Apart from the Scottish yes/no question, there is one thing that sticks in my mind as being the biggest argument to be heard around the office water cooler over the past year or so. “Who will be the next Doctor Who?” (which could actually be another Scottish yes/no question of a different sort), and latterly and inevitably, “who is the best Doctor Who?”
Following Matt Smith's departure – who himself had some rather large shoes to fill, following many viewers' new favourite, David Tennant – is Peter Capaldi; and if my Facebook posts are to be believed (they are) and those of numerous Doctor Who fan sites, Capaldi is doing a great job. The writing continues to be top notch, especially the most recent episode, Kill The Moon, which many see as a nod back to the “classic” Doctor Who brand of yesteryear.
Some things should never change – and one of those is the Doctor Who theme tune.
In essence, the basis of the theme has changed very little since it was written in 1963 by Ron Grainer. Yes, it's been updated from season to season, with various synthetic effects applied again this time around, but the main “ooo-eee-oooooo!” motif remains intact and central to its effectiveness. So what is it that makes it stand the test of time?
As with a lot of successful things, it's the simplicity of it, in a way (although in terms of sound manipulation and construction, it wasn't simplistic at all, if you watch the video of how the 1980s theme was created by clicking on the YouTube video to the left). But you only need to hear three notes (the “ooo-eee-ooooo” bit) and you know it's Doctor Who.
Back in my day, Tom Baker was the mop-headed Doctor with starey eyes – and those starey eyes did add a bit of fear for me, I have to say, when they appeared over the credits. But the main fear factor was conjured up by the theme composed by Ron Grainer, Delia Derbyshire and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop – which sadly closed its doors back in 1998. The bare bones of the theme tune has hardly changed in 50-odd years but these days, of course, technology makes it a bit easier to create interesting synthetic effects.
A bit ironic, therefore, that, particularly in the Tennant era, the theme did momentarily move away from electronics and the musique concrète-influenced use of oscillators with the manipulation of everyday sounds like banging drainpipes and rolling ashtrays long table tops to become a lot more filmic and symphonic; more traditional, in a way.
Do you know how they made the noise for the Tardis? Someone scraped their house key up and down a piano string and then that sound was stretched and slowed down.
Not exactly rocket science (well, Tardis science) and yet that sound hasn't changed in the entire history of the programme, to my knowledge. But still, the new incantation of the theme carries with it all the history, nostalgia and wonder of my childhood.
If you want to hear the Dr Who themes since 1963 and how they've been reworked over the years, click on the YouTube video here:
Kevin Mills October 6th, 2014, in the afternoon
The bass line helps a lot, I feel. The longevity of the tune is as much to do with rubba-da-dub, rubba-da-dub, rubba-da-dub as it is to ooo-eee-ooooo!