1st Logo
(September 19, 1970-1999)
Nicknames: "The MTM Kitten", "Mimsie the Cat", "MEOW!"
Logo: Over the years, the logo has been tweaked colorwise and according to certain shows, but here's the basic concept: An "M" flies backward from off screen, then splits into two. In the space left between the two letters, two T's come from the top and bottom of the screen and join to form one. This completes the initials of the company, and the letter "T" shrinks when a gold circle appears over it. Under the letters are the words "ENTERPRISES, INC", "ENTERPRISES", or "PRODUCTIONS, INC.". Sometimes the finished logo will read out "AN MTM ENTERPRISES (INC.) PRODUCTION" ("AN" appears over the first "M"). Back to the circle, it is ribbon-like and decorated with stars and the letters "MTM" on top. Inside is a live-action orange striped kitten who meows once, obviously as a parody of the MGM lion. All the text (except for the later versions) appears in the Peignot font used for the 1971 Viacom logo.
Trivia:
- The cat's name was "Mimsie", though nicknames such as "Dick Turpin" and "Dick Marino" have also been used in naming the cat.
- The logo (with just the cat meowing) recently made an appearance within the Family Guy S7 episode "420".
- On recent Me-TV promos of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show, Ed Asner and Bob Newhart uttered the word "Meow!" on the MTM logo at the end of the promos from their respective shows.
Variants: First here are the little differences in the logo, along with dates in which they were used:
- September 19, 1970-March 2, 1974: One "M" is red-orange, the other is red, and the "T" is blue and is formed by the merging of a light blue "T" and a green one.
- September 14, 1974-1978: The M's are both red-orange, and the "T" is light blue.
- 1978-1982: Company now identified as "MTM PRODUCTIONS, INC.". The M's are now orange.
- 1982-1990: Company identified as "MTM ENTERPRISES, INC." (or "MTM PRODUCTIONS"). The M's are now red.
- September 17, 1990-1993: Same as above, but "ENTERPRISES, INC." is smaller than usual, and below it is a byline that says "A TVS ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY". In early 1993, the byline was removed.
- 1992-1995, 1996-1999: All letters are orange, the words "AN INTERNATIONAL FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY" appear, after TVS lost their ITV franchise and were bought by the Family Channel.
- 1995-1996: 25th Anniversary logo; on a black background is a orange "25," with a similarly colored MTM under that. The kitten appears in the rounded part of the "5".
- 1996-1998: All letters are orange, the words "A SHAW) Company" appear, after International Family was brought out by Shaw Cable.
- 1998-1999: All letters are orange, the words "MTM Enterprises is a CORUS ENTERTAINMENT Company" appear, after Shaw spun out their media assets as Corus.
- A still version of this logo did turn up in the movies, notably the Orion Pictures release of Just Between Friends and possibly more. This is a still of the "Red/Blue Letters" version of the logo, and is shrunk to a considerably small size. No music, animation, or "meow" is present.
- Another still version of this logo appeared at the beginning of a FamNET rerun of a season 8 episode of Newhart from 1989 "Don't Worry, Be Pregnant," the logo is the same as the later International version, except the letters "MTM" appear to be slightly smaller, the circle with Mimsie appears to be slightly larger and the logo just reads "MTM INTERNATIONAL."
- On late 90s FOX TV airings of season 1 episodes of Here's Mary, this logo (along with the Cairo Pictures Domestic Pay-TV, Cable & Network Features logo [replacing the Kensington "K of Doom"]) was played at warp-speed before the compressed credits.
- A still variant with the text "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" above exists on The Acres Kids. Later episodes had "IN ASSOCIATION WITH AND DISTRIBUTED BY" above it instead.
Custom Variants: Now, one thing that the MTM logo was known for was that often, it would be custom made for whatever show it appeared at the end of. This means Mimsie's appearance would sometimes be different, usually involving her "wearing" a costume or saying something other than "meow". Here are those variants:
- The Duck Factory: As the logo forms, an off-screen voice states, "Where's the cat?". Instead of meowing, Mimsie says, "Quack!".
- Graham Kerr: Mimsie wears a chef's hat.
- Hill Street Blues: Mimsie wears a policeman's cap.
- Lou Grant, Paris, and Just Between Friends: There is a still picture of the logo.
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Same as usual, but on the 2nd episode, Mimsie's meow is higher-pitched, rather shrill. On episode 71, the cat is replaced by the image of Miss Moore herself, saying "Th-th-th-that's all folks!", a line spoken by Mary Richards during that episode.
