Draft:The Children's Channel

The Children's Channel, also known as TCC, was launched by Starstream, a joint venture of British Telecom, DC Thomson, Thames Television and Thorn EMI, on the original Eutelsat satellite across Europe on 1 September 1984. Over the years, the network broadcast programmes for younger children and, later, teenagers, with most of its programming output being archive animated series from the 1980s, and later Fox Kids shows, including those from Saban Entertainment.

The network launched the TCC brand as a two-hour teen block in 1992, but by 1994, the TCC name was being used all day long, and became the channel's official name in 1995. It also launched Tiny TCC, a strand for toddlers and pre-schoolers launched on 11 September 1995. TCC struggled to compete with new competition like Nickelodeon UK and Cartoon Network Europe, and teen programming was the only steady source of income for the channel. Tension arose when News Corporation entered negotiations with the new owner of the channel, Flextech, to acquire a 49% share. These failed, and a big blow was dealt to TCC when News Corporation launched a Fox Kids channel in the UK, taking with it most of Fox and Saban's library.

TCC co-produced a handful of original shows throughout its life, but after the launch of Fox Kids, this ceased as profits dried up. On 3 February 1997, Flextech relocated the successful teenage section of TCC to Trouble. TCC spent its final year as a low-maintenance operation, with plummeting ratings, while plans were drawn to end the channel. TCC permanently closed on 3 April 1998, with no notice given to viewers and little given to the press or even television operators. On 5 October, it was taken off Cable & Wireless as well.

An advertisement-free automated version of TCC, "TCC Nordic," was created by Flextech due to a pre-agreed contract signed some years before to air TCC in Scandinavia until 1 October 2000; the TCC Nordic feed was also used by Cable & Wireless during TCC's last months on that service. On 30 September 2000, when the Nordic feed's contract expired, TCC closed entirely. The website stayed running until late 2005.

1st Ident (1 September 1984-1989)

Visuals: On a blue/black gradient background, we see many lines forming a star shape. The lines wiggle a bit while they're forming. The lines become gold and the lines inside the star disappear. The star flies over a red ribbon shape which flies down from the top of the screen. The word "Children's" falls letter by letter with a star dotting the "i". The ribbon flies on screen with two oblong shapes with "The" in one of the shapes. The star from before flies down with a trailing effect and lands on one of the shapes, wiping in the word "Channel" and resting next to it. A red and white line appears in the words at the near end.

Variant: There was a short version which is a little bit different. The main part is already formed and the shapes flip in instead of coming out of the main part. The star also rotates.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A bouncy prog-pop-style synthesizer tune. The short version has a short version of the tune.

Availability: The long and short versions of this ident appear at the start and end of the 1988 UK VHS release of Jack in the Box Vol 2: The Animals Went in Two by Two from Screen Legends.

2nd Ident (1989-1991)

Visuals: On a grey background, we see bubbles and pictures of the shows shown on the channel for the time. The logo, with a more print look this time, zooms out from the right of the screen.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A harp and flute rendition of the first tune.

3rd Ident (1991-1992)

Visuals: On a white background, we see "Children's Channel" being typing out one by one with flashing screens with CC. The text scrolls across the screen and then bounces down from the top of the screen.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: A rock rendition of the 1984 tune with horns. The audio was usually shortened before in-vision continuity segments meaning that the main melody was not heard.

4th Ident (1992-1993)

Visuals: The 1984 logo is seen in the middle, while other copies of the logo jostle about in the background. Then, the text 'All Day, Every Day' draws in in a handwritten font. The big logo in the back stops in the top-right.

Variant: This ident also happened on top of a chequered black and white background.

Technique: 2D animation, and possible live-action projector footage in the background.

Audio: Same soundtrack as before, but played in full.

5th Ident (1993-September 1994)

Visuals: The TCC logo is updated to have a rougher look than before, with the channel name now written in all-caps.

Variants:

• General: A red banner with a blue outline leaps into the screen. It falls onto its back to reveal the word "CHILDREN'S" on front, although in a cruder font than before. With its left-hand corner, it rubs its forehead before jumping up to show a blue oval with the word 'THE'. It balances it for a bit before both objects settle into place and another oval with the word 'CHANNEL' pops in below. The three shapes wave. This was used as the evening closedown.
• Burst: On a yellow background, the 'CHILDREN'S' banner leaps around before trying to burst out of the screen. The camera zooms out to reveal three children watching it in a bright yellow room on a blue TV. The banner completely pops out (making the TV vanish) with the ovals appearing to show the channel's full logo, which is a pleasant surprise to the children.
• Puzzle: A large group of children are figuring out a large puzzle, where they have to slot yellow blocks into the right-shaped holes. When they finish, they cheer, and the camera switched to overhead, where it is revealed that the puzzle is the logo.
• Start-up: A boy sees a rope but cannot reach it. He stacks a blue and a yellow cylinder to try and reach it but he still cannot manage it. Two girls try to help him by lifting it up, but this fails. The boy gets an idea to use a trampoline and he bounces on it to pull down the cord which reveals the channel logo on a large white curtain behind them.

Technique: 2D and 3D animation for General and Burst. Live action for the others, but also mixed in Burst.

Audio: Different soundtracks for each ident.

