Music

[froot]

Apologies if this is a topic that's been done to death before, but I am a bit curious:

What bits of background music did you like best (or thought were the most effective) during the show, not counting the opening theme? I tend to have a soft spot for TNG's synth-y music (especially when they're about to cut to commercial - it's always so wonderfully over-the-top dramatic! ) but I think VOY's got some killer stuff, too.

This whole idea came to my mind after watching The Void the other night - I hadn't seen it since its first run on TV - and near the end of the episode, during a little montage where the alliance plots their escape, the background music made my jaw drop open. My hubby had a similar reaction, and even commented that the music was really good.

A couple of my other favorites are:

The sad, heroic piece during the scene in Deadlock when Janeway sets the self-destruct sequence in motion, and the "theme" of Dark Frontier (I think it might have popped up in a few episodes after that as well.)

What say you?

 

[crouteru]

This one is a bit obscure, only because I've watched the episode very recently - in Parallax, when Janeway and Torres run into the problem of which ship is the real Voyager, there's some really errie dramatic music playing in the background.

Probably the best background music from all of trek was in DS9's The Visitor, especially at the end, it really helped to sell the emotional impact of the story.

 

[JanewayRulz!]

I hate to admit it, but I'm too music illiterate to "notice" the background music in an ep. I just watched the begining of "Macrocosm" to see "how much" music is present, and was "surprised" (shouldn't have been) to find most of the suspense scenes were underscored with that haunting companion.

http://www.youtube.com/user/startrekepisodes1#p/u/39/gZ52ITMENHk

Sorry for being too unobservent to add meaningfully to such an interesting thread.

 

[Lor'Vela]

I'd say the speech Janeway made at the end of Caretaker. Quite poignant.

 

[JanewayRulz!]

Well, naturally I had to watch the entire Macrocosm episode, and when it got to the end I did remember hearing this piece of music the first time, since it was the antithesis of everything that had gone on during the entire story.

http://www.youtube.com/user/startrekepisodes1#p/u/35/lrbB316QhmA

The end also shows my fav Janeway hairdo... 7:04 shows it off the best.

 

[Itachi]

To be honest I really don't like the music of any Star Trek. I'm not very big on classical as it is, although i do like music from POTC and some classical type music in some anime.

 

[kathrynJaneway2]

i like all the music really but if i had 2 choose a favorite i would choose the end of endgame when janeway say to make a cause for home. that nearly had me in tears

 

[kimc]

i like all the music really but if i had 2 choose a favorite i would choose the end of endgame when janeway say to make a cause for home. that nearly had me in tears

I was nearly in tears but it wasn't because of the music.

 

[Smiley]

Besides the theme and certain landmark episodes, Voyager's music very much felt like the sonic wallpaper that Berman so desired. I'm thinking that "Scorpion" had some good music, especially near the end of the first part.

 

[Roald]

I personally hate the term 'background music'... call it 'original score', 'orginal music', whatever, but "background" music is so degrading.

Berman's strict 'rules' for Trek TV composers was very limiting, it's true. I do think he changed his policy slightly over the years however. On occasion, Voyager would have terrific scores, like the afore mentioned Scorpion, but also the Fair Haven episodes, Blink Of An Eye, Bride Of Chaotica, and many more.

 

[sevenstars]

Memorable, what they did in Counterpoint, with the Mahler(?)

 

[froot]

I personally hate the term 'background music'... call it 'original score', 'orginal music', whatever, but "background" music is so degrading.

Berman's strict 'rules' for Trek TV composers was very limiting, it's true. I do think he changed his policy slightly over the years however. On occasion, Voyager would have terrific scores, like the afore mentioned Scorpion, but also the Fair Haven episodes, Blink Of An Eye, Bride Of Chaotica, and many more.

Ah, sorry, you're right. "Original score" is much more appropriate.

I didn't realize Berman was so strict on limiting the music. Good music can really make a great scene even better. I've always thought that. It's always been a pet peeve of mine when big-budget video games or shows use totally cheesy or inappropriate music - it kills the mood.

