From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum
Credits
Descriptions by Nicholas Aczel, WileE2005, Stephen Cezar, Juniorfan88, CaptinFalconFan2000 , TheLogoMasterGuy, and TheLogoFan2004
Captures by mr3urious, V of Doom, snelfu, Muzzarino, Mr. Logo Lord, CaptinFalconFan2000, Hb1290, TheLogoMasterGuy, and TheEriccorpinc
Editions by V of Doom, Muzzarino, CuriousGeorge60, TheLogoMasterGuy, AnimeTVLogos and KosMir
Background
The Children's Television Workshop was founded on May 20, 1968 by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett to create the children's show Sesame Street. Until June 5, 2000, CTW produced shows such as 3-2-1 Contact, Square One, Cro, Ghostwriter, The Electric Company, Big Bag, Dragon Tales, and many other edutainment titles. On June 5, 2000, the company was renamed to Sesame Workshop to symbolize their move beyond producing only television shows and to capitalize on the Sesame Street brand.
1st Logo (Sesame Street first variant) (May 10, 1969-November 21, 1983)
Test Show 1
Episodes 1316, 1626
Episode 1 Mr. Hooper (Will Lee)
Mr. Hooper
Episode 179 Mr. Hooper
Episode 5 Mr. Hooper and Bob
Gordon (Matt Robinson)
Susan (Loretta Long)
Susan and Bob
Gordon and Susan
Mr. Hooper and Susan
Bob (Bob McGrath)
Maria (Sonia Manzano)
Maria and Bob
Maria and Mr. Hooper
Bert and Ernie
Cookie Monster
Cookie Monster and Grover
Oscar the Grouch
Big Bird
Kermit the Frog
Roosevelt Franklin
Sherlock Hemlock
Mr. Hooper, Count von Count, and Susan
Count von Count and Mr. Hooper
Susan and Oscar the Grouch
Mr Hooper, Oscar the Grouch and Gordon
Gordon (Roscoe Orman)
David (Northern Calloway)
Barkley
Deena
Count von Count
Big Bird in China
Sesamstraat
Bonjour Sesame
Sesamo Apriti
For a full list of variants, please see this page on Muppet Wiki.
Visuals: There are two still images. The first still image is a regular on the show (sometimes more than one, other times none at all), such as Big Bird, Oscar, Susan, Gordon, Bob, etc. holding up the Sesame Street title logo, which was a rectangular street sign in dark green and had a yellow border. Some small text in a semi-circle above the rectangle read "CTW", which stands for "Children's Television Workshop". The second still image featured another regular (like before, sometimes there would either be more than one or none at all), holding up a fancy-looking plaque made of marble. The name:
CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP
appears in blue in front of the plaque. The text was written sloppily for a while, but starting around 1978, it was written more neatly. At first, this would be done in front of a blue background, but around 1976, it was switched to a random outdoor location (such as Central Park, the 123 Sesame Street apartment steps, etc.).
Variants:
The text on the plaque will occasionally appear black or pale green.
On the first pilot episode, the real Sesame Street sign was used instead.
On episode 0401, the Sesame Street sign logo is seen by itself on a blank background. Then the screen transitions to the CTW plaque by itself on the same background with "biting" effects, to match Cookie Monster's spiel (described in the audio variants).
The beginning of Big Bird in China has the words "THE CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP" written in an Asian-style font with a Chinese text translation on the right, all on a red background.
On 1976-1977 episodes of Sesamstraat and the Italian dub called Sesamo Apriti, the logo is in a computer typeface and there's no plaque.
On Bonjour Sesame, the logo is in a cursive font and there's no plaque here either.
On episodes 1316-1320 of Season 11 (the "Trip to Puerto Rico" arc), the Sesame Street sign and CTW plaque are superimposed over scenic shots of Puerto Rico.
On episode 1435, Oscar the Grouch holds crude cardboard recreations of the Sesame Street sign and CTW plaque (as the episode's final scene has him hosting his own Sesame Street parody on WORM-TV).
Trivia: The plaque used in this logo also appears throughout the beginning and ending segments with Kermit the Frog and Rowlf the Dog (performed by Jim Henson) in the Sesame Street pitch reel. At the end of the last scene, the camera zooms up to the plaque.
Technique: Live-action photography.
Audio: The end of the Sesame Street closing theme, with a random character from the show saying "Sesame Street is a production of the Children's Television Workshop".
Audio Variants:
Some episodes would have characters bidding the viewer goodbye or good night (if the episode takes place at night) after saying the spiel.
The "biting" variant on episode 401 has Cookie Monster (performed by Frank Oz) say the first half of the spiel in voiceover, "Sesame Street is a production of..." The "biting" transition is accompanied by the sounds of Cookie Monster's signature messy eating. He then continues, "...the Children's Television Workshop." and burps.
