BBC Two '1991-2001' Idents - Idents - Regular

The first showing of this ident as well as the first showing of the whole run, coincidentally or not, did not feature the DOG as it would later show the 1991 and later on the 1997 corporate logo, subtitles indicator (originally 888 then later on "Subtitles") etc. It was both the first and last in this series of idents to be broadcast.

Edited in October 1997.

One of the four idents to last the entire run, Blade featured a sharp, metal '2' falling into a viridian-coloured block and impaling it on its edge, standing and wobbling. Audio is a short, sharp cymbal crash with slow attack, subtly changing tone and fading out as the '2' has pierced the block.

Edited in October 1997.

Also known as Sign, it had a '2' on a black background with seven viridian neon lights attached to it, flashing in random sequences. The soundtrack matched the timing of the lights as they flashed on and off. It was one of the four original idents to be shown throughout the entire run. The Neon ident's music was repeated at Christmas 1995 with the Christmas BBC2 idents that year featuring Wallace and Gromit and the 2 ident covered in fairy lights – the music was played in time with the fairy lights flashing.

Edited in October 1997.

As the title suggests, it featured a copper cut-out of a '2' off of which sparks flew, as the figure glowed at its edges. This was punctuated with a loud, distinctive metallic clang sound in the audio, which overlaid a gentle, major chord pad. Along with Silk, Elements of the jingle was reused for the titanic ident in 2012. However it is only used in Northern Ireland

Edited in October 1997 but was withdrawn at the end of 1999 along with Silk, Firecracker, Diary and Steam.

Featured a glass-cut '2', which reflected light — with some noticeable viridian colour — in various directions. Soundtrack consists of a resonant bell-like chime, between lighter bells paired with breathy sounds, giving a relaxing feel. It was one of the first to be taken out of service, along with Paper Cut-Out but was played by accident once in the North West in about 1996/1997. However, this ident continued in Northern Ireland until the 1997 revamp.

This ident included a swathe of viridian silk literally drifting over the top of a '2' shape, as if they were ocean waves. Haunting wails and loud bell tolls to form a dramatic soundtrack, conjuring up imagery of the '2' as a sinking ship. The jingle used in Neon is also heard in the audio. This was known to be a nightmare-inducing ident back in the day, especially with children. Along with Copper Cut-Out, Elements of the jingle was reused for the titanic ident in 2012. However it is only used in Northern Ireland

Edited in October 1997 but was dropped from the line-up at the end of 1999 along with four other idents.

Paper Cut-Out featured a completely grey, paper-like foreground, with a '2'-shaped cut-out in the middle. The background behind it featured a colourful blue sky, with white clouds. The audio track is minimal, with faint drums and a high-pitched, tweeting melody, heavy on repetition. This was the very first ident to be taken out of service.

This ident was the black-&-white equivalent of the original Copper Cut Out with viridian sparks flying off the '2'. Withdrawn from the line-up in 1997, when the BBC corporate logo was revamped.

A simple ident, showing the cast shadow of a slowly rotating '2' on a viridian wall. The soundtrack shares some note similarities with Paint and Glass, albeit is not as minimal, with hints of percussion and greater variety and prominence in the chords. Withdrawn from the line-up in 1997, when the BBC corporate logo was revamped.

A subtle variation on Water, the light was altered in such a way that it cast a reflection of the water line onto the top half of the '2'. It also had the same audio as Water. This was also withdrawn before the 1997 corporate logo revamp along with four other idents.

Garden depicted a circular patch of grass in the middle, from which sprouted several white flowers that formed the shape of the '2'. Introduced as a one-off ident in 1991 for a series of gardening programmes, it was launched as a regular ident two years later, albeit with different music. The soundtrack originally had the remix of Water but had its own soundtrack with the music being quite similar to that of Car, small sound of bells to begin with and gets louder when the '2' rises from the patch. It was withdrawn from the line-up before the 1997 corporate logo revamp, however it was brought back again for the 2001 Chelsea Flower Show (albeit with the then current "BBC TWO" legend) and remained in use until the end, making it the only ident to have been reinstated.

This featured a birds-eye view of the '2' falling onto a bed of white powder, revealing a layer of viridian powder beneath it, left streaked around the '2' as the stray particles clear away. Red and blue lights were cast onto the figure as it fell. The audio track has a sharp, cymbal-like effect as the '2' is falling, and this culminates in a deep cymbal crash as the '2' hits the surface, along with a sustained bass note. The soundtrack continues in the aftermath of the crash, with a faint, deep texture accompanying the bass, although this would have been rarely heard, due to the track usually being faded down for continuity by that point.

