GBH IDs

Background
WGBH (an abbreviation of Western Great Blue Hill), known on air as simply GBH, is a PBS affiliate located in Boston, Massachusetts and owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation. The station launched on May 2, 1955, and introduced an animated on-screen logo in 1971. It is also one of the biggest PBS affiliates, producing much of the national content for the network, and thus is also one of their 2 flagship stations. In 2020, the station rebranded into GBH. The name is currently used on the air, and the rebrand will soon affect other technology.

1st Logo (1955-1956?)
Nickname: "The Sticks"

Logo: The logo consists of the following text on the lower center position of the screen: Times New Roman Various lines of various sizes and angles can be seen in the background. Names of cities that received the station can be seen on the left center of the screen.

FX/SFX: Unknown, probably none.

Music/Sounds: Unknown, but it may have an announcer.

Availability: Extinct. The only known remains of this logo comes from a Logopedia page, and was likely used as a station ID.

Editor's Note: This is the first known identity produced by WGBH. It has quite a unique design for its time too.

2nd Logo (1956-1971)
Nickname: "The Family", "The Wigwam", "The Angry Wigwam"

Logo: The logo consists of an "X" connected to a triangle on the bottom and a vertical line throughout the center. Circles are on both the left and right side of the symbol. Next to the symbol is the number "2" with "WGBH-TV Cambridge/Boston" underneath.

Variant: For television productions, the following is seen with the symbol next to the word "TV": Times New Roman

FX/SFX: Unknown for the station ID. The production variant is an in credit logo which sometimes wipes in from top to bottom.

Music: Unknown for the station ID. The in credit variant uses the ending audio to the program it follows.

Availability: The station ID is extinct and only survives via a photo on Logopedia. The in credit variant is very rare but is preserved on any surviving programming from the time period.

Editor's Note: The symbol is actually an ancient Aztec symbol for "family." The triangle and vertical line represent a woman, the vertical line and top two portions of the "X" represent a man, and the circles represent children. The symbol is still in use as the logo for "WGBH Alumni."

8th Logo (September 1977-January 1982)


Nickname: "The 2"

Logo: We see a large number "Impact" (in the style of the WGBH logo) in a different situation. Next to the "Impact" is the name of the show coming up next.

Variants:Many variants are depending on the show:
 *  About the House: The "Impact" is made of wood.
 *  The Ascent of Man: The white "Impact" is tilting on a black background.
 *  The Way It Was: The "Impact" is wearing a football uniform with the number "2" on it.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: An announcer saying "(show's name) is coming up on WGBH-2".

Availability: Near extinction. Can be found on old WGBH programming from that time.

Editor's Note: None.

9th Logo (1979?-1982?)
Nicknames: "The 2 II", "Shiny 2", "Silver 2"

Logo: On a black background, we see a silver outline of the "Impact" from the previous logo, with a flash of light on its top. To the left of the "Impact" is "Times New Roman" and to the right of it is "Times New Roman". After a couple seconds, the logo fades to the 6th logo.

FX/SFX: The logo fading in, then to the 6th logo.

Music/Sounds: A female announcer says "This is Channel 2, WGBH-TV Boston."

Availability: Extinct. Was only used as a station ID.

Editor's Note: None.

10th Logo (1983?-1989)
Note: The logo can be seen at 0:04.

Nicknames: "The 2 III", "2 City" "Cheesy 2"

Logo: Over a shot of the Boston skyline at night, a white colored "Impact" (with the extrusions filled and the "Impact" being a cutout) zooms back to the center of the screen. To the left of the "Impact" is the text "WGBH TV" and to the right of the "Impact" is the word "BOSTON." The "Impact" flashes similar to the 3rd logo, turning the background black, the "Impact" white, and the outline orange.

Variant: On Christmas, a Christmas ID would replace it.

FX/SFX: The logo zooming out. The logo flashing. The logo and background changing.

Music/Sounds: A mellow synth theme with a synthesized whoosh as the logo zooms out. There is a "ping" as the logo flashes and a drumbeat afterwards. Throughout the logo, an announcer (William Pierce) says "This is viewer supported television from Boston. WGBH TV."

Availability: Extinct. Was only used as a station ID. Appeared before programs on WGBH.

Editor's Note: None.

12th Logo (1989-Early 1990s)
Nicknames: "The 2 V", "CGI 2", "Gold 2"

Logo: On a black background, the "Impact" from the previous logos in gold and in 3D zooms and tilts back until it disappears.

