a couple of pages to peruse if you are a fan of the theme and scores for the various episodes. http://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cf...mID=1&archive=1

Excellent link!

The poster who lists the 'best score' episodes on page two really knows his stuff. I really think that the score is more an attractant to TV & film than our conscious realizes or ever gives credit to.

A personal case in point is with Star Trek (TOS) which finally released the full 79 episode score on a 15-cd boxset a few year ago. I soon found that I had more enjoyment listening to the score on a good stereo than I did watching the reruns of it. In other words the audio format simply pushed more 'feel good' buttons and was ultimately - the straw that stirred the drink.

I remember my mother used to play the MacGyver theme on the piano. I don't know what happened to the sheet music though.

heehee, I do love the MacGyver score though. There were some really neat pieces. I have the soundtrack that's on this site and if I can't watch MacGyver, I can at least listen to it.

I never noticed this until a month or so ago, but MacGyver seems to have his own personal theme that seems to be a modified variant of the beginning part of the main theme. I've tried to identify it with part of the main theme but can't seem to really place it. If you don't know what I'm talking about. It's starts :35sec in on this video. They seem to use for it for various reasons from sad moments to MacGyverisms, so I assume it's Mac's personal theme. Thoughts anyone?



This might be a bit off topic, but I actually have some clean tracks from the Viper TV show score I got from a friend, who apparently got the samples from the composer himself. It includes some tracks from the show and all the main themes, a couple of "sounders" for commercial breaks and some end credit themes. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Edit: Oops, I forgot to say, if anyone is interested in the tracks, hit me up and I'll see if I can find a way to put them up for download.

Can't say I've ever noticed it before.

My first thought is lazy composing by the same person just rehashing pre-composed music.

Would be interesting to see if the episodes which use that bit of music were all composed by the same person.

It was Ken Harrison who did Children of Light. Interesting though, the cue the was used when Mac was fixing Pete's clock in the beginning came out of Cease Fire during the assassination attempt in the beginning which belongs to Dennis McCarthy because he scored that episode. So it might be interesting to find out if the composers were allowed to use cues of each other.

If you really want to know. Dennis McCarthy scored 67 episodes over the seven seasons starting with The Heist and ending with Deadly Silents. He only had two episodes in the final season. I think he has the most episodes on his name.

Randy Edelman did most of the scoring in the first two seasons. The last episodes he did was Lost Love. Further he only adjusted the theme songs till the sixth season.

Ken Harrison joined the composer team in season 3 starting with Ghost Ship. Which was I have to say an episode that really relies on music. Especially when Mac searches the ship. At some point you could hear an early version of what will become Murdoc's theme later on. It's that *Rrrrrrrooooommmm' sound. Also the same cue is heard in The Widowmaker when Murdoc breaks in the houseboat but it's not until Strictly Business that Murdoc's theme is fully developed but still used plenty in that episode and Obsessed.

Than quite late, in the sixth season starting with Lesson In Evil, William Ross came along. I think he only has a handful of episodes but you recognise his style in Lesson In Evil, The Wasteland, High Control, Blind Faith, Trail of Tears, Hind-Sight and Honest Abe. Lesson in Evil and Trail of Tears have a real similar score. Also in the fight in High Control and the clip of Passages in Hind-Sight you can recognise it. I think he really likes the percussion. And I might add he did work on big action movies as a conductor in the 90's. The subway shootout in Lethal Weapon 3 sounds like his handiwork. I think he worked close with Michael Kamen on that one.

I noticed that sound what you mean too. I think it's Ken Harrison's work used either for MacGyverisms or either a moment of relief after escape. In The Gun you hear it when the container is being let down and you can also hear in Bitter Harvest when Mac is making the spectroscope. Both episodes are scored by Ken.

Also in The 'Hood you can hear it when Mac checks out the gates of the theater before sneaking in through the back door.

I think it's just an easy going theme when things are mostly at ease.

So yes, it would be.

Yes and no, I think. Depends on how much time they get for composing. But a lot of themes and cues are used over several episodes. Like when Mac fight Neilson in Nightmares that fighting theme is used several times. In For Love Or Money in the zoo and the last time it was used was in Black Rhino (just a bit of the track).

Also in the Children of Light clip you can hear the chase music used in Lost Treasure of Atlantis. The military music used in LTOA was also used in Serenity. And a part of the LTOA theme like when Mac tells Kelly to throw the torch so the funnel and the rope flies up in the volcano is heard in Squeeze Play when Novis hits the score board.

I think it's just called recurring themes. But that disappeared later on with some exceptions maybe or depending which composer did which episode. I notice more that later episodes had their own themes like Humanity and The Wall.

The last page of this thread covers the Canadian connection and why the scores remain unreleased on CD
http://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cf...3&archive=1

Uhoh, La La Land Records have already entertained the possibility of mastering them .... and have deemed it not profitable. They're the same company that produced the most excellent box set of ST(tos) episodes. Looks like it's a no go ........

Seems strange that the location of a recording can be an issue for releasing the music but it's not an issue for releasing the whole show/episode.

It also seems strange that an orchestra could sign a contract to record scores for a TV show and (presumably) contract all rights of the music to the production company who owns the show, but then 20 years later stop them from releasing the music on a CD.

So if I understand it's possible that the episodes that were filmed in the United States could have a possible release. We're talking about season 1, 2 and 7. There are plenty of episodes in all those seasons with a good score in it. But seasons 3-6 are less likely because they were scored in Canada?

I agree with Kiwitek here that seems a little strange.

Here is more on the season by season discussion
http://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cf...36443&archive=1

The problem for rerecording is always cost as opposed to return on investment. Rerelease fees are always an issue when the sales are below a certain threshold. Here is where you can read a little more on score release and reuse fees.
http://jerrygoldsmithonline.com/spotlight_...album_diary.htm

It's unlikely that a costly rerecording would seel as many as 2000 copies worldwide. Even the download option wouldn't get the investment back.

Yep, I've noticed that, too. It's usually reserved for action sequences like the one you posted.

I also notice that there's a softer, gentler version of the beginning of the theme, that's used for sweet or tender moments in the show. You can hear it in Slow Death, in the scene where Mac is making the doll for the little girl.

More episode evaluations have been added. There is also a connection to a "new" downloadable MIDI version of the MacG theme. http://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cf...ageID=4&r=859#b

More discussion of the episode by episode score analysis is available.
http://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cf...36443&archive=1

Unless I misread it, he didn't review On A Wing And A Prayer, one of the best of season 4 and by not doing the tv-movies he doesn't know what he misses. The discoveries and escape in the volcano, the fight in Trail To Doomsday and the disarming of the power plant, they're all such great tracks.