A variant for celebrating 30 years of BBC2 had the background a cake with "30" on it; the 2 is blue and instead of powder flying away, cream flies away. It, unusually, has the same tune as the regular Powder ident.

Edited in October 1997.

Optics included many optical fibers of mainly viridian and green colour, swaying from side to side, initially with great momentum but slowly and eventually settling into the shape of the '2' symbol. The slow-tempo audio was atmospheric, carried by warm melodic sounds and a deep bass note, with a high choir pad towards the end. Along with Powder, this was one of the first new idents to be added to the roster, and allegedly replacing Glass and Paper Cut Out, it was to be the joint-second-longest-running ident and would last for the rest of the series until the 2001 rebrand. An ident produced with CGI, Optics was also the last ident to be played out with the slanted BBC logo.

Edited in October 1997.

One of a new series of idents introduced in 1993. It featured a viridian '2' with an aerial moving about on wheels in a yellow studio, in the same manner as a remote-controlled car. The car noise varies in pitch as it whizzes around at varying speeds. It's possible that this inspired the 2001-2007 series of idents.

Edited in October 1997.

Also known as "Fluffy Dog". This ident included a fluffy green '2' whirring, yapping and doing back flips in the manner of a toy mechanical dog. The bassline of the audio track is the same as that heard in Copper Cut Out. There was also a short variant where the '2' turned into a scared piece of cotton, but it was only seen during a Monster Night promo from 1998.

Edited in October 1997.

Another of the more simple idents, Balloon featured a silver, helium-filled balloon in the shape of a '2' bobbing around gently in a fixed spot. This was withdrawn in 1997 to avoid a clash with the BBC One 'Balloon' idents. The music for this sequence usually notably opens with a light, breezy flute that smoothly rises in pitch, but this is because the ident was trimmed in 1996 from its original start, which can be found here. A bongo drum could also be heard supporting the soundtrack.

A rarely seen ident that was introduced as one of the 1993 idents, Crystal Ball was inexplicably dropped after just a month. It featured a crystal ball rolling across a blue, purple and green background, revealing a distorted image of a '2' as it passed over the middle of the screen. One possible explanation for its removal so quickly after launch was the similarity between it and the BBC One 'Virtual Globe' ident. It's also rumoured that the ident was pulled due to the decreased visibility of the '2', which was only in view for a split second. A sparse minor chord composition overlaid subtle howling effects, lending a mystical feel.

Also known as "Exploding Fireworks" or simply "Fireworks". This featured a viridian '2' on a rusty-looking brown desk, with live firecrackers attached to it. The firecrackers go off, launching the '2' towards the camera, before it is pulled back into place by an attached cable — which can be clearly seen after the final explosion. The final firecracker actually fails to go off. The featured soundtrack starts with a rich, deep orchestral texture as the fuse burns down, then as each firecracker goes off, it is paired with a simultaneous crash and musical note — while both during the explosion and in the aftermath, windchimes play a waltz through the piece. The notes played during the explosions are vaguely similar to what became BBC Two's signature tune from 2001–2007.

Edited in October 1997 but was withdrawn at the end of 1999 along with 4 other idents.

This ident featured a white '2' on a black background, with paper layers peeling off and drifting away. This was originally meant to have several layers quickly peel off, but instead looped the same four layers in different directions due to tangling wirework. The music consists of a gentle E-minor chord-scale piece, led by a harp on single plucked notes, plus very faint, high-pitched strings. This ident along with Steam were the last regular idents to be added to the line-up before the 1997 revamp.

Edited in October 1997 but was withdrawn at the end of 1999 along with four other idents.

This featured a viridian-coloured, metallic '2' of extremely hot temperature, as a ring of syringes dispensed water droplets which fell onto and around the figure. Any drops landing on the boiling '2' instantly evaporated into steam, and upon impact were accompanied by a tinkling sound on the audio track. The soundtrack bore a strong resemblance to that of Optic, only with a D# chord progression, with four synth-lead notes in order to create an atmospheric feel. This ident along with Diary were the last regular idents to be added to the line-up before the 1997 revamp.

