h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The balloon gets my vote, but I suppose it was time for a change, but the dancers are a poor substitute.

The 2 is

Maybe they should introduce a 1!!!

I liked the balloon, but I also like the dancers. Maybe they could use both...

Bin the dancers - they are totally dire. Bring back the balloon or follow the excellent '2' theme with a '1' as previously suggested (the best '2' is the one that races about chasing spots on the floor making squeaky noises of ooh! aaah!).

ditch the dancers (although i like the one with the salsa dancers - when it goes 'boom' i have to raise my arm at that bit!) i'd ditch the baloon too (boring) give us something inventive like the '2'

Maybe they should show dancers dancing on the balloon being chased around by a number 1?

I thought the balloon got trounced when it first came out for being expensive and rubbish (I quite like it - better than those stupid ballroom dancers)

Another vote to bin the dancers! They get right up my hooter. The balloon showed a variety of views of Britain whilst emphasising the Beeb's worldwide role - the dancers are a load of pretentious piffle signifying nothing.

As an aside, a friend of a friend teaches circus skills (juggling and fire-eating and such), and was commissioned to create a '2' out of spinning plates (filmed from above). I already thought he had an extrememly job, but the '2' thing was *really*

Nooo! The new yellow "2" is too smug for its own good. Bring back the Venus fly trap 2! Now that was .

~~A~~

Does anyone else remember a '2' rising from a grave before a buffy episode I think it might have been around halloween time - or did I imagine it?

oohhh, I think I've missed some '2's . I didn't see that one.

Wasn't there one where a '2' tried to swim after a swan, behind the cygnets?

There was a rising-from-the-grave 2... I quite liked the sponge 2 that acted like one of those electronic dogs that moved around, nod then did a forward somersault... and also the one with a load of little blue 2's try and hit a can of paint (like the load of paint slamming across a two...)

Caper Plip

On the BBCi Cornwall page (which I found via the Minack Theatre site! ) it says that the balloon ident was dropped because it had been around since 1997 and it was time for a change. Apparently a lot of people found it too slow. But the BBC2 ident where things are done to or by a '2' have been around a lot longer than 5 years, and the BBC have felt no need to change them. Maybe it's because they know how much people love them, and because they've always been able to find something new to do with the '2'. Long may the '2' continue.

For those of you who love the BBC 2 idents, here's a couple of links to pages where you can find video clips of them. The first link takes you to some old clips, but there's no mention of a '2' rising from a grave. Then again, the list isn't complete because there are some that I can remember that aren't there. The second link takes you to some more recent idents, also not a complete set. I guess they just picked the ones they thought were the most popular. Enjoy!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ilove/tv/bbc2video/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctwo/downloads/index.shtml

well, I like the Minack dancers (they don't show them enough for me) - but then that's for the same reason I liked the balloon over St Michael's Mount - I could go "oooh looky it's home!!!" and feel all happy.
Otherwise I don't really care that much - though I don't much like the dancers music.
And I agree the "2" rocks!

I like the '2' nodding down the pole, I've got a weird woodpecker one of those from a book shop down at the royal Quays!!!

I like the balloon and the old two. The Balloon reminds me of the really old globe in days of yore. That's all you need and frankly I don't like having my money spent on lame corporate identities and super-weak dancey pointless nonsense! .

That's just my opinion though. Its not the end of the world!

They could just cut and paste using computer graphics!!!

The dancers are boring. They should be moved to BBC4 as thats supposed to be for the arts. I don't think we should go back to the baloon though that's too old.

If they get rid of the 2 though I will be sooooo.. mad

In America, we have a channel called BBC America. (The only show I watch on it is Monty Python reruns.) The most common transition is a guy in sunglasses bouncing up and down on a large rubber ball with the Union Jack on the side of it.

Very odd.

Wampus

BBC Four has some really nice idents of their own though, the dancers wouldn't fit over there.

I wonder what BBC Three will have...