On episode 406, Cookie Monster, after saying the line, adding "...whatever that is."
Sometimes, Count von Count (performed by Jerry Nelson) would add in his trademark laugh ("Ah ah ah") after saying the spiel.
When Maria would announce the sponsors, she would typically add "¡Adiós!" after saying the line.
On episode 4, after the voiceover was heard, Oscar adds, "You call this a production? It looks like it was produced by Big Bird! Talk about eggs!"
On one episode from season 7, Big Bird says, "Sesame Street is a production of... Oscar?" and then Oscar replies, "I'm not gonna say the Children's Television Workshop!" to which Big Bird adds, "Okay, don't."
On episode 1190, Olivia and Biff say the voiceover and Biff says "The Children's Television Workshop? I didn't know that." and Olivia chuckles.
On the infamous episode 847, often nicknamed the "Wicked Witch of the West episode", the Witch (reprised by Margaret Hamilton) lets out a small cackle after saying the spiel.
Availability:
Appeared on the first fourteen seasons of Sesame Street, some episodes of which were available on HBO Max until the classic episodes were removed from the service in August 2022.
It was also retained on later prints of these older episodes, such as on the Sesame Street: Old School DVD box sets, and the Sesame Street Unpaved syndication package on Noggin.
Strangely, the HBO prints also used this logo twice, once from the closing itself and second from the ending credits. This error is fixed on most HBO Max prints, however.
Legacy: Well-remembered by those who grew up with Sesame Street during this time.
2nd Logo (The Electric Company variant) (October 25, 1971-April 15, 1977)
1971-1972 variant (season 1)
1972-1973 variant (season 2)
1973-1977 variant (seasons 3-6)
Visuals: On episodes of The Electric Company, the closing credits always featured the animated opening title to the show, in which the logo is seen in a cloud-like shape, which in turn is seen with several cloud-like shapes and a box that's connected to both sides of the screen. The words "THE ELECTRIC COMPANY" wave, wiggle, and change to the words "THE CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP" in orange. Afterwards, the box-like shape would open up and allow the CTW logo to wiggle away.
On the first two seasons, this logo was just two stills of "THE ELECTRIC COMPANY" and "THE CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP" in the cloud-shape. The text was also in white.
On episode 290, as the words "The Electric Company" transition into "The Children's Television Workshop", a series of four blue Scanimated lightning bolts (which appeared during the opening title graphic) converge toward the center and then retract; once the voiceover says "The Children's Television Workshop", the logo stays on screen a few seconds longer than usual, then immediately cuts away to the copyright slide; the box does not open up, and the words does not disappear into the center of the screen.
Technique:
A printed card for the early variant.
Scanimate for the normal variant.
Audio: The closing theme is usually heard, and a character from the TV show would always say, "The Electric Company gets its power from... the Children's Television Workshop."
Availability:
It appeared on the original version of The Electric Company.
Although the series no longer runs on TV, the logo can still be found on the show's two "best of" DVD releases, released in 2006, as well as on iTunes.
3rd Logo (November 27, 1978-December 9, 1983, 1988-1989)
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street (1979, in-credit)
Betcha Don't Know (1982)
Sesamstraat (1988, in-credit)
Sesamstraat (1988, in-credit variant)
1, rue Sésame (1981)
Iftah Ya Simsim (1983)
Visuals: On a black background, four vertical orange rectangles appear in the center of the screen and start transforming into the letters in "ctw" simultaneously. The rectangle on the left stretches slightly to the right and left until it forms a square, then curves at the top and bottom to form a "c". The rectangle in the middle stretches on all sides vertically and horizontally until it resembles a cross, then the lower half stretches out some more and curves to the right to form a lower case "t". The two rectangles on the right stretch until they become squares and connect each other in the middle with extensions on their bottom right corners. The two squares, along with the right corner of the "t", stretch to the bottom to form the "w". The small cyan text:
CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP
appears in the top left corner where the "t" and "w" connect.
Variants:
On the first two seasons of 3-2-1 Contact, the closing logo is still (the animated version appeared at the beginning as an opening logo).
There is a filmed variant where the forming-rectangle animation is much slower (animated on twos), and when it's finished, the blue text immediately appears. The videotaped variant as seen on 3-2-1 Contact speeds up the forming animation (where it moves on ones), then freezes on the finished "CTW" logo for a few seconds until the text appears.
An in-credit version appears at the end of the 1979 10th anniversary special A Walking Tour of Sesame Street (again, the animated version was used as an opening logo).
On 1988 episodes of the Dutch co-production Sesamstraat, an in-credit version appears with the NOS logo in blue.
