Doctor Who theme

The Doctor Who theme was composed by Ron Grainer and made its debut with the first episode of the Doctor Who series in 1963. Although it has undergone many rearrangements, this piece of music has remained the sole theme for the series throughout its history, making it one of the most recognizable television themes in history.

Origin
Although Ron Grainer has always received sole credit for the theme music, Delia Derbyshire with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop was responsible for all the arrangements for the first 17 seasons. She was given the composition by Grainer and asked to create the music. The method she chose was to create each sound from scratch using a variety of methods from pure tones to piano strings. Each sound was then changed in pitch and duration using purely analog equipment. The final arrangement of the theme was made by making a recording of each section (base line, melody, etc.) then putting the sections together to form the final mono track. Her first arrangement was released as a single, but never used as the opening title music. It consists of the main theme and the 'middle eight' in an ABABA pattern. Two versions of this arrangement exist, one with the TARDIS' dematerialization sound and one without. In addition, a variant version was used for the unbroadcast pilot episode version of An Unearthly Child that incorporates the sound of a thunderclap at the beginning.

The studio requested some changes and the second arrangement, used until the middle of Season 4, features some wind/wave effects. The master recording for this arrangement has an extended section of the base line instead of repeating the main theme or the 'middle eight'. This version was heard through the start of the repeated base in An Unearthly Child. The subsequent episodes it just faded out as needed.

Grainer attempted to obtain co-writer credit for Derbyshire, but was prevented from doing so by BBC rules. Derbyshire, as a result, never received screen credit for this work, although the BBC Radiophonic Workshop did. (Derbyshire did receive screen credit, but for creating the TARDIS dematerialization sound effect).

New Doctors, new arrangements
With the change in actor playing the Doctor in Season 4, came a new title sequence and another request for Derbyshire to change the arrangement of the music. She returned to the first arrangement and added what has been called a 'spangle' sound effect. Again, this arrangement was just faded out as needed for the openting title sequence. This third arrangement formed the basic theme from mid Season 4 through Season 17, although as noted below there were some modifications.

The second change in actor again brought a change in opening sequence for Season 7. The music created this time around wasn't so much a new arrangement as an edit of the 1967 arrangement. An overlap edit shortened the lead-in by about 8 seconds and, after the main theme, the music moves to a repeat-to-fade ending. Early episodes have a stutter effect at the start which disappears after Season 9. For some unknown reason, several episodes at the beginning of Season 8 reverted back to the 1967 arrangement.

Another arrangement, not intended for television, was released by Jon Pertwee as a single during his tenure as the Doctor. "Who is the Doctor" was a more pop-oriented version of the theme featuring newly written spoken lyrics performed by Pertwee.

In addition to changing the opening theme, the closing theme was also edited. Previously the closing credits had faded in to the main theme and then faded out after the credits. Four new edits were created for Season 7. The first was used in the first few episodes. The other three, were the same except in length. They were 40 seconds, 52 seconds, and 72 seconds long. Each started with a scream sound that was created by using a generated tone falling in pitch and the first few notes of the theme rising to pitch. This was fallowed by the main theme. In the 40 second version it was repeated once before the ending. In the 52 second version it was repeated twice. The 72 second version features the main theme, the 'middle eight', and the main theme again. Each one ends with the same whirling sound effect. The 72 second version was only used on a few of the Fourth Doctor's stories including The Invasion of Time and The Armageddon Factor -- both season finale stories (presumably it would have also been used for Shada had it been completed). Otherwise the 52 second version was used on all other broadcast episodes with the 42 second version only appearing on the audio LP of Genesis of the Daleks.

In 1972, the BBC played with another arrangement, the first not based on the work done in 1963, using the Delaware synthesizer that the Radiophonic Workshop had. Brian Hodgson and Paddy Kingsland, with Delia Derbyshire created what has become known as the Delaware Theme. It was not well received and was not used on any BBC Broadcast in the UK. However, it had already been applied to several episodes before being replaced. At least two episodes sent to Australia and broadcast on ABC still had the Delaware Theme. A new opening credits sequence was created to go along with this theme and this can be seen on the The Pertwee Years VHS release.

Later arrangements
Season 18 saw a new producer and many changes. The first was a new arrangement of Grainer's theme and a new opening sequence. The new theme was arranged by Peter Howell using his Yamaha CS80 synthesizer and some additional processing to that recording. He created three recordings, the opening theme, closing theme, and an extended cut for release as a single. The opening and closing themes followed the pattern set in 1970 with the opening doing a repeat to fade and the closing starting with a scream. The closing includes the 'middle eight' and ends with an explosive sound. This theme was used from Season 18 through Season 22 unchanged. The Howell arrangement would be revived in the 2000s when BBC Video chose it to be the menu theme for its Doctor Who DVD releases (for all 1963-89 era releases).

