It also appeared when This TV aired certain episodes of the aforementioned series.
 * The variation with "INC." is quite rare, but can be seen on some early episodes of Tales from the Darkside on Chiller. Some airings of the previous show on Syfy have the Lorimar-Telepictures logo while DVD's use CBS Television Distribution.
 * The still variant can be seen at the end of Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation.
 * This can also be seen on GetTV airings of The Glen Campbell Music Show. Also appeared on '80s syndication prints of many shows from the CPT catalog.

Editor's Note: The logo was quite ahead of its time, as the animation and music were pretty advanced for a '70s logo.

2nd Logo (June 27, 1984-March 26, 1988)
Nickname: "The Unfolding Letters"

Logo: On a shaded violet gradient background with a floor, a Dodger blue curved "LBS" (exactly like in the 1st logo, but in a medium shade of light blue) zooms out while "unfolding." It stops in the center of the screen. "LBS COMMUNICATIONS INC." wipes in under the logo as the LBS logo "shines". The shadow of the LBS logo can be seen below on the floor.

Variants:
 * There are also two main variants of this logo; a filmed version and a videotaped version.
 * There is a more recent variant seen on What's Happening Now!! in which the words "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" fade in at the bottom. This is then followed by the SPT logo.
 * There is a superimposed version seen on a PSA for Kideo TV where the "LBS COMMUNICATIONS, INC." text is in a different font and is blue, with "KIDEO-TV IS A TRADEMARK OF LBS COMMUNICATIONS INC." below the logo.

FX/SFX: The Scanimated "LBS" unfolding, and the company name "shining" in.

Music/Sounds: A pretty dramatic 9-note synthesizer score ending in 2 drumbeats.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * On the What's Happening Now!! episode "Mr. First Nighter", it uses the 1982 CPT music. It's unknown why LBS made these frequent editing mistakes.
 * On the superimposed Kideo TV variant, an announcer, continuing from the DIC logo (the first half of the logo combo), says "...and is produced in association with LBS Communications, Inc.!".

Availability: Uncommon. This logo is the easiest to find from the company.
 * The videotaped version survived on Tales from the Darkside on the now defunct Chiller, airings on Syfy plaster it with the Lorimar-Telepictures logo.
 * Unfortunately, the CBS Television Distribution logo plastered this logo on Tales From The Darkside DVD releases, but it's intact on DVD releases of The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin and What's Happening Now!!. It is unknown if the ThrillerVideo/IVE VHS releases of TFTD retain this logo, or the above logo.
 * It was also seen on season two of Inspector Gadget and was on most of the seasons of Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats (DVD releases of both preserve the logo).
 * The filmed version is very rare. It was seen on Rainbow Brite, which does not rerun on TV anymore, along with other DIC shows from the era (though if it is rerun in the future, this logo might be intact).

Editor's Note: A finely-made '80s logo with pretty good scanimation and music.

3rd Logo (April 12, 1987-April 27, 1991)
Nicknames: "CGI Space and Dots", "Comets and Dots", "Slide-In", "The Disco Balls"

Logo: A group of round balls pan to the left of the screen. The "LBS" logo slides in from the right of the screen, during which 2 groups of 5 conical lights (possibly representing meteors) streak through. The logo makes a stop at the front of the screen, and "LBS COMMUNICATIONS INC." fades in below.

Variants:
 * If LBS was distributing the program, once the logo finishes, the words "Times New Roman" would fade in above the company name.
 * The normal 1987 LBS version exists as a filmed and a videotaped version.
 * The "LBS" logo can be either blue, dark blue, or purple.
 * As a distributor, it would sometimes have the copyright stamp.
 * A still in-credit variant with magenta lettering with the text "In association with" in white was seen on the final season of 21 Jump Street. Later episodes of that season had a still image with a smaller LBS logo in magenta and the company name in a big bold white font on a gradient violet background. This is very similar to the 2nd logo.
 * On the 1988 documentary Mysteries of the Pyramids, the text below the logo changes to "PRESENTS", and then the animation is played in reverse.
 * On the 1989 TV special Exploring Psychic Powers... Live, "PRESENTS" is put in the middle of the screen while the logo plays in reverse.
 * On the 1990 TV special A Tribute to John Lennon, the logo fades in halfway, and no text appears below the LBS logo at all; the camera then zooms into the lower hole in the "B" to reveal a starfield and the word "PRESENTS" in a chromed font over it.

