Williams music on Smallville

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

For anyone who ever watches Smallville on the WB, I'm sitting here listening to Williams' music from Superman playing on the show, mainly from Fortress of Solitude I believe. I was very surprised to hear it as I don't think they've ever done it before. It's really fun to hear though, and definitely elevates the show.

Ray Barnsbury

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

As an afterthought, I'm pretty sure the use of that music was due to the fact that the real Superman, Christopher Reeve, was a guest star on the show tonight. The music was likely a subtly homage to him.

Ray Barnsbury

[EvanED 1]

I noticed that too, though I don't know if that's a normal occurance or not; I was watching specifically for the Reeve appearance.

[Guest]

I don't usually watch Smallville, either, but I watched tonight specifically for Christopher Reeve. And when I started hearing the Williams music begin under the scene, I got goosebumps, yep, I sure did. The use of the original Superman music was very effective, IMHO. And Christopher Reeve did a wonderful, perfect job.

Cheers!

--Kevin

[CYPHER 1]

Well for good or ill, I actually watch this show regularly. Here in Australia they have yet to start screening the second season, and while I am not overly familiar with Williams' Superman score, as far as I could tell they never played any excerpts in all of the first season. Instead the soundtrack would basically consist of pilfered modern pop and rock e.g. U2 and Nickleback and Mark Snow's ever-the-same score.

CYPHER

[UCFKevin 0]

I watch the show every week, I've seen every single episode since the beginning, and I can firmly state that they have NEVER EVER used the music from Superman: The Movie in the show at all.

I was incredibly blown away by the use of the music, on the second note that was played from the Fortress of Solitude theme, I KNEW that was it, and honestly, I thought that's all that would happen, and I was extremely ecstatic, it was just amazing, I was awestruck, but then they actually did the SUPERMAN THEME, and dear God, my brain damn near exploded, it was just too much for me, sensory overload.

Keep in mind, I'm nuts about Superman, all things Supes, not just the music or the movie, even though STM is my favorite movie of all time and is also my favorite score of all time, so to have it homaged in a way on a TV show was just simply amazing for me. It was just incredible, all my Superman fan friends are blown away by it, too. This is very big for us, I'm still in shock, to be honest. A very geeked out thing to say, but I don't give a damn.

Snow did a very good job, I think, even though it was synthed. Of course it could've been better, but given the fact that Superman usually gets shit on by the WB, I very gladly accepted what I got.

Reeve was incredible on the show, I REALLY hope he returns. And I really don't think it was a subtle homage to him, that's a pretty silly thing to say, subtle would be maybe a hint of a piece of music that lasts a second or two, this was blatant in your face homage material.

WB, it seems, is not all evil. I now have hope.

[stewdog1 50]

I have seen every show so far, except for the pilot episode and this is the first time that I have heard any of JW's Superman music.

I was so excited to hear that music. My wife, who is not a film music fan, was equally excited to hear the themes.

The only themes that were played were the Kryptonian Theme (my personal favorite) and the Superman theme.

Mark Snow must have had at least 15 different variations of the Krypton theme in like 10 minutes with 2 or 3 moments of the Superman theme.

This was by far the best episode of Smallville so far. I'm not a comic book fan so I have no idea about continuity, but this was a great episode.

I hope that they decide to use JWs themes more often since WB owns the music anyway.

[UCFKevin 0]

I'm VERY curious if they're going to use the music ever again, or if it was just an isolated incident. Either way, I'm happy as hell.

And you're right, this is BY FAR the greatest Smallville episode ever, which isn't truly saying much, as it's usually just an okay show, and before Reeve showed up, it was a standard episode.

Continuity wise, I dunno, when I read the comics, they never dealt with him growing up, but as far as being sent to Earth to conquer, that's along the lines of the John Byrne revamp of 1986, so it works in that aspect. As for a character like Swann, I don't think he exists in the comics.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

I watch the show every week, I've seen every single episode since the beginning, and I can firmly state that they have NEVER EVER used the music from Superman: The Movie in the show at all.  

