Southern Star Entertainment

Credits

Descriptions by
Gene Snitsky, Jess Williams and Stephen Cezar

Captures by
Eric S., Stephen Cezar, Mr. Logo Lord, RSX-798 and V of Doom

Editions by
Mr. Logo Lord, V of Doom, Shadeed A. Kelly, WileE2005, Hoa, Bob Fish, sega3dmm, RSX-798, Stephen Cezar and edunk5

Background

Southern Star Entertainment began in 1972 as an Australian subsidiary of Hanna-Barbera, aptly named "Hanna-Barbera Pty. Ltd." In 1974, half of Hanna-Barbera Australia was purchased by The Hamlyn Group, which in turn was purchased by James Hardie Industries. Hanna Barbera Pty. Ltd. was reorganised in 1983 as "Taft-Hardie Group Pty. Ltd.", and an American division was eventually established in 1984, known as Southern Star Productions. Programs produced by Southern Star would be animated by the Hanna-Barbera Studios in Sydney, Australia, which gave the division the name of Southern Star/Hanna Barbera Australia. Southern Star produced shows mainly for CBS, such as The Berenstain Bears, Teen Wolf, and the CBS Storybreak.

In 1988, the Managing Director of Taft-Hardie, Neil Balnaves acquired Taft-Hardie and reorganised it as The Southern Star Group, and the Sydney animation studio was sold to The Walt Disney Company and became Walt Disney Animation Australia, although The Southern Star Group kept the rights to its properties. Southern Star would eventually be acquired by Southern Cross Broadcasting in 2004, Fairfax Media in 2007, and Dutch-based company Endemol in 2009 (with whom Southern Star previously owned a joint venture). On December 11, 2013, Endemol announced that Southern Star Entertainment would be renamed to Endemol Australia, thus ending Southern Star's 30-year legacy.

1st Logo (September 14, 1985-March 10, 1989)

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Visuals: On a blue space background, a magenta star quickly zooms out. It plasters itself firmly at the center of the screen, while a yellow lightning bolt slides in from the top-left behind the star, landing so that the star is in the middle of the lightning bolt. The star rotates a little as the bolt moves to the middle. The screen flashes white a few times at high speed, changing the star to blue and the bolt to grey, and two rectangles slide in from the top and bottom of the screen behind the star and lightning bolt, the top one yellow, the bottom one magenta. When they connect with each other, the colours suddenly swap so that the top one is magenta and the bottom one is yellow. In the magenta rectangle, to the right of the star/bolt shape is "A SOUTHERN STAR" (usually in Futura), and in the yellow bottom rectangle is "Hanna-Barbera Australia Production" in Belwe Medium font.

Variants:

• On The Berenstain Bears, a copyright stamp for the Taft-Hardie Group appears under the logo. It appears in black or pink, depending on the episode, although in 1985, a chyroned-in version lasting the entire duration of the logo appears instead (usually in magenta, or in white or yellow lettering with a black border).
• On Teen Wolf and CBS Storybreak, the star zooming out is cut, so that it starts on the bolt sliding into shape.
  • On early 2010s prints of episodes of the former, the logo is noticeably darker, possibly done to prevent seizures.
• Late in this logo's life, a variant was seen omitting all mentions of Hanna-Barbera and the copyright, and had "SOUTHERN STAR PRODUCTIONS" in place of the original name. Also, the yellow and magenta colors do not switch positions at the end, but appear somewhat darker. This variant was introduced in 1988, when Southern Star became a separate company from Hanna-Barbera and Taft.

Technique: 2D computer effects.

Audio: The ending of the show's theme, but with a thunderclap sound effect (a BBC/Cinesound effect that is also heard in the Ismail Production, Regal Films, and Lightning Video logos, among others) edited in with the flash, nearly drowning out the music.