On 1981 episodes of the original French co-production 1, rue Sésame, an in-credit version appears with the 1976 TF1 logo.
On the 1982 NBC PSA Betcha Don't Know, the logo is still on a navy blue background; the logo is orange, has a white outline, and is still. Below is the text "a public service message from NBC".
On later episodes of the Kuwaiti co-production Iftah Ya Simsim, a green in-credit variant with a copyright year.
A slow videotaped variant exists. The “CTW” logo forms at 1/4 speed and “Children’s Television Workshop” fades in almost immediately.
Technique: Cel animation by Edstan Studio.
Audio: A series of pitter-pattery synthesizer notes with a quiet synthesizer drone, joined by a deep 5-note synth tune near the end, and a "ding" to mark the appearance of the "Children's Television Workshop" text. This typically accompanies the videotaped variant, but was also heard with the filmed variant on A Walking Tour of Sesame Street and Sesame Street in Puerto Rico.
Audio Variant: On Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, there is a dreamy orchestral 8-note tune accompanied by bells, with the last note held out. This was used with the filmed variant of the logo.
Availability:
The standard logo with music is only known to appear at the beginning of the first 2 seasons of 3-2-1 Contact, but was plastered with the Sesame Workshop logo on Noggin airings from 2000-03.
It also appeared on original broadcasts and the 1987 Random House Home Video VHS prints of Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. The Sony Wonder VHS reissue replaced it with the next logo, while the DVD releases have no logos at all.
Legacy: This logo has gained infamy for its design, animation, music, and environment; the Christmas variant is more well-liked, on the other hand, thanks to its orchestrated music.
4th Logo (November 16, 1983-October 30, 1997)
Plaza Sésamo (1993, VHS)
Plaza Sésamo (1995)
Visuals: On a black background, a gold spark flies across the top left corner of the screen, writing the word "CHILDREN'S", colored blue and in the ITC Busorama font. Then, it shifts to the middle left corner and writes "TELEVISION". It shifts again to the bottom left corner and writes "WORKSHOP". A ray of light flies up from the bottom of the screen and "explodes" (read: expands) into a giant starburst, then recedes. The "C" in "CHILDREN'S" sparkles, then the "O" in "TELEVISION" does so shortly after. Finally, the first "O" in "WORKSHOP" glitters as the logo fades out.
Variants:
On 3-2-1 Contact and the first season of Big Bag, the logo is already formed. The latter also features the end "glittering" animation on the logo. This variant was (surprisingly) also found at the end of PBS airings of Sesame Street Stays Up Late! and Elmo Says BOO!.
A variant exists, where the white text "Children's Television Workshop" appears inside an open clam.
On 1993 VHS releases of Plaza Sésamo, the logo is shown on the bottom right of the screen with the Televisa logo at the top left.
On 1995 episodes of Plaza Sesamo, both logos are rendered in CG and sometimes spin around each other. Then, the Televisa and CTW logos fade into black while the UNICEF logo at that time appears with the Spanish tagline Los Niños primero being placed at the bottom. Then, it follows the copyright text for the show. On PBS airings in select markets, the UNICEF logo is skipped cutting straight into the copyright text but it's unknown if it was retained on Unívision airings or in syndication in several Latin American countries. On later episodes of said show, the animation for both logos are played in reverse followed by the copyright text.
On Koki, there is an in-credit variant.
On first-season episodes of Slim Pig, the logo starts at the ray of light exploding.
On a 1988 pledge-drive special of Sesame Street (later released on VHS as Put Down the Duckie), the logo is superimposed over the end of the final scene.
The end of the 1983 special Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a version with the logo on a dark blue background.
The end of the 1991 McDonald's holiday special The Wish That Changed Christmas has a still version with the logo in an orange-brown color with a rectangle and the letters "DPI" inside in the same color along with blue text saying "a company of" both above it. "DPI" refers to Distinguished Productions, Inc., the company's for-profit division.
Technique: Scanimate effects including the real sparklers against the black curtain in stop-motion for each spark animation, a real laser light dot against the black curtain for the ray of light and a real sunburst for the explosion of the ray of light forming a starburst.
Audio: Three Moog synthesizer scales quickly descending, each one heard over the spark animations forming each word, followed by a laser zap.
Audio Variants:
On The Best of Elmo, the 1996 VHS printing of Put Down the Duckie, and Sesame Street: 25 Wonderful Years, a series of ascending bells, followed by a "clang" sound for the starburst's appearance, and a ding noise for the first sparkle, is used. The broadcast version of the latter, Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration, features an altered version of this jingle.
The still variant at the end of Big Bag features the end of the show's closing theme.