Edited in October 1997 but was withdrawn at the end of 1999 along with four other idents.

Like Firecracker, the four notes played at the beginning of the ident are vaguely similar to what became BBC Two's signature tune from 2001–2007.

Aerial featured a viridian '2' with aerials attached to it in a red studio, appearing in random places between flashes of static, before finally appearing in the centre of the screen. The soundtrack is slightly similar to Car (which aired in 1993 from the previous era), featuring notably prolific use of synthesized bell sounds. This was the first ident to be shown with the then-new "BBC TWO" legend. This was one of the new idents to be added to the line-up after the 1997 revamp along with Duck, Paint Pot, Zapper and Gorilla.

This ident depicted a soapy setting, from which a yellow '2' resembling a rubber duck emerged, giving a little squeak. Later showings of Duck has the 'BBC TWO' DOG's colour changed to black in order to be visible on the lighter background.

In a parody of the original Paint ident, a silver paint pot is bombarded by lots of little viridian '2's, once again falling sideways. The music is similar to Paint, with some slight changes to the score. Usually, apology screens were made on this ident.

This featured a fly zapper in the shape of a '2' upon a wall. A fly is attracted to it, but the zapper breaks on contact and the fly buzzes away, leaving a smoke trail behind it. Behind the sound effects of the zapper is essentially the same audio as Sign.

There were two variations on this ident. A gorilla stands up a yellow '2' in one ident and knocks it over in the other. Originally a special ident for a wildlife programme, it became a regular symbol.

Introduced at the start of 1998, it featured three white '2's swimming past a clearly bemused swan, which shakes its head shortly after. The soundtrack was of mid-slow tempo, no percussion, with harp and a rich, dreamy background texture.

Originally a special ident for Doctor Who Night, its popularity meant it went on to join the roster of regular idents. It featured black & white Daleks in the shape of '2's moving between a grey corridor. The audio intro draws inspiration from the style of the series' famous theme tune lead. A variant on this ident, named Exterminate, has the sequence opening with the Dalek '2' shouting the familiar phrase.

One of six new idents to be introduced at early 2000, Excalibur featured a blue '2' rising from a pool of water sideways, à la Paint. As the '2' emerges, stray droplets of water fall off the '2' and back into the water, causing (vertical) ripples, with each drop that hits the water being accompanied by a finger cymbal-esque note on the soundtrack. This ident did not feature the viridian. It was the last in this series of idents to be broadcast on BBC Two Scotland.

In this ident, liquid droplets fly in from the top right corner of the screen and cause flames to flare up around the '2' on contact. This is heralded with the sound of dramatic, blaring horns. The flames die down after about 16 seconds, revealing the 2 to be completely undamaged, before the cycle starts again. The music was later updated with the same audio as Sign along with flaring sounds.

Originally called Wave, this featured a '2' within a sheet of blue liquid that splashes around it throughout. The soundtrack opens with a three-note melodic synth chime that features occasionally thereafter, and the sound of filling water serves to enhance the visuals.

Predator begins centered on a '2'-shaped butterfly sitting within a jungle environment. The camera then zooms out, and the '2' is gobbled up by a larger '2' in the form of a Venus Flytrap. The audio starts off quiet and gentle, but then builds to a crescendo as the butterfly '2' gets swallowed, before returning to quietude. This ident was later revived (albeit with the then-current look) in mid-2006 (renamed Venus Fly Trap), and remained in occasional use until the entire set was revamped in 2007. This along with the Christmas 2000 ident (used for the 2006 Winter Olympics between 10–26 February) were the only idents to be revived in the 2001-2007 set.

Kebab has a '2' made of meat on a kebab spinning. It has a new Eastern soundtrack. There were 3 variations where the kebab was in different stages of cooking.

This ident depicted five metal poles, of varying distance, against an orange background. Viridian '2's edge their way down the poles in the same manner as a mechanical woodpecker. The soundtrack features a fitting whistled four-note jingle, vaguely similar to what became BBC Two's signature tune from 2001–2007, amongst the drilling of the woodpecker '2's.

Introduced in the last half of the year, it was a retake on the original Wave (Day) ident. It now featured a darker background and liquid pool, with a bright cyan '2'. The side(s) at which the liquid rose were also reversed, for example starting up the left side instead of the right. The soundtrack was the same as the original Wave Day. This was the final ident to be added to the regular roster before the entire set was revamped in 2001.