"It was 40 years ago, on Aug. 20 and Sept. 5, 1977, that a pair of robots named Voyager were dispatched to explore the outer solar system and the vast darkness beyond."
Mega came out with a series of figures to make up for their mistake when they turned down the license to issue the "Star Wars" figures, which signaled the downfall of the company.
ST:TAS theme is a hybrid. It starts with the TOS theme then goes into a new orchestration.
I think your memory is playing tricks on you. TAS main title doesn't follow the TOS fanfare or melody at all.
The first 30 seconds isn't the TOS theme?
To be fair, the TAS title music is clearly meant to mimic Courage's music, but the melodies are different. That is not Courage's music, it just has the same structure.
Interesting that TAS would use a clear knockoff for the theme. I wonder why they didn't either use the original theme or write something completely different? Hard to believe they couldn't get the rights to the theme when they had access to all of the other aspects of the original series.
Well all I can say is, it so closely mimics the original theme it sounds like a re-orchestration to me. But I'm not schooled in music either. I also thought the love theme in TAS was close if not identical to music heard in TOS. Man, I love the animated series music!
Well all I can say is, it so closely mimics the original theme it sounds like a re-orchestration to me. But I'm not schooled in music either. I also thought the love theme in TAS was close if not identical to music heard in TOS. Man, I love the animated series music!
There are ways of paying homage to a piece of music without getting into plagiarism territory. This one mimics aspects of the original theme without lifting any direct musical content. We hear "Star Trek" reinforced by the visuals and Shatner's narration - but it is an original composition. There was no copyright infringement.
Well all I can say is, it so closely mimics the original theme it sounds like a re-orchestration to me. But I'm not schooled in music either. I also thought the love theme in TAS was close if not identical to music heard in TOS. Man, I love the animated series music!
There are ways of paying homage to a piece of music without getting into plagiarism territory. This one mimics aspects of the original theme without lifting any direct musical content. We hear "Star Trek" reinforced by the visuals and Shatner's narration - but it is an original composition. There was no copyright infringement.
I don't think it would have constituted plagiarism or copyright infringement even if it had directly quoted the original theme. It was for a show that picked up where the first left off and was owned by the same entity, after all. Paramount could give itself permission to use its own property, and it would have been legally and artistically justifiable.
Guys, the TAS theme is not a re-arrangement, it's a whole new composition.
GR said once that he wanted to re-use the Courage theme from TOS, but the animated series couldn't take on the royalties involved. A new theme, composed and recorded under a more favorable contract (in France, I think), was less costly.
GR said once that he wanted to re-use the Courage theme from TOS, but the animated series couldn't take on the royalties involved.
Royalties which Roddenberry would have received half of, right? Seeing as he is the "co-composer" of the Star Trek theme. He should have declined payment for the good of TAS.
Well it must have been pretty well marketed, a friend warned me that it was terrible & I still went, & then I warned a Star Trek loving friend that it was the pits...& he still went.
Well it must have been pretty well marketed, a friend warned me that it was terrible & I still went, & then I warned a Star Trek loving friend that it was the pits...& he still went.
Sounds like fan word of mouth more than corporate marketing; were you and your friends "Trekkies"?
If the author of the Dr Who anal-ysis book series, ABOUT TIME, are to be believed, Star Trek was the arch...uh, nemesis, of Dr Who. Is that a common view held in the UK? As for this place, Star Trek definitely has more fans here than The Doctor (we never talk about Dudley Simpson's music here, do we?)
Guys, the TAS theme is not a re-arrangement, it's a whole new composition.
GR said once that he wanted to re-use the Courage theme from TOS, but the animated series couldn't take on the royalties involved. A new theme, composed and recorded under a more favorable contract (in France, I think), was less costly.
What limited budget they had went to Nichelle Nichols and George Takei. Leonard Nimoy refused to lend his voice without bringing on most of the other original cast members.
Well it must have been pretty well marketed, a friend warned me that it was terrible & I still went, & then I warned a Star Trek loving friend that it was the pits...& he still went.
Sounds like fan word of mouth more than corporate marketing; were you and your friends "Trekkies"?
If the author of the Dr Who anal-ysis book series, ABOUT TIME, are to be believed, Star Trek was the arch...uh, nemesis, of Dr Who. Is that a common view held in the UK? As for this place, Star Trek definitely has more fans here than The Doctor (we never talk about Dudley Simpson's music here, do we?)
Speaking as a Who fan I can't recall there ever being a Who vs Trek thing going on. Most people I know who are sf friendly here tend to like both, plus most other sf films and series, but maybe with a bias towards one thing or another. I always enjoyed Star Trek, without once ever comparing it to Who. They're so completely different that it's never occurred to me. We were of course well aware that there was a massive difference between any US sf product and what the dear old Beeb could manage budget-wise. With Doctor Who, it was a case of being bitten by the bug when we were too young to notice and care, and by the time we did we were hooked! So sfx especially were something we just ignored...
I do remember though seeing a report on the Animated Series in Canada whilst visiting my sister in 1973. It was in a thing called The Monster Times, and we flew home on the day of the series' premier. I managed to see both Trek and the I Dream of Jeannie animated remakes that morning. On my return to Blighty I wrote a letter to the Radio Times (tv listings mag which in those days was purely BBC tv and radio) asking about the cartoon Trek, which was published! Though they edited out completely my request also for the Super Friends show, they did inform me the new Trek series would air.
As for Dudley Simpson it's criminal that most of his stuff is lost. I'd love a collection. Heath on this very site put a good selection of synth re-recordings together. I wish they would do another with the exact ensembles used for his tv music. A documentary during Who's 50th anniversary year had a tiny piece which showed how good it would sound.
Well it must have been pretty well marketed, a friend warned me that it was terrible & I still went, & then I warned a Star Trek loving friend that it was the pits...& he still went.
Sounds like fan word of mouth more than corporate marketing; were you and your friends "Trekkies"?
If the author of the Dr Who anal-ysis book series, ABOUT TIME, are to be believed, Star Trek was the arch...uh, nemesis, of Dr Who. Is that a common view held in the UK? As for this place, Star Trek definitely has more fans here than The Doctor (we never talk about Dudley Simpson's music here, do we?)
Yup, I didn't know anyone who didn't like Star Trek (well, maybe my parents), & I'd have to agree that there was no competition between Doctor Who & Star Trek. They were very different, Star Trek had that American gloss & Doctor Who had the BBC wobbly sets, naff special effects & those exterior shots filmed in the same old gravel pit. But I prefer those old Doctor Who's to the latest lot, the production design may be tip-top, great special effects, but the stories are awful & half the time make no sense, you can tell the writers of Sherlock are behind this. I gave up on both Doctor Who & Sherlock early on.
Thanks for the replies, gents. Paul, I enjoy the posts which blend memory along with enthusiasm for these shows. They're the kind of posts we should have more of here.
That's what I figured re: Trek "vs" Dr Who--the About Time authors are quite knowledgeable and have written some truly outstanding and informative essays about not only Dr Who, but also the UK and its pop culture during 1963-89, which an Anglophile like myself loves. However, I do sense the tribal fanaticism and occasional anger that comes through in *some* of their writing; though the books are highly recommended; Trek should have books like those.
I first saw Dr Who when I was 9 (1980) and while I could see the difference with their production compared to Trek, young me chalked it up to Who being The English Way of Doing Things more than any budget constraints. I was quite accepting of the show's conceits and enjoyed Tom Baker and company on their own terms.
Gave up on Sherlock and NuWho years ago--don't get me started.
TAS main title doesn't follow the TOS fanfare or melody at all. 