I was incredibly blown away by the use of the music, on the second note that was played from the Fortress of Solitude theme, I KNEW that was it, and honestly, I thought that's all that would happen, and I was extremely ecstatic, it was just amazing, I was awestruck, but then they actually did the SUPERMAN THEME, and dear God, my brain damn near exploded, it was just too much for me, sensory overload.  

Keep in mind, I'm nuts about Superman, all things Supes, not just the music or the movie, even though STM is my favorite movie of all time and is also my favorite score of all time, so to have it homaged in a way on a TV show was just simply amazing for me. It was just incredible, all my Superman fan friends are blown away by it, too. This is very big for us, I'm still in shock, to be honest. A very geeked out thing to say, but I don't give a damn.

Snow did a very good job, I think, even though it was synthed. Of course it could've been better, but given the fact that Superman usually gets shit on by the WB, I very gladly accepted what I got.  

Reeve was incredible on the show, I REALLY hope he returns. And I really don't think it was a subtle homage to him, that's a pretty silly thing to say,  subtle would be maybe a hint of a piece of music that lasts a second or two, this was blatant in your face homage material.  

WB, it seems, is not all evil. I now have hope.

I agree with virtually everything Kevin says.

As a 42 year old man I sat entralled as if I were 8. The first note of John's music was instantly recognizable. I am more of a casual veiwer of the show, but I have always liked it, and I too think it was the best so far, but Clark/Kal-el is about to learn more of who he is, and his ability to fly is soon to come. As I said this was the best show yet, I believe the best is yet to come.

Joe, who still believes a man can fly.

[Beowulf 4]

Damnit...I missed it! That sure would have an awe-inspiring moment.

Do they replay 'Smallville' on Sundays or any other such days (as they do with some shows)? I would love to see it, if only the clip.

[Justin 2]

Never really cared for the show. I'm sure Williams made it better though.

Justin

[stewdog1 50]

Damnit...I missed it!  That sure would have an awe-inspiring moment.

Do they replay 'Smallville' on Sundays or any other such days (as they do with some shows)?  I would love to see it, if only the clip.

I guess it depends on your local station, but WB does replay it on Sunday at either 4 or 5pm. I forget which time.

[The Five Tones 302]

The only themes that were played were the Kryptonian Theme (my personal favorite) and the Superman theme.

Mark Snow must have had at least 15 different variations of the Krypton theme in like 10 minutes with 2 or 3 moments of the Superman theme.

As well as the Krypton and Superman fanfare themes, the theme associated with Kryptonian crystals was heard (although stewdog is kinda right because it sounds like a variation on both themes). In addition, most of the material Snow used was lifted directly from "The Fortress of Solitude" cue, arrangements and key changes largely intact. I kinda hoped we'd get the Clark Kent theme too, maybe in a future episode.

It really threw in relief how inferior Snow's scoring is compared to the maestro's. Did anyone catch the credits? I wonder if they credited Williams or not.

Ray, sorry if I seemed to ignore your first post precedent last night, but when I hit the New Topic button, you hadn't posted yet, and I'm a slow typist.

best regards,

fivetones

[stewdog1 50]

Nope, no credit given to Williams that I saw. It would have been nice to throw that credit in there, but probably everyone knew who did that music anyway.

I don't think that episode would have been nearly as good, if it wasn't for the JW music in the last 15 minutes. Reeves did a great job and added a lot, but the music put it over the top.

By the way, Fivetones, is the Krypton theme and a Fortress of Solitude theme? I always thought they were the same.

[Trumpeteer 302]

I never thought the Fortress of solitude had a theme. Williams used the Krypton theme because the fortress resembled home. There didn't seem to be a different variation on the theme in the fortress.

And I was lucky to turn on Smallville two seconds before the main Superman theme played. I got chills. Seeing Christopher Reeve sitting there, getting more and more healthy by the second, and hearing the theme that will forever be associated with him, I couldn't speak.

I don't think it was an homage to Reeve. I think it was foreshadowing Clark's destiny. And the use of the Krypton theme was inspired, even if it wasn't performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.

I hope they don't go overboard with using Williams themes. This is a separate story.

