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OMFGoodness! After a huge amount of frustration and hoop jumping (and the amazing customer service at LLL), I finally got my set today. I am just marveling in the music that I have been humming for years now. I devoured the liner notes and got some lovely info.
However, I also spotted a few errors, but I won't be a dick and point them out. I still very much enjoyed learning things I never had a clue about, specifically what went on with the music between Irwin and Jerry and that he was actually brought back to do more versions of a theme Irwin didn't even like! You can hear the UNCLE style he was apparently asked to emulate. Knowing next to nothing about the mechanics of music, I love the analysis. More than that, the music is insanely fine and some of my favorite TV scoring. I am so happy to finally have this on its own. Sad so much was lost, but grateful we have what we do.
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OMFGoodness! After a huge amount of frustration and hoop jumping (and the amazing customer service at LLL), I finally got my set today. I am just marveling in the music that I have been humming for years now. I devoured the liner notes and got some lovely info.
However, I also spotted a few errors, but I won't be a dick and point them out. I still very much enjoyed learning things I never had a clue about, specifically what went on with the music between Irwin and Jerry and that he was actually brought back to do more versions of a theme Irwin didn't even like! You can hear the UNCLE style he was apparently asked to emulate. Knowing next to nothing about the mechanics of music, I love the analysis. More than that, the music is insanely fine and some of my favorite TV scoring. I am so happy to finally have this on its own. Sad so much was lost, but grateful we have what we do.
Fantastic news, Mr. McOldsmith! You're in for one heck of a Voyage to See what's on the Bottom. 
I agree, you can hear echoes of The Man from Uncle in the alternate theme. Also, I wouldn't despair for whatever is lost, because as we know from long experience, different sources have been know to pop up unexpectedly.
Enjoy, friend.
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Knowing how much Scott loves VTTBOTS, I've been on pins and needles waiting for his set to arrive like mine did. This is good!
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The note about Irwin demanding “sex!” in the series is pretty amusing. In the first place, Irwin seemd like such a puritan. He had no real family to speak of, no kids (although he seemed to relate to them as equals) and shied away from physical affection. And, you don’t move a show from Monday at 7:30 to Sunday at 7 to get the younger crowd and add sex and romance. The kids don’t like that stuff and the few episodes where romance was brought in are awkward:
“And Five Of Us Are Left’ has Crane romancing some date until Sharkey interrupts for comedic effect. Cut that scene out (as the Sci-Fi Channel did) and you miss nothing.
“Escape from Venice” used it to the best advantage as Crane and Alicia utilized romance as their cover.
But “Time Bomb” shoehorned in sex laughably and the James Bond “run through the gadgets” sequence – not once but twice – and other tropes stand out as bandwagon jumping. After this, these examples, the sex and romance was pretty much gone (except for a few tiny hints) and the series was all the better for it. Action! Adventure! Monsters! The Flying Sub! That’s what brought in the kids and what keeps me watching.
Onto the music:
“Eleven Days to Zero” – our sole example of first season scoring. The same program as the GNP release, but with improved sound quality. I really hope more cues from that year are discovered as Sawtell’s pilot score isn’t really a good representation of the first season’s music. I’m very happy to have the pilot end titles sounding a lot better than the rip I made from DVD.
“Jonah and the Whale” – a fabulous score and one I am very familiar with. I resisted the urge to jump to “new to me” music and wanted to take this in order. So lovely to hear the whole thing in great sound. I Always loved Jerry’s theme and the variations on it are a revelation.
“Time Bomb” – whatever my thoughts about the episode, the music is sublime. It’s a totally different direction for
Voyage and the hints of the Flying Sub theme are tantalizing.
“…And Five of Us Are Left” – what a great score! It’s a shame so much of it is missing, but the music stem replacements are very well restored and it’s a great representation of the score. The marches, themes and personally dramatic music is spot on. The triumph of the finale put a HUGE smile on my face.
That’s it for disc one. I got my CDs at 8:40 at night, so I had very little time. But with only four discs I really am okay with spacing it out.
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@ GladVlad: Montreal, eh?
In any case, you are part of a very small band of enthusiasts in this city.
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Question for Jeff or Neil, I noticed the track titles for The X-Factor spells “Kaber” as “Kabor.” Is that how it is on the cue sheets? The end credits of the episode list him as “Corby” compounding the confusion. A lot of confusion for this weird, kind of sloppy and overly cheesy espionage caper. A sign that Voyage was an ill fit for UNCLE style plots.
Great music is really all it has going for it. The wholesale lifting of the pilot’s opening gambit – and casting William Hudson as Shires just to use his footage – is so blatant it couldn’t possibly have been lost on the audiences of the day. Even those “short memory” years, such a memorable action set-piece must have stuck out like a sore thumb. It’s still exciting, arguably more so since the Stevens’ music is more thrilling than Sawtell’s. Strangely, even at the more kid-friendly hour, the violence of the sequence is left largely intact. Other than a slight cut to remove an unconvincing under-cranked shot of a motorcycle escort going over the embankment. Hudson being shot in the head remains and there’s a great shot of Nelson tumbling to a halt (Basehart doing the stunt himself) and emptying his gun in rapid shots into the assassin in the helicopter. The scream from the original pilot episode is gone, as is the bad cartoon of the body hitting the turbulent waters. Great care was made to obscure Nelson’s 4th star in the new footage so as to match the 3 in the pilot footage. It’s a shame the same care didn’t go into the rest of the episode.
