Babylon 5

[jedsoon]

the following got me curious:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/search-n ... +5&ic=20_0

now, before anyone gets excited, i clicked thru the link of every cd listed and there isn't a single mention of stewart. b5 is listed on this site under soundtracks that bring stew's name, but i am pretty much in the dark regarding his connection to it. (i never saw the show.) did he compose the theme? if so, i could see springing for the single, which presumably contains it, even though he apparently didn't perform on it. i don't want to rely solely on info provided by the evil empire of retail, so any light that can be shed would be appreciated.

but the irony of this page struck me. if stew had done the score for the entire series, i'm sure the music would have been largely overlooked for release this way. still, 13 soundtrack albums for ANY one tv show is totally unheard of, by me anyway. who exactly is christopher franke? and why didn't the equalizer get this kind of push?!

[sockii]

>the following got me curious:
>
>http://www.walmart.com/catalog/search-ng.gsp?search_constraint=4104&search_query=babylon+5&ic=20_0
>
>now, before anyone gets excited, i clicked thru the link of every cd listed
>and there isn't a single mention of stewart. b5 is listed on this site under
>soundtracks that bring stew's name, but i am pretty much in the dark
>regarding his connection to it.

Stewart composed the score for the original pilot episode. For the series, I believe what happened was the show's creator J. Michael Stracynski wanted something different and went for Christopher Franke for the rest of the show run. Eventually Franke even re-did the score of the pilot for a "Special Edition" version which has some extra footage and the like.

As far as I know there are no official releases of the score Stewart did.

>(i never saw the show.)

Pity - it was by far the best science fiction series ever aired (perhaps one of the best television series ever, sci fi or not). I was a huge fan.

>but the irony of this page struck me. if stew had done the score for the
>entire series, i'm sure the music would have been largely overlooked for
>release this way. still, 13 soundtrack albums for ANY one tv show is
>totally unheard of, by me anyway. who exactly is christopher franke?
>and why didn't the equalizer get this kind of push?!

Well, the thing about Franke's score for the show was that it really was amazing. Every episode was scored quite individually, hence every individual cd soundtrack is quite a work in its own right, very little repetition of cues and riffs...especially in the episodes that got individual soundtrack releases. They were some of the key episodes of the series that featured some of the best scoring work as well. There were other soundtrack releases for the show, one for each season, I believe, with some of the key musical "suites" for the season. He was originally a member of Tangerine Dream before becoming a prolific soundtrack composer.

Anyway...probably way more than you'd care to know. I'm still waiting for at least *one* "Dead Like Me" soundtrack!

[georgygirl]

Oh

Too much information running through my brain

[jedsoon]

actually, i very muh appreciate the in-depth answer. the dark crevice into which i inserted my head years ago also blinded me to most of what was on tv. on your recommendation, i may have to check it out. there certainly seems to be no dearth of material out in support of it. and it certainly speaks well of the music to see soundtrack releases for single episodes.

i'm in the same boat on dead like me- never watched an episode, but would be all over a released score!

[conroy]

I think Christopher Franke also released the CDs on his own record label, which I think is also the same one that released Stewart's score to Little Boy Blue.

[Binmonkey]

hi folks from the binmonkey
long time listener, first time caller.....

i saw the pilot on channel4 in the uk years ago. i can remember the soundtrack was a mix of bits of the rythmatist as well as fresh stuff (i think..not sure now) i can remember really liking the mix of the sci fi visuals and the loops of the tribal chants....superb!!!!

[Omaha_Perez]

I think the new Battlestar Galactica has taken over that "best sci-fi show ever" title. I actually think it's the best show on tv, period. I'm not a big sci-fi geek, but I'm completely hooked on this show.

[sockii]

I tried BG a lot as some of my friends are nuts about it, but for whatever reason I just can't get into it. I think the characters just don't draw me in the way they did on B5.

[Mrs. Gradenko]

Stewart did music for the show? Ehh still can't get me to watch it...