MTM Enterprises

Background
MTM Enterprises, Inc. (also known as "MTM Productions, Inc.") was an independent production company established in 1969 by actress Mary Tyler Moore (hence the initials of the company) and her then-husband Grant Tinker. The company was formed as a result of an agreement with Moore and the CBS network to produce 22 episodes of a new sitcom, which would become The Mary Tyler Moore Show. In 1986, MTM launched "MTM Television Distribution". MTM titles had previously been distributed by Viacom Enterprises (now "CBS Media Ventures"), and then Victory Television. MTM was sold to TVS Entertainment (the then-parent company of now-defunct ITV franchise holder TVS Television) in July 1988. In 1992, after TVS lost its ITV franchise to Meridian Broadcasting, it was sold to International Family Entertainment, Inc., owners of The Family Channel, which in turn was sold and merged into Fox Family Worldwide (now "ABC Family Worldwide") in 1997. MTM ceased operations the following year, and its library assets were folded into 20th Century Fox Television (now "20th Television"). Today, most of its library assets (with some exceptions) are owned by The Walt Disney Company after acquiring 20th Century Fox in 2019.

Logo (September 19, 1970-May 19, 1998)
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Visuals: On a black background, an "M" flies backward from off screen, then splits into two. In the space left between the two letters, two "T"'s come from the top and bottom of the screen and join to form one. This completes the initials of the company, and the letter "T" shrinks when a ribbon circle, adorned with stars on the left, right and bottom and "MTM" on the top, appears over it. Under the letters are the words "ENTERPRISES, INC.", "ENTERPRISES", "PRODUCTIONS, INC.", or "PRODUCTIONS". Sometimes, the finished logo will read out "AN MTM ENTERPRISES (INC.) PRODUCTION" ("AN" appears over the first "M"). Inside of the ribbon, a live-action orange tabby kitten named Mimsie that meows once, obviously as a parody of the MGM lion. All the text (except for the later versions) appears in the Peignot font used for Viacom's 1st logo and the The Mary Tyler Moore Show opening and closing credits.

Trivia:
 * Nicknames such as "Dick Turpin" and "Dick Marino" have also been used in naming Mimsie. Mimsie was a rescue cat from an animal shelter.
 * The logo (with just Mimsie meowing) made an appearance within the Family Guy S7 episode "420".
 * On Me-TV promos of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show, Ed Asner and Bob Newhart uttered the word "Meow!" on the MTM logo at the end of the promos from their respective shows.
 * On "Love is All Around", the Mary Tyler Moore Show reunion episode of Hot in Cleveland, the end scene involves the camera panning out the windows until you see a vaguely familiar orange kitten sitting on one windowsill. The cat gives Mimsie's meow.
 * Mimsie appears within the Shout! Factory logo in a commercial for the Rhoda DVD sets.

Variants: First, here are the little differences in the logo, along with dates in which they were used:
 * September 19, 1970-March 2, 1974: One "M" is red-orange, the other is, and the "T" is and is formed by the merging of a light blue "T" and a  one.
 * September 18, 1971-1982: The "M"s are both red-orange, and the "T" is light blue.
 * September 12, 1977-April 21, 1982: Company now identified as "MTM Productions Inc.". The "M"s are now.
 * 1982-1990: Company identified as "MTM Enterprises, Inc.". The "M"s are now.
 * September 17, 1990-May 22, 1993: Same as above, but "ENTERPRISES, INC." is smaller than usual, and below it is a byline that says "A TVS ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY". Starting in early 1993, the byline was removed.
 * 1992-May 19, 1998: All letters are, the words "Times New Roman" appear with an line above it, after MTM was bought by the Family Channel.
 * A still version of this logo did turn up in the movies, notably the Orion Pictures release of Just Between Friends and possibly more. This is a still of the "Red/Blue Letters" version of the logo, and is shrunk to a considerably small size. No music, animation, or "meow" is present. Mimsie's head is turned away, pre-meowing.
 * Fresno has the "M"s in and the "T" light blue. Here it just reads "MTM PRODUCTIONS".
 * The appearance of the circle varies amongst logos. The most common one kind of "iris-in's." In others, usually ones where there's special animation or a different cat, the circle just appears.
 * Sometimes the letters don't animate, as seen in the Carlton, White Shadow, and "Abogast" variants. Everything is up there at once.
 * There exists another stil version on 92 Grosvenor Street/Behind Enemy Lines, which has a still picture of the circle below the copyright text, all on a black background.

