Sara+Tom

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum

Revision as of 14:28, 22 November 2022 by TheRealMarcel2000 (talk | contribs)


Background

This is Sara Gilbert and Tom Werner's production company. It was originally known as the Carsey-Werner Company (also known as "Carsey-Werner Television") and established in 1981 by Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner to produce what became to be popular television shows such as The Cosby Show, Roseanne, 3rd Rock From the Sun, and That '70s Show among other shows.

In the company's earlier years, distribution was handled by bigger companies (such as Viacom Enterprises, who only distributed 1980s and early-to-mid 1990s reruns of Roseanne, A Different World, and The Cosby Show, and later by Paramount Domestic Television, which is now "CBS Media Ventures"), but because of the most successful programs produced by the company, Carsey-Werner in 1997 grew into a larger company into where they were able to distribute their own programs. Caryn Mandabach later joined to the company in 1984 (then-known as Caryn Snyder until 1986 and credited as "Caryn Snyder-Mandabach" from 1985-1986) as the supervising executive and was made a partner in 2001, until she left the company in 2004 to begin her own company.

After Marcy Carsey left the company in 2005, Tom Werner went to start his own company with Eric Gold and Jimmy Miller called "Werner/Gold/Miller", but Gold and Miller left in 2007 and it was renamed to Werner Entertainment. In 2019, Sara Gilbert (who played Darlene Conner on Roseanne) joined the company and it was renamed to its current namesake. The distribution arm continues to use the Carsey-Werner name.

The Carsey-Werner Company

1st Logo (September 27, 1983-March 13, 1984)


Logo: On a gray background, we see the text

The
Carsey-Werner
Company

in a Cooper Black font, with black etchings on the letters. Below is the copyright text in a white color.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme to the program.

Availability: Extinct. This was seen on the 1983-84 ABC sitcom, Oh Madeline.

2nd Logo (September 20, 1984-July 7, 1988)

Logo: On a blue background, we see the text

A
CARSEY-WERNER
PRODUCTION

in a typewriter-like font with a copyright stamp above. After that, we see the following text

In
Association
With
BILL COSBY

Variants:

  • On the pilot episode of The Cosby Show, the text scrolls up in the end credits.
  • On early season 4 episodes of The Cosby Show and the remainder of the first season of A Different World, the text "SUPERVISING EXECUTIVE, CARYN MANDABACH" appears above the text.
  • On the second episode of the aforementioned latter show (which was actually the pilot episode), the font is much smaller than usual.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The end theme to the program.

Availability: Uncommon. This was seen on seasons 1-early season 4 episodes of The Cosby Show. Also used on the first season of A Different World.


3rd Logo (October 8, 1987-May 20, 1997)


Logo: Similar to the previous logo, although the text is now in gold and in a different font.

Variants:

  • From 1989-1991 on The Cosby Show, the copyright stamp mistakenly said "© [YEAR] The Carsey-Werner Show. All Rights Reserved.".
  • For seasons 7-9 of Roseanne, an "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" title would appear on the background, followed by the now name saying "THE CARSEY-WERNER COMPANY". On the final season, the copyright stamp is absent.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The end theme of the show.

Availability: Common. It's seen on later episodes of The Cosby Show. Also seen on A Different World, Roseanne, the first two seasons of Grace Under Fire (plastered on Laff reruns with the next logo), the short-lived show Chicken Soup, and the '90s short-lived revival of the game show You Bet Your Life. On Hulu's prints of Davis Rules, this logo is strangely not shown, except for the episodes "Twisted Sister" and "Sign of the Times".


4th Logo (January 2, 1995-May 17, 1999)


Logo: On a white background, we see a teal-green and blue TV set, with half of the inside using the same color, while the other half is dark blue, with "CARSEY WERNER" seen on the halves respetively.

Variants:

  • On season 1 and early season 2 episodes of Cybill, there is a copyright stamp for YBYL Productions underneath.
  • Original broadcast ABC episodes of Roseanne from 1995 (only the last five episodes from season 7) had this logo with an IAW screen, but with a tan-colored background, and then switched to Caryn Mandabach's supervising excutive name. It was later reverted back to the previous logo a while later. This can be seen on syndicated episodes as well.
  • For syndication, the text "DISTRIBUTION LLC" is seen below, sandwiched between the TV and the copyright stamp.
  • On Cosby, the IAW text appears above the logo.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The end theme of the show or a generic theme on CBS. On some shows, the 1987 Paramount TV theme is heard, probably due to sloppy editing.

Availability: Fairly common. This logo first appeared on Cybill, and was seen on Cosby, and later episodes of Roseanne (starting with "Rear Window") and Grace Under Fire (staring with "The Good Mother"). It also plasters the previous logo on current prints of the first two seasons of Grace Under Fire, which can be seen on FilmRise and its partners and the DVD release. It's also on the short-lived series Damon, Townies, and Men Behaving Badly.

5th Logo (January 9, 1996-May 22, 2001)


Logo: We see a planet base (all in a blue tint) in space with a planet seen in the background, as a rock flies throughout. The text "THE CARSEY-WERNER CO." is seen at the bottom.

Variant: On syndication airings, the text "CARSEY-WERNER DISTRIBUTION, LLC" is seen instead, sometimes with the show's URL below.

FX/SFX: Computer animation.

Music/Sounds: A whoosh is heard when the rock flies by. Other times, it's the closing theme of the show. Original NBC airings used a generic theme and a voiceover.

Availability: Seen on 3rd Rock from the Sun.


