Sci-Fi Themes - A Musical Discussion

[Scoobing]

As a musical man (I play the piano) I have noticed that I really enjoy quite alot of sci-fi themes on a musical level.

I aim to try and find the songs on the net, and then edit this post with links of them uploaded to my webspace, so people can listen to what we are dicsussing.

Which themes do you like musically? And (here's the challenge!) can you explain why you do?

[aAnubiSs]

As a musical man (I play the piano) I have noticed that I really enjoy quite alot of sci-fi themes on a musical level.

I aim to try and find the songs on the net, and then edit this post with links of them uploaded to my webspace, so people can listen to what we are dicsussing.

Which themes do you like musically? And (here's the challenge!) can you explain why you do?

Earth Final Conflict is a huge favorite.

[yaaayoubetcha]

B5 - not just the credits but all the music. I've always enjoyed Franke/Tangerine Dream and he wrote some great scores for that show. Ironically i found the soundtrack CD i bought a few years ago today when i was doing some cleaning and had it on. Z'ha'dum and Voices of Authority are really great pieces of music.

Dr. Who - probably my fave theme all time - it's been thru as many regenerations as the Doctor himself but the basic theme has been the same for 40 yrs and has been a fave since childhood.

Star Wars Main/Imperial March/Indy Jones - John Williams is just brilliant.

Definately NOT Space 1999 - the worst of pop disco hitting the small screen....

[Scoobing]

Cool, some of my faves are EFC, the Buffy and Angel themes are great, and I really like the new Dr.Who theme. I know its the same as the old theme, but I watched the interview of the man who composed the new one, about how he didn't want to touch it really, but added the "dums" in to kind of increase the pace. And that goes really well with the TARDIS whizzing through the wormhole. So you get:

"dum de dum, dum de dum, de de de dum, de de dem OOO WAOOO!"

[aAnubiSs]

Dr Who is nice, also love Point Pleasant's theme.

[BritAngie]

EFC and Dr Who most def!!

[Egeria]

Murray Gold's soundtrack for the new Dr Who series has just been awesome, particularly for the last episode POTW. Why?...he seems to catch the mood so well. In POTW an extremely emotional scene was complemented with some of the most beautifull music I've heard. I was crying my eyes out because of the music more than anything. There have been times when I've watched my kids hiding and tensing up purely because of the tension and drama that his music brings. Its just been fantastic

[Blue Banrigh]

The new Battlestar has a nice mix of songs, they have a great orchestral piece that was central to the last two eps for season one. And like people have mentioned before, EFC had a nice soundtrack, ethereal.

[debskec]

The new Battlestar has a nice mix of songs, they have a great orchestral piece that was central to the last two eps for season one. And like people have mentioned before, EFC had a nice soundtrack, ethereal.

You beat me to this post!

I am also impressed that one of the upcoming Battlestar cons has the composer of the origional series, and the new one, as speakers. Very cool.

[Matt G]

B5 S5
Atlantis
Seven Days
Andromeda
Just off the top of my head

[Scoobing]

Which andromeda one? There was the first one from early seasons, then a new one, and then maybe a newer one after that, I don't know, Andromeda got a bit confusing later on.

[Matt G]

The original one.

[Taonas]

Babylon 5 (Seasons 4 and 5)
Stargate: Atlantis
Battlestar Galactica (both themes, I love the original )
Charlie Jade
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: First Contact (Best theme ever created!)
Jeremiah (Both themes)
Andromeda (First season theme)


Oh, and a quick question... What's EFC?

[tsaxlady]

You beat me to this post!

I am also impressed that one of the upcoming Battlestar cons has the composer of the origional series, and the new one, as speakers. Very cool.

I was at that Con today - Stu Phillips, original series, and Bear McCreary started things off - they were great if you want to read my first report on the con and see pictures of them both go here tsaxlady's MSN Space

In 2 weeks Joel Goldsmith will be at the Stargate Con in Burbank

DS9 - loved the great woodwinds and horns
2001 Space Odyessy - Classical Music in space
Star Wars Episode III - loved the way John Williams brought in so many themes from the other movies in all the right places -

[keshou]

BSG
Babylon 5
Farscape
SG-1 (main title song)

All series where I've enjoyed the music enough that I've gone to the trouble to find out who composed it.

Battlestar Galactica
Right now BSG is tops on my list. I actually bought the soundtracks - a first for me on a TV show.

I think the main title song meshes eclectic elements that somehow come together to do a fantastic job of setting the tone for the series. The haunting woodwinds of a lost civilization, the taiko drums representing the ongoing battle of humans on the run and fighting for survival. It's all there. And it sticks in my head - always a sign of a good theme song.

The series itself has continued to use music that reflects cultural influences from all over the world. Gaelic themes and vocals, orchestral music, mid-eastern influences, etc. The music in "Hand of God" thru the finale "Kobol's Last Gleaming Pt II" was amazing.

I wasn't always sold on the music. When I first watched the miniseries I found the drums a little distracting. But I've listened to the soundtrack now and have grown to love it. Still think the drums were a little over-used but that's a small nit-pick.

I think Richard Gibbs did a remarkable job in the miniseries and Bear McCreary continues to impress in the series.

Babylon 5
It's been awhile since I've watched the series but the thing that impressed me the most was how they used music to set the tone for each season. The opening theme of S1 was all optimistic and upbeat. The promise of the Babylon station. The opening themes changed with each season - they became darker as the series became darker. As i watched each season I would start out not liking the new "theme" as well as the season before and yet by the end of the season I thought each one fit perfectly.

As for individual episodes - "Severed Dreams" and "Z'ha'dum" spring to mind as episodes where the music made "very good" hours of television into "great" hours of television. Christopher Franke had the benefit of working with the Berlin Symphonic Film Orchestra in scoring almost the whole series. A luxury most series can't afford today. It made for a unique ride.

Farscape
I give Farscape points for producing a main theme that was just very non-mainstream and fit the quirky nature of the series. I'm not going to be singing it anytime soon. Or humming it in any elevators. But it was different and memorable and I enjoyed it a lot. Guy Gross also had some fine moments throughout the series - especially in the "Into The Lion's Den" two-parter.

Stargate
SG-1 is notable mainly for the main theme. Did a good job of carrying over the feel of the movie into the series. Still makes me happy when it comes on.