Jeff -- who will watch "Superman: The Movie" tonight

[Beowulf 4]

Damnit...I missed it!  That sure would have an awe-inspiring moment.

Do they replay 'Smallville' on Sundays or any other such days (as they do with some shows)?  I would love to see it, if only the clip.

I guess it depends on your local station, but WB does replay it on Sunday at either 4 or 5pm. I forget which time.

Sweet....

Thanks Stew.

[The Five Tones 302]

By the way, Fivetones, is the Krypton theme and a Fortress of Solitude theme?  I always thought they were the same.

They are one and the same. The theme heard in "The Fortress of Solitude" from Superman: The Movie is the same one heard earlier in "The Planet Krypton." In the "Fortress" cue, it undergoes a small, minor-key variation which amounts to a change of one note (the highest one), as well as being heard in the major key.

The "crystal" motif is a more dissonant variation on the Krypton theme. It's heard when we see the green, glowing crystal which Clark uses to build the Fortress and when Lex Luthor exposes Supes to Kryptonite.

Five Tones

[Jango Fett 0]

Which season are we talking about

KraMB - who believes Smallville is also on Dutch television

[UCFKevin 0]

Second season, 17th episode.

It was really something, guys......man oh man.

[Eplicon 53]

Y'know, at the end of the show, I was half-expecting the usual promotional blurb: "Tonight's episode featured music by John Williams..." But I wasn't holding my breath for it.

But the use of Williams' score was terrific, particularly when used in the scenes with Dr. Swann (Reeve) and Clark as they discuss Clark's origins. It was like the baton was being passed down from one Superman to the next. Just hearing the music to the scenes almost made me misty-eyed.

The series reallys pays a lot of homage to the classic comic book material, as well as the first Superman movie (and I consider the show the best treatment of the Superman characters since that).

[UCFKevin 0]

No way, Superman: The Animated Series is the greatest incarnation of the characters, even though STM is the best thing to ever feature them.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

And I really don't think it was a subtle homage to him, that's a pretty silly thing to say,  subtle would be maybe a hint of a piece of music that lasts a second or two, this was blatant in your face homage material.

I apoligize for my 'silliness.' I merely meant that I doubt the majority of viewers would have recognized it. To me and you, of course, it was extremely blatant. I agree with all those here; it was an awesome thing to hear, very exciting!

Ray, sorry if I seemed to ignore your first post precedent last night, but when I hit the New Topic button, you hadn't posted yet, and I'm a slow typist.

No problem, I was just joking around. I'm glad so many other people here watch the show.

Ray Barnsbury

[UCFKevin 0]

Nah, actually I think even casual viewers recognized the music, it seems to be that way, anyway. I've been hearing about a lot of response and reading reactions and I've seen a LOT of instances of people saying, "My girlfriend/boyfriend doesn't know much about Superman or Smallville at all but they recognized the music."

I think the Supes theme is pretty damn recognizable. At least I like to hope it is, but I AM extremely biased.

[King Mark 3,631]

Nah, actually I think even casual viewers recognized .

I'm a casual viewer since I usually never watch the show and I recognised the music :roll:

K.M.who thinks this board shows it's geekiness by devoting 3 threads to this.

[Eplicon 53]

No way, Superman: The Animated Series is the greatest incarnation of the characters, even though STM is the best thing to ever feature them.

I should have clarified; "Smallville" is the best live action treatment of the characters since the first Superman film. I agree that the animated series was very well done. But most of the later incarnations after the first film, such as the dreadful Salkind-produced "Superboy" series didn't do much for me. And I couldn't get into "Lois and Clark" since Dean Cain wasn't convincing enough and looked wrong for the part.

[UCFKevin 0]

The first season of Lois and Clark was good. Everything else was pants.

K.M.who thinks this board shows it's geekiness by devoting 3 threads to this.  

Yes...previously, on the John Williams Message Board, there was absolutely no geekiness, but NOW there is...

[Rogue_Leader 2]

Reeve is still Superman in my eyes.

