#dw soundtrack poll

[drwhosoundtrackshowdown]

Doctor Who Theme: The Finale

TV Movie

"For the made-for-TV movie in 1996, composer John Debney did the incidental music and arranged Ron Grainer's theme. Unlike all other versions, Debney's arrangement begins with a building introduction (to coincide with the on-screen narration setting up the tale), before opening with the Middle 8. [...] The familiar bassline was somewhat muted in its melody and did not drive the theme the way it did in previous arrangements."

Before The Flood

"A one-off modification to the theme was made in Before the Flood, with the Doctor playing his electric guitar over the normal theme tune."

[drwhosoundtrackshowdown]

Doctor Who Theme: Round 3

Series 4 + 2009 Specials

"For TV: Voyage of the Damned and series 4, Gold created a second theme arrangement (although if one counts the unused trial version, it was actually his third), referred to by some fans as the "Riverdance Theme" due to its pacier sound and heavier emphasis on strings. It still features the original electronic Derbyshire melody, but the strings are different and drums and piano have been added to dramatically change the feel. A new ending arrangement, with "middle eight" intact, was also composed and again recorded along with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Reflecting new closing-credits standards introduced by the BBC in 2008, this new arrangement is also considerably shorter than that used previously, and is more directly linked with the "Next Time" trailers at the end of most episodes; in most cases the closing theme "plays under" the sound of the trailer, and comes to the front with the "middle eight" as the credit scroll begins.

The series 4 arrangement was subsequently used for 2009-10 specials, appearing for the final time in The End of Time. It was also used on promotions for series 5 until the newest version of the theme was unveiled on 3 April 2010."

Before The Flood

"A one-off modification to the theme was made in Before the Flood, with the Doctor playing his electric guitar over the normal theme tune."

[drwhosoundtrackshowdown]

Doctor Who Theme: Round 1

Series 8-10

"Gold's seventh arrangement was introduced in TV: Deep Breath, coinciding with another new title sequence. The overall theme is more electronic sounding than previously, with the opening sting and main melody being more high pitched and synthesised (with the main melody sound now somewhat resembling that of a theremin, not unlike the main melody in Keff McCulloch's arrangement). The middle eight is not used in the opening or closing in this version; however it was present in the official release. The introduction section (which takes place through a spinning tunnel of gears), now incorporates the sound of bells ringing and the turning sound of the gears, befitting the image of the inside of a clock.

An edit was made to this theme in TV: Robot of Sherwood, with the opening sting replaced by the Derbyshire sting, and a slightly more aggressive bass element throughout, reminiscent of the previous few versions. In volume 76 of Doctor Who: The Complete History it was stated that this version of the theme used no newly recorded orchestral material, instead relying on previously unused elements originally recorded for the series 5 theme in 2009."

Before The Flood

"A one-off modification to the theme was made in Before the Flood, with the Doctor playing his electric guitar over the normal theme tune."

[drwhosoundtrackshowdown]

Doctor Who Theme: Round 1

8th Doctor Theme (2001)

"Another arrangement of the theme was commissioned for the Eighth Doctor audio adventures produced by Big Finish starting in 2001. Instead of licensing the Debney arrangement [...] David Arnold — best known for his association with the James Bond film series — created a sombre new arrangement."

8th Doctor Theme (2011)

"From 2011 and forward, starting with The Silver Turk, a new theme by Jamie Robertson was used for Eighth Doctor episodes in the Main Range."

[drwhosoundtrackshowdown]

Doctor Who Theme: Round 1

Seasons 18-22

"The new theme was arranged by Peter Howell using his Yamaha CS-80, ARP Odyssey and Roland Jupiter 4 synthesisers as well as his EMS Vocoder, and some additional processing to that recording. [...] The opening and closing themes followed the pattern set in 1970 [...] However, Howell's theme began in the key of F-sharp minor. This obligated incidental music composers to end their final cue of the episode in the highly unusual key, or something complimentary. Howell therefore has called himself "the guy who just made it difficult for everybody". (DCOM: Meglos) Beyond this unusual feature, his opening remained unchanged aside from some very minor alterations to coincide with the revised Sixth Doctor opening sequence from The Twin Dilemma and his closing included the "middle eight" and ended with an explosive sound (nicknamed the "sonic boom" and complimented by the white-out effect at the end of the credits). This theme was used from Season 18 through Season 22."

