One last rundown rankings post (once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more). I originally intended to just cover all the greats, i.e., the 4.5-star and 5-star scores across the eras. Conveniently, the count is exactly 50.

This should be largely consistent with earlier era-specific rankings posts, though I know there’s been some movement since those went up many months ago - Megamind and Twister dropped, The Haunted Mansion and The Thin Red Line climbed, etc.

Early days and the Media Ventures era (1988-2004) - 13
The Remote Control era (2005-2012) - 15
The Too Big To Fail era (2013-2022) - 22

The best **** scores that just miss out: Antz, The Peacemaker, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and Sherlock Holmes

****½ (round down to 4)
50. Megamind - Zimmer/Balfe; add’l arranging by Tom Holkenborg & Stephen Hilton; source cues by Geoff Zanelli
49. Top Gun: Maverick - Balfe/Zimmer/Gaga/Faltermeyer; various add’l composers & arrangers
48. Twister - Mancina; add’l arranging by Don Harper & John Van Tongeren
47. Planes - Mancina; add’l music and arranging by Dave Metzger; conducted by Don Harper
46. The Time Machine - Badelt; add’l music by Geoff Zanelli; add’l arranging Jim Dooley, Ramin Djawadi & Tim Jones

45. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil - Zanelli; add’l by Zak McNiel & Phill Boucher; conducted by NGS
44. The Great Wall - Djawadi; add’l music by Brandon Campbell; technical advisors W. Marriott & O. Benyamin
43. Pacific Rim - Djawadi; technical score advisors Brandon Campbell & William Marriott; ambience Mel Wesson
42. Black Widow - Balfe; add’l by Max Aruj, Steffen Thum, Steve Davis, Sven Faulconer & Dieter Hartmann
41. Black Adam - Balfe; add’l by A. Price, K. Riepl, Peter G. Adams, Steve Davis & Stuart Michael Thomas

40. Mars Needs Moms - Powell; add’l by Paul Mounsey, James McKee Smith & three others
39. Puss in Boots - Jackman; add’l by Matthew Margeson & Dominic Lewis; technical engineer Alex Belcher
38. King Arthur - Zimmer; add’l by NGS, RGW, Dooley, Jablonsky, Morris & Neely; thank you to Lorne Balfe
37. Backdraft - Zimmer; orchestrated by Shirley Walker; add’l orchestrations by Bruce Fowler
36. Interstellar - Zimmer; sequencer programming by Andrew Kawczynski & Steve Mazzaro

35. The Haunted Mansion - Mancina; orchestrated by David Metzger & Don Harper
34. Prince Caspian - HGW; add’l music by Stephen Barton, Halli Cauthery & David Buckley
33. The Last Duel - HGW; add’l music by Ho-Ling Tang; add’l arranging by Richard Harvey
32. X-Men: The Last Stand - Powell; add’l by John Ashton Thomas & James McKee Smith
31. Happy Feet - Powell; add’l by John Aston Thomas & James McKee Smith; add’l music prep by Germaine Franco

****½ (round up to 5)
30. Bullet Train - Lewis; add’l music by Daniel Futcher; conducted by Nick Glennie-Smith
29. Speed 2: Cruise Control - Mancina; add’l music by John Van Tongeren, Christopher Ward & Don Harper
28. Encanto - Franco; songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda; score consultant John Powell
27. Kung Fu Panda - Zimmer/Powell; add’l music by Henry Jackman & James McKee Smith
26. Kung Fu Panda 2 - Zimmer/Powell; add’l music by Lorne Balfe, Dominic Lewis & Paul Mounsey

25. Strange World - Jackman; add’l by Halli Cauthery, Antonio Di Iorio, Sven Faulconer, Evan Goldman & Alex Kovacs
24. Rumble - Balfe; add’l music by Steve Davis, Stuart Michael Thomas, Sven Faulconer & Steffen Thum
23. Kingsman: The Golden Circle - Jackman/Margeson; add’l by Alex Belcher, Jason Soudah & Ryan Taubert
22. Pan - Powell; add’l music and arranging by Batu Sener, Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis
21. The Thin Red Line - Zimmer; various contributions by Powell, Badelt, Jeff Rona & Gavin Greenaway

20. Inception - Zimmer; add’l by Lorne Balfe; sequencer prog. Andrew Kawczynski & Jacob Shea; ambience Mel Wesson
19. Chicken Run - HGW/Powell; “music assistance” by Steve Jablonsky, James McKee Smith & Geoff Zanelli
18. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - HGW; programmers Stephen Barton, Toby Chu & James McKee Smith
17. Home - Balfe; score technical engineers including Max Aruj; score technical assistant Steffen Thum
16. Crimson Tide - Zimmer; add’l music by Nick Glennie-Smith; choir conducted by HGW

15. Gladiator - Zimmer/Gerrard; add’l music/arranging by Klaus Badelt; source music by Jeff Rona; guitar Heitor Pereira

*****
14. The King’s Man - Margeson/Lewis; add’l arranging by Daniel Futcher
13. WW84 - Zimmer; add’l by David Fleming & Steve Mazzaro; programming by Omer Benyamin & Steve Doar
12. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas - HGW; add’l arranging by Stephen Barton; assistant engineer Toby Chu
11. The Prince of Egypt - Zimmer/Schwartz; various contributions by HGW, RGW, G. Greenaway, Powell & Badelt

10. The Lion King ‘94 - Zimmer/John/Rice; songs also by Mark Mancina & Jay Rifkin; panpipes Richard Harvey
9. Kingdom of Heaven - HGW; add’l music by Stephen Barton; thank you to Halli Cauthery & Toby Chu
8. POTC: At World’s End - Zimmer: add’l Balfe, NGS, Jackman, Örvarsson, Zanelli, Gire, Sponsler; ambience Mel Wesson
7. Paycheck - Powell; add’l music/arranging by James McKee Smith, John Ashton Thomas & T.J. Lindgren
6. The Promise / Wújí - Badelt; orchestrated by Robert Elhai & Jeff Toyne

5. HTTYD 3 - Powell; add’l music & arranging by Batu Sener, Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis
4. The Call of the Wild - Powell; add’l music & arranging by Batu Sener & Paul Mounsey
3. HTTYD - Powell; add’l by James McKee Smith, Paul Mounsey, Dominic Lewis & Michael John Mollo
2. Solo: A Star Wars Story - Powell/Williams; add’l by Batu Sener, Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis
1. HTTYD 2 - Powell; add’l music, arranging, MIDI orchestration, and programming by Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis

> One last rundown rankings post (once more unto the breach, dear friends,
> once more). I originally intended to just cover all the greats, i.e., the
> 4.5-star and 5-star scores across the eras. Conveniently, the count is
> exactly 50.

