TOS theme music and studio logo musings

Discussion in 'Star Trek - The Original & Animated Series' started by TServo2049, Nov 11, 2012.

  1. TServo2049

    TServo2049 Ensign Newbie

    Joined:
    May 12, 2010
    Hi,

    I'm sure some of this has been discussed before, but I was thinking about the ways that the theme music and end logos changed over time, and have been altered in reruns and home releases of TOS. This is going to be long, and it may ramble from topic to topic, but I'll try to keep my ruminations in sync with the original air order.

    I'm a younger Trek fan (25 in December), and my first real exposure to TOS was through the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition airings, combined with borrowing the 80s VHS tapes (with the "transporter room" covers) from my local library.

    Most of you know about Alexander Courage's "electric violin" arrangement of the theme. In an earlier thread, Green Shirt said that in the days when the show was syndicated on 16mm film, it appeared on the first 5 aired episodes ("The Man Trap" up to "The Enemy Within"). However, on the Film Score Monthly forum, an Australian Trekkie named Geoff Brown said he had video recordings of early-80s Aussie airings off 16mm film-chain, and he said the first 8 episodes (up to "Miri") had the theme.

    Mr. Spook says that people he's talked to remember "The Corbomite Maneuver" always having the more familiar Fred Steiner arrangement, with a regular string section doing the melody. So which episode was the first to have the Steiner arrangement? "Dagger of the Mind"?

    From what I understand, the original DVD releases mistakenly used the Courage arrangement for the opening all the way up to "The Menagerie," but used the Steiner closing on every episode except "Where No Man Has Gone Before." I don't own any TOS on DVD, so I don't know if the "egg shell" box sets were the same. Which episodes had the Courage "electric violin" version on those, and did any have it in the closing?

    I once heard a home audio recording of the end credits of "Charlie X" from a 70s syndicated rerun, and not only did it have the "electric violin" closing, but it also had the alternate Desilu logo music from S1 of Mission: Impossible. This was never heard after Paramount began syndicating TOS on videotape (in fact, ever since M:I switched to tape, it's been stricken from every rerun and release of that, too). Someone mentioned this variation on Phil Farrand's forum all the way back in 2000.

    I watched the Sci-Fi Channel Special Editions from day one, so I have a pretty clear memory of them. I recall that except for "WNMHGB," all the S1 episodes used the Steiner arrangement for both the opening and closing. I may be wrong on this; does anybody still have the SFCSE's on tape?

    I also remember from the SFCSE's that on a couple of S1 episodes, the opening was followed by the bumper that appeared in the middle of the ad breaks on the original network airings:[​IMG]
    In these cases, it was silent - no announcer, no music, kind of creepy to my 10-year-old self.

    Due to an oversight by Desilu, the S1 episodes (and a few S2 episodes from before the Gulf+Western sale) originally didn't have onscreen copyrights. Before the 1978 copyright reform, the absence of an accurate onscreen notice could qualify a filmed work as public domain. Even if said work was properly registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, the copyright could be negated if it wasn't displayed on the film, and sometimes was (e.g., the original "Night of the Living Dead").

    A 16mm dealer attempted to sell dupe prints of TOS episodes and got sued; I've heard some accounts saying he lost, some that he won. Either way, Paramount was able to properly register them in '78, and when distribution transitioned to videotape, that's when they started putting "©1978 PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION" under the Desilu logo on those episodes.

    The 80s syndication masters and video releases had the 1978 copyright keyed in, with some kind of video-mixer wipe effect, followed by the then-current Paramount TV logo (with the same design as on the first 4 movies, and "Television" sliding in under the name). At some point in the 90s (for the original DVDs?), new video masters were made and the copyright was added again, simply fading in. This is how the logo looked on those original DVDs, and on the G4 reruns in 2006.