Custom Variants: One thing that the MTM logo was known for was that it would often be custom made for whatever show it appeared at the end of. This means Mimsie's appearance would sometimes be different, usually involving her "wearing" a costume or saying something other than "meow". Here are those variants:
 * The Duck Factory : Right at the end of the credits, before we cut to the logo, an off-screen voice states, "Where's the cat?", "Here's the cat.", or "Take it, cat!" The logo then proceeds as normal, but instead of meowing, Mimsie quacks like a duck.
 * Hill Street Blues : Mimsie wears a policeman's cap.
 * Paris, The Boy Who Drank Too Much and Something for Joey : When the logo appears, there is a still picture of Mimsie in the ribbon.
 * Lou Grant : Same as the Paris and Something for Joey variants.
 * Two other variants also exist on a blooper reel of the series.
 * Mimsie chirping (like the bird heard at the end of the Lou Grant intro) instead of meowing.
 * It's a still image of the logo, but Mimsie is replaced with an image of the titular character of the series (played by Ed Asner).
 * The Mary Tyler Moore Show : On episode 2 entitled "Today I Am a Ma'am", Mimsie's meow is different; it is more higher-pitched and rather shrill. On episode 71 entitled "Put On a Happy Face", the cat is replaced by footage of Moore saying "Abadee, abadee, abadee, th-th-th-that's all folks!", a line spoken by Mary Richards during that episode.
 * The Bob Newhart Show : The 1972 Christmas episode features a wreath in place of the MTM ribbon. On the season 4 episode "No Sale", footage of a cat from the episode named Abogast appears in the circle instead. He jumps down, disappearing from the circle's view, and as he does, Mimsie's meow is heard. On the season 5 Christmas episode "Making Up Is the Thing to Do", another Christmas wreath is also used. This was also used on the season 1 Rhoda episode "Guess What I Got You For the Holidays". On the season 3 episode of The Bob Newhart Show "Big Brother is Watching," a short loud lion's roar is heard in place of Mimsie's meow (considering the origins of the company and the logo...).
 * The New WKRP in Cincinnati : Dubbed with Les Nesman Jr. exclaiming "Ooh!"
 * Newhart : Each episode (except the pilot) featured Mimsie meowing... in Bob Newhart's voice. On the season 1 episode "No Room at the Inn", a pink Christmas wreath (similar to the one used on The Bob Newhart Show, and Rhoda) is featured in place of the MTM ribbon. On the final episode, the cat yells "QUIET!" (the two Darryls' first and only word).
 * Remington Steele : Mimsie wears a Sherlock Holmes deerstalker cap and meerschaum pipe. As she begins to meow, the pipe drops out of her mouth and falls in front of "ENTERPRISES, INC." or "PRODUCTIONS". Mid-1990s prints of the show added a small IFE byline reading "A DIVISION OF INTERNATIONAL FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT", with the logo slightly zoomed out to make room for it.
 * St. Elsewhere : Mimsie is wearing a scrub suit and a surgical mask, which is animated to look like her mouth is moving underneath when she meows. At least two episodes feature a different meow soundtrack. On the final episode, she (possibly portrayed by another cat) is hooked on life support on a hospital bed throughout the last credit roll. The credits run as usual over a picture of the MTM circle, with life support equipment attached on either side. You can hear the beeps of the heart monitor over the end theme, too. After the credits complete, the company name fades in and Mimsie flatlines and dies, with a long, high-pitched beep heard. Reruns of the series finale plastered this variant over with the typical credits (as a side note, the actual cat, Mimsie, died in 1988, the same year St. Elsewhere ended). According to Grant Tinker, it was not uncommon for MTM to kill off Mimsie in their logo whenever a show got cancelled.
