Grundy Television

Logo descriptions by Andrew Batstone, Shadeed A. Kelly, and D.L. Chandell

Logo captures by Eric S., Shadeed A. Kelly, TrickyMario7654, Greg Palmer, V of Doom, megamanj2004, bmasters9, and Gilblitz112

Editions by Shadeed A. Kelly, TrickyMario7654, Bob Fish, V of Doom, and Brendan Richards

Video captures by TrickyMario7654, Logo Archive, and FinnTapes

In memory of.Reg Grundy (1923-2016)

Background:     Grundy Television was formed in 1959 by Reg Grundy as "Grundy      Organisation" (a.k.a. "Reg Grundy Organisation", later "Grundy      Organization" in late 1979 spelling the name in the U.S. English      dictionary). In 1983, he formed the U.S. television production division "Reg Grundy Productions, Inc." and established more companies in other countries. The Grundy companies were sold in 1995 to Pearson, plc. In 2000, Pearson Television was sold to CLT-UFA and merged to become the RTL Group and renamed Pearson Television to FremantleMedia. In 2006, Grundy Television was merged with Australian TV production company Crackerjack Productions     to form "FremantleMedia Australia". Until 2013, the name Grundy  still   existed in Germany as "Grundy Light Entertainment" and in Italy   as   "Grundy Productions Italy".

1st Logo

(1960-1980)

Nickname: "RG" Logo: We see the words at the screen:

RG-

REG GRUNDY

production---

superimposed     over a show’s closing scene after the credits. A stylized, cursive    “RG”  insignia (the initials of the company’s founder Reg Grundy)  sits    on the  top (or top left) of the text, which is in a sans-serif font. Variants:


 * Around 1977, the logo's wording was changed to:

RG-

GRUNDY-

ORGANISATION

production

But a minor modification from about late 1979, the logo is slightly smaller and the spelling of “ORGANISATION” is modified with a "Z" in place of the "S", giving it an American spelling.


 * Opening: A rare opening variant was used in 1977 at the beginning of Glenview High. The opening logo reads:

RG

GRUNDY--

ORGANIZATION

presents---

FX/SFX: None. Music/Sounds/Voice-over:     The end of the show's theme. On their game shows, the announcer  would    say "This has been a Reg Grundy/Grundy Organisation production    produced   by [TV Channel]. (announcer's name) speaking". Availability: Seen after the credits of Grundy shows of the era, such as The Young Doctors, Blankety Blanks (the Australian version of Match Game), and on earlier episodes of Prisoner. Editor's Note: None. 2nd Logo

(1980-1990)""  Nicknames: "The Icosahedron", "The (Rolling) Icosahedron" Logo:     An animated wireframe icosahedron – a geometric figure consisting  of    20  triangular faces in a hexagonal shape with lines  criss-crossing  its    width and height – rolls towards the viewer from  the screen’s  center,    growing bigger as this occurs. As it finally settles in  place, the  words   “GRUNDY” in the center of the icosahedron and “TELEVISION” below the icosahedron simultaneously unfold onto the screen while the word “PRODUCTION” (in a different, thinner font) rises from the bottom of the screen. Variants:


 * Early-mid 1980: The word “Grundy Organization” (spanning the screen’s width) overlaps a static, 2D icosahedron. The text is solid except for the letters “R” and “G” - representing the initials of Reg Grundy – in the icosahedron’s    centre. The word “production” sits on either the bottom right of     “organization” or below the logo itself. This is the last logo to use     initials of any kind.
 * 1980-1983: Same static icosahedron as before, only “Grundy Organization Production” is rearranged below.
 * 1983: The icosahedron is redesigned for a more “3D” look. The word “Grundy” lies right in the middle of the icosahedron,      and the words “Television” (in the same font as “Grundy”) and       “Production” (in a thin, sans serif font) are below (On game shows       produced by Grundy, a copyright statement appeared under the wording       [i.e. © {YEAR} GRUNDY ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD]).
 * Circa 1981, Grundy decided to animate the icosahedron (as described above) using stop-frame animation (using a caption machine in this case). It debuted on the soap opera Sons & Daughters      and eventually spread to other shows produced by Grundy. In the   late     ‘80s, it was redone in CGI for a smoother appearance (see   details on   3rd   logo, examples can also be seen above).FX/SFX:


 * 1980-1983: None.
 * 1983-1990: The icosahedron    spinning towards the viewer. The entire animated sequence is     superimposed over the ending scene of the show's intro, making this a     unique logo. The version used in the closing credits continued to be     still. (Expect on early episodes of Sons & Daughters were the icosahedron was also animated in the credits.)

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * Match Mates Variant: On Match Mates (an Australian children's version of Concentration which      aired from 1981 to 1982), the logo slid from the bottom of the    screen    and stopped at the centre, at the same speed as the closing    credits.    This is the only known occasion where the associated    network's credit    (the Nine Network) appeared before the Grundy logo.
 * Play Your Cards Right Variant: On Play Your Cards Right (an Australian version of Card Sharks      which aired in 1984), the entire static logo (including the     "diamond",   company name and copyright statement) flipped out from the     centre of  the  screen (in a similar fashion to the "Play Your Cards     Right" logo   flipping at the start of the end credits).Music/Sounds/Voice-over: The end theme of the show. See above for game show mentions.