[Guest]

John Williams probably doesn't know his music was in Smallville, but someone will tell him about it, someone like, Conrad Pope. Quiet, low-keyed Conrad Pope. Conrad Pope will have taped the episode because of Christopher Reeve, and later he will lend his video tape to John Williams, on the label it will read "Smallville Reeve special, with some Supes music" John Williams will then pop the video in his VCR, grab his glass of juice, sit down in his enormous leather chair, and start watching it. He will reminisce about writing the Superman score. He will hope that Christopher Reeve will walk again. He will feel a sense of nostalgia at the epic nature of Superman and the movies of old. He will become vaguely interested in watching other Smallville episodes. He will wonder if that young man Ray he met last year and asked him to sign his CD's watches Smallville. He will think about the word Smallville. He will chuckle at it's oddness. He will say to himself "Smallville". He will laugh again at how cute it sounds. He will burst out laughing and have convulsions and fits of laughter thinking about the word Smallville. He will settle down. He will pick some fluff off the sleeve of his black turtleneck sweater.

He will set his VCR to record the next episode of Smallville.. He will go to his piano and belt out an elaborate rendition of the Superman March. He will thunder it out. His face will become very pink from the excertion. He will glance at a page from the score he is currently working on. He will flick a bar between two quavers with his pen. He will return to his chair.

He will call Conrad Pope. He will thank Conrad Pope. He will joke with Conrad Pope. He will he will discuss an orchestration issue with Conrad Pope. He will say goodbye to Conrad Pope. He will look out the window. He will go into a reverie. He will snap out of the reverie. He will scratch his head. He will have the Superman theme whirling in his head. He will think to himself perhaps 2 trombones was sufficient in that bar, not 3. He will pick up this juice. He will sip his juice. He will glide his thumb over the edge of the glass. He will take off his glasses and polish them. He will think about Ken Thorne. He will think about who will compose the score for the rest of the Harry Potter films. He will think about William Ross. He will think about the London Symphony Orchestra. He will think about Oliver Stone. He will think about how Oliver Stone is getting along with his film Alexander. He will think about the Academy Awards. He will think about Howard Shore. He will think about Bill Conti. He will think about Julia Roberts. He will think of an image of Bill Conti being very very thin and Julia Roberts calling him Stickman. He will think about Catch me if you Can. He will be amused at how relieved he is that he was not nominated twice. He will think about Minority Report. He will think about Tom Cruise. He will think about Nicole Kidman. He will think about how Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman are no longer together. He will think about Eyes Wide Shut. He will think about Stanley Kubrick. He will think about Steven Spielberg. He will think about Haley Joel Osment. He will think about the Sixth Sense. He will think about M Night Shyamalan. He will think about James Newton Howard. He will think about Hans Zimmer. He will think about keyboards. He will think about how different his methods are to other film composers. He will think about computers. He will think

about how rarely he uses a computer. He will think about the internet. He will wonder if anyone talks about him on the internet. He will think about his sons. He will think about how different the world is from when he was young. He will think about technology. He will look at his piano, score paper and pencil. He will think about what he has achieved with them. He

will think about the nature of composition. He will think about himself. He will think about how many people have heard his music. He will think about how famous he is. He will think about the film score monthly interview. He will think about The Sugarland Express. He will think about E.T. He will think about Drew Barrymore. He will think about how difficult life was for Drew Barrymore. He will think about how lucky he was to meet Steven Spielberg. He will think about the Star Wars phenomenon. He will think about the day he wrote the Star Wars theme. He will think about Attack of the Clones. He will think about the final Star Wars film. He will think about Smallville. He will think about watching Smallville again. He will think about how many episodes of Smallville he missed. He will think about whether he programmed the VCR correctly. He will think about Mark Snow. He will think about wether Mark Snow writes the music for every television show. He will think is Mark Snow the new Mike Post? He will think about how trend orientated the film and television industry is. He will wonder how this man Mark Snow can completely dominate the television scoring business with his synthesizers and delaying pianos. He will entertain the notion of returning to television scoring and going under the moniker of Johnny Ice.

He will think about Superman The Movie.

