Doctor Who (Promo)

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Debney in '96 was no longer the composer that brought Cutthroat Island but neither was he forgotten as sidekick for the Television genre. Of the 5 scores, themes or projects that are included on the career list, 3 are for the Television crowd. And Doctor Who was a remake Television movie of the famous series. I don't know what to think of the movie or series (probably another Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde clone one way or another) and the score is also not something you can take hold off. First of all, the composers' number on the job are counting 3 individuals namely John Debney as fellow composers John Sponsler and Louis Febre, secondly the theme of the original series is adapted and arranged so the name of Ron Granier comes to mind and finally, the promo of Doctor Who is one of the many "hard to get" scores on Debney's list. This also means that the tracklisting is counting numbers more than 20 and that the sound quality is always risky. Luckily, the quality of the sound is very good and the actual quality of the score is equal in that statement. The only thing that kills Doctor Who is the overall listening experience, but besides that you have to give the three composers credit for their work, perseverance and most importantly flawless mix of styles. Its as alienating as the story itself.

The score has one thing people will get crazy over, an abundance of choral use. Almost any track has choral use and this amplifies the alienating environment, the science fictional feel as the menacing unknown of the plot itself. Whether this is synthesized or real is absolutely not important at all. The main Doctor Who theme (the original) was unfamiliar to me but since hearing it (miserably performed but perhaps close sounding to the original) on Battlestar Galactica: The TV Themes compilation, it wasn't really a favorite of mine. But the arrangement of Debney and Sponsler is admirable and successful, I kept humming it for days. This main theme opens and closes the score with good fortune because as said before, it is cool! The actual score consists of good moments and weaker moments. The weaker moment and the one that reflects the entire score is the lack of real diversity, something the original theme acquires to bring. Also, the lack of strong highlights or moments and the uninteresting nature between tracks 6 and 12 is disappointing because here I really had it difficult to keep me focused on the subject of hand. Only track 10 is of a lighter nature but is also not very interesting. The rest is a lot better. First of all 'Breakout' is a nice track with the organ choral moment and the action theme, these two moments combined together are excellent fun and reappear in the good tracks 'The Chase' (even a bit Media Ventures sounding like in style) and '"Open the Eye"'. Also the use of the choir is either menacing like the best in 'Lee's Last Chance' or heavenly and inspiring like in 'Beryllium Clock / Bragg's Key' and '"Reroute Power!" / Temporal Orbit' which holds fine begin and end minutes of music. The actual main composed theme is not that special and appears now and then in the score.

And finally a little diversity in tone is the heroic music during 'Slimed' which is easy to enjoy and the great use of choral accompaniment in 'The Eye of Harmony / Half Human'. The track times are varying, mostly they run for a minute and a half to two minutes and there are two big tracks (4 and 6 min). So the lack of many short tracks is relieving and the actual quality of the score is equally satisfying. It isn't such a score that leaps at your attention and by the end of the score you remember the grand tracks of it. No, its more like you remember you had a nice time listening to it and you know you spotted good moments. This of course thanks to the extensive choral music and the good ideas of Debney, Sponsler and Febre. And when looking to the various composed tracks of the composers (to see which style I enjoyed the most), it has to be Debney and Sponsler's contribution. But this doesn't mean a thing, I also enjoyed tracks solely composed by either Febre or Sponsler. So Doctor Who as a listening experience isn't as rewarding as it may seem, due to the lack of difference in style and the quirky or dark use of themes. But when actually listening to it, you will pull up your eyebrows more than once, thus showing that Doctor Who as a Television score is worthy of more things, worthy listening and a respected Television score.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Prologue: Skaro * / "Doctor Who" Theme *** (1.36)

2. Breakout * (2.36)

3. WimpsY * / Doctor #7 Is Shot * (1.42)

4. Aftermath ** (1.05)

5. X-Ray * / Snake In The Bathroom ** (1.25)

6. "Who Am I?" + (1.57)

7. City Scape ** (1.06)

8. Time ++ (0.57)

9. Primitive WirringYY ++ / The Unbruce ++ (1.43)

10. Two Hearts ++ (1.12)

11. The Tardis ++ / True Identity ++ (2.14)

12. Night Walk ++ (1.46)

13. The Eye Of Harmony + / Half Human + (4.37)

14. Until Midnight + / Atomic Clock + (2.02)

15. Green Eyes * (0.47)

16. The Chase ** (2.22)

17. Beryllium Clock + / Bragg's Key + (1.13)

18. Slimed ++ (2.06)

19. Under The Influence + (0.48)

20. Crown Of Nails ** (1.14)

21. Lee's Last Chance ** (2.09)

22. "Open The Eye" ** (2.26)

23. "Reroute Power!" * / Temporal Orbit ++ (6.18)

24. To Hold Death Back ++ (1.46)

25. Farewell ++ (1.36)

26. End Credits / "Doctor Who" Theme *** (0.47)

* Composed by John Sponsler

+ Composed by Louis Febre

** Composed by John Debney & John Sponsler

++ Composed by John Debney & Louis Febre

*** Contains "Doctor Who" Theme, composed by Ron Granier, arranged by John Debney & John Sponsler

Total Length: 49.46

The use of artwork or photos is posted for non profitable reasons

=== Link to Composer Sites: John Debney, John Sponsler & Louis Febre ===