The theme tune to Doctor Who is iconic, of that there’s no mistaking. It’s right up there with The Sweeney, The Professionals and The Casualty in terms of instantly recognisable television themes.
We all know that Ron Grainer was the composer of the theme tune for Doctor Who and we also know that it’s gone through many different arrangements in the 47 years it’s been around.
The first was by a fantastically talented young lady called Delia Derbyshire. When we say talented, we mean it. She was so far ahead of her time that it’s scary. She took Ron’s composition and went to town on it.
There’s a school of thought that says young Delia – only 26 at the time – really made the Doctor Who theme memorable by her painstaking splicing of audio tape to realise Ron Grainer’s vision of the theme. In fact she put so much of herself into it that Ron questioned whether or not he’d even written it!
Skipping ahead 42 years and we have the Murray Gold arrangement. Strange that it should be called an arrangement given that it heavily samples the original Delia Derbyshire piece.
Gold’s arrangement seems to almost entirely consist of the addition of a militaristic drumbeat which in itself is rather odd given The Doctor’s dislike of all things militaristic. Still I’m sure Russell T Davies approved of it wholeheartedly… We digress. The whole point of this post is to get a handle on the preferences of our brave readers.
Which is better Murray Gold’s new version of the theme or Delia Derbyshire’s original? Sadly we don’t have Harry Hill’s uncanny knack of arranging fights between two opposing options, so we’ve had to go for a poll instead.
Before you answer said poll though, here’s a reminder of the two themes. First, the original version:
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And next the new and improved version:
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Loading ...We hope you voted wisely.
It may be rose tinted (pardon the pun), but the original will always remind me of the days when I found Doctor Who to be disturbing. This has happened a handful of times in the new Who, but like the theme it just isn’t quite disturbing enough. Who-lite!
I do like Gold’s score for the show itself. It aspires to be an epic film score but clearly falls short. It is however quite emotive and barmy in places. No more Neil Hannon songs though. I do appreciate the work of Hannon, Talbot et al. But it doesn’t suit Who.
I like my Who soundtrack to be like another British institution – the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. I believe the the composer of said TV score did a few episodes of Who roundabout the change over between Baker and Davison.
Anyway, I voted Derbyshire!
The original is almost – and the phrase has been overused, so forgive me – ethereal.
Gold’s interpretation adds nothing original and whilst I agree it’s intentions are to make the theme filmic. It lacks any real body and as a consequence fails miserably.
To make the original Derbyshire arrangement filmic would require a total rethink. If you’re going to go back to the score, go back to the score don’t just lift an existing mix and add extra tracks.
To properly redo the Doctor Who score you’d need to let someone have complete artistic control, whether or not Gold is the man for that job or not, I’m not sure but whoever does do it can’t be constrained by the original. However good it was.
I’m not sure of his name, but whoever does the incidental music to Life on Mars should have a crack at the Who theme. His work on Life on Mars is wonderful. Reminds me of Eno’s ambient work. I think it would set a good tone for Who!
As a fan of both old and new, I enjoy both arrangements. I thoroughly enjoy Murray Gold’s arrangement of the Who theme. It’s adventurous, plucky and exciting, which is what the show is all about.
The original theme is a classic, but again designed to be mysterious, slow and drawn out – much like the many-parter episodes. My particular favourite of the Derbyshire arrangements are the 70s episodes – fast paced.
The McCulloch arrangement I think is the only one I liked the least. It didn’t sound like what it was – it sounded like the theme for a rock show, rather than a Sci Fi.
I digress. Out of the two, I enjoy listening to the Gold version moreso.
Peter Howell version for me, but Delia’s is the best of those two by a margin so large it should actually be referred to as a “largin”.
I’m just grateful that the Delia Derbyshire theme is used in the series today. There were completely new themes between 1980 and 1989 (and later in the American film) and we had no choice about that so at least the last two versions have been truer to Dr Who of the 60s and 70s then some of the truly awful 1980s versions
I have a lifetime dedicated to the Dr Who theme & my attachement to Delia Derbyshire, her Work & her lessons is of a fanatic nature.
The Latest theme is an embarrassment with all honestly. The Bass Line is Transparent, as much of the Melody is as well. The Brass instruments are way over mixed over power everything else. The Tremolo flute is still there, even if the god awful strings riff has been exterminated. It’s as if Gold recorded the previous abomination in sections, & all he has done is taken a few layers away, & put a few new synthetic sounds in.
The Bass Line: No more “nnnDum Da Dum”. For it is barely noticeable.
The Main Haunt: You can’t hear the 1st dip that Delia composed herself. The Sound used to play this isn’t even pioneered, wobbles all over the place, has far too much attack & is out of tune to a disastrous extent.
It’s structure: Nothing Original from Murray Gold here, he still goes out of his way to bore us with the same lack of realisation for such a catchy theme.
The Feel: It’s shit. Really shit! It fits the new series perfectly in that case!
When they had the finished product, they heard how dull, insipid & powerless it was. Having NO clarity, Punch or character they had to do something! DRUMS! Yes, lets use drums! Using Drums in the Dr Who theme proves that the theme on it’s own is weak. And doing this is a shortcut that I thought even Murray Gold wasn’t capable of. “Well done Murray, you really do suck Big Time!
If anyone thinks that I’m wrong, just remember, this is the man that dissected Delia’s Masterpiece due to his own incompetence.
Awesome post as usual, thanks for posting such informative stuff on a regular basis.
Good day, excellant post.
I’m in the minority I’m afraid. I love the newer arrangement – like the orchestral section. Just gives it a little something more…
Of course I realise it would be nothing without the original composition… I just enjoy it a little more this way!
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The absolute nadir for Who themes was the 1980s. The Peter Howell version was just about tolerable (after say, half a bottle of whiskey), the “Trial” version was weaker than water and the McCoy version had the legendary main riff sounding like someone flushing a cat down the toilet.
80s = pants Who themes.