- The Bob Newhart Show: The 1972 Christmas episode features a wreath in place of the MTM ribbon. On the season 4 episode "No Sale", a cat from the episode named Abogast appears in the circle instead. He jumps down, disappearing from the circle's view, and as he does, you hear the usual meow. On the season 5 1976 Christmas episode "Making Up Is the Thing To Do," another Christmas Wreath is also used. This was also used on the season 1 finale Rhoda episode: Guess What I Got You For the Holidays.
- The New WKRP in Cincinnati: Dubbed with Les Nesman Jr. exclaiming "Ooh!".
- Newhart: Each episode (except the pilot) featured Mimsie meowing... in Bob Newhart's voice. On the final episode, the cat yells "QUIET!" (the two Darryls' first and only word).
- John And John: Mimsie says "Cool". On the Season finale, Mimsie turns Animated and shook hands with John and John (Hence the name of the Show).
- Remington Steele: Mimsie wears a Sherlock Holmes deerstalker cap and meerschaum pipe. As she begins to meow, the pipe drops out of her mouth and falls in front of "PRODUCTIONS" or "ENTERPRISES, INC."
- St. Elsewhere: Mimsie is wearing a scrub suit and a surgical mask, which is animated to look like a mouth is moving underneath when she meows. On the final episode, she (possibly portrayed by another cat) is hooked on life support on a hospital bed throughout the last credit roll. The credits run as usual over a picture of the MTM circle, with life support equipment attached on either side. You can hear the beeps of the heart monitor over the end theme, too. After the credits complete, the company name fades in and Mimsie flatlines and dies, with a long, high-pitched beep heard. This variation is especially rare, as reruns of the series finale plastered it over with the typical credits (As a sidenote, the actual cat, Mimsie, died in 1988, the same year St. Elsewhere ended).
- The Steve Allen Show: Mimsie (who also wears Allen's famous eyeglasses) lip-syncs Allen's "Schmock!".
- The White Shadow: Mimsie is replaced by a black and white cat bouncing a basketball. There is a shorter version with the company name already there and the cat footage looped (and thus the cat is continually bouncing the ball). The other (seen only at the end of the series pilot) has the letters animating as usual and at the end, the ball falls off-screen and the cat appears to be looking down at it.
- Xuxa: Another dub job; instead of "meow", Mimsie says "ciao".
- A Little Sex: The MTM logo forms as usual... but Mimsie is a cartoon! She is also more to the side of the circle, which now has a black background. She meows as always, and then another cat enters the circle! The two felines rub against each other and start purring.
- Carlton Your Doorman: Carlton's cat is seen in the MTM logo instead of Mimsie. Carlton says to his cat, "C'mon, 'Meow!'". When the cat doesn't meow, Carlton mutters "D**n cat...".
- Bay City Blues: An animated Mimsie wears a baseball cap and baseball glove in her right paw; she catches a baseball and meows.
- Vampire: The MTM text is all in dark red, and Mimsie is nowhere to be seen.
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show 20th Anniversary: At the end, Mimsie says "Bye!" (in Mary Tyler Moore's voice).
- Einsenhower and Lutz: The "meow" is sung in the style of the closing credits music.
- The Bob Newhart 19th Anniversary Special: Bob Newhart himself says "Meow!" much like he does from Newhart.
- Jingleheimer Junction (based on an SNL sketch of the same name): Mimsie is a puppet, a la Sesame Street. She is mute.
- WKRP: The Game (NES): The logo is still and next to the Capcom logo on a black background.
FX/SFX: The "M" zooming out and morphing into 2 M's, and the "T" dropping. The rest is shown above.
Music/Sounds/Voice-over: None really, except the end theme of the show. Starting in 1996, a 4-note jingle was added before the "meow". On the game show Shopping Spree, Burton Richardson announces "In association with MTM Enterprises, Inc." on the logo while the theme is playing and Mimsie meowing.
Availability: Fairly common. It can be seen on St. Elsewhere and Hill Street Blues on ALN and on NuVO TV and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Remington Steele, andNewhart on Me-TV and FamNET. The only factors are the rarity of widespread reruns of MTM shows from the era, and MTM's sparse releasing of DVDs (and sub-licensing of certain series to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment). On Hulu, the logo is intact. The St. Elsewhere finale variation is especially rare, as it was shown on NBC and nowhere else to our knowledge. VHS copies and reruns just use the regular credit sequence and logo (with the exception of the ALN print, which has the normal credits and the 1998 logo). You can see it on the Paley Center's copy, however, as is also the case with the Carlton variation, another particular rarity.
Scare Factor: Low to medium. The silence, the "meow", the fading out of the music, and the kitten coming out of nowhere might catch some people by surprise. Plus, there's the factor of not knowing what Mimsie will look or sound like per program. The St. Elsewhere finale variation may be extremely upsetting. Other than that, it's mostly a cute logo.
