Punctuation Music

[MakeshiftPython]

One thing that stuck out to me rewatching TOS is hearing an overabundance of “punctuation” music. For example, in “Space Seed” there’s the punctuations playing when Khan views the surgical knife, grabs it, and then grabs McCoy.

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I figure this was something of a staple in TV scoring at the time this aired. I also notice how every time the show comes back from a commercial that it opens again with that punctuation music, or just a fanfare. Sometimes it becomes so overbearing that it can become comical. Like, Spock says something revelatory, but instead of letting that sink in for audiences, the show hammers you over the head with a punctuation cue as if it’s waving it’s hands at you for attention. I think it works when done right, but it can get silly.


Cut to TNG, and punctuation music is hardly there aside from the very early episodes (Picard: “inform them in all known languages, we surrender” DUN DUNNNNN). But even when returning from a commercial break or starting the teaser sometimes there’s no opening bars playing. It’ll just quietly open a new scene without a punctuation. That became even more so in later seasons.

This got me wondering, when did punctuation music go out of style on television during the 18 years between shows? Was it already happening in the 70s or sometime during the 80s, or perhaps it was just a slow process throughout the years? It’s almost hard to imagine a TOS episode opening up with no fanfare compared to other shows.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

You have to let TOS be its own thing. If you judge it by the esthetic standards of a later period that's higher-tech and more jaded, you lose out on the in-period, in-universe greatness of the show. You have to allow the show its cultural innocence or it doesn't work. It's the same with You Only Live Twice and Airport. If all you can think about is Austin Powers and Airplane!, the older films are ruined for you.

Gerald Fried (Shore Leave, Catspaw, Amok Time, The Paradise Syndrome) mentioned that he was required to give the Enterprise a musical announcement every time it appeared, and I think that was a good call. Fried's Starlog interview:
https://archive.org/details/starlog_magazine-169/page/n51/mode/2up?view=theater

 

[Neopeius]

TNG started a Trek tradition of utterly forgettable soundtracking that might as well have been eschewed. TOS' music is justifiably iconic. I do agree that sometimes it's nice to let a show "breathe" without too much tracking. Today's shows tend to have boring music that is also incessant. I'll take incessant good music over that. (The Expanse does a pretty good job of having good music, suitably employed.)

As for when TV tracks became less interactive with the material, I'll let you know over the next 20 years.

 

[Forbin]

Just rewatching some "recent old" shows on DVD lately, some really great scores on:
Sanctuary
Continuum
Dark Matter

 

[MakeshiftPython]

Aside from those stingers used within episodes to punctuate moments, I think MOST of the scoring in TOS actually holds up in a way would work today. In fact the third SNW episode does a good job of evoking some of Fred Steiner’s suspense music.

 

[M'Sharak]

One thing that stuck out to me rewatching TOS is hearing an overabundance of “punctuation” music. For example, in “Space Seed” there’s the punctuations playing when Khan views the surgical knife, grabs it, and then grabs McCoy.

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I figure this was something of a staple in TV scoring at the time this aired. I also notice how every time the show comes back from a commercial that it opens again with that punctuation music, or just a fanfare. Sometimes it becomes so overbearing that it can become comical. Like, Spock says something revelatory, but instead of letting that sink in for audiences, the show hammers you over the head with a punctuation cue as if it’s waving it’s hands at you for attention. I think it works when done right, but it can get silly.


Cut to TNG, and punctuation music is hardly there aside from the very early episodes (Picard: “inform them in all known languages, we surrender” DUN DUNNNNN). But even when returning from a commercial break or starting the teaser sometimes there’s no opening bars playing. It’ll just quietly open a new scene without a punctuation. That became even more so in later seasons.

This got me wondering, when did punctuation music go out of style on television during the 18 years between shows? Was it already happening in the 70s or sometime during the 80s, or perhaps it was just a slow process throughout the years? It’s almost hard to imagine a TOS episode opening up with no fanfare compared to other shows.

Pretty standard for TV music at the time original series was produced, yep. Trek's (along with that for The Wild Wild West) might have been a little more emphatic than the average, but not by that much. This kind of music for TV shows continued though the 1970s without much change.

As you point out, it was somewhat subdued but still present in some early TNG eps -- however, definitely on the way out industry-wide in favor of music which remained unobtrusively in the background. While his scores would have been considered quite restrained by 1960s standards, Ron Jones was ultimately fired from TNG for continuing to write music too emphatic and punctuational for Rick Berman's liking.

 

[Kor]

I love the musical punctuation. It adds an air of theatricality, or something.

Kor

 

[Ssosmcin]

The Irwin Allen shows had music all over them with lots of so called punctuation music. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, which was the closest cousin to Trek out of the four IA shows, usually had the series theme accompanying establishing shots of the Seaview. It was our hero ship.

 

[Neopeius]

In his very first episode.

In the first 15 minutes.

To a soap opera actor with a funny hat.

That explains the stinger, perhaps. But speaking of ''hammering over the head,'' the PREDATOR-spine-ripping musical cue from DOOMSDAY MACHINE when Decker orders Spock out of the chair was not only overkill, but downright terrifying for impressionable, easily-scared seven-year-old such as myself. If the music had involved a computer failure to bring Kirk's chicken sandwich and coffee, or McCoy discovering a completely dry dressing-free salad, then I could have forgiven them.
Changing of ship command is not cause for trembling. Or it shouldn't be.

