Mark VII Limited
Written and Compiled by James Fabiano and Shane Spencer
1st Logo
(1950s-1971)
Nickname: "The Hammer"
Logo: Two hands work on a silver sheet of metal, holding a stamp in place and hitting it twice with a hammer. When the hands and tools pull away, we see a "VII" imprinted on the metal. Above the roman numeral in white is the word "MARK," and below "LIMITED."
FX: Mostly live action, or seems to be, so not much as far as actual special effect are concerned.
Cheesy Factor: The words appearing over the "live" picture
Music: A drum roll (or maybe a machine growling) and two "clinks" of the hammer.
Availability: Can be seen on "Dragnet" reruns. As an interesting sidenote, the soundtrack to the Mark VII logo was also used for the Ghost Planet Industries logo on "Space Ghost: Coast to Coast," and also the beginning to wrestler Greg "The Hammer" Valentine's 1991 theme music in the WWF.
Scare Factor: Low, bordering on moderate, this is a popular and memorable logo, having one of the most famous soundtracks in all of logos. But it is understandable, that some may be turned off by the loud nature or the sweaty palm.
2nd Logo
(1971-1973)
Nickname: "Shocking Gold"
Logo: On a gold background, we see the following outlined phrase taking up nearly the whole screen:
A Production of
MARK
VII
LIMITED
FX: None really, this is a still logo.
Music: A bombastic, dramatic orchestral fanfare.
Availability: Still exists at the end of Mark VII-produced shows from this period.
Scare Factor: High, because of the music and phrase taking up nearly the whole screen. Usually following a dramatic closing theme (like Adam-12) really doesn't help much either.
3rd Logo
(1973-1979)
Nickname: "The Hammer Strikes Back"
Logo: It's the same as the 1950s-1971 variant, but it starts midway through the animation; just one hammer strike revealing "VII" and the words "MARK" and "LIMITED" fade in at the same time afterwards.
FX/Cheesy Factor: Same as the 1950s-1971 logo.
Music: A"clink" of the hammer followed by a drum roll.
Availability: Still exists at the end of Mark VII-produced shows from this period.
Scare Factor: Moderate, this edited version of the original is a bit higher due to the fast pacing, but shouldn't be too bad to most.