    However, I distinctly remember that on the SFCSE's, the 1978 copyright never appeared on the Desilu logo. Another difference between the SFCSE's and the DVD releases was the modern Paramount logo that was added at the end. The DVDs (and the aforementioned G4 reruns) had the logo close-up, with the same fanfare we'd always hear on TNG, DS9, VOY, and ENT.
    [​IMG]
    But I specifically remember that the SFCSE's had the zoomed-back logo with more of the landscape...and no music.
    [​IMG]

    My vivid memory of how the Desilu and Paramount logos looked and sounded on the SFCSE's is in part because the Desilu logo gave me the creeps, and it was exacerbated by the dead-silent Paramount tag after it. Don't laugh; it was pretty eerie to this 10-year-old watching the show go off at 10 PM (being in California, before Sci-Fi had a west coast feed, I had to catch the repeat at 8:30 because I wasn't home at 4:30).

    According to Memory Alpha, four episodes from S2 didn't have the Paramount copyright notice under the Desilu logo: "Catspaw," "Metamorphosis," "Friday's Child" and "Amok Time". The first episode to have a Paramount copyright, in production order, is "Who Mourns for Adonais?" This is how the logo usually looked in season 2, and how it looked on the original DVD of "WMFA":
    [​IMG]

    But I have a burned DVD of a 2006 G4 airing of "WMFA" from when they were running those "Uncut Marathons," and this is how the copyright looked on that version:
    [​IMG]

    Boy, the optical line-up guy really goofed up there. Also notice that the year isn't in Roman numerals. I don't recall seeing this variation on any other S2 episodes on G4, or anywhere else. Does anybody recall seeing this oddity on "WMFA" back in the 16mm syndication days? Did it show up on any video releases, or any reruns besides G4?

    Last, I want to talk about the S2 episodes after Desilu was absorbed into Paramount. Starting with "The Immunity Syndrome" in production order and "A Piece of the Action" in broadcast order, "A Desilu Production" over the Balok puppet was replaced with "A Paramount Production," and this Paramount Television logo came after the credits. (Pardon the PAL speedup, this clip obviously comes from Sci-Fi UK, and it's the only footage of the logo I could find on YouTube that actually came from Trek and not one of the other Desilu/Paramount shows.)

    Here's a clearer still image (possibly from the S2 DVD box set?):
    [​IMG]

    Most of the times I've watched a Paramount S2 episode of TOS, it did not have that logo. The 80s VHS tapes I used to check out from the library had the Paramount logo from season 3, and from at least the original DVDs onward, I've always seen it replaced by the Desilu logo. When TV Land was running the show, around the time TOS-R debuted in syndication, I remember that "Assignment: Earth" ended with BOTH LOGOS. (I also saw Desilu on season 3 episodes, and the S3 Paramount logo on a season 1 episode. The new broadcast masters during late '06-early '07 were a mess.)

    A friend of mine once rented a VHS of "The Immunity Syndrome" that did have the correct logo - possibly the later blue-box release? Does anybody know if any of the blue-box tapes still had the logo pictured above? And does it appear on the S2 DVD box? (From what I've heard, the Blu-ray replaced it with Desilu once again, because this was back when CBS seemed hell-bent on eradicating all mention of Paramount from their TV back catalog.)

    Anyone wanna weigh in on this stuff? It's interesting all the little ways presentations of the show have varied over the years.
     
    Last edited: Nov 11, 2012
  2. jayrath

    jayrath Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I sincerely praise your attention to detail, but I fear you have outstripped us all. No, it's not interesting -- to me, at least. I admire your dedication, however. You should become a film historian. I really mean that. Someone with your abilities should work in restoring silent films, for which there are so many different cuts, usually made for different countries.

    The films of Lon Chaney, Charlie Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy could all benefit from your expert eye. Odd as it may seem, there still is no true example of the original release of Chaney's "Phantom of the Opera." All we have is a hodgepodge of cuts from mutliple American and European releases, in different sizes of film stock re-released over decades.

    You frankly amaze me!
     
  3. Jptrekker

    Jptrekker Captain Captain

    You managed to answer one question I've always had: Why 1978?

    I don't recall ever seeing the Paramount Television logo pictured above in an episode of Star Trek. I started watching syndicated reruns in the late 70's.

    You motivated me to check out my Blu Rays on the subject...

    Season Two, Amok Time, Desilu + Norway over Balock, Desilu Logo with copyright 1978 (not roman numerals) Paramount Pictures, CBS Television copyright 1978

    Season 2, The Deadly Years, Desilu + Norway over Balock, Desilu logo with roman numerals, CBS Television Logo with Copyright 1978.