> This should be largely consistent with earlier era-specific rankings
> posts, though I know there’s been some movement since those went up many
> months ago - Megamind and Twister dropped, The Haunted
> Mansion and The Thin Red Line climbed, etc.

> Early days and the Media Ventures era (1988-2004) - 13
> The Remote Control era (2005-2012) - 15
> The Too Big To Fail era (2013-2022) - 22

> The best **** scores that just miss out: Antz, The
> Peacemaker, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and
> Sherlock Holmes

> ****½ (round down to 4)
> 50. Megamind - Zimmer/Balfe; add’l arranging by Tom
> Holkenborg & Stephen Hilton; source cues by Geoff Zanelli
> 49. Top Gun: Maverick - Balfe/Zimmer/Gaga/Faltermeyer;
> various add’l composers & arrangers
> 48. Twister - Mancina; add’l arranging by Don Harper &
> John Van Tongeren
> 47. Planes - Mancina; add’l music and arranging by Dave
> Metzger; conducted by Don Harper
> 46. The Time Machine - Badelt; add’l music by Geoff Zanelli;
> add’l arranging Jim Dooley, Ramin Djawadi & Tim Jones

> 45. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil - Zanelli; add’l by Zak
> McNiel & Phill Boucher; conducted by NGS
> 44. The Great Wall - Djawadi; add’l music by Brandon
> Campbell; technical advisors W. Marriott & O. Benyamin
> 43. Pacific Rim - Djawadi; technical score advisors Brandon
> Campbell & William Marriott; ambience Mel Wesson
> 42. Black Widow - Balfe; add’l by Max Aruj, Steffen Thum,
> Steve Davis, Sven Faulconer & Dieter Hartmann
> 41. Black Adam - Balfe; add’l by A. Price, K. Riepl, Peter
> G. Adams, Steve Davis & Stuart Michael Thomas

> 40. Mars Needs Moms - Powell; add’l by Paul Mounsey, James
> McKee Smith & three others
> 39. Puss in Boots - Jackman; add’l by Matthew Margeson &
> Dominic Lewis; technical engineer Alex Belcher
> 38. King Arthur - Zimmer; add’l by NGS, RGW, Dooley,
> Jablonsky, Morris & Neely; thank you to Lorne Balfe
> 37. Backdraft - Zimmer; orchestrated by Shirley Walker;
> add’l orchestrations by Bruce Fowler
> 36. Interstellar - Zimmer; sequencer programming by Andrew
> Kawczynski & Steve Mazzaro

> 35. The Haunted Mansion - Mancina; orchestrated by David
> Metzger & Don Harper
> 34. Prince Caspian - HGW; add’l music by Stephen Barton,
> Halli Cauthery & David Buckley
> 33. The Last Duel - HGW; add’l music by Ho-Ling Tang; add’l
> arranging by Richard Harvey
> 32. X-Men: The Last Stand - Powell; add’l by John Ashton
> Thomas & James McKee Smith
> 31. Happy Feet - Powell; add’l by John Aston Thomas &
> James McKee Smith; add’l music prep by Germaine Franco

> ****½ (round up to 5)
> 30. Bullet Train - Lewis; add’l music by Daniel Futcher;
> conducted by Nick Glennie-Smith
> 29. Speed 2: Cruise Control - Mancina; add’l music by John
> Van Tongeren, Christopher Ward & Don Harper
> 28. Encanto - Franco; songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda; score
> consultant John Powell
> 27. Kung Fu Panda - Zimmer/Powell; add’l music by Henry
> Jackman & James McKee Smith
> 26. Kung Fu Panda 2 - Zimmer/Powell; add’l music by Lorne
> Balfe, Dominic Lewis & Paul Mounsey

> 25. Strange World - Jackman; add’l by Halli Cauthery,
> Antonio Di Iorio, Sven Faulconer, Evan Goldman & Alex Kovacs
> 24. Rumble - Balfe; add’l music by Steve Davis, Stuart
> Michael Thomas, Sven Faulconer & Steffen Thum
> 23. Kingsman: The Golden Circle - Jackman/Margeson; add’l by
> Alex Belcher, Jason Soudah & Ryan Taubert
> 22. Pan - Powell; add’l music and arranging by Batu Sener,
> Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis
> 21. The Thin Red Line - Zimmer; various contributions by
> Powell, Badelt, Jeff Rona & Gavin Greenaway

> 20. Inception - Zimmer; add’l by Lorne Balfe; sequencer
> prog. Andrew Kawczynski & Jacob Shea; ambience Mel Wesson
> 19. Chicken Run - HGW/Powell; “music assistance” by Steve
> Jablonsky, James McKee Smith & Geoff Zanelli
> 18. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - HGW; programmers
> Stephen Barton, Toby Chu & James McKee Smith
> 17. Home - Balfe; score technical engineers including Max
> Aruj; score technical assistant Steffen Thum
> 16. Crimson Tide - Zimmer; add’l music by Nick
> Glennie-Smith; choir conducted by HGW

> 15. Gladiator - Zimmer/Gerrard; add’l music/arranging by
> Klaus Badelt; source music by Jeff Rona; guitar Heitor Pereira

> *****
> 14. The King’s Man - Margeson/Lewis; add’l arranging by
> Daniel Futcher
> 13. WW84 - Zimmer; add’l by David Fleming & Steve
> Mazzaro; programming by Omer Benyamin & Steve Doar
> 12. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas - HGW; add’l arranging
> by Stephen Barton; assistant engineer Toby Chu
> 11. The Prince of Egypt - Zimmer/Schwartz; various
> contributions by HGW, RGW, G. Greenaway, Powell & Badelt

