Somehow Debbie Wiseman makes her TV music budgets go a long way. For Absolute Truth, a study of the development of the Catholic Church, she aptly centres the score around the religious musical constant--a mixed choir. Their volume en masse rings at a powerful level, and--as introduced in the title cue--is the dominant voice in her instrumental palette. The strings and woodwinds ...
Manufacturer: BBC
This 13-part TV adaptation of Defoe's classic story is one of the most comprehensive of the many versions made for large or small screen over the years. It was a huge success when broadcast on both sides of the Atlantic in the mid-1960s. One aspect of its appeal was the title theme, which was so popular it was released as a single. The "Main Theme" is an adventurous piece with a slightly ...
Manufacturer: Silva Screen
This third instalment of the Ally McBeal soundtracks series, featuring performer Vonda Shepard, delivers another solid collection of emotive blues and country-inflected power ballads. The surprises here are the three tracks sung by the TV show's guest thespian Robert Downey Jr. If this soundtrack was intended to be a star vehicle, it's an old banger. Downey's contrived rasp, hardened vocals and ...
Manufacturer: Epic
With such lofty intentions, it was a shame Steven Spielberg's anthology series could rarely see a good idea through to a fully-rounded episode. This two-episodes-for-one deal demonstrates a couple that did work, although since the music was often better than the visuals that hardly matters! John Williams bookends each episode with his catchy title theme (included for completists), and as an often ...
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
Manufacturer: Rhino
Manufacturer: Sonic Images
Although not exactly an experiment, this first Babylon 5 TV movie would pave the way for the three that followed (Thirdspace, The River of Souls, and A Call To Arms). Everything about it had to be bigger. For Christopher Franke this results in cues where you really can hear something of his orchestra for a change. Creator Strackzynski apparently insisted he "break our ...
Manufacturer: Unknown Label
As the series drew to an end, this TV movie was slotted in to afford air time to an alien race not seen since the very beginning. The Soul Hunters could have been creator Straczynski's best method of detailing the overall story of the destiny of the human soul. Relegated to just this stand- alone they were rather wasted, but Christopher Franke clearly knew not to waste his opportunity. This ...
This standalone TV movie told a sub-Quatermass & the Pit story in suitable spooky fashion. A mysterious artefact is discovered and it does inexplicable things to the crew. That's the easy-as-pie plot. Creator Straczynski took an especially prominent role in the spotting of the music with series composer Christopher Franke. He came right out and insisted on the use of a theremin to convey ...
