BBC2 Curve Idents (2018) - The Ident Review

Episode 20

This week on the Ident Review, we take a look at BBC2's most recent set of idents. This, is Curve.

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[PredictedCyborg]

A lot of these seem to be descended from the 90s 2s.
Curve looks to be a 'modern' set trying to recapture some of that magic with the music especially and the visuals in some cases.

... they haven't captured my heart yet though. Especially since the textures and sounds used in some make my skin crawl JUUUUST a bit.

[TellyArchive]

It’s interesting that the reason the BBC changed the BBC Two idents from having more personality to something that doesn’t just to compete with Amazon and Netflix, I feel like these idents don’t really give off much competition as they don’t really say a lot about the channel and it makes the channel look more like BBC Four

[AlexBaldwinFTW]

Is there anything more British than someone reviewing BBC2 idents? Love it. Subscribed.

[frazzleface]

I like them. Most of them have that haunting, stark quality from the 1991 set, which I think is quite difficult to achieve. As you say, the design is very adaptable, almost infinitely so I would say. I had the pleasure of watching the first airing of the 1991 2 as it happened. I remember it introducing Mahaharrat!

[JamieBoy-ijri]

The 1990's idents felt very timeless and so do the 2018 Idents as well, I can't wait for the Christmas ones.

[EternityMediaGroup]

the first ident from the first batch kinda reminds me of the "Diary" Ident from the 1991 run. anyone else see that?

[oxanagubert]

Batch 1:
- Reflective
- Escapist
- Infinite
- Paper
Batch 2:
- Offbeat
- Gritty
- Revelatory
- Captivating
Batch 3:
- Visceral
- Feel Good
- Dark
- Wonder
Batch 4:
- Sculpture
- Celebratory
- Charged
- Bold
Batch 5:
- Slice
- Squish
- Gripping
- Vivid

[doomotron]

I'd like to see what they make for the next series of Top Gear, considering the Personality 2 toy car ident was used for it.

[themightyboush]

The 1991 2's will be missed for sure, but this is a worthy successor. Significantly better than the dreck over on BBC One.

[MrDan]

This is an if the BBC recreated scenes from either "Fantasia" (Disney, 1940) or the finale of "2001: A Space Odyssey" (MGM, 1968), just with up-to-date animation...

[channel]

Now was certainly the time to retire the 2. I think the timing was spot on. The personality 2's never really shone, in my view. They weren't bad, but as the next chapter in the evolution of the 2 concept, they offered a lot less than the previous set from the 90's. Window On The World was a better set, they recaptured the essence of the 90's 2's in an interesting new way. There were some real stand-out ones, the Chase themed versions really set a mood. But overall, there was something a bit pedestrian about them. Most of them didn't grab you, didn't capture your imagination as well as the 90's set.

Reinstating the 90's set was an interesting, somewhat unprecedented move. Had any channel ever reverted to a previous set like that before? They were first reinstated as part of the Classic Afternoon strand, then as a constant identity throughout the station for the 50th anniversary period. But then they just stayed, and I saw it coming by that point. It was nice to have them back, though it would have been nicer if network had reinstated as many as NI. But some of the newer additions, such as the sport themed ones for darts, tennis and snooker, I thought were quite poor.

Though nice to have some old favourites around for a while, I think they were retired at the right moment. BBC Two should really be looking forward, rather than backward. As much loved as the 2's are, your head goes back in time some 20-odd years whenever you see them, and that's not really where the channel should be leading your thoughts. It's not UKTV Gold, it's not a classics channel, it has thriving new content which deserves its own place in time. I like the new set of idents. They are where I think idents should be headed, certainly rather than the BBC Oneness sort of thing. Although the initial set are a bit vague, they are never-the-less nice, and set the tone for a whole new era of potential creativity to expand upon the set. They can't be too expensive to produce either, so hopefully we'll see tons more of them in time to come. I do have some reservations on the curve being maybe too abstract, I think especially older people may not recognise what it represents. But on the other hand, I think back to the golden age of ITV regions, where the Central Cake, the TVS... erm, shape thingy, the TSW... erm, other shape thingy, and others all came to boldly represent their respective channel without the viewer necessarily understanding why they did. In the same way, perhaps given time, the curve may come to represent BBC Two in a similar way.

[collapsible]

I have to be honest..I always thought the ''classic'' much loved old idents were as dull as dishwater. I LOVE these new idents, yeah they are digital..but they are so inventive and pleasing to the eye..oh and very psychedelic.

[James-]

To be honest, when I first saw the new 2's, I thought "oh these look intriguing, " but seriously, after watching 4 or 5 of them I was already bored of them... Yes they are colourful and some are eye catching, but I don't think they'll ever get popular. Everyone will just want the old ones back again - as usual.

[joannepadmore]

I hope they bring back the old idents and the 2 for the 60th anniversary

[KoopaTroops]

These bumpers just confusing for me... (even when I first saw them.)
Even know these aren't my favourite. (And to be honest I don't really like them)
I at least give them credit for trying to capture the classic 2s we all know and love (and we can all agree that these are better then the oneness and the other current idents of the other BBC channels) I just kind of wish they keep the classic 2s as well as making some new ones.

[TellyArchive]

I think the last two new BBC Two idents were pulled as they would have included them in the new batch

[cartoonosaurus]

i don't like how the just got rid of the iconic 2, which iirc was modeled after a variant of the Gill Sans font.

[Kinitawowi]

I wish I liked them, but the Curve motif doesn't remind me of the number 2. It reminds me of the old Samsung Galaxy S logo. And that's the problem - these are a collection of great imagery but they don't ever feel like television idents. They feel - particularly in still frame - like mobile phone backgrounds.

[helixmediacorporation]

These IDs give me the vibe of ABC2's 2011-2015 era IDs

[HighTen_Melanie]

I like the 2 with the ducklings in the shape of 2s!