1988 Ident 

29 March 2006 tbs.pm/3501

Nine years after it was introduced, the 1979 was replaced with the ‘Flowing Rivers’ ident.

The mid-eighties had seen the arrival of computer graphics, and some companies had already made the switch – most notably Grampian whose 1985 ident still managed to put to shame many modern efforts. However it wasn’t until 1988 that Tyne Tees used computers for the first time.

Whilst less well known, it’s no less visually impressive and with black and white televisions getting rarer and rarer, the opportunity was also taken to reverse the colour scheme.

After a break of 19 years, the new ident again took up the nautical theme with single stream of water flowing across a yellow sand, splitting into several channels and eventually flowing into the shape of the Tyne Tees logo.

Like the Grampian logo, the animation still looks impressive today – perhaps due to its simplicity. Not surprisingly, it was nicknamed the Flowing Rivers ident, and was accompanied by a suitably watery jingle. Sadly, the ident was abandoned in its prime as ITV decided to go for a revamp.

What was not sad was the demise of the matching continuity studio backdrop – which featured a rather bright and garish sand effect. Thankfully it was short-lived.