    Season 3, The Cloud Minders, Balock Gone, Paramount Production in cooperation with Norway, no paramount animated logo, CBS Television with roman numerals and Paramount + Norway in fine print

    For some reason they left in the Desilu logos, but not the Paramount ones. Anybody have insight as to why?
     
  4. bbailey861

    bbailey861 Admiral Admiral

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    Your eye - and ear - for detail is nothing short astounding.
     
  5. Kamdan

    Kamdan Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2011
    Yes, I'd like to see that eye for detail examine the differences between the various versions of the episodes. The DVD and Blu-ray editions of the episodes have small alterations here and there that I've noticed while rewatching the series via Laserdisc. The music cues are different in places for The Cage and even in The Menagerie. There's also a notable music splice in A Taste of Armageddon that's always bothered me.
     
  6. Mr. Mugato

    Mr. Mugato Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    Feb 9, 2010
    For me, the most egregious omission is Spock's "He'll do it" line from the end of The Trouble With Tribbles - I have loved that line since I was a kid and it drives me crazy that it's not on the DVD.
     
  7. TServo2049

    TServo2049 Ensign Newbie

    Joined:
    May 12, 2010
    When CBS took over the Paramount TV library after the Viacom/CBS split, they started purging all of the Paramount logos and replacing them with CBS.

    It's sort of like when Columbia's TV division took on the Sony name, and suddenly every single instance of a Columbia logo was covered up by a Sony logo.

    Before 2006, season 3 generally wasn't tampered with, since the show's copyright was on the logo instead of in the credits. However, I do recall that when Sci-Fi ran the series, the Paramount episodes just had the 90s Paramount logo, with no copyright anywhere. That isn't as big of an issue as it used to be, but Paramount must have caught their mistake, because when the DVD releases started the next year, they made sure that every episode had an onscreen copyright notice, so season 3 had the old Paramount logo again.

    When CBS took over the rights, they obviously wanted to make it clear that they were distributing the series, which is why they replaced the Paramount logos and reproduced the original copyright at the bottom of the CBS logo. Anybody remember back in 2006-07, when season 3 episodes even said "A Gulf+Western Company" under the CBS/Paramount logo?

    Desilu has always been spared from these logo purges. Paramount/CBS never saw it as a conflicting with their brand identity. Some studios replace the logos of every entity they've acquired, others don't, and I honestly don't know why.
     
  8. ClassicTVMan81

    ClassicTVMan81 Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    Actually, on the 1980s prints, we used to see this Paramount TV logo:
    [​IMG] (short peak version)
    [​IMG] (tall peak version)

    Some of the episodes used the filmed version of the logo, but most others from the period used the videotaped version also seen on the first two seasons of MacGyver. In any case, the 1979 version of the Lalo Schifrin jingle was heard over it.

    Yes, it is true that in regards to the season 2 episodes beginning with "A Piece of the Action" (in broadcast order), on syndicated prints the early 1968 Paramount "Rising Circle" was replaced by its successor logo:
    [​IMG] (1 of 2)
    [​IMG] (2 of 2)

    As the series was syndicated in 1969, I can't help wonder whether or not the "Closet Killer" logo (with the Dominic Frontiere or Lalo Schifrin jingles) was seen at the end of ST:TOS before?
    [​IMG] (1 of 2)
    [​IMG] (2 of 2)

    ~Ben
     
    Last edited: Nov 16, 2012
  9. TREK_GOD_1

    TREK_GOD_1 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Even that comapny is all over the place when it comes to logo use; a few years ago, there was a syndicated package of 1960s/70s Screen Gems shows under the banner of a "Screen Gems network" (just a programming block, not an actual channel).

    As we know, Screen Gems was the original TV division of Columbia Pictures, and when Sony bought the former, the old SG logos (and Columbia/Coca Cola logos) vanished for series in general syndication until this "Screen Gems network" package, which restored the 1960s-70s logo as orignally attached to series like The Partridge Family, Gidget and The Monkees.

    Let's not even get into TV series once produced by United Artists, or MGM--that's a nightmare making the TOS issue look like a one-time accident by comparison.


    Its just a mess, and there's hardly any pre-1980 TV series still using the original studio logo/tags, even if the same studio owns the content (ex. Fox).
     
