[FalkirkBairn01]

I grew up with STAR TREK on TV and this is one of those shows where it was repeated so often that the music became ingrained in my memory and it’s familiarity is now comforting (as well as excellent in its own right) (the music for LAUREL AND HARDY and [to a lesser extent] cartoons such as SCOOBY-DOO and TOM AND JERRY).

There’s so much that was familiar to me in terms of the music for STAR TREK by the time that the massive multi-CD set of the music from the original TV series came out that I lapped all that up. So much so that that set is probably my favourite “Desert Islands Discs” choice for STAR TREK music.

When it comes to the films, the music for STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE and STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN are my choices. Both Goldsmith and Horner’s scores are top quality. And I wouldn’t protest too much if I were left with these titles as my only examples of those composers’ works.

STAR TREK III and STAR TREK IV are also scores from the franchise I like – and are movies that I rate highly too. But, after that, my interest diminishes both in terms of the films as well as the scores (maybe the latter is related to the former).

I usually consider myself quite shallow in that I tend to see plots for films and television shows at face value, rarely seeing the social commentary embedded within a story. If it’s a film of TV show that is telling a good story then that’s what I enjoy. From that perspective, the original STAR TREK TV had some great stories, great characters (and their various interactions), and great music. (BTW, the TV shows from THE NEXT GENERATION onwards were shows that never really grabbed me, including the music.)