 

[SPCTRE]

Scorpion

Definitely my favorite. I'd go so far as to say it's actually the only episode I can remember of the top of my head in terms of great music.

 

[tharpdevenport]

Random stuff I remember standing out for me:

The opening chase music in the Badlands from the pilot.

The action music from "Scopion" 1 & 2, particularly the cue ending Part 1, with Voyager in tractor beam tow of a Borg cube after the planet explosion.

Again, another action cue, when Voyager crashes into the timeship in "Year of Hell -- Part 2".

I seem to recall a sort of touching piece at the end of "Living Witness".

The dark music as Arturis is fake Federation ship exits the wormhole and into the waiting grid of Borg cubes which take over his audio system declaring resistance in futile.

I saw "Course: Oblivion" in re-runs a couple or more months ago (there was nothing else to watch and I was exercising --- needed something to pass the time). I'd seen it before, but obviously I'd never paid attention to the score as much. I was so moved by Paul Baillargeon's score that I immediately hopped onto Google and tried & tried to find a way to contact him to see if he would be willing to send me a copy (some composer do that, some -- like Ron Jones -- don't). I failed to find a way to reach him.

I think the episode was "Survival Instinct", where there is a flashback seen of 7 of 9 as a Borg, hunting through the woods. There's some dark scoring by McCarthy there that struck me.

I seen to recall liking some of the scoring from "Blink of an Eye".

I don't recall the episode name or the plot, but the cue that goes with the ending where Tuvok is in his quarters and lights a candle or somerhing and the camera pulls back & back and out the window and away from Voyager, was a good cue.


Off the top of my head.

 

[JanewayRulz!]

I don't recall the episode name or the plot, but the cue that goes with the ending where Tuvok is in his quarters and lights a candle or somerhing and the camera pulls back & back and out the window and away from Voyager, was a good cue.

Season 4, episode 2, "The Gift".

 

[tharpdevenport]

Thanks. :-)

I tried, just a few minutes ago, to find a video to show those who don't recall, but didn't. I did, however, find this rather hilarious rewview of the episode:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkNXJLURlJw[/yt]

 

[StarryEyed]

The score in Scorpion, Counterpoint and Memorial immediately come to mind.

Memorial was a particularly powerful episode IMO and I thought the score really enhanced the effect.

 

[TheGodBen]

I didn't realize Berman was so strict on limiting the music. Good music can really make a great scene even better. I've always thought that. It's always been a pet peeve of mine when big-budget video games or shows use totally cheesy or inappropriate music - it kills the mood.

It wasn't just Berman, some of the other line producers demanded it too, it got to the stage where one of the producers (Peter Lauritson, I think) went to the recording of the score to make sure the composers weren't secretly adding in powerful music.

Ron Jones has complained about it in many interviews. Ron made scores for TNG back during season 1-4, he and Dennis McCarthy were the main composers and they usually alternated between episodes. Back during season 1, Gene Roddenberry was in charge and he didn't mind the music so the composers were mostly free to do as they wished. Then Berman took over the main producer duties in late season 1 and he told the composers to tone down the music, the idea being that the drama on screen should be powerful enough to convey emotion and that the music shouldn't get in the way. Dennis McCarthy sort of went along with it, but Ron Jones refused and continued to make memorable scores that the fans loved. He scored both parts of Best of Both Worlds, and the scores were so popular that fans requested the score be released as an album, so it was.

Later that year the producers rewarded Ron for being so popular by firing him for failing to comply with the way they wanted the music on the show to be. This scared Dennis McCarthy and Jay Chattaway into line and they scored the "sonic wallpaper" that the producers wanted. That's why the scores on the later seasons of TNG were so unmemorable. By DS9 and Voyager they began to let off the leash a little bit, but the composers were so used to doing the sonic wallpaper sound that it rarely ever took off.

 

[tharpdevenport]

Well, according my my recent interview with Chattaway, it's not quite how the stories go with other composers, or maybe he just wasn't under foot as much:

http://rejectedfilmscores.150m.com/jaychattawayinterview.html

 

[Michael]

http://rejectedfilmscores.150m.com/jaychattawayinterview.html

Nice interview! Thanks for that.