# "That's some bad Hat Harry"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [November 7, 2007, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552 "2007-11-07T15:50:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/1 "2007-11-07T15:50:52Z")

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Indulge me in setting the scene. You’ve just finished watching your favorite T.V program HOUSE and right after the credits role you see a beach scene: Cabanas on the right, an elderly man with sagging man boobs and a swim cap, and another man with a black shirt and glasses. The man with the glasses says to the other man “That’s some bad Hat Harry” and the screen goes to commercial.

You are sitting there wondering what the heck was that as the entire clip lasts 3 seconds. Then you realize you have seen it before.

BY GOLLY THAT’S CHIEF BRODY FROM JAWS!!! And yes! The elderly man with sagging male boobs - WOW how accurate! Very cool.

Anyone else see this and wonder where you’ve seen it before?

See [here](http://tviv.org/Bad_Hat_Harry_Productions) for a cite.

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**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/2 "2007-11-07T16:04:56Z")

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As a matter of fact, I have. Mostly because it was recently brought up here on the Dope - mostly.

Of course, since “that’s”, “bad” and “hat” are somehow unsearchforable, finding the thread has proven difficult.

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**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/3 "2007-11-07T16:10:44Z")

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Is it me, or are most of these producer “company” IDs associated strictly with one show (thus making their existence semi-pointless)?

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**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/4 "2007-11-07T16:48:49Z")

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[QUOTE=Beware of Doug]  
Is it me, or are most of these producer “company” IDs associated strictly with one show (thus making their existence semi-pointless)?  
[/QUOTE]

Pretty much…semi-pointless. I wonder why they even wasted the mone ymaking them, I’m just in awe of the marketing team/person/whoever preying on our collective unconscious bringing back a memory so far packed away…

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/5 "2007-11-07T17:28:55Z")

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[QUOTE=Beware of Doug]  
Is it me, or are most of these producer “company” IDs associated strictly with one show (thus making their existence semi-pointless)?  
[/QUOTE]  
They’re generally consistent with shows running with the same producer at the same time, though may change over time. MTM productions used to be different for each show, but they were consistent in theme: a cat in a parody of the MGM lion.

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**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/6 "2007-11-07T17:42:48Z")

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MTM, Worldwide Pants and a few others excepted, they’re little more than onscreen reminders of the role of the executive producer as the big ego behind the scenes.

## Did any of **these logos** ever appear OTHER than on _ **these shows** _?

**Where’s Lunch** (varied dishes on red checked tablecloth)…_ **Everybody Loves Raymond** _  
**John Charles Walters** ("'Night Mr. Walters." “Uuungh.”)…_ **Taxi** _  
**Gracie Films** (cheesy still art, cheesy synth jingle)…_ **The Simpsons** _

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**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/7 "2007-11-07T17:45:55Z")

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How could you forget:

-Sit Ubu, sit!  
-Rowf!  
-Good dog.

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**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/8 "2007-11-07T17:48:13Z")

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Sit, Ubu, sit!

Grr… argh!

Those two show up a few places.

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**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/9 "2007-11-07T17:59:23Z")

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The kitten that meows at the end of every MTM production show (there were an awful lot of them during the 70s/80s.) On the last episode of “St. Elsewhere”, the kitten was shown laying comatose on a life-support machine throughout the credits. When the final credit rolled, the kitten’s life-support emitted a flatline alarm.

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**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/10 "2007-11-07T17:59:59Z")

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[QUOTE=Beware of Doug]  
MTM, Worldwide Pants and a few others excepted, they’re little more than onscreen reminders of the role of the executive producer as the big ego behind the scenes.

## Did any of **these logos** ever appear OTHER than on _ **these shows** _?

**Where’s Lunch** (varied dishes on red checked tablecloth)…_ **Everybody Loves Raymond** _  
**John Charles Walters** (“'Night Mr. Walters.” “Uuungh.”)…_ **Taxi** _  
**Gracie Films** (cheesy still art, cheesy synth jingle)…_ **The Simpsons** _  
[/QUOTE]

Where’s Lunch is only credited as the production company for ELR.  
John Charles Walters produced Taxi, a single season series called The Associates and a movie Cindy.  
Gracie Films produced The Tracey Ullman Show, the Simpsons and a bunch of movies. (Big, War of the Roses and Jerry Maguire to name a few)

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**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/11 "2007-11-07T18:05:34Z")

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And don’t forget the little zombie yelling “Urrgh! Aarch!” for a few seconds after the credits of every Buffy or Angel show. There are one or two moments in those series when the main characters go “Urrch! aarch” themselves.

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**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/12 "2007-11-07T19:42:04Z")

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[QUOTE=Maastricht]  
And don’t forget the little zombie yelling “Urrgh! Aarch!” for a few seconds after the credits of every Buffy or Angel show. There are one or two moments in those series when the main characters go “Urrch! aarch” themselves.  
[/QUOTE]

Also at the end of Firefly. Must be Joss Whedon’s personal production company.

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**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/13 "2007-11-07T20:06:20Z")

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Since we are Hijacking this way…

I like the one, I forget who, that has like a LONG paragraph of text, right at the end.

It’s currently on The Big Bang Theory.  
I like pausing the TV and reading it.

Ironically, one of them talks about pausing TV, and Tivo.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/14 "2007-11-07T20:10:14Z")

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And filling up the eighties, Stephen J Cannell clicks away on his typewriter and yanks the sheet of paper out.

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**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/15 "2007-11-07T20:16:58Z")

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[QUOTE=Diomedes]  
Also at the end of Firefly. Must be Joss Whedon’s personal production company.  
[/QUOTE]

They didn’t do it at the end of _Serenity_. A lot of folks sat through the credits just to hear it.

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**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/16 "2007-11-08T01:29:27Z")

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Stephen Bochco of many, many shows, uses a violinist as a tribute to his father.

Chuck Lorre, also with a long string of shows including Dharma and Greg, is the long paragraph of text guy.

[sub]Hmmm…take time to Wiki the accuracy of this, or take my chances and be first?[/sub]

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**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/17 "2007-11-08T04:41:21Z")

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“I made this!”  
-Ten Thirteen Productions, _The X-Files_

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**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/18 "2007-11-08T05:33:47Z")

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[QUOTE=McNew]  
How could you forget:

-Sit Ubu, sit!  
-Rowf!  
-Good dog.  
[/QUOTE]

The dog actually barks _after_ the praise.

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**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/19 "2007-11-08T06:10:14Z")

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Seems to me there used to be one that was a tribute to the town that was the setting for _It’s a Wonderful Life_. Was the name of the town Bedford Falls?

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**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552/20 "2007-11-08T11:28:41Z")

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[QUOTE=Zoe]  
Seems to me there used to be one that was a tribute to the town that was the setting for _It’s a Wonderful Life_. Was the name of the town Bedford Falls?  
[/QUOTE]  
Yes indeed.

As for the little logos, the ones for [DiC](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DiC_Entertainment) were pretty creepy. [This is a pretty good page on the subject.](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6746832/)

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-some-bad-hat-harry/425552.md?page=2)
