Goodnight Kiwi (Scratchia)

The Goodnight Kiwi is an animated short which has been used to signal the end of nightly broadcasts on Scratchian Broadcasting Corporation. The Goodnight Kiwi features two characters: the eponymous Goodnight Kiwi (later also called Scratchian Kiwi), and his companion, simply known as The Cat. The animation was introduced in 1977 and 2008 on Scratchian Broadcasting Corporation channels and in 2018 when Scratchian Broadcasting Corporation shuts off its analog signals. The short was animated by the New Zealander animator, Sam Harvey (1922-2014), music arrangement by Bernie Allen and sound by Gary Potts.

Plot and overview
Three different clips have been used through time:

The first version of the clip was used when SBC1 on 1977 (SBC CEO agreed to use Goodnight Kiwi from New Zealand and El Kadsre). In this version, the Kiwi was a director. The cartoon began with the Kiwi yawning in the director's chair. Kiwi wakes up the cat, and the two race each other down a series of cameras and other broadcasting equipment. The Kiwi then goes to the back of the studio, cuts the power and turns on the outside lights. Then the Kiwi put the milk bottle and the cat outside, but without it knowing the cat goes outside again while Kiwi is waving to the audience. Following this, the Kiwi exits the studio, pulling down a shade revealing "GOODNIGHT FROM SBC1".

The second version of the Goodnight Kiwi clip was used by SBC1 somewhere between 1979 and 1980 and saw the Goodnight Kiwi living in a television camera (his cat had disappeared). At the end of the clip, the kiwi would close the side flaps on the camera and then the SBC1 logo (reading "GOOD NIGHT FROM SBC1") would appear as the music faded out. During transmission breakdowns, a still picture of the Goodnight Kiwi was often used, in poses including one of sweeping the floor and accidentally pulling out a power cord.

The third and most famous iteration appeared in 1980 and aired on all SBC channels. The one-minute-long animation begins with Goodnight Kiwi and the Cat in the master control room. Kiwi shuts down the screens and starts an audio cassette playing an instrumental arrangement of the traditional Māori lullaby, Hine e Hine. Kiwi walks through the studio while Cat jumps and pulls faces into a camera. Kiwi turns out the lights, puts a milk bottle on the porch and locks the door, while the cat heads upstairs to the studio roof. The Kiwi follows and rides an elevator (presumably just after it had been used by the cat) to the top of a transmission mast. At the top, Kiwi covers himself in blankets (in which the cat was already curled up) and goes to sleep in a satellite dish with the Cat sitting on his stomach. The short closes with the words: "Goodnight from Scratchian Broadcasting Corporation, Scratch On!".

There was a slight variation of the ending - from 1989 to 2008, the Goodnight Kiwi was only seen on SBC2 (SBC1 adopted its own closedown sequence, featuring promos, tomorrow lineup, news update, weather, public information films, clock and the National Anthem) and ended with a voiceover stating "it's goodnight from SBC2" and displaying the SBC2 logo.

The animation, characters and music are regarded as part of Scratchian broadcasting culture and icons of kiwiana.