When the second half of the logo's animation is played at the end of non-USA first-season episodes of Slim Pig, the ending of the show's theme plays.
On Sesame Street games for the View-Master Interactive Vision, the logo is silent.
Availability: Its longevity is amazing, having been in use for nearly fourteen years and surviving into the late '90s, when CGI was becoming dominant.
The standard logo appears on later seasons of 3-2-1 Contact, and various Sesame Street direct-to-video productions (not including the main series itself), alongside several other shows produced by the company on both TV and home media.
The "ascending bells" variant appears on The Best of Elmo and the 1996 VHS printing of Put Down the Duckie, and also appears on the DVD release of Sesame Street's 25th Birthday: A Musical Celebration.
It's unknown what program the clam variant appeared on or if it even exists, as it was removed from this wiki a long time ago.
The standard logo also appears on Sesame Street UK VHS releases, such as the 1996 UK VHS release of My Little Sesame Street from VCI, among others.
Legacy: Another odd logo from the company noted for its ominous visuals, flashy sparks (appearing to have been done by filming a lit sparkler against a dark background), lasers, and electronic sounds, which are certainly what a stereotypical '70s or '80s logo would sound like. However, for some, it may bring back fond memories of Sesame Street home videos and 3-2-1 Contact.
5th Logo (Sesame Street second variant) (November 21, 1983-March 8, 1984)
Visuals: Superimposed on a still frame from a street scene, sketch, or animation from Sesame Street, there is an outline of the show's logo (the color and position varies depending on the episode). This is followed by the CTW logo, in its then-new design, in that same color.
Variant: Some episodes have the CTW logo horizontally arranged (similar to the next custom logo). Other episodes have the logos appearing on-screen as the final scene continued, rather than a still shot.
Technique: A chyroned computerized graphic.
Audio: Same as the first Sesame Street custom logo.
Availability:
It was seen on the first half of Season 15 of Sesame Street.
This logo has become difficult to find due to its short lifespan, as well as the classic episodes of Sesame Street that were on HBO Max being removed in August 2022.
Like the first logo, HBO strangely used the logo twice, though this was fixed on most HBO Max prints.
6th Logo (Sesame Street third variant) (March 9, 1984-May 18, 1995)
Episode 2782
Episodes 2929 and 3184
Visuals: Superimposed on the screen like before, there is the Sesame Street logo flipping in (again, the placement varies depending on the episode). This is followed by the white words "CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP" in white sliding in one by one below the sign.
Variants:
On episode 2030, the logo fades in already formed.
On episode 2091, the logo doesn't appear at all. The scene just continues zooming in on the actual street sign at night.
On episodes 2164, 2404 and 2749, the real Sesame Street sign takes the place of the animated one.
On episode 2129, the Sesame Street logo appears in pink outline (similar to the previous logo) crawls in from the right side of the screen followed by flipping itself in to the center of the screen. The CTW text slides in as usual.
On episode 2584, the Sesame Street sign is at the very center of the screen, followed by the CTW text appearing on the bottom of the screen.
On episode 2782, which featured a parody of Wide World of Sports called Wide World of Sesame Street, the SS logo is displayed on the model globe used in the show, and the usual CTW text slides in below it as usual.
On episodes 2796 and 3108, the Sesame Street sign is at the top of the screen and the CTW text slides in at the bottom of the screen.
On episode 2929 (and its repeat, episode 3184), a big Sesame Street sign flips in at the bottom, with the CTW text appearing at the top.
Technique: Computer animating effects.
Audio: Same as before, but synced up to the animation of the sliding words.
Audio Variants: On some episodes, there are sound effects accompanying the animation. For example, in episodes 3058 and 3093 (and their repeats, 3281 and 3288, respectively), there is the sound of a cork popping as the Sesame Street sign flips in, and 3 whooshing sounds as the words "Children's Television Workshop" slide in.
Availability:
It debuted on Episode 1915 of Season 15 of Sesame Street, and lasted all the way until Episode 3394 of Season 26 (although by then, Friday episodes would no longer feature this logo once the calypso opening was introduced, with the exception of 3010, the first to use the calypso closing).
Like in the 1st and 5th logos strangely, the HBO prints of some '90s episodes were followed by the full 1992 closing credits with the 10th logo.
The logo is difficult to find as of August 2022, due to HBO Max removing the episodes it was preserved on as part of a merger with Discovery.
7th Logo (Square One TV first variant) (January 26, 1987-March 9, 1990)
Visuals: On various backgrounds, the Square One TV logo flies around the screen, then immediately disappears as a copyright notice appears. A few seconds later, the Square One TV goes in random places until it reaches the center of the screen. Less than a second later, the Children's Television Workshop appears zooming out, plastering the Square One portion of the logo. Thus, the logo reads "CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP TELEVISION".