Season 23 saw another new arrangement by Dominic Glynn. It is more haunting and ethereal than the previous themes, but very similar to Peter Howell's arrangement in most respects (enough so that the opening credits remained unchanged from the final Howell season). Again three versions were created: opening, closing, and extended for release as a single.

The arrival of the Seventh Doctor called for a new title sequence. Keff McCulloch's high-pitched, synthesizer-heavy arrangement was the first to feature the 'middle eight' as a default part of the opening (although the rejected "Delaware Theme" also featured the Middle Eight). The opening and closing themes are very similar with the opening being longer. No version was made for release as a single. It was used from Season 24 to the end of the regular series at Season 26.

After the original series ended, a number of wildly variant renditions of the Doctor Who theme were recorded. An EP release, Doctor Who: Variations on a Theme (released in vinyl, standard CD and an unusual square-shaped CD variant) featured new arrangements of the theme by Mark Ayres, Glynn and McCulloch. One of these, a Latin-based arrangement, was adopted by BBC Video and used as the theme for its series of "Years" retrospective Doctor Who videos (i.e. The Hartnell Years, etc.). Another CD release The Worlds of Doctor Who, included several more arrangements, including a dance mix that featured Sylvester McCoy playing the spoons! Ayres also recorded a unique arrangement of the theme to lead off the soundtrack album for the music he composed for The Curse of Fenric. In the early 90s, a dancehall group called The Timelords had a hit single with "Doctorin' the TARDIS", which melded together a pop arrangement of the Doctor Who theme with "Rock n' Roll Part 2" by Gary Glitter.

Back on the BBC itself, a very brief new arrangement was used for the 1993 charity mini-episode Dimensions in Time.

The TV movie
The next new Doctor Who did not appear until 1996. For the made-for-TV movie, composer John Debney did the incidental music and arranged Ron Grainer's theme. Unlike all other versions, Debney's arrangement begins with a building introduction (to coincide with the on-screen narration setting up the tale), before opening with the Middle 8 (in similar fashion to the Delaware theme). The familiar bassline (da-da-da-dum, da-da-da-dum...) was somewhat muted in its melody and did not drive the theme the way it did in previous arrangements. The closing theme is a similar but different arrangement. Again, no extended version was created. Reportedly, Debney wanted to replace the Grainer composition with one of his own, but was overridden by the producers and the BBC. Grainer did not receive screen credit for composing the theme, leading to some reference works -- as well as reviews of the film -- erroneously crediting Debney with composing the theme.

Big Finish
Another arrangement of the theme was commissioned for the Eighth Doctor audio adventures produced by Big Finish starting in 1999. Instead of licencing the Debney arrangement (which was unpopular with fans), David Arnold — best known for his association with the James Bond film series — created a sombre new arrangement.

Return to TV
In 2002, just before the new series started, Mark Ayres went back to the original master tapes from 1963 and painstakingly recreated the mixing originally done by Derbyshire, but this time in stereo. This version eventually made it on to an advance copy of the 2005 series debut episode, Rose. Also in the early 2000s, the electronica group Orbital recorded a new version of the theme that was popular with audiences.

For the revived series, composer Murray Gold was hired to do the music. A trial arrangement, bass-dominated and bearing little resemblence to what came later, appeared on TV ads promoting the series (and can be heard on the "Series 1" DVD release of these trailers. For the broadcast versions, Gold went back to basics. Gold's theme is based on the electronic melody sound sampled from the original 1963 Derbyshire arrangement with rapidly rising and falling strings added as a counter melody. The opening theme follows the normal pattern of the main theme and a repeat to fade. The closing theme again has the scream followed by the main theme and an ending effect. Although the revived series did give Grainer screen credit for his composition, some reviewers of the new series, unfamiliar with its history, erroneously considered the theme music a Murray Gold composition.

Initially Gold was reluctant to use the 'middle eight', so during Series 1, only the main theme "chorus" is heard in the opening and ending. For The Christmas Invasion, the music was performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales for the first time and Gold added the 'middle eight' to the closing theme. For Series 2, the same opening as Series 1 was used, but the new closing theme featured the 'middle eight'. A modified version of this new arrangement was recorded by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales for a soundtrack CD release (the CD version is notably missing the "howlaround" sound effect at the end). Yet another, abbreviated Gold arrangement of the theme was performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at the conclusion of the 2006 "Music & Monsters" charity concert, which was broadcast on the BBC. This version focuses on the orchestra and omits the electronic sound of the TV version.

For Voyage of the Damned and Series 4, Gold created a second arrangement. It still features the original electronic Derbyshire melody, but the strings are different and drums and piano have been added to dramatically change the feel. A new ending arrangement, with middle 8 intact, was also composed.