> 10. The Lion King ‘94 - Zimmer/John/Rice; songs also by Mark
> Mancina & Jay Rifkin; panpipes Richard Harvey
> 9. Kingdom of Heaven - HGW; add’l music by Stephen Barton;
> thank you to Halli Cauthery & Toby Chu
> 8. POTC: At World’s End - Zimmer: add’l Balfe, NGS, Jackman,
> Örvarsson, Zanelli, Gire, Sponsler; ambience Mel Wesson
> 7. Paycheck - Powell; add’l music/arranging by James McKee
> Smith, John Ashton Thomas & T.J. Lindgren
> 6. The Promise / Wújí - Badelt; orchestrated by Robert Elhai
> & Jeff Toyne

> 5. HTTYD 3 - Powell; add’l music & arranging by Batu
> Sener, Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis
> 4. The Call of the Wild - Powell; add’l music &
> arranging by Batu Sener & Paul Mounsey
> 3. HTTYD - Powell; add’l by James McKee Smith, Paul Mounsey,
> Dominic Lewis & Michael John Mollo
> 2. Solo: A Star Wars Story - Powell/Williams; add’l by Batu
> Sener, Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis
> 1. HTTYD 2 - Powell; add’l music, arranging, MIDI
> orchestration, and programming by Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis

A perfect number one and what a sweep for Powell!

P.S. Thank you for all of this, it gave me something to look forward to every day and I'm going to miss it and I hope you do another someday soon.

(Message edited on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at 4:09 p.m.)

Sorry, that was mean.

Assorted thoughts:

> Early days and the Media Ventures era (1988-2004) - 13
> The Remote Control era (2005-2012) - 15
> The Too Big To Fail era (2013-2022) - 22

I was going to make a quip about recency bias later in the list, especially with the 21-25 bunch, but you kinda point out here that almost half your great ones are from the last decade. I wonder how much that just has to do with there being more composers and more scores.

> 35. The Haunted Mansion - Mancina; orchestrated by David
> Metzger & Don Harper
> 34. Prince Caspian - HGW; add’l music by Stephen Barton,
> Halli Cauthery & David Buckley

It's neat to see names and be like "Oh hey, I just listened to his music for the first time last week!"

> 10. The Lion King ‘94 - Zimmer/John/Rice; songs also by Mark
> Mancina & Jay Rifkin; panpipes Richard Harvey
> 9. Kingdom of Heaven - HGW; add’l music by Stephen Barton;
> thank you to Halli Cauthery & Toby Chu
> 8. POTC: At World’s End - Zimmer: add’l Balfe, NGS, Jackman,
> Örvarsson, Zanelli, Gire, Sponsler; ambience Mel Wesson
> 7. Paycheck - Powell; add’l music/arranging by James McKee
> Smith, John Ashton Thomas & T.J. Lindgren
> 6. The Promise / Wújí - Badelt; orchestrated by Robert Elhai
> & Jeff Toyne

> 5. HTTYD 3 - Powell; add’l music & arranging by Batu
> Sener, Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis
> 4. The Call of the Wild - Powell; add’l music &
> arranging by Batu Sener & Paul Mounsey
> 3. HTTYD - Powell; add’l by James McKee Smith, Paul Mounsey,
> Dominic Lewis & Michael John Mollo
> 2. Solo: A Star Wars Story - Powell/Williams; add’l by Batu
> Sener, Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis
> 1. HTTYD 2 - Powell; add’l music, arranging, MIDI
> orchestration, and programming by Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis

Look, if you want to call the entire How to Train Your Dragon a masterpiece, I'll allow it. If you're going to rave about Solo because it cleared your acne and saved your marriage, fine. What I struggle with is the idea Powell so thoroughly lapped the field that there's only one score from the rest of these guys that was better than any of his 6 best. Also that none of those six is Chicken Run.

Or maybe I'm still just bamboozled by Call of the Wild lol. Guess I have some reading to catch up on. Congrats on making it to a medium term stopping point.

> I was going to make a quip about recency bias later in the list, especially with the 21-25 bunch, but you kinda point out here that almost half your great ones are from the last decade. I wonder how much that just has to do with there being more composers and more scores.

It is almost entirely a function of more composers to track, cuz it's certainly not a function of the music on average getting better. I'd say note how many TBTF entries were near the bottom of many composer rankings posts, but then it's an open question if you've read those.

In the early days of Media Ventures it was just Hans and Mark Mancina doing solo work. Now we've got at least a dozen key composers in any one given year.

If this becomes a book, figure out how to keep all the narrative throughlines coherent is going to be a pain.

> If you're going to rave about Solo because it cleared your acne and saved your marriage, fine.

The funny part about that joke is that Solo is arguably the only one of those Powell scores that my wife doesn't recognize.

> What I struggle with is the idea Powell so thoroughly lapped the field that there's only one score from the rest of these guys that was better than any of his 6 best.

Kingdom of Heaven, At World's End, and Paycheck are all right in the same neighborhood on the all-time rankings. It's possible the order would change if I did this next year.

You can blame Call of the Wild if you like, but I'd argue more impactful was the reevaluation of Paycheck, which wasn't even a 4-star score in my book before the Deluxe Edition came out.

> Also that none of those six is Chicken Run.

Ooof, it was rough going back and reading my first attempt at a write-up for that one, one of those early 'oh, hell, you all already know and like this' bits. Though I've since picked up a great story about Powell putting Britten's War Requiem along the ant march scene and Katzenberg leaning forward and saying, “I see where you’re going, but this is for kids.”

My only real problem with the score is that you can tell it was written in the days before John Ashton Thomas joined Powell's team. There's a clear 'we realized this in a computer' feel to some of the music.

> Congrats on making it to a medium term stopping point.

Thanks!

> It is almost entirely a function of more composers to track, cuz it's
> certainly not a function of the music on average getting better. I'd say
> note how many TBTF entries were near the bottom of many composer rankings
> posts, but then it's an open question if you've read those.

> In the early days of Media Ventures it was just Hans and Mark Mancina
> doing solo work. Now we've got at least a dozen key composers in any one
> given year.

> If this becomes a book, figure out how to keep all the narrative
> throughlines coherent is going to be a pain.

> The funny part about that joke is that Solo is arguably the only
> one of those Powell scores that my wife doesn't recognize.

This would mean more if three of them weren't from the same franchise lol. Also, I was referencing when Nate was hyperbolically hinting at how incredible Solo was going to be before we heard it.