He will think about Superman II. He will think about Superman III. He will think about Superman IV. He will think about Daredevil. He will think about how many comic books have been made into films. He will think about how Superman was the originator of that. He will think about how often his Superman music is imitated. He will think about how popular Superman is at his concerts. He will think about how many Superman albums he has signed in his life. He will think about that guy at the 2002 concert who tried to get him to sign something. He will think about whether it was something to do with Superman. He will laugh and think I bet it was something to do with Superman. He will conclude that the Superman people are actually much more secretely fanatical that the Star Wars people. He will see an image of a Superman poster hanging on someones wall, with his signature on it.

He will think about the Superman symbol. He will think about how inspired

he was when he first saw the opening credits of Superman the Movie. He will think about Richard Donner. He will think about the Superman DVD. He will think about the isolated score on the Superman DVD. He will think about whether some people have recorded it. He will think about other DVD's. He will think about the Catch me if you Can DVD. He will think about how many DVD's he has appeared on. He will think about his personal collection of DVD's. He will walk over to his personal collection of DVD's. He will pick out his Superman DVD. He will put it on. He will carefully adjust the volume. He will think about Alexander Courage. He will think about Alexander Courage's theme for Star Trek. He will think about Jerry Goldsmith's theme for Star Trek. He will think about Jerry Goldsmith's other music. He will think about Jerry Goldsmith's score for Supergirl. He will think about Clark Kent. He will think about Lois Lane. He will think about Lex Luthor. He will think about other films Christopher Reeve was in. He will think about Monsignor.He will think about Clark Kent stumbling about. He will think about Lois Lane not knowing that Clark Kent is Superman. He will think about Jerry Goldsmith winning an oscar for

The Omen. He will think about James Horner winning an Oscar for Titanic. He will think about himself winning an Oscar for Catch me if you Can. He will think about all the times he has lost. He will think about Henry Mancini. He will think about playing the piano for Henry Mancini. He will think about how much he liked Henry Mancini. He will think about how much he liked Henry Mancini's music. He will think about the theme from the Pink Panther. He will think about the first time he heard the theme from the Pink Panther. He will think about orchestration. He'll think about what movie Steven Spielberg is making next. He'll think about Leonardo DiCaprio. He will think about Christopher Walken and Tom Hanks. He will think about Frank Sinatra. He will think about the 60's. He will think about

Frank Abignali. He will think about famous conmen. He will think about the feasiblity of Superman turning back time. He will think about Kryptonite. He will think about Einstein. He will think about the theory of relativity. He will think about Trumpets. He will think about Trombones. He will think about a single Trombone. He will think about the bow of a cello. He will think about the orchestra as a whole. He will think about the various sections of the orchestra and how he uses them. He will think about the orchestration of the Superman March. He will think about how it opens with a perfect 5th. He will think about the wonderful symmetry of a perfect fifth and how much he likes it. He will think about major and minor 7th leaps and how he likes to do them. He will think about how dramatic the modulation down a 4th is for the restatement of the initial theme. He will think about Canons and Fugues. He will think about ever evolving ostinatos. He will think about triplets. He will think about triplets against quavers. He will think about The Mecha World. He will think about whether The Mecha World will ever be used in a TV episode. He will think about how Steven Spielberg laughed the first time he played the Jaws theme on the piano. He will think about how Steven Spielberg thought it was a joke. He will think about the realism of the shark. He will think about what a computer generated shark would have been like. He will think about Richard Dreyfuss. He will think about how Richard Dreyfuss begged Steven Spielberg to be in Close Encounters. He will think about the five tones. He will think about how it was originally 7 tones. He will think about a spaceship that makes sounds like a Tuba. He will think about aliens that get stranded on earth. He will think about little squashy guys that can't just beam up. He will think about the silhoutte of a flying bicycle against the moon. He will think of monkeys that die from eating a bad date. He will think of the cowardice of Oppum. He will think of a boy and a teddy bear who spent 3000 years sitting in a helicopter. He will think of Superman. He will think of Smallville. He will look at his watch and realize ten minutes have passed.

[PBL 0]

I'm thinking about the people that have read this wonderful text through the end as i did to suddendly realize that 10 minutes have indeed passed.