6th Logo (August 23, 1998-May 18, 2006)


Logo: We see a dark gold license plate on a car. On the top of the license plate reads "AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND", which is Wisconsin's motto, with the company name seen below. Under the name is "WISCONSIN", and surrounding the plate is a license sticker with a small outline of the aforementioned state to the left and a an expiration date for a year in the 1970s, which varies depending on when the episode takes place.

Variant: On the episode "That '70s Musical", the searchlights and sparkles with a dark blue vignette are used.

FX/SFX: Live-action.

Music/Sounds: The end theme of the show. Original Fox airings used a generic theme and a voiceover.

Availability: Seen on That '70s Show.


7th Logo (September 29, 1999-May 22, 2018)


Logo: On a white background, we see two lines, with "CARSEY-WERNER" (in a capitalized Trajan Pro font until the early 2000s; which later switched to a lowercase Trebuchet MS font) shown with a pyramidal diamond which takes its place of an hyphen, shown between the two lines. Under it is "COMPANY, LLC".

Variants:

  • From 2001 to 2004, it had "MANDABACH" under the name.
  • In syndication, it would be read as "DISTRIBUTION, LLC".
  • On season 3 of Cosby, the above variant has the IAW notice and the website under it.
  • A variant exists where the name is moved upwards and appears smaller, with a coat of arms shield colored in silver and blue respectively. Inside is two gold drama masks (comedy and tragedy) and two lions in the same color facing left and right inside. Below the shield is "BY APPOINTMENT" and "Purveyors of Fine Comedy", sandwiched between two lines with a small Roman numeral year below. At the bottom is a copyright notice "© That 70s Company Limited 1999".
  • On the unsold pilot of the U.S. version of Peep Show, only the name is seen in the middle with no other words whatsoever.
  • On the 2018 revival of Roseanne, the logo is formed by the halves of the pyramidal diamond sliding in from the sides over a black background before connecting to each other, revealing the logo albeit without the lines.
  • On God, the Devil & Bob, the logo is preceded by an "In association with" screen.

FX/SFX: None, except for 2D animation on the 2018 variant.

Music/Sounds: None, the generic network theme or the closing theme of the show.

Availability: Common.

  • It's seen on newer prints of The Cosby Show, A Different World, Roseanne, and Cosby, among others, and the short-lived cartoon God, the Devil & Bob.
  • Also appears on the first season of Grounded for Life (later seasons have the "Mandabach" variant).
  • The 2018 variant was only used on the 2018 revival of Roseanne, and does not appear on The Conners, as it's now under Werner Entertainment.
  • The shield logo is extinct, as in was only seen on Days Like These.

8th Logo (November 1-December 13, 2000)

Logo: We see film footage of a boy and a girl walking on a field. The text "Carsey-Werner" is seen at the bottom as it fades in. The film burns at the end.

FX/SFX: Live-action, with the film effect possibly edited in.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the show. Original Fox airings used a generic theme and a voiceover.

Availability: Seen on the short-lived Normal, Ohio.

9th Logo (January 23-May 29, 2002)

Logo: We see in what appears to be a record store, a vinyl record in its sleeve on a middle shelf. The cover has a gray pinball sitting on a black and white tile floor with two windows on either side each with a cloud background. At the top of the cover are the stacked words "CARSEY*WERNER MANDABACH" with a small diamond in between the two words.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the show. Original Fox airings used a generic theme and a voiceover.

Availability: Seen on the short-lived That '80s Show.


10th Logo (2004-2005)

Logo: On a blue background, the company name (in the same lowercase Trebuchet MS font as the 8th logo), zooms toward in 3D. After it finishes, the background becomes white as the logo shines.

FX/SFX: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Common. It's seen as the home entertainment logo on DVDs of That '70s Show and Roseanne released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Werner/Gold/Miller

(September 7, 2006-January 31, 2007)


Logo: On a brown background, we see the letters "WGM" flip in letter-by-letter. Then, they zoom in as the text "Werner • Gold • Miller" fades in below. All of the text is in a Garamond font.

FX/SFX: Simple computer animation.

Music/Sounds: A guitar riff, or a NBC and Fox generic theme.

Availability: Rare. Seen on the short-lived sitcoms Twenty Good Years and Happy Hour.


Werner Entertainment

1st Logo (October 27-December 29, 2011)


Logo: We see a picture frame containing two caricatures of Tom Werner and Mike Clements in a tiki bar setting, holding mugs and facing the viewer. Underneath the frame is the words "Werner ENTERTAINMENT", with the former in a gradient and surrounded by a black outline.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on the short-lived MTV show Good Vibes.


2nd Logo (January 11, 2012-January 22, 2019)


Logo: On a grass background, we see the white words "WERNER ENTERTAINMENT".

Variants:

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None, or a generic network theme.

Availability: Seen on season 1 of The Conners (except for the pilot episode, as it uses a copyright notice). Also seen on Are You There Chelsea? and Survivor's Remorse. Don't expect this on the 2021 film On the Count of Three, despite Werner being involved.


Gilbert TV

(October 16, 2018-January 22, 2019)

Logo: On a white background, we see small, spaced-out black text saying "gilbert tv".

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None or a ABC generic theme.

Availability: Seen on season 1 of The Conners.


Sara + Tom

(September 24, 2019-)


Logo: Same as the Gilbert TV logo, except the text says "sara + tom" instead.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None or a ABC generic theme.

Availability: Seen on The Conners from season 2 onward.

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