Reading Rainbow Intro

generalironbeak
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Reading Rainbow Intro Jan 15, 2018 5:17:46 GMT atomicsquid and spookykoops like this

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Post by generalironbeak on Jan 15, 2018 5:17:46 GMT

Dec 28, 2017 22:27:50 GMT spookykoops said:

and that CGI dragon scared the living shit out of me.

I was very curious to see what it looked like after hearing that, and was worried it would be creepy, albeit cool-looking. So for the last few weeks I had been a little uneasy about seeing the theme, especially since it could pop up out of nowhere anytime for all I knew.

Well, what do you know, but that's exactly what happened. The moment I saw the thumbnail I was like "No way...THAT'S it?" Well, now I've seen it, and let me say, it's NOT what I was expecting. The CG creatures look just awful; the dragon in particular looks like something straight out of Barney turned into CG animation. Even though CG at this time wasn't great, they could still have tried to make something cooler out of it.

All I can say is I'm very glad they changed it. My guess is PBS realized this was a bad intro and decided to pretend it never existed. Well, for a while, they certainly succeeded.

Last Edit: Jan 15, 2018 5:22:38 GMT by generalironbeak

LetDown Lost Media Beginner Posts: 48	Reading Rainbow Intro Jan 15, 2018 6:05:42 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by LetDown on Jan 15, 2018 6:05:42 GMT Jan 13, 2018 2:35:34 GMT dsneybuf said: Pretty swell of you to share that link on my birthday, thanks! You're welcome, happy late birthday and congrats on finally being able to view this
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generalironbeak
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Reading Rainbow Intro Jan 16, 2018 1:42:48 GMT spookykoops likes this

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Post by generalironbeak on Jan 16, 2018 1:42:48 GMT

I'm curious about when they started and stopped using this. According to the "Understanding 9/11" archives, the Chaka Kahn version premiered as late as September 2001. The credits recording is from November 1999, so this intro started being used as late as then.

Last Edit: Jan 16, 2018 1:43:55 GMT by generalironbeak

senshisun Lost Media Enthusiast Posts: 671	Reading Rainbow Intro Jan 23, 2018 21:15:34 GMT lilyofthevalley likes this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by senshisun on Jan 23, 2018 21:15:34 GMT Calling to get this moved to Found Media.
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Lucy Global Moderator absence makes the heart grow fonder Posts: 623	Reading Rainbow Intro Jan 27, 2018 19:01:22 GMT lilyofthevalley likes this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by Lucy on Jan 27, 2018 19:01:22 GMT Jan 23, 2018 21:15:34 GMT senshisun said: Calling to get this moved to Found Media. Done

generalironbeak
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Reading Rainbow Intro Jan 28, 2018 0:01:33 GMT

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Post by generalironbeak on Jan 28, 2018 0:01:33 GMT

Jun 14, 2017 2:39:41 GMT senshisun said:

However, it's extremely odd that a version of the theme song used for an entire season could go missing like this.

I was wondering, is it possible that when the original intro was replaced in 1999, that some PBS stations debuted the Chaka Kahn version, whilst others used the rare one, only to switch to the Chaka Kahn version shortly afterwards? If that was the case, it would make more sense why there was almost no mention of this version online until last year, and why Dennis Kleinman was unaware of it.

dsneybuf
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Reading Rainbow Intro Jan 28, 2018 3:02:44 GMT

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Post by dsneybuf on Jan 28, 2018 3:02:44 GMT

I've also considered the possibility that only some PBS stations received the Johnny Kemp intro, to help test how well or poorly viewers would respond to it. I imagine in this case, the other stations would've continued to use the Tina Fabrique intro, until PBS started rolling out the one with Chaka Khan.

Deleted Deleted Member Posts: 0	Reading Rainbow Intro Jan 29, 2018 20:31:49 GMT spookykoops likes this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2018 20:31:49 GMT Hmmm...call me picky, but I think we should attempt to gain access to the raw footage at this point. Do you think the poster would be willing to let us borrow the tape to convert it into a digital format?

Yoda
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Reading Rainbow Intro Jan 30, 2018 2:19:50 GMT spookykoops likes this

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Post by Yoda on Jan 30, 2018 2:19:50 GMT

Jan 29, 2018 20:31:49 GMT @biinzhou5 said:

Hmmm...call me picky, but I think we should attempt to gain access to the raw footage at this point. Do you think the poster would be willing to let us borrow the tape to convert it into a digital format?

Worth a try.

Deleted Deleted Member Posts: 0	Reading Rainbow Intro Jan 30, 2018 2:29:33 GMT spookykoops likes this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2018 2:29:33 GMT I'll see if I can get in touch with the video poster to archive the theme in it's raw state.

generalironbeak
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Reading Rainbow Intro Jan 30, 2018 3:44:39 GMT dsneybuf likes this

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Post by generalironbeak on Jan 30, 2018 3:44:39 GMT

Jan 28, 2018 3:02:44 GMT dsneybuf said:

I've also considered the possibility that only some PBS stations received the Johnny Kemp intro, to help test how well or poorly viewers would respond to it. I imagine in this case, the other stations would've continued to use the Tina Fabrique intro, until PBS started rolling out the one with Chaka Khan.