[Justin 2]

Now I know why this thread is so long.

Justin

[Hlao-roo 389]

John Williams probably doesn't know his music was in Smallville, but someone will tell him about it, someone like, Conrad Pope. Quiet, low-keyed Conrad Pope. Conrad Pope will have taped the episode because of Christopher Reeve, and later he will lend his video tape to John Williams, on the label it will read "Smallville Reeve special, with some Supes music" John Williams will then pop the video in his VCR, grab his glass of juice, sit down in his enormous leather chair, and start watching it. He will reminisce about writing the Superman score. He will hope that Christopher Reeve will walk again. He will feel a sense of nostalgia at the epic nature of Superman and the movies of old. He will become vaguely interested in watching other Smallville episodes. He will wonder if that young man Ray he met last year and asked him to sign his CD's watches Smallville. He will think about the word Smallville. He will chuckle at it's oddness. He will say to himself "Smallville". He will laugh again at how cute it sounds. He will burst out laughing and have convulsions and fits of laughter thinking about the word Smallville. He will settle down. He will pick some fluff off the sleeve of his black turtleneck sweater.  

 

He will set his VCR to record the next episode of Smallville.. He will go to his piano and belt out an elaborate rendition of the Superman March. He will thunder it out. His face will become very pink from the excertion. He will glance at a page from the score he is currently working on. He will flick a bar between two quavers with his pen. He will return to his chair.

He will call Conrad Pope. He will thank Conrad Pope. He will joke with Conrad Pope. He will he will discuss an orchestration issue with Conrad Pope. He will say goodbye to Conrad Pope. He will look out the window. He will go into a reverie. He will snap out of the reverie. He will scratch his head. He will have the Superman theme whirling in his head. He will think to himself perhaps 2 trombones was sufficient in that bar, not 3. He will pick up this juice. He will sip his juice. He will glide his thumb over the edge of the glass. He will take off his glasses and polish them. He will think about Ken Thorne. He will think about who will compose the score for the rest of the Harry Potter films. He will think about William Ross. He will think about the London Symphony Orchestra. He will think about Oliver Stone. He will think about how Oliver Stone is getting along with his film Alexander. He will think about the Academy Awards. He will think about Howard Shore. He will think about Bill Conti. He will think about Julia Roberts. He will think of an image of Bill Conti being very very thin and Julia Roberts calling him Stickman. He will think about Catch me if you Can. He will be amused at how relieved he is that he was not nominated twice. He will think about Minority Report. He will think about Tom Cruise. He will think about Nicole Kidman. He will think about how Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman are no longer together. He will think about Eyes Wide Shut. He will think about Stanley Kubrick. He will think about Steven Spielberg. He will think about Haley Joel Osment. He will think about the Sixth Sense. He will think about M Night Shyamalan. He will think about James Newton Howard. He will think about Hans Zimmer. He will think about keyboards. He will think about how different his methods are to other film composers. He will think about computers. He will think  

about how rarely he uses a computer. He will think about the internet. He will wonder if anyone talks about him on the internet. He will think about his sons. He will think about how different the world is from when he was young. He will think about technology. He will look at his piano, score paper and pencil. He will think about what he has achieved with them. He  

will think about the nature of composition. He will think about himself. He will think about how many people have heard his music. He will think about how famous he is. He will think about the film score monthly interview. He will think about The Sugarland Express. He will think about E.T. He will think about Drew Barrymore. He will think about how difficult life was for Drew Barrymore. He will think about how lucky he was to meet Steven Spielberg. He will think about the Star Wars phenomenon. He will think about the day he wrote the Star Wars theme. He will think about Attack of the Clones. He will think about the final Star Wars film. He will think about Smallville. He will think about watching Smallville again. He will think about how many episodes of Smallville he missed. He will think about whether he programmed the VCR correctly. He will think about Mark Snow. He will think about wether Mark Snow writes the music for every television show. He will think is Mark Snow the new Mike Post? He will think about how trend orientated the film and television industry is. He will wonder how this man Mark Snow can completely dominate the television scoring business with his synthesizers and delaying pianos. He will entertain the notion of returning to television scoring and going under the moniker of Johnny Ice.  

