Viewer's Choice Feature Presentation

1st Open (November 27, 1985-1988)

ID: On a silver background, we see the Viewer's Choice logo, which consists of an orange-yellow circle with the shiny text "VIEWER'S CHOICE" circling on it, a small blue circle in the center, and a large red checkmark (or 'tick' if you're British) in the center of the blue circle. After a few seconds, the gray text "FEATURE PRESENTATION" spins out as the Viewer's Choice logo fades out leaving only a chrome outline in the background, and the text settles in the middle and shines.

Technique: The zooming and shining.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: A new wave tune with a 9-note melody, played as an announcer intones "And now, your Viewer's Choice feature presentation!"

Availability: Extinct. Check your old tapes for this.

Legacy: The text looks very tacky against the silver background, especially when on the outline of the Viewer's Choice logo.

2nd Open (1988-1990)

ID: We begin with stars on a black/orange/pink ethereal background zooming out. As we zoom out, the stars light up. Then a black/silver gradient box with the neon light blue text "Feature" in it swings to the left. Once it swings the text "VIEWER'S CHOICE" (With the regular Viewer's Choice logo in place of the "O" in "CHOICE") fades in. As it fades in, a streak of light zooms out to form the word "PRESENTATION".

Technique: The stars lighting up, the box swinging out and the light forming the "PRESENTATION" text.

Music/Sounds: A rock/synthesizer fanfare.

Availability: Same as the last bumper.

3rd Open (1990-1996)

Video Note: The logo begins at 2:05.

ID: On a black background, a sideways CGI movie reel appears and zooms out. As it backs away, we see that it is one of many CGI filmreels that fly down from the top to the bottom of the screen. After a while, the background lights up in black-blue gradient colors as one of the filmreels passes through the middle of the Viewer's Choice logo, which now has the text on it in solid white and the circle more shiny and orange. The camera pans down, revealing a background of a purple sky and a hill underneath. The filmreels disappear as a glass sheet flies on the back of the Viewer's Choice logo, and the cyan text "Feature" also appears underneath. The logo and text zoom out, revealing it is against a surface of multicolored triangles. The smokey white text "PRESENTATION" appear as several spotlights light up in the background.

Technique: Great CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: A late '80s/early '90s rock/new wave score. Starting around 1993, it was changed to a triumphant fanfare that ends with a dramatic change in pitch before trailing off.

Availability: Same as the previous bumpers, except this might be easier to come across due to its long lifespan.

Legacy: It's a great opener with great animation and music.

4th Open (1996-December 31, 1999)

Video Note: The logo begins at 0:38.

ID: The pink/salmon text "PICTURE" is positioned in the center of a red/magenta version of a classic film countdown. The text changes to "START" and the camera cuts to a filmstrip flying past the red/magenta/blue number "10". A large suburban house then rises out of "9" and thrusts itself to the camera, where we pass through a window on it and see dozens of TVs flying past, spinning and showing a car spinning. A live-action hand brandishing a remote then pops out on the bottom-left corner of the screen and pushes a button on it, transitioning to a large red couch that spins throughout the colorful background. Then, a filmreel projector is shown and the camera zooms to the dispensing part of it, where a shiny purple ticket with the text "Feature" and "Presentation" swings out onto the top of the screen.

Trivia: Note that this intro, unlike the others, completely lacks any reference to Viewer's Choice. This was because at the time other pay-per-view services shuttered and cable system-operated PPV services were outsourced, leaving VC to dominate the market. As a result, the VC name was generally phased out from on-air usage by this time and replaced by generic references to "pay-per-view" in promos and graphics; the VC name remained in copyright notices and in listings services such as the Prevue Channel until 2000.

Technique: Very good CGI animation. It also incorporates live-action and retro styles in various creative ways.

Music/Sounds: A string note, followed by a bell and an ascending string fanfare that turns into a '90s rock style midway through. The fanfare ends in a triumphant finish.

Availability: Same as the previous bumpers.

Legacy: The chaotic actions in the bumper may be nerve-whacking for some, but this is a great bumper.

Final Note: On January 1, 2000, Viewer's Choice was rebranded as InDemand.