Audio Variants:

• On most first season episodes of Teen Wolf and at least two Berenstain Bears episodes, there is no thunder crashing.
• The thunderclap sound was sped up beginning in 1986. This version can be heard on the second season of The Berenstain Bears and on later episodes of Teen Wolf and CBS Storybreak, though one second-season episode of The Berenstain Bears had the thunderclap played at normal speed like in the 1985 version.
• The Berenstain Bears episode "Get Stage Fright"/"Go Bonkers Over Honkers" had a completely different, sped-up thunder sound.
• On The Berenstain Bears episode "Forget Their Manners"/"The Wicked Weasel Spell", the thunder effect briefly fades in and out, and a brief snippet of the show's end theme plays before stopping, and letting the already-playing ending theme continue as normal. This is due to sloppy editing.

Availability:

• The logo was seen on the original Berenstain Bears cartoon, as well as the animated Teen Wolf (a few VHS tapes of this series have no logos) and later episodes of CBS Storybreak (earlier episodes only had a credit for Hanna-Barbera Australia, followed by the CBS Entertainment Productions logo).
• On reruns of The Berenstain Bears in DIC's syndicated programming package from 2003 to 2006, it was plastered by the 2001 "The Incredible World of DiC" logo (even though they didn't produce the show) and the 1994 Southern Star logo.
• The logo has been preserved on the recent Berenstain Bears DVDs from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (followed by the Sony Pictures Television logo) and is seen at the end of some episodes that have been uploaded on the official Berenstain Bears YouTube channel. It can also be found on the 1990s Berenstain Bears videotapes from Random House Home Video and Columbia TriStar Home Video.
• Feature Films for Families tapes of the show omit the logo as well as the ending credits.
• It's also preserved on Multicom Entertainment Group's streaming prints of Teen Wolf.

Legacy: The logo was infamous among the logo community for its visuals, audio and cheesiness.

2nd Logo (Mid 1989-September 6, 1994)

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Visuals: On a starfield background, two sets of numerous lines move to the upper center of the screen to merge and form a turquoise star. The text

SOUTHERN
S T A R

appears below, with an underline in the same colour as the star.

Variants:

• A variant exists where after the logo forms, "SULLIVAN" zooms in underneath the line.
• On early episodes of A*mazing, the logo is on a box, and the word "CONCEPT" fades in below the line. A contestant stands next to the logo, announcing "This has been a Southern Star Concept production for the Seven Network", and the Seven Network logo appears when the spiel finishes.
• Another variant exists where the text "SOUTHERN STAR FILM SALES" appears under the star.

Technique: 2D computer effects.

Audio: Silence, the ending theme of the show or rarely a chime, then a space-like robotic noise.

Audio Variant: On rare occasions like on some later prints of Dinky Dog, the 1988 Worldvision Enterprises theme can be faintly heard over the logo.

Availability: It was seen on the first 34 episodes of Blue Heelers (and is intact on 7Plus streaming prints), as well as early episodes of A*mazing and prints of former Hanna-Barbera co-productions such as Drak Pack.

3rd Logo (September 13, 1994-March 19, 2007)

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Visuals: On a black background, two sets of blue lines (9 on the left and 10 on the right) curve towards the center of the screen to form one set. As this happens, a light appears and a 7-pointed segmented royal blue star is formed by the lines. Below it are the words "SOUTHERN S T A R" (in the same alignment as the previous logo) appearing below, along with a blue line below "S T A R" fading in.

Variants:

• A shortened version exists.
• International airings of Southern Star shows that use this logo have "SALES" appearing below.
• There was also an early variant, where the lines are more metallic. The underline fades in after the logo is formed rather than simultaneously done with the star and text. This version was filmed.
• On early seasons of Water Rats, in addition to the logo, there is a byline that says "WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION" appearing at the bottom and "SOUTHERN STAR SALES" underneath.
• On some shows that aired on the Seven Network from 1994 to 1999, it is spliced with the network's production logo used at the time.
• On game shows such as A*mazing, Burgo's Catch Phrase, Time Masters, and Wipeout, "CONCEPT" appears below as well as the copyright.
• On most episodes of A*mazing, the logo is on a frame, while a contestant is shown next to the logo, who announces the spiel, just like the previous logo.
• There is an in-credit version of the "CONCEPT" variant on some shows such as Outriders, Don't Blame Me, and Blue Water High where the star and line are either in silver or white. There was even a yellow version on Pig's Breakfast.
• On To Have and to Hold, the logo is filmed and "FILM SALES" appears below.
• On Faireez, the logo is placed against a white background with "Worldwide Sales & Distribution" above it and the company name is now black. Additionally, it lacks the underline.
• On Season 1 of Love My Way, the logo fades in with the texts "Worldwide Sales and Distribution" and "Southern Star Sales" all placed above the logo.
  • Starting with Season 2, the text "Worldwide Sales and Distribution" is placed above the logo, while "Southern Star International" is positioned below it.
• On the first season of The Sleepover Club, the Southern Star Sales version of the logo is used with a blue star and white text, and also has a drop shadow effect. The company name is also in a Times New Roman typeface. It also shares the screen with the Wark Clements and the Burberry Productions logos.
  • Starting with the second season, the logo is also superimposed on the end credits, with the star in a different shade of blue, the "SOUTHERN STAR" reverting to its original typeface and the line in coloured white.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A deep synth drone (not unlike the one heard in the previous logo) followed by a four-note light, airy synth sounder with chimes as the star forms.