He will think about Superman The Movie.

He will think about Superman II.  He will think about Superman III. He will think about Superman IV. He will think about Daredevil. He will think about how many comic books have been made into films. He will think about how Superman was the originator of that. He will think about how often his Superman music is imitated. He will think about how popular Superman is at his concerts. He will think about how many Superman albums he has signed in his life. He will think about that guy at the 2002 concert who tried to get him to sign something. He will think about whether it was something to do with Superman. He will laugh and think I bet it was something to do with Superman. He will conclude that the Superman people are actually much more secretely fanatical that the Star Wars people. He will see an image of a Superman poster hanging on someones wall, with his signature on it.

 

He will think about the Superman symbol. He will think about how inspired  

he was when he first saw the opening credits of Superman the Movie. He will think about Richard Donner. He will think about the Superman DVD. He will think about the isolated score on the Superman DVD. He will think about whether some people have recorded it. He will think about other DVD's. He will think about the Catch me if you Can DVD. He will think about how many DVD's he has appeared on. He will think about his personal collection of DVD's. He will walk over to his personal collection of DVD's. He will pick out his Superman DVD. He will put it on. He will carefully adjust the volume.  He will think about Alexander Courage. He will think about Alexander Courage's theme for Star Trek. He will think about Jerry Goldsmith's theme for Star Trek. He will think about Jerry Goldsmith's other music. He will think about Jerry Goldsmith's score for Supergirl. He will think about Clark Kent. He will think about Lois Lane. He will think about Lex Luthor. He will think about other films Christopher Reeve was in. He will think about Monsignor.He will think about Clark Kent stumbling about. He will think about Lois Lane not knowing that Clark Kent is Superman. He will think about Jerry Goldsmith winning an oscar for  

The Omen. He will think about James Horner winning an Oscar for Titanic. He will think about himself winning an Oscar for Catch me if you Can. He will think about all the times he has lost. He will think about Henry Mancini. He will think about playing the piano for Henry Mancini. He will think about how much he liked Henry Mancini. He will think about how much he liked Henry Mancini's music. He will think about the theme from the Pink Panther. He will think about the first time he heard the theme from the Pink Panther. He will think about orchestration. He'll think about what movie Steven Spielberg is making next. He'll think about Leonardo DiCaprio. He will think about Christopher Walken and Tom Hanks. He will  think about Frank Sinatra. He will think about the 60's. He will think about  

Frank Abignali. He will think about famous conmen. He will think about the feasiblity of Superman turning back time. He will think about Kryptonite. He will think about Einstein. He will think about the theory of relativity. He will think about Trumpets. He will think about Trombones. He will think about a single Trombone. He will think about the bow of a cello. He will think about the orchestra as a whole. He will think about the various sections of the orchestra and how he uses them. He will think about the orchestration of the Superman March. He will think about how it opens with a perfect 5th. He will think about the wonderful symmetry of a perfect fifth and how much he likes it. He will think about major and minor 7th leaps and how he likes to do them. He will think about how dramatic the modulation down a 4th is for the restatement of the initial theme. He will think about Canons and Fugues. He will think about ever evolving ostinatos. He will think about triplets. He will think about triplets against quavers. He will think about The Mecha World. He will think about whether The Mecha World will ever be used in a TV episode. He will think about how Steven Spielberg laughed the first time he played the Jaws theme on the piano. He will think about how Steven Spielberg thought it was a joke. He will think about the realism of the shark. He will think about what a computer generated shark would have been like. He will think about Richard Dreyfuss. He will think about how Richard Dreyfuss begged Steven Spielberg to be in Close Encounters. He will think about the five tones. He will think about how it was originally 7 tones. He will think about a spaceship that makes sounds like a Tuba. He will think about aliens that get stranded on earth. He will think about little squashy guys that can't just beam up. He will think about the silhoutte of a flying bicycle against the moon. He will think of monkeys that die from eating a bad date. He will think of the cowardice of Oppum. He will think of a boy and a teddy bear who spent 3000 years sitting in a helicopter. He will think of Superman. He will think of Smallville. He will look at his watch and realize ten minutes have passed.