> Kingdom of Heaven, At World's End, and Paycheck are
> all right in the same neighborhood on the all-time rankings. It's possible
> the order would change if I did this next year.

> You can blame Call of the Wild if you like, but I'd argue more
> impactful was the reevaluation of Paycheck, which wasn't even a
> 4-star score in my book before the Deluxe Edition came out.

Yes but I really like Paycheck and when I listen to it next time I'll probably like it even more like you did.

> Ooof, it was rough going back and reading my first attempt at a write-up
> for that one, one of those early 'oh, hell, you all already know and like
> this' bits. Though I've since picked up a great story about Powell putting
> Britten's War Requiem along the ant march scene and Katzenberg leaning
> forward and saying, “I see where you’re going, but this is for
> kids.”

It's a score that I really would love to go deep and trace all of its influences back on.

> Early days and the Media Ventures era (1988-2004) - 13
> The Remote Control era (2005-2012) - 15
> The Too Big To Fail era (2013-2022) - 22

I feel like this track with my general sense that your ratings got progressively more (and frankly at times too) generous over time. Seeing Rumble ranked above X3 or the first two Kung Fu Pandas - seeing The King's Man ranked over Gladiator or Chicken Run or the Narnia scores - seeing Black Adam/Widow over The Time Machine - doesn't make a lick of sense to these ears. But then again, I didn't write a book-length rundown to back up my opinion, so perhaps it doesn't really matter what I think lol

On the other hand, I thoroughly approve of the extreme Powell-heaviness of the top end - even I would not go THAT far.

> I feel like this track with my general sense that your ratings got progressively more (and frankly at times too) generous over time.

Yes, and the sun came up in the East today.

> Seeing Rumble ranked above X3 or the first two Kung Fu Pandas

The Last Stand has a slightly exhausting element that will probably prevent it from ever climbing to a higher tier.

There is some small irony in Rumble beating out the Panda scores given how Po-like one of its themes is. But I did listen to them around the same time before this post, and I liked Rumble just a bit more.

> seeing The King's Man ranked over Gladiator or Chicken Run or the Narnia scores

The King's Man is mainly beating the first two scores because of how it's orchestrated. We can perhaps chuckle that Rumble is so appreciated because of how contemporary it is and The King's Man is so appreciated because of how traditional it is.

The first Narnia score had ***1/2 from me when I started the rundown. Don't get greedy.

> seeing Black Adam/Widow over The Time Machine

I suppose that's a function of The Time Machine being a high-end pastiche of what I like from other composers.

> I didn't write a book-length rundown to back up my opinion, so perhaps it doesn't really matter what I think lol

False modesty doesn't suit you lol.

We may not agree, but I do genuinely appreciate the counterpoint. If nothing else, it forces me to do a better job trying to justify why I like the newer stuff. 'Don't go giving Edmund an inch here...he'll take a yard!'

> One last rundown rankings post (once more unto the breach, dear friends,
> once more). I originally intended to just cover all the greats, i.e., the
> 4.5-star and 5-star scores across the eras. Conveniently, the count is
> exactly 50.

> This should be largely consistent with earlier era-specific rankings
> posts, though I know there’s been some movement since those went up many
> months ago - Megamind and Twister dropped, The Haunted
> Mansion and The Thin Red Line climbed, etc.

> Early days and the Media Ventures era (1988-2004) - 13
> The Remote Control era (2005-2012) - 15
> The Too Big To Fail era (2013-2022) - 22

> The best **** scores that just miss out: Antz, The
> Peacemaker, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and
> Sherlock Holmes

> ****½ (round down to 4)
> 50. Megamind - Zimmer/Balfe; add’l arranging by Tom
> Holkenborg & Stephen Hilton; source cues by Geoff Zanelli
> 49. Top Gun: Maverick - Balfe/Zimmer/Gaga/Faltermeyer;
> various add’l composers & arrangers
> 48. Twister - Mancina; add’l arranging by Don Harper &
> John Van Tongeren
> 47. Planes - Mancina; add’l music and arranging by Dave
> Metzger; conducted by Don Harper
> 46. The Time Machine - Badelt; add’l music by Geoff Zanelli;
> add’l arranging Jim Dooley, Ramin Djawadi & Tim Jones

> 45. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil - Zanelli; add’l by Zak
> McNiel & Phill Boucher; conducted by NGS
> 44. The Great Wall - Djawadi; add’l music by Brandon
> Campbell; technical advisors W. Marriott & O. Benyamin
> 43. Pacific Rim - Djawadi; technical score advisors Brandon
> Campbell & William Marriott; ambience Mel Wesson
> 42. Black Widow - Balfe; add’l by Max Aruj, Steffen Thum,
> Steve Davis, Sven Faulconer & Dieter Hartmann
> 41. Black Adam - Balfe; add’l by A. Price, K. Riepl, Peter
> G. Adams, Steve Davis & Stuart Michael Thomas

> 40. Mars Needs Moms - Powell; add’l by Paul Mounsey, James
> McKee Smith & three others
> 39. Puss in Boots - Jackman; add’l by Matthew Margeson &
> Dominic Lewis; technical engineer Alex Belcher
> 38. King Arthur - Zimmer; add’l by NGS, RGW, Dooley,
> Jablonsky, Morris & Neely; thank you to Lorne Balfe
> 37. Backdraft - Zimmer; orchestrated by Shirley Walker;
> add’l orchestrations by Bruce Fowler
> 36. Interstellar - Zimmer; sequencer programming by Andrew
> Kawczynski & Steve Mazzaro

> 35. The Haunted Mansion - Mancina; orchestrated by David
> Metzger & Don Harper
> 34. Prince Caspian - HGW; add’l music by Stephen Barton,
> Halli Cauthery & David Buckley
> 33. The Last Duel - HGW; add’l music by Ho-Ling Tang; add’l
> arranging by Richard Harvey
> 32. X-Men: The Last Stand - Powell; add’l by John Ashton
> Thomas & James McKee Smith
> 31. Happy Feet - Powell; add’l by John Aston Thomas &
> James McKee Smith; add’l music prep by Germaine Franco