Season 23

"Season 23 saw another new arrangement by Dominic Glynn. It was more haunting and ethereal than the previous themes, but very similar to Peter Howell's arrangement in most respects (enough so that the opening graphics remained unchanged from the final Howell season). The theme was in the E Minor key."

[drwhosoundtrackshowdown]

Doctor Who Theme: Round 1

Seasons 1-4

"Although Ron Grainer has always received sole credit for the theme music, Delia Derbyshire with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop was responsible for all the arrangements for Seasons 1 through 17. She was given the composition by Grainer and asked to create the music. The method she chose was to create each sound from scratch using a variety of methods from pure tones to piano strings. Each sound was then changed in pitch and duration using purely analogue equipment. The final arrangement of the theme was made by making a recording of each section (bass line, melody, etc.) and putting them together to form the final mono track."

Seasons 4-17

"With Patrick Troughton now playing the Second Doctor in Season 4, came a new title sequence and another request for Derbyshire to change the arrangement of the music. This arrangement would be used for by far the longest. She returned to the first arrangement and added what has been called a "spangle" sound effect. Again, this arrangement was just faded out as needed for the opening title sequence. This third arrangement formed the basic theme from mid-Season 4 through Season 17, although [...] there were some modifications."

[drwhosoundtrackshowdown]

Doctor Who Theme: Round 2

Series 5-7A

"Gold composed yet another new version of the title music for the new title sequence used from The Eleventh Hour to The Angels Take Manhattan. This version of the theme is noticeably more electronic than his previous themes, yet with the opening bass line lowered in volume in favour of a new counter-melody. This element is reminiscent of the Debney arrangement from the 1996 movie, while the main melody line is reminiscent of the Glynn "Trial" arrangement, with the added element of the melody being partially rendered by a vocal choir.

As broadcast, the theme is punctuated by lightning-strike sound effects, but the version released on the BBC's website and the series 5 soundtrack album does not have this effect. This version, promoted as being "full length", runs exactly one minute in duration and is by far the shortest official rendition of the theme yet released. And the closing theme on nearly all episodes (except for The Beast Below) has the entire interlude from the full and opening themes, but cuts right away to the closing bars instead of featuring much of the main melody. The brevity of this arrangement is due to recent changes in the BBC's policy on closing credits."

Before The Flood

"A one-off modification to the theme was made in Before the Flood, with the Doctor playing his electric guitar over the normal theme tune."

[drwhosoundtrackshowdown]

Doctor Who Theme: Round 1

The Maltese Penguin

"The 2002 story The Maltese Penguin, a pastiche of 1940s noir detective films, featured an appropriate slow-jazz score which, at the end, transitioned into a rendering of the closing theme."

The Rapture

"2002's The Rapture, which was set at a 1990s Electronic Dance Music rave, featured an EDM version of the theme."

Doctor Who and The Pirates

"For the 2003 audio Doctor Who and the Pirates, a musical story in the vein of Gilbert and Sullivan productions, the closing credits used a new sea-shanty rearrangement of the theme in line with the story's score."

Horror of Glam Rock

"The 2006 story Horror of Glam Rock featured an appropriate glam rock version of the theme."

[drwhosoundtrackshowdown]

Doctor Who Theme: Round 4

TV Movie

"For the made-for-TV movie in 1996, composer John Debney did the incidental music and arranged Ron Grainer's theme. Unlike all other versions, Debney's arrangement begins with a building introduction (to coincide with the on-screen narration setting up the tale), before opening with the Middle 8. [...] The familiar bassline was somewhat muted in its melody and did not drive the theme the way it did in previous arrangements."

8th Doctor Theme (2001)

"Another arrangement of the theme was commissioned for the Eighth Doctor audio adventures produced by Big Finish starting in 2001. Instead of licensing the Debney arrangement [...] David Arnold — best known for his association with the James Bond film series — created a sombre new arrangement."

[drwhosoundtrackshowdown]

Doctor Who Theme: Round 1

Demons of the Punjab

"Akinola also arranged a special version of the Doctor Who theme in the style of traditional Indian music for the end credits of Demons of the Punjab to reflect the setting and emotional poignancy of the episode and its incidental music in a similar style throughout. Shahid Abbas Khan, who sang throughout the episode's score, vocally performed the melody for this arrangement."