Audio Variants:

• In the logo's early years, the synth drone has a high pitched sound and the airy synth plays slightly later.
• On the game shows using the "CONCEPT" variant, the announcer would say "This has been a Southern Star Production for [name of network]."
• On Snobs as well as Channel 5 "Shake!" airings of Don't Blame the Koalas, the ending theme plays over it.

Availability:

• Seen on 1990s prints of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, post-1994 episodes of Blue Heelers, The Secret Life of Us, episodes of McLeod's Daughters until "The Big Commitment", as well as Tracey McBean and early seasons of Hi-5.
• It was also seen on Snobs, Pig's Breakfast, Foreign Exchange, High Flyers, Don't Blame Me, Outriders, the first season of The Sleepover Club, The Adventures of Sam, Kangaroo Creek Gang, Ketchup: Cats Who Cook, Faireez, Water Rats, and Bad Cop, Bad Cop along with game shows like A*mazing, Burgo's Catch Phrase, Flashback, Time Masters, and Wipeout.
• Also seen at the end of the Spanish VHS tape of the 1977 adaptation of Gulliver's Travels distributed by Goodtimes. The short variant was seen on reruns of the 1985 cartoon of The Berenstain Bears when it aired on the DIC Kids Network, following the 2001 DIC logo.

4th Logo (January 2, 2006-Late 2013)

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Visuals: Against a dark blue starry sky with mountains below, there are shooting stars forming several hoop shapes, known as star trails. As the camera moves to the right, the Southern Star logo fades in via a blurring effect. The logo first appears in a cornflower blue colour, then the star turns sky blue/white gradient, while the company name and the line below "S T A R" turn white. When the animation is completed, the sky darkens around the logo.

Variants:

• Until 2008, the byline "A DIVISION OF SOUTHERN CROSS BROADCASTING (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED" appears below in a stacked format.
• On Meerkat Manor, an additional byline "Widewide Sales and Distribution Southern Star International" can be seen underneath. Also, "Worldwide" is misspelled as "Widewide".
• Like the last logo, a print version of the logo exists.

Technique: Live-action combined with 2D and 3D computer effects.

Audio: This is a list of audio variants primarily used:

• 2006-2009: A three-note booming fanfare resembling the last notes of the previous logo's theme with some whooshes.
• 2008-2013: A gentle synth sounder with some "whooshes", ending with a three-note synthesized-like tune with the last note being played two more times.

Audio Variants:

• Sometimes, it's the ending theme of the show.
• On Meerkat Manor, the audio from the previous logo is heard.

Availability: It was seen on Southern Star shows from the era, such as RAGGS Kids Club Band, the second season of both Meerkat Manor and The Sleepover Club, the last four seasons of Hi-5 and episodes of McLeod's Daughters from "Biting the Bullet", among others.

5th Logo (Early 2009-Late 2013)

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Visuals: On a navy blue background, light blue lines emerge from the bottom right corner to form the Southern Star logo, similar to the last logo. The Endemol logo appears by spinning directly below it with "an endemol company" underneath.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A whoosh sound, followed by the audio from the 2008 Endemol logo.

Availability: Seen on many programs produced by Southern Star until it was renamed to Endemol Australia, used concurrently with the previous logo.