Variants:
For the first season, the Children's Television Workshop logo text was the standard blue on a black background. For seasons 2 and 3, it was changed to a purple background with white text.
On early episodes of Square One TV, as well as Friday episodes, the logo would already begin at the copyright screen.
Technique: Computer animation effects.
Audio: The final eight seconds of the Square One TV theme song (from Seasons 1-3) with Cynthia Darlow saying "100% of Square One TV is a production of the Children's Television Workshop.", which is followed by a kid chorus shouting "Squaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare ONE!"
Availability: Seen at the end of older Square One TV episodes of the era. While they're almost never rerun, VHS tapes usually retain this.
8th Logo (Square One TV second variant) (September 30, 1991-November 6, 1992)
Visuals: On a black and white checkered background, the Square One TV logo zooms in with a copyright notice fading in. Afterwards, it immediately cuts from the CTW logo in pink, to a fully checkered board logo zooming out, revealing the Square One TV logo, turning itself to the right and facing the viewer.
Technique: Computer animation.
Audio: The closing bars of the Season 4-5 Square One TV theme song with Cynthia Darlow saying "100% of Square One TV is a production of the Children's Television Workshop." followed by a female chorus singing "Squaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare ONE!"
Availability: Seen at the end of later Square One TV episodes of the era. Again, VHS tapes usually retain it.
9th Logo (Ghostwriter variant) (October 4, 1992-February 12, 1995)
Visuals: On a black background in the center of the screen, the Ghostwriter from the show of the same name appears (in yellow) and flies across the top of the screen from left to right, wiping in the green word "Ghostwriter" (in the show's font) with the red words "is produced by" below it. Then, all of a sudden, the "w" and "t" in "writer", as well as the "c" in "produced", drop out, swirl around, and form a large "CTW" in the same colors, shoving the rest of the words off the screen. Ghostwriter then flies across the screen from right to left, wiping in the words "in association with BBC TELEVISION" ("BBC" being displayed as its familiar 1988 logo from the time but inverted) below that. The "CTW" then gets replaced by the Ghostwriter logo in green as the boxes on the "BBC" logo disappear and all the text below the logo collapses and u-turns onto itself, expanding back out to form a copyright for Children's Television Workshop, followed by additional copyright information.
Variant:Later episodes remove the 1988 BBC Television logo, this was after the BBC stopped funding the production of the program by the third season, and the CTW copyright stamp expands out in a bolder font.
Technique: Choppy 2D effects that resemble stop-motion.
Audio: A funky bass/synth guitar tune, as well as scribbling sounds as the words are being formed. A kid also sings "Go! Ghostwriter!" at the end.
Availability: Seen at the end of Ghostwriter, and also appears on the Republic Pictures Home Video VHS releases and also on the DVD releases.
10th Logo (Sesame Street fourth variant) (November 13, 1992-May 12, 2000)
Visuals: This is incorporated into the original version of the 1992-2006 Sesame Street closing credit sequence. After the credits scroll, an animated version of the familiar Sesame Street sign flips in against a cloudy sky with buildings. Big Bird (live-action; puppeteered by Caroll Spinney) walks by and says the usual end spiel as the words "Children's Television Workshop" in white with black outlines and in a Dom Casual font is wiped in. The text disappears and the screen zooms out back to the Statue of Liberty and the tugboat from the beginning of the closing sequence. The Statue of Liberty moves once more before returning to her normal position.
Technique: Traditional animation, combined with live-action. This was done by regular series animator Joey Ahlbum, who is known for his work on many Nickelodeon IDs such as the classic "Doo-Wop-A-Saurus" ID.
Audio: Same as the first three Sesame Street custom logos (this time, the theme is a hip-hop remix and the announcer is Big Bird), followed by a synthesized flute and bass glissandos, a stretching sound effect for the Statue of Liberty (also used in Sesame Street itself), and the tugboat tooting twice.
Audio Trivia: The musical instruments used for the ending theme were the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer, the Linndrum drum machine and the Roland D-50 synthesizer.
Audio Variant: In the October 13, 2000 rerun of Episode 3895, Big Bird doesn't say the usual ending spiel, even though he still moves past the sign and his mouth still moves as if he were talking. This was most likely done to remove the CTW reference since the company was renamed "Sesame Workshop" by then.
Availability:
Seen on several Sesame Street episodes from the time period starting with episode 3010 from Season 24 and ending with episode 3915 from Season 31, mostly ones that initially aired on Fridays, though some season premieres (such as episode 3786, containing the debut of "Elmo's World") would feature this credit sequence.
