Ubu Productions

Background

Ubu Productions was an independent company founded in 1982 by television producer Gary David Goldberg, who was notable for creating the 1980s sitcom Family Ties. It was named after Ubu Roi, Goldberg's "campus dog", who died in 1984. The company closed down in 2002 and 11 years later, Goldberg himself died on June 22, 2013 at the age of 68 from a brain tumor.

Logo (April 5, 1982-April 30, 2002)

Visuals: A picture of a black Labrador retriever (Ubu himself) holding a Frisbee in his mouth in the middle of a city park is seen. White text reading "UBU PRODUCTIONS" with a drop shadow (set in Morris Fuller Benton's Hobo typeface) is seen below.

Trivia:

• This picture was taken in the Tuileries Garden, close to the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. Gary David Goldberg subsequently traveled the world with Ubu while he was in college.
• Originally, the logo was intended to be of an animated dog sitting; however, it became too expensive, so it was scrapped. However, it supposedly appeared in logo reels from the early 1980s.

Variant: On original ABC airings of Champs, "in association with" is seen below. The logo then transitions to the DreamWorks Television logo.

Technique: A camera photograph with printed-on text.

Audio: Goldberg saying "Sit, Ubu, sit! Good dog.", followed by Ubu (likely provided by a sound engineer associated with Goldberg) barking, all in very low cassette-like quality.

• ABC airings of Spin City starting in 1998, as well as NBC airings of Battery Park used a generic theme.

Audio Trivia: The voiceover was reportedly intended to be done by Michael Gross, but Goldberg re-recorded the line himself.

Availability: It can be found on Goldberg's produced shows such as Family Ties on its CBS DVD release, Brooklyn Bridge on Decades, Day by Day, The Art of Being Nick, and Spin City on Pluto TV.

Legacy: This is a favorite of many closing logo fans, as well as a frequent subject of parodies.