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Post by jjpor on Oct 17, 2008 22:57:50 GMT
A thought occurs to me as I'm watching some Who - which is your favourite version of the Doctor Who theme? Just curious - which one of the various arrangements do you like best and why? Personally, with my ill-advised love of bands like Dire Straits, it's probably the early-80s version that (I think) came in with Season 18 - a bit punchier than what came before, with synthesisers and guitar. That bit over the end-credits, the "De-deee, de-dee-de-de-deeee; dee, de-de-dee-deee; dee, de-de-dee-deee; de-deeee," (or however you want to transcribe it), always makes me air-guitar, even if only mentally... Okay, I'll, er...be quiet now...  |
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Post by clocketpatch on Oct 17, 2008 23:05:54 GMT
Eight's theme, far and away, Eight's theme (the movie theme mind, his Big Finish theme sounds like someone split coffee on the tape and then let their dog chew on it for a bit... and then the batteries started running out when they tried to play it...)
It's so dramatic and big... and the keyboard rift in the middle gives me chills...
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Post by Stripes on Oct 17, 2008 23:10:07 GMT
I like the theme from series one - two and three. Dislike series 4 theme.
The 1980 techno like them rocks too. I don't even like the 80s!
by 80s I mean 1980-1985.
The 1986 one is kind of cool too and odd. Good odd.
1987-89 is also good. Oh curse my inner techno geek.
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Post by clocketpatch on Oct 17, 2008 23:14:50 GMT
I dunno, I like the season four theme, but then, it's got that same sort of feel as Eight's... but more, I dunno, bouncy? I'm not sure I like the bouncy. Eight's theme is more sublime.
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Post by Stripes on Oct 17, 2008 23:20:25 GMT
Eights theme was intense. Eight isn't intense.
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Post by jjpor on Oct 17, 2008 23:33:43 GMT
Yeah, I do like the McCoy-era theme as well, but then I'm biased... the wink! The Eight theme, having listened to it again, does remind me of the new series version(s) quite a bit; it has that "big", orchestral sort of thing about it. The one thing I don't like is that it has the "De-deee, de-dee-de-de-deeee; dee, de-de-dee-deee; dee, de-de-dee-deee; de-deeee," bit (you know the bit I mean, even if I'm rubbish at describing it) at the start, when I'm used to it coming halfway through the end credits of some Old!Skool Who episode.  I don't know, the strings etc. leave me cold a bit; I like the more stripped-down sound of the 80s and earlier versions. It's all just personal taste, at the end of the day. |
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Post by clocketpatch on Oct 17, 2008 23:47:23 GMT
I beg to differ Newton, well... in the audios at least. No one was intense in the movie. Except the Master. But I'm not sure he was intense in a *good* way.
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Post by jjpor on Oct 18, 2008 0:03:23 GMT
I beg to differ Newton, well... in the audios at least. No one was intense in the movie. Except the Master. But I'm not sure he was intense in a *good* way. You see, for some reason, I really like Eric Roberts in that. Sure, he overacts and he camps it up, but I dunno, it sort of works for me. Apart from the bit at the end - it's hard to take anyone seriously when they're in full Time Lord regalia, but that has to be the worst Time Lord outfit of them all. |
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Post by magnusgreel on Oct 18, 2008 4:49:21 GMT
The early 80s theme might just barely edge out the mid-late 70s theme for me, except the early 80s one really should have a bit more bass in it. It implies having a sort of jarring punch to it but doesn't fully have it. The theme should never lose its "weirdness" and tension.
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Post by Aldebaran on Oct 18, 2008 5:15:21 GMT
My all-time favorite is Ten's Theme, actually. I like the sythicized violins. But of the classics, the Howell arrangement,(Fivey's theme) is a second runner-up. |
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Post by Kit on Oct 18, 2008 19:06:35 GMT
I think they all are wonderfully unique even while being the same basic theme.
I lean towards Eight's, just because it's all Epic. Though I am fond of the Seventies theme
And Seven's was all Uber Eighties.
