20/20 (American TV program)

Did You Know?

• In the Republic of Ireland, an Irish version of 20/20 launched on TV3 in 1998 and was canceled in 2002.
• In New Zealand, TVNZ 1 airs an hour-long local version featuring American-produced stories.

History

The premiere telecast of 20/20 featured anchors Harold Hayes, editor of Esquire magazine and senior producer of the program, and Robert Hughes, art critic for Time. The debut received harsh reviews; The New York Times called it "dizzyingly absurd" and The Washington Post denounced it as "the trashiest stab at candy cane journalism yet." Roone Arledge later recalled that the most embarrassing part of the initial program included Claymation segments depicting President Jimmy Carter singing "Georgia on My Mind" and Walter Cronkite closing with his catchphrase "That's the way it was."

In response to the criticism, ABC terminated the contracts of Hayes, Hughes, and original executive producer Bob Shanks. A semi-retired Hugh Downs was then recruited to become the sole host for the following week's program. The premiere's opening sequence showed a pair of eyeglasses whose lenses displayed colored bars resembling SMPTE color bars, keyed over a yellow background, rotating to reveal the studio.

Theme music

The distinctive theme music for 20/20 was written by Bob Israel of Score Productions, based on the longtime Lillian Scheinert-composed theme for ABC World News Tonight. The original theme was revamped around 1993, replaced in 1999 along with the logo and anchor desk, and updated orchestrally in 2001 with modifications in 2003 and 2005. Further revamps occurred in 2009 and 2010, the latter with new graphics reflecting a darker tone, both arranged by DreamArtists Studios, and another revamp in 2012 also by DreamArtists Studios.