Most of Fred Steiner's work is superb, but for me the most outstanding STAR TREK score is Sol Kaplan's THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE.
Hi, Browny. Has been a while (I was formerly Bach-Choi on this board). Was in St. Kilda two years ago for about six weeks and regretted not letting you know beforehand. Hope all is well with you there in Vic.
Favorite Trek score? Honestly there are parts in all of them I love. So no single favorite, per se, but, as composition, I, like Browny, truly admire Kaplan's work (the integration of the Courage fanfare with his own music is simply seamless). His scores for The Enemy Within and The Doomsday Machine have an emotional resonance and seem to spring from a deep place.
Amok Time and Doomesday Machine are in the top list (the vulcan theme, entrance parade, and -- of course -- the fight music, and that great fanfare for the destroyed Constellation), but I also love Friday's Child and Who Mourns for Adonais (all of Friday's Child rocks, and that great closing fanfare, and that sad horn melody as Apollo tells of the demise of the Gods, the mournful reiteration as he fades away - used again in Cloud Minders). These two are the scores I will listen to on the set first, then go back and work my way through.
As awesome as Doomsday Machine is (and it is) I'll have to go with Charlie X for being pure undiluted Star Trek.
I once figure out which stock shots of the Enterprise were used the most over the three seasons. I'll be curious to see which music cue got used the most.
Elaan of Troyius and The Doomsday Machine are my two favorites. Also, The Ultimate Computer as a close runner-up.
SheriffJoe
Now, "The Ultimate Computer" would have been an ideal candidate for original score treatment. That said, the tracked score (mostly "Doomsday Machine" cues from what I remember) works quite well.
Fred's score for "By Any Other Name" also has some great cues. The orchestration in the neutralizing sequences, like his S1 "zap cap/zap sam" music, is very inventive.
apples n' oranges, my friends - and nothing but good fruit in the bowl.
