It's Time for Cake

Background
This is a production company ran by Jerry Sterns, son of producers Phil Sterns and Julia West. The company was formed following a falling out between Jerry and his parents. Producers Dennis Friedman and Graham Vanzetti would join the company in 2003 and become sole operators when Sterns moved to the United Kingdom, returning in 2021. In 2022, Friedman and Vanzetti would leave the company under contemptuous circumstances, and Sterns would rebrand the label to Sterns' Productions. Friedman and Vanzetti, along with Elliot Strange would reform It's Time for Cake soon after.

1st Logo (1997)
Logo: On a black background we see a picture containing a drawing of a cake with a slice cut out. "It's time for Cake" is below in white.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The theme of the program or trailer.

Availability: Extinct. Appeared on the unsold pilot for She-Hulk.

Editor's Note: It's just boring. This logo has also been used on print-ads for the company's movies, though trailers never display any indication of this logo.

2nd Logo (1999-2005)
Logo: In a living-room setting, we see some kids sitting on a couch (five girls and a boy), with a cake on a table in front of them. "IT'S TIME FOR CAKE" is above them on a banner in a plain typeface. A clock to the right of it strikes noon and the kids raise their hands while maintaining bored expressions.

Variant: In 2005, the logo was tweaked to feature cleaner animation, more details such as peeling walls and a hallway leading to a flight of stairs and two men; these represent Friedman and Vanzetti, and were featured on the first logo of their old vanity card.

Trivia: Three of the characters in this are the same ones used in the first and third Gecko Studios logos.

FX/SFX: Flash animation. This was done by Yowza! Animation. It was redesigned by Angry Alien Productions in 2005 for details outlined above.

Music/Sounds: A ticking sound, followed by a deep apathetic cheer.

Availability: Appeared on the ultra short lived 1999 revival of Inner Sanctum and the unsold pilots for a 2002 revival of Forever Knight and that for Hailey's Debts.

Editor's Note: This ended and restarted It's Time for Cake on a high note.

3rd Logo (2005-2012)
Logo: Against a pink background with a tree to the left, we see the characters from before fighting over a rifle. The rifle goes off, causing them to fall and a giant cake falls from the tree. "It's Time for Cake" is on the cake written in frosting. The characters stand up and look to the cake then the viewer.

FX/SFX: 2D animation, this was produced by Elliot Strange.

Music/Sounds: Sounds corresponding to the actions, along with nature sounds. Vanzetti then says "Good enough for me."

Availability: Appeared on the films Field Trip, Channel 2 and Don't Watch These: Five of the Worst Movies Ever Made.

4th Logo (2022)
Logo: In a live-action setting, featuring a white curtain open on one side to display a starry night against a snowy plain A white and blue cloth covered table rests below. We see a picture frame containing the characters from the previous logo. It is between a plate containing hamantaschen cookies with a small mug of coffee next to it to the left, and a plate containing a slice of cake with a glass of milk to the right. A miniature menorah and a small Christmas tree are partly visible on either side as well. "it's time for cake" is stitched onto the cloth.

Trivia: The logo centers on the differing religious backgrounds of Friedman and Vanzetti; the former is Jewish while the latter is Roman Catholic. This was taken during a Chrismukkah party Sterns attended as a welcome-home party (after he moved back to America), where the picture was made for him as a gift. This looks to have been taken in North Conway, New Hampshire.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Can be seen on the first eleven episodes of Dark Materials.

Editor's Note: A simple logo that marked the final cornerstone of a longterm partnership.

5th Logo (2022-)
Logo: Similar concept to the second logo, we see the characters from previous logos sitting on a green couch in a dirty living-room setting, itself part of a movie studio setting complete with a boom mic, light tripod, camera and a sitting director. The director faces the viewer and exclaims "It's time for cake", with that sentence being on a clapperboard leaning by the light.

FX/SFX: Flash animation. This was once more produced by Elliot Strange, now present as a caricature of himself as the director.

Music/Sounds: Strange saying "It's time for cake."

Availability: Can be seen on Penelope.

1st Logo (2022-)
Logo: On a black background we see the white text "STERNS PRODUCTIONS". An apostrophe then appears next to the "S" in "STERNS"

FX/SFX: The apostrophe.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show.

Availability: Appeared on the last two episodes of Dark Materials.

Editor's Note: This is a very bland logo that overtime became more contemptuous amongst followers of Elliot Strange, and claimed this marked a disconnect between Sterns and his former associates. It is likely this is just a placeholder logo.