 * The Steve Allen Show : Mimsie (who also wears Allen's famous black rectangular-framed Ray-Ban eyeglasses) lip-syncs Allen's "Schmock!"
 * The White Shadow : Mimsie is replaced by a different black and white cat bouncing a basketball. There is a shorter version with the company name already there and the cat footage looped (and thus the cat is continually bouncing the ball). The other (seen only at the end of the pilot episode) has the letters animating as usual and at the end, the ball falls off-screen and the cat appears to be looking down at it. Some prints of the pilot have the looped version, however.
 * Xuxa : Another dub job; instead of "meow", Mimsie says "Tchau!" ("Bye!" in Portuguese).
 * A Little Sex : The MTM logo forms as usual, but Mimsie is now animated and stands more to the side of the circle, which now has a black background. After she does her usual meow, a gray Siamese kitten enters the circle and snuggles together with Mimsie as the two cats purr.
 * Carlton Your Doorman : Carlton's cat Ringo is seen in the MTM logo instead of Mimsie, and the circle surrounding him is redrawn in a cartoon style. As Ringo turns his head to face the camera, Carlton says off-screen, "C'mon, 'Meow!'" However, Ringo just sits there staring apathetically at the camera. Carlton mutters "Damn cat..."
 * Bay City Blues : An animated Mimsie wears a baseball cap and baseball glove in her right paw; she catches a baseball and meows.
 * Vampire : The MTM text is all in dark red, and Mimsie is nowhere to be seen. Due to this, the "T" is in its normal size.
 * The Mary Tyler Moore Show 20th Anniversary : At the end, Mimsie says "Bye!" (in Mary Tyler Moore's voice).
 * Einsenhower and Lutz : The "meow" is sung in the style of the closing credits music. The regular meow was used on the episode "Bud's Buddy."
 * The Bob Newhart 19th Anniversary Special : Bob Newhart himself says "Meow!" much like he does on Newhart.
 * The Trials of Rosie O'Neill : The logo appears in a still shot with gold text against a brown background. On some episodes, the logo is smaller.
 * The Betty White Show : On the episode "We're Not Really Divorced", the "meow" is not heard.
 * Texas Wheelers : A full-screen scene has a black-and-white kitten looking from around a corner where there is a water pipe and meows (though not the same as Mimsie's meow). The company's name appears over the scene in the same font as the closing credits.
 * Just Between Friends : The logo is zoomed out and is a still image. Mimsie's head is turned away, pre-meowing.
 * MTM Christmas Gag Reel : Made for the MTM staff, this combo of the popular shows at the time feature two variants on the MTM logo. One near the beginning is the standard logo, only Mimsie says "Wooooooow!" (possibly taken from Julie Kavner's line as Brenda on Rhoda). Later, the wreathed version of the logo appears, except now Mimsie gives a female shriek.
 * Television's Christmas Classics : A huge green wreath fades in around the MTM ribbon.
 * Bailey Kipper's P.O.V. : The logo squishes itself up during the animation to make room for the letters "P" and "V", as well as the text "BAILEY KIPPER'S SECRET VIDEO DIARY" appear in the bottom of the screen. The letters animate the same way as in the regular variant, with an "O" appearing earlier than Mimsie's ring. Inside the "O" is a CGI eyeball, which closes and fades into Bailey (Michael Galeota) turning around and "meowing".
 * In the Lion's Den : Mimsie utters "Belrunyth!"