> ****½ (round up to 5)
> 30. Bullet Train - Lewis; add’l music by Daniel Futcher;
> conducted by Nick Glennie-Smith
> 29. Speed 2: Cruise Control - Mancina; add’l music by John
> Van Tongeren, Christopher Ward & Don Harper
> 28. Encanto - Franco; songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda; score
> consultant John Powell
> 27. Kung Fu Panda - Zimmer/Powell; add’l music by Henry
> Jackman & James McKee Smith
> 26. Kung Fu Panda 2 - Zimmer/Powell; add’l music by Lorne
> Balfe, Dominic Lewis & Paul Mounsey

> 25. Strange World - Jackman; add’l by Halli Cauthery,
> Antonio Di Iorio, Sven Faulconer, Evan Goldman & Alex Kovacs
> 24. Rumble - Balfe; add’l music by Steve Davis, Stuart
> Michael Thomas, Sven Faulconer & Steffen Thum
> 23. Kingsman: The Golden Circle - Jackman/Margeson; add’l by
> Alex Belcher, Jason Soudah & Ryan Taubert
> 22. Pan - Powell; add’l music and arranging by Batu Sener,
> Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis
> 21. The Thin Red Line - Zimmer; various contributions by
> Powell, Badelt, Jeff Rona & Gavin Greenaway

> 20. Inception - Zimmer; add’l by Lorne Balfe; sequencer
> prog. Andrew Kawczynski & Jacob Shea; ambience Mel Wesson
> 19. Chicken Run - HGW/Powell; “music assistance” by Steve
> Jablonsky, James McKee Smith & Geoff Zanelli
> 18. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - HGW; programmers
> Stephen Barton, Toby Chu & James McKee Smith
> 17. Home - Balfe; score technical engineers including Max
> Aruj; score technical assistant Steffen Thum
> 16. Crimson Tide - Zimmer; add’l music by Nick
> Glennie-Smith; choir conducted by HGW

> 15. Gladiator - Zimmer/Gerrard; add’l music/arranging by
> Klaus Badelt; source music by Jeff Rona; guitar Heitor Pereira

> *****
> 14. The King’s Man - Margeson/Lewis; add’l arranging by
> Daniel Futcher
> 13. WW84 - Zimmer; add’l by David Fleming & Steve
> Mazzaro; programming by Omer Benyamin & Steve Doar
> 12. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas - HGW; add’l arranging
> by Stephen Barton; assistant engineer Toby Chu
> 11. The Prince of Egypt - Zimmer/Schwartz; various
> contributions by HGW, RGW, G. Greenaway, Powell & Badelt

> 10. The Lion King ‘94 - Zimmer/John/Rice; songs also by Mark
> Mancina & Jay Rifkin; panpipes Richard Harvey
> 9. Kingdom of Heaven - HGW; add’l music by Stephen Barton;
> thank you to Halli Cauthery & Toby Chu
> 8. POTC: At World’s End - Zimmer: add’l Balfe, NGS, Jackman,
> Örvarsson, Zanelli, Gire, Sponsler; ambience Mel Wesson
> 7. Paycheck - Powell; add’l music/arranging by James McKee
> Smith, John Ashton Thomas & T.J. Lindgren
> 6. The Promise / Wújí - Badelt; orchestrated by Robert Elhai
> & Jeff Toyne

> 5. HTTYD 3 - Powell; add’l music & arranging by Batu
> Sener, Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis
> 4. The Call of the Wild - Powell; add’l music &
> arranging by Batu Sener & Paul Mounsey
> 3. HTTYD - Powell; add’l by James McKee Smith, Paul Mounsey,
> Dominic Lewis & Michael John Mollo
> 2. Solo: A Star Wars Story - Powell/Williams; add’l by Batu
> Sener, Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis
> 1. HTTYD 2 - Powell; add’l music, arranging, MIDI
> orchestration, and programming by Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis

Good list. Maybe a little lop-sided in favor of Powell at the top, but overall the top 50 seems like a great collection of scores (there are a few I haven't heard except for in the films: Great Wall, Haunted Mansion, Bullet Train and Megamind). The only one I might not agree with is Encanto, it just never connected with me.

I do find the placing of the HTTYD and Kung Fu Panda scores interesting. To me the third score in each series presents a similar situation, a faithful continuation of themes and styles from the first 2 scores and some new ideas added, but just a notch below the 2 previous scores. Yet HTTYD3 is only a few spots behind 1 and 2, and 3 must be much further down your list.

I've enjoyed reading all your posts. Well done, sir.

> there are a few I haven't heard except for in the films: Great Wall, Haunted Mansion, Bullet Train and Megamind).

If anything, I underrated The Haunted Mansion when I first discovered it last year. The Silvestri, Horner, and Goldsmith elements are there, but by its climax this score is barreling ahead full steam into something like a gothic Golden Age horror score fused with those influences, and the finale piece is astonishingly gorgeous.

I'm sure Kris Bowers will do a solid job with the upcoming version. But he has a very high bar to clear.

> I do find the placing of the HTTYD and Kung Fu Panda scores interesting. To me the third score in each series presents a similar situation, a faithful continuation of themes and styles from the first 2 scores and some new ideas added, but just a notch below the 2 previous scores. Yet HTTYD3 is only a few spots behind 1 and 2, and 3 must be much further down your list.

It's a fair point. My thinking is a bit like what CC wrote about Revenge of the Sith; it's not quite on par with the first two scores, but it's still better than 99% of everything else. And Third Date gets more impressive every year. I also noticed my wife really liking the Furies in Love theme when I had it playing in the car last week, and that's gotta count for something.

I thought about throwing in some all-time rankings, but that would've cluttered up an already cluttered post.
- #9: HTTYD 2
- #28: HTTYD
- #46: HTTYD 3

And then there's a pretty significant drop-off after that. The Promise is probably closer to the 85-90 range.

> I've enjoyed reading all your posts. Well done, sir.

Many thanks!

> If anything, I underrated The Haunted Mansion when I first
> discovered it last year. The Silvestri, Horner, and Goldsmith elements are
> there, but by its climax this score is barreling ahead full steam into
> something like a gothic Golden Age horror score fused with those
> influences, and the finale piece is astonishingly gorgeous.
Grieg’s Peer Gynt sneaks in there as well, “Anitra’s Dance” specifically.

> I thought about throwing in some all-time rankings, but that would've
> cluttered up an already cluttered post.
> - #9: HTTYD 2
> - #28: HTTYD
> - #46: HTTYD 3
Reading this while watching the first film with my 2-year old nephew, who is enthralled.

