Nickelodeon Top Of The Hour Ident (1985)

ID: In a living room, we see a TV imprinted by the Nickelodeon ID with various shapes, animals or fruits emerging from it, before a parody of Salvador Dali's "Persistence of Memory" appears with several orange clocks with Nickelodeon on top of it melting after spinning their hands, then some flying calendars with Nickelodeon on the top of each calendar on a house background changing seasons from what seems to be summer to winter, then to a 20th Century Fox-styled structure with 1985, 1986 or 1987 (depending on the year) on the top and the Nickelodeon logo on the base. Then, the camera pans down a road until it approaches a orange arrow sign, whereupon it turns left. We cut to a road with men racing in hot dog-shaped karts, each with a orange bun, then to a futuristic city with a orange rocket-ship passing by. Then, different people with all types of clothes and accessories, as well as a Nickelodeon heart beating once, a robot with human ears, an early Nickelodeon haystack logo, and a gorilla wearing a tuxedo whose bow tie spins once. Then, an ice cream cone appears with a orange ice cream scoop falling directly on it, then to a cat and a dog on bumper cars, but accidentally collide into each other to form "NICKELODEON" on the bottom of the bumper cars, then to a little fish that is eaten by several bigger fish consecutively with the largest one having the Nickelodeon logo on it, then we cut to a front seat ride on a roller coaster as it goes into a clown head with its eyes rolling. Finally, we cut to the same orange TV with the same objects emitted. There is also a couple in space-like attire as well as a robotic dog watching it, then the Nickelodeon logo jumps out of the TV and fills the entire screen before shrinking to an polygon with spikes on a blue background.

Variant:


 * Starting in 1986, an alternate ending is also used where the Nickelodeon logo at the end is an orange splat.
 * Another variant is shown. Another alternate ending is also used where the Nickelodeon logo at the end is an orange cloud.

FX/SFX: A mix of 2D animation (by Kim Deitch) and photomontage by Jerry Lieberman Productions.

Music/Sounds: First, we hear a part of the Nick theme, then we hear scats through the entire bumper until we hear the rest of the same tune used at the beginning. Normally a voice-over (Joe Piasek) is heard throughout the bumper.

Availability: Extinct on TV. Its music can be heard on the 2001 CD The Newest Nicktoons.

Editor's Note: This logo, along with several of the other ones below, are well-remembered by those who grew up with it.