Unofficial Nicknames: for the non-Mimsie MTM cats...
 * "Shadow" - The White Shadow.
 * "Shadow Jr." - Texas Wheelers (as it looks like a younger version of the White Shadow cat).
 * "Abogast" - "No Sale" variant of The Bob Newhart Show.
 * "Smokey" - Mimsie's companion from the A Little Sex variant.

Technique: A mix of live action and camera-controlled/cel animation.

Audio: Mimsie's meow, often preceded by the closing theme.

Audio Variants:
 * Starting in 1996, a five-note jingle (composed by Al Kasha) was added before Mimsie meows. This was used on some shows such as the short-lived 1997 revival of It Takes Two with Dick Clark and the first season of the sitcom Sparks, among other shows.
 * On the game shows Shopping Spree and the short-lived Wait Til' You Have Kids, Burton Richardson announces "In association with MTM Enterprises, Inc." on the logo while the theme is playing and Mimsie meowing.
 * On the Shout! Factory DVD print of the Hill Street Blues season 4 episode "Grace Under Pressure", the 1989 TCFTV fanfare from the 1992 20th Television jingle plays over the MTM logo (cutting off Mimsie's meow), with the 1992 20th Television logo not seen at all.
 * On the Shout! Factory DVD print of The Bob Newhart Show season 5 episode "Et, Tu, Carol", the last second of the show's end theme and the cat's meow are severely distorted. This may be due to a tape error.
 * On some season 1 episodes of The Pretender, the music and Mimsie's meow are pitched lower, and the first half is heard underneath the NBC Studios logo.
 * Original NBC airings used a generic theme starting in 1994.

Availability: It was once a plaster victim thanks to the 20th Television logo; but not anymore.
 * It can be seen on WKRP in Cincinnati, St. Elsewhere, Hill Street Blues, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Remington Steele, Newhart, and Rhoda, among other shows.
 * The MTM logo is now followed by 20th Television (though it's followed by both the Viacom "V of Doom" and the 20th Television logo on some episodes of The Bob Newhart Show on Me-TV and the CBS Television Distribution logo on Evening Shade: The Complete First Season on DVD).
 * On Hulu prints of MTM shows, the logo is usually intact.
 * The St. Elsewhere finale variation can only be found from original airings of the show.
 * VHS copies and reruns of the show just use the regular credit sequence and logo (with the exception of a print seen on the then-ALN Network, which had the normal credits and only the 20th Television logo).
 * The Hulu version of the series finale uses the typical version with the MTM logo at the end. You can see the original version on the Paley Center's copy.
 * The The Trials of Rosie O'Neill variant can be found on The Archive TV, Multicom's streaming service, where the show can be streamed.
 * The Carlton variation can be found on the final season DVD set of Rhoda, as the cartoon is added as a bonus.
 * The 1992 variant makes infrequent appearances at the end of some episodes of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman on Up.
 * Also seen on 1994-98 syndicated prints of Rescue 911, which can be seen on the Justice Network.
 * Among the last shows to use this logo are the first season of The Pretender, along with Family Challenge, Sparks, and the short-lived sitcoms Bailey Kipper's P.O.V. and Good News. It is generally preserved on DVD and digital prints of the former series, but is plastered by the 20th Television logo on reruns.
 * The gag reel can be seen only at the Paley Center.
 * There are some examples of plastering still out there; notably, Hill Street Blues and The Pretender reruns on Heroes and Icons have many episodes ending in only 20th Television. A select number of St. Elsewhere episodes on Hulu end with 20th Century Fox Television only (one example even features the MTM soundtrack being kept at the end of the theme, despite plastering the logo). Some reruns of White Shadow are 20th only, though the MTM variant survives too.

Legacy: This is highly regarded among many for being a cute parody of the MGM logo, as well as featuring good animation for the '70s, a neat design, and multiple custom variations. However, the St. Elsewhere series finale logo is rather infamous for its depressing nature.