Since season one has been on this week, I've really noticed how much they used the TNG theme (originally TMP) in those early episodes. In "Lonely Among Us" it is used when Picard rematerializes. In "11001001" we hear it as the Enterprise returns to spacedock. It's a nice effect that makes the show feel like real Star Trek and ties everything together. Too bad they decided to scale the music back as the series went on. -Aaron
Ron Jones's final composition for Star Trek was "Final Mission," which was also Wil Wheaton's final appearance as a regular. Yes, that really was a nice touch. All those nice touches in the cinematography, f/x, music, etc. during the 1st Season is one of the many reasons why I prefer it to some of the changes that were incorporated into TNG as it evolved (Mostly due to Berman's "bean counting" ways.). The 1st Season of TNG, in its complete shape and form, was a true successor to TOS and TMP. :thumbsup:
That was Bob Justman's doing in the first season. In later season Peter Lauritson wanted a different sonic texture--a much more muted ambiance--so recurring themes and motifs went out the window.
That thing about a "muted ambiance" reminds me of something I read recently to the effect that that there was an evolution in style between TOS and TNG whose midpoint is another space opera -- Space: 1999. S:1999 is muted beyond belief (except for the beginning theme music). It's so quiet you could hear a pin drop in the next galaxy. I also agree that the first season of TNG is livelier sounding that later seasons and more in the spirt of TOS.
I thought this was going to be about how you could hear the original TNG theme (rejected in favor of the TMP remix) at the end of virtually every episode in the first season. It ended up becoming a sort of "all's well that ends well" theme.
And I thought this thread was about how many of the individual episodes had their own themes, especially those scored by Ron Jones. "Who Watches the Watchers" has a simple but great theme that creates a feeling of unease. "When the Bough Breaks" has a theme based on the main title. "Final Mission" has a terrific desert theme, and the ending music for the episode is one of my favorite passages of Trek music. And of course, "Best of Both Worlds" has the awesome Borg theme-- the score makes the episode feel like a movie to me.
Yep, I also loved the more thematic approach to music in the 1st season - too bad most of the episodes are so awful in terms of story and character!