(14-09-2022, 08:34 PM)LoganStuff Wrote: While I wouldn't call it my overall favourite, I think the 'Rhythm & Movement' package from BBC One is wholly underrated, and gets a lot of undeserved negativity surrounding it. The idents had a very strong identity, a consistent red colour scheme and a recognisable musical motif, elements which are missing even from the current BBC One branding. Some idents were quite beautiful too, such as the 'Skaters' ident shot in Belfast, as well as the 'Ballet' and 'Tai Chi' idents, combining stunning music with some stellar movement / dancing. It's not without its flaws, of course, but it definitely deserves more praise than what it gets.
My overall favourite is definitely BBC Two from 1991 - 2001. I don't think I really need to explain why, and I imagine plenty of others will pick that as their favourite too.
Yes, I would go so far as to say that 'Rhythm and Movement' are the most underrated set of major idents. As you say, they are generally very strong across pretty much all aspects of branding, as well as being memorable and consistent. Also, in terms of the sheer range of 'moods' within the whole package, it is one of only a few that come close to the 1991 2s. For all their beauty, the balloons were a bit limited on that front, and, despite all the flak that Ballet got for introducing news programming, it always felt more serious and appropriate than any of the 'Circle' idents.
I think there is a general tendency for replacements of very strong packages to get unjustly criticised - I feel that both the 'Personality 2s' and 'Window on the World' are also overlooked purely because of the strength of the 1991 2s, but they are both very strong sets of idents. This can also happen in reverse - some of the reaction to the Lens idents felt, to me, to be overly generous merely because they replaced the very poor Oneness set.
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To the broader premise of the thread, it is hard to fault the 1991-01 2s, but picking a favourite can do misservice to so many good packages over the years. BBC One's Balloons, Rhythm and Circle idents are all high scoring packages in my eyes, as are all the modern BBC Two sets. Channel 4 have had more than their fair share of good idents and ITV Creates deserves a mention, not simply because it has always impressed me, but because it is so wildly different in quality from most other ITV presentation, which has typically fallen on the scale between dire and bland.
There's also are also some odd cases - BBC1's 1991 ident is technically and aesthetically brilliant, but always seems to me to be wholly unsuited for BBC One. BBC Four's 'Four Segments' has some very good idents in its original set, but the whole package is inconsistent and newer additions are not just poor but seem to fail to understand what made the originals good.
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