Fantastic work, sir! Wholly enjoyable and informative from beginning to end!

> If anything, I underrated The Haunted Mansion when I first
> discovered it last year. The Silvestri, Horner, and Goldsmith elements are
> there, but by its climax this score is barreling ahead full steam into
> something like a gothic Golden Age horror score fused with those
> influences, and the finale piece is astonishingly gorgeous.

> I'm sure Kris Bowers will do a solid job with the upcoming version. But he
> has a very high bar to clear.

> It's a fair point. My thinking is a bit like what CC wrote about
> Revenge of the Sith; it's not quite on par with the first two
> scores, but it's still better than 99% of everything else. And Third
> Date gets more impressive every year. I also noticed my wife really
> liking the Furies in Love theme when I had it playing in the car
> last week, and that's gotta count for something.

Solid arguments. I know I also sometimes struggle with ranking scores in a series verse scores outside of that series.

> I thought about throwing in some all-time rankings, but that would've
> cluttered up an already cluttered post.
> - #9: HTTYD 2
> - #28: HTTYD
> - #46: HTTYD 3

One of these days I need to actually put together my own list of top 100 scores. Or, I could just continue procrastinating that project.

> ****½ (round down to 4)
> 50. Megamind - Zimmer/Balfe; add’l arranging by Tom
> Holkenborg & Stephen Hilton; source cues by Geoff Zanelli
> 49. Top Gun: Maverick - Balfe/Zimmer/Gaga/Faltermeyer;
> various add’l composers & arrangers
> 48. Twister - Mancina; add’l arranging by Don Harper &
> John Van Tongeren
> 40. Mars Needs Moms - Powell; add’l by Paul Mounsey, James
> McKee Smith & three others
> 36. Interstellar - Zimmer; sequencer programming by Andrew
> Kawczynski & Steve Mazzaro

> ****½ (round up to 5)
> 30. Bullet Train - Lewis; add’l music by Daniel Futcher;
> conducted by Nick Glennie-Smith
> 29. Speed 2: Cruise Control - Mancina; add’l music by John
> Van Tongeren, Christopher Ward & Don Harper
> 28. Encanto - Franco; songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda; score
> consultant John Powell
> 24. Rumble - Balfe; add’l music by Steve Davis, Stuart
> Michael Thomas, Sven Faulconer & Steffen Thum
> 17. Home - Balfe; score technical engineers including Max
> Aruj; score technical assistant Steffen Thum

> *****
> 7. Paycheck - Powell; add’l music/arranging by James McKee
> Smith, John Ashton Thomas & T.J. Lindgren

I've heard most of these scores except for the ones above. Going to give Paycheck a spin this afternoon and I've added the rest to my 'to play' list!

> 14. The King’s Man - Margeson/Lewis; add’l arranging by
> Daniel Futcher

I've revisited this one and The Golden Circle a couple of times recently! These are definitely fun scores that sort of slipped off my radar after I initially got them. Your “a Medal of Honor score by way of John Powell” description of them was what drew me to them again and it is very on point!

Being compared to MOH is always a good thing in my opinion!

> 13. WW84 - Zimmer; add’l by David Fleming & Steve
> Mazzaro; programming by Omer Benyamin & Steve Doar
> 12. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas - HGW; add’l arranging
> by Stephen Barton; assistant engineer Toby Chu
> 11. The Prince of Egypt - Zimmer/Schwartz; various
> contributions by HGW, RGW, G. Greenaway, Powell & Badelt

> 10. The Lion King ‘94 - Zimmer/John/Rice; songs also by Mark
> Mancina & Jay Rifkin; panpipes Richard Harvey
> 9. Kingdom of Heaven - HGW; add’l music by Stephen Barton;
> thank you to Halli Cauthery & Toby Chu
> 8. POTC: At World’s End - Zimmer: add’l Balfe, NGS, Jackman,
> Örvarsson, Zanelli, Gire, Sponsler; ambience Mel Wesson
> 6. The Promise / Wújí - Badelt; orchestrated by Robert Elhai
> & Jeff Toyne

> 5. HTTYD 3 - Powell; add’l music & arranging by Batu
> Sener, Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis
> 4. The Call of the Wild - Powell; add’l music &
> arranging by Batu Sener & Paul Mounsey
> 3. HTTYD - Powell; add’l by James McKee Smith, Paul Mounsey,
> Dominic Lewis & Michael John Mollo
> 2. Solo: A Star Wars Story - Powell/Williams; add’l by Batu
> Sener, Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis
> 1. HTTYD 2 - Powell; add’l music, arranging, MIDI
> orchestration, and programming by Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis

A very solid top 14 scores! I'd personally put HTTYD #1. But HTTYD1, HTTYD2 and Solo are all in my top 20 overall -- at #5, $10, and #16 respectively -- and we are just splitting hairs at this point!

Sinbad, The Prince of Egypt, The Lion King, Kingdom of Heaven, At Worlds End, and The Promise are also in my top 100!

Out of all of the composers you have covered in this series, John Powell is my favorite, largely because of the scores at the top of your list!

Congrats on completing this series! I admire how deep you took this project and it has been great to read! It has also led to several wonderful discoveries on my end that I had been overlooking and there are a lot of your **** star plus scores that I do need to check out.

Thanks again!

> Your “a Medal of Honor score by way of John Powell” description of them was what drew me to them again and it is very on point!

I was pretty sick when I wrote that in late 2021. Nice to see that opinion held up though.

> Congrats on completing this series! I admire how deep you took this project and it has been great to read!

Thanks!

Admittedly it could've gone deeper. I remember making a conscious choice early on that the works of Jeff Rona and John Van Tongeren were largely going to be out of scope (despite the fact that Jeff seems like a great guy and both of them had done some interesting interviews in the past), and also saying to myself last fall that if I wanted to keep my sanity then the Arrowverse would have to be out of scope as well.

Apologies to the Captain Pinkie fans who were expecting a deep dive on Vikings.

> and also saying to myself last fall that if I wanted to keep my sanity
> then the Arrowverse would have to be out of scope as well.

Get an assistant to write the Arrowverse chapter. It's only fitting.