  10. EnsignHarper

    EnsignHarper Captain Captain

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    The whole Desilu/Paramount/CBS process has actually become something of a closed loop that started way back with the genesis of I Love Lucy:


    1. 1951: Desilu is the name that Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball give to their little production company that CBS contracts with to produce the new show they are creating. CBS, as per the norm, will own the show's rights - which, since the rerun does not exist in 1951, are not worth all that much. The only fly in the ointment - the Arnazes do not want to go to New York to do the show live, with a kinescope for the west coast. They want to stay in California. CBS balks at this, saying it will cost too much - especially since they, especially Desi, want to film the show in front of an audience, as Lucy NEEDS an audience to be funny. Since this was never really done before, CBS says it is too expensive. Desi then offers that Desilu will pick up the extra cost - if rhey get to own the negatives of the show, CBS, figuring they are making out on the deal agrees.

    2. c.1953/4: I Lucy, as we all know is a HUGE hit - the biggest in TV so far, and Desilu is deluged with other stars wanting to do shows 'the Desilu Way'. Desilu needs a bigger facility than the little two bit facility they are leasing from, so Desi cuts a deal with CBS where they will buy back the films from him, so he can buy a small indy studio facility named Motion Picture Center. Couple of years later Desilu is so successful, Arnaz is able to finagle the purchase of the old RKO Studios - which are separated from the Paramount Studios literally by a brick wall. This purchase also includes the famous 40 Acres backlot. Desilu is able to then the center of shows produced by independent producers in Hollywood.

    When it comes time for Lucy to find a buyer for her struggling studio in 1967, it is almost (excuse the expression) logical that Gulf & Western, who already owns the lot next door, be the purchaser.

    So basically, when the Trek properties were bought by CBS, they basically were reuniting with their 'Lucy' ancestors!
     
  11. ClassicTVMan81

    ClassicTVMan81 Lieutenant Red Shirt

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  12. ACE

    ACE Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    Thunderbird Films was the company that was selling 16mm prints of first and second season Star Trek episodes. They won the suit filed by Paramount.

    During that time, the first two seasons were effectively in public domain, since the copyrights were not properly transferred when Gulf & Western acquired both Desilu and Paramount and dissolved Desilu - merging both studio and assets into Paramount.

    After losing the suit against Thunderbird Films, Paramount was later able to reacquire ownership and copyright of those episodes in 1978.
     
  13. ClassicTVMan81

    ClassicTVMan81 Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    Actually, the first episode to carry the new Paramount Television logo, in broadcast order, was "The Gamesters of Triskelion" which aired on January 5, 1968.

    ~Ben
     
  14. TServo2049

    TServo2049 Ensign Newbie

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    No, "Gamesters" was a Desilu episode. It says Desilu in the credits. I repeat: "The Immunity Syndrome" was the first episode in production order (with the exception of "Bread and Circuses") to say "A Paramount Production", while the first such episode in broadcast order was "A Piece of the Action". The last Desilu episode to air was "A Private Little War".

    I said "with the exception of 'Bread and Circuses'" because that episode was 14th in the season 2 production order, but for whatever reason, it was the next-to-last episode to be broadcast that season. Since it took so long to make it to air, there was enough time to revise the end credits to say Paramount instead of Desilu.

    As for that "tall peak" Paramount logo: As I said before, I'm pretty sure that TOS reruns in the 80s kept the original logos on season 3, because the copyright was on the logo. For the most part, season 3 logos weren't altered until TOS-R, when CBS replaced Paramount's logo with their own, and transplanted the copyright to their logo (and, inexplicably, stuck the DESILU logo on at least one S3 episode, but that's another story).

    And finally: To my knowledge, the 1969 logo, the one you'd have seen on The Brady Bunch, never EVER showed up on TOS. A friend of mine *remembered* that logo showing up on local reruns, but since he had other false/distorted memories, I'm writing this off as one of them. (It also wouldn't have been attached to the end of Desilu episodes - I've seen a recording from WPIX in NYC when they were still running 16mm prints, and it's just Desilu, with no added copyright.)

    Anybody still got recordings of TOS from the early 80s, when they were still being run from 16mm?
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2012