• General: An ascending 13-note electric guitar and trumpet riff, leading into an uplifting rock tune with triumphant horns.

6th Ident (1993-1994)

Visuals: On a white background, toys or animals are seen moving around while the TCC logo animation from the 1993General ident is used (although it leaps in from the right corner and goes straight to tossing the first oval). Their colour scheme is red, yellow and blue.

Variants:

• Robots: 3 plastic robot toys, one red, one blue and one yellow, wave their arms up and down.
• Parrot: A live parrot rides an appropriately-sized toy cycle.
• Frog: A blue plastic frog 'swims' towards the camera.
• Dice: One by one, plastic dice and whistles appear.
• Hippos: Hippo-esque toys with spring necks walk forwards.
• Fish: Six toy fish are on the surface (2 each red, yellow and blue). A magnetic hook picks up the red fish in the middle.

Technique: Live-action footage.

Audio: A different soundtrack for each ident.

• Hippos and Fish: A rock riff, following by 'boing' noises and a synth tune, that samples the five notes of the chorus from the 1993 General ident.

Trivia: These continued to be used in late 1994, even after the rebrand to the next TCC logo.

7th Ident (September 1994-30 September 2000)

Visuals: The TCC logo is seen in various scenarios.

Variants:

• Conkeror Nut: A conker is seen in its pod rustling about. It falls from the tree to reveal the TCC logo on it.
• Biggest Conker: A small conker is dangling off a string, A TCC logo conker slides in next to it, which makes the other conker leave.
• Cake: A cake with the TCC lettering on top has been sliced into eight with the bottom-right slice missing, and someone uses a serving knife to put back the last slice. By using a series of pictures in reverse, the cake 'loses' its cuts.
• Legs: Two idents with shots of the TCC logo on top of human legs dancing. One ident is on a large dance floor, while the other shows the logo onsurrounded by blue lights.
• Metal Room: In a multicoloured metal room, a green TCC logo is shown but with video footage playing in 'holes' where the letters should be. The letters fly into holes.

Technique: Live-action footage. Conkeror Nut utilises some stop-motion. Metal Room utilises some animation.

Audio: Different soundtracks for each ident.

8th Ident (1995-1998)

Visuals: A TCC logo with a turquoise border, a yellow background and blue lettering with crudely drawn bird legs, known as the 'TCC Bird', is seen in different scenarios.

Variants:

• Saw: The TCC Bird notices a saw below cutting a hole below it. It shrugs, but it falls partway into the hole, before an anvil drops on it, turning the TCC 'Bird' into a cloth-like object as it sinks into the hole.
• Cliff: The TCC Bird walks off a cliff without realising. Then, it is suspended cartoonishly mid-air, before the cliff sinks below.
• Flyswatter: The TCC Bird walks out of a mousehole, but is startled by a flyswatter landing next to it. It tries to dodge it once, but then gets hit by it. It gets back up, and the flyswatter leaves as the TCC Bird stands upright.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: Cartoon noises to suit the situation.

9th Ident (September 1994-30 September 2000)

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Visuals: On a murky background, the TCC logo is seen.

Variants:

• Production: On a murky blue background, the TCC logo floats.
• Generic: The TCC logo floats on a murky yellow background with red and blue splashes.
• Cartoon 1: The TCC logo rattles, grows eyes and alerts to danger, turns into a whip and wobbles like a springboard.
• Cartoon 2: The TCC logo is punched by a boxing glove coming from off-screen, turns into a whip, turns into a ringing bell and wobbles like a springboard.
• Cartoon 3: The TCC logo wobbles like a springboard, is punched by a boxing glove coming from off-screen, it grows eyes and alerts to danger and it bounces and whooshes out back, exiting the screen.

Technique: 3D animation.

Audio:

• Production: The ending theme to the show.
• Generic: The TCC theme song, an upbeat pop song that attempts to emulate 90s hip-hop, and has lyrics which call TCC "totally the right stuff".
• Cartoon: various cartoon sound effects.

Availability: The production logo is seen on their original shows at the time, like Earthworm Jim.

Trivia: The generic logo was first used as a gap-filler during technical difficulties (which became the norm during the 1998-2000 Nordic run) or unsold advertising space. It was also used for TCC Nordic's start-up and closedown.

10th Ident (1996-3 April 1998)

Visuals: Similar to the 1993 live-action idents, plastic toys are seen moving over a white background, but this time, the central focus is on a toy with the TCC logo. Variants:

• Snail: A TCC logo is seen on a popping toy while a clockwork snail crawls behind it. The popping toy then sets off and jumps across the screen.
• Robots: A robot with a blue TCC logo torso and a purple TCC logo head is seen among 3 other toy robots.
• Blimp: A TCC logo toy blimp is seen in the forefront as it 'flies' across while other toy blimps 'fly' in the background.
• Chickens: A TCC logo with mechanical feet walks amidst walking toy chickens, and a mechanical frog is also seen in the background along with a toy duck train.

Technique: Live-action footage.

Audio: A different audio for each ident.

Trivia: Snail was the last ever ident shown on TCC UK, before it played its regular evening closedown sequence on 3 April 1998, and closed down permanently.

External Links

• The Children's Channel  on Wikipedia