FX/SFX: The panning-out and sliding-in of the logo and background.

Music/Sounds:
 * 1987-1989: An ascending/descending jingle with twittering sounds as the meteors streak through, followed by a whoosh and a tense remix of the '84 LBS theme. A short version starts just as the meteors streak.
 * 1989-1991: A rather eerie descending synth jingle with a deep wind sound, then a 2-note synth choir jingle. The distribution variant has a longer version with the last note of the first jingle and the first note of the second one being held on longer.
 * 1990: A quiet synth sounder. There is also a low toned version.
 * On the 1988 documentary Mysteries of the Pyramids, an eerie sounder.
 * On the 1988 TV movie Bonanza: The Next Generation, the closing theme of the movie.
 * On the 1989 TV special Exploring Psychic Powers... Live, it is a chorus. The end of the special features the 2nd half of the 1989 theme.
 * On the 1990 TV special A Tribute to John Lennon, a cheesy-sounding synth fanfare.

Availability:
 * 1987-1989: Very rare. The distribution version appears occasionally on Father Knows Best on Antenna TV. It was spotted on a repeat of Hazel on TV Land years ago and the very last season of Inspector Gadget. It was also intact on the final season of Tales from the Darkside (that would feature the 2nd Tribune logo), but airings of the show on Syfy plaster it with the Lorimar-Telepictures logo. This can also be found on Inspector Gadget tapes released by Maier Group. Also seen on some episodes through the finale of The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin on DVD.
 * 1989-1991: Rare, but you can still find this version on some shows currently like What's Happening Now!! and occasionally on Father Knows Best and The Monkees on Antenna TV. It's also there on CBN's reruns of The Young Rebels and Nostalgia Television's reruns of The Interns, as well as Eisched.
 * 1990: Extinct. It was seen on a few syndie episodes in tandem with the 1989 logo on Family Feud.
 * In-credit and Still variant: This is also extinct. It was only seen on the final season of 21 Jump Street in syndication, but current prints remove this and the other, so don't expect them to appear on DVD, streaming, or H&I airings.

Editor's Note: While it isn't as groundbreaking as the previous logos, it still exhibits some simple, but effective CGI for the late '80s, and the music is again quite nice.

4th Logo (September 23, 1991-May 18, 1992)
Nicknames: "15th Year Anniversary Logo", "The LBS Egg Logo", "Happy Birthday LBS!"

Logo: It starts out with a yellow/white oval coming out first. Then, the LBS logo in red goes down from the top of the screen, and afterward, it displays a purple banner which reads "15TH ANNIVERSARY" in gold. After the logo is completed, the entire logo shines near "1976-1991" (the dates).

FX/SFX: The oval zooming in, the LBS logo and banner moving into place, "15th ANNIVERSARY" wiping in, the dates fading in, and the logo shining.

Music/Sounds: A mellow synthesizer score with a "ching" sound to indicate the shine.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * Short versions have a three-note tune.
 * Other than that, it's silent.
 * There is a version with a different but similar-sounding theme. This can be seen on The Elvis Files.

Availability: Ultra rare.
 * This appeared on season 2 of Baywatch, as well as on the 1991-1992 syndicated season of Family Feud.
 * Currently, it is plastered by the FremantleMedia logo on season 2 Baywatch episodes on DVD; you'll have to look elsewhere for earlier prints.
 * It is currently seen on second season episodes of Baywatch on an international Universal Channel.
 * This is surprisingly preserved on the Goodtimes Home Video VHS of The Elvis Files.

Editor's Note: The CGI is very simplistic and not very inspiring, but overall, it's a nice send-off for the final days of LBS.