Comments on: Theme Tune Showdown!

By: David Staples

David Staples — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:55:58 +0000

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.

By: Tesse

Tesse — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:57:46 +0000

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!

By: Treme

Treme — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:48:31 +0000

Good day, excellant post.

By: Monte Kenan

Monte Kenan — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 19:45:46 +0000

Awesome post as usual, thanks for posting such informative stuff on a regular basis.

By: KINDLE

KINDLE — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 18:31:13 +0000

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.

By: LC

LC — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 13:25:38 +0000

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

By: CJJC

CJJC — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:23:52 +0000

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”.

By: OldBean

OldBean — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 08:12:02 +0000

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.

By: Restless_cheese

Restless_cheese — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 20:07:57 +0000

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!

By: Jon

Jon — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:42:33 +0000

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.