PITS Films

Credits

Descriptions by
Matt Anscher, and Jeffrey Gray

Captures by
Shadeed A. Kelly

Editions by
Shadeed A. Kelly, V of Doom, and Unnepad

Background

PITS Films was a television distribution arm of Tandem Productions, launched in 1978 to distribute most of their material such as Sanford and Son, Maude, and Good Times, all of which were produced by Norman Lear, with the former by Bud Yorkin. On January 6, 1982, it was folded into "Embassy Telecommunications" with the acquisition of Avco Embassy Pictures Corporation by Lear and Jerry Perenchio, both by renaming the distribution division of T.A.T. Communications Company. PITS was an acronym, which stood for "Pie in the Sky".

Logo (1979-1982)

• 
• 
  Off-center variant

Visuals: Against a blue background is the text:

DISTRIBUTED BY
P I T S
FILMS

with "P I T S" in 3-D lettering and in green. In the three spaces of the letters, some white stars zoom in, one by one, as if they're "growing", and then settle in their spaces in between the "P I T S" letters.

Trivia: When the first star zooms in, it appears behind "DISTRIBUTED BY" and "FILMS", making it look like it's chyroned-in. The two remaining stars, however, appear in front of the text.

Variant: On a 1988 TBS airing of Good Times, the logo is off-center.

Technique: Analog switcher effects.

Audio: A synth tune in "D" key that ascends and descends repeatedly, composed by John Maxwell Anderson.

Availability: While this is not legendarily rare like the T.A.T. Communications Company logo, it is not easy to spot.

• 2000-02 reruns of Good Times on TBS was the last time it was seen, on the final season episode "J.J. the Teacher"; all other episodes had the Columbia TriStar Television Distribution logo instead.
• It was also reportedly seen on a 2003 TV Land airing of Sanford & Son with SPT following it.
• Allegedly, it appeared after an episode of The Jeffersons on WMLW-LP in Milwaukee, Wisconsin sometime in the mid 2000s. ^{[citation needed]}
• It was also seen on certain prints of Maude.

References

PITS Films

Embassy Telecommunications ►