Hahahaha. I've often called "Doomsday Machine" a 51 minute Trek music video. The episode is decent, but the scoring is really cool.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Hahahaha. I've often called "Doomsday Machine" a 51 minute Trek music video. The episode is excellent and the scoring is f'n amazing!

There. Fixed it for ya.

 

[MakeshiftPython]

I love that transporter leitmotif.

I do wish TOS had more original scores recorded. The tracked music can be effective when placed right, like how that Ruth music is reused for the romance in “This Side of Paradise”. And yet, in my head, the fight cue in “Amok Time” feels like it should only belong in that episode and not appear anywhere else. Spock’s solo bass guitar reused in “Journey to Babel”? Totally logical.

 

[publiusr]

I love the musical punctuation. It adds an air of theatricality, or something.

Kor

Doomsday Machine is MADE by the music.

 

[StarCruiser]

I've said this before and here it goes, Star Trek - and pretty much all 50's/60's TV - is a theatrical production on film. Basically, a stage play recorded.

The relatively simple sets, colorful costumes, sometimes...ever so slightly...over the top acting is all classic stage play. Shakespeare isn't just an occasional influence on classic Trek, it's part of it's origin and it's core.

 

[Neopeius]

I've said this before and here it goes, Star Trek - and pretty much all 50's/60's TV - is a theatrical production on film. Basically, a stage play recorded.

The relatively simple sets, colorful costumes, sometimes...ever so slightly...over the top acting is all classic stage play. Shakespeare isn't just an occasional influence on classic Trek, it's part of it's origin and it's core.

The placement of people, too, although that's still done today--where everyone is just so, so all faces can be seen and facing forward.

Naturalistic shows like I, Spy are just starting to change that. (in 1967)

 

[Qonundrum]

Too much of a good thing, I suppose. The excesses of complete scores was getting much by the late-80s, as if the lack of musical punctuation bits left too much quiet space that had to be propped up by useless things such as plotting and acting.

Note that 1:09 has Khan acting before the music does. It's a little much, but it's better than modern day scenes where the music for how you're supposed to react is laid out thick and comparatively long before the moment too. Especially comedy music.

 

[Qonundrum]

The placement of people, too, although that's still done today--where everyone is just so, so all faces can be seen and facing forward.

Naturalistic shows like I, Spy are just starting to change that. (in 1967)

Now there's a show I've not seen in years. The DVD restoration looked rather good. Seems unlikely that it'll ever come out on blu-ray, but for the time it was spectacular and groundbreaking.

 

[M'Sharak]

Note that 1:09 has Khan acting before the music does. It's a little much,

There's nothing wrong with the music placement there. It's exactly where it should be.

 

[Noname Given]

One thing that stuck out to me rewatching TOS is hearing an overabundance of “punctuation” music. For example, in “Space Seed” there’s the punctuations playing when Khan views the surgical knife, grabs it, and then grabs McCoy.

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I figure this was something of a staple in TV scoring at the time this aired. I also notice how every time the show comes back from a commercial that it opens again with that punctuation music, or just a fanfare. Sometimes it becomes so overbearing that it can become comical. Like, Spock says something revelatory, but instead of letting that sink in for audiences, the show hammers you over the head with a punctuation cue as if it’s waving it’s hands at you for attention. I think it works when done right, but it can get silly.


Cut to TNG, and punctuation music is hardly there aside from the very early episodes (Picard: “inform them in all known languages, we surrender” DUN DUNNNNN). But even when returning from a commercial break or starting the teaser sometimes there’s no opening bars playing. It’ll just quietly open a new scene without a punctuation. That became even more so in later seasons.

This got me wondering, when did punctuation music go out of style on television during the 18 years between shows? Was it already happening in the 70s or sometime during the 80s, or perhaps it was just a slow process throughout the years? It’s almost hard to imagine a TOS episode opening up with no fanfare compared to other shows.

I may be old-fashioned but I actually prefer the TOS background music style to Rick Berman's/TNG's overly bland Sonic Wallpaper (which was his own term for it) style of background music scores. And most of the composers he hired hated it too. In fact the person who composed music for the episode The Best of Both Worlds knowingly disregarded the Sonic Wallpaper edict, and said I knew it probably meant he would never be asked to score another episode of TNG, but at that point in his career he didn't care; he did what he felt was best for the episode.

 

[MakeshiftPython]

I may be old-fashioned but I actually prefer the TOS background music style to Rick Berman's/TNG's overly bland Sonic Wallpaper (which was his own term for it) style of background music scores. And most of the composers he hired hated it too. In fact the person who composed music for the episode The Best of Both Worlds knowingly disregarded the Sonic Wallpaper edict, and said I knew it probably meant he would never be asked to score another episode of TNG, but at that point in his career he didn't care; he did what he felt was best for the episode.

I was never suggesting that Rick Berman’s “sonic wallpaper” was a better alternative. I don’t think ANYONE has?

 

[Noname Given]

I was never suggesting that Rick Berman’s “sonic wallpaper” was a better alternative. I don’t think ANYONE has?

And I wasn't trying to infer that you did by what I posted. I was just stating my preference.