2nd Logo
(1998-1999)
Nickname: "The MTM Kitten II"
Logo: On a dark teal background, we see a red shape containing Mimsie and the MTM text in its corporate font. Below the shape is the white text "MTM Enterprises" in an Arial-like font, with a Corus byline below.
FX/SFX: None.
Cheesy Factor: It seems rushed, and was most likely a placeholder for the next logo.
Music/Sounds: None or the closing theme of the show.
Availability: Extremely rare; most of the time, it's plastered by the next logo. Seen on reruns of some 1998-1999 episodes of "The Pretender" on Argosy Retro.
Scare Factor: None.
3rd Logo (1999-2009)
Nickname: "The MTM Kitten III"
Logo: On a black background a yellow line stretches slightly. Then, the letters "MTM" slide to the top and bottom of the line respectively. Then, a ribboned circle appears with Mimsie inside it. A byline appears below the logo when the kitten meows.
Bylines:
- 1999-2007: "A CORUS ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY"
- 2007-2009: "AN ARGOSY MEDIA COMPANY"
Custom Variants: TBA
FX/SFX: The stretching line and sliding text, and the meowing kitten.
Cheesy Factor: The effects are choppy and amateurish. Also, the kitten's movements are in slow, delayed motion, like the 1970 logo.
Music/Sounds: An enhanced and extended version of the 1996 MTM jingle.
Availability: Pretty rare nowadays. On television, it was last seen on reruns of St. Elsewhere, Rhoda and Hill Street Blues on Argosy Retro, on reruns of Newhart, WKRP in Cincinnati and The Mary Tyler Moore Show on Antenna TV and the 1999-2007 episodes of the Pretender on NBC, so check these old tapes.
Scare Factor: Minimal.
4th Logo
(2006-2016)
Nicknames: "The MTM Kitten IV"
Logo: Same as the 1996 variant of the 1st logo, but the text is in CGI and the byline is different.
Bylines:
- 2006-2007: "A CORUS ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY"
- 2007-2011: "AN ARGOSY MEDIA COMPANY"
- 2010-2016: "A CAIRO/MTM ENTERTAINMENT GROUP COMPANY"
Trivia: This was made for the switchover to HD digital terrestrial television.
Custom Variants: Now, one thing that the MTM logo was known for was that often, it would be custom made for whatever show it appeared at the end of. This means Mimsie's appearance would sometimes be different, usually involving her "wearing" a costume or saying something other than "meow". Variants TBA.
FX/SFX: Same as the 1996 variant of the 1st logo, but in CGI.
Music/Sounds: Same as the 3rd logo.
Availability: Fairly common.
Scare Factor: Low to medium.
5th Logo (2010-2011)
Nicknames: "Mimsie in the Studio", "Happy 40th, Mimsie!", "The MTM Kitten V"
Logo: The 4th MTM logo plays (excluding the byline), but Mimsie steps out of the ribbon circle and goes to the break room. She sips some coffee, then says, "Here's to another 40 years! Meow!" Then the text "MTM 40th Anniversary" appears under her with "MTM" its respective font and the rest in a gold script font. A byline appears under that. Mimsie winks, and the logo fades out.
Bylines:
- Early 2010: "AN ARGOSY MEDIA COMPANY"
- Late 2010-2011: "A CAIRO/MTM ENTERTAINMENT GROUP COMPANY"
FX/SFX: Mimsie coming out of the ribbon circle and walking to the breakroom; the text appearing.
Cheesy Factor: The text appearing is a bit choppy.
Music/Sounds: Same as the previous logo, but after that, a happy fanfare plays.
Availability: Uncommon, seen on the 2010 episodes of the shows MTM produced during this era.
Scare Factor: Low, this is a pretty cute logo. The CGI used to bring Mimsie to life is great.
6th Logo
(2016-)
Nicknames: "The MTM Kitten VI"
Logo: First, the MTM letters zoom up. Afterwards, it animates a la the 4th logo, but with better CGI, the Mimsie clip remastered, the MTM text sparking, and the byline reading "a Cairo/MTM Entertainment Group Company".
Custom Variants: Now, one thing that the MTM logo was known for was that often, it would be custom made for whatever show it appeared at the end of. This means Mimsie's appearance would sometimes be different, usually involving her "wearing" a costume or saying something other than "meow". Variants TBA.
FX/SFX: The text zooming up, animating, and sparkling, followed by the Mimsie clip.
Music/Sounds: A timpani roll, followed by the 4th logo's music.
Availability: Fairly common.
Scare Factor: Low to medium.