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Review of Doctor Who (John Debney)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you can enjoy robust, Gothic action concepts and a handful of momentous choral crescendos thrown in with Ron Granier's original title theme.

Avoid it... if the score's sparsely-rendered synthetic side and occasionally split personality isn't worth the search for the promotional album.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Doctor Who: (John Debney/John Sponsler/Louis Febre) With the 1996 resurrection of the popular BBC series that captured the imaginations of British television viewers from the 1960's through 1980's came an opportunity for American audiences to get their first taste of the intrigue. The mysterious Doctor travels through space and time, vanquishing conquerers and other evil-doers, changing his appearance thanks to several different lead actors along the way. While the series wouldn't last long on Fox in America, it would lead to yet another resurrection in Britain a decade later. The music for the concept has always been a collaborative effort, with a group of composers from BBC Radiophonic Workshop contributing to the original series. They were encouraged to experiment with electronic instruments all the while maintaining Ron Granier's original title theme from the 1960's and without the use of a traditional orchestral ensemble. For the 1996 production, a unique collaboration between three young composers would provide the diverse sounds with outlandish zeal. John Debney, whose name was already well established at the time of the show's American debut, worked closely with two of his colleagues, John Sponsler and Louis Febre, to create a larger than life musical background for the new series. Debney and Febre would also collaborate with success for the Emmy award-winning "The Cape." With elements of science fiction, grandiose settings, and elaborate characters, the composers were faced with the challenge of creating a score that was equal in scope and adventure, stretching the boundaries between acoustic and synthetic. The collaboration, for the most part, is a success. While retaining a few moments that are reminiscent of his previous solo works, Doctor Who has few characteristics of a normal 1990's score from Debney. Very little of the final music for the series was carried through from start to finish by Debney, who relied upon the services of composers John Sponsler and Louis Febre to develop and record his themes.

In the show's primary themes, including an overriding action motif and the love theme for the story's central characters, there are significant hints of Debney's involvement. Much of the Gothic material heard in the latter portions of the score would be rendered with significant similarities to Debney's equivalent adaptation of Disney's "Haunted Mansion" amusement park music. Surprisingly, though, some of the score's best moments are those created by either Sponsler or Febre alone. Gothic in attitude, with swelling orchestral bursts around every corner and the accompaniment of a seemingly synthetic adult choir to compliment the genre, Doctor Who is always interesting at the very least. The choral synthetics, along with some of the keyboarded brass and string effects, will be familiar to those of you who are familiar with some of Mark Snow's non-X-Files television works. The tone of the score wanders about with great variance from cue to cue, shifting at will between the blasts of sharp brass during chases, momentous choral crescendos for the supernatural, and enchantingly solemn piano performance for character development. Doctor Who hits bottom in quality when employing standard action rhythm samples (typically from Sponsler, whose electronic library seemed stocked with Media Ventures favorites). The most entertaining cues come from Febre, including the choral pieces in "The Eye of Harmony" and the relentless action of "Slimed," which most closely resembles Debney's typical style (with a pinch of early James Horner thrown in). By comparison, the two full performances of the original "Doctor Who" theme by Grainer are quite funky, following the lead of Debney's usual, explosive adaptations of 60's television themes, and they could prove to be a detriment to the album for some listeners. That album does take a dozen tracks to really start rolling. After a tepid start, the latter half is extremely ambitious. From the alternating-octave brass blasts in "Bragg's Key" to the wild harpsichord action material (how often do you read that phrase?) in "Slimed," Doctor Who produces more than enough pulse pounding ruckus. Not all of the basic elements might be of great interest by themselves, including some of the poorly rendered electronic pieces by Sponsler. But together, Debney, Sponsler, and Febre keep the music constantly charged with heroism, bravado, and intensity. The album was Debney's fifth pressed promotional release of the mid-90's.  ***

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 50:41

• 1. Prologue: Skaro#/"Doctor Who" Theme*** (1:38) • 2. Breakout# (2:39) • 3. Wimps*/Doctor #7 is Shot* (1:44) • 4. Aftermath* (1:09) • 5. X-Ray#/Snake in the Bathroom* (1:28) • 6. "Who Am I?"$ (1:58) • 7. City Scape* (1:07) • 8. Time** (0:58) • 9. Primitive Wiring**/The UnBruce** (1:40) • 10. Two Hearts** (1:15) • 11. The Tardis**/True Identity** (2:16) • 12. Night Walk** (1:48) • 13. The Eye of Harmony$/Half Human$ (4:39)

• 14. Until Midnight$/Atomic Clock$ (2:03) • 15. Green Eyes# (0:48) • 16. The Chase* (2:23) • 17. Beryllium Clock$/Bragg's Key$ (1:16) • 18. Slimed** (2:08) • 19. Under the Influence$ (0:50) • 20. Crown of Nails* (1:16) • 21. Lee's Last Chance* (2:11) • 22. "Open the Eye"* (2:29) • 23. "Reroute Power!"#/Temporal Orbit** (6:20) • 24. To Hold Death Back** (1:48) • 25. Farewell** (1:38) • 26. End Credits - "Doctor Who" Theme*** (0:50)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert contains the following note by David Hirsch:

"The music for Doctor Who upholds another longstanding tradition. A team of composers contributed the music for the original TV series, many from the legendary BBC Radiophonic Workshop were encouraged to experiment with electronic instruments. Ron Granier's title theme, which once more opens and closes the story, was first "realized" by Radiophonic artists almost 35 years ago without the use of conventional acoustic instruments.

The melodic and exciting new underscore for the 1996 film was created under the direction of veteran composer John Debney. Much of the score's success goes to the talents of up and coming young composers John Sponsler and Louis Febre. One of the big highlights of their Doctor Who score was the need to create a love theme for the Doctor and Grace. The couple's on-screen kiss marked a milestone in the series' history. Until then, the Doctor never had an intimate relationship."

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