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Post by jjpor on Oct 19, 2008 1:33:22 GMT
The theme should never lose its "weirdness" and tension. Yeah, I suppose the 70s theme on things like Weng-Chiang does have that sort of trippy, dreamy quality to it... if anything, the weirdness gets more pronounced the further back you go... I can only imagine what people back in the early-mid 60s must have thought when they heard that strange, wailing theme, with accompanying weird psychedelic graphics. Yes, thinking on it, the 80s theme does need more of an intense, thrumming sort of bassline...if that makes any sense... |
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Post by clocketpatch on Oct 19, 2008 1:54:07 GMT
You know... I really like the seventies theme, the one that went for Three's last season and most of Four.
Actually... I think the title arrangement for Three's last season is my favourite. The early eighties titles, with the Doctor's face zooming out, scare me, and the late eighties titles for seven are just... they don't feel right.
And Seven's wink is downright creepy.
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Post by Aldebaran on Oct 19, 2008 5:48:06 GMT
Agreed.... It's pretty surreal, isn't it?
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Post by magnusgreel on Oct 19, 2008 6:19:12 GMT
First, everything I said was about music only. Judging the visuals of the opening title sequences is a separate thing, or at least it was for me in this thread since the topic was said to be about music.
This applies to the Sylvester opening sequence overall, though: there's something a little bit alarming about it. All these years later, now that I know that that kind of music didn't take over and dehumanize the culture forever, it's a lot more interesting. I like "surreal". My favorite song is "I Am The Walrus". Now, I enjoy that little tinge of "alarm" I feel when the Seven theme starts.
There's something about that opening that throws you into the deep end for a few seconds. It's just a bit jarring, and I like that. Then of course you remember, this is just good old Dr Who, not to worry.
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Post by jjpor on Oct 19, 2008 20:27:58 GMT
If we're talking about opening title graphics, the Seven-era one is good, isn't it? Self-consciously different and modern compared to what had gone before; It literally opens and closes with a bang, and I'll bet those flying asteroids and letters and things looked very impressive at the time - I can't really remember what my then-reaction to them was. McCoy himself looks much more benevolent and well-groomed than he did in any of the actual stories...
So, being a busy man with a vibrant social life, I've just spent about half an hour listening to all of the opening title themes on YouTube... I think the late-Four/Five theme still tops the heap for me, although honourable mentions go to the other 70s versions, and to the Hartnell and Troughton versions too. And, the McCoy version is growing on me. Er, so I suppose that means I'm sitting on the fence and saying I like all of them, then? Apart from the Six version - that really doesn't do anything for me - it's too...I don't know, don't like it much.
What I did notice was that the 60s versions of the theme seemed to have a much longer introduction, with the "de-dum, de-dum, de-dum, de-dum..." which seems to work for some reason.
And look - I've just turned into a companion? Which one? Not Adric, please...
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Post by clocketpatch on Oct 19, 2008 21:24:04 GMT
Hmmm, I'd say you're Harry, reliable, stalwart, and in possession of an unhealthy affection for giant clams. I kind of like the Trial of a Time Lord theme... but the titles blind me with that FLASH. Seriously, Six was out to do damage to people's retinas with that Coat and that opening sequence. |
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Post by jjpor on Oct 20, 2008 22:06:56 GMT
Hmmm, I'd say you're Harry, reliable, stalwart, and in possession of an unhealthy affection for giant clams. I'd be proud to be mentioned in the same breath as the good Dr Sullivan, although I am not in any way qualified to work on sailors... Six didn't just have the coat - in the opening titles, I'll swear that he had some sort of disturbing "ting" thing going on with his teeth - if Seven's wink was creepy, Six's smile was positively spinechilling... |
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Post by magnusgreel on Oct 21, 2008 1:02:40 GMT
The theme doesn't work for me till Pertwee as inventive as it was at the start. the closing sequence definitely.... the man died in recent years who invented the "ZZZzzzhhhh..." sound as the closing theme starts, and that helped a lot. Not his death, what he did before that.
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Post by jjpor on Oct 21, 2008 21:19:20 GMT
the man died in recent years who invented the "ZZZzzzhhhh..." sound as the closing theme starts, and that helped a lot. Not his death, what he did before that. Glad you clarified that... For me, the "ZZZzzzhhhh..." remains one of the defining things about old-time Who - the signal that you had another week to wait for your next all-too-fleeting dose. I think that that weekly format, with cliffhangers, was for me one of the best things about watching Who, and it's something I miss about the new series... |
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<-- C'mon people. They're free. 