FX/SFX: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extinct. Was only used as a sign off ID (and possibly a sign on ID).

Editor's Note: None.

13th Logo (1990-Early 1990's?)
Nicknames: "The 2 VI", "Glass 2"

Logo: On an orange sky background, we see the 2 from the previous 5 logos, made out of glass, tilt and zoom out, ending in the centre of the screen. The words "WGBH" and "TV" appear at the top of the 2, while "BOSTON" is on the bottom. These words fade in when the 2 is in place. The 2 shines afterwards.

FX/SFX: The 2 zooming out, the text fading in, the 2 shining.

Music/Sounds: An 8-note trumpet theme, with a string holding a "C" note throughout. At the end, we hear a 3 note tinkle from a vibraphone.

Availability: Unknown, but it's most likely extinct.

Editor's Note: A pretty nice logo for the 1990s, but the other "2" logos could be considered better.

15th Logo (1999?-2002?)
Nicknames: "Greek "WGBH"", "Temple of ""WGBH2""

Logo: On a rendered platform featuring Greek Temple-like columns, monitors of at least six WGBH programs are present, as the camera moves forward until the Boston skyline can be seen in the background. As it does, a blue circle appears with the words "GBH 2" carved in it, with "2" in the same font as the previous 5 logos. Underneath the circle is "WGBH Boston" also in blue.

FX/SFX: The camera and CG animation.

Music/Sounds: A tribal kind of song with an announcer saying "You're watching the best television on television, Boston's PBS station: WGBH 2."

Availability: Extinct. This station ID lasted for a few years.

Editor's Note: Very nice CGI for the time.

16th Logo (January 22, 2001-November 24, 2013?)
Nicknames: "The Neon Sign II", "WGBH Outline II", "The Flash II", "The Neon Tubes"

Logo: A brief flash shows us uncolored pipes. Suddenly, gold beams fly through them, as the camera pans around, following it. The camera then pans and zooms outward, revealing the now-completed WGBH logo in a neon format as it flashes brightly like the 1977 logo. The logo goes dim as a neon number "Impact" [the channel number] lights up in a bluish-white color for about 3 seconds and goes out.

Variants:
 * Also seen with affiliate stations in a black typeface on the bottom of the logo.
 * A short version exists beginning where the screen zooms out to show the logo lighting up.
 * Another shorter version cuts off the first two seconds of the logo.

FX/SFX: Very nice CGI for the early 2000s, done by Paul Sanni; a WGBH Creative Services editor, and Elias Mallette; TV director for Creative Services. They also did work for the previous ID.

Music/Sounds: A slightly extended version of the infamous WGBH synth theme. When the WGBH logo flashes, Jim Birdsall, who has done work for CNBC and NBC stations KING and KGW in Seattle and Portland, says "WGBH Boston". Finally, a humming sound is heard when the "2" appears.

Availability: Extinct. Was only seen as a local station ID.

Editor's Note: None.

18th Logo (November 25, 2013-Late 2020?)
Nicknames: "The Neon Sign IV", "WGBH Outline IV", "The Flash IV"

Logo: On a black background, orange neon lights start to trace out the inner part of the WGBH logo, with the top coming first, followed by the bottom part, the 2 holes on the "Impact", and finally the part that makes part of the "Impact". The light then draws out the full outline as another line starts to draw the "shadow" part. When the inner outline is complete, the rest of the logo flickers on and flashes in the style of the 6th logo, revealing "WGBH-TV BOSTON" on the bottom. The logo then glows a la the "2" in the 15th logo, then shortens out in a similar matter.

Trivia: This logo was created by Paul Sanni (sound and video editing) and Elias Mallette (animation), both of which also did work for the 15th ID. You can read more about the making here.

FX/SFX: The tracing of the inner parts, the drawing of the logo, as well as the usual flash. Pretty cool animation.

Music/Sounds: An ominous hum is heard first, followed by a series of snippets of the infamous theme when the neon traces the logo, but the computer blips are now terribly out of tune. The logo then plays the full theme with an announcer saying "You're watching WGBH 2, Boston.", followed with the same humming sound from the 15th ID.

Availability: No longer current. Like the 15th logo, only used as a station ID. However, the logo can be seen on GBH's YouTube channel. This is also the last logo from the company before the rebrand.

Editor's Note: Nice blend of the 16th and 17th/7th logos! It's a shame this logo only appears as a station ID.

(2020-)
ID: On a close-up of GBH's new logo, we see the words "WGBH". The "W" then moves to the right and fades into "We are". TBA