Village of the Angels

"Village of the Angels, also had a special rendition, giving it a more spooky vibe and also leaving out the bass line and the drums. It was also interrupted by glitch sounds in the middle of it to make room for a mid-credits scene."

[drwhosoundtrackshowdown]

Doctor Who Theme: Round 4

Before The Flood

"A one-off modification to the theme was made in Before the Flood, with the Doctor playing his electric guitar over the normal theme tune."

The Five Doctors

"[...] a variation created especially for the twentieth anniversary story The Five Doctors, which used the original Derbyshire arrangement transposed up to the F-sharp minor key, and having the 1980 version fade in at the "middle eight". The extended theme also contains a section which Howell himself refers to the Howell Trombone. This section comes after the middle eight plays for the second time and the triads change chords up to the next octave."

[drwhosoundtrackshowdown]

Doctor Who Theme: Round 3

The War Doctor

"Big Finish began their War Doctor series with a new theme arrangement, also composed by [Howard] Carter, which was used for The War Doctor and The Eighth Doctor: Time War."

8th Doctor Theme (2001)

"Another arrangement of the theme was commissioned for the Eighth Doctor audio adventures produced by Big Finish starting in 2001. Instead of licensing the Debney arrangement [...] David Arnold — best known for his association with the James Bond film series — created a sombre new arrangement."

[drwhosoundtrackshowdown]

Doctor Who Theme: Round 2

8th Doctor Theme (2001)

"Another arrangement of the theme was commissioned for the Eighth Doctor audio adventures produced by Big Finish starting in 2001. Instead of licensing the Debney arrangement [...] David Arnold — best known for his association with the James Bond film series — created a sombre new arrangement."

Doctor Who and The Pirates

"For the 2003 audio Doctor Who and the Pirates, a musical story in the vein of Gilbert and Sullivan productions, the closing credits used a new sea-shanty rearrangement of the theme in line with the story's score."

[drwhosoundtrackshowdown]

Doctor Who Theme: Round 2

Unbound A

"Three new arrangements were made for the Doctor Who Unbound range. The first, unofficially referred to as "Unbound A", was used for Auld Mortality and Full Fathom Five."

Unbound Universe

"A new "Unbound" theme was composed by Blair Mowat for The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield range from the boxsets The Unbound Universe to Blood & Steel."

The War Doctor

"Big Finish began their War Doctor series with a new theme arrangement, also composed by [Howard] Carter, which was used for The War Doctor and The Eighth Doctor: Time War."

[drwhosoundtrackshowdown]

Doctor Who Theme: Round 1

The Five Doctors

"[...] a variation created especially for the twentieth anniversary story The Five Doctors, which used the original Derbyshire arrangement transposed up to the F-sharp minor key, and having the 1980 version fade in at the "middle eight". The extended theme also contains a section which Howell himself refers to the Howell Trombone. This section comes after the middle eight plays for the second time and the triads change chords up to the next octave."

The Light at the End

"[Jamie] Robertson also created a new theme arrangement for the fiftieth anniversary special The Light at the End which incorporated many different elements from previous arrangements, but kept the same style as his previous arrangement."

The Day of the Doctor

"Yet another Murray Gold arrangement of the theme was introduced over the closing credits of TV: The Day of the Doctor. This version uses an electric guitar-driven entry sequence, and enters into the middle eight much earlier than some previous versions. A vocal choir element remains, but is more subtle than previous versions."

[drwhosoundtrackshowdown]

Doctor Who Theme: Round 1

Seasons 24-26

"The arrival of the Seventh Doctor called for a new title sequence. Keff McCulloch's arrangement, in the key of A Minor, was the first to feature the "middle eight" as a default part of the opening [...] The opening and closing themes are very similar, with the opening being longer. No version was made for release as a single. It was used from Season 24 to the end of the regular series at Season 26."

TV Movie

"For the made-for-TV movie in 1996, composer John Debney did the incidental music and arranged Ron Grainer's theme. Unlike all other versions, Debney's arrangement begins with a building introduction (to coincide with the on-screen narration setting up the tale), before opening with the Middle 8. [...] The familiar bassline was somewhat muted in its melody and did not drive the theme the way it did in previous arrangements."