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Why isn't Murray Gold Scoring Everything?


leeallen01

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Murray Gold must be one of the great finds of the last decade or so. In 2005, I started to watch the new Doctor Who series and he basically blew my mind week to week. He had a full orchestra and choirs+Tenors, Sopranos etc at his disposal for a tv show, which is itself amazing. But the sheer thematic depth and size he explored for about 12 years is astounding.

 

Just listening to some of his pieces easily sends me to tears. And the power of his orchestration and the weight and meaning of his themes are just bloody brilliant. 

 

I'd love to hear him tackle a large film such as a marvel or star wars film. He would blow us all completely out of the park.

 

I mean listen to this glorious works - 

 

 

 

And there are of course countless hours of his doctor who scores to choose from. 

 

I just don't know why this man hasn't been begged to score...well, everything.

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I’d like to see him do something in Hollywood, but I’m not sure I’d like to see it in a Marvel or Star Wars (since the factory that those scores, esp Marvel, come out of have made mince of much more established composers).

 

id love to see him do a bunch of mid-range blockbusters where he could still keep and develop his sound - the 1990s David Arnold track

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I don't think he's as great as some Who fans make him out to be, but there are some real stand-out cues from his 10 year tenure.

 

I like a lot of his themes but his sound could at times be garish and unpleasant.

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His dedication to melody and his use of voices is breathtaking. 

 

If you played this to someone who has never heard it, it sounds not something from a scifi show, but something from a mozart of centuries ago. And this is a man singing by the way - 

 

 

 

And the way he then uses it as an anthem. Almost 'Land of Hope and Glory' in its power.

 

 

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I guess I need to get around to watching an episode of Doctor Who.  Does it still have those alien robots that look like rolling trash bins?

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21 minutes ago, Nick1066 said:

I guess I need to get around to watching an episode of Doctor Who.  Does it still have those alien robots that look like rolling trash bins?

 

Yes!  They kind of don’t know what to do with them after a while, but they’re still around and still fun to see at least.

 

I did quite enjoy the Dalek two parter with Missy and Clara and Davros

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I'm mildly aware of its existence, the opening used to be kickass, all actual footage I've seen of it is Tom Baker's K-9 shooting someone with a felt tip-drawn laser beam, the Rowan Atkinson/Jonathan Pryce Comic Relief sketch, and this lovely collection:

 

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I watched from 2005 to the end of Matt Smiths reign. I tried Peter Capaldi but ended up falling out of it. Not because of him, but because I was a bit burnt out on the show after 12 years.

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I do like this cue:

 

Really funky use of the sections of the orchestra, and works great with that part of the episode.

 

I don't watch Doctor Who anymore, I did when I was 6-12. David Tennant is fantastic. I gave up after Matt Smith took over unfortunately, maybe because I grew up too fast or maybe because I didn't enjoy Matt Smith's performance. All I know is that Tennant is irreplaceable.

 

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Capaldi was one of the greatest incarnation and portrayal of the Doctor let down by some seriously shoddy stories.

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No way, seasons 8 and 9 are two of the strongest the show has produced, after the Matt Smith era was in sharp, sharp decline.  I will say that while season 10 had some good moments, I could feel Moffat and his team's burnout.

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I've often wondered why Gold hasn't had a chance in Hollywood and thought of Bear McCreary and how he recently broke into bigger films. Gold has often sad that scoring for Who was a gargantuan task which he devoted his efforts to year-in year-out, so it probably came down to writing for the show or a film and clearly he felt a connection to Doctor Who to keep at it for as long as he did. 

3 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

No way, seasons 8 and 9 are two of the strongest the show has produced, after the Matt Smith era was in sharp, sharp decline.  I will say that while season 10 had some good moments, I could feel Moffat and his team's burnout.

The heyday was long over, even before Smith arrived!

 

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I never liked Steven Moffat unfortunately, always preferred Russel T Davies as the show runner - I might try and pick it up again when the Jodie Whittaker episodes come out, although I've been away from the series for quite a while so been a bit out of the loop.

6 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

 

 

No Doctor is irreplaceable.  That's kind of the point.

 

I mean for me in terms of favourites.

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2 hours ago, Alexcremers said:

Who watches Dr. Who anyway?

Fuck you, Alex.

 

1 hour ago, Alexcremers said:

Oh, I watched it too, when I was 12.

Fuck you, very much.

 

41 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

 

 

No Doctor is irreplaceable.  That's kind of the point.

 

DOCTOR WHO isn't about The Doctor, anyway.

 

 

6 hours ago, Margo Channing said:

He's too loud.

If, Jerry, you mean that it's overscored, then I wholeheartedly agree.

 

 

 

Gold's magnum opus is still SHAMELESS.

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24 minutes ago, Richard said:

If, Jerry, you mean that it's overscored, then I wholeheartedly agree.

 

I actually meant that his music's presence is often too in-ya-face, as if he seems to feel the need to boldly over-emphasise every moment of magnificence. It's all big and bigger.

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5 minutes ago, Margo Channing said:

 

I actually meant that his music's presence is often too in-ya-face, as if he seems to feel the need to boldly over-emphasise every moment of magnificence. It's all big and bigger.

 

I agree.  He's wildly inconsistent and doesn't seem to have an innate understanding of dramatic structure in his music.

 

I do love his theme for the 12th doctor.  And of course The Long Song (as a melody, can't stand the actual song).

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3 hours ago, Margo Channing said:

 

I actually meant that his music's presence is often too in-ya-face, as if he seems to feel the need to boldly over-emphasise every moment of magnificence. It's all big and bigger.

 

Jerry,  you've just described "overscored".

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8 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

 

I agree.  He's wildly inconsistent and doesn't seem to have an innate understanding of dramatic structure in his music.

 

I do love his theme for the 12th doctor.  And of course The Long Song (as a melody, can't stand the actual song).

 

Wake up! Wake up!

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8 hours ago, leeallen01 said:

The series is very 'in your face' in its approach to scifi. It isn't exactly subtle. It really goes big and bold in its execution; with the stories, acting, staging scenes, costumes, aliens, and overall settings. The music has to compete with that, hence Gold's approach was big, unapologetically sentimental and melodic. Exactly what the series needed. And his highs were very high. Some of the finest thematic musical storytelling I've certainly ever experienced. 

 

This!

 

 

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