Doo-doo-dooo-doo, doo-do-dooo-doo, Doo-doo-doo-do-doo-do-doo-do

He is sitting in the morning at the diner on the corner...

[Trumpeteer 302]

That was some great stuff, AI. It took me almost ten minutes to read it. It painted a very vivid picture.

Jeff -- who read it as a writer first and as a JW fan second

[The Five Tones 302]

Awesome, AI!!

I dug all the references, and the play between linear and lateral associations. Now I'm sitting here in the ditch beside the New Jersey turnpike with a bruised ass wondering how I got here -- Oh Yeah! I was Being John Williams for ten minutes...

Five Tones, who read and appreciated AI's post as a musician, writer, film geek and JW devotee.

[Mari 279]

That was brilliant AI

Mari, very appreciative (and slightly envious) of writing that is so finely crafted and entertaining!

p.s. Ray, when does Smallville air in our area? I've never seen the show, but would like to catch this episode when it re-airs. Thanks!

[Justin 2]

Jeff -- who read it as a writer first and as a JW fan second

Dude you read it twice?

Justin -

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

That was great, AI, I must say. Very much like an actual stream of thoughts.

Ray, when does Smallville air in our area?  I've never seen the show, but would like to catch this episode when it re-airs. Thanks!  

Where exactly in Michigan are you? I live in the Lansing area, and the WB is channel 12 here. Smallville airs on Tuesday nights at 9:00 pm, right after Gilmore Girls. I'm not sure about replaying episodes; they may on Sunday nights. Better check your local listings to be sure of all this.

Ray Barnsbury

[Hlao-roo 389]

Jeff -- who read it as a writer first and as a JW fan second

Dude you read it twice?

LOL

[Guest]

Where exactly in Michigan are you?  I live in the Lansing area, and the WB is channel 12 here.  Smallville airs on Tuesday nights at 9:00 pm, right after Gilmore Girls.  I'm not sure about replaying episodes; they may on Sunday nights.  Better check your local listings to be sure of all this.  

Thanks Ray,

When you mentioned going to a concert in Grand Rapids, I thought we might live in the same area. I actually live a bit west of you in Kalamazoo and will check my local listings.

Mari

[Mari 279]

Oops . . .The above post was me.

Mari

[CYPHER 1]

Jesus Christ! If John Williams can think ALL of that in just 10 minutes, then he's a super-freak genius! Okay, so maybe it is possible...

CYPHER

[Rogue_Leader 2]

Jesus Christ! If John Williams can think ALL of that in just 10 minutes, then he's a super-freak genius! Okay, so maybe it is possible...

CYPHER

Super freak?

I wouldn't want to know what kind of nefarious ideas a super freak genius could imagine.

[Justin 2]

Super Freak Genius? What is that like Patrick Stewart in X-Men?

Justin

[King Mark 3,631]

This might be a record post!,even longer than the longest Uni post.

K.M.

[Rogue_Leader 2]

Yeah A.I. must be suffering from Carpel Tunnel Syndrome after that.

[Trumpeteer 302]

Jeff -- who read it as a writer first and as a JW fan second

Dude you read it twice?

Justin -

Actually, I read it three times. The third time was to see if it would really take me 10 minutes to read it. Slightly under 10 minutes, to be exact.

I saw the entire Smallville episode, and it was very enjoyable. When Clark got to the lab, it seemed to be an entirely different episode, mostly because of the music. Very well done, especially the Superman theme right before the commercial.

And there was no Williams credit, which irritates me. Who does Mark Snow think he is? James Horner?

[UCFKevin 0]

Who says it's Snow's fault? This is the WB, remember? Blame the hell out of them before anyone else.

[Trumpeteer 302]

Who says it's Snow's fault? This is the WB, remember? Blame the hell out of them before anyone else.

OK. Who does the WB think Mark Snow is? James Horner?

[UCFKevin 0]

THERE you go. That's better.

[tharpdevenport 4]

Now if we can just get a cd release of Smallville score from Snow.....