CTW abolished this logo around 2000 when they renamed themselves as Sesame Workshop, and shortened the credit sequence as a result.
Even after CTW changed its name to Sesame Workshop, this was still intact when episodes were rerun on Noggin.
Newer episodes are being rerun over these, but it should be intact if they are rerun.
This was presumably on HBO Max prints.
Some prints have this logo cut.
11th Logo (Cro variant) (September 18, 1993-October 15, 1994)
Visuals: There are two pink boulders against a blue background; one is round, while the other is in the shape of an inverted triangle. Both have cracks and niches in them. From the screen's right, there is a third pink boulder in the shape of a square rolling in. It bumps into the second boulder, and all three boulders crumble apart slightly; each one forms a letter: the first one forms "C", the second forms "T" and the third forms "W". Copyright information fades in at the bottom of the screen.
Technique: Cel animation produced by Film Roman and animated by either Sunwoo Entertainment, Anivision or Plus One Animation.
Audio: First, several descending trumpet notes, then the sound of the boulders crumbling, and then an ascending four-note piano jingle accompanied by a descending four-note trumpet jingle.
Availability: Only used on Cro, which has not reran on television for decades. The VHS releases from Republic Pictures Home Video retain this logo.
12th Logo (Square One TV Math Talk variant) (1995-1996)
Visuals: Against an animated indigo paper background, with a white copyright notice below, and after the Square One TV Math Talk logo appears, the 4th CTW logo in white slides in word-by-word and in the correct order, from the left, right, and left sides of the screen, respectively. This is followed by the funding credits.
Audio: The end theme to Square One TV Math Talk (an upbeat tune with horns) with Cynthia Darlow saying "Square One TV Math Talk is a production of the Children's Television Workshop."
Availability:
Appears on Square One TV Math Talk (a spin-off of Square One TV used for instructing teachers), which hasn't rerun in decades, either.
It does appear on the VHS releases from PBS Video.
13th Logo (Sesame Street fifth variant) (November 20, 1995-April 12, 2002)
Variant used on Seasons 27-28
Variant used on early episodes of Season 29
Variant used on later episodes of Season 29
Visuals:
1995-1998: On a static purple background, Big Bird (again performed by Caroll Spinney) tells the audience, "Toodle-loo!". After the funding credits, the following copyright text:
"Sesame Street"
and the "Sesame Street"
sign are trademarks and
service marks of
slides in over a teal/blue curtain background with alternating diagonal lines, in Gill Sans. The logo compresses itself and flashes, much like a CRT television turning off.
1998-2002: On a static purple background, the above text is shown on-screen for a few seconds before moving to the left to reveal Big Bird. He once again says "Toodle-loo!"
Trivia: This logo is merely a copyright screen for Sesame Street itself. On episodes from Seasons 27-29, this logo also serves as the closing of the "Coming Soon on Sesame Street" segment which shows a scene from the next episode.
Variants:
When CTW renamed itself to Sesame Workshop in 2000, they continued to use this logo until 2002. To reflect the name change, "Sesame Workshop" replaced "Children's Television Workshop". The copyright info also replaced all mentions of CTW with the SW name.
From approximately December 1997 to approximately January 2001, the text "Jim Henson Productions, Inc." is replaced with "The Jim Henson Company" on the "Sesame Street Muppets" copyright stamp.
Starting in December 1997, the text is changed to a Helvetica-type font.
Beginning in 2001, the entirety of the text is changed to a much bolder font. The letters of the "Sesame Workshop" text are also spaced out, with the text arranged like this:
"Sesame Street," "Sesame Workshop"
and their logos are trademarks
and service marks of
It's worth mentioning that also around 2001, the copyright info got rid of any mentions of The Jim Henson Company (described in Variants Trivia); the "Sesame Street Muppets" text had the SW name added to it, and as a result of the removal of the Jim Henson name, the "ALL RIGHTS RESERVED" text is all on the same line (instead of taking up two).
This logo is still and silent on HBO Max prints.
Variants Trivia: By December 2000, the stock of German media empire EM.TV had rapidly collapsed due to its expensive acquisitions that year of The Jim Henson Company and of SLEC Ltd., which was the holding company of the famed racing competition Formula One. Looking to avoid bankruptcy, in the same month, EM.TV decided to sell the Sesame Street Muppets directly to Sesame Workshop. The sale was closed in January 2001 and accounts for why episodes from after season 32 remove any mention of Henson from the copyright screen.
Technique: A combination of 2D computer effects and live-action.
Audio:
1995-1999: A bombastic version of the Sesame Street theme, which ends in a jolly keyboard/bass vamp. This carries over into the funding spiel.
2000: A soft keyboard/bass version of the theme.
