The Doctor Who Theme

I’ve now dispensed with my ‘Emotional View’ and ‘Technical View’ format for these articles, as the final few in the series don’t hold as much nostalgia in my mind and thus my emotions towards them are far more reserved.

Perhaps the most contentious of all the Doctor Who theme arrangements, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Keff McCullough’s version of this iconic piece of music. ‘love’ is perhaps a bit too strong a word to use in this instance, but there are several reasons why I like this version. Firstly, I like the freshness of it when compared with its predecessors; although the style of it is very much ‘of its time’, it still sounds clean and crisp almost twenty years on and doesn’t really seem to have dated. Secondly, this was the first and only version to feature the middle-eight section in the opening theme as well as the closing theme. I wouldn’t go as far as to say this is preferable in my book, but it does as least set it apart from its compatriots. This arrangement also features some chord work behind the melody and bass-line which I also like, and although this isn’t a unique feature (the Peter Howell version also does briefly and the New Series arrangement does in spades) it does at least give the piece some extra interest. As a point of continuity from my previous articles, the Keff McCullough arrangement changes the key again, this time to E Minor.

The ‘hate’ side of my opinion of Keff’s arrangement (though again, this is perhaps too harsh a description) is due mostly to the bass-line. I sometimes feel that the fact that it’s just so completely different to any other version may be the main contributor to my dislike for it, but I accept that this isn’t necessarily an objective reason. However, I think the ways in which it is different (in fact, almost unrecognisable from earlier versions) form a far more valid argument. Firstly, there are far too many individual bass notes which makes it sound messy. Secondly (and as a consequence of the first point), the bass notes have absolutely no sustain to them, and this gives the piece very little depth. I also have problems with the main melody – it’s just far too whiny! With the exception of the bell-like instrument used for the first section of the middle-eight, it all sounds like someone wailing in pain - not nice! To this end the whole piece sounds cold and soulless, and thus could never even be considered as a favourite amongst the TV versions.