> I've revisited this one and The Golden Circle a couple of times recently!
> These are definitely fun scores that sort of slipped off my radar after I
> initially got them. Your “a Medal of Honor score by way of John Powell”
> description of them was what drew me to them again and it is very on
> point!

> Being compared to MOH is always a good thing in my opinion!

I love the score and this description would actually have scared me off, so I'm glad I didn't see it haha. Makes me realize that, as much as I love Powell's highs, an unqualified "sounds like a Powell score" points to something I don't love nearly as much (and the MOH part is not my jam either).

I'll just say this: seeing all five of the top five scores with Powell's name gives me joy. Personally, I'd name HTTYD 1 the best of the lost, but HTTYD 2 is probably the objectively better pick. Anyway, thanks a bunch for doing this series! Excellent write-ups, quote collections, reviews and behind-the-scenes info that made me look forward to every new post. Definitely the highest-quality thing i've seen on my relatively limited time on this forum. This series is a big inspiration for the JnH odyssey I'm currently putting together. Bravo!

(Message edited on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at 1:44 p.m.)

> Personally, I'd name HTTYD 1 the best of the lost, but HTTYD 2 is probably the objectively better pick.

There's a lot of nostalgia tied up in that score. I was doing a spring quarter undergrad internship at a public interest law firm when HTTYD 1 came out, and that album got me through a lot of L rides to and from campus. It's not so bad waiting for a train when you're blasting Dragon Training (pun not intended).

> Anyway, thanks a bunch for doing this series! Excellent write-ups, quote collections, reviews and behind-the-scenes info that made me look forward to every new post. Definitely the highest-quality thing i've seen on my relatively limited time on this forum.

Many thanks! Listening and learning was fun on its own, but the interactions with other board members as I went through this added a lot of value and helped make this insane research project I took on for no good reason more worthwhile.

> This series is a big inspiration for the JnH odyssey I'm currently putting together. Bravo!

I know scores are the main focus of something like that. And goodness knows I didn't walk the walk on the following since I skipped over Hans' work before A World Apart. But if you're doing a quasi-comprehensive rundown for the music of JNH, it would be nice to see you cover his earlier work for Elton John and Toto.

> I know scores are the main focus of something like that. And goodness
> knows I didn't walk the walk on the following since I skipped over Hans'
> work before A World Apart. But if you're doing a
> quasi-comprehensive rundown for the music of JNH, it would be nice to see
> you cover his earlier work for Elton John and Toto.

While that would probably be the more comprehensive thing to do, I know very little about that kind of music, and I outright can’t stand Elton John’s voice. And with the number of scores Howard has written? I haven’t started writing a single word of review yet, but just the film titles and credits in my Google Doc is 17 pages long.

Not mad, just find it funny how the top 5 spots are all Powell scores in a Zimmer & Co. series.

> Not mad, just find it funny how the top 5 spots are all Powell scores in a Zimmer & Co. series.

Imagine I'd left At World's End at the 4.5 star rating it had last summer! The horror, the horror...

> Early days and the Media Ventures era (1988-2004) - 13
> The Remote Control era (2005-2012) - 15
> The Too Big To Fail era (2013-2022) - 22

Would be curious to see this as a % to put it in context. Your reasoning for the eras is well justified, but what jumps out here is how the peak period (from my point of view) crosses the first two eras. A number of the best pre--Batman-influence scores come in the next few years after 2004 (The Promise, Narnia(s), Kingdom of Heaven, The Da Vinci Code, The Last Stand, At World's End, KFP(s)). Think it just emphasizes that there was a transition period - a good example being the shift from The Da Vinci Code to Angels and Demons. Have to draw the line somewhere, though.

> 46. The Time Machine - Badelt; add’l music by Geoff Zanelli;
> add’l arranging Jim Dooley, Ramin Djawadi & Tim Jones

> 45. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil - Zanelli; add’l by Zak
> McNiel & Phill Boucher; conducted by NGS

> 38. King Arthur - Zimmer; add’l by NGS, RGW, Dooley,
> Jablonsky, Morris & Neely; thank you to Lorne Balfe

> 34. Prince Caspian - HGW; add’l music by Stephen Barton,
> Halli Cauthery & David Buckley

> 33. The Last Duel - HGW; add’l music by Ho-Ling Tang; add’l
> arranging by Richard Harvey

Some of my favs, so naturally they all feel a bit low.

> 20. Inception - Zimmer; add’l by Lorne Balfe; sequencer
> prog. Andrew Kawczynski & Jacob Shea; ambience Mel Wesson
> 19. Chicken Run - HGW/Powell; “music assistance” by Steve
> Jablonsky, James McKee Smith & Geoff Zanelli
> 18. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - HGW; programmers
> Stephen Barton, Toby Chu & James McKee Smith
> 17. Home - Balfe; score technical engineers including Max
> Aruj; score technical assistant Steffen Thum
> 16. Crimson Tide - Zimmer; add’l music by Nick
> Glennie-Smith; choir conducted by HGW

> 15. Gladiator - Zimmer/Gerrard; add’l music/arranging by
> Klaus Badelt; source music by Jeff Rona; guitar Heitor Pereira

> *****
> 14. The King’s Man - Margeson/Lewis; add’l arranging by
> Daniel Futcher
> 13. WW84 - Zimmer; add’l by David Fleming & Steve
> Mazzaro; programming by Omer Benyamin & Steve Doar
> 12. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas - HGW; add’l arranging
> by Stephen Barton; assistant engineer Toby Chu
> 11. The Prince of Egypt - Zimmer/Schwartz; various
> contributions by HGW, RGW, G. Greenaway, Powell & Badelt

> 10. The Lion King ‘94 - Zimmer/John/Rice; songs also by Mark
> Mancina & Jay Rifkin; panpipes Richard Harvey
> 9. Kingdom of Heaven - HGW; add’l music by Stephen Barton;
> thank you to Halli Cauthery & Toby Chu
> 8. POTC: At World’s End - Zimmer: add’l Balfe, NGS, Jackman,
> Örvarsson, Zanelli, Gire, Sponsler; ambience Mel Wesson
> 7. Paycheck - Powell; add’l music/arranging by James McKee
> Smith, John Ashton Thomas & T.J. Lindgren
> 6. The Promise / Wújí - Badelt; orchestrated by Robert Elhai
> & Jeff Toyne

> 5. HTTYD 3 - Powell; add’l music & arranging by Batu
> Sener, Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis
> 4. The Call of the Wild - Powell; add’l music &
> arranging by Batu Sener & Paul Mounsey
> 3. HTTYD - Powell; add’l by James McKee Smith, Paul Mounsey,
> Dominic Lewis & Michael John Mollo
> 2. Solo: A Star Wars Story - Powell/Williams; add’l by Batu
> Sener, Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis
> 1. HTTYD 2 - Powell; add’l music, arranging, MIDI
> orchestration, and programming by Paul Mounsey & Anthony Willis

So:

Powell: 7 (top-heavy in top 20)
Zimmer: 7 (bottom-heavy in top 20)
HGW: 4
No one else with more than 1 (I'm just gonna skip over the co-composer convo)

That feels in line with the consensus around the best music to come out of this musical lineage.