2001-2002: A bluesy version of the theme played by a muted trumpet ensemble.
Availability:
The basic copyright notice appears on Seasons 27-33 of Sesame Street, and should be retained if they are ever rerun.
It also appears on streaming prints of episodes from these seasons.
When PBS Kids Sprout (now Universal Kids) reran selected Season 30 episodes of the series as part of a Sesame Street rerun rotation that continued until July 26, 2015, the network often had this fade or cut to the first Sesame Workshop logo either after Big Bird's uttering of the line "Toodle-oo!" or after the Sesame Street sign appears.
Similarly, HBO Max prints of episodes from Seasons 27-29 simply had the logo fade in from after the copyright text appears.
The 2002 version is featured on VideoNow Jr. releases of shortened Season 33 episodes as well as Sesame Workshop's official YouTube upload of Episode 3990 (titled "Elmo Writes a Story").
14th Logo (November 17, 1997-May 12, 2000)
Early variant
Alternate variant
Sesame Street: Unpaved (1999)
Tiny Planets
Barrio Sésamo
Visuals:
November 17, 1997-July 7, 1998: On a shady cyan background, there is a yellow semi-circle with a white outline (the same one from the Sesame Street logo) turned on its bottom side with the red letters "C", "T", and "W" positioned from left to right. The "C" bounces on the semicircle, making it slant to the left. Then the "T" twists in a slight angle around while the "W" bounces. The semicircle rebounds to its original position, then the three letters bounce together, pushing the semicircle to the ground. The semicircle bounces up and rotates a few times before settling into a position halfway up the screen. The text "CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP", set in Interstate, comes from underneath the semicircle in yellow. The sign bounces once more as the three letters flip in the air and land on the face of the semicircle.
November 16, 1998-May 12, 2000: Same as before, but the semicircle (which now turns brighter) and the letters (which turn red) become 2D when they land on the semicircle. The shadows behind "CTW" and the semicircle also disappear and the words "PLAY IT SMART", set in Interstate, appear below.
Variants:
A variant of the early version exists where "Play it smart" is placed on the bottom of the screen and is set in Futura. This was spotted on a demo reel from Pittard Sullivan. It's currently unknown if this was ever used on any shows.
On the Nintendo 64 versions of Elmo's Letter Adventure and Elmo's Number Journey, the logo is still.
On 1998-99 episodes of Plaza Sésamo, an image of the logo flies around with the Televisa logo.
At the end of the 1999 Noggin special Sesame Street: Unpaved, the Sesame Street logo of the time appears on a white background with "CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP" in black underneath.
On the original pilot of Tiny Planets, the logo appears in credit on a white background, with the text in red. The logo appears to the right of the Pepper's Ghost Productions logo.
On late 90s episodes of Barrio Sésamo, a still version of the logo is shown underneath the TVE logo on a white background.
Technique: CGI by Pittard Sullivan, based on the original logo design by Pentagram.
Audio: A horn playing a tune that starts out similar to "Sailor's Hornpipe", accompanied by bouncing sound effects.
Audio Variant: On Sesame Street: Unpaved, it's silent.
Availability:
It was seen on Seasons 29-31 (1997-2000) episodes of Sesame Street (later Noggin and PBS Kids Sprout airings of these Sesame Street episodes have the 2000 Sesame Workshop logo plastered over this), later Big Bag episodes, and early airings of Dragon Tales' first season (season 1 reruns and later episodes have the Sesame Workshop logo).
The logo wasn't plastered by the first Sesame Workshop logo on PBS reruns of Sesame Street from May to December 2000, instead being left intact.
The early version can be found on the VHS releases of Elmopalooza, Cinderelmo (the DVD release also has the logo intact), the DVD release of The Alphabet Jungle Game (even though the case and disc have the Sesame Workshop logo) and Elmo's World.
Also appears on the games Elmo's Letter Adventure and Elmo's Number Journey for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64.
It is also left intact on the DVD release of Dragon Tales: Adventures in Dragon Land, as well as the first 6 VHS releases of the show.
The Sesame Street: Unpaved variant only appeared on the 1999 special of the same name that aired on Noggin (now Nick Jr.).
Legacy: A noticeable improvement from previous logos with its great music and CGI.
15th Logo (Fall 1999)
Early Dragon Tales promo variant
Visuals: Over a light blue background, the logo starts with the "CTW" semicircle from the previous logo on wheels, which stops. A door opens on the left side of the semicircle and various letters come out, forming the name "CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP". After that, the semicircle car leaves and the letters get pushed up to form the logo as the now-larger semicircle reappears.
Variants:
On the 1999 resource video Sesame Street Goes to the Doctor, the logo is still.
