RobertScorpio
Pariah
We all complain about the lack of music in TREK movies or series...was there ever a scene in a movie/episode where you thought the music was to intrusive????
Rob
Scorpio
Rob
Scorpio
Hush...no harmonica
- Thread starter RobertScorpio
- Start date
TOS.
What overbearing music!
(Then again, I guess all shows back then did that, but I didn't like it in any other series, either.)
What overbearing music!
(Then again, I guess all shows back then did that, but I didn't like it in any other series, either.)
Oooh now see, i LOVE TOS music. It is all part of the package. I love it!
The Enterprise Theme tune was loud and offensive.
TOS suffers because episodes were not scored, as such. They had a number of stock tracks that they could go back to and reuse, so it was rare to have music written specifically for a scene. It was actually pretty good music, it just didn't fit properly a lot of the time, unfortunately.
Am i the only one who feels that the music is part of the charm of the Original Series?
No, I'd agree. They did use stock music, but it was usually appropriate in its use.
I'd second Enterprise's title, but as a bit of theme music it probably shouldn't qualify. I can think of times I felt the music was a little bland or could have been better, but very rarely where it was intrusive negatively, to be honest.
RobertScorpio
Pariah
Nope..the music on TOS was from a time where that kind of thing was expected (FIVE-0...Brady Bunch..wild wild west...Bonanza) all had big music....I loved the little violin love song they would play on TREK. Especially in Spock's scenes with the blond babe THIS SIDE OF PARADISE or whatever it was called..the spores!!!...
Or the music when Kirk finds out from Spock that edith MUST die...intrusive by today's standards? Maybe..but not for TOS..the music of that show was part of what made it great..
Some of the crazy sythasizer stuff of TNG's first season just makes it sound..well..dated..that it pulls me out of any episode it is in.....its that bad...
Rob
The TOS music was part of the charm, although it can be overly corny sometimes, but I guess that's how it was in the 60s. I'm used to it, but if I just started watching the old series today for the first time, I'd probably think it's overbearing compared to today's standards of soundtrack scoring. I remember thinking how unnatural the synthesized music felt in the early seasons of TNG. It still kind of makes me cringe when I re-watch those old TNG episodes. It just feels ... cheap. Times change though and who knows what people will think about today's TV music a few decades from now.
I hate the TOS music. It generally had all the subtlety of a Mack truck, and often times really takes away from a scene that's supposed to have a sense of supsense or wonder. Otherwise, nothing jumps out. The movies and the later shows were pretty good about using music effectively.
I wonder if age has anything to do with whether or not a viewer appreciates the music to TOS or not. I mean, did you watch it as a child during its first run and now you hate it or love it? That would make an interesting poll, which i dont know how to set up....
Exactly. It's like there was no understanding that any dynamics existed besides fortissimo. As if the bad visual effects weren't enough, that can REALLY turn a scene that is "supposed" to be serious into laughable camp, fast.
Not that I think soundtrack music has to be aural wallpaper like later TNG, and DS9. But really, with TOS it gets annoying.
Wow, I must say, I'm somewhat surprised that there are apparently so many people disliking the music of The Original Series. And I'm not sure if it really has anything to do with age, as I'm just 26 years old and love the powerful scores of the 60s! At least with classic Trek we had music that was noticeable and amplified the dramatic impact of what was shown. That's something most of the modern Trek scores can't claim (save for some of the scores by Jay Chattaway and Dennis McCarthy and almost everything Ron Jones has done).
RobertScorpio
Pariah
Its all a matter of taste..I love the TOS music. I think modern-treks suffer from not having ANY memorable music, with the exception of two or three episodes of the 550+ they made...the 'wallpaper' music mentioned earlier, I think, has a drowsing-inducing quality to them that does not help in repeated viewings...IMO...Rob
Rob
I wouldn't say I dislike them, I just wish they had more subtlety. Loud, obvious music is good, but it only becomes great when it's contrasted with something soft and subtle.
A good example comes from Michael Giacchino's score for Trek XI, the track Enterprising Young Men. There's a loud, fortissimo section 30 seconds in, but one that's preceded by a slow, subtle build-up to the crescendo. It serves to really highlight the dramatic moments, and it's something TOS scores unfortunately lacked. They were thematically strong, but short on subtlety.
I remember seeing Nemesis for the first time thinking just the opposite. A couple of times I felt there should've been music playing and shortly afterward it started up. It seemed late in coming, causing the scenes to have less of an emotional impact than it could have. I don't remember ever feeling that way in a movie or TV show prior to that.
All you dissing TOS music. It was the only Trek series to have memorable and good music at all. Seriously, who can actually claim to not like the theme from The Doomsday Machine? The Fight Music is so well known that it's even been played in episodes of The Simpsons and Futurama.
I feel I should stress again that I love many of the individual themes and think they were well done, it's just how they interacted with the actual show that gets me sometimes.
I certainly don't want to start an argument here, but saying TOS' music wasn't rich in contrast is like admitting you have never actually heard any of that music. I mean, in the end it all comes down to one's personal preferences anyway, but saying there was no contrast in the music is just wrong. Go listen to such subtle, introspective and calm music like Alexander Courage's Doctor Bartender or Surviviors and compare it to the action-packed, energetic and loud Monster Fight (all from The Cage). Or listen to Gerald Fried's Mr. Spock theme from Amok Time (which is very bass-driven and silent), compare it to the battle music of the same episode and tell me again there's no contrast in TOS' music.
Again, you can like what you want to like. I have no problem with that. But your characterization of Star Trek's original music is way off ...
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