Chuck Lorre Productions

Main Logo Variations

Credits

Descriptions by
Michael David Bass and BenIsRandom

Captures by
Michael David Bass and BenIsRandom

Chuck Lorre Productions
Founded:	January 10, 2000 (24 years ago)
Founder:	Chuck Lorre
Location:	United States

Background

This is the production company of Chuck Lorre, founded in the 1990s, but incorporated on January 10, 2000 in Los Angeles, California.

1st Logo (January 2-December 17, 1995, November 10, 2011)

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Visuals: We see an Apple Macintosh SE (specifically the less-common dual disk model) on a desk with lots of office supplies surrounding it, including a keyboard, mouse, pencils and a floppy disk, as well as a drink. The company name, in a white Peignot font is written on the monitor against a dark blue background.

Variants:

• The Macintosh SE (1987) is replaced with a later Compact Macintosh, either a Macintosh Classic (1990) or Classic II (1992), but it cannot be determined exactly which because both use the same case, and the name was removed from the computer in the logo. The camera angle is also different.
• The font is changed from Peignot to a standard sans-serif font (i.e. Arial). This version also has a decanter on the desk.

Technique: None.

Audio: The closing theme or a CBS generic theme on original airings.

Availability: Originally seen on season 1 and early season 2 episodes of Cybill when originally aired on CBS. It later reappeared in the Big Bang Theory episode "The Ornithophobia Diffusion".

2nd Logo (March 13, 1995)

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Visuals: We see a photograph of a man holding a bag of cheese puffs and waving his hand. The company name is seen at the bottom.

Technique: Film scratch effects.

Audio: The closing theme or a CBS generic theme on original airings.

Availability: Seen only on the Cybill episode "The Replacements".

3rd Logo (September 24, 1997-)

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Visuals: On a white background, we see the company name at the top of the screen all caps in a black typewriter font, with a number next to it that groups how many variants of the logo there have been (for example: CHUCK LORE PRODUCTIONS #20). Below it is a short, humorous (and often cynical and at times, political) essay in a very small font which must have the viewer pause or screenshot to read it.

Essay Descriptions: Click here.

Trivia:

• The logo was briefly retired due to the media taking the essays too seriously during the Charlie Sheen controversy that went on season 8 of Two and a Half Men.
• There are currently more than 700 different essays.
• This logo was parodied in MAD magazine when it spoofed The Big Bang Theory.
• A special coffee-table book was printed in 2012 called What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us Bitter, which features artsy arrangements of hundreds of Chuck's essays.
• This logo has been used as vanity cards with tags of numbers since September 1997.

Variants:

• When this logo first appeared, it featured a black background with white text.
  • Starting on September 28, 1999, it was later inverted so it could be easier to read, especially after VHS got retired.
• On some occassions, photos, symbols and drawings replace the normal text. The card may also look different, too.
• In some cases, a card numbered "111" is used when Lorre has "nothing to write about". It has only been seen on two occasions.
• On the season 7 episode of Two and a Half Men, "Warning, It's Dirty", "CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS" is replaced with another logo called "A Marty Pepper Production" in an old-school Broadway background with a funny voice saying "It's a Pepper!", followed by a cuckoo sound. The vanity card number for this one is #271. However, a different version of this variant with the company name can be seen at Lorre's website.
• Special "Censored" cards have been used when the networks reject a certain essay.
• Essay #570 features an Apple Animoji pig voiced by Lorre himself who says "Believe me!".
• On the Big Bang Theory episode "The Ornithophobia Diffusion", the essay is replaced with an image of the 1st logo (the later Peignot variant) and what Chuck Lorre remembers his first vanity card when he was working on Grace Under Fire and Cybill. The number for this one is #366.
• On the Big Bang Theory episode "The Colonization Application", the essay is replaced with a memorial card to Leonard Nimoy, who died that week. It's a picture of Nimoy with the text "The impact you had on our show and our lives is everlasting." The vanity card number for this one is #493. The company name doesn't appear.

Technique: None.

Audio: A brief sound clip of a heavenly choir singing, none, or the closing theme of the series. ABC and CBS airings used their generic themes.

Audio Variants:

• On the Two and a Half Men series finale "Of Course He's Dead", the choir is rearranged.
• On the Big Bang Theory episode "The Bon Voyage Reaction", Rajesh Koothrappali (played by Kunal Nayyar) is still talking about Lucy throughout the show's closing theme before his jabbering (including he says "So, you know a silver lining...") is cut off by the 2003 Warner Bros. Television logo's music.

Availability: Seen on Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men, Mike & Molly, The Big Bang Theory, Mom, Young Sheldon, The Kominsky Method, B Positive, and Bob Hearts Abishola.

Legacy: Thanks to its unique concept and funny essays, it's a very popular logo and is well-liked by many.

Archives: There is a complete collection (which is updated every time a new episode airs) of the vanity cards at Chuck Lorre's website.

4th Logo (August 25, 2017-January 12, 2018)

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Visuals: On a black background, we see a white shield also resembling that of a coat-of-arms. Surrounding it is some Lorem Ipsum-like text (which has four words that read "HUMILITAS FICTA", "UN-FOCUSED RAGE", "NEUROTIC ANXIETY" and "SELF-OBSESSION") with a crown and the stacked company name in a medieval font inside.

Trivia: There are two parts of the shield that represent Chuck Lorre's two long-running CBS sitcoms: the atom represents The Big Bang Theory, and the symbol of two men and a kid represents Two and a Half Men.

Technique: None.

Audio: The end theme of the show or none.

Availability: Seen on Disjointed.