Interestingly, it seems some PBS stations continued to occasionally use the Tina Fabrique intro even after the Chaka one premiered. Evidence of this comes from this programming break from November 2002: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZb4P2L87EU

The poster told me that the old intro was still used for them occasionally after 1999. I didn't bring up the Johnny Kemp one, however.

generalironbeak
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Reading Rainbow Intro Feb 9, 2018 5:10:16 GMT spookykoops likes this

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Post by generalironbeak on Feb 9, 2018 5:10:16 GMT

Unfortunately, PBS has blocked the recording of the opening. So does that make this partially lost again? EDIT: Except it's still viewable on the Lost Media page. Huh.

Also, I've mentioned the intro to RTXwheels (who uploaded the 2002 recording with the Tina Fabrique intro) and it was new to him, although he thinks his his station could have shown it.

Last Edit: Feb 9, 2018 5:15:56 GMT by generalironbeak

Yoda
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Posts: 148

Reading Rainbow Intro Feb 9, 2018 22:37:40 GMT

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Post by Yoda on Feb 9, 2018 22:37:40 GMT

Feb 9, 2018 5:10:16 GMT generalironbeak said:

Unfortunately, PBS has blocked the recording of the opening. So does that make this partially lost again? EDIT: Except it's still viewable on the Lost Media page. Huh.

Also, I've mentioned the intro to RTXwheels (who uploaded the 2002 recording with the Tina Fabrique intro) and it was new to him, although he thinks his his station could have shown it.

The intro is still accessible for me on YouTube. Could be because I live in Canada.

Boosher
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Reading Rainbow Intro Feb 10, 2018 1:11:42 GMT spookykoops likes this

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Post by Boosher on Feb 10, 2018 1:11:42 GMT

I think that I might've forced every single Reading Rainbow clip off of YouTube. I'm sorry!! Then again, PBS and WNED are super-stingy about everything Reading Rainbow, because, you know, LeVar and the whole Reading Rainbow app/ownership dilemma. Shame.

Black Logic (who also did the 1994/1998 PBS rebranding and the Zoog Disney intro from 2001) did the 1999 Reading Rainbow intro; it was led by 3 CG animators, one of which is Patricia Heard, who I e-mailed in the hopes of finding a master-quality copy of the intro, as it does certainly exist. Once I told of LMW and the search for Reading Rainbow material, a few days later the take-downs happened. Chances are they're still looking through their demo reels and archives, but if it is brought out, it'd have to be shared in private.

The intro was created by Summer 1999 and was most likely used on-air until the end of the 2000-2001 season; all GPN VHS releases with the "new" Reading Rainbow logo use the 2001 intro regardless, and starting with the 2002 season the 2001 intro was used for all things.

generalironbeak
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Posts: 575

Reading Rainbow Intro Feb 10, 2018 2:33:29 GMT

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Post by generalironbeak on Feb 10, 2018 2:33:29 GMT

Feb 10, 2018 1:11:42 GMT Boosher said:

I think that I might've forced every single Reading Rainbow clip off of YouTube. I'm sorry!! Then again, PBS and WNED are super-stingy about everything Reading Rainbow, because, you know, LeVar and the whole Reading Rainbow app/ownership dilemma. Shame.

Black Logic (who also did the 1994/1998 PBS rebranding and the Zoog Disney intro from 2001) did the 1999 Reading Rainbow intro; it was led by 3 CG animators, one of which is Patricia Heard, who I e-mailed in the hopes of finding a master-quality copy of the intro, as it does certainly exist. Once I told of LMW and the search for Reading Rainbow material, a few days later the take-downs happened. Chances are they're still looking through their demo reels and archives, but if it is brought out, it'd have to be shared in private.

The intro was created by Summer 1999 and was most likely used on-air until the end of the 2000-2001 season; all GPN VHS releases with the "new" Reading Rainbow logo use the 2001 intro regardless, and starting with the 2002 season the 2001 intro was used for all things.

That's interesting that you found all that info! Thanks for sharing.

So this intro was used until the end of the 2000-2001 season? That's interesting to know. That means this intro was probably used for about 2 years. I assumed it was only used for one.

Post by generalironbeak on Jan 15, 2018 5:17:46 GMT

Post by LetDown on Jan 15, 2018 6:05:42 GMT

Post by generalironbeak on Jan 16, 2018 1:42:48 GMT

Post by senshisun on Jan 23, 2018 21:15:34 GMT

Post by Lucy on Jan 27, 2018 19:01:22 GMT

Post by generalironbeak on Jan 28, 2018 0:01:33 GMT

Post by dsneybuf on Jan 28, 2018 3:02:44 GMT

Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2018 20:31:49 GMT

Post by Yoda on Jan 30, 2018 2:19:50 GMT

Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2018 2:29:33 GMT

Post by generalironbeak on Jan 30, 2018 3:44:39 GMT

Post by generalironbeak on Feb 9, 2018 5:10:16 GMT

Post by Yoda on Feb 9, 2018 22:37:40 GMT

Post by Boosher on Feb 10, 2018 1:11:42 GMT

Post by generalironbeak on Feb 10, 2018 2:33:29 GMT

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