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Question for Jeff or Neil, I noticed the track titles for The X-Factor spells “Kaber” as “Kabor.” Is that how it is on the cue sheets? The end credits of the episode list him as “Corby” compounding the confusion. A lot of confusion for this weird, kind of sloppy and overly cheesy espionage caper. A sign that Voyage was an ill fit for UNCLE style plots.
@ Mr. Mr. McOldsmith: John McGyver is Mr. Corby, head of Kaber Toys.
Edit: Checked the episode Mr. Oldsmith. Even Admiral Nelson calls call him "Kaber". I'll to check the carefully.
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Mr. Moradi. Please report to the captain, in the observation lounge. On the double!
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Mr. Moradi. Please report to the captain, in the observation lounge. On the double!
Still waiting on my copy, to be honest. In fact only ordering it today because I was waiting for Two Mules for Sister Sarah.
Yavar
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Thanks, Neil!
@ Mr. Mr. McOldsmith: John McGyver is Mr. Corby, head of Kaber Toys.
Edit: Checked the episode Mr. Oldsmith. Even Admiral Nelson calls call him "Kaber". I'll to check the carefully.
I can't even believe you doubted me.  From the beginning of the episode, he's called "Mr. Kaber."
I suspect there were some name changes among the script drafts all the way to shooting.
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Thanks, Neil!
@ Mr. Mr. McOldsmith: John McGyver is Mr. Corby, head of Kaber Toys.
Edit: Checked the episode Mr. Oldsmith. Even Admiral Nelson calls call him "Kaber". I'll to check the carefully.
I can't even believe you doubted me. From the beginning of the episode, he's called "Mr. Kaber."
I suspect there were some name changes among the script drafts all the way to shooting.
I am not surprised to learn that the music logs say one thing, the end title card another and very likely the script something else.
In any case, the episode wasn't totally bad, but as you say Mr. Oldsmith, the dash towards U.N.C.L.E was probably ill inspired (save for a few episodes, and several more serious ones in season 1). There was rarely a lack of ideas, sometimes very creative ones, in Allen productions, but I fear they were occasionally half-baked.
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In any case, the episode wasn't totally bad, but as you say Mr. Oldsmith, the dash towards U.N.C.L.E was probably ill inspired (save for a few episodes, and several more serious ones in season 1). There was rarely a lack of ideas, sometimes very creative ones, in Allen productions, but I fear they were occasionally half-baked.
My issued with the color spy episodes were that they were too self aware and tried very hard to be a small screen Bond or UNCLE. When they worked, they were "Escape from Venice" or "The Left-Handed Man." When they didn't, they were awkward with little beyond the tropes. "The X-Factor" seemed to exist only to reuse the pilot footage. The only actors who seemed to enjoy spycraft on even a halfway serious level were Basehart and Hedison. For whatever reason Terry Becker always made Sharkey look like a kid playing spy. A lot of fans love the spy episodes, and I get it, ithey're more grounded. But I like sci-fi more than spy-fi in an Irwin Allen show and it was just too obvious they were taking advantage of the spy craze of the day. It burned out fast and Voyage went back to its strengths quickly. However, on the plus side, it gave the second season a variety and energy missing from later years.
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“The Return of Blackbeard” was always one of my favorite Voyage scores and I really love the episode. Unlike the equally frivolous “Terrible Leprechaun,” “Blackbeard” works for me. It feels like an intentional comedy in the music as well as performances. You can say the same thing about “Terrible Leprechaun” (which has the same tongue in cheek performances and sweet musical score), but where “Blackbeard” gets a pass is in concept. It’s a situation that is uniquely and appropriately “Voyage.” The series had already established the spirit world crossed over with theirs in previous episodes, so a ghost isn’t off concept. And he was a legendary pirate, which is perfect for the series. This could have been played totally straight, like “The Phantom Strikes” and would have still worked. “Leprechaun” is just ridiculous. It has no connection to sea lore, nor is it sci-fi or submarine/Naval drama. It, like “The Abominable Snowman” is just children’s fantasy. So while some people find episodes like “The Lobster Man” and “The Heat Monster” to be awful, I enjoy them because they fit in the format. “Terrible Leprechaun” is probably the one episode I actually hate because it’s as out of place as “Mutiny in Space” was on Lost in Space.
Having said alllll of that, I always truly adored the Mullendore music for “Blackbeard.” It is relentlessly upbeat and jaunty. It truly feels like it could have been composed for an Errol Flynn swashbuckler. There are three distinct brawls in the episode and each is highlighted by Mullendore and made more fun than the average fight. The pre credits are really suspenseful before suddenly exploding in Seafaring Swash. The music never lets you forget this is just a grand party for a Sunday evening. I know I’m gonna go back to this score often like I did Mullendore’s other Irwin Allen efforts. He truly knew how to accent these shows.
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“Terrible Leprechaun” is probably the one episode I actually hate because it’s as out of place as “Mutiny in Space” was on Lost in Space.
Just for this disregard against the wee people, there will be no pot of gold waiting for Scott McOldsmith at the end of his rainbow.
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“Terrible Leprechaun” is probably the one episode I actually hate because it’s as out of place as “Mutiny in Space” was on Lost in Space.
Just for this disregard against the wee people, there will be no pot of gold waiting for Scott McOldsmith at the end of his rainbow.
LeprechaunPhobic, I assume.
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My pot o'gold would have gotten lost in the mail anyway.
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