An early version exists. It has a different color scheme of dark green and a lime shade; this matches the color scheme of the Dragon Tales logo, suggesting it was supposed to be a custom variant for that show. The logo is mostly still except for a simple zoom-in.
Technique: Cel animation produced by The Ink Tank in New York. Richard O'Connor and Brian O'Connell produced the logo, based on the style of R.O. Blechman, and Tissa David animated the logo with Valerie Cardon serving as an assistant animator and cel painter.
Audio: A bouncy harpsichord tune, and a crowd of squeaky, unintelligible voices chattering when the letters get off of the semicircle.
Audio Variant: The 1999 resource video Sesame Street Goes to the Doctor has the last six notes of the Sesame Street theme song.
Availability:
The animated variant was slated to appear at either the beginning or end (varies by source) of The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, but it never made it to the film theatrically nor on video.
The still version, however, did appear on a 1999 Sesame Street resource video called Sesame Street Goes to the Doctor (the previous logo is seen at the end). The video was sold in limited quantities and has since gone out-of-print. When it was reissued as Elmo Visits the Doctor in 2005, the logo was removed.
The early version appeared in a promo for Dragon Tales found on a screener tape of The First Snow of Winter, released in either late 1999 or early 2000.
_1.jpeg)
_4.jpeg)
_2.jpeg)
_3.jpeg)
_5.jpeg)
_6.jpeg)
_9.jpeg)
_10.jpeg)
_11.jpeg)
_12.jpeg)
_13.jpeg)
_14.jpeg)
_15.jpeg)
_16.jpeg)
_25.jpeg)
_33.jpeg)
_34.jpeg)
_35.jpeg)
_36.jpeg)
_37.jpeg)
_38.jpeg)
_39.jpeg)
_40.jpeg)
_17.jpeg)
_18.jpeg)
_19.jpeg)
_20.jpeg)
_21.png)
_22.jpeg)
_23.jpeg)
.jpg)
_26.jpeg)
_27.jpeg)
_28.jpeg)
_29.jpeg)
_30.jpeg)
_31.jpeg)
_32.jpeg)
_7.jpeg)
_8.jpeg)
_24.jpeg)
.jpg)
_41.jpeg)
_42.jpeg)
_44.jpeg)
_45.jpeg)
_46.jpeg)
_55.jpeg)
_56.jpeg)
_57.jpeg)
_58.jpeg)
_59.jpeg)
_60.jpeg)
_63.jpeg)
_64.jpeg)
_47.jpeg)
_48.jpeg)
_49.jpeg)
_50.jpeg)
_51.jpeg)
_52.jpeg)
_53.jpeg)
_54.jpeg)
_62.jpeg)
_43.jpeg)
_61.jpeg)
_65.jpeg)
_66.jpeg)
.png)
_67.jpeg)
_68.jpeg)
_69.jpeg)
_70.png)
_71.png)
_72.png)
_74.png)
_75.jpeg)
_76.jpeg)
_77.png)
_78.png)
_79.jpeg)
_80.jpeg)
_81.jpeg)
_82.jpeg)
_83.png)
_84.jpeg)
_86.jpeg)
_87.jpeg)
_85.jpeg)
_89.jpeg)
_88.png)
_91.png)
_90.jpeg)
_92.jpeg)
_93.jpeg)
_94.jpeg)
_95.jpeg)
_96.jpeg)
_97.jpeg)
_98.png)
_99.jpeg)
_100.jpeg)
_101.png)
_102.png)
_103.jpeg)
_104.jpeg)
_105.jpeg)
_106.jpeg)
_107.jpeg)
_108.jpeg)
_109.jpeg)
_110.jpeg)
_111.jpeg)
_112.png)
_113.jpeg)
_114.png)
_115.png)
_116.jpeg)
_117.jpeg)
_118.jpeg)
_119.jpeg)
_120.jpeg)
_121.png)
_122.jpeg)
_123.jpeg)
_124.jpeg)
_125.jpeg)
_126.jpeg)
_127.jpeg)
_128.jpeg)
_129.jpeg)
_130.jpeg)
_131.jpeg)
_132.jpeg)
_133.jpeg)
_134.jpeg)
_135.jpeg)
_136.png)
_137.png)
_138.jpeg)
_139.jpeg)
_140.jpeg)
_141.jpeg)
_142.jpeg)
_143.jpeg)
_144.jpeg)
_145.jpeg)
_149.jpeg)
_150.jpeg)
_151.jpeg)
_146.jpeg)
_147.jpeg)
_148.jpeg)
_155.png)
_156.jpeg)
.jpeg)
_157.jpeg)
_158.jpeg)
.png)
_153.jpeg)
_160.jpeg)
_159.jpeg)
_(Early_version).png)
