Endangered species: main title themes
Very interesting CNN article about the precarious state of that increasingly rare beast, the full-up TV theme tune. They hold up Lost as an example, but since Lost has always had the 11-second atonal drone for a theme, it doesn’t bug me. It’s when they take away main themes from shows that previously had them that bugs me – such as what happened with the Stargates at the beginning of their 2005-2006 seasons. I have yet to get tired of the Galactica theme music, or Murray Gold’s nifty reworking of the original Doctor Who theme, or the Stargate Atlantis title music for that matter. Unlike some producers these days, I’ve always placed a great deal of importance on a show or movie’s music (hence my insistence on crediting composers in our episode guides). It sets the mood. It’s that important. There have been shows where I actually hated the series but loved the music (basically, anything post-Star-Trek whose title was prefaced by “Gene Roddenberry’s…” fits in this category).
Is the composer the next job description to wind up being shunned by Hollywood, now that scripted series are back in vogue and writers are back in demand?
In other music notes, check out this article about Queen guitarist Brian May. My already considerable respect for the man has now skyrocketed into the near-infinite. A guitar god who hangs out with Patrick Moore of the Royal Astronomical Society? That’s cool.… Read more