Availability: Still seen on old episodes of Neighbours, Prisoner, The Young Doctors, and Sons & Daughters, whenever they are rerun sometime in either Australia or the UK, Can be seen on DVDs of early episodes of Neighbours, and Sons & Daughters, with the latter being reran on the Seven Network in the early hours of the morning, as well as the original series of It's A Knockout on the Ten Australia website. Editor's Note: It's a fondly  recalled logo    and familiar to a generation of Australian TV fans who  grew  up with Neighbours, Prisoner, Sale of the Century, and countless others. 3rd Logo
 * On the first episode of Neighbours, it's a soft synth theme. This may have also been used on other shows from the era too.
 * A variation of the gameshow announcement variation exists on a 1981 Nine Network Christmas tape during the Family Feud segment were the announcement is changed to "Family Feud is a Grundy Organization steal, recorded for the national Nine Network. I have nothing to do with this program, Philip Brady speaking."

(1988-1997) Nicknames: "The Icosahedron II", "3D Rotating Icosahedron", "Crystal Icosahedron", "CGI Rotating Icosahedron", "Silver Icosahedron", "Icosahedron of Steel" Logo: On a nighttime background with stars, we have a crystal icosahedron     outlined in gold zooming out slowly to make its way to the center  as    it  rotates. We later see a gold comet flying from left to right in  the    middle of the icosahedron to reveal the name "GRUNDY", fading and zooming in the middle of the icosahedron      as it continues to rotate and later turns silver leaving the gold      outline in place. As the comet passes by, we see yet another comet  going    to the opposite direction on the bottom of the icosahedron revealing the word "TELEVISION" as it fades in while the 2nd comet passes by from the opposite. We later see the name "PRODUCTION" fading in below. Variants:


 * Some series won't have the full animation. Just the second half of the animation.
 * This logo appeared as an in-credit on the opening credits of Neighbours from 1988 to early 1992, although a still version of the "Rolling Icosahedron" was still used in the closing credits.
 * A variation exists on the soap opera Richmond Hill were    the full version of the logo is animated into the opening titles.  The    show's title zooms in from a sign seen in the intro while the    background  turns into a cartoon-like background. As it zooms in, the    background  fades to the actual one used by this logo, the show's title    also changes  color to white. The show's title then transitions to   start  of the  logo's animation (where the icosahedron zooms out) via a wipe effect starting from the center of the screen all the way to the top and bottom of the screen.
 * This logo also appeared as an in-credit on some Australian game shows (including Perfect Match and Wheel of Fortune (not the American series by Merv Griffin)).
 * On game shows like Sale of the Century,      the logo zooms away to the top, leaving room for the copyright,   then     fading into the logo of the channel it aired on (e.g. the Nine    Network    for the show mentioned).
 * Another variant had just "Television" under it.

FX/SFX: The icosahedron zooming-out, the comets flying, the stars sparkling, and the icosahedron rotating. Music/Sounds/Voice-over: Amajestic synth note being held out,or    the end title theme from any show. However, the game shows do use a     slight remix of the music from the show's theme, and  the announcer     signing-off (example from Sale of the Century;  "This is a Grundy Television Production for Nine Network Australia.  Peter Smith speaking"). Availability: Seen on reruns of Neighbours, among other shows. Some series are succeeded by the Pearson Television International logo. Editor's Note: A neat CGI successor to previous logo. 4th Logo
 * In     mid-1996, the  byline "A Pearson Television Company" was placed   under    "Television  Production". Later on, "Television Production" was     removed.
 * On    shows in New Zealand, especially on TVNZ's channels, the logo zooms   out   in a box, against either a gray or blue background, with the TVNZ   logo   underneath it. This can at least be found on the country's   versions of Sale of the Century and Wheel of Fortune.

(1997-2006) Nicknames: "Gold G", "Grundy CGI", "Big Grundy G", "Global G", "Global Grundy", "The Grundy Eclipse/Gclipse", "The G-Slicer", "The Comet Slicer" Logo:     On a black background, a large, elliptical gold ring with a bronze     aura  forms in the center of the screen while a white dot -- revealing itself to be a comet -- flies      clockwise from the back and circumnavigates it as if circling a    globe. As this happens, the top right portion of the ring disappears   and a  gold  trail is formed below, making up a stylized “G” shape. As   the aura   fades out, a curved boomerang-style trail is cut through  the   left  side. A small point of light shines briefly on the top  right end   of the  “G”  upon completion. Throughout this formation, the word   “GRUNDY” (in   Copperplate Gothic font in white) fades-in below,  with   the respective   company byline a split second later. Bylines:


 * 1997-2001: "A Pearson Television Company"
 * 2001-2006: "A FREMANTLEMEDIA COMPANY"Variants:

Music/Sounds: Usually, the end theme of the show. In the case of most game shows, there were three variations:
 * In 1999, while the logo animated, the logo shifted down some to reveal "40 YEARS" above the logo with an arc.
 * There was also a still shot of the logo.
 * At the end of Bruce's Price is Right,      another still variant was used with the Grundy logo at the top and     the   Yorkshire Television logo below with "YORKSHIRE TELEVISION       CO-PRODUCTION" below. Speaking  of      Bruce Forsyth and Reg Grundy, another variant exists, but with  the   LWT    logo below, and that can be found on reruns of the 1990s  version   of (Bruce Forsyth's) Play Your Cards Right (Card Sharks).
 * On some BBC airings of Neighbours, the BBC logo would be shown below along with the URL "www.bbc.co.uk/neighbours".
 * On shows in Germany, such as later episodes of Ruck Zuck (Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak) and Familien Duell (Family Feud), "LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT" would be under "GRUNDY".FX/SFX: All CGI.

Editor's Note: None.
 * The show's ending music was used when the logo was first shown on television.
 * From early 1998, a majestic synth fanfare played during the logo's animation.
 * In 1999, the music was changed to droning synth wind music, followed by a high-pitched stinger.Availability: Seen on 1997-2006 episodes of Neighbours and all other Grundy shows during this logo's lifespan. The version with the music appeared on most game shows including Sale of the Century, Temptation and the 2002 revival of Perfect Match, among others.