Background[]
Matlock Communications (formerly known as Matlock Pictures, Matlock Films, Matlock Pay Television, and Matlock Telecommunications) was a television distribution company of Sony Pictures founded in 1978 to distribute shows such as The Jeffersons and One Day at a Time, along with various others. As Sony Pictures, along with all other branches of Sony, was merged into The Sony Company in 2003, Matlock Communication’s logos were heavily plastered with Sony’s. Despite this, Matlock Communications still operated well into the early 2000’s. In 2004, Matlock Communications disbanded and was absorbed into The Sony Company, as Matlock Communications no longer made any shows, and only distributed them. The Sony Company instead distributed shows themselves, and because of this, Matlock Communications did not have a reason to exist and went defunct.
As of now, Matlock Communications is considered a fairly common logo, as it can be seen sometimes in syndicated airings of The Jefferson’s, One Day at A Time, and other Sony works. The animation is 2D for the most part, save for the 1985 logo, although it is also pretty choppy, so nothing too inspiring. However, some of the older logos, mostly the pre-1985 ones, and especially the earliest 1978 logo, are considered somewhat rare, as they have all been severely plastered, apart from the 1978 logo, which is believed to be on a 1-inch film reel, found at the back of an office building, as told by a “Jonathan Elle”, on YouTube. According to them, the tape was digitised recently. The rest of the tape were just episodes of “The Jefferson’s”, however the rest could not be shown due to copyright.
Logos[]
- 1978-1978 The logo is a dark green screen, for the first few seconds. As it gradually pans to the left side of the screen, it reveals the words Matlock Pictures, with the M and F bigger then the rest of the letters. The logo then ends.
- 1978-1980 The logo is a black screen, for the first few seconds. Then, the word “MATLOCK” appears, leaving a blue trail behind. The word “FILMS” then appears, identical to the first. Then, “A” and “PRODUCTION” appear, on top and bottom of the “MATLOCK” and “FILMS”. The logo then ends.
- 1980-1982 The logo is a black screen, for the first few seconds. Then, the word “MATLOCK” appears, leaving a white trail behind. The word “FILMS” then appears, identical to the first. Then, “A” and “PRODUCTION” appear, on top and bottom of the “MATLOCK” and “FILMS”. The logo then ends.
- 1982-1985 The logo is a gradient, with the top and bottom being black, and the middle being a blue-ish color. Then, the word “MATLOCK” appears from the top of the screen, leaving a transparent orange trail behind, looking golden in appearance. Then, the word “FILMS” appears, identical to the “MATLOCK”. The gradient turns into black, and the “MATLOCK FILMS” turns blue. The logo then ends.
- 1985-2001 The logo is still, fading in, revealing “MATLOCK PAY TELEVISION” on a white screen, with the M being bigger then the rest of the letters, and in a different color, that being a dark blue. The rest of the letters are black. The logo then ends.
- 2001-2001 The logo is still, fading in, revealing “MATLOCK TELECOMMUNICATIONS” on a black screen, with the M being bigger then the rest of the letters. Under it, is text reading “MATLOCK TELECOMMUNICATIONS · A UNIT OF THE SONY COMPANY”. The logo then ends.
- 2001-2004 The logo is still, fading in, revealing “MATLOCK COMMUNICATIONS” on a black screen, with the M being bigger then the rest of the letters. Under it, is text reading “MATLOCK COMMUNICATIONS · A UNIT OF THE SONY COMPANY”. The logo then ends.
In-Credit[]
Depending on the show, the in credit logo would say;
A
MATLOCK TV
PRODUCTION
or;
A
MATLOCK COMPANY
PRODUCTION
But on certain shows like The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, it would read;
A
MATLOCK
TELEVISION
(PRODUCTION)
(AND) or (IN ASSOCIATION WITH)
[NAME OF THE COMPANY]
Variants[]
- 1980-1982: Extended Variant The logo is a black screen, for the first few seconds. Then, the word “MATLOCK” appears, leaving a white trail behind. The words “FILMS” then appears, identical to the first. Then, “A” and “PRODUCTION” appear, on top and bottom of the “MATLOCK” and “PAY. TELEVISION”. The logo then has an extended 4 second fanfare, and then 28 seconds of silence. The logo then ends.
- 1982-1985: Silent Variant The logo is a grey gradient, with the top being purple, and getting darker further down screen. Then, the words “MATLOCK” and “PICTURES” slowly and silently zoom into the screen. The logo then ends. According to the 1982 NBC:TALK special, the logo, along with all other logos featured at the end of “Metro Square” were grayscale and gloomy, as the original logos at the time were too colorful and flashy, and as such, they wouldn’t fit the mood of the show. This variant was assumed to be a main logo, however this was disproven by the statement.
- 1982-1985: Commercial Time Variant The logo is a purple gradient, with the top being purple, and getting darker further down the screen. Then, the word “MATLOCK” appears from the top of the screen, faster than the original, leaving a transparent orange trail behind, looking golden in appearance. Then, the word “FILMS” appears, identical to the “MATLOCK”. The logo then ends without the gradient turning black or the letters turning blue.