As others have said, the total Powell domination is interesting. They're all very good scores and the competition on the whole is not great, but what surprises me is this indicates a real preference for Powell's style that I didn't sense following the series as it went along, despite the high ratings. Which is a testament to your ability to write compellingly as a critic and not just a fan.

I say this knowing full well I'd be hard-pressed not to have 4 HGW scores top my list. At least you have the consensus to back you up!

> Would be curious to see this as a % to put it in context. Your reasoning for the eras is well justified, but what jumps out here is how the peak period (from my point of view) crosses the first two eras. A number of the best pre--Batman-influence scores come in the next few years after 2004 (The Promise, Narnia(s), Kingdom of Heaven, The Da Vinci Code, The Last Stand, At World's End, KFP(s)). Think it just emphasizes that there was a transition period - a good example being the shift from The Da Vinci Code to Angels and Demons. Have to draw the line somewhere, though.

Yes, it's tricky. Arguably the maximalist minimalism that defines much of the RC era and beyond has its roots in Journey to the Line and the God theme from The Prince of Egypt, and to a lesser extent some secondary elements in The Last Samurai.

I remember those 'eras of music' wall posters from my grade school music classes, and those were overlapping too.

The shorter answers are either 'these years are easier' OR 'it's all Jay Rifkin's fault.'

> As others have said, the total Powell domination is interesting. They're all very good scores and the competition on the whole is not great, but what surprises me is this indicates a real preference for Powell's style that I didn't sense following the series as it went along, despite the high ratings. Which is a testament to your ability to write compellingly as a critic and not just a fan.

That's kind of you to say. Thanks!

I'm a bit surprised by how surprised people are, and I think the reaction is being driven by one thing in particular - this was one long-ass effort. The Lion King was posted on March 24th, 2022. The Prince of Egypt was April 5th of that year, and Paycheck April 14th (a 4.5-star write-up at the time, but not one I'd change much of the wording from). Even that mega-piece about Solo was a few months ago. You can't expect people to track narrative through-lines over that kind of time.

> I'm a bit surprised by how surprised people are, and I think the reaction
> is being driven by one thing in particular - this was one long-ass effort.
> The Lion King was posted on March 24th, 2022. The Prince of
> Egypt was April 5th of that year, and Paycheck April 14th (a
> 4.5-star write-up at the time, but not one I'd change much of the wording
> from). Even that mega-piece about Solo was a few months ago. You
> can't expect people to track narrative through-lines over that kind of
> time.

I don't think it's so much tracking the narratives (though to be fair I've barely read these), and I don't think anyone's in sharp disagreement about most of them getting 5*. It's probably just seeing all of them bunched at the very top that's striking. Space them out across your top 14 and I doubt you get this reaction from us lol.

> I don't think it's so much tracking the narratives (though to be fair I've barely read these), and I don't think anyone's in sharp disagreement about most of them getting 5*. It's probably just seeing all of them bunched at the very top that's striking. Space them out across your top 14 and I doubt you get this reaction from us lol.

There's a part of my that would love to say I'm doing it for the clicks, but I think I'd need well over 300 clicks for that.

The cynic in me would say that even if Paycheck was #14 there would be something else to growl about. But that would probably be disingenuous.

Though I wonder if people would have the same reaction to 11 John Williams scores and 7 Jerry Goldsmith scores being in my all-time top 50.

I'd tell you to get of your ass and read everything I already wrote, especially now that all but the most recent link is saved in my profile, but that would
A) be too arrogant
B) assume my early work was good (it's not, but it's better than what I wrote for Soundtrack Geek back in the day)
C) suggest I hadn't already rewritten nearly everything up through the Media Ventures era, and I'd hate to be disingenuous twice.

> There's a part of my that would love to say I'm doing it for the clicks,
> but I think I'd need well over 300 clicks for that.

> The cynic in me would say that even if Paycheck was #14 there would
> be something else to growl about. But that would probably be disingenuous.

What, like Secret Life of Pets barely making the top ten?

> Though I wonder if people would have the same reaction to 11 John Williams
> scores and 7 Jerry Goldsmith scores being in my all-time top 50.

> I'd tell you to get of your ass and read everything I already wrote,
> especially now that all but the most recent link is saved in my profile,

I've got 50 pages of Frost left, the it's your turn.

> but that would
> A) be too arrogant
> B) assume my early work was good (it's not, but it's better than what I
> wrote for Soundtrack Geek back in the day)
> C) suggest I hadn't already rewritten nearly everything up through the
> Media Ventures era, and I'd hate to be disingenuous twice.

I'm not even sure what I've said to inspire such playful irritation, but it's fun.

> I'm a bit surprised by how surprised people are, and I think the reaction
> is being driven by one thing in particular - this was one long-ass effort.
> The Lion King was posted on March 24th, 2022. The Prince of
> Egypt was April 5th of that year, and Paycheck April 14th (a
> 4.5-star write-up at the time, but not one I'd change much of the wording
> from). Even that mega-piece about Solo was a few months ago. You
> can't expect people to track narrative through-lines over that kind of
> time.

It's been a while, so yeah, probably not remembering some evidence along the way. But I think to Vik's point, it's less the ratings (lots of people would give those scores 5 stars) and more not expecting them all to be grouped at the top. Which doesn't need justifying, and now this has weirdly become the focal point of the last post haha. Great list, great series (legit the best content ever posted to the forum - sorry troll-lovers